'Avatar' lands $27 million at box office on Friday

Looks like Avatar is well on its way to an eye-popping opening weekend, banking an estimated $27 million at the box-office on Friday, according to Hollywood.com Box Office. (This includes the $3.5 million the 3-D epic made in midnight showings Thursday night.) Of course, this is nowhere near the biggest opening days of the year – The Twilight Saga: New Moon made $72 million on its first Friday, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen took in $62 million on its first Wednesday. But for some perspective, director James Cameron’s last film, the $600-million-grossing Titanic, made $28.6 million in its entire opening weekend.

It appears Avatar was also pretty much the only movie people went to see yesterday, as no other film made more than the $3.4 million The Princess and the Frog pulled in for the number two spot. The Blind Side caught third place with $3.1 million, Did You Hear About the Morgans? debuted at fourth with $2.4 million, and The Twilight Saga: New Moon grabbed fifth with $1.4 million. Check back here tomorrow for the full box office report.

Lady GaGa goes futuristic (and naked, again) for sexy new photographs

No one could ever accuse Lady GaGa of being the shy retiring type.


Being something of an attention-seeker has certainly stood the singer in good stead for her meteoric rise to fame this year.

So what better way to wrap up her successful 12 months than by taking her clothes off again - all in the name of art, of course.

The singer was snapped by acclaimed photographer David LaChapelle for a series of images that perfectly match her bizarre, sexy and outrageous personality.

And she even managed to persuade good friend Kanye West to take part, although he probably had no complaints.

Completely naked, GaGa lies in his arms with one hand covering her breast, as he stares zombie-like into the distance as a volcano rages behind them.



In what could be a subtle nod towards one of cinema's most iconic film posters, Gaga also goes futuristic Metropolis-style as she stands on crutches over sleeping naked people, dressed in an android-esque two-piece with matching helmet and arms.

In another, she lies as though fallen from the wheelchair, on a mirrored floor in a doll-like pose, with pink afro hair surrounded by pink flowers and a blue sky.



And of course, we all know that Lady GaGa is no wallflower and no photo shoot would be complete with just one naked picture.

In what could be a subtle dig at the world's press, the singer stares provocatively at the camera as newspaper headlines that scream scandal cover her modesty.

And in the last shot, New York-born GaGa, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is in her birthday suit once again, strapped to a generator as electricity shoots out of her hands, head and nether regions.



The shots feature in the super deluxe limited edition of her new album The Fame Monster which contains all the original tracks from her debut CD The Fame, plus eight new ones.

Not only does it come with a booklet containing these amazing pictures, but giving fans a very unusual and very weird treat, she has also included a lock of her hair.


Top 10 Smartphone Advances Of 2009

As smartphones further cemented their place in the enterprise, Apple, Motorola, Google Android, and RIM Blackberry vied for the spotlight.

The last 12 months have been an exciting time for smartphone fans, as major players have seemingly come back from the dead, applications played a bigger role than ever, and mobile computing continued to change. This list includes 10 of the biggest stories in the smartphone space, in no particular order.

1. Motorola Mounts A Comeback

Motorola's cell phone division has been doing so poorly over the last few years that the company planned to spin off the division into an independent company. While those plans were put on hold because of the global economic recession, Motorola still needed to find a solid direction for its handset division, as well as achieve a few hit devices.

Co-CEO Sanjay Jha appears to have found that direction, and the company is focusing on smartphones powered by the Google-backed Android operating system. Motorola introduced two Android-powered devices in 2009, and it plans to release multiple smartphones in 2010 with the Linux-based OS.

Christy Wyatt, Motorola's VP of software platforms, said the decision to hone in on Android will enable it to deliver handsets that offer great end-user experiences. Calling Android a "vehicle for innovation," Wyatt said Motorola wants to deeply customize its handsets in order to stand out from the crowd.

The Motorola Cliq showed off this customization with the MotoBlur service, which is an embedded service that aggregates a user's photos, contacts, and other information from places like Facebook, corporate e-mail accounts, Twitter, and other online sources.

But Motorola's biggest moment of 2009 came with the introduction of the Droid for Verizon Wireless. The handset is probably Motorola's most visually appealing device since the popular Razr, and it is the first smartphone to feature Android 2.0. The Droid has been a hit with consumers and, thanks to a strong multimedia campaign by Verizon Wireless, it is expected to sell more than a million units by the end of the year. While the Droid and the Cliq aren't enough to completely turn around the struggling handset division, these devices lay a solid foundation for the company that essentially invented the cell phone.

2. BlackBerry Hits The Mainstream

A typical BlackBerry user five years ago was a busy mobile professional who always needed access to corporate e-mail. While Research In Motion still has a dominant share with this type of user, BlackBerry smartphones have definitely gone mainstream. During its second quarter of 2009, the company said more than 80% of its new subscribers were non-enterprise users.

RIM has noticed this shift as well, and it is rolling out consumer-friendly devices like the BlackBerry Storm 2 and the low-cost BlackBerry Curve 8520 to capitalize on this market. It has also launched an application store and a social network to appeal to mainstream users, and RIM's growth potential in the casual market helped it top Fortune's list of the world's fastest-growing companies.

Competing in the casual space does represent multiple challenges though, as even the most die-hard BlackBerry fans have to admit RIM's user interface and multimedia capabilities lag behind companies like Apple. But RIM is confident that it can continue to deliver enterprise-grade services while still catering to the mainstream.

"It's much easier to go from enterprise to consumer because once you get the foundation correct, it's easy to turn off features if you want," said Mike Kirkup, RIM's director of developer relations. "Things like security and the basic building blocks that are required for businesses are difficult to add in after the fact."

3. Apple Revamps The iPhone

When Apple introduced the iPhone 3GS in June, most analysts saw it as an evolutionary upgrade, rather than a revolutionary improvement to the hardware. With a boosted processor, better camera, more storage space, and a digital compass, the iPhone 3GS was arguably a larger improvement from the previous version than the iPhone 3G was. Many IT departments also appreciated the hardware encryption and true support for ActiveSync policies because it made it easier for the iPhone 3GS to become a good corporate citizen.

But Apple's smartphones have never really been technologically above their competitors, as the first iPhone didn't have 3G access or a GPS chip. Apple has been wildly popular in the smartphone space because it continues to add new capabilities with new versions of the software. The iPhone OS 3.0 fixed multiple nagging holes in the platform like copy and paste, and it added features like universal search, voice memos, and remote wiping in conjunction with the MobileMe service. The latest OS also added more than 1,000 application programming interfaces for developers, and this opens the door for more innovative programs.

Apple has sold more than 21 million iPhone units, and has inked deals in new markets like China and South Korea. Thanks to 3.0 OS improvements, the device is also finding its way into corporate environments.

There are still a few questions about the iPhone's exclusivity in the United States though, as the deal with AT&T is reportedly set to end in 2010. Additionally, the competition has gotten a lot better since the debut of the original iPhone, and there are credible competitors on every major U.S. carrier.

Even with its potential hurdles, the iPhone appears to have strong momentum that shows little signs of slowing down.

4. Android Army Gathers Soldiers

For most of 2009, the idea of Android was more appealing than the devices. The T-Mobile G1 was a geek's dream but it lacked enterprise support and the form factor was hit or miss. In the second half of the year however, there has been a flood of attractive Android smartphones from the likes of HTC, Samsung, LG Electronics, Motorola, and smaller manufacturers. An Android phone can now be purchased on Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon. So far, AT&T has not committed to Android, but rumors suggest it will land a device sometime next year.

Google said it expected up to 20 Android-powered devices to be released by the end of 2009, and companies including Sony Ericsson and Asus-Garmin are expected to release Android smartphones in 2010. Developers also are taking Android seriously, as there are now more than 13,000 programs in the Android Market.

But some studies suggest content creators aren't very happy with Android because of low download volumes and trends that indicate Android users aren't likely to pay for apps.

The wide range of Android devices also potentially presents fragmentation problems, as some developers are already grumbling about having to optimize apps for a variety of screen sizes and form factors. Additionally, companies like HTC and Samsung are layering their own user interfaces of top of Android, and this could eventually lead to some compatibility issues.

For Google, the growing success of Android exposes more users to its ecosystem and potentially to its online advertising juggernaut. Enterprise mobility specialists like Good Technology and Zenprise also said there is growing interest from corporations wanting to use Android-powered smartphones.

While the 2.0 version boosted enterprise features, Android still lacks crucial enterprise necessities like hardware encryption and full ActiveSync policy support. Google said it plans to bake in more enterprise-friendly features in future versions of the mobile OS.

5. Mobile App Market Explodes

Mobile apps have been around nearly as long as smartphones, but the space has really heated up over the last year thanks to the success of Apple's App Store. Apple iPhone and iPod Touch owners have downloaded over 2 billion programs, and developers are flocking to the platform. It's particularly impressive considering Apple CEO Steve Jobs originally wanted all iPhone apps to be Web-based only.

While Apple is leading the space, the competition is not as far behind as it may seem. The Android Market now has more than 13,000 programs, and there are more than 20,000 Windows Mobile apps, although most of these aren't in the official store. RIM hasn't given any download details about its BlackBerry World, but it said it is pleased with the number of users and paid downloads. Nokia, Samsung, and Palm have also rolled out their own app stores, and many are trying to capitalize on the growing discomfort with Apple's role as gatekeeper for the App Store.

The surge in apps is creating multiple opportunities for developers, but these content creators are facing an increasingly fragmented world. With the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Palm, it is becoming increasingly difficult for developers to support all these platforms. Tools like Qt may help alleviate these problems, and Google is predicting that the Web may eventually be the ultimate mobile platform.

6. Microsoft Tries To Keep Pace

The consensus in many analyst circles is that Microsoft is a step behind its competitors in the smartphone space, but the company made multiple moves in 2009 to stay in the race. While it has lost overall market share, the growth of the smartphone market means more Windows Mobile smartphones were shipped in 2009 than in 2008.

The company released Windows Mobile 6.5 in October, and the software update added increased support for touchscreen interfaces, a refined user interface, and multiple features. The OS was widely panned in the tech press, but industry experts said the software was well-received in the enterprise market.

"People were looking forward to 6.5 because it allowed a lot more administrative capabilities," said Ahmed Datoo, VP of marketing for Zenprise. "While I can't really comment on the end-user side, I know it made Windows Mobile devices a lot easier to manage and IT folks greatly appreciated that."

The updated OS has also been well-received by some handset makers, as Microsoft expects more than 30 devices to have shipped by the end of the year from manufacturers like HTC, Samsung, LG Electronics, Toshiba, and others. Windows Mobile 6.5 also puts the platform on par with its competitors by adding Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which provides end users with an over-the-air way to buy, download, and install apps.

Microsoft's mobile OS is facing some stiff challenges though, as the enterprise space is clearly dominated by RIM, and Windows Mobile has not caught on with the mainstream users like the iPhone has. Motorola has also shunned the current version of Windows Mobile in favor of Android, and there's concern that other handset makers may follow suit.

Microsoft does have a strong community of developers in its favor, and the company is committed to developing and improving its mobile platform. However, some analysts believe it will not be able to make a significant turnaround until Windows Mobile 7, which is expected to be released in the second half of 2010.

7. Palm Becomes Relevant Again, Kind Of

Not too long ago, Palm owned the U.S. smartphone space, but as 2009 started the company was struggling mightily. While it still sold millions of Palm Centro handsets, RIM and Apple were handily outselling it in the high-end smartphone space. Expectations weren't very high when Palm said it would announce a new OS and smartphone during January's Consumer Electronics Show, but the company wowed the press with the introduction of webOS and the Palm Pre.

"Wow," said Ryan Block of gdgt.com after CES. "Well, that was kind of amazing, and I don't say that very often. Yes, we are lacking a LOT of really important details, but there's little doubt that Palm is back in a big way, and that this OS and device has the potential to make up for many of their missteps over the last five years."

The Pre, released about six months later, was met with solid reviews, but failed to produce blockbuster sales numbers. The rival iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS each sold over one million units in their opening weekends, and most analysts predict the Pre won't hit those numbers by the end of the year. Palm recently released a GSM version of the Pre for the European markets, and this should help goose sales.

The second webOS smartphone, the Pixi, was also released exclusively on Sprint in November, and the $100 device should be appealing to teenagers and first-time smartphone buyers.

But the smartphone space is increasingly being dominated by deep-pocketed rivals, and some analysts worry if Palm will have the resources to compete. For example, rival RIM also primarily makes smartphones, but it has nearly eight times the number of employees and significantly more revenue.

Palm has laid its bets on webOS, and CEO Jon Rubinstein has said the company is preparing multiple devices that should eventually get on more U.S. carriers. Palm's size also means it can be profitable even if it only manages to carve out a relatively small piece of the growing smartphone market.

8. Google Voice Can't Get On The iPhone

At first glance, Google Voice not being able to get into Apple's App Store may not seem like a big deal because the invite-only call forwarding service only has a few thousand users. But the process could be an indicator of what types of services and apps are allowed on users' smartphones in the future.

Google submitted its app to the App Store in June, but the program was never approved and Apple pulled a third-party Google Voice app because it duplicated existing functionality. The move drew criticism from multiple news publications, and it even drew the attention of the Federal Communications Commission.

Many suspected AT&T had a hand in the rejection because the app could potentially cause it to lose revenue with its ability to make cheap long-distance calls and send free text messages. AT&T denied any involvement in the App Store approval process, and Google pointed the finger at Apple.

"Apple's representatives informed Google that the Google Voice application was rejected because Apple believed the application duplicated the core dialer functionality of the iPhone," Google said in a letter to the FCC. "The Apple representatives indicated that the company did not want applications that could potentially replace such functionality."

While Apple has faced some flack for its approval process before, the Google Voice app was the most high-profile case it has seen. Apple has said it needs to have this vetting process in place to ensure the apps are secure, and to deliver a good experience for the end user. Competitors like the Android Market and Microsoft's app store routinely tout their more open standards for apps, although most major app stores have some form of security or content vetting.

For most mainstream users, the Google Voice blockage is merely inside baseball, and the App Store will continue to draw millions of downloads a year. But the FCC's public prodding shows smartphones are increasingly being seen as mobile computers, and questions remain about what rights end users have over what types of software they can use on these devices.

9. Symbian Marches Toward Open Source

Often forgotten in the U.S. markets, Symbian is still the most widely used smartphone OS in the world. About 18 months ago, Nokia purchased Symbian with the goal of spinning it into an open source OS.

Symbian is widely seen as a highly capable platform that has an aging user interface that lacks the visual panache of some of its competitors. The Symbian Foundation was created as an independent entity to turn the OS open source, and it has spent the last year looking to address some of the platform's perceived weaknesses.

The foundation is reworking the OS, and it is expected to have a refined user interface, as well as contributions from various foundation members including Qualcomm, AT&T, Nokia, MySpace, and others. It also has an aggressive plan to continually update the OS with new versions expected nearly every six months. As an open source OS, Symbian will be directly competing with Android. The foundation said Symbian won't be as tied to a single contributor's interests as much as Android could be aligned with Google's bottom line.

Some developers have also complained that it's too difficult to create apps for Symbian, particularly compared to Android or the iPhone. The foundation has launched a developer program called Symbian Horizon that aims to lower the barrier of entry and help content creators get their apps in as many virtual stores as possible.

Developers and handset makers can get a taste of what Symbian will look like from the foundation's beta site, and Sony Ericsson is expected to have the first handset with the open source Symbian. The foundation expects a plethora of Symbian devices to be released in 2010.

10. Computer Makers Jump Into The Smartphone Space

The mobile computing space is converging, and some of today's smartphones are as powerful as laptops were only a few years ago. This is causing various manufacturers to jump into new product categories in order to capitalize on this shift in computing. Apple has been the most successful so far, as its iPhone is continually among the best-selling smartphones, and it is widely seen as an innovator in the space.

Acer took the smartphone plunge in 2009, and it plans to release multiple devices in mature and emerging markets. After years of speculation and rumors, Dell also introduced a smartphone this year that is powered by Android. Dell is starting off in Brazil and China, but analysts expect it to enter the North American and European markets after it has refined its mobile division.

Some analysts warn that the smartphone space can be challenging because software development is crucial, and some computer makers are not adept at this.

"Many of these new entrants look at Apple's success and think they can get a piece of the pie," said Charles Golvin, analyst for Forrester Research. "But they're not Apple."

These companies face many challenges, but the potential audience is too much to ignore. For example, China Mobile alone has more than 500 million wireless subscribers, and many of these are expected to transition to smartphones over the next five years.

The shift in mobile computing is also impacting handset makers, as Nokia recently introduced a netbook powered by Windows 7. HTC is also reportedly mulling creating a laptop.

Nick Cheung 6 Best Actor awards winner based on "The Beast Stalker"

"The 53rd Asia Pacific Film Festival" was held last night in Kaohsiung. Nick Cheung again wins Best Actor depending on his role in "The Beast Stalker" becoming the Asia-Pacific Film King. Counting this one, this will be his 6th Best Actor award this year including Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards. Nick is the invincible hand winner of 2009. Asia-Pacific Film Queen went to Zhang Rong Rong for <Yang Yang>.

Nick received the Best Actor award from the hands of Adam Cheng, he was so excited that he danced on to the stage. Nick expressed on stage that becoming Asia-Pacific Film King again is the most perfect ending.

During the award presentation, there was a slight earthquake that occurred, the new Film Queen Zhang Rong Rong felt a sudden shake backstage. She smiled and said that she did not feel afraid because her eyes were focused on the handsome guy of SJ-M walking up and down in front of her. Because of her earthquake experience, she smiled and said that she cannot put her award in too high up places.

SNSD shakes it at their 1st Asia Tour Concert!



It looks like SNSD's First Asia Tour Concert was a huge success. Wait, what am I saying, 9 8 hot girls on stage shaking their thangs, who could possibly complain.

Entertainment Relay released some sweet footage of the concert along with an interview segment. Check it out, you won't be disappointed... well if you're a guy at least.



As and added bonus here's a quick fancam audio clip of a song called "Show me." Could this be a new song on their upcoming album?


Full Crazy Music Video "Hard" of Rihanna

Rihanna just released her new music video for "Hard," from her Rated R LP and featuring Young Jeez and it is H-O-T!

Rihanna shot the video for the clip over two days in Southern California, wearing several sexy, provocative and military-influenced outfits.

"Everything is surrounded around the idea of something military. We have tanks, we have troops, we've got helicopters, we've got explosions. We've got lots of cute outfits, lots of bullets. It's crazy!" Rihanna told MTV while shooting the music video.

Kevin Jonas Gets Married

In a setting fit for a Disney prince and his princess, Kevin Jonas married Danielle Deleasa Saturday night at Oheka Castle, a turn-of-the-century French-style chateau, on a sprawling estate in Long Island.

"We're so happy that we're finally married and we were able to share the special moment with family, friends and loved ones," the couple tells PEOPLE.

Though a blizzard threatened the festivities, the wedding attended by 400 family members and friends, including Demi Lovato, went forward as scheduled.

"The snow only made it look more like a winter wonderland," said Michael Russo, a celebrity event planner of Roses-n-Lollipops, who for Saturday's event created a fairytale forest under heated white tents, complete with 14-foot trees draped in hydrangeas and crystals made to look like icicles.

"Danielle looked like a princess," he said. When she walked down the aisle in her strapless tulle and Chantilly lace Vera Wang gown, "Kevin couldn't stop smiling," said Russo.

The bride was escorted down the aisle by her father, Thomas Deleasa. Danielle, a former hairdresser, wore a silk-and-crystal flower in her hair designed by Denise Leli, because she was wearing one when she met Kevin in the Bahamas 2007.

With his brothers, Joe and Nick serving as his best men, Kevin, 22, and Danielle, 23, recited traditional vows and exchanged Jacob & Co. wedding bands they designed for one another.

"Kevin has said many times he feels like he met his princess," says Russo. "To see them together you can feel the warmth and the love all around them. They are just perfect for each other."

After the ceremony, guests were to be treated to a smorgasbord of Caribbean, Asian and Italian – among other dishes.

Avatar Is Like The iPhone Of Movies

I’ve seen Avatar twice now, which is saying something when you’re talking about a nearly three hour movie that was released 36 hours ago. But we lined up on Thursday night for the first midnight showing. And then I saw it again yesterday at the TechCrunch screening in San Francisco.

What do I think? I think I’m going to go see it again this weekend at an IMAX theater. Because the movie is awesome in 3D, but I want to see it in 3D on a 50 ft by 70 ft screen. Movies will never be the same after Avatar. Like the iPhone in the mobile world, this movie disrupts an entire industry.

I didn’t know much about the movie until I read an article about it in Wired on a flight to Europe last week. A movie James Cameron has been working on since 1994, but he had to wait until technology caught up with his dream, and he invented a new kind of camera along the way.

The amazing thing about Avatar isn’t the story – it’s simply a passable tale that’s part Pocahontas, part Dances With Wolves. But it’s a story played by ten foot tall blue people with tails who fly around on miniature dragons and generally kick ass. And suddenly the special effects in every movie you’ve ever seen seem trite in comparison. Jurassic Park type special effects, which seemed so awesome in the 90s, are now laughably dated.

There’s no point in the movie where you can really tell the difference between real imagery and CGI. You become completely lost in the world of Pandora, the setting for Avatar. And if you thought Zoe Saldana was amazing in Star Trek earlier this year, wait until you see Avatar. An entire generation of teenagers are now going to have a lifelong crush on a huge blue woman with a tail named Neytiri.

The movie grossed just $27 million in its first day at the box office, which pales in comparison to Twilight Saga: New Moon ($72 million) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($62 million). But don’t forget that Cameron’s Titanic made just $28.6 million on opening weekend. And that movie did ok in the end.

Avatar, like Titanic, is one of those movies you’ll want to see over and over. But don’t wait for the DVD. This is a movie that has to be seen in 3D. And for that you have to go to the theater. Go see it, you’ll thank me later.

How Google could turn the Android Market into something huge

Do you have an Android device yet? If you do, you will know that the selection of apps in the Android Market is limited, and on average, their quality is lower than comparable iPhone apps.

Let’s think about this predicament, and figure out a way for Google to create an Android Market that can rival the App Store. The first step is to analyze why Apple is successful right now, and at the same time apply those things to Google’s Android Market. The second step is to go beyond what has made Apple successful.

What the App Store does right:
1) Encourages developers to charge for their applications
Why does this matter? Well, let’s imagine what would have happened if apps were largely free for iPhones. As a developer looking to make some money on a really cool app, it would be discouraging to see that most of the applications you would be competing against are free. In fact, if there was no way to compete against exclusively paid apps (like on the Android Market right now), I would be looking for another platform to develop on.

An easy way to view “Top Paid Apps” (and make that the default view) is a quick and dirty first step into making the Android a more desirable platform for developers.

2) Review applications thoroughly
Apple has come under fire recently over their very strict review processes — but it really is an important piece of the puzzle. Without a review process, the number of low quality apps (clutter) quickly becomes unmanageable, and makes it difficult to discover great apps. Part of the problem isn’t necessarily bad developers, it has to do with the tools Google gives developers — as I discuss in point #3.

Google has no review process right now at all — you can upload an app, and it’s immediately available online. That’s great for individual developers, but terrible for the community as a whole.

3) Give developers high quality controls to use in their applications
If you look at iPhone apps, there are a lot of common elements that you can find from app to app. These are called “controls”, and the quality of them are very high on the iPhone. In comparison, Android app controls are quite low quality, and at least for me, gives me a sense that applications are “lower quality”, even though it’s not necessarily the fault of the developer.

Google needs to spend some serious time and effort on their suite of controls they give to developers to enhance their appearance, and performance. They should also take cues from languages like XAML — an extremely powerful markup language that gives developers an amazing amount of flexibility.

4) Have a desktop client sync tool for music, videos and apps
Apple has iTunes — an amazing piece of software that makes buying and listening to music on your computer extremely easy. People who are used to purchasing $0.99 songs through this software don’t even think twice before buying apps for the same price.

Google needs a piece of software that does the same thing. An easy piece of software with hooks into Lala and Amazon, Vevo and YouTube for purchasing and organizing music, videos, and Android apps.

Now what can Google do that Apple isn’t doing to take things to the next level? Well, there are a couple of things that I think could work — here are some:

1) Pay the developers a monthly or yearly “bonus” if they can maintain an excellent user rating on their apps
This would do two things — keep quality app developers happy, and spur a whole new breed of quality applications in the market.

2) Give every application in the Android Market its own support site.
Google can reuse the same application they developed for their own internal support sites. It’s more of a Q&A system that will give developers invaluable feedback to improve their applications, and to even generate a community around them as well.

What do you think of the Android Market, and how would you improve it?

Jay Chou to release new album in February next year, wants to spend Chinese New Year with family

Having just finished his work in Hollywood, Jay Chou immediately set about the second round of promotion for "The Treasure Hunter", being the main attraction for this movie, not only did Jay Chou give strong support to director Zhu Yan Ping but he also revealed how the director is very forgetful in real life. Jay Chou hasn't taken many steps in the movie domain, but each of his works have been big hitters, when talking about the difference between Zhang Yi Mou and Zhu Yan Ping, Jay Chou said, Zhang Yi Mou is normally a bit solemn in life; Zhu Yan Ping on the other hand is very interesting, he usually likes to tell jokes, but because his memory isn't good, he would tell the same jokes a number of times.

Due to his part in "The Green Hornet", before this Jay Chou has been in America working, according to Jay Chou, during his time in America he wrote a lot of songs, a total of 15, he will pick 10 out of these 15 to make up a new album, it is estimated it will be released in February next year. Jay Chou said, he is an ambitious person, when he does something he has to do it to the best of his ability, the reason he is always "giving it his all" in both movies and music, is because he "cares about how the fans see him", he hopes he doesn't leave them disappointed.

Jay Chou said, Americans aren't as implicit as Chinese people, when he found out he was still an artist, the staff by him often asked him to sing, and ask for his CD to listen to, Jay Chou thinks this is a good thing, this can slowly give foreigners an understanding of Chinese music and culture. He revealed, when he first accepted "The Green Hornet" he was very hesitant, but afterwards he thought "I can delay making the album, but being in a Hollywood movie is very rare, if I don't take part in this movie, then foreigners won't know me, they wouldn't have come to learn Chinese either to listen to your music". Jay Chou's fighting performance in "The Treasure Hunter" shocked foreigners, to this Jay Chou proudly said, "The Chinese are still the best at fighting".

Towards the hot topic of discussion about going onto the "Spring Festival Gala", Jay Chou expressed he had just returned, he isn't sure whether he has received an invitation yet, for specific information you'll have to ask the company. But at the same time he expressed, he would like to spend the Spring Festival with his family. Being the male lead of a big movie in the Spring Festival period, Jay Chou said he won't compare himself with other male leads of Spring Festival movies, and he won't say to fans "Don't you go supporting someone else", "of course", Jay Chou joked, "I hope fans will be able to watch "The Treasure Hunter" first and then watch other movies".

G-Dragon, “Kim TaeHee or Kim SoYeon? It’s Kim SoYeon for me”

Big Bang leader GDragon has revealed that he would choose Kim SoYeon out of the 2 KBS drama ‘IRIS’ actress Kim TaeHee and Kim SoYeon.


He was on KBS 2TV ‘Entertainment Weekly’ aired on 19th December for an interview when the reporter asked him “Choose between Kim TaeHee and Kim Soyeon” and he chose Kim SoYeon without hesitation.

After that he shouting “Noona noona” and revealed that this is member SeungRi’s strategy to gaining noonas’ love.

Amy Winehouse Blake Fielder-Civil Engaged

Wino’s hoping love with Blake Incarcerated will be sweeter the second time around. Amy Winehouse’s ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, has confirmed that the exes are engaged to be married for a second time.

Blake and Amy eloped in Miami in May 2007. The couple divorced in July following a turbulent two-year marriage, which saw both succumb to heroin and crack addictions and Blake tossed in jail for a 2007 attack on a pub owner. The union ended with the singer admitting adultery in court papers and Blake impregnanting a woman he met in rehab. He has now confirmed reports they are engaged and planning to re-marry — in fact, they’re even considering starting a family.

Lordy…..

“We’re back together, and we’re engaged. Amy and I have talked about getting married again and starting a family – we both definitely want kids,” Blake divulged to London’s The Sun Saturday.

“This time we are doing things properly and hopefully that will help both our families come round to the idea. We’ve both been through a lot but we love each other the same as ever. We’ve tried to get on with our lives and to see other people, but it wasn’t the same. There’s no one like Amy. She will always be the love of my life.”

Blake is hopeful his second marriage to Amy will be successuful because they have both kicked their addictions: “We’re free of drugs now and we’re more responsible now. I’m 100 per cent clean and I’m not going to let anyone down. Amy said, ‘You inspire me.’ She’s proud of me for staying off drugs and she’s determined to do the same.”

Who'll Lead Record Sales, Susan Boyle or Taylor Swift?

Could Susan Boyle dethrone current queen Taylor Swift, currently at the top of 2009's album-sales charts?

With her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, shaking up the industry and selling like hotcakes – it's already sold 1.8 million units since launching in the U.S. on Nov. 24 – Boyle, 48, is poised to surpass the 2.7 million copies of Fearless that Swift, 20, has sold this year. (Since its release in November 2008, Fearless has sold a total of 4.8 million units.)

According to Billboard, Boyle – who has held the No. 1 sales spot for the past three weeks – stands a good chance of ruling the music roost if her strong sales hold up for the next couple of weeks.

Of course, Swift probably would be just fine without yet another addition to her many laurels this year – such as the eight Grammy nominations, five AMA awards, and sweeping the Country Music Association Awards.

As for overall sales this week, Andrea Bocelli’s My Christmas followed Boyle to take the No. 2 spot on the sales chart, followed by the third-place second soundtrack to the Fox TV hit Glee. Then came Swift's Fearless (No. 4), and, in descending order, Carrie Underwood's Play On, Lady Gaga's The Fame and Chris Brown's Graffiti (No. 7).

Motorola's XT701, MT710, and XT800 do Android for China's big three carriers



Even through the lean years, Moto's been making waves in China where it enjoys comparably high popularity -- it was one of the first major manufacturers to throw its support behind the nation's homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G tech, after all, and it's had a tendency to get the company's sexier WinMo smartphones like the SURF. On that note, it doesn't come as much of a surprise to see that they've now announced not one, not two, but three fairly attractive, high-end Android handsets specifically for duty in the Far East, one for each of China's big three carriers (each of which employs a different 3G technology, per the gub'mint's orders). Starting on the left, the XT701 is the phone that we'd believed to be the Sholes Tablet -- and considering that it uses HSPA for China Unicom's airwaves, we still have no reason to believe it couldn't make the leap across the Pacific. The MT710 (pictured center) is an OPhone for China Mobile and stands the least chance of making an unfettered jump to another continent since it uses a completely customized UI along with a positively China-only TD-SCDMA radio. Finally, the XT800 on the right looks like a Dell Mini 3i done right to us, rocking dual-mode GSM and EV-DO for China Telecom's rather heterogeneous network. We've got to hand it to Moto here: by all appearances, these 3.7-inch WVGA, 5 megapixel beasts could get Android fans drooling pretty much anywhere in the world, so let's get 'em over to Europe and America on the double, eh?

Full Specs of the China-bound, Android-powered Motorola XT701 and the XT800



One of our tipsters helped us uncover a gold mine of information on those two mysterious Motorola handsets that have been making random appearances all around the globe this week. The Motorola XT701 “Sholes Tablet” and the XT800 “Zeppelin” have appeared alongside the already announced Motorola MT710 on Motorola’s website in China. The XT701 still retains that funny hump and will feature:
Android 2.0 with full suite of Google applications
Cortex A8 quad-core processor
WLAN (WAPI / WIFI) 802.11 b / g
Support for 3G (WCDMA / HSDPA 10.2M / HSUPA 5.76M)
3.7-inch-wide touch-screen super FWVGA capacitance, 854X480 resolution, high-definition display
5 million pixel auto-focus camera, Xenon flash
Built-in gravity sensor, infrared proximity sensors, ambient light sensor model
Android Market support (pending)
aGPS
32GB Micro-SD(HC)
FM Stereo FM radio
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Fashion Touch Interface
3.5 mm headphone jack

Hit the jump for the specs of the Motorola XT800, a dual CDMA-EVDO/GSM handset headed to China Telecom.



Android 2.0 with full suite of Google applications
CDMA EVDO / GSM dual-network
3G network support, WIFI / WAPI free switching
3.7-inch high-definition resolution of 854×480
HDMI high-definition (720p) output
5 million pixel digital camera, auto focus, dual LED flash
Cortex TM – A8 multi-core processor
MOTO-specific Nicam -professional intelligent noise reduction
GPS
32GB Micro-SD
Electronic Compass & Support for gravity sensing
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
FM Stereo FM radio
Standard 3.5 mm headphone jack

Follow the read link for additional images and details on these two Motorola handsets.

Thanks, Vitala!

ICD Ultra 7-inch Tegra T20 Android tablet announced

ICD’s 15-inch Android Vega tablet had us curious enough about the company, and now they’ve surprised us even more by unveiling a second Android-based device. The ICD Ultra has a 7-inch touchscreen, integrated 3G, WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.1, and ike the Notion Ink smartpad we showed you yesterday, it uses an NVIDIA Tegra T20 chipset.



Where the Vega is intended for at-home use, serving up your internet browsing and media consumption, the Ultra has set its sights on being your mobile companion. Measuring 186 x 158 x 18 mm it’s reasonably compact, and ICD will be offering both resistive and capacitive touchscreen options running at either 800 x 480 or 1024 x 600.

The company reckons you’ll see at least 4hrs use from a full charge, and there’s a mini-HDMI port for hooking up your HDTV. All we’re left wondering is price; for a brief demo of the Ultra check out the video of Engadget’s Josh Topolsky showing it to NBC’s Jimmy Fallon below.






Ethan Ruan on rumors about girlfriend Tiffany Hsu and VanNess Wu

Ethan Ruan (Xiao Tian) was invited to Singapore for the spring collection preview of American brand MARC JACOBS. He responded to rumors that recently surfaced about his girlfriend Tiffany Hsu and her 'Autumn's Concerto' co-star Van Ness Wu. He described his relationship (with Hsu) as "about the same", and "It's best to leave love to fate, there's no need to worry too much. If it's mine then it's mine."

He said frankly that he was unfamiliar with "rival" Van Ness Wu. They have met twice before, and his impression of Wu is that he is very polite. When Xiao Tian's popularity peaked during his last idol drama, Tiffany Hsu was always asked to comment about his love life. Xiao Tian is now the one clarifying rumors for her. He complimented Tiffany Hsu's performance in 'Autumn's Concerto' and said "The tide has turned."

Xiao Tian accompanied Tiffany Hsu to the hot springs and enjoyed a light meal before he left for the trip. With their relationship going well, Xian Tian insists that he is more suitable to date people within showbiz. When asked about the possibility of working together? Xiao Tian said it is best not to. He is worried that they will end up like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, in which couples break up soon after they work together, "Haha, I have a bad premonition."

The day of the MARC JACOBS show also happened to be his 'Defeated Queen" co-star Cheryl Yang's birthday. Xiao Tian came empty-handed and offered himself as a gift instead. Cheryl Yang revealed that she has received many gifts since the start of the month. Her close friend Elva Hsiao has given her a handbag, but her favorite gift is a card full of well wishes. Cheryl Yang liked the new spring collection very much as she has always been a fan of color. Ethan Ruan praised this season's collection for being sexy, and very suitable for Cheryl Yang.

Jang GeunSeok reveals his special relationship with actress Park ShinHye

Actor Jang Geun Seok was on KBS 2TV ‘Jang GeunSeok Ideal Type World Cup special’ recently when he talked about the special relationship he had with actress Park Shin Hye, they both starred in recent drama ‘You’re Beautiful.


He said, “My mother has once said that she really like Park ShinHye, who lives in the same neighborhood. There was even once when she told me to try out with Park ShinHye as a couple.”

And when asked how it went, Jang Geun Seok, “We hit well together. And so my mother asked me to invite Park ShinHye to our house.”



He also revealed that he had really liked Ha JiWon when he was working with her on KBS drama ‘Hwang JinYi’.

He revealed during his appearance on that when he was filming for that drama, he really felt that he has fallen in love with her.

“When I was filming ‘Hwang JinYi’, it was the tough period of time after I broke up with my girlfriend. Under this situation, I really liked Ha JiWon noona during the drama filming.”

He also confessed, “Not just that, I felt really excited when I did the kiss scene with Sung Yuri noona in drama ‘Hong Gil Dong’.”

Meanwhile, during the show, Jang Geun Seok showed the nervous side of him while having to choose between actresses like Ha Ji Won and Sung Yuri for his ideal women.

The show will air on 20th December at 10.25pm.

Psystar isn't Closing, Attorney Says

Although Mac clone maker Psystar has turned off the lights at its Web site, the firm is not shutting down permanently, the company's lawyer said today.

Contrary to a report last week by the Dow Jones Newswire ( subscription required ), Psystar is not shutting down permanently, said K.A.D. Camara, of the Houston, Texas firm Camara & Sibley LLP.

Camara represents Psystar in a lawsuit the company filed in a Miami federal court last August that accuses Apple of violating several antitrust laws.

The Dow Jones story quoted Eugene Action, a Fresno, Calif. lawyer who represented Psystar in the lawsuit Apple filed with a San Francisco federal court in 2008. "They will not be in business," Action said, adding that Psystar President Rudy Pedraza would be "shutting things down immediately" by firing the company's eight employees.

However, Camara told Computerworld by e-mail today, "Regrettably, Mr. Action was misquoted in an early story that seems to have been picked up elsewhere," he said. "Psystar does not intend to shut down permanently."

Camara did not elaborate on what form Psystar would take in the future, or when it might return to the Web.

Action did not reply on Friday to a request for clarification of the remarks that Camara said had been misquoted.

The Dow Jones story was used as the source for several stories that repeated Action's claims, including posts on AppleInsider , MacNN and TG Daily .

Action said the Psystar shut-down was prompted by the injunction U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup awarded Apple on Tuesday. The injunction barred Psystar from selling computers with Apple's Mac OS X.

Alsup gave Psystar until midnight, Dec. 31, 2009, to comply with the injunction, and warned the company against dragging it feet. "Defendant must immediately begin this process, and take the quickest path to compliance," Alsup said in the order.

The shuttering of its Web site could be part of the path Psystar is taking to comply with the injunction. The clone maker was required to inform Apple of its plans, but it did not have to make those plans public.

Earlier this month, Psystar halted sales of Intel-based clones pre-loaded with Snow Leopard , and agreed to pay Apple approximately $2.7 million if it loses appeals it plans to file with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

At that time, Camara said that although Psystar was dropping its Mac OS X-loaded machines, it would continue to sell PCs with other operating systems, including Windows, and would also sell its $50 Rebel EFI software . Rebel EFI lets owners of generic PCs install and run Apple's Snow Leopard operating system.

By continuing to market Rebel EFI, Psystar was effectively shifting the responsibility of installing Mac OS X to customers. Psystar would sell Rebel EFI to customers, who would have to obtain a copy of Snow Leopard, then use Rebel EFI to install and run the operating system on a Psystar system.

"Customers can buy Rebel EFI, a machine from us or from Dell, and with Rebel EFI, install OS X on whatever computer they please," Camara said on Dec. 2.

Psystar's Web site , however, went dark yesterday. As of 7 p.m. ET Friday, it remained offline.

Psystar has several legal moves left to make, Camara said today. "Psystar will proceed to litigate the legality of Rebel EFI through the motion process described in Judge Alsup's order," Camara said. "Psystar will also proceed with its antitrust case in Miami."

Psystar and Apple have been tangling in court since July 2008, when Apple sued the clone maker over copyright and software licensing violations. Psystar first started selling Intel machines with Mac OS X pre-installed in April 2008 .

Twitter's DNS Provider Denies Hack

Hackers redirected Twitter.com's traffic to a rogue Web site for more than an hour early Friay by accessing its DNS records using an account assigned to Twitter, the company that manages Twitter's DNS (Domain Name System) servers said.

Twitter initially blamed the early-Friday hour-long blackout of its site on changes made to the company's DNS records, which act like a telephone directory to match the twitter.com domain name with the IP addresses used by its servers.

"Twitter's DNS records were temporarily compromised, but have now been fixed," the company said on its service status page at 2:30 a.m. ET. "We are looking into the underlying cause and will update with more information soon." The status page has not been revised with more information since then.

Twitter uses a New Hampshire firm, Dyn Inc., to manage its DNS records, which match Twitter's domain name (twitter.com, and numerous others) with the IP addresses of its servers.

Today, Dyn denied that its infrastructure had been hacked. Early Friday, Tom Daly, Dyn's chief technology officer, told the Washington Post it appeared someone changed Twitter's DNS records to point visitors to a different IP address using the proper account credentials assigned to Twitter.

"Someone logged in who purported to be a legitimate user of their [DNS] platform account and started making changes," Daly told the Post 's Brian Krebs . "It was not a failing on our systems whatsoever."

Kyle York, Dyn's vice president of marketing, echoed that in an interview with Computerworld . "No unauthenticated e-mail address associated with the account accessed the [Twitter] account," York maintained. "This was not an unauthorized breach of our system."

When asked whether the Twitter account had been used by someone authorized to do so, or if those account credentials had been pilfered by hackers, York declined to answer directly. "You'll have to read between the lines," he said. However, he did point to a tweet on Dyn's own Twitter feed as having the right explanation.

That tweet referenced a story on The Tech Herald , in which reporter Steve Ragan used the clues available, including Dyn's public statements, to theorize that someone compromised a Twitter staffer's e-mail account, presumably via malware that snuck onto the Twitter employee's computer, or through a standard phishing-style identity theft attack.

Once in control of the e-mail account, the hackers then used it to request a password reset for Twitter's account with Dyn, Ragan speculated. "The password reset process is completed, and at this point the person(s) posing as a Twitter staffer gets the reset password via e-mail," Ragan wrote.

That approach makes the most sense, agreed Ray Dickenson, chief technology officer at security vendor Authentium. "That's the most logical explanation," said Dickenson. "If someone obtained administrator credentials for Twitter's account with Dyn, or even if it was inside job, everything worked except the human element."

Dickenson said Dyn's claim that its servers had not been officially hacked is also likely true. "It's very difficult to directly hack a top-tier DNS provider," he said, noting that security at such firms is extremely tight. "You've got to believe that Twitter looked at the options, and made the right choice when it went with Dyn. Twitter's a huge site, and a huge brand."

Also in Dyn's favor, said Dickenson, is the company's contention that only Twitter's DNS records were altered, a fact that York stressed. "The fact that virtually all of Twitter's records were pointing to this defaced site, and that no other [Dyn] customers' records had been altered, corroborates what Dyn's saying."

According to York, Twitter will post a more detailed explanation of the cause of the outage later Friday. "It will fully exonerate us, that's one thing I can say," York said.

Twitter has been on shaky security ground for some time. Last August, determined distributed denial-of-service attacks knocked it offline for several hours. Two months before that, a hack of a URL-shortening service redirected millions of Twitter users to an unintended destination.

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