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Lady Gaga Tears Down For 8 million records worldwide

12/25/2009 12:42:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Lady Gaga broke down in tears as she received a plaque for selling 8 million records worldwide.


Decked in another dazzlingly weird outfit, the eccentric singer spilled her emotions after receiving the commemorative plaque at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles after the last of her three sold out performances at the venue.

Earlier in the week, she had reflected on her sudden rise to the top, saying: 'A year ago this month I was opening for Natasha Bedingfield and the New Kids on the Block - at this theatre.'



The singer declare herself a 'gothic Tinkerbell', in danger of dying unless her fans scream - and they have obliged during her ongoing Monster Ball world tour.

And she in turn, has put in a performance to remember - whether it's crawling on the floor in a glossy black bustier, or sleek in red vinyl and rhinestone glitter.

But strange as her routines have been, it would come as no surprise given her gig on The X Factor earlier this month, where she asked for a giant bathroom to be built onstage.


In the end, she did nothing worse than cavort with a host of dancers in the huge 4metre-long bath while performing her latest single, Bad Romance, but the production team behind the show had reason to be nervous.


Just a few months before, at the MTV Awards in New York in September, she had hung from the ceiling covered in fake blood after pretending to stab herself while performing her hit Paparazzi.

The 23-year-old is also notorious for performing in a conical bra that shoots out fireworks.


She also recently performed at the Royal Variety show dressed as Elizabeth I - in latex

Lady Gaga - real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta - is also known to insist on a closed set for rehearsals, with insiders revealing she does not want anyone to see her without her make-up on.


But there's no doubt that she's here to stay for now - and the gothic Tinkerbell's light is in no imminent danger of fading.

Merry Christmas from Emma Watson!

12/25/2009 11:54:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Christmas is a time for eggnog, family gatherings, turkey dinners and presents under the tree. It's also a time for some of our favorite young celebrities to send wishes to their fans. The Jonas Brothers sent out a family Christmas card earlier this week - and now Harry Potter star Emma Watson has a message for her followers, as well. Check it out below:



THG echoes every one of these sentiments. We hope you and your loved ones have a safe, happy holiday that's filled with gifts, hugs and online celebrity gossip reading!

A Very Lady Gaga Christmas

12/25/2009 11:54:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Most of us get into the Christmas spirit with egg nog, festive decorations around our homes, red and green sweaters and maybe the occasional Santa hat.

Lady Gaga, on the other hand ...

There's little else we really have to add to this photo. It's probably no surprise to her fans, who are well accustomed to the unique star's "fashion" sense.

After all, this is an artist who can and will pull off just about anything. Even those Lady Gaga hermaphrodite rumors seemed to increase her popularity.

So rather than paying tribute to the holiday season with Santa-themed attire, she opted for a reindeer look. We have to say, we kinda dig the antlers ...

Did Microsoft Redeem Itself in 2009?

12/25/2009 11:54:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Microsoft was the butt of jokes in 2008, lampooned for its inept Windows Vista and its refusal to admit anything was wrong, criticized for ongoing security lapses, and targeted for much carping from both Office 2007 users who didn't like the new Microsoft ribbon UI and Mac Office users frustrated by a buggy, even-less-capable version of what their Windows users got.

But 2009 marked a change in the company's fortunes -- and its reputation.

To combat the Vista woes, Microsoft stopped defending the OS and began aggressively marketing Windows 7, its replacement, with a broad public beta cycle that saw hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users try it more than a half-year before its formal release on Oct. 22.

And they generally liked it. InfoWorld's Enterprise Desktop blogger, Randall C. Kennedy -- a Windows devotee who's grown frustrated by Microsoft's decisions for several years and became the poster child for many Windows bashers -- has repeatedly praised the new Windows. In an InfoWorld Test Center review, Curtis Franklin Jr. judged that Windows 7 was almost as good as Mac OS X Snow Leopard -- and he meant it as strong praise, not faint damnation. Kennedy's Windows Pulse service shows that users are happy with Windows 7, adopting it strongly -- even XP users.

IT-oriented betas show lots of promise Within IT, Microsoft's reputation was not so hard hit; most businesses simply ignored Vista while coaxing more life out of their Windows XP systems as one response to the 2008-09 recession. Also, many in IT were excited about the new set of Windows server products that began rolling out in developer betas. Windows Server 2008 R2 got good marks from the InfoWorld Test Center, thanks to significant improvements to Hyper-V R2, Server Core, PowerShell scripting, and Terminal Services. It also sports nice "joined at the hip" features with Windows 7, such as BranchCache and AppLocker.

Exchange 2010 and SharePoint 2010 have also received high praise for their beta versions. InfoWorld's Enterprise Windows blogger, J. Peter Bruzzese, has loudly sung the praises and share the joy on these new servers, but he's by no means an exceptional fan. Office Web Apps also looks promising.

Even Office -- whose new Scenic Ribbon UI rang alarm bells among many longtime users -- has shrugged off the criticism and gained popularity. Most users don't seem to be bothered by the ribbon, and those who object to it either stayed with the previous version or figured out the secret to turning back on the missing menus in Office 2007.

And the new Office 2010 beta has gained strong praise from InfoWorld's Fatal Exception blogger Neil McAllister, a stickler for quality who finds that Microsoft's perennial claims that each new version was based on user feedback and testing were actually true in the case of Office 2010.

Still, all the positive feelings about the 2010 series are tempered with the many holes and flaws typical of beta software -- and a realization that Microsoft could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory if it doesn't address all the issues that beta testers forgive in the early stages.

Developers largely happy as well On the developer front, the forthcoming Visual Studio 2010 looks very compelling, according to Martin Heller, InfoWorld's Strategic Developer blogger. But as a beta, it has some major issues that need to be fixed for that promise to become reality, he notes.

Users now say that Silverlight 4 is becoming a mature platform for Microsoft's rich Internet application competitor to Adobe Flash. "It's really powerful," says Tatiana Rizzante, senior partner at integrator Reply in Italy. Still, although she says Silverlight offers better image treatment and navigation, Rizzante notes that Reply continues to use the better-established Flash technology.

Among Silverlight's majopr improvements are Webcam and microphone support, notes Matthew Ray, technical director at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. He believes Silverlight has progressed a long way in 22 months and that version 4 should give Flash a run for its money.

Sean Gordon, an architect in the strategy architecture emerging technology team at Chevron, is happy about Microsoft's Dublin technology. Dublin previously was positioned as application server extensions to Windows, providing a host for applications that use workflow or communications. Now, Dublin and Microsoft's Velocity project for distributed in-memory caching are being linked in Microsoft's Windows Server AppFabric technology, for deploying and managing applications spanning the server and cloud. "[AppFabric] sounds like a great solution for caching," says David Collins, a system consultant at the Unum life insurance company. "It provides [sort of] a caching layer between our services and data tier, which is something we could definitely use."

And Windows Azure, Microsoft's coming cloud development and hosting platform, has also began to get positive interest from developers.

Not everything is rosy There's no question that Microsoft bounced back in 2009, digging itself out of its deep Vista hole and rallying the IT community around its 2010 product plans.

But the issues across the 2010 products' beta versions mean that Microsoft has to deliver strong quality in the final versions to preserve that good feeling.

Meanwhile, there's still that contingent of users who hate the ribbon UI in Office and Windows 7, whom Microsoft has no intention of pleasing. And there are some developers disappointed with recent developments regarding Oslo, which recently was renamed SQL Server Modeling and repositioned more as a technology for use with the SQL Server databases. "We're really disappointed about its becoming just a data modeling application," says Chevron's Gordon. The original vision, he said, was modeling for application architecture, but that "seems to have gone by the wayside," so Chevron is "going to have to look elsewhere for modeling capabilities for architects and developers."

Well, you can't please everyone. At least Microsoft is now pleasing more than not.

Android Smartphones Expected to Shine in 2010

12/25/2009 11:53:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Android phones will make significant headway in the smartphone market and 4G service providers will zero in on apps in 2010.

Those are a couple of the hot enterprise mobility trends identified by a trio of analysts.

What's stopping mobile apps from taking the next step?

Their new report is called "Predictions 2010: Enterprise Mobility Accelerates Again," and here's a summary of their ideas:

1. The top tier mobile operators will be ramping up 4G network investments, and looking to business and vertical applications as high value offerings for users who appreciate much faster download speeds and reduced latencies.

2. Machine-to-machine (M2M) applications and services will be available from most top tier mobile carriers. And they're expecting a big uptick in business, fueled by the spread of IP-based wired and wireless networks into whole new areas. One big one: so-called green IT and the overall trend toward "smart grids" to manage and reduce electric demand. Consumer M2M applications will cover remote monitoring of homes, appliances, automobiles; enterprise M2M will take off in focused vertical markets like healthcare, energy, transportation.

3. Mobile devices based on the Google Android operating systems will take 10% of the mobile device market in 2010. According to Forrester that uptake will be due to "heavy industry support" from Qualcomm, Verizon, Motorola and Google, as well as the growing embrace of the open OS by developers.

4. About 15% of non-mobile employees in 2010 will pressure IT to support their personal mobile devices for work activities, compared to 10% currently, according to Forrester. Smartphone-class devices are becoming more available, affordable and widely purchased, and their users want easy access to easy-to-use email, calendars, and corporate portals. Will IT accommodate the trend or fight it?

5. Mobile "app stores" will become a key software distribution channel for small-medium businesses, in addition to consumers. If permitted, smartphone users with app store access will be searching, buying, downloading and using a growing wealth of tools like expense management, staff approval and other productivity applications.

6. To cost-effectively manage this growth in mobile users, devices, and data, IT will look to emerging cloud-based mobility services. Rather than creating in-house device management, deployments, end-user support and security management, IT will look to a new breed of third-party managed services for these functions. A related trend: cloud services that reach deeper into the enterprise to deliver information on demand to smartphones, and coordinate the user's identity and information across several devices and applications.

7. Without any specifics, Forrester expects enterprise mobility vendors, especially application vendors, to continue merging or going out of business. Service providers and systems integrators will invest more in mobility solutions for vertical markets.

"TVXQ has been monitored in private", Japanese media

12/25/2009 11:52:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Japanese media revealed that while filming the latest PV in December, members of TVXQ were being forced not to communicate with each other. SM Entertainment however responded that this is no evidence that they (SME) are monitoring the members in private.


On December 22, 2009, a Japanese weekly women magazine (Women's Self) stated that during the activities in Japan, the communication between TVXQ's has been forbidden and monitored since 3 of the members has filed a lawsuit against SME.

The magazine also wrote that during the activities in Japan, the members were unable to perform well as one. Though all of the members stayed in one room, there was a screen separating them into 3 - 2. Thus, this act seems to forbid interaction between members and to observe their actions. The same situation occurred while they were filming for the PV of their upcoming Japanese single, Break Out. Though the MV was filmed in Japan, there were staffs following them to disallow communication between members.

With regards to this, SME's representative replied via phone, "The article by Women's Self is purely rumour. It is creepy to have this thought that the members are being watched closely. Furthermore, we are in the generation where communication devices are everywhere. This could happen in the 1990s but in today's situation; monitoring them (TVXQ) is implausible and impossible. "

Tablet touchdown in 2010?

12/25/2009 11:52:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

So Steve Jobs is “extremely happy with the new tablet”. That’s always good news with the Apple chief (he’s apparently already killed it off twice). Furthermore, Apple is expected to make a major product announcement on Tuesday, January 26th in San Francisco, and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noted that “there is a 75 percent likelihood that Apple will have an event in January and a 50 percent chance that it will be held to launch the Apple Tablet”. Apple shares today are currently up and have hit a record high.

In the last decade we’ve had computers. Then entered phones designed to, in some cases, replace those computers. And then gadgets appeared and tried to replace those phones. So these tablet concepts that pop up every now and then shouldn’t actually create such a fuss, but for some reason, they do just that. These videos illustrate how beautiful and creative technology can be, but until a company actually fabricates the hardware for such an amazing experience to run on, these fantastic ideas are reduced to nothing but abstract fantasies, so to speak.

Enter the Apple Tablet (guesses on name?). Apple is legendary for transforming industries with its pioneering products that almost religiously embrace simplicity and ease of usage in their design ideology. However, Apple is also notoriously tight-lipped about new product launches and has not released any information regarding technical specifications at this current point, although there is a newly revealed patent application report from AppleInsider that claims it will possibly have multi-touch capabilities with tactile feedback, describing a surface which can “create physical bumps or dots for the user to feel when it is in keyboard mode”. There is practically no doubt that some kind of tablet-like device will be released in 2010; there are many waiting to see just how Apple takes on this challenge by revolutionizing and changing the way we interact with new media: websites, video, music, magazines, newspaper, and books that are all moving to digital format.

Google Voice Is Coming Back To The iPhone Via The Browser, Thanks To VoiceCentral

12/25/2009 11:52:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , 0 Comments

Last summer, when Apple pulled third-party Google Voice applications from the App Store, one of them was VoiceCentral. Apple’s subsequent rejection of the official Google Voice app spurred an FCC investigation, but Google Voice never made it to the app store and none of the other apps ever made it back in.

Well, that’s not stopping the developers behind VoiceCentral. They are bringing back their app to the iPhone via the browser. They call it the Black Swan edition. You can get on a waiting list to be on the private beta here. The app is completely browser-based but has the look and feel of a regular app, complete with a dialer, list of transcribed voicemails, and SMS messages.

When you dial a number, Google Voice simply makes a call to your iPhone while simultaneously calling the number of the person you are trying to reach, so you still pay for the voice minutes. But the appeal of having Google Voice on your iPhone is the ability to read transcribed voicemails, or play them, and avoid SMS charges by texting through Google Voice. (You cannot yet do all of these things when you access Google Voice via the iPhone’s browser directly).

The downside is that it cannot access your contact list on your iPhone through the browser. Although, VoiceCentral mimics the look and feel of the iPhone contact manager, you have to export your contacts to Google Voice first and access them that way. Another limitation is that the audio plays through the speaker instead of through the earpiece, but if you are using a pair of earphones that is not a problem.

VoiceCentral will probably be a paid app, but Apple won’t get any of the revenues since it is simply a mobile Website. It even offers offline caching and takes advantage of the HTML5 features of mobile Safari. This could very well be the future of mobile apps. As mobile browsers become more capable, more and more developers are going to ask themselves why bother with the limitations of the App Store and be at the mercy of Apple’s whims? And it won’t just be developers like VoiceCentral who have no other choice.

Below is a promotional video which shows some of the features of VoiceCentral’s Black Swan app. Remember, this is all happening in the browser:

Sony's PlayStation 3 Got Sales Boost From Final Fantasy XIII

12/25/2009 11:51:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Sony's PlayStation 3 got a boost from last week's launch of "Final Fantasy XIII" as Japanese consumers snapped up special-edition consoles to give the PS3 its best week since a relaunch several months ago, according to data released on Friday.

Sales of the PS3 totaled 237,086 units in the week of Dec. 14 of which about 92,000 units were a "Final Fantasy XIII" special edition offered by Sony, said Media Create. "Final Fantasy XIII," the latest installment in the long-running Final Fantasy series, launched on Dec. 17 so the figures cover its first four days on sale.

The weekly sales easily outpace those of recent weeks and are higher than those of early September when Sony relaunched the PlayStation 3 in a slimmer case and with a lower price tag. The PS3 sold 152,000 units during its relaunch week, according to Media Create.

The relaunch helped breath new life into the PlayStation 3 platform and push sales higher in the last three months. The PlayStation business remains a money loser for Sony but the company has targeted 2010 as the year it will return its gaming operations to profitability. The launch of games like "Final Fantasy XIII" plays an important role in this plan.

The "Final Fantasy XIII" software scored a major success for Square Enix with sales of just over 1.5 million copies over its first four days, said Media Create.

Sony is also attempting to widen the console's appeal.

Services such as movie rentals are being added to the PlayStation 3 and will be expanded next year with the addition of TV shows and other content. Sony has also pledged to offer a software update that will bring the capability to play back 3D content on Blu-ray Disc.

Sony's chief rival in the Japanese market, Nintendo, scored second place for the week. In the software chart its "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" ranked with 567,890 copies sold while the Wii console chalked up sales of 191,915 units, said Media Create.

Media Create estimates game software and hardware sales from point-of-sales system data gathered from around 3,000 retailers across the country.

Adam Senn Meets the Lohans

12/25/2009 11:51:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Adam Senn and Lindsay Lohan are heating up for the holidays. In related news, The City star has felt a burning sensation when he pees these days. Lindsay's new boy toy accompanied her to Ali Lohan's 16th birthday party this week.



Once there, "he had his arm around her, was kissing her and stuck by her side,” a source said. “She was glowing. She loves the attention she's getting from Adam and looked extremely pleased with herself for landing Adam — she had a giant smile on her face!"

Witnesses also claim that Ali and mother Dina got into a huge, public fight. But that's par for this troubled family's course. Adam Senn is totally tapping Samantha Ronson's sloppy seconds and Aaron Carter's sloppy 417ths.

As for Lohan and Senn?

"Adam and Lindsay took smoke breaks together away from the family and he was a total gentleman, holding the door open for her and letting her back walk into the restaurant before him,” the source added.

“Eventually everyone left and Adam and Lindsay stayed behind to spend some quiet time together. They were there until well after midnight, just the two of them. They are definitely having a good time together... she's spending a lot more time in New York than she normally does, just so that she can see him."

Hear that Adam? You owe the Big Apple a major apology.

Brittany Murphy Laid to Rest

12/25/2009 11:51:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Brittany Murphy was laid to rest Thursday evening in a private ceremony before family and friends at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

The actress, 32, died of apparent cardiac arrest in her and husband Simon Monjack's L.A. home early Sunday. The official cause of death will not be known for weeks pending toxicology results by the L.A. coroner.

"They want to keep the family service private, just family and close friends,” says a rep for her family. "A larger memorial service will take place early in the new year."

As a teenager, Murphy appeared in TV series, and later costarred in such films as Clueless and Drop Dead Gorgeous. She was due to appear in a Sylvester Stallone movie, The Expendables, set for release next year.

"She was one of the world's great actresses," her husband, whom she married in 2007, told PEOPLE this week. "She loved her job … along with her family and puppy. We were more blessed to have Brittany in our lives than she could have been to have us."

Gary Cao wins 6 awards in a row, proves his musical prowess

12/25/2009 11:50:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

2009’s last significant award ceremony, TVB8’s Golden Chart Awards was held on 12/20. Gary Cao was undoubtedly in the center of attention during the entire ceremony and also the biggest winner that night. He swept six awards, including “Best Golden Melody”, “Best Composition”, “Best Produced Song”, “Best Songwriter-Singer”, “Most Popular Male Singer” and last but not least, the Gold Award for “TVB8’s Golden Melody Charts”. These six awards not only fulfilled his wish made two years ago, they also proved Gary’s musical strengths and his wide popularity.

Near the end of the ceremony, Gary Cao was still nervous even though he had already won 5 awards. When he went up to claim the Gold Award, he was still very surprised. On stage, he said: “I was so nervous that my stomach still hurts.” When he was giving his thank-you speech, he was touched to the point of no words. His eyes were brimming with tears as he couldn’t stop but thank his Hong Kong fans for their support. “This time, winning these awards is another accomplishment to me. I really thank the Hong Kong music industry and media for giving me this confirmation!” He also hoped to come to the awards ceremony every year after; he wanted to come and participate even without winning any awards.

Ever since winning the Gold Award in 2006 for “TVB8’s Best Male Newcomer”, it can be said that Gary has always topped the charts. Every year, he has received more and more awards; he has already claimed “TVB8’s Best Songwriter-Singer” and the Gold Award for “TVB8’s Golden Melody” for three years in a row. His ability to win so many awards in consecutive years proves his performing and songwriting talents. Therefore, it is quite regular for singers to ask for a song from him. Zhang Yun Jing, who just won TVB8’s “Best Newcomer” award, went up to her idol to request for a song and hoping for a chance to work together. Even the host wanted a song from Gary.

Later when reporters asked for Gary’s plans for next year, he replied: “I’ll soon continue a concert tour and work hard at making music.” Before the awards ceremony, Gary had already held a news conference for his concert tour. It is confirmed that he will begin the tour on February 6, 2010 in Macau. Tickets will start selling on December 28th. Andy Lau’s sons Andox and box will have a dance battle with Gary during his concert. There will also be concert stops in California. At the same time, Gary is having talks about acting in a movie. He hopes to have a chance to portray an aggressive character so that everyone can see a different Gary Cao. As for the new year, he has already been confirmed to appear on Hunan TV’s New Year concert.

Gary Cao was overjoyed as he went back to the hotel. He humbly said that he would continue making good music in order to not disappoint everyone’s expectations. After overcoming many trials, Gary Cao has already dedicated much of his time to music. The rest of his time is spent towards his family. He hoped to share his joy with his family and friends and spend Christmas for the very first time in Hong Kong. Later on, he will continue his busy schedule.

Apple corporate laptop sales set to increase despite Windows 7 debut

12/25/2009 11:49:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Apple laptop sales hit a new high in planned corporate sales in November, despite the release of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, a new survey has found.

ChangeWave's latest corporate IT spending survey shows that 10 percent of companies plan to buy a Mac-branded laptop in the first quarter of 2010. That's a new high for Apple, up from the 9 percent total hit in August.

"To date, Windows 7 does not appear to be hurting Apple’s corporate Mac sales," the study said. "Rather, planned Mac buying has hit a new high in the latest survey."

In addition, 7 percent of respondents said they intend to buy a Mac desktop in the first quarter of 2010. That share has been static for most of 2009.

Interestingly, Mac desktop sales did not budge in the corporate world despite the introduction of the new iMac and business-oriented Mac mini server in October. In overall sales, the iMac was the top-selling desktop in October, and it, along with the new Mac minis, helped Apple's overall desktop sales to increase 74 percent year over year.

The corporate study came from the ChangeWave Alliance Research Network, a group of 25,000 business, technology and medical professionals who are said to work in leading companies of select industries. It surveyed a total of 1,753 corporate buyers.



Overall, the survey found a projected uptick in IT sales for the first quarter of 2010. 73 percent of respondents said they plan to buy a laptop to start the year, while 69 percent will invest in new desktops. Those levels are the highest they have been since February 2008.

Nearly one in five upgraders (19 percent) are doing so because of the release of Windows 7. Microsoft's latest operating system debuted in October, and was met with positive reviews. Apple beat Microsoft to market with the launch of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in August, which earned its own accolades as well.

The survey also found high user satisfaction with Windows 7. More than a third -- 37 percent -- said their company is very satisfied with the product, while 56 percent said they are somewhat satisfied. Only 4 percent were somewhat unsatisfied, and 3 percent very unsatisfied with Windows 7.

Samsung Corby Pop C3510 gets semi-official

12/25/2009 11:49:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

The cheaper-than-Corby Samsung Corby Pop C3510 is now kind of official, as it has just appeared on Samsung India’s website.


As we previously said, the Corby Pop C3510 resembles the original Corby, but it comes with fewer features.

The new phone offers a 2.8 inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth, FM radio, “multi Instant Messaging”, 1.3MP camera, and 22MB of internal memory. Its battery should provide a talk time of up to 8 hours.

Samsung Corby Pop C3510 should be soon available in India. We don’t have an exact release date, but we know its retail price: 7000 INR ($150).

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