Angelina Jolie: Fidelity is not essential in relationship with Brad Pitt

Despite playing house with Brad Pitt for the past four years, Angelina Jolie has not abandoned her wild side entirely.


The actress, who had the reputation for being a wild child in her early 20s, says she doesn't think monogamy is required for a healthy relationship and admits her fights with Pitt can get physical.

"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship," she told Germany's Das Neue magazine. "It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards."

The 34-year-old, who has often denied sleeping with Pitt when he was still married to actress Jennifer Aniston, said that this freedom applies to all aspects of the couple's life together.

"Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together," she added. "We make sure that we never restrict each other."

The woman who was infamous for wearing a vial of ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton's blood also tells the magazine that her fights with Pitt can get violent.

"The sparks fly at home if the nice Brad fails to see that he's wrong and reacts in a defiant way. Then I can get so angry that I tear his shirt."

The Hollywood couple has been together since 2005 and has six children together, three of whom are biological.

They reportedly began their affair on the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" when Pitt was still married to Aniston. Though Jolie still maintains that she was not a homewrecker.

"To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive," she told Das Neue. "I could not look at myself in the morning, if I did that."

"Sherlock Holmes" beats out "Avatar" at box office

British director Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" set a Christmas Day sales record at the box office in North America, taking a narrow lead over last weekend's champ, "Avatar," according to early estimates released on Saturday.


"Sherlock Holmes," in which Robert Downey Jr. reinvents the ascetic Victorian sleuth as a dashing superhero, earned $24.9 million during its first day of release on Friday, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.

The record for a Christmas Day opening was set last year when "Marley and Me" launched with $14.4 million.

"Avatar" earned $23.5 million on Friday, taking the eight-day total for director James Cameron's costly 3-D extravaganza to $160.8 million, said 20th Century Fox.

Fox also released "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," which opened at No. 3 with $14.5 million. The family-oriented sequel got an early start on the holiday by opening on Wednesday, and its total stands at $41.3 million.

Betty Thomas directed the follow-up to the 2007 live-action animated hit that grossed more than $360 million worldwide.

Another new release, director Nancy Meyers' "It's Complicated," followed at No. 4 after earning $7.1 million during its first day on Friday. The Universal Pictures comedy stars Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

"Up in the Air" rose three places to No. 5 in its first weekend of national release, with Friday sales of $3.7 million. Director Jason Reitman's meditation on love and loneliness in corporate America has earned $16.4 million since Paramount Pictures released it in 15 theaters on December 4.

The studios will release data for the Friday-Sunday period on Sunday.

Microsoft, Intel to cede tablet market to Apple?

If the Apple tablet emerges as expected, this will be another big device market, following smartphones, that the PC industry cedes to Apple.

The writing is already on the wall already for Microsoft and smartphones, as spelled out in a previous post and as documented in shrinking market share numbers.

That's not to say that Microsoft, Compaq (later Hewlett-Packard), and Intel didn't have a chance. Remember the Compaq iPAQ PDA that debuted way back in 2000, powered by an Intel StrongARM chip running an early version of Windows Mobile?

That device had a lot of potential. The operative word being "potential." An iPAQ could have been an iPhone. Or at the very least an iPod. And everybody could be drooling over iPAQs today instead of iPhones. Or using iPAQs instead of BlackBerrys. But of course things didn't turn out that way.

Fast forward to 2010 (January?). Apple announces a tablet and suddenly everyone wants a tablet.

And what have Microsoft, Intel, HP, and others been offering in the interim years when they had every opportunity to come out with a blockbuster tablet? Unattractive, bulky, half-baked convertible laptops that, let's put it this way, have not taken the PC market by storm.

So, here's the $64,000 question, uh, make that the $64 billion question. Why can't the combined R&D smarts, market clout, and overall technological resources of Microsoft-Intel-HP-Dell come up with a thin, sexy compelling tablet and/or media pad that will turn heads and convince the unbelievers (the average why-would-I-need-something-like-that consumer) that a tablet is a must-have product?

Answer: Because Apple will.

Here's a not unlikely scenario. Apple brings out the tablet/media pad, wows U.S. (and world?) consumers, sells a ton of units, Microsoft-Intel-HP-Dell follow suit with slavishly copied devices that don't sell very well comparatively.

That's how the market for successful newfangled devices works these days. Apple creates the market and everyone else follows in a panic.

Then there's the Intel factor. Intel also wants to be a player in this space. But Intel and its coterie of PC makers can't get off the traditional-design laptop gravy train. Plus, as formidable a chipmaker as Intel is, it is still behind the Qualcomms and Texas Instruments of the world in building the power-efficient system-on-a-chip silicon that goes into smartphones and will likely go into tablets.

So, here's my question for Intel et al: How many people will be buying Netbooks or Intel-based MIDs (mobile Internet devices) in 2011 if Apple has a more compelling alternative? Answer: a lot less if the Apple tablet exists.

And add Asia-based device makers offering tablets using an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip to that. A number of these tablets are expected too in 2010. In fact, Nvidia is already doing what Intel should have finished doing a long time ago: make a competitive system-on-a-chip that powers small devices. Intel had the chance to make XScale (what StrongARM eventually became) into something big for small devices six years ago. But it didn't. And now Intel is trying to reinvent the wheel by squeezing the upcoming "Moorestown" Atom chip into smartphones.

Intel, I'm sure you think Moorestown is a great idea, but it's a little late. Apple beat you to it by about three years.

Google Nexus One Invite Only is No Way to Challenge the iPhone

Google will reportedly offer the Nexus One by invitation only, a strange strategy at a time when Android is fighting Apple's iPhone to gain market share. Why seed the Android 2.1-based Apple iPhone challenger to Google employees, with some of them leaking photos and giving gadget geeks opportunities to play with the phone, and then only selectively offer it? It's certainly not wise at a time when customers continue to weigh Android devices such as the Motorola Droid versus the iPhone. The market has not yet matured to the point where most consumers are strictly looking for the next Android or iPhone without mulling a device from the other company.

Engadget reported something Dec. 23 that frankly boggles the mind. Citing a tipster, the site claims Google's Nexus One smartphone will be available by invitation only.

EWEEK has already explored the idea that Google could let consumers purchase the Nexus One and pick their carrier over the Web, which many agreed is an attractive value proposition.

If Google plans to offer the device by invite-only at any point its begs the question: why? Why seed the Android 2.1-based Apple iPhone challenger to Google employees, some of whom gave gadget geeks opportunities to play with the phone, and then only selectively offer it?

Why whet appetites and not satisfy them? That is not the way a company trying to offer a successful Android phone should offer a market challenger. Engadget added:

"Our tipster doesn't have information on how those invites are going to be determined, other than the fact that it's Google doing the inviting -- if we had to guess, current registered developers are a strong possibility -- but the good news, we suppose, is that T-Mobile will apparently sell the phone directly at some to-be-determined point in the future."

Google declined to validate this point in an e-mail to eWEEK, but there is no good news there. It's been established that T-Mobile would offer the Nexus One for a couple weeks now.

The only logical explanation for why Google would take such an unusual approach to bringing the Nexus One to market would be that the device is in fact being sold unlocked and unsubsidized for its full $500 to $600. Perhaps Google wants to see how many people bite early in 2010 after the holiday season, but this is a risky gamble; offering a phone based on an open platform in an exclusive fashion is closed-minded.

It's certainly not wise at a time when customers continue to weigh Android devices such as the Motorola Droid versus the iPhone. The market has not yet matured to the point where most consumers are strictly looking for the next Android or iPhone without mulling a device from the other company. In other words, the iPhone may be leading in marketshare and mindshare, but it has not won the smartphone war.

If Google was to release the Nexus One with any degree of exclusivity it could be quite damaging to not only Android, but Google's reputation. But we digress, as Engadget also provided more useful specification on the Nexus One.

The device has a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and mechanical autofocus. It is thin, only 11.5 mm thick, and boasts 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, 4GB microSD, which is expandable to 32GB. There is also a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display that should rival the fine Droid screen. The device will support HSPA 900/1700/2100, 7.2Mbp, rendering it usable on T-Mobile 3G.

Also, see a five-minute video walk-through of the speedy Nexus One here, as well as this great hands-on review from Gizmodo, the best "review" yet of the device in the early going.

Everyone has heard how fast the Nexus One is, but Gizmodo confirmed this, and noted that there could be a 1GHz processor being inside, blowing away the 550MHz Arm A8 in the Droid.

Also, while the reviewer notes that the Nexus One screen is comparable to that of the Droid in size and resolution: "The colors are much more vibrant and the blacks are blacker, as evidenced by putting both side by side and hitting up various websites and loading various games."

That's a useful distinction for discerning buyers, assuming Google lets people buy the Nexus One. Are you listening Google?

Meanwhile, Simon Khalaf, CEO for mobile analytics firm Flurry told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that there will be 100,000 to 150,000 Android applications by the end of 2010.

The bad news for Android fans who love to stick it to the iPhone? The iPhone could have 300,000. The iPhone ecosystem boasts more than 100,000 apps, while the Android camp tops out around 16,000.

Customers win in that war. Why the quality of so many apps in either the Android or iPhone camp is questionable, the customers benefit from so many choices. At least, that's how the adage goes, if you cotton to it.

Eason Chan and Joey Yung were big winners in Metro Hit Music Award



Metro's Best Awards Ceremony 2009 was held on December 26 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Exhibition Hall. There were 49 award categories and 149 awards were distributed, broke the usual award record. Eason Chan, as expected did not disappoint his fans as he had won 6 awards. So was Joey Yung who had also snatched 6 awards. The two were that night's big winners. Charlene Choi had won 5 awards whilst Kay Tse, Mariam Yeung, Hins Cheung, Sherman Chung, Mr and Khalil Fong had 4 awards each. Andy Lau and Hacken Lee were absent but they were given an award each. Kate Tsui won this year's female Metro's newcomer award too.





Metro Radio Hits Awards 2009 Winners List



Metro Radio Song Awards

Eason Chan - 700 Years Later
Kay Tse - Song of the Year
Mr. - If I Were Eason Chan
Swing - I Have The Goods
Bibi Zhao - Doll
Justin Lo - B.O.K
Edmond Leung - Ding Noodle House
Kary Ng - Here We Are
Ivana Wong - The Moon Says
Miriam Yeung - The One
Joey Yung - My Own Book of Legends
Charlene Choi - Two Without One
Leo Ku - The Earth Is Dangerous
Vincy Chan - A Single Stroke
Sherman Chung - A Letter To Myself
Fiona Sit - Sweet
Jason Chan - You Hide I Hide
Chilam Cheung - You're Too Nice
Stephanie Cheng - Borrow
Juno Mak - Weak Water Three Thousand
Elanne Kong - Show You

Metro Radio Hits Airplay Song Award: If I were Eason Chan - Mr.
Metro Radio Hits Airplay Singer Award: Joey Yung
Metro Radio Hits Song of the Year: The Theory of Relativity - Hins Cheung

Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Female Awards: Keeva Mak, Cilla Lok, Enya Tse
Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Male Awards: Hung Kit, Phillip Wei, Vincent Wan
Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Songwriter Singer: Hinson Chou, Ava Yu
Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Overseas Singer: Viviana Chen, Lana Lo, Genie Zhuo
Metro Radio Hits Newcomer King (Female): Kate Tsui
Metro Radio Hits Newcomer King (Male): Aarif Lee
Metro Radio Hits Necomer Songwriter King (Female): Chita
Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Songwriter King (Male): Jonathon Wong
Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Overseas King - : Leung Man Yam

Metro Radio Hits Revison Songs:

Charlene Choi - I'm Sorry
A Letter To Myself - Sherman Chung
Today I Finally Know I'm Wrong - William Chan
I Rather It's Like This - Barry Ip

Metro Radio Hits Karaoke Songs:

Sherman Chung - A Letter To Myself
Vincy Chan - One Stroke
Fiona Sit - Sweet
Chilam Cheung - You're To Nice
Ding Noodle House - Edmond Leung
If Time Comes - Raymond Lam
Think of You Day & Night - Linda Chung
Even If The World Has No Fairy Tales - Janice Vidal

Metro Radio Hots Duet Songs:

My Memory Isn't Mine - Vincy Chan & Hai Ming Wei
A Clean Break - Chilam Cheung & Myolie Wu
Let's Get Married - Barry Ip & Percy Fan
You Are The Best In The World - Terence Siufay & Vivi Chen

Metro Radio Hits Dance Songs:

Enlarged - Hotcha
Excuse Me - Stephanie Cheng
Maze - Zhang Zhi Cheng
Metro Radio Hits Dance Singers: William Chan, Tat Dik, Elanne Kong
Metro Radio Hits Dance Group: Hotcha, Square

Metro Radio Hits Composer Songs:


Yes & No - Hins Cheung
Din Din Car - Fiona Sit
A.I.N.Y - G.E.M
Here We Are - Kary Ng
Lovin' You - Jason Chan
Apollo - Rubberband
Raymond Lam
Grandma - Hacken Lee

Metro Radio Hits Songwriter Album:

Love & Living - Hins Cheung
Wu Dang - Swing
Innately Dream - Juno Mak
Heroes -Denise Ho

Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Songwriter Album - Starting From Today - Aarif Lee
Metro Radio Hits Mandarin Album:
The Song Man - Andy Hui
Supermarket - Gary Cao
A Song For You - Irene A
Sunshine - Cheer Chen

Metro Radio Hits Album of the Year: H3M - Eason Chan

Metro Radio Hits Mandarin Songs:

Children of the Motherland - Joey Ying
Red Bean - Khalil Fong
Cockroach - Andy Hui
Most Happiest Thing - Leung Man Yam
Black Dress - Zhang Yun Jing
A Song For You - Irene A

Metro Radio Hits Mandarin Big Award: Gary Cao, Bibi Zhou
Metro Radio Hits Mandarin Group: Sodagreen

Metro Radio Hits Songwriter Singers: Justin Lo, Ivana Wong, Louis Cheung

Metro Radio Hits Popularity Singer (Female): Linda Chung
Metro Radio Hits Popularity Singer (Male): William Chan

Metro Radio Hits Best Live Performer: Kary Ng, G.E.M, Jason Chan
Metro Radio Hits Most Admired Female Singer: Kay Tse
Metro Radio Hits Most Admired Male Singer: Khalil Fong
Metro Radio Hits Most Admired Band: Mr.
Metro Radio Hits Most Admired Group: Fama
Metro Radio Hits Most Admired Song: A Letter To Myself - Sherman Chung

Metro Radio Hits Best Female: Joey Yung, Kay Tse, Miriam Yeung, Charlene Choi
Metro Radio Hits Best Male: Eason Chan, Hins Cheung, Leo Ku, Justin Lo
Metro Radio Hits Best Band: Mr., Rubberband, Dear Jane
Metro Radio Hits Best Group: Fama, Swing, New Banana Club

Metro Radio Hits Most Voted Newcomer King: Zhang Yun Jing
Metro Radio Hits Most Voted Breakthrough Act: Hai Ming Wei
Metro Radio Hits Most Voted Singer Award: Charlene Choi, Andy Hui, Bibi Zhou, Khalil Fong
Metro Radio Hits Most Voted Band: Sodagreen
Metro Radio Hits Most Voted Group: Lollipop
Metro Radio Hits Asia Singer Big Award: Leo Ku, Miriam Yeung, Hacken Lee
Metro Radio Hits Asia Songwriter Big Award: Khalil Fong, Gary Cao, Cheer Chen
Metro Radio Hits Asia Band Big Award: Sodagreen
Metro Radio Hits Stage Peformance Award: Kay Tse
Metro Radio Hits Global Singer Awards: Eason Chan, Joey Yung, Leo Ku, Miriam Yeung
Metro Radio Hits Global Song: 700 Years Later
Metro Radio Hits Most Popular Global Singer Big Award: Andy Lau
Metro Radio Hits Honorable Mention King Award: Eason Chan
Metro Radio Hits Honorable Mention Queen Award: Kay Tse
Ultimate 4 Channels Album Big Award - Outstanding Peformer :
Gold: Charlene Choi (Silver) G.E.M, (Bronze) Jason Chan

Wonder Girls rank on “100 Things to Watch in 2010” trends list

People Magazine, Billboard charts, Twitter, Google, Youtube... what CAN'T the Wonder Girls conquer?


To many Wonderfuls' pleasant surprise, the Wonder Girls appeared on a CNN article about JWT Intelligence's 100 Things to Watch in 2010 feature, taking the 99th spot on the alphabetically ranked list.

For those of you that don't know, JWT Intelligence is the trend-spotting branch of JWT, one of the world's largest advertising and communication businesses. The company created the "10 Trends for 2010" list by conducting extensive research throughout the year through "quantitative, qualitative and desk" methods as well as "input from more than 50 trendscouts around the world." Since this is coming from such an acclaimed business and is likely looked over by various other companies, it's quite an achievement for the girls to be listed in the top hundred things to check out next year.



"The trends explored here, which we believe have significant weight and momentum, are likely to be with us for a while," the official website reads.

With their album coming out next year, it's clear that the Wonder Girls have lots more to come and aren't going anywhere fast. Keep an eye out for more on allkpop and WG Spectacle, the top international fan forum for these gals around.

Thanks to tfankpop on Twitter for the tip!

Should You See Avatar? About 75 Percent Of People Who Tweet About It Think You Should

James Cameron’s visually-thrilling Avatar started out modestly for a mega-Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, pulling in only $27 million its first day at the box office (compared to $72 million for Twilight Saga: New Moon and $68 million for Transformers). But Avatar is the “iPhone of Movies,” as Michael likes to call it (I think he’s seen it four times already, and that is just what he’ll admit to on Yammer). He is not the only one enamored with the movie, which is now nearing $400 million in worldwide box office ticket sales.

If people who are Tweeting about the movie are any judge, about 75 percent of people are saying good things about it, according to Twitter Sentiment (a site which analyzes the sentiment of Tweets). You see roughly the same numbers on TweetFeel and other sentiment analysis sites.

Twitter is the new word of mouth. Twitter Sentiment counts 111,092 positive recent Tweets with the word “avatar,” compared to 37,434 negative ones. That is a pretty large sample size, and seems to be a fairly good proxy for overall sentiment. Some of these could be Tweets about avatars in general, but if you look at the actual Tweets, they are nearly all about the movie right now. Some representative Tweets:

@steveborn1: Avatar kicked ass. Best movie I have seen this year

@roguepuppet: @katiekillian avatar is amazing. Catch it in 3d if you can

@JuLiWong: Okay i agree with everyone, AVATAR is good. AWESOME actually! :)

@tubamasterj: i love avatar. why cant we live in a simple, beautiful world like pandora

@UzumundyRussuto: Avatar is way better the second time!!

@wam3studios: Avatar kicked ass………. Despite the acting

140 characters is really all you need for a movie review.

Beyonce's Single Ladies voted best video of the decade

Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) has been voted best music video of the decade.

The choreography in the black-and-white video sparked a dance craze and has been parodied by the likes of Justin Timberlake.

The second most popular video - voted for by fans of the music website Muzu.tv – was Fatboy Slim’s Weapon Of Choice, which featured Christopher Walken dancing in an empty hotel.

Madonna’s dancing in a pink leotard in Hung Up, came third, followed by Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, where she dances provocatively in a white hooded outfit.

Eminem’s Stan, which tells the story of an obsessive music fan, was voted fifth.

Brooke Mueller Drunk When She Called 911 On Husband Charlie Sheen

Actor Charlie Sheen, star of the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men, has been released from jail in the Colorado ski resort city of Aspen after his Christmas Day arrest on domestic violence charges — but the star’s wife is now singing a different tune.

Sheen, 44, was booked on felony charges of second-degree assault and menacing, and a misdemeanour charge of criminal mischief after his third wife, former real estate agent Brooke Mueller dialed 911 at 8:34 AM Christmas Day and claimed her husband had choked and shoved her, the Aspen Police Department said Friday.

However, in a bombshell development, TMZ reports that Mueller had been drinking heavily when she made the emergency call and subsequently recanted the abuse allegations against her husband.

Sheen and Mueller, 32, married in May 2008. She gave birth to twin sons in April. The actor was previously married to actress Denise Richards, who accused Sheen of erratic behavior and emotional abuse during their turbulent four year union.

Apple owns iSlate.com--the mystery deepens

The widely rumored Apple tablet, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, has just gotten a little more interesting.

Thanks to some crack reporting, MacRumors.com discovered that Apple purchased the domain for "islate.com" back in 2007.

What we know: islate.com was registered to Apple in 2007, through an intermediary (to disguise its true owner). At the moment, that domain doesn't seem to lead anywhere--and there are a few possible explanations. First, Apple bought it as a protective measure, to stop anyone else from using that "i" prefix with that particular word. Second, Apple had or has plans for either a product or a project by that name. Third, it's the tablet. Or fourth, it's Apple's take on Slate.com.

Maybe we'll find out just what that means in January, when the tablet is rumored to be announced.

Gift for Googlers: $2.3 billion

Like many companies, Google has a tradition of giving holiday presents to its employees--an Android phone last year, $1,000 in cash net of taxes the year before. This year, they got Google's soon-to-be-released phone.

The phone is not yet available to the public, so the gift could make some gadget aficionados jealous. But most Googlers got another holiday gift far more worthy of envy.

In March, Google allowed nearly all employees to swap their stock options for new ones. Since Google shares had plummeted from more than $740 in late 2007 to around $300 by early this year, about 85 percent of employees held options that were under water, and Google executives said they needed to do something nice to retain employees.

To say the company has thrived since is an understatement. Google's shares have been on a tear for most of the year. They crossed $600 earlier this week for the first time in nearly two years. On Thursday, they were trading at around $617. That's more than twice the value of early March, when the old options were swapped for new ones with a strike price of $308.57. March was also the low point for the broader stock market.

Since employees exchanged 7.6 million shares, the potential windfall to Google's work force is more than $2.3 billion, assuming stock prices stay at these levels as the options vest. That's more than $117,000 on average for each of Google's roughly 20,000 employees. (Not all employees participated in the exchange, so the windfall for those that did is actually higher, on average.)

The timing of the option exchange was nearly perfect. After dipping slightly below the exchange price, Google's shares have been on a steady climb for the remainder of the year.

Google initially estimated the cost of the exchange to shareholders would be about $460 million. In later filings, it said the charge was approximately $360 million.

Many shareholder advocates frown on this kind of option exchange, arguing, among other things, that it is not available to average shareholders. In this case, they might also say that with the sharp climb in Google shares, the exchange was not necessary in the first place. Employees, no doubt, will beg to differ.

Top 12 Sony PlayStation 3 Games

When U own a PS3, U don't need to think what games u should play, We'll Let you know Twelve titles that every PlayStation 3 owner should have in their collection. Sony's next-gen console is destined to be the home of some truly awe-inspiring games, and already has several gems to its credit. Here are the a dozen titles that every PlayStation 3 owner should have in their collection.

12. Street Fighter IV


Capcom had one steep mountain to climb with Street Fighter IV. How could they go back to the style of the industry-changing SFII while retaining the advanced gameplay from the underrated Street Fighter III? Would the series really stay in 2D? Somehow, the development team managed a perfect KO on all counts, as the new look and feel of SFIV showed that the World Warriors were still the baddest group in town. With a large mix of SFII veterans, new challengers and Alpha cameos, the fourth Street Fighter not only got a graphical overhaul, but the classic fireball-throwing action was whipped into shape so that players of all type could throw a good beatdown. Not only did SFIV outdo itself on the charts, it's also a damn good revival of the 2D fighting scene.

11. Dead Space


Visceral Games pretty much dethroned Capcom's longstanding undead-hunting horror franchise Resident Evil as the king of the survival-horror genre when they released their blood-curdling masterpiece in terror, Dead Space, which featured gruesome beasties reminiscent of those from John Carpenter's The Thing. It wasn't the fact that Dead Space approached survival-horror in an all-new way -- the game actually borrowed quite a bit from Resident Evil 4 in terms of the way you move around and combat enemies -- no, what made Dead Space so terrifying was the dread-soaked atmosphere, the mood of being alone in space, and the disgusting mutated passengers infesting the mining ship you're stuck on... passengers that only get grosser and more frightening as the game progresses.

10. LittleBigPlanet


Whether you choose to classify Media Molecule's delightful PlayStation 3-exclusive game as a user-generated content creator or just a platformer with some fresh ideas, LittleBigPlanet is still one of the most imaginative next-gen games out there. It's not often that modern games encourage the player to be creative, and LBP does a remarkable job of easing you into the creation process in way that has you putting together your own levels and content quickly, without overwhelming you. In fact, one of the reasons LittleBigPlanet has done so well for itself is because it's so accessible. Creating your own levels is a concept that sounds good on paper, but is something that rarely works without turning off the majority of gamers who don't have the patience to learn complicated user-creation tools. And LBP proved that user-creation can be user-friendly.

9. Fallout 3


Bethesda's Fallout 3 presented players with a truly unique concept: the ability to play the game more-or-less however they wanted, allowing for the game itself to play out in an almost infinite number of ways. Sure, this was done before with games like Grand Theft Auto, but never on this scale. You can play Fallout 3 conservatively, carrying out sidequests and trying your hardest to make the best decisions possible. Conversely, if you're in a particularly diabolical mood, you can just run around like a maniac, blowing away everyone you come across, be them good or evil, man or animal. Of course, massacring everyone you meet in the game comes with its price, such as receiving negative karma points and ultimately altering the ending of the game. If you own a next-gen console, do yourself a favor a take this gripping RPG-laced shooter for a ride.

8. Grand Theft Auto 4


Like Rock Band, Grand Theft Auto 4's a tossup. More opponents for online play is great, but we're big fans of better graphics, and the PS3 has an ever so slight edge in that department. Plus, the install cuts down on loading screens, which gives us more time to ram firetrucks into dirtbikes. As if that wasn't enough reason to count this game among the best PS3 titles, there's always the fact that you can push people in front of trains, saw pedestrians down with helicopter blades, and drive your date off a cliff. Be a menace!

7. Batman: Arkham Asylum


No one expected Batman: Arkham Asylum to be this good. In fact, no one expected it to be one of the most impressive and thrilling action games to ever hit the PlayStation 3. Thankfully, Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros./DC Comics made the invaluable choice of enlisting help from the best talent possible, including big-ticket names like Paul Dini, Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and of course, Mark Hamill. For once, a video game developer got everything right in a Batman game, and Rocksteady Studios even went as far as including The Joker as a playable character for PS3 gamers. But most rewarding was the fact that The Caped Crusader fought like a demon from Hell, his tools were inventive and intuitive, and the atmosphere of Arkham Island was as demented and dangerous as its inhabitants. Welcome back, Batman.

6. Killzone 2


The original Killzone may have failed to be the "Halo-killer" it was proclaimed to be, but after a painfully long time in development (the sequel was supposed to be a PS3 launch title), Guerilla Games finally delivered a first-person shooter that pushed its console to its boundaries, mostly in terms of graphics. Even stunningly polished shooters like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare lacked the level of detail displayed in Killzone 2's bleak, post-apocalyptic wastelands and war-scorched cities. As soon as you boot up Guerilla's killer FPS sequel, there's no ignoring the mind-blowing lengths that the team behind the game has gone to, bringing the battlefield to life. Killzone 2 remains to be one of the best next-gen shooters, and is one that's recommended for those who can appreciate its gritty science-fiction spin on the genre.

5. BioShock


Generally, gamers relish the ability to kill, maim and obliterate their enemies and obstacles, but BioShock changed the entire experience with solid, inventive gameplay and a new moral compass. This sleeper hit from 2K Games, a studio formerly known for high-profile but moderately successful strings of PC role-playing games (Jade Empire, Civilization IV, Sid Meier's Pirates), sold Xbox 360s and unintentionally became a flagship title for the console with little buildup and a huge amount of positive press. When it finally made the transition to the PlayStation 3, BioShock also came with a new "Survivor Mode" that made the already tough gameplay even harder than before, which was all the reason we needed to play the game just one more time.

4. Assassin's Creed 2


Ubisoft recreated the historic enviroment of 15th century Italy with the same care and attention to detail that Leonardo da Vinci gave to The Last Supper. No matter how well you can build a city, you almost can't do better than Assassin's Creed 2. Taking the stylish and addictive motions of the previous game's protagonist, the near-superhuman Altair, Assassin's Creed 2 went further towards the present with Ezio, the new assassin on the block. Noting both the forwards and backwards steps of the previous title, Ubisoft made sure that Ezio moves in ways that his predecessor never could: wading through waterways, stealing his opponents' weapons, and even flying through the skies with the help of some handy contraptions.

3. Modern Warfare 2


Gut-wrenching moments and fast-paced FPS action were the bread and butter of the first Modern Warfare. After taking the Normandy Invasion as far as it could go, Infinity Ward took their coveted franchise into the modern era with amazing results. Since then, Modern Warfare 2 has proved to be a more-than-worthy successor to 2007's Game of the Year, upping the ante with an insanely gripping story, even better multiplayer, and enough controversial decisions to jar any player back into reality, even if just for a split second. Even if you never go back to the solo missions after the first time around, playing online is so deep and incredibly well-polished, you'll have little to no excuse to get tired of Modern Warfare 2.

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves


When you call any title the video game equivalent of Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know that the action has to be impressively over-the-top, the characters must evoke unmistakeable charm, and the experience has to rival everything else of its genre. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves does exactly that, bringing back a more flawed, more human Nathan Drake, who's in a bigger adventure than even he can handle. Even with the memorable Hollywood-style action-adventure in the bag, the multiplayer proves to be a showcase for the vastly improved gameplay. With a cover system that feels refreshingly more natural and spontaneous than Gears of War, and explosive weapons that can tear down the walls around your character, you'll have your hands full trying to stay ahead of the action.

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots


Gamers, this is the one. If you're planning to buy a PlayStation 3, or you already have one, Metal Gear Solid 4 should be at the top of your list. It's an epic stealth-shooter with jaw-dropping graphics and a massively detailed storyline. Sure, the 20-minute cinema scenes can drag on a bit too long, but the game's quality shines through in every aspect of its production. Unlockable rewards, 70+ weapons, and a well-designed online mode will keep you playing months after you've completed the core single-player experience. If you've ever loved a shooter, a stealth game, or an action game, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a can't-miss title.

More Games For PS3 U Can Try Beside 12 Games above like Need For Speed Shift, PES 2010, Final Fantasy XIII, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Left 4 Dead 2,.....

Action trailer for “14 Blades” out, Wu Chun still looks like pirate

It has been well over a month since there have been major developments on news of the all-star casted “14 Blades” action flick, but that has changed with the release of an “action” trailer of the Chinese period flick was released online yesterday. What makes this particular trailer an “action” one is the lack any of voiceover describing the plot or hyping up the movie’s ‘epic-ness’ that is one usually expects to hear for blockbuster-caliber action movies. Sorry, no Mr. Movie Voice this time around.

Instead, the new trailer basically shows highlights of the movie without really giving too much away. We get to see short snippets of each of the major cast members of the movie, ranging from veteran action star Donnie Yen in the beginning, wide-eyed beauty Vicki Zhao around the middle, and international superstar actor Sammo Hung near the end. And there’s Wu Chun, who’s sporting the braided hair and bandana look that still looks more at home on the set of “Pirates of the Caribbean” than a Chinese period flick such as “14 Blades”.

Since this ‘action’ trailer is simply preview of scenes from the movie stringed together, expect to see a more traditional trailer to be shown in movie theaters soon. In the mean time, enjoy watching Donnie Yen kicking butt and some Wu Chun eye candy in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber yiuyan923!

TVXQ’s Changmin in contract dispute with SM Entertainment?

On the December 26th episode of Entertainment Relay, they had a special segment on "2009's biggest news/issue maker."


TVXQ earned the title of being the biggest issue maker of the year, but on the captions, they listed Xiah Junsu, Micky Yoochun and Changmin as the three members of TVXQ who are involved in a contract dispute with their record label, SM Entertainment.

Fans quickly spotted this error, and we all know Changmin is not involved in the dispute, but rather, Jaejoong. It goes without saying that fans were extremely angered and blew up the Entertainment Relay message boards, demanding apologies and stating their disapproval of the network and their careless mistake.

Will Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson Be Killed Off In “Spider-Man 4?”

Kirsten Dunst’s red-headed alter-ego could met her demise in the next eagerly-awaited edition of the Spider-Man franchise, industry insiders claim.


Mary-Jane Watson will be killed off in 2011’s Spider-Man 4 and replaced with a character played by Oscar-nominated star Anne Hathaway as Peter Parker’s new love interest, movie spies tell Hollywood.com.

“The plan is for her character to be written out, probably by dying. Anne will take over as Peter Parker’s new love interest for this project and for ‘Spider-Man 5′ and 6 which are being written now,” whispers a source. “Anne’s in Los Angeles doing a lot of meetings on the movie, because filming is right around the corner,” the tattle adds.

10 Things You Must Do With Your New Windows 7 PC



If you got a new Windows 7 laptop for Christmas, you are truly in luck. But here are 10 things you need to get the most out of it.

1. Take a Spin Around the New Interface: Still glassy, glossy and damn near glittery, the Windows 7 interface is actually a major progression for Microsoft: It's not just easy to use, it's a whole new paradigm with the revamped taskbar and Aero Peek making multitasking with multiple windows more natural than ever.

2. Turn Off Everything You Don't Need: While Windows 7 is missing some odd things, like a mail application, the flip side is that you can turn off pretty much every major feature you don't want. Internet Exploder 8? Gone. Windows Media Player? Poof. And if you're used to tweaking the crap out of Windows, you still can—a lot of the old tricks, like for manipulating context menus, still work.



3. Move All Your Crap from Your Old Machine: Windows 7 actually has pretty decent built-in powers for moving all your crap from your old and busted PC to your new pride and joy, though you need to download Windows Easy Transfer separately onto XP if you're pulling stuff from that.

4. Master All of the New Keyboard Shortcuts: Why deal with flipping around a mouse or scribbling on a trackpad when you do the same thing in a tenth of a second with a keyboard combo? The Start key (oh sorry, Windows key), which I've always neglected as a useless monotasker, is supremely useful in Windows 7, as the underpinning for a metric ton of keyboard shortcuts.



5. Get It to Play Nice With All of Your Gadgets: The good news about Windows 7 is that, unlike Vista, most of your gear that worked with your computer a couple years ago with Windows should still work. And newer gear interacts with Windows in a fancy new way with a big ol' splash graphic and easy access to all the stuff you'd wanna do with it. While even simple things, like adding a second monitor, are more straightforward now, here's a device-by-device breakdown on getting everything to touch Windows 7 appropriately.

6. Share Stuff With Your Other Computers, 'Cause It's Easier Now: The networking UI hasn't just gotten a facelift to make it more accessible, it's actually easier to use with HomeGroups—join a HomeGroup, and all of the stuff you want to share with other computers spreads like herpes to the rest of the HomeGroup, no arduous networking required. Also, network in general—like with Macs—seems to just work better with Windows 7.



7. Stream Your Music and Videos Everywhere: Connecting your PC to a TV sounds so 1999. Well, you might not know this, but your Windows 7 PC is a badass music and video streamer, DVR, photo viewer, video aggregator and everything else you'd want out of a multimedia box, all thanks to Windows Media Center. The living room PC is legit now. Not to mention Play To, which beams music (and video and photos) to any compatible device on your network, no setup required (really!). All it takes it a right-click, and those Sonos speakers on the other side of your house will magically start yelling the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

8. Upgrade Your Netbook to Windows 7 Home Premium: If you got a Windows 7 netbook, there's a good chance you got stuck with the artificially gimped out Starter edition, which sucks. The cheapest way to fix this is to buy Windows 7 for $30 using a valid .edu email address, then follow our guide to installing Windows 7 on any netbook.

9. Set Up Some Network Storage: A fresh computer is a fresh start—meaning it's a perfect time to start a new life with fully networked storage for backup, especially if you're using your machine as a DVR with Windows Media Center. (But skip on faster drives.) One awesome option? A Windows Home Server machine, which can do backups and stream out media to all of your computers.

10. Remote Control It From Anywhere with VNC: While diving deep into the system and futzing with your network at the same time, you might as well set up a VNC server so you can control your computer from anywhere, whether it's to pull files or schedule downloads.

10 Things You Must Do With Your New Mac



You got a new Mac for Christmas? Awesome. But don't let Justin Long's smarmy face fool you, it doesn't just give you a warm hug and set itself up. Here are 10 things you need to do pronto:

1. Check Out Snow Leopard's Interface Tweaks: They're not life-altering, but Apple's spiffed up the OS X interface in a couple of ways in Snow Leopard. Notably, there's Dock Expose (which works like Windows 7's Aero Peek) to show you all the windows of open app by clicking and holding on its icon in the dock. Also, giant, scalable thumbnail previews.


2. Move All Your Stuff: The funny thing about switching OSes or moving to a new one is that it's really not hard anymore, since so much of the stuff we do is online. The most complicated gambit for most people, I'd wager, is moving your iTunes library to a new machine—especially going from Windows to Mac—since organizing that stuff (if you're anal about it like me) takes forever. Luckily, there's a hack for that. And if you're going from old Mac to new Mac, well it's pretty easy to move all your crap with the built-in Migration Assistant.

3. Learn What's Actually Under the Hood of Snow Leopard: Apple says a lot of the magic of



Snow Leopard is actually under the hood, so you can't see it, like Grand Central Dispatch, which promises in the future to make applications use all of those cores in your machine that much better to become superfaster. Or OpenCL, which uses your graphics card for non-graphics applications to go more fasterer. And there's a whole bunch of other standards Apple's real big on too.

4. Don't Buy MobileMe, Sync Your Stuff With Yahoo or Google: Don't buy MobileMe. Instead, sync your contacts with Google, straight from Address Book, and use Google Sync to deliver 'em to your phone. Same deal with calendars—use the open standard CalDAV to sync iCal with Google or Yahoo, which is as simple as putting in your account info now. And you can upload photos to Flickr directly from iPhoto. Online storage? That's free too.



5. Install Windows: Whether you do it through Boot Camp so you can play PC games ('cause gaming on a Mac sucks, at best) or use Parallels or Fusions to virtualize it and run alongside your Mac apps, with Windows 7 being $30 with a valid .edu address, there's no reason not to. It's even easier to move your Windows apps and files over that you wanna keep if you're making the slow transition, with Parallels Switch edition, which has a handy USB transfer tool.

6. Back Up to Any NAS With Time Machine: Time Machine, OS X's built-in backup, is indispensable. Unfortunately, if you wanna do it over the network, it's kinda limited, unless you know what you're doing. After you figure out your network storage of choice (HP's Windows Home Server with Time Machine compatibility is a damn good option; and for those on a budget, there's Iomega's ix2 200), it takes just a few minutes a couple of lines of code in Terminal to get your Time Machine backup going on any NAS you please.



7. Make It Play Nice With PCs On Your Network: If you get a NAS, you obviously don't have to worry about moving crap back and forth directly between your Macs and PCs, but if you want a method that will work every single time, this is how to do it. It's progressively easier with newer versions of Windows—stuff seems to just work more often.

8. Forget Apple TV, Stream to Your Xbox or PS3: If you've already got an Xbox 360 or PS3 (who doesn't?) there's no reason to bother with another media streamer, even if you're ditching Windows. The programs Connect 360 and Rivet will stream music, movies and photos from your Mac to your Xbox for $20. For the PS3, there's MediaLink, from the guys who make Connect 360, which does pretty much the same deal, but with slightly better integration with iTunes and iPhoto. The P2P app Vuze—which is free—also streams videos to Xbox 360 and PS3 from any OS it runs on, but obviously it's a little less feature-rich.

9. Download the Best Free Software: At first, there seems to be less freeware on a Mac, but you just need to know where to look. Lifehacker's essential free apps has you covered on everything from the best IM app (Adium) to better disc burning (Burn) to video playback (VLC, of course).



10. Remote Control It: Sure, you could shell out for MobileMe to use Back to My Mac—except, you shouldn't—but why bother when you do the same thing and remote control your computer from anywhere with VNC? An afternoon and you're done.

Microsoft My Phone helps find a lost HTC Pure



It is a slow post-Christmas Saturday, a perfect day for a feel-good piece courtesy of CBS News and Microsoft. The short video segment showcases the Microsoft My Phone service which, amongst other things, allows users to locate and retrieve a lost mobile phone. Watch as host Natali DelConte tosses her AT&T HTC Pure into the back of a cab as it drives straight into the heart of New York City. Laugh Be concerned when the GPS signal fails and the phone is no longer traceable, seemingly lost forever. Smile when her phone is returned to her, not through some fancy GPS locating service, but through the kindness of others who responded to her phone’s “I’m lost, call Natali” distress message. No, it’s not the caliber of It’s a Wonderful Life but for a tech blog on a Saturday, it is about as heart-warming as you can get.

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