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Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift: So In Love!

11/05/2009 04:44:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

TAYLOR Swift and Taylor Lautner are set to become Hollywood’s hottest new couple if the latest reports are to be believed.

According to America’s OK! magazine, the pair — who have been dating for just over three weeks — have “fallen head over heels for each other”.

“He thinks she’s one of the most beautiful girls he’s ever seen,” said a source close to Taylor.

“And she can’t say enough about him!”

Lautner, 17, and Swift, 19, portray a prom king and queen in the upcoming romantic comedy Valentine’s Day.

In an interview with on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that aired last week, Swift clammed up when quizzed about her rumored romance with the hunky Twilight star.

The two Taylors star together in the 2010 romantic comedy, Valetine’s Day.

“Who were your scenes with?” Ellen asked Swift.

“Taylor Lautner,” Swift replied.

“The guy from Twilight?” Ellen teases. “Oh yeah, he’s cute!”

“Yeah,” Swift says, “he is.”

Kristen Stewart Sound of about R.P Romance rumors: 'We are. We aren't. I'm a lesbian.'

11/05/2009 01:15:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Kristen Stewart, the 19-year-old star of the Twilight franchise, knows that she can come across as sullen and self-conscious in the public eye. But during an exclusive EW roundtable in Vancouver, Canada, where the cast was prepping for their last week of the Eclipse shoot and then the immediate onslaught of publicity for the November 20th release of New Moon, Stewart was funny, quick and outspoken in a wide-ranging conversation with co-stars Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson.

Asked about the endless rumors of her supposed off-screen romance with Pattinson, for instance, Stewart got nicely fired up. “I probably would’ve answered it if people hadn’t made such a big deal about it,” she said. “But I’m not going to give the fiending an answer. I know that people are really funny about ‘Well, you chose to be an actor, why don’t you just f—ing give your whole life away?! Can I have your firstborn child?’”

Pattinson himself, who clearly loathes confrontation, tried to softly interject with philosophical statements about the need for an actor to hold onto his individuality. But Stewart cut him off. “I’ve thought about this a lot,” she said. “There’s no answer that’s not going to tip you one way or the other. Think about every hypothetical situation: ‘Okay, we are. We aren’t. I’m a lesbian.’ I’m just trying to keep something,” she said. “If people started asking me if I was dating Taylor, I’d be like ‘F— off!’ I would answer the exact same way.” Without missing a beat, Pattinson looked at Lautner, promising “Me too.”

Free Tools for Fine-Tuning Your Windows 7 Setup

11/05/2009 01:14:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

No-cost apps and Web services help you set up your Windows 7 computer just the way you want it.


Last week I told you how to migrate to Windows 7 at your own pace--there's no need to jump into the deep end right away. Now that you've got Windows 7 up and running on your newly partitioned, dual-boot PC, it's time for the next big step in any OS migration: reinstalling your software.

I've always hated this part, as it involves digging out CDs, downloading apps from lots of different sites, and then manually installing everything. Takes forever.

Thankfully, I've found salvation in the form of Ninite, a new service that automatically downloads and installs popular software.

All you do is scroll through Ninite's list of 70-odd apps, check-marking the ones you want. The service offers the most current versions of nearly every popular mainstream program, including Firefox, Skype, OpenOffice, iTunes, Picasa, Steam, and Revo Uninstaller.

Once you've made your picks, click Get Installer to download a small executable file. When you're ready, run that file and sit back while Ninite goes to work.

How long does it take? That depends on how many programs you've selected. I chose a baker's dozen (including the trial version of Office 2007 Standard, which I already own--now I just have to type in the security key), and I'd swear Ninite was done in all of 10 minutes.

I'll bet the service saved me a couple hours of manual labor. It worked flawlessly, and it installed 90 percent of the programs I use regularly. Awesome. Just awesome. And did I mention Ninite is free?

Migrating Your Bookmarks

I'd argue that the first thing a user wants upon migrating to a new PC--or, in this case, a new operating system on the same PC--is his or her bookmarks.

Fortunately, that's perhaps the single easiest chunk of data to move as part of our "slow" migration to Windows 7. All you need is Xmarks.

Available for both Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer, Xmarks automatically and effortlessly synchronizes your bookmarks between PCs and the Web.

If you were already using it, just install the program in your new Windows 7 partition, sign into your account, and presto: All your bookmarks will magically appear in your browser. (All your Web-site passwords, too, assuming you configured the tool to sync passwords.)

If you weren't using Xmarks before, start by booting back into your previous version of Windows, installing Xmarks, and setting up an account. (Don't worry, it's free.) Then you can jump back into Windows 7 and install Xmarks there.

There are other ways to copy bookmarks, but this is by far the fastest and easiest--and you get the added benefit of having a password-protected copy of your bookmarks on the Web, accessible from any PC.

Bonus Tip: Make Windows 7's Taskbar More Like Vista's

I like most of what Windows 7 brings to the table, but there's one thing I definitely don't like: the new taskbar. Specifically, I miss the text labels that accompany each running program. Without them, it takes me an extra second or two to figure out what's what. Fortunately, there's an easy way to make the Windows 7 toolbar look a lot more like the one in Vista (and, for that matter, XP). Here's how.

1. Right-click on any open area of the toolbar and choose Properties.
2. Click the "Taskbar buttons" pull-down and choose Never combine.
3. If you really want a more Vista/XP-like taskbar, check the "Use small icons" check box. Me, I like the bigger icons.
4. Click OK.

Now, this won't give you exactly the same taskbar you remember (Windows 7's pinned icons tend to interrupt the "flow" a bit), but at least you'll have the text labels and bigger buttons back.

Rihanna To Perform At American Music Awards

11/05/2009 01:14:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Singer joins Eminem, Jay-Z, Adam Lambert, many others on show, which airs November 22.

Rihanna will be performing at this year's American Music Awards, joining previously announced acts like Eminem, Jay-Z, Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys and the Black Eyed Peas, MTV News has confirmed.

The show airs on Sunday, November 22, the day before Rihanna releases her new album, Rated R. At press time there was no word on what song she will perform, but she's already dropped two singles from the album — the eerie ballad "Russian Roulette" and the midtempo "Wait Your Turn" — and the Young Jeezy collaboration "Hard" has already hit radio.

It will be the third time she's performed on the show. In 2007, she sang her Ne-Yo duet, "Hate That I Love You," and her breakthrough hit, "Umbrella." In 2008, she sang "Rehab." Rihanna has won three American Music Awards in the past.

The awards show will feature an array of nominees determined by data from Nielsen SoundScan radio and retail figures, with Taylor Swift in the lead with six nominations, followed by the late Michael Jackson and Eminem at five apiece. Though Jackson had not released new material for nearly a decade at the time of his passing, his nominations are based on the strong sales of his catalog albums following his death.

Other multiple-category nominees include Lady Gaga, T.I., Kings of Leon, Beyoncé and the Peas, who all have three. For the third year, winners will be determined by online voting.

Rihanna will appear on "Good Morning America" on Thursday and "20/20" Friday night. She's also set to visit MTV's "It's On With Alexa Chung" on Monday.

Show Luo secretly meets with Rainie Yang; relationship turning very ambiguous

11/05/2009 01:13:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

After collaborating together in idol drama 'Hi My Sweetheart', Show Luo & Rainie Yang have turned from enemies into good friends. Media reporters believe that the 2 are not just on-screen lovers, but their relationship in real life seems to have sparked a subtle chemistry reaction. Sharp-eyed staff members revealed that after filming, the 2 have developed a 'personal friendship'; not only romantically dancing together in their pajamas, but earlier, reporters witnessed the 2 going to sing KTV together, celebrating Show's assistant's birthday together and Rainie even visited Show at the recording studio in the middle of the night. Their relationship is definitely progressing very rapidly.

On the 28th of October, at approximately 6pm, Show & Rainie appeared outside a restaurant in Taipei. As soon as Show got out of his car, he immediately ran to Rainie's car and made faces against the window, and even imitated a monkey scratching itself. This made Rainie laugh non-stop, and after she got out of her car too, they headed into the restaurant together.

Celebrate, sing, visit recording studio in the middle of the night

While in the restaurant, Show & Rainie sat next to each other, and chatted non-stop while they ate. Half-way through the dinner, someone brought out a birthday cake, to celebrate Show's assistant's birthday. Afterwards, the 2 each left separately in their own cars. However, this was not the end of the night. Both their cars then arrived outside SOGO karoake. Because of their public figures, Rainie chose to head in first. Ten minutes later, Show also headed in and went into the same room. The 2 stayed in there for over 2 hours, and afterwards, they again came out one after the other. They then departed to their own homes.

Show & Rainie previously were not on good terms, but have turned into good friends after filming 'Hi My Sweetheart' together. Their relationship is progressing so rapidly that even their friends are amazed by it. One of their friends revealed that on the 22nd of October, Show was helping good friend Elva Hsiao film a MV for her new album. But at approximately 12:30am, Rainie also appeared at the scene! Although she only stayed for an hour, staff members felt that this was very unusual because people who know Rainie know that she hardly ever visits people at work. Particularly because her work load is huge, and whenever she has any spare time, she will go home to rest, and furthermore she has pretty much never visited anyone at work in the middle of the night. Hence, this made staff members very surprised.

Kiss scene melts ice; rehearses in pajamas

3 years ago, Show & Rainie performed together in Las Vegas, but they were not on good terms. The reason being Show's ex-girlfriend Makiyo acted as an improper messenger between the 2, leaving a knot in both their hearts. Furthermore, Rainie had a messy break-up with her ex-boyfriend Ben, and at the time, Show supported his good friend Ben, and hence had a bad impression of Rainie. All this persisted until the following year, when the 2 had to perform together again in Sydney, Australia. During that trip, the 2 had a long conversation and worked out their differences. However, not long after they resumed contact with each other, love rumours surfaced about them, and the 2 both suspected that the other had given inappropriate information to the media, turning their relationship sour once again. Until their collaboration this time in idol drama 'Hi My Sweetheart' did their relationship slowly heat up once again.

Show & Rainie play a couple in 'Hi My Sweetheart' but media reporters believe that their relationship in real life is becoming very ambiguous. The drama crew staff revealed that while filming in Hang Zhou, the 2 would play together, go shopping and even play cards in each other's room. There was one night when staff members walked past Rainie's manager's room, and heard music coming from the room and Rainie's laughter. After peering closely, they saw Show & Rainie both in their pajamas, rehearsing a dance scene in the drama which was to be filmed the next day.

Last Sunday was 'Hi My Sweetheart's premiere broadcast, and that night, Show had just arrived back in Taiwan from Hong Kong. Because he couldn't watch the premiere broadcast, while at the airport, he immediately phoned Rainie, asking her: "Can you tell me where the drama is up to right now?" And Rainie answered him using the dialogue in the drama, making Show burst into laughter at the airport.

Towards this kind of chemical reaction, Show's manager expresed: "Rainie is a very straightforward girl, and Show really admires girls like her, but their relationship is just like siblings." And as for Rainie visiting Show at work in the middle of the night, Show's manager explained: "That day was because Rainie's assistant came to find me, and after Rainie finished recording, she was also in the neighbourhood, so she came to visit. It's nothing really."

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Hug It Out

11/05/2009 01:13:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Earlier this week, we had Vanity Fair trying to make Robsten happen, and today Harper's Bazaar takes a shot at it.


The fashion mag definitely has the upper hand since they talked to both Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and also managed to have them pose for some steamy gothic romantic photos.

As for the interview itself, writer Laura Brown talked to Rob and Kristen separately in their side-by-side Vancouver hotel rooms and neither star confirmed or denied a relationship. In fact, there's no mention of the mag even asking for clarification—just this speculation:

"At the moment, there is only one thing anyone cares about regarding these two... Are they dating or what? Well...it's clear that Rob and Kristen are close—very close."

And that's it. From there, the rest of the article plays out like the hookup is a sure thing, with questions like "Who is the most romantic then?"


"I have a no-bulls--t detector," Kristen says, "so I'd have to say Rob is. I think romance is anything honest. As long as it's honest, it's so disarming."

Rob's answer: "Um, I don't know. What did Kristen say? No. I'm better at faking."

Obviously, that question was posed to each separately and not in the context of their own relationship, whatever it is. This assumption that Rob and Kristen are a thing without either one ever talking about it continues throughout the rest of the article. Kristen wears the pants! Rob's the competitive one! She calls him "Flippy" because he sucks at stunts!

At one point, Brown even makes light of the tabloids for reporting the two are engaged based on them calling each other "husband" and "wife" on set, which is just as thin as they're "close—very close."

Doesn't matter, though! As long as Rob will say, "She's a unique girl. You really don't meet many people like Kristen." And they'll pose for pictures like this:


The mystery's alive. And they've got two more movies to get through, so we probably won't be getting a real answer to the dating question for a while.

And that's fine. They really do look pretty together.


Microsoft says Windows 7 doing well so far

11/05/2009 01:11:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system has been doing well in the market since it launched nearly two weeks ago, Microsoft executives said Wednesday.

"We've heard positive things from our partners," said Steve Guggenheimer, vice president for OEM sales at Microsoft, on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei. He said it's too early to say what Windows 7 sales look like.

The much anticipated OS went to market on Oct. 22, installed in a range of desktop and laptop PCs. Manufacturers around the world had been working overtime to ready devices for the launch.

But the global recession has caused people to question how Windows 7 sales have been since the launch. Growth has returned to many countries, including a 3.5 percent increase in third quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the U.S., but many economists say a full recovery will take time.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the new OS will take over quickly among consumers, while in businesses he expects steady growth. "The overall response to Windows 7 has been positive," he said during a news conference.

Microsoft's Windows OSs have lost market share over the past several months to Apple, according to data tracker Net Applications. Microsoft's share of the OS market dropped to 92.55 percent at the end of October, compared to 93.66 percent in January. Apple's share has increased to 5.27 percent from 4.71 percent. Linux and other OSs make up the remainder of the market.

There have also been signs the PC industry is slowing down, which could hurt Windows 7.

Acer, the world's second largest PC vendor, complained of component shortages in the third quarter that hampered its ability to bring products to market. Executives at the company said their third quarter shipments would have been better had they had the right materials.

Most of the world's major PC contract manufacturers revised their shipment targets for the fourth quarter down compared to previous estimates, notes Jenny Lai, research analyst at CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, in a report from Monday. Guidance was cut by around 5 percent for the fourth quarter, she wrote. Shipments in the first quarter of next year could drop 10 percent to 15 percent, worse than expected, she noted.

"Most of the companies blame the target revision to component shortages, especially those in DDR2 (double data rate, second generation) memory, optical disk drive pick up heads and high-end MLCC capacitors," she wrote, adding that the "component shortage is real but in our view is not the only reason."

One additional reason is the expected launch of new Intel microprocessors in the first quarter, she said, noting that people might put off new PC purchases until the new chips are inside.

Michael Jackson Soundtrack Tops Album Chart

11/05/2009 01:11:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

The companion soundtrack to Michael Jackson's worldwide No. 1 movie claimed the top spot on the U.S. pop albums chart Wednesday with the fifth-best sales week this year.

"This Is It" sold 373,000 copies during the week ended November 1, according to Nielsen SoundScan, exceeding expectations of an opening in the 300,000 and 350,000 range.

It marks Jackson's sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and it arrives with his best sales week for an album since 1995's "HIStory" opened at No. 1 with 391,000 copies.

Jackson collected his first No. 1 with "Thriller" in 1983 and later notched toppers with "Bad," "Dangerous," "HIStory" and "Invincible." His 2003 greatest hits set "Number Ones" is the biggest seller in the United States this year.

The "This Is It" film, which consists of rehearsal footage for a planned residency in London, earned $104 million during its first weekend of worldwide release.

Elsewhere on the Billboard 200, reunited rockers Creed debuted at No. 2 with "Full Circle," which sold 110,000 copies. It's the band's first studio release since 2001, when "Weathered" started at No. 1 with 887,000 copies.

Taylor Swift's "Fearless" soared four places to No. 3 with 109,000 copies. The set was reissued in a "platinum" deluxe edition last week, with additional bonus tracks and a DVD.

Rod Stewart's latest covers set, "Soulbook," debuted at No. 4 with 84,000 copies. His previous release, "Still the Same ... Great American Rock Classics of Our Time," debuted at No. 1 in 2006 with 184,304 copies.

New holiday-themed releases claimed the next two spots: Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Night Castle" at No. 5 with 83,000 copies, and Sting's "If On A Winter's Night" at No. 6 with 80,000 copies.

Last week's No. 1, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack, fell to No. 8 with 69,000 copies. Michael Buble's former chart-topper "Crazy Love" dropped four to No. 7 with 71,000. Tim McGraw's "Southern Voice," slid seven to No. 9 with 59,000 in its second week, and Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3" was down six to No. 10 with 41,000.

Overall album sales rose 10% from last week to 6.31 million units, but were down 9% from the year-ago period. Year-to-date album sales stand at 287.6 million, down 13% compared to the same total at this point last year.

[Via Reuters]

5 Reasons why Ubuntu 9.10 is better than Windows 7

11/05/2009 01:10:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Okay, I'm a Linux guy you already know I'm going to come down in favor of Ubuntu 9.10.. But, I actually like Windows 7 as well. Which lead me to the question, why do I still prefer Linux?

1) Security

Windows 7 is no more secure than Windows has ever been. Is it better than Vista? Sure. Is it faster than XP? Not so much. Does it run a ton of popular applications? You betcha. But is Windows 7 still prone to an endless array of malware programs and stuck with a pre-Internet security model? Yes — yes, it is.

I'm able to keep a Windows PC safe. I run my own Windows PCs and servers and help with friends. While I'm good at computers, I'm sure anyone who's reasonably smart can manage it as well. But I'm lazy: I don't want to always be keeping my eye on Windows threats; I don't want to worry about being hacked while shopping online; and I don't want to be careful about avoiding clicking on a crooked link in yet another malicious e-mail letter.

With Linux, I can be lazy and safe.

2) Cheap

I'm also cheap. I use older computers until they fall apart. I have Ubuntu 9.10 working great on a 1.4GHz Pentium IV HP with 512MB of RAM — a machine I got back in 2000. I could no more get a decent version of Windows 7 (Home Premium or above) to run on that box than I could get my old Toyota RAV-4 to break 100 MPH on the highway.

But forget about the hardware: let's talk upgrade prices. You can get Windows 7 now quite cheaply. For example, Windows 7 Home Premium lists for $119.99 as an upgrade, but you can do a clean install for the same price. With some shopping around, you can easily get that version of Windows 7 for around $50. Compare that to Ubuntu, where the price is... uh... zero.

3) Easy upgrade

This is how I upgraded Ubuntu: I downloaded and burned a CD, booted up my Ubuntu system with it, and installed the new version. I was done. Total time, just short of an hour.

This link describes how I upgraded my XP PCs to Windows 7. It took me eight hours. Here's the short version: I had to use two additional programs — Windows Easy Transfer and LapLink's PCmover — besides my installation DVD. When I do this for a business, I replace Windows Easy Transfer with User State Migration Tool 4.0.

It isn't easy. Unless you love playing with technology for its own sake, don't do it. If you really want Windows 7, and you're currently using XP, buy a new Windows 7 PC. It's not only easier, but when you consider how much time the process takes, it's also cheaper.

The upgrade path from Vista is much easier, but it's still time-consuming: Microsoft itself estimates that it can take up to 20 hours.

4) Hardware compatibility

There is a persistent delusion that Linux only supports a limited set of peripherals. Wrong. Ubuntu Linux supports pretty much every piece of hardware out there. Yes, there are some items, especially graphic cards and chipsets, for which you may need to download a driver to get the most out of your graphics.

What does this have to do with comparing Windows 7 and Ubuntu? A lot. Even though Microsoft did a much better job of supporting hardware with Windows then they did with Vista, it still has gaps in supporting commonplace devices.

For example, there's the already infamous iPhone synchronization problem, which seems to be a combination of 64-bit Windows 7 and certain high-end motherboards that use Intel's P55 Express chipset. Or how about this one, which I find hard to believe but it's true: many HP printers still don't have Windows 7 drivers.

How can this be!? The last time I checked with IDC, HP still had 54% of the U.S. printer market. Amazing. Simply amazing.

5) Applications

Conventional wisdom is that Windows has the software advantage because it has more polished applications than Linux does. And it does. But how many of those do you use? Sure, if nothing but Adobe Photoshop will do, then you're not going to want to run Linux. Of course, my question to you then is why aren't you running Snow Leopard on a Mac — but that's neither here nor there.

But, with the exception of games, I don't see any reason to favor Windows. Ubuntu Linux comes with a free office suite, OpenOffice. If you want an office suite for Windows 7, you're going to be paying extra for it. Want an e-mail program? Outlook Express doesn't come with Windows anymore. Ubuntu has Evolution, the best e-mail and groupware client on the planet as far as I'm concerned. Need to back up your system? Both can do that, but only Ubuntu has its own online back-up service, Ubuntu One, with 2GB of storage.

Want a program that doesn't come with the operating system? Easy. Use the Ubuntu Software Center, Ubuntu's new one stop application "store." I put store in quotes because it's all free. With Windows, you know the drill. Go to your local store, poke around what's available on Download.com and Tucows, etc. etc. Just be sure to have your credit card ready since a good deal of Windows software isn't open source or free.

I don't expect really to convince any Windows fans out there to switch. What I do hope for though is to give you some food for thought. Give Ubuntu a try; there are many easy ways to try Linux without changing anything on your Windows PC. You may just fine that Ubuntu or another desktop Linux will do everything you want to do on a computer with a lot less trouble and money.

Microsoft says Windows 7 doing well so far

11/05/2009 01:09:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system has been doing well in the market since it launched nearly two weeks ago, Microsoft executives said Wednesday.

"We've heard positive things from our partners," said Steve Guggenheimer, vice president for OEM sales at Microsoft, on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei. He said it's too early to say what Windows 7 sales look like.

The much anticipated OS went to market on Oct. 22, installed in a range of desktop and laptop PCs. Manufacturers around the world had been working overtime to ready devices for the launch.

But the global recession has caused people to question how Windows 7 sales have been since the launch. Growth has returned to many countries, including a 3.5 percent increase in third quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the U.S., but many economists say a full recovery will take time.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the new OS will take over quickly among consumers, while in businesses he expects steady growth. "The overall response to Windows 7 has been positive," he said during a news conference.

Microsoft's Windows OSs have lost market share over the past several months to Apple, according to data tracker Net Applications. Microsoft's share of the OS market dropped to 92.55 percent at the end of October, compared to 93.66 percent in January. Apple's share has increased to 5.27 percent from 4.71 percent. Linux and other OSs make up the remainder of the market.

There have also been signs the PC industry is slowing down, which could hurt Windows 7.

Acer, the world's second largest PC vendor, complained of component shortages in the third quarter that hampered its ability to bring products to market. Executives at the company said their third quarter shipments would have been better had they had the right materials.

Most of the world's major PC contract manufacturers revised their shipment targets for the fourth quarter down compared to previous estimates, notes Jenny Lai, research analyst at CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, in a report from Monday. Guidance was cut by around 5 percent for the fourth quarter, she wrote. Shipments in the first quarter of next year could drop 10 percent to 15 percent, worse than expected, she noted.

"Most of the companies blame the target revision to component shortages, especially those in DDR2 (double data rate, second generation) memory, optical disk drive pick up heads and high-end MLCC capacitors," she wrote, adding that the "component shortage is real but in our view is not the only reason."

One additional reason is the expected launch of new Intel microprocessors in the first quarter, she said, noting that people might put off new PC purchases until the new chips are inside.

Law suit may lead to TVXQ split ; TVXQ: slave contract or ingratitude?

11/05/2009 01:08:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

The possibility of Korea's top idol group TVXQ disbanding is increasing, after their agency sent an apparent ultimatum to three of the five-member boy band to return to the agency.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, SM Entertainment chief Kim Young-min accused the three members -- Xiah, Hero, and Micky -- of having sued against the company out of greed to make more money.

Kim was speaking about the ongoing legal battle between the three members and the company. The three band members claim the contract signed between TVXQ and the management agency is unfair.

Last month, a lower court sided with the three and ruled that parts of the contract should be invalidated, paving the way for them to resume individual music and advertisement careers.

The agency vowed to bring the case to a higher court, saying the three must follow the contract as long as they continue to be part of TVXQ, and should get paid according to the current contract.

The other two members -- U-know and Max -- rendered their support for the management agency's claim, expressing hope that the other three would return quickly.

In their statement, the two stressed that all members have worked under the same contract with SM Entertainment for the past five years.

"We believe that TVXQ would not have been in existence without SM Entertainment, which created the group. We are also not willing to resume our career as TVXQ without our current agency," the statement said.

In a related movement, SM Entertainment chief Kim made it clear that although the court granted freedom to the three members to pursue individual activities, they are allowed to work as TVXQ only under SM.

The company demanded that the three members reply to its request to return to the agency by Nov. 12.

But it is widely viewed that the three are unlikely to continue to work with the management agency due to deep distrust between the two sides.

Mariah Carey Says She Was Emotionally and Mentally Abused

11/05/2009 01:08:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Mariah Carey says she sympathizes with Rihanna – who was assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown last February – because she herself has been the victim of emotional and mental abuse.

In an interview airing Wednesday night on CNN's Larry King Live, when asked how she reacted to the Rihanna news, Carey, 40, responds, "I was very sequestered, as you know, when I first started out ... I wasn't really allowed out of the house, so I can't imagine what she went through."

Yet when pressed if she had ever personally been the victim of abuse, Carey – who married singer Nick Cannon, 29, last year – does admit to painful episodes in a previous relationship.

"Emotionally, mentally, in other ways ... It's scary," she says. "You know, I just think you get into a situation and you feel locked in. If your situation is similar to one of the situations I've been in – which I won't harp on – for me, to really get out, it was difficult because there was a connection that was not only a marriage but a business thing, where the person was in control of my life."

In the interview, Carey also shoots down rumors that she's pregnant, telling King, "It would be the happiest thing in my life, but what I'm saying is right now with this movie [Precious] coming out, with the next few singles from the album and those things that I'm doing, I need to focus on that, because I cannot do the having-a-child thing halfway."

"I wouldn't be just like, 'Oh, I'm having a child, Yay! Let me get a nanny so I can give her the baby. Take the kid,' " she adds. "That doesn't work for me. I don't believe in that."

Microsoft 'neutered' UAC in Windows 7, says researcher

11/05/2009 01:07:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Blocks only 1 out of 8 Trojans from executing, claims Sophos

Microsoft Corp.'s decision to reduce the number of annoying security messages that Windows 7 delivers when users install software makes the new operating system more vulnerable to malware infection than Vista was, a researcher said today.

"UAC was neutered too much by Microsoft," argued Chester Wisniewski, a senior security adviser at Sophos PLC, talking about User Account Control (UAC), a Windows security feature that Microsoft debuted with Vista.

UAC prompts users for their consent before allowing a task such as the installation of a program or a device driver to take place. In an attempt to quash user complaints about the constant intrusions, Microsoft modified UAC so it appears less frequently in Windows 7.

That wasn't a good idea, said Wisniewski.

"We wanted to know if UAC was going to be effective in Windows 7," he said. "So we grabbed the next 10 [malware] samples that came in and tried them out."

The 10 samples, most of them Trojan horses, were loaded onto a clean Windows 7 PC that lacked antivirus software, simulating payloads that an actual exploit would deposit on a compromised computer. Wisniewski then ran each piece of malware -- as if a user had been duped into launching a file attachment or had surfed to a malicious site and been victimized by a drive-by attack and subsequent silent download.

Two of the 10 samples would not run under Windows 7 (probably because they were designed to execute on the far-more-common Windows XP and Vista), and of the remaining eight, only one triggered a UAC prompt, said Wisniewski.

He acknowledged that the test was just a quick-and-dirty exercise that didn't accurately portray how secure Windows 7 was overall -- or how well it would withstand attack if it was protected by even a basic antivirus tool like Microsoft's free Security Essentials. The point was to see how much Windows 7's reconfigured UAC would help block malware that made it past security software or got by the operating system's other defense mechanisms, like DEP (Data Execution Protection) and ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization).

"UAC is really not protecting users properly," Wisniewski said. "Frankly, people should turn it back into the more aggressive mode, like Vista," he said, referring to the fact that users have the ability to set the frequency of UAC alerts. "And if you find it annoying, you might just as well turn it off, because otherwise it's not doing any good."

UAC's effectiveness has been questioned before. Last February, for instance, a developer for a Virginia-based company that sells secure messaging software to the U.S. government and a well-known blogger claimed that a change to UAC 7 could be exploited by attackers to secretly disable the feature. Microsoft first denied that that aspect of the software was a bug, saying instead that it was by design. But it later backpedaled and promised to fix the problem.

27-year-old Hu Ge would like to act as Ariel Lin's father

11/05/2009 01:07:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Chinese actor Hu Ge has the smash hit drama series Chinese Paladin (based on the popular RPG video game series The Legend of Sword and Fairy) to thank for his ascent to fame, and he knows it. In an overseas phone interview, he poignantly said, "Without Chinese Paladin, there will not be Hu Ge."

He shared that he was particularly happy and touched at the stellar ratings and praises showered on the second installment of the serial, Chinese Paladin 3. He was also the lead actor in the first show, Chinese Paladin.

The 27-year-old laughed when he recalled the difficulties he had in 2005 filming Chinese Paladin 1. Still a student back then, Hu Ge was under a lot of pressure and was often rebuked by the director. Unlike the past, he knows how to better exercise his capabilities to its full potential and communicates better with people now.

Given his strong background in period drama, the actor easily shared that Linghu Chong from Louis Cha's wuxia novel, Laughing In The Wind was his favourite martial arts figure. However, when asked if he was keen on acting as the character, he said, "It has been shot so many times. Will people be keen to watch it still?"

"A lot of things require a force of inertia. Because I have garnered some results from filming period dramas, people will continue to invite you to act in them. I definitely hope to get the chance to try out different fields."

Unlike his peers, Hu Ge has a different outlook on undertaking idol drama series. "If it is about only a handsome man falling in love with a pretty woman, singing songs and dancing, that would be pointless. If the story and characters in the show have some substance, I will accept the role."

The boyish actor confessed that he seldom watches idol drama series and has only seen a few acted by Taiwanese actress, Ariel Lin. "That is because I know her better" The pair have collaborated as onscreen lovers in Fairy From Wonderland and The Legend of The Condor Heroes.

Hu Ge jokingly commented on his future chances of acting in an idol drama series with the latter and said, "I would have to act as her father!"

Chinese Paladin 3 will air on mio TV's Ch310 starting Nov 15.

Mozilla plans major Firefox interface overhaul

11/05/2009 01:05:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 1 Comment

Considers 'tab-on-top' look; denies it will 'Chrome-ify' Firefox (see image, below)


Mozilla plans to overhaul the look and feel of Firefox for Windows, a redesign that will resemble Google's Chrome in several key elements, according to screenshots and discussions on the open-source developer's Web site.

The visual refresh for Windows Vista and Windows 7 will likely take place in two stages. Part of the redesign will land in Firefox 3.7, a minor update now slated to ship in the first half of 2010, while the remaining pieces will wait for Firefox 4.0, a major revision tentatively set for release late next year.

Noting that Firefox's current Windows interface feels "dated and behind," Mozilla wants to spiff up Firefox 3.7 by embracing the "glass" style Microsoft debuted in Vista, moving to a more neutral color palette, hiding the menu bar, trimming the menu to just two items -- "Page" and "Tools" -- and combining "Stop" and "Reload" into one general-purpose button.

The decision to hide the menu bar, which Mozilla initially said would be replaced by a "ribbon"-style design similar to the often-derided look of Microsoft's Office 2007, raised a ruckus in September when users expressed their displeasure. Mozilla later clarified its planning documents, and denied it would "ribbonize" Firefox.

Firefox 4.0 will continue the interface changes. Current ideas for that 2010 release include giving users the option of moving the browser's tabs to the top of the application's display, a so-called "tab-on-top" look that other browsers, notably Chrome, have adopted.

Other possible interface changes in Firefox 4.0 would combine the browser's address and search bars -- another visual element within Chrome -- and remove the status bar at the bottom of the display.

The Firefox interface design plans have been spelled out in a long entry on Mozilla's wiki.

Mozilla preempted criticism of some of those moves by saying it is not copying Chrome in particular, or other browsers in general. "We are not trying to make Firefox look like any other browser," Mozilla stated in the planning document. "Firefox is Firefox. Similarities between browsers are unavoidable. They all have shared lineage and are based off of their predecessors. The basics of what a browser does and how it does it is already established. Browsers are all trying to solve the same problems so evolutionary ideas that are similar are inevitable."

In an earlier interview, Mike Beltzner, the director of Firefox, and Alex Faaborg, who works on the Mozilla interface design team, denied that the interface ideas were a way to "Chrome-ify" Firefox, but acknowledged that cross-pollination between browser designs was inevitable.

"I find that kind of talk very odd," said Beltzner, referring to the copying claims. "UI [user interface] designers copy from each other all the time." A contributing factor, he argued, is that there are now several browser makers being scrutinized by users. "Open source is a different model than traditional software development. It's much more open and collaborative. There are now two vendors, Mozilla and Google, sometimes three if you count Apple, which uses the open-source WebKit, talking about what they're doing in the open. That's going to cause more cross-pollination."

Firefox, he said, didn't mimic Microsoft's Internet Explorer look and feel when it debuted. "We innovated," Beltzner said. Now, however, things are different. "All the browser UI designers have been experimenting, [drawing] from each other," he said.

Faaborg denied that a browser's interface defined the application. "A visually unique look isn't what creates the product," Faaborg said. "It's the day-in, day-out things, the overall feel. People don't focus on the similarities, they're not going to dwell on them."

But like Beltzner, Faaborg also acknowledged that browsers are looking more alike. "There are only so many visual configurations to put [browser elements] in," said Faaborg.

Even if Firefox looks more like Chrome, or Chrome like Firefox, or Firefox like Safari, that doesn't change what Firefox is, said Beltzner. "Different browsers pick identities for themselves," he said.

Mozilla is also planning to revamp Firefox's interface for its Linux edition in the next two upgrades. The mock-ups show some of the same changes as Firefox on Windows, part of Mozilla's plan to make all platforms' interfaces more consistent. In Linux's Firefox 4.0, for example, the default look may be tabs-on-top.

Firefox on the Mac is a less-pressing interface problem, said Beltzner. "Users are not going to see as much change on the Mac. We'll try to make it fit in as seamlessly as possible with Mac OS X."

One long-term possibility for Firefox on the Mac might be to integrate some of the interface elements that Apple recently adopted for its iTunes music software. "As iTunes moves to more of a Web-style interface, it's starting to look very different from the rest of OS X," Beltzner added.

Firefox 3.6, which launched last Friday in beta, includes support for some Windows 7 interface elements, including Aero Peek and taskbar thumbnail previews. However, Mozilla dropped support for Windows 7's Jump Lists -- a feature that would have listed recently-visited sites when Firefox's icon is right-clicked in the taskbar -- from that version, citing development and timing issues.

Angelina Jolie's Salt Trailer...for Those of You Who Know Russian

11/05/2009 01:05:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

After much anticipation, the first trailer for Angelina Jolie's upcoming action flick, Salt, has been released and, well, we can't understand a damn thing anybody's saying.

Apparently the folks over at Columbia Pictures thought it would be a good idea to have the first look at the movie be a Russian-dubbed version, perhaps as a way to play up the whole "Is Angie's CIA officer really a Russian sleeper spy?" angle.

Then again, hearing the actress speaking in a foreign accent is a bit sexy and, let's face it, we don't exactly watch these kinds of movies for the stellar dialogue.

When it's all said and done, we just wanna see stuff blow up. And you certainly don't need a translator for that.

No more Ms Nice Girl

11/05/2009 01:04:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Popular Taiwanese actress Joe Chen became a well-known face in the region after starring in the successful idol drama, You're My Destiny, last year.

The 30-year-old acted as a quiet and good-hearted girl in the show, which is about an odd couple. It drew an average of 3.9 million viewers every week.

It also made her and co-star Ethan Juan the most sought-after actors for Taiwanese idol dramas.

In her latest show, Easy Fortune Happy Life, now showing on E City (StarHub Channel 56), Chen plays a country girl who meets a cold-hearted bad boy played by Blue Lan. He marries her to inherit a multi-billion-dollar family fortune.

The star, who often plays the role of the girl- next-door, wants to break out of this stereotype and play a killer or deaf-mute next. She feels such unconventional roles will give her a breakthrough in her career.

The chatty actress told Life! over the telephone from Taiwan recently: 'I want a difficult role because it will attract more attention and give me more credibility as an actress. I do not want to act in a love story, it is too boring.'

1. What was it like working with Blue Lan in Easy Fortune Happy Life?

To be honest, we did not have much chemistry. We were not close and had nothing much to talk about. But it was not difficult to work with him. He was a nice colleague but I guess I won't be good friends with him.

2. You're My Destiny achieved such high viewership ratings. Were you under pressure to achieve the same results for Easy Fortune Happy Life?

Not at all. In fact, the ratings for my new show are not even half of You're My Destiny. I am not too worried about ratings because they are just numbers. I am more concerned about whether I can jump out of the stereotypical role of the girl-next- door.

3. What problems did you face while acting in the idol drama and how did you overcome them?

I had problems filming the kissing scenes with Lan. As we did not have much chemistry, it felt a little awkward. Also, he liked to tilt his head at a certain angle when we filmed the scenes and I did not like to do that, it made me feel quite embarrassed.

4. What role do you want to tackle next and why?

Viewers like to watch me acting as a simple country girl. However, I have grown tired of such roles. I want a role that is not so perfect and not so cute. I want to play a deaf-mute or a schizophrenic killer.

My only condition is I do not want to be disfigured in the roles because it will make me ugly.

5. In your roles, you always seem to end up marrying a rich and handsome guy. What type of guys do you go for in real life?

I want a boyfriend who is kind, optimistic and nice to me. I guess it all depends on feelings because liking that person is the most important thing. In the past, I did not think I would date someone in the entertainment scene because if anyone found out about it, my career would be affected.

However, dating someone outside of the industry is difficult as well, because he would not understand me. It is very difficult for actors to fall in love.

6. So, what is your take on love?

I take the come-what-may approach. If it comes, it comes, I do not have to keep chasing after it. Also, I do not mind having a family without getting married. To me, getting married is just a ceremony and wedding preparations are very troublesome and tiring. As long as I have the mental and financial abilities, I would not mind raising my child without getting married.

7. You have been offered many movie roles. Why haven't you accepted any of them yet?

I want a longer time to think about my first movie role because essentially, there are only two hours to showcase my acting skills in a movie. It is either make or break. I am scared of choosing the wrong role. Like I said, I want a role that gives me a breakthrough, so I am still thinking about it.

8. Complete this sentence: If I could live my life all over again, I would...

Still be an actress. It is true that being an actress is not easy because it comes with a lot of expectations and pressure. However, it is my passion. I also love drawing and wanted to be a fashion designer in the past. But now, I guess I will stick to my original path of being an actress.

HTC HD2 starts shipping in Europe and Asia, will hit the US in 2010

11/05/2009 01:02:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments



Be still, our beating hearts! HTC has just pressed the "Go" button for European and Asian shipping of its latest object of desire, and it's served notice to American phone lovers that the HD2 is coming to them soon as well. Slated for a "major US carrier" some time "early 2010," it'll land squarely in the same time bracket as the XPERIA X10, which should lead to some really quite interesting decisions to be made, presumably by March 2010. The WinMo 6.5 device might be shipping now, but you'll have to wait at least until the 9th of November before you can spill your Euros for it, and we expect to see a flurry of pricing and contract information filling that short waiting time. Full PR after the break.

Apple's App Store: 100,000 Apps, But Most Are Unused

11/05/2009 01:02:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

This week, Apple is flexing to impress. The iPhone-maker officially announced its tightly controlled App Store has surpassed the 100,000 mark when it comes to available applications. A hundred thousand -- that's a lot of apps, especially compared to other platforms' far more limited offerings.

But, to revisit the age-old question, how much does size really matter? Does anyone actually need a selection of 100,000...of anything? In the case of the App Store, it appears that despite the impressive nature of its big and firm number, the way we use the catalog may count far more than any measurement.

Apple App Store Stats

The sobering statistics come courtesy of AppsFire, an app tracking and sharing service that caters to iPhone customers. AppsFire analyzed the 100,000-plus apps in Apple's App Store to see how many were actively installed on users' devices. Its conclusion: not very many.

According to AppsFire's analysis, by the time you hit the 1000th app (as far as popularity), you're looking at only 1.76 percent of users with the program installed. Once you pass the 2000th program, the number of active installs is barely a blip on the radar.

Yep -- the overwhelming majority of apps are simply sitting unused.


App Store Comparisons

All right, time for a reality check: Does this finding take anything away from the App Store's success? Not in the least. Apple's managed to build up an extraordinary array of high-quality offerings, and that's something no raw number can assess. But does the finding take a bit of steam out of the company's size-centric marketing push? You'd better believe it.

Bear in mind the timing of all of this: On Friday, Verizon's Motorola Droid hits stores nationwide. The phone is already being hyped as one of the first serious iPhone contenders -- but, despite its standout features, the size of the Droid-connected Android Market has been widely cited as a key limiting feature. The Android Market's 10,000 apps, many have suggested, simply can't compete with the App Store's 100k-strong selection.

Seeing how few of the App Store's 100,000 apps are actually in use certainly brings that idea into question.

Now, there's still the notion of quality: Do the Android apps hold a torch to the iPhone's when it comes to what they offer and how well they perform? That's a subjective question you'll have to answer for yourself. When it comes to sheer numbers, though, you may want to think twice before letting an extra zero make up your mind.

JR Raphael writes geek humor at eSarcasm, home to more than 100,000 tech-related jokes. He has never once had success using that as a pickup line.

Kim HyunJoong-SuAe to Act in Movie ‘You are Pet’

11/05/2009 01:01:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

‘Flower Boy’ Kim HyunJoong and SuAe from movie ‘The Sword With No Name’, will act in romantic comedy ‘You Are Pet’.

‘You Are Pet’ is a story from the 14-series comic in Japan which sold over 6million copies after its publication. It is about raising a boyfriend like a house pet.

It has been made into a 10-episode drama by Japan TBS station in 2003 with average viewership of 15% (equivalent to 30% in Korea), making a big hit at that time. In Japan, Matsumoto Jun aroused attention from the public for his role in this drama.

Kim HyunJoong’s role is the main character Kang InHo grows up in a female dominant environment, while learning ballet, he knows well what he can do to be able to be loved by females. Even though he is a promising classic ballet dancer getting recognition internationally, he ran away from home to the disappointment of his family.

SuAe’s character is Ji EunEe who is a reporter at a general media firm and takes on a job of a simultaneous translator after work. She had conflicts with her boss and was demoted to take care of monthly female fashion magazine instead. She started her cohabitant life with Kang InHo with ‘Owner and Pet’ relationship.

Production company Ludens said that this movie would likely to premier in April next year.

Riding on ‘Flower boy’ syndrome Kim HyunJoong and ‘pure and innocent beauty’ representative SuAe, they have gathered attention both locally and in Japan to see if they can drive this ‘Pet syndrome’.

Lindsay Lohan Plotting Revenge on "Loser" of a Father

11/05/2009 01:01:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Lindsay Lohan 's reached her breaking point with her daddy dearest.


Hours after one of her phone calls to Michael Lohan, apparently secretly recorded by her father, was leaked to ostensibly to show her fragile state, the Parent Trapper attacked on two fronts. She took to Twitter to denouce his actions and also ordered her attorney to seek some kind of legal means to get him out of her life.

"My fathers such a loser & those recordings are from years ago," she tweets. "To release personal things is foul enough, but to edit them. I used to think. That he needed the book for dummies on learning how to be a father. Haha-he's needs the book for dummies on HOW TO BE A MAN."

The recordings, published by Radar Online, find the Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen actress sobbing as she laments to her papa that "no one cares about me" and pours her heart out about problems in their family and her failed relationship with on-off gal-pal Samantha Ronson.

Michael Lohan released the dramatic tape to back up his repeated claims that the 23-year-old needs assistance.

But, according to Linday's lawyer, Michael's the one who's going to need help.

Lindsay's Santa Monica-based attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, tells E! News the starlet wants to "explore all legal options," including the possiblity of filing a criminal complaint against her father.

"Lindsay's concerned about recent actions of his," says Chapman. "She is concerned about defamatory statements about her own personal safety and has instructed me to explore all legal options available to her to get him to stop and to leave her alone."

At issue for Holley is when and where the elder Lohan may have taped the phone call, because that could determine whether she would be able to file a criminal report or merely a defamation or invasion of privacy suit.

"She just wants me to take a look at what appears to be escalating destructive behavior," the lawyer says "We're trying to figure out [where the tape was recorded] right now. If it was in California, the law is very clear. You can't do that.

"Both parties have to authorize it being recorded," says Chapman,"and there's no question Lindsay did not authorize it. If it happened here, he's in violation of the criminal law."

In any case, a petition for a restraining order is the most likely scenario at the moment and Holley says one could be filed by the end of the week.

And the family feud continues...

HP Envy 14 notebook tipped: ideal Core i5 candidate?

11/05/2009 01:01:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

HP’s Envy range promises MacBook style at mainstream prices, but is there a gap in-between the 13.1-inch Envy 13 and the 15-inch Envy 15? HP seem to think so; according to a support page on the company’s site there’s an Envy 14 on the horizon, which we’d presume would offer a 14-inch display.


The document lists two potential machines, currently unnamed beyond “Envy 14-1000″, and there’s no sign of any specifications regarding the hardware. The existing Envy 13 uses an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, while the Envy 15 gets a Core i7 chip; it’s possible that the Envy 14 could slot in-between with one of Intel’s new Mobile Core i5 processors, expected to arrive in Q1 2010.

Still, that’s all speculation, and so we’ll have to wait and see whether this pans out to a real product or gets cleaned up as sloppy support housekeeping on HP’s part.

BoA releases new single "Bump Bump!"

11/05/2009 01:00:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Pop singer BoA is set to release a new single titled "Bump Bump!" in Korea today, according to her agency on Wednesday.


SM Entertainment explained in the press release that it was the singer's 28th single Japan, produced by Verbal of Japanese hip-hop duo m-flo who also did featuring on the track. The single carries another track titled "IZM" and instrumental versions of the two songs.


"Bump", an uptempo dance tune, was used as the image song for Nihon TV's famous music show "Music Fighter" for October and in a commercial for website music.jp.

BoA, one of the most active K-pop stars on the international scene, debuted in 2000 with the album "ID; Peace B". She was discovered and trained by SM Entertainment, a major talent agency in Korea. She has released eight studio albums in Korea, six in Japan and made her U.S. debut in March 2009.

The singer is scheduled to give two Christmas performances in Japan -- the Tokyo concert will be held on December 4 and Osaka on December 5.

Nokia N900 to be released in U.S. next week! Nov. 14th, to be exact

11/05/2009 01:00:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

I know many of you have been waiting for Nokia N900 to finally hit the shops.

And were extremely disappointed, when Nokia delayed the release of N900 from October to November. Without even bothering to reveal more concrete release date, or even week.


Well, your wait is almost over. There are reports that Nokia N900 starts shipping in U.K. on Nov. 16th.

And now I have even better news for those, who have been eagerly awaiting Nokia’s N900 arrival to the United States.

Nokia N900 will be released in U.S. next week. On November 14th, to be exact, if the info on NewEgg website is accurate

As you can see, NewEgg is having a pretty nice discount on Nokia N900, and says that it’s being released on 11/14/2009 – that’s next Saturday.

The wait seems to be almost over. Let’s hope this is for real, and there will be no more last minute delays by Nokia.

Linda Chung's MV copied the film "love actually"

11/05/2009 12:58:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments



Linda Chung's new song which she composed it herself "Thinking of you day and night" has been getting very good reviews, but the plot in the music video has similarity to the 2003 film "Love Actually". Specially when Linda was going to tell her friend's boyfriend about it. The way she expressed herself was the same as in the film, even the phrase "To me, you are perfect" was copied. Linda said "I was told by my fans about it, but I never saw that film. I just did what the director had asked me to do, but the most important thing is I looked beautiful in the MV."

Acer Liquid A1 gets previewed: speedy Android but little customization

11/05/2009 12:58:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 may have been making the Android headlines this week, but it’s not the first smartphone running Google’s open-source OS to pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. That honor goes to the Acer Liquid A1 – though the company have apparently underclocked the CPU to 768MHz – set to be the first Snapdragon Android phone to reach consumers’ hands. Arne from the::unwired has been playing with the Liquid and has put together a “preview” review.


We’re still not entirely convinced by the Acer’s physical design, and we wish they’d done more to the smartphone’s UI too. Arne gives them credit for bundling the excellent RoadSync Exchange client - which goes some way to making up for their choice of Android 1.6 rather than 2.0, which has native Exchange support – along with some of their own apps for streaming media, improved local media control and social networking.

In the end, the Liquid A1 scores highly for its performance and its stability, though it lacks some features many consumers might reckon are becoming essential: an LED flash, for instance, and an integrated Twitter client. It’s expected to hit shelves across Europe within the next few weeks.

Romantic Guy 'YoungWoong Jaejoong' Shows Off His Charm Through Film

11/05/2009 12:57:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Global project 'Telecinema 7' was brought together by Japan's best writer and Korea's famous drama role caster along with Korea's top stars to create seven movies in total. <Heaven's Postman>, which was TVXQ's YoungWoong Jaejoong's first attempt at acting, is garnering much attention before it's screening date on the 12th of November; many are curious to see if he is as good on screen as he is on stage.


Romantic Fantasy <Heaven's Postman>

<Heaven's Postman>, which is included in 'Telecinema 7', is the romantic fantasy tale of the 14 day love between Hana (Han Hyo Joo), a woman who cannot forget her deceased lover, and Jejun (YoungWoong Jaejoong), a special man who delivers the letters people write to their deceased love ones.


Through his acting debut of Asia's top idol star TVXQ's YoungWoong Jaejoong, viewers will be able to see the soft and romantic side of him in his portrayal of Heaven's postman with a riddle-like mysteriousness about him.


The image of Heaven's postman YoungWoong Jaejoong standing in a green field where the letters are mailed to Heaven draws everyone's attention with his looks resembling that of a romance comic book character. A necklace with feather decorations and bland colored clothes add to his mysterious air and he has shown prospect of becoming a great actor with his warm gaze and steady flow of emotion directed towards those who cannot forget their deceased loved ones. He also showed a romantic charm never before seen on stage by showing a warm, caring side to Hana who is hurt by and despises her dead boyfriend.

His acting skills of showing a man who begins to love but cannot approach his lover, and his special charm that was shrouded by secrets will captivate the audience and the hearts of women.

<Heaven's Postman> showed that YoungWoong Jaejoong was as successful on screen as he was on the stage.

eviGroup Pad Standard UMPC drops 3G, gets cheaper

11/05/2009 12:57:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

eviGroup’s new 10.2-inch tablet, the Pad, went on sale in its premium 3G-toting form a week ago, but if the €599 plus €30 shipping ($932) sticker price is too rich for your blood they’ve a cheaper model available from today. The entry-level eviGroup Pad has the same specifications as the premium model but lacks 3G; it’s on sale from today for €549 (again with €30 shipping; $852).


Your money gets you a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 160GB hard-drive, 1GB of RAM and WiFi a/b/g; the battery is good for 3.5hrs of “normal” runtime and the Pad comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and the Seline10 voice-recognition app. eviGroup will sell you a software-free standard Pad for €489 ($720).

T.O.P Celebrates his 23rd!

11/05/2009 12:56:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

One of your favorite idols, Big Bang's T.O.P just celebrated his 23rd (22 in America) birthday and G-Dragon shared the photos from their party on his me2DAY.


That's a fancy little cake there, very profesh yeah? hah, maybe not, but at least they seem to have had a great time and it's the thought that counts.

In related news, last night, VIP's were able to get #happybdaytop onto Twitter's trending topics list, nabbing the 4th position - that's pretty impressive!


Microsoft Courier interface explained in more detail

11/05/2009 12:56:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments



Steve Ballmer might have no idea what's going on with the Microsoft Courier tablet, but a new set of documents leaked to Gizmodo certainly suggests the product is more than just a couple videos the boss-man hasn't seen. The images detail the Courier's unique user interface, which draws on everything from multitouch gestures to pen-based handwriting recognition. The heart of the interface appears to be the Smart Agenda, pictured above, which pulls together all your disparate content like calendar entries, emails, and to-dos into one unified starting place, described as "Cliff Notes" to the Pagestream "novel." The journal itself appears to be searchable by all kinds of data, including time, location, and tags, and it's all accessed by a special multi-button pen. There's also a camera and an offhand mention of "boos and subscriptions," so it sounds like whoever was dreaming this all up considered using the Courier as an ebook reader as well -- which would be totally sweet, given the types of annotations you could do. Of course, none of this is real yet, but we're hoping against hope -- please, Mr. Steve, make our holiday dreams come true?

Rainie Yang and Xiao Zhu's real kiss, ex-lover Xiao Gui gets jealous

11/05/2009 12:48:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Show Luo and Rainie Yang kiss for GTV's "Hi, My Sweetheart", has it turned into a real romance? Xiao Gui's role is extremely embarrassing as he is Xiao Zhu's best friend and also an ex-lover of Rainie Yang. He said he doesn't mind if they turn the acting into something real, "Am more concerned that if they get together or if they break up, everyone will come ask me about it, I don't want to be pushed into this forming a 3 way relationship."

Xiao Gui on GTV "Letter 1949" plays a character who is in a love triangle with Queenie Tai and Lin Yo Wei . During the 4 day press conference, some media reporters misunderstood him, thinking he had once dated Pei Lin, he laughed saying " Mines is Rainie, not Pei Lin.". Show and Rainie were photographed meeting up at a restaurant, how high is the probability that they are actually in love? Xiao Gui said " Maybe they are both absorbed into their roles from the drama, if it is real Xiao Zhu would tell me, but right at this moment I haven't heard anything."

Yesterday, Rainie was on 100% Entertainment, Xiao Zhu and Xiao Gui pretended to be best friends falling out because of love, hearing that the kiss scene in the drama was for real, Xiao Gui pretended to be jealous "When you kissed did you ever think about me?" making Rainie burst out in laughter.

Furthermore the original sex scene that revealed Lin Yo Wei's bum was leaked out, threats were made saying it wasn't suitable for publicity, so as a result GTV have had to re-coordinated, but nevertheless he still attended yesterday's press conference.

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