iPhone vs Window 7 Mobile Smartphone

You must know that iPhone is actually one of the most popular telecommunication devices in this century. Issued by one of the biggest company worldwide, Apple, and completed with some cool and sophisticated features make iPhone one of the most wanted Smartphone today. However, since Apple is starting to become recently popular, you must know that it is a kind of warn for Microsoft as the other company that is concerning in technology innovation.

Since the first time Apple becomes progressively popular, reported that Microsoft has been suffering some profit regressions. As one of the effort to switch people back to use Window Mobile Smartphone rather than Mac Smartphone, Microsoft is ditching all of their employers who are using iPhone rather than Microsoft products. Wall street journal reported that about 10% or about 10,000 Microsoft’s employers prefer to use iPhone rather than Window Mobile Phone.

The rumour related to the launch of Window 7 Mobile phone is because Microsoft is trying to hold the popularity of iPhone. So, as non Microsoft and Apple’s employers what you are going to choose then? iPhone or Window 7 Mobile Phone. Well, the fact is those two companies are already proven to be reliable in providing Smartphone solution but everything is back to the market tendency and trend, and today trend shows that iPhone is the most popular Smartphone.

http://www.mobiletopsoft.com/board/7287/10-of-microsoft-employees-rumored-to-be-iphone-owners.html

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A taste of savory southern food in Ha Noi

The south of Viet Nam is blessed by nature with many bountiful waterways, and from these sources, generations have developed numerous natural, tasty dishes. I had the opportunity to go to a special restaurant that serves traditional southern food in Ha Noi, where I met its owner, Tran Chien Thang. After spending five minutes with him, I realised that the restaurateur lives and breathes his work.
Located on 42 Tang Bat Ho Street in Hai Ba Trung District, Vuon Nam Bo (Southern Garden) Restaurant is located in an old French villa decorated in the southeastern style. The second floor has a coconut leaf roof and bamboo lamps and is a lively venue for meeting, chatting or simply enjoying the atmosphere. In addition, there are four private rooms for people who prefer a more intimate setting.
Apart from the beautiful space and style of this restaurant, the varied and unique food makes it easy to distinguish from others.
In my opinion, one of the highlights of the menu is duong cha la, a type of larva which only lives inside the wild date palm's trunk found in saline areas. In the past, the people used to present duong dua nuong than - Grilled duong dua on charcoal, to the Nguyen kings who enjoyed the dish with steamed glutinous rice. At first, we were all too scared to try the delicacy but after I'd eventually plucked up the courage to pop one of the tasty morsels into my mouth, I was hooked. The duong are usually served with fish sauce and can be eaten grilled or, for the more adventurous, raw.
The preparation is a vital component of the process, but the taste of the dish is the most important factor, and this comes down to the ability of the chefs. The head chef hails from the south and has spent more than ten years researching and exploring the tastes of northern people, especially Hanoians.
Southern food is diverse and this is reflected by the wide variety of seafood and vegetable dishes on offer. The restaurant also sources fresh food from the southwest of the country, so you can enjoy vegetables native to that area. A good example is the giang leaf which can be used instead of the northern sau fruit in luon om la giang (eel stew) deep fried eel hot pot. Another speciality dish of Southern Garden is the "forest vegetables" that are simply delicious when dipped in kho quet sauce. The steamed vegetables were served in an earthen pot and the waitress told us the secret to the sauce. It is made from fish sauce, boiled down with both lean and fatty meat, creating a wonderful accompaniment to any meal.
On demand: Duong cha la - is a popular dish at the Southern Garden.
However, possibly the piece de resistance was the "Ca loc hap bau," a steamed snakehead fish, served inside a gourd. The fish is boiled in a spicy stock with the gourd flesh, giving it a sweet, fragrant flavour. The tender, delicate mix is then dished up in the gourd shell, which makes for a delicious, eye-catching treat.
Thang says: "Besides delicious and natural food, there is a special wine from the south called sim wine. Enjoying southern food followed by sim wine is a necessity. Many customers order it instead of foreign wine." Sim wine is a speciality of Phu Quoc Island, where Myrtle fruit absorb the island's sweet waters, giving the wine it's unique flavour. The wine is sweet so it's easy to drink but its also strong so I felt a little drunk after two glasses.
I have waited a long time to try southern food in Ha Noi and this experience didn't disappoint. The tasty food and attractive decor paired with the enthusiastic, good-looking staff combined to make a truly excellent dining experience. VNS
------------Vietnamnews---------

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City child welfare foundation helps homeless children

City child welfare foundation helps homeless children

by Gia Loc



HCM CITY — Tran Van Quyen is unlikely to have dreamed he would one day become the executive chef of a three-star hotel on Phu Quoc Island as he did recently.

Especially during the period he was homeless and spent a fortnight on the streets.

His parents divorced when he was six months old and his mother left him with his grandmother in Hung Yen Province.

A few years later she returned to take him to live with her and her new husband in Gia Lai Province. He was ill-treated by his stepfather and forced to pick bamboo shoots in the forest every day.

"When I was 15, I decided to … escape my stepfather's ill-treatment," he said.

He took a bus to HCM City. But without money or shelter, he lived on the streets and slept in parks at night, and was constantly chased away by the police.

Two weeks later, his life changed permanently when, upon the advice of some people living near the parks he slept in, he went to the HCM City Child Welfare Foundation's Tre Xanh Shelter in District 1.

The shelter's manager, Do Thi Bach Phat, asked him to provide information about his family.

"The manager said they would take me to my family, but I did not want and begged her to allow me to stay."

She relented and Tran Kim Tuyen, a counsellor at the shelter, convinced him to take the entrance test at the HCM City Hospitality School. He got through and the school even waived his fees.

The shelter helped him do the necessary papers and paid for his uniform and health check-up.

"Through the year-long course, Tuyen encouraged me to study hard and make my dream come true," he said.

After he graduated, she helped him find a job at the Phu Quoc Charm Hotel where now, at 21, he has become the executive chef.

"Everything I have now is thanks to the shelter manager and counsellor's help and love," he said.

Quyen is one of more than 300,000 people who have received succour from the HCM City Child Welfare Foundation in the 20-odd years since it was set up in 1988.

"The foundation's objectives are to protect, educate and take care of disadvantaged and homeless children and young people and enable them to have a safe and happy life," Luong Thi Thuan, its chairwoman, said.

The foundation had so far carried out 70 projects and co-operated with city authorities to provide education to disadvantaged, homeless, sexually abused and HIV-positive children and youths and find jobs for them, she said.

It has also collaborated with the city's Child Protection and Care Committee to raise and educate children with disabilities.

It has set up the Tre Xanh (Green Bamboo), Hoa Hong Nho (Small Rose) and Hoi Nhap (Integration) shelters.

This year it has some more new projects on the cards and is looking for sponsors.

One of them is a programme to take care of disadvantaged children and those suffering from dangerous illness at hospitals during Tet (the lunar New Year). — VNS

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More kids suffer mental illness

Children play sport and use different skills to keep them mentally and physically well.—VNA/VNS Photo The Anh

Children play sport and use different skills to keep them mentally and physically well.—VNA/VNS Photo The Anh
HCM CITY — More and more children and teenagers are being brought to hospitals in HCM City with mental disorders caused by parental pressure to perform well at school and other family-related stress factors, according to doctors.

The HCM City Mental Hospital receives nearly 1,000 such children suffering every month.

Asst Prof Dr Nguyen Hoi Loan of the Ha Noi Social Sciences and Humanities University said children's mental disorders were caused by the heavy academic workload, especially at the secondary and high-school levels, and teachers forcing them to cram.

Do Thi Le Hang of the Institute of Psychology said studying without a break to relax also caused stress and made them susceptible to mental disorders.

The pressure became even more severe to get through university entrance exams, she said.

Other factors that make the children vulnerable to mental disorders are their parents getting divorced and quarrelling with each other.

Mental disorders were also a cause of suicide among children and teenagers, doctors said.

On February 17, Pediatric Hospital No 1's Emergency and Recovery Ward received a 13-year-old patient who was in serious condition after consuming eight painkillers.

The patient, who recovered two days later, said he had been distraught and took the pills on his friend's advice.

The HCM City Pediatric Hospital No 1 and 2 admit 40-60 children who attempt suicide every year.

Dr Thai Thanh Thuy, head of the psychiatry ward at Pediatric Hospital No 2, said most parents failed to find out their children's mental disorder in time or treat it.

Meanwhile, there were 35 suicide cases, mostly among youngsters, in Vinh Long and Quang Tri provinces and Can Tho, Da Nang and Ha Noi cities from February 13 to 23, initial reports from the hospitals said.

Vinh Long Province's General Hospital and Can Tho City's General Hospital dealt with 31 cases. Most of the suicide cases were young people who had used pesticides to kill themselves. Reasons given for their actions included gambling losses and relationship issues.

A 20-year-old man killed himself by jumping into Hieu River in Quang Tri Province on February 21.

Two days later, a 11th grade student committed suicide by jumping off a bridge in the province. On the same day, a young girl committed suicide by jumping into the Hong (Red) River in Ha Noi.

Doctor of Psychology Nguyen Kim Quy said people from 13 to 20 years old often adopted a psychological trait called "self-mortification" when overcoming troubles or disappointment in their lives; the highest form of which is killing themselves.

"Young people in part lack skills to face and cope with failures and difficulties life throws at us," she said.

"If they are equipped with adequate living skills, they should be able to find an alternative solution which will not end up with them hurting themselves." — VNS

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English teachers learn new methods

English teachers learn new methods

by Gia Loc

Fifth grade students of Trieu Thi Trinh Primary School sing along with their English teacher. Singing English songs is part of new teaching techniques that get students more interested in learning English. — VNS Photo Gia Loc

Fifth grade students of Trieu Thi Trinh Primary School sing along with their English teacher. Singing English songs is part of new teaching techniques that get students more interested in learning English. — VNS Photo Gia Loc
HCM CITY — With simple English songs and chants, Huynh Thi To Anh, an English teacher at the Trieu Thi Trinh Primary School in District 10, is able to control her class and stop her students from being noisy and unruly.

Anh said she has become more effective in class after completing a training course held last August.

The training course was held by the Department of Education and Training (MoET) in co-operation with the Regional English Language Office, the US Consulate General's office and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation in Viet Nam.

After the course, 35 teachers who attended the training course shared the techniques and skills with other teachers who were not be able to attend it.

Anh said her students were now more interested in learning English and having more fun doing so.

"Even their responses in English come faster," she said and adding they were speaking to each other in English during their lessons.

Vu Ngoc Thien Kim, a fifth grader at the Trieu Thi Trinh school, said, "I have a lot of fun at the English class" because she can play games, dance and sing. Kim even goes around the class to practise English speaking with her classmates.

Nguyen Quoc Dat, Kim's classmate, said that he likes his teacher's games and even enjoys the tests after the lessons.

Nguyen Ho Thuy Anh, an English specialist with HCM City's Education and Training Department, said she also found the training course helpful.

"Learning how to control class and get pupils' attention is very important," she said.

She said that HCM City's Department of Education and Training have encouraged English teachers to use simple songs on animal, human body's parts or other things to teach since 2005.

And, songs and chants also help teachers control class effectively, Anh said, adding that 355 English teachers have been trained in this methods so far.

The use of songs and poems is a good method that helps pupils learn the language comfortably and easily, she said, noting it was very popular in other countries and has been applied in some schools in HCM City over that last few months.

Last week, the Ministry of Education and Training continued to co-operate with concerned US agencies and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education organization in Viet Nam to open more training courses for teachers in 11 localities.

These included Ha Noi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Khanh Hoa, An Giang, Binh Duong and Da Nang.

Teaching English to primary students is very different from secondary or high school students, thus training teachers at primary schools needs careful attention, said John A. Scacco, Regional English Language Officer at the US embassy in Bangkok.

Joan Kang Shin of the University of Maryland added that the age of students learning English in Asia was constantly getting lower. Most countries in Asia teach English from the third grade onwards and Lao will introduce English classes in the first grade next year, she said.

English has been taught as an elective subject at primary schools throughout Viet Nam since 1996 and will be compulsory subject this year onward.

Shin said that teaching English to primary school students was difficult because they were very energetic and had short attention spans, so teachers needed to have several different activities to attract pupils.

Dr Joann (Jodi) Crandall, Shin's colleague, said that the methods that have been used by many schools in Viet Nam were "not just for teaching primary pupil."

They were using teaching methods suited for students at higher level, so the teaching was not very effective, she said. English teachers at primary level have to be trained in teaching methods suitable to primary school pupils. These methods would make pupils make the pupils act a lot, and the learning process becomes less boring, she said.

Anh agree with Crandall and added that the department was creating more opportunities for English teachers in primary schools to attend the training courses.

Shin said simple games, songs, chants, poems and stories would teach children other things besides vocabulary and grammar. They would help pupils remember more easily what they are taught in class and to relax, she said.

She commended the curricula and textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education and Training as very good and suitable for primary school pupils, but teachers need to know how to use these effectively, she said.

Moreover, the teachers' creativity is also important because they have to apply what they ‘ve learnt in the training courses to suit different age groups, she added.

Crandall said "if they (the teachers) have good and interesting English teaching methods, the of classes will not matter."

With a large-d class, they can divide the students into small groups and assign each group different activities, helping them focus better while teachers can pay more attention to each group, she said. — VNS
(Vietnamnews)

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Bundesliga 1 club to play friendlies in Vietnam

Germany’s Bundesliga I club Eintracht Frankfurt will play two friendly matches with Vietnam’s national football team and a top-tier V-League club in May, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said on Wednesday.

The German top-tier club will play the national team at My Dinh Stadium on May 12 before flying south to play a southern V-League club at Ho Chi Minh City’s Thong Nhat Stadium four days later, VFF said.

VFF has not chosen a V-League club in the south but it could be V-League champs Da Nang, runners-up Binh Duong or Navibank Saigon.

The friendly matches are being organized to mark the 35th anniversary of establishing ties between Vietnam and Germany, VFF said.

Authorities of the German state of Hassen met with Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and VFF to arrange the friendlies.

VFF said it would finance the German club’s trip to Vietnam for the friendly matches.

Eintracht Frankfurt was established in 1899 and currently holds eighth place in the Bundesliga I.
Reported by Lan Phuong

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Aussie footy heroes join Vietnam Swans for coaching clinic

There is a buzz among Aussie footy fans in Saigon, as two famous AFL footballers will be in Ho Chi Minh City on the weekend for a football coaching clinic for kids.

For football fans it’s rare to meet legendary players, let alone have a kick with them - so the Australian Rules football club here in Vietnam, the Vietnam Swans, has rallied to make the visit of Nathan Buckley from the Collingwood club and Gary O’Donnell from Essendon a memorable one.

“As an Aussie Rules Club, the Vietnam Swans are very pleased and proud that these two players can join us for a footy clinic,” the Vietnam Swans national president, Phil Johns said.

“For our guys, it's a chance to see these guys up close and to get to talk to them; to get an insight into how elite athletes think and what makes them different to the rest of us,” Johns said.

All of the Australian kids, who will be coming to the coaching clinic held this Sunday afternoon at 5pm at the RMIT fields, will be awe-inspired to meet footy heroes like Buckley and O’Donnell.

A lot of kids from International schools will be there, but there’s going to be at least 20 Vietnamese kids at the clinic who don’t know what AFL (Australian Football League) is let alone who Buckley and O’Donnell are. In fact they have probably never seen an AFL football before.

Johns said the club had decided to make the coaching clinic into a community event by inviting disadvantaged children from a local NGO called KOTO.

KOTO is run by a well known Australian Overseas Vietnamese, Jimmy Pham, who has some Australian helpers working with him, that are also keen to meet the two footy legends.

Johns, who expects about 100 people to come, said it would not be the first time that the club has held a coaching clinic for Vietnamese.

Recently at the Big Day Out the club held a coaching clinic and Johns said the Vietnamese had a lot of fun learning how to kick and handball the unusual shaped Australian football.

“The attendance of these two famous Australians also gives our Club a key event which enriches our history significantly,” the Vietnam Swans president said.

“It's going to be a great weekend and again, everyone is very welcome to come out, with your children, to participate in this footy clinic,” Johns said.

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