沙伊克案与新闻判断

刚入新闻行业时，常受到业内资深者教诲。到底什么是新闻？我倾听他们的意见：狗咬了人，不是新闻；人咬了狗，则成新闻。

中国以携带毒品罪星期二（29日）处决了英国公民沙伊克。

西方媒体包括BBC中文网报道这则消息时，大多包括这样一句话：沙伊克是50年来中国处死的第一个欧洲公民。

从“狗咬人”的角度，中国绝大多数死刑都不是新闻。从“人咬狗”看，50年来中国处死第一个欧洲公民就成了新闻。这应当是记者最基本的判断。

但是，在沙伊克案上，这个新闻判断就触及到敏感点。

在BBC中文网论坛上，有位署名“毒贩就是毒贩”的网友专门评论“沙伊克是50年来首个在中国被处决的欧盟成员国公民”这句话。

他说：“布朗要求区分毒贩是否是欧盟公民而给予不平等的法律处理，就这一点来说，布朗这种做法是从种族主义出发的”。

Nikon D700 Review

Here I'd like to share with you my impressions and experiences in using Nikon D700.

Downgrade plan for Windows 7 PCs

The decision could see Windows XP enjoy an even longer life

Anyone buying a PC with Windows 7 pre-installed will be able to swap it for XP or Vista.

Microsoft has confirmed that the licence conditions under which the software will be sold will allow people to downgrade.

The conditions will apply to both businesses that buy licences for Windows in bulk and consumers that get the operating system on a PC or laptop.

No firm date has been given for the release of Windows 7's final version.

New life

Downgrade rights are common in Microsoft licensing terms and conditions but the software giant has been forced to expand and extend them for XP, given user reluctance to move to Windows Vista.

Microsoft dispute claims that Vista has not been popular, quoting figures that suggest it has outsold XP over similar time frames.

However, Microsoft has twice granted Windows XP a reprieve to allow computer makers to get licences for it for far longer than was originally planned.

Windows XP, released to consumers in 2001, was also granted a lifeline to ensure that it could be used on so-called netbooks - cut-down net-capable laptops that are proving very popular.

At the same time, computer makers such as Dell and HP have been exploiting clauses in the licensing terms that let them rollback machines with Vista pre-installed to the older operating system.

The news comes as the cut-off date for free mainstream support for Windows XP ends. From 14 April, Windows XP and Home plus Office 2003 enter their "extended support" period.

This means the only updates and bug fixes these products will get will be to improve security.

Microsoft has said that the release candidate of Windows 7, which will be broadly similar to the final version, will be released in late May 2009. The final version is expected in January 2010.

Just tidy up a bit.