Kenenter: 12/2010

25 Billion Tweets Were Sent In 2010, And Not All Of Them Were About Bieber

12/13/2010 05:17:00 PM

Twitter has just released their list of top trends on Twitter for 2010. Surprisingly, Justin Bieber did not dominate the list. Instead, the Gulf oil spill did. The service says that 25 billion tweets were sent in total in 2010.

Below, find the list of the top overall trends, followed by the top trends for different categories:

1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. FIFA World Cup
3. Inception
4. Haiti Earthquake
5. Vuvuzela
6. Apple iPad
7. Google Android
8. Justin Bieber
9. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
10. Pulpo Paul

12/13/2010 05:17:00 PM

It's no secret that Apple's been keen to monitor the lot of naughty jailbreakers, but it turns out the company has recently shelved iOS 4.0's jailbreak detection API with no explanation given. While this has little effect on the average user, Network World explains that this is bad news for enterprise IT and MDM (mobile device management) vendors, who will now have one fewer channel for checking whether a user's iOS device has been jailbroken and thus become vulnerable to attacks. That said, apparently this isn't a huge loss for the MDM vendors, anyway; but the real question is why drop the API now? Could its presence alone be a threat? We'll probably never know.

Fear not, though, as some folks have put jailbreaking to good use. The Register reports that come Tuesday, Stefan Esser of Sektion Eins will demonstrate a tool called antid0te, which reportedly adds ASLR (address space layout randomization) onto jailbroken iOS devices. In a nutshell, ASLR randomizes key memory locations to make it more difficult for certain attacks to locate their target data. According to the famed white hat hacker Charlie Miller, this technique is already present on Windows Phone 7 and desktop Windows since Vista, but Apple's only dabbled with it on OS X and not on iOS. Now, this doesn't mean that jailbroken devices will be fully safeguarded, but some protection is better than no protection, right?

Now Katy Perry is a sexy Santa as her festive tour rolls into Miami

12/13/2010 11:17:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in KATY Perry , Music News , 0 Comments

Katy Perry pulled yet another kooky Christmas costume out of her stocking last night as she led the Jingle Ball concert to Florida. The pop star dressed up as a thoroughly racy Mrs Claus outfit for the performance in Miami. She has previously dressed up as a candy cane and a toy soldier for the festive tour, which has also stopped in New York and Los Angeles.

Her latest confection featured a red satin leotard with white fur trimmed plunging neckline and a flaring fur-trimmed skirt left open to reveal her trim figure. Finishing off the look were white gloves, a fur-trimmed Santa hat and red lipstick to match.

12/13/2010 11:17:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Neil Patrick Harris , 0 Comments

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka are getting ready to mark their first Christmas as new dads.

So what will two-month-old twins Gideon Scott and Harper Grace be getting from Santa? Read on to find out what Harris just told us...

"It's fun," Harris says of celebrating the holidays with the babies. "I'm very excited."

Even so, that doesn't mean he and Burtka are going to spoil the little ones: "They don't know how to focus on anything, so presents would be a bit out of their grasp," Harris explains.

We chatted with the How I Met Your Mother star yesterday in L.A. at Spike TV's Video Game Awards, which he hosted. As y'all aready know, he's also hosted the Tonys and the Emmys, among other awards shows.

Advice for first-time Academy Awards hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco? "I don't think [they] need any advice from anyone," he said. "They're at the top of their games regardless of what they do and have proved themselves over and over. They are great choices."

What about Harris hosting the Oscars someday? He laughed, "I don't think my movie cred is what it should be."

Don't cut yourself too short, Mr. Harris. We think you'd do pretty well yourself hosting Hollywood's biggest night of the year.

Amazing Race: Host Phil Keoghan Picks a Winner

12/13/2010 11:16:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in TV News , 0 Comments

Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan swears on his passport that season 17's finale, which airs Sunday on CBS, is chock full "memorable and very cool moments."

And that's saying a lot considering this season saw a contestant get a runaway watermelon to the face, an on-air proposal, the longest penalty and a team who slept through their pit stop departure time by more than two hours.

"It's hard to believe, but this is the first time in our series history that we've ended the race in Los Angeles. Nothing like maneuvering your way to the finish line through L.A. traffic," Keoghan told PEOPLE recently. "We have one challenge where teams literally have to face their fears and phobias in order to avoid choking with $1 million on the line."

And a bonus: "Look for a surprise appearance by one of the most famous game show hosts of all time," he says.

It's also the best chance in series history for an all-female team to be crowned the winner with two of the three remaining duos lacking a Y chromosome.

"I know the first person I would hear from is my daughter," he says. And while Keoghan understands why his daughter and viewers are thrilled at the possibility, the host reminds them not to put the cart in front of the horse. "As I keep telling her, the great thing about The Amazing Race is that it's a fair competition," he says. "You can't write the script."

12/13/2010 11:16:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Justin Bieber , Selena Gomez , 0 Comments

Pancake passion?

Justin Bieber fans saw red when the teen phenom was snapped arm-in-arm with Selena Gomez in Philadelphia on Thursday -- following a one-on-one breakfast at an International House of Pancakes, where TMZ reports the duo were "cuddly" and holding hands inside.

But Gomez, 18, tells Us there was nothing romantic about their syrupy-sweet outing.

"It was pancakes! Oh my gosh!" Gomez told Us Friday at Z100's Jingle Ball in NYC. The Disney star said the Bieber, 16, is "one of my best friends...It was just pancakes!"

In a chat with MTV News, she added,"Who doesn't like pancakes? We were both performing in the same place so we went and had pancakes together. That's all it is. All innocent."

She explained how they got close in the first place: "I love Justin. When he first started to come over from Canada his manager contacted me and he just said that he would like to meet me and he was just such a good kid...I feel like a big sister now, 'cause I want to protect him."

Motorola's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet meets Mr. Blurrycam, shows off Verizon logo

12/13/2010 11:15:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Android Honeycomb , Motorola , Motorola Android tablet , Motorola Tablet , Technology , 0 Comments

By now you're probably familiar with this slate, seeing as how Google's Andy Rubin recently unveiled it on stage, but we're willing to bet you've never seen the top edge -- you know, the part now bearing a front-facing webcam and a conspicuous Verizon tattoo. Yes, this is Motorola's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet, and it's playing for Team Red just as foretold, though the tipster who obtained these images isn't sure whether it will bear the name Stingray, Everest or even potentially "Trygon." Spec-wise, we're told our previous tipster was right on the money, and it'll have a 1GHz Tegra 2 T20, a gyroscope and 32GB of storage underneath that 1280 x 800 multitouch screen, as well as 512MB of RAM and and a slot for an up-to-32GB microSD card. It also sure looks like there's a micro-USB jack, a mini-HDMI port and a 3.5mm headphone socket, as well as some contacts for a likely dock, though as always Mr. Blurrycam's handiwork is such that we can't quite tell. No matter -- see for yourself in the gallery below.

12/13/2010 11:15:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Joel Madden , Nicole Richie , 0 Comments

The father of the bride, Lionel Richie, hosted the wedding at his 28-room Los Angeles estate as Nicole Richie, 29, married musician Joel Madden, 31, after four years and two kids together.

Guests included Gwen Stefani, Ashlee Simpson, Kris Jenner and the groom's twin brother, Benji Madden (Joel's Good Charlotte bandmate), as well as one very unexpected guest: Before the ceremony, People.com reports, a trained elephant was seen being led onto the grounds -- where large white tents had been set up amid the estate's gardens. There's been no word yet on how exactly the pachyderm participated in the nuptials.

The weather was warm, the guest list was around 130, and the bride reportedly went with a Marchesa gown and Neil Lane ring. "They wanted an Old Hollywood, glamorous feel to their wedding," says an inside source. "Nicole wanted a memorable, elegant affair for only their closest friends and family on their special day."

The couple have been together since 2006, and are raising two children together: daughter Harlow, 2, and son Sparrow, 1. "Nicole and Joel are the perfect example of the kind of parent I want to be one day," doting uncle Benji Madden told PopEater earlier this year.

The newlyweds announced back in February that they were engaged, and the bride celebrated a bachelorette party with friends (including Sam Ronson and Christina Aguilera) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in September.

Elizabeth Hurley Announces Split from Husband After Cheating Report

12/13/2010 11:15:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Elizabeth Hurley , 0 Comments

Elizabeth Hurley's three-year marriage to Arun Nayar is on the rocks.

On Sunday, the model-actress, 45, Tweeted: "Not a great day. For the record, my husband Arun and I separated a few months ago. Our close family & friends were aware of this."

Hurley's announcement coincided with a News of the World report claiming her alleged affair with cricketer Shane Warne; the tabloid has pictures and video of the couple kissing, and says that they spent the night together Wednesday at London's Bentley Hotel.

After ending her 13-year romance with Hugh Grant in 2000, Hurley began dating Indian textile heir Nayar in 2002. The duo wed lavishly in March 2007 -- first at a castle in England, and then at a palace in Jodhpur, India.

Hurley has a son, Damian, 8, with former beau Steven Bing.

American Film Institute announces top 10 films

12/13/2010 11:14:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Movie News , 0 Comments

The blockbusters "Inception" and "Toy Story 3," the Facebook drama "The Social Network," the heist thriller "The Town" and the Western "True Grit" are among the American Film Institute's top 10 movies of the year.

Also on the AFI's list Sunday were the ballet drama "Black Swan," the boxing saga "The Fighter," the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right," the survival story "127 Hours" and the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone."

Unlike other film honors, AFI does not rank films or pick one as the year's best. The filmmakers behind the top-10 choices will be honored at a luncheon Jan. 14.

The British monarchy drama "The King's Speech," an Academy Awards favorite, was ineligible because it is a British production, and the AFI awards honor films with largely American backing. But the AFI did present a special award to "The King's Speech."

Another special award went to the education documentary "Waiting for 'Superman.'" It was ineligible for the AFI's top 10, which honors narrative films.

This is the first time the honors included special awards, which allow the group to acknowledge "outstanding work outside the traditional AFI criteria," said Bob Gazzale, AFI president.

The AFI also picked its top 10 TV programs of 2010: "The Big C," ''Boardwalk Empire," ''Breaking Bad," ''Glee," ''Mad Men," ''Modern Family," ''The Pacific," ''Temple Grandin," ''30 Rock" and "The Walking Dead."

The top 10 lists were chosen by two 13-member panels, one each for movies and television.

For film, members included director Lee Daniels, writer Diablo Cody and critics Leonard Maltin, Claudia Puig and Lisa Schwarzbaum. For TV, members included actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, producer Steven Bochco and critics Mary McNamara, James Poniewozik and Matt Roush.

'Mass Effect 3' announced; watch the trailer

12/13/2010 11:14:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Games , Mass Effect 3 , Technology , 0 Comments

Prepare for an onslaught of video game trailers over the next couple days as we catch readers up on the highlights from Saturday's Spike Video Game Awards.

First, Electronic Arts and studio BioWare finally lifted the veil on Mass Effect 3, the third chapter of the intergalactic saga.

The final title in the Mass Effect trilogy will again feature Commander Shepard as battles an invasion of Earth by the Reapers.

12/13/2010 03:29:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Box Office , Movie News , 0 Comments

Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp can do no box-office wrong, right? Er, well…

The stars' The Tourist was left stranded with a second-place, $17 million weekend debut, per estimates.

What happened?

Take your pick: lousy reviews; lousy weather (sunny Los Angeles, excluded); an overall blah weekend for Hollywood; etc.

The result was a steep comedown for Depp, whose last film was Alice in Wonderland. It was more in line with 2004's Secret Window, which also happens to be the last time Depp played an ordinary man (by Depp standards).

12/12/2010 10:11:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Kristen Stewart , Robert Pattinson , 0 Comments

The Breaking Dawn cast got some much deserved free time out in Baton Rouge, La., recently, hitting up Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.

"It was a lot of the cast and crew," a source who was also at the restaurant confirms to E!. "They were in the private back room and seemed in great spirits. Everyone had a really great time."

This obviously included Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who make no effort to hide their relaysh these days.

Here's the PDA scoop!

"They were sitting down and talking together most of the dinner," dishes our insider who snooped at what was taking place in the private digs. "Wherever Kristen was, he was, and visa-versa."

"[Rob and Kristen] were holding hands at some point, and when they got up to mingle with everyone for a bit he kept his hand on her back," adds the source. "They were really cute. And no one in attendance seemed surprised at their affection."

Jeez, maybe that's because Robsten was so on the moment they first met while making out on Catherine Hardwicke's bed!

With each movie the couple has become increasingly more public with their romance, aside from blabbing about it in the media of course.

And since we have been lucky enough to witness such cuddlefests before, we're sure this dinner was no different.

Love it, or love it?

Put your clothes on - it's a family show! Viewers outraged at Christina Aguilera and Rihanna's racy X Factor performances

12/12/2010 10:11:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Christina Aguilera , Music News , Rihanna , 0 Comments

It's one of the biggest TV events of the year, watched by around a third of the British population.

But as the X Factor final kicked off last night, the talent show was accused of straying somewhat from its family viewing credentials as Christina Aguilera and Rihanna put on two extremely provocative pre-watershed performances.

Aguilera wore an extremely low-cut black dress as she cavorted with an army of lingerie-clad dancers while Rihanna thrust her way through her solo performance in pants and strapless bra.

The superstars jetted in from the States to appear on the show, with Aguilera duetting with Rebecca Ferguson and Rihanna supporting Matt Cardle.

12/12/2010 10:08:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Box Office , Movie News , 0 Comments

Aslan’s not going to like this. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader led the box office on Friday but got off to a rocky start with $8.2 million, according to early estimates. That puts Fox’s $140 million fantasy epic, the third film adapted from C.S. Lewis’ series of novels, on track for a $24 million opening weekend. By comparison, 2005′s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe collected $65.6 million its first weekend, and 2008′s Prince Caspian debuted to $55 million. Dawn Treader was expected to continue the Narnia series’ box-office decline, but no one thought it’d tumble this much. It’s too early to declare what this soft debut means for the franchise’s future and its supposed next film, The Silver Chair. Also, considering its “A-” grade from CinemaScore audiences, Dawn Treader may hold up well during the rest of December. But this is clearly not the result Fox was hoping for when it secured distribution rights after Disney abandoned the series.

The Tourist, starring two attractive individuals named Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, also performed below expectations, albeit to a lesser degree than Dawn Treader. The PG-13 romantic thriller snatched $6.1 million on Friday and is on pace for an $18 million weekend. The rest of the top five featured holdovers. Disney’s animated musical Tangled fell 34 percent for $3.4 million, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 descended 50 percent for $2.4 million. In fifth place, the Denzel Washington action thriller Unstoppable showed off its box-office stamina yet again, skidding only 37 percent for $1.2 million and bringing its cumulative tally to $71.7 million.

12/12/2010 10:07:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in HTC , HTC EVO Shift 4G , HTC Knight , HTC Speedy , Mobile News , 0 Comments

We'll warn you that we have nothing but the word of an alleged Sprint employee that this is the real deal, but we don't know what else it could be -- if it walks like a duck and quacks like an EVO with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, we're inclined to believe it's the HTC EVO Shift 4G. Factor in the noticeable lack of front-facing camera, silver trackpad and those throwback flat keys, and we're even willing to forgive those hastily penciled watermarks on the keyboard and on top of the clearly 'shopped screen. Even if this shot is legit, we haven't seen the full device yet -- it sure looks like this Knight is wearing a suit of plastic armor around the edges.

In possibly related news, Android Central nabbed an alleged screenshot of a Sprint database showing an "HTC A7373" handset coming to Sprint on January 9th, and while one Russian e-tailer seems to think that codename refers to the GSM-friendly Desire Z, we have to imagine a Knight / Speedy / EVO Shift release is far more likely than a T-Mobile G2 redux on Sprint's CDMA frequencies.

12/12/2010 10:06:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Anne Hathaway , Celebrity-Gossip , Denzel Washington , 0 Comments

Anne Hathaway brought an unexpected touch of showbiz glitz to the Nobel Peace Prize celebrations in Oslo, Sweden.

Hathaway turned up to host today's Nobel Peace Prize Concert along with Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, who turns 55 at the end of the month.

The 28-years-old actress was also joined by Barry Manilow, Herbie Hancock and Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman.

Anne and Denzel hosted a news conference earlier today about the concert , which is meant to honour jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, winner of the 2010 Nobel prize.

12/12/2010 10:05:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Miley Cyrus , 0 Comments

The controversial videotape of Miley Cyrus purportedly doing a bong hit with a psychedelic herb is putting a dent in her image as a teen idol and could potentially derail her career if she continues using drugs, experts tell PopEater. In this latest scandal involving the Disney star, Cyrus is seen in a video obtained by TMZ taking hits from a bong, which was reportedly filled with a natural herb called salvia, sources told the website. Possession of salvia, which has psychedelic qualities when smoked, is currently legal in California.

"She needs someone to show her some tough love right now," Calvina Fay, executive director of Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., tells PopEater. "She is going down a destructive road and needs to change her ways."

Not only that, says Fay, "she is sending a bad message about using a mind-altering drug to get high. She is a teen idol who is popular, did something that is getting lots of media coverage and appears to have a glamorous life."

But the effects of Salvia or any other drug are far from glamorous, says Fay. In the video, which was reportedly taken at Cyrus's Los Angeles area home five days after she turned 18, "she is seen laughing and appears to be having a good time, which gives the impression that salvia isn't harmful – when it is," she says.

12/12/2010 10:04:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Android , Android Market , Mobile News , 0 Comments

In its latest update, Android Market is pretty much starting over. All of the gazillion apps are still there but the interface will look different and the experience will almost be brand new.

On the home screen of the Android Market, a new carousel feature let's users flip through featured apps in a Cover Flow-like style. Google has also added new categories for Live Wallpapers and Widgets and promises more categories for popular apps in the future, too. Once you get to an app's page, you'll no longer see the old tabbed interface but rather a single, "streamlined" page. There's also a heavier use of green, if you hadn't noticed that.

Google will also change the refund time of apps from 24 hours to 15 minutes, so no more gaming the system. They're also upping the maximum download file to 50MB in hopes of landing richer games and offering better support for different screen resolutions and such.

These tweaks and changes all add up to one of the biggest updates to the Android Market since paid apps were introduced. Google says that this brand new Android Market will be rolling out to Android 1.6+ users in the next couple of weeks.

Prince William & Kate Middleton Share Two Official Engagement Photos

12/12/2010 10:03:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Kate Middleton , Prince William , 0 Comments

To go glamorous or relaxed in the world's most-anticipated engagement photos? For Prince William and Kate Middleton, the answer was clear: both!

The newly released photos – the official portrait photographs for the engagement of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton – were captured during a two-hour shoot by fashion photographer Mario Testino, who was hand-selected by the groom-to-be, 28, for the task.

"Prince William has worked with Mario Testino on many occasions before, and so the couple decided that he was the right choice for such an important portrait," said a Clarence House spokeswoman.

Middleton, 28, did her own makeup for the photos (as she did for her televised post-engagement interview), a source tells PEOPLE, though Testino's makeup artist was on hand for touch-ups.

And those famous tresses? The princess-to-be got her hair done by her usual stylist, James Pryce, from the Richard Ward salon.

For the formal photo – which was snapped in the historic Council Chamber linked to Clarence House, the official residence of William's father Prince Charles – Prince William donned a Turnbull and Asser suit, while Kate chose a white Reiss dress and Links earrings. For the dressed-down denim look – taken in the Cornwall Room of St. James's Palace – William changed into a Turnbull and Asser shirt and Brunello Cucinelli sweater, with Kate opting for a Whistles blouse.

12/12/2010 12:24:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Justin Bieber , KATY Perry , Music News , Selena Gomez , 0 Comments

Katy Perry reported for duty at Madison Square Garden last night in a very skimpy toy soldier costume.

The 26-year-old singer teamed her festive - and rather flirty - costume with thigh-high white boots and fishnet stockings for Z100’s Jingle Ball in New York.

She was joined by no less than three Santas as she cavorted around while performing a medley of her hit songs.

She sang her latest number one hit, Firework, along with Hot & Cold, I Kissed A Girl, Teenage Dream and crowd favourite, California Gurls.

Katy was joined by a host of other stars for the event, including Disney star Selena Gomez.

The 18-year-old star, who was dressed in a low-cut black gown, performed her tracks Round and Round, A Year Without Rain, and Naturally.

12/12/2010 12:23:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Natalie Portman , 0 Comments

Black Swan star Natalie Portman swapped pliés and pirouettes for more subtle moves in a seductive new video.

The 29-year-old is seen peeling off her slinky black dress to reveal a garter and négligée in an artistic black and white clip released by the New York Times Magazine to celebrate their Hollywood issue.

The actress is first seen sitting in a chair fully dressed in a long black satin dress, shoulder cape, black suede high heel sandals, long black satin evening gloves and long, curly peroxide blonde wig.

Portman then proceeds to slowly strip down and begins by removing each of her earrings and throwing them to the floor.

Next up she slowly peels off her left glove followed by the right which she discards on the floor next to her.

12/12/2010 12:23:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Android , LG , LG Star , Mobile News , 0 Comments

The LG Star. The dual-core beast from the east that was once a mere twinkle in our eye has managed to find its way to the Engadget mansions, having been lent to us by a very generous (and very anonymous) tipster. It's clearly a test device, as evidenced by its diagnostics menus and lack of a lockscreen, but there's no disguising the power that lies within it. We put the Star through a battery of common Android benchmarks and the results were, in a word, outstanding. Basically, Tegra 2 will give anything your current phone's running an inferiority complex. Join us after the break as we delve deeper into this upcoming powerhouse of a handset from LG. One thing's for sure: CES 2011 can't come soon enough.

12/12/2010 12:22:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Michael Jackson , Music News , 0 Comments

In 2007, Michael Jackson began working on new music that he wouldn't live to finish.

Since the King of Pop's untimely death, several producers and songwriters have picked up where he left off, finishing the album, Michael, out Dec. 14.

"I think he'd be very proud," says producer Tricky Stewart, who worked on "Keep Your Head Up." "If I didn't think he's be proud, I wouldn't do this."

The songs on the album, he adds, appear "as they were written, but it was up to us to produce and deliver them to their fullest potential."

One of those songs, "Hold My Hand," was co-written by songwriter Claude Kelly. "Michael loved everything about it," says Kelly, who wrote the song with rapper Akon. Though the track was originally intended for Whitney Houston, Akon liked it so much that he kept it for himself.

Enter Michael Jackson. When Akon played it for him to get his feedback, "Michael was like, 'I have to get on this; this is me, and exactly what I want to talk about,'" says Kelly.

Like many who worked with the music icon, Stewart has a memorable story of the day he first met Jackson, back in 1993.

"He would send a bunch of stuff to personalize the studio, and in this case, he sent arcade games," says the producer. "I was young and not really thinking and I started playing Pac-Man when I heard this voice – and there's no mistaking that voice – saying, 'You know those are my games, don't you?'"

Luckily, the star was happy to share. "He was really cool and nice about it," Stewart recalls with a laugh. "He even let me keep playing."

Google Says They'll Have Failed if Chrome OS and Cloud Computing Doesn't Become the Norm

12/12/2010 12:22:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Google , Google Chrome , Google Chrome OS , Technology , 0 Comments

Google has a lot of faith in their Chrome OS. So much, in fact, that they won't be satisfied with anything less than creating a paradigm shift in computer use.

In an interview with SearchEngineLand, Chrome OS product manager Caesar Sengupta went on record in an interview, stating the following:

Do you really see these types of machines taking over from the Windows computers and Macs that many people use now?

I think it depends on the user and the user's behavior. In the long term and the fullness of time, absolutely. I think we will have failed if this doesn't become your default way of computing. But right now, we see hundreds of millions of users who live on the web. For many of these users, this will replace their machines immediately, especially as web apps get better.

Get ready for an onslaught of web apps, folks.

Billy Ray 'So Sad' About Miley Cyrus' Bong Video

12/11/2010 10:45:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Billy Ray Cyrus , Celebrity-Gossip , Miley Cyrus , 0 Comments

Billy Ray Cyrus caught wind of Miley Cyrus' bong scandal and turned to his Twitter fans for emotional support.

"Sorry guys. I had no idea. Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. I'm so sad. There is much beyond my control right now," he wrote on Twitter.

A video obtained by TMZ shows the 'Hannah Montana' star taking hits from a bong that was reportedly filled with a natural herb called salvia, which when smoked has psychedelic qualities. Possession of salvia is currently legal in California. The video was reportedly taken five days after Miley turned 18.

According to the report, the video was shot by one of Miley's friends and it is very possible that someone stole or copied the video from that person's camera. The video begins with Cyrus taking a hit from the large bong and immediately begins to feel the effects of the drug. Soon, she's seeing things that aren't there, including her ex-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth.

12/11/2010 10:44:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Robert Pattinson , 0 Comments

So, Twi-Hards. It's time to put your money where your bitchin' mouth is.

How much would you pay to meet Robert Pattinson?

Kristen Stewart's main man was auctioned up for a Breaking Dawn meet and greet, and sold for...

Only $80,000!

One lucky fan (with megarich parents) won a trip to travel to Vancouver with three friends, stay at the Four Seasons, and then head to the über-secret B.D. set where Rob will play host.

The prize was offered on Charity Buzz to raise funds for the GO Campaign, a nonprofit group that supports grassroots projects for orphans and vulnerable children globally.

Too adorbs!

For that amount of money, Kristen better come with and be her charming girlfriend self.

Really though, how much do you think it would have went for if Stewart's cute butt was the one up for auction?

12/11/2010 10:43:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Featured Stories , Google Nexus S , Mobile News , 0 Comments

It can be difficult to review a phone like Google's Nexus S in a world already populated by so many outstanding Android devices. Not only does the manufacturer of this phone make a series of handsets that are all essentially the same (the Galaxy S line), but countless other OEMs are cranking away on hardware for the platform. Of course, the Nexus S is a decidedly different phone altogether. Picking up where the company's Nexus One left off, the S continues Google's legacy of creating standalone, "pure Android" phone experiences, seemingly aimed less at the mainstream and more towards developers. Unlike the failed experiment of the Nexus One, Google appears to be taking a more realistic approach to the S; the phone will be sold through Best Buy (and Carphone Warehouse across the pond), which suggests that the company has bigger plans for this device.

And what a device it is -- the Nexus S boasts a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4-inch, 800 x 480 curved Super AMOLED display (dubbed the Contour Display), 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear and VGA front-facing camera, and near field communication capabilities. But hardware is only half the story here -- the big news is that the Nexus S showcases the next major evolution of the Android OS, namely, Gingerbread (or version 2.3). The update comes with a slew of new features alongside some UI improvements that show Google isn't slowing down when it comes to pushing its mobile operating system forward. So is the Nexus S a real standout in the Android world, or is it more of the "me too" tech we've seen lately? Read on after the break for the full review to find out!

12/11/2010 10:37:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Apple , Apple iPad , Apple iPad 2 , iPad Mini , Technology , 0 Comments

Just a few days after reports of iPad 2 rumors flooded the blogosphere, Reuters is stoking the fires with a story that says Apple is "preparing new iPads," as in plural. And one of those models, according to the usual anonymous supply chain sources, is "about half the size of the current tablet computer, and will include front- and back-mounted cameras" for Apple's FaceTime video-conferencing app.

Aside from the cameras, one source claimed the new iPad "would be slimmer, lighter, and have a better-resolution display than the first iPad."

Duh. None of that's new info--or particularly revealing (of course, the new iPad is going to be slimmer and have a better screen, right?). But it's interesting that we continue to hear chatter about Apple having a smaller iPad up its sleeve. Back in October, Steve Jobs famously scoffed at the notion of a 7-inch iPad, insisting the screen would be "too small to express the software." Since then, Barnes & Noble has released the $250 7-inch Nook Color and several other Android-powered 7-inch tablets have hit the market or will soon.

As part of its story, Reuters reporters quoted Steven Tseng, an analyst at RBS in Taipei, who said, "It makes sense for these suppliers to begin delivering their goods in February. I think Steve Jobs will announce the new product in January, and we should see the new product hitting shops in about April."

Yes, the iPad was announced on January 27, 2010, but when Jobs announced it there wasn't another iPad on the market to clear out of the channel. So, we're not sure why Jobs would unveil a new iPad--or perhaps iPads--a good two months before they were to go on sale. A few weeks maybe, but two months, probably not.

In any case, that's the latest iPad intel out of Asia. Just something to consider while you're standing in line at your local Apple Store buying an iPad this holiday season.

Bam! Kapow! Explodey New Thor Trailer Is Here!

12/11/2010 10:37:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Movie News , 0 Comments

Get ready to duck!

The newest trailer for Thor is here, starring Chris Hemsworth as the Norse god and Natalie Portman as his lady friend, and stuff is seriously blowing up left and right!

They don't explain why, but...

We see Thor's father (Anthony Hopkins) strip him of his godlike powers and trusty hammer, and banish him to Earth. And from the sound of it, that's a pretty bad punishment. "Oh no, this is Earth, isn't it," he asks upon his arrival.

Fortunately, Portman is there to look after this strange new guy who literally fell out of the sky. And it can't all be bad. He may be stripped of his powers, but he hasn't lost his ability to beat up highly trained commandos...something we see him do a lot of.

Hopefully those abilities will come in handy when he takes on the giant robot blowing everything up with its death ray. (Yes, there's a giant robot that's blowing everything up with its death ray! They had those in Norse mythology, right?)

Check out the trailer and tell us what you think. Thor hits theaters May 6.

Taylor Momsen: A Promoter of Masturbation

12/11/2010 10:36:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Taylor Momsen , 0 Comments

Don't look at us. She said it. And because Taylor Momsen is so edgy and cool, she can talk about masturbating a lot and it makes her awesome. Deal.

In an interview with The Guardian (UK), Taylor said unequivocally that “I’m a promoter of masturbation. Don’t sleep around ... learn yourself first!"

"Guys do, but girls don’t. And that’s why girls have so many bad experiences. But you can know your body, know yourself, know what feels good."

"You don’t have to give yourself away just to have sexual relevance," she adds.

"I don’t think sex is something people should be afraid of. It’s part of human nature. I don’t think it should be shameful, particularly for girls and young girls.”

The Pretty Reckless singer may look back on this and wish she'd shut her yap (that or she'll blame her parents like usual), but doesn't make a terrible point.

Hold out, don't put out, girls. There are alternatives that don't talk back.

Motorola's new logo: it's red

12/11/2010 10:35:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Mobile News , Motorola , 0 Comments

Been wondering about what impact Motorola's January split into two distinct entities will have on your humble consumption of consumer electronics? Well, after attending Moto's big Christmas do in London, we seem to have uncovered one of the biggies: the Droid maker is switching to a crimson new brand identity from the start of the new year. They won't tell us much more than that, but we can only surmise that the slight chromatic deviation will be in an effort to distinguish between the Mobility arm, which will make all the pocketable things we know and love, and the Solutions group in charge of the less glamorous business hardware. We're sure there'll be some reshuffling of middle management and other structural reorganizations taking place, but we've got the big story right here: the stationery, it is a-changing.

Android dominates Verizon smartphone sales; BlackBerry tanks

12/11/2010 10:34:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Android , BlackBerry , Mobile News , Verizon , 0 Comments

Investment research firm ITG has been investigating the sales figures from Verizon Wireless and it has come up with a pretty interesting find: the vast majority of smartphones sold by Verizon Wireless are Android handsets. That fact, while pertinent, is not all that shocking. What is shocking is this: in October of 2009, BlackBerrys accounted for 93% of Verizon Wireless’ smartphone sales. Just over one year later, in November of 2010, Android accounted for 80% of Verizon Wireless’ smartphone sales and BlackBerry’s share comes in at under 20%. How did Android go from not having a single handset in Verizon’s lineup in October of 2009 to sales domination eleven months later? You can credit Verizon’s fierce marketing blitz around the devices, consumer demand for more media centric devices with bigger screens, or RIM’s slow, measured approach with hardware. Whatever you want to credit or blame, those numbers are staggering and should not be ignored.

Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart Get Romantic in Louisiana

12/11/2010 02:45:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Kristen Stewart , Robert Pattinson , 0 Comments

Onscreen lovebirds Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are making no secret of their real-life romance while shooting the latest Twilight installment.

The pair, along with the rest of the film's cast, are now filming Breaking Dawn in Baton Rouge, La., after a stop in Brazil, and have been seen getting cozy around the southern city.

Pattinson, 24 and Stewart, 20 recently joined about two dozen other cast members for a private dinner at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, but seemed to only have eyes for one another.

"Kristen and Rob were very couple-like," a restaurant source tells PEOPLE. "There was a lot of hand-holding, sitting next to each other. Everyone was talking around the room, but Kristen and Rob were just talking to each other, not really into the conversations everyone else was having."

At another outing to Cadillac Café, a strip-mall karaoke bar less than a mile from the studio where shooting is taking place, the two were spotted looking "very much a couple," says an onlooker.

"I mean, they weren't slobbering all over each other … but they sure looked like a couple and were talking with each other like a couple," the onlooker says. "They [seem like] a couple in love."

Miley Cyrus Caught Taking Bong Hits of Salvia: 'Is It Me Tripping?'

12/11/2010 02:45:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Featured Stories , Miley Cyrus , 0 Comments

It's been a year peppered with scandal for Miley Cyrus. She did a bit of underage drinking and, of course, there's been a near constant uproar over her provocative choices in stage attire. Now comes a fresh scandal, and this one involves a big old bong.

A video obtained by TMZ shows the 'Hannah Montana' star taking hits from a bong that was reportedly filled with a natural herb called salvia, which when smoked has psychedelic qualities. Possession of salvia is currently legal in California. The video was reportedly taken five days after Miley turned 18.

According to the report, the video was shot by one of Miley's friends and it is very possible that someone stole or copied the video from that person's camera.

12/11/2010 02:43:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Apple , Apple iPad , Apple iPad 2 , Technology , 0 Comments

Apple’s second-generation iPad 2 will have both front and rear facing cameras, according to the latest leaks, with two of four sources at component makers talking to Reuters confirming that they believed their wares were headed for the refreshed iOS slate. In addition to the dual-cameras, the iPad 2 was tipped to be “slimmer, lighter and have a better resolution display”; Genius Electronic Optical Co Ltd and Largan Precision Co Ltd were tipped as having inked supply deals with Apple, though there’s no confirmation as to which device(s) their camera components will end up in.

The leaks follow a supposed iPad 2 case assembly which emerged yesterday, complete with an opening for a rear-mounted camera in the top corner of the tablet. Meanwhile previous rumors tipped Apple as using an LCD rather than AMOLED display, together with the possibility of a carbon-fiber chassis.

Although Apple is yet to publicly confirm either that it is working on a new iPad or when such a tablet might be expected to reach the market, that hasn’t stopped predictions of an April 2011 sales debut. Foxconn is believed to be readying production for mass shipments in January next year.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Taylor Swift Go for a Drive

12/11/2010 02:43:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Jake Gyllenhaal , Taylor Swift , 0 Comments

Get out of my dreams, get into my car!

Jake Gyllenhaal was in the driver's seat taking a spin through Beverly Hills on Thursday. His passenger: lady love Taylor Swift, naturally.

Swift, who turns 21 next week, was typing on her iPhone as her man, 29, cruised in his Audi Q7.

Gyllenhaal's back in the country after a jaunt to Australia, where he and Anne Hathaway were promoting Love and Other Drugs.

"Taylor is smitten. She loves how nice and affectionate he is," a source recently told Us Weekly of the couple, who've now been dating for about six weeks.

Motorola Android tablet specs and Honeycomb home screen leaked in Taiwan?

12/11/2010 02:42:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Honeycomb , Motorola , Motorola Android tablet , Technology , 0 Comments

Turns out Andy Rubin might not be the only fella who's been showing off the elusive Motorola Android tablet. Earlier this week, some lucky guy from Taiwan claims to have stumbled upon the same Honeycomb device, and was kind enough to share the above homescreen spy shot as well as some thoughts on his one-hour hands-on. We're told that there'll be a 7-inch version as well as a 10-inch version (the latter appears to be what Rubin had), and the one we're looking at here has a 1280 x 800 display of unknown size, NVIDIA Tegra 2 T20 dual-core chip, gyroscope, a 5 megapixel main camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera. Memory-wise it has a 32GB embedded MMC and a microSD slot.

The poster reckons the hardware -- which is "pretty light" -- is all ready for launch, but Honeycomb still needs some final fine-tuning. Sadly, he hasn't got a date, but said device will apparently be priced like the current Motorola high-end phones, and will be available in three flavors: UMTS, CDMA, and LTE (which we heard about a little while back). Well, only time will tell whether this guy really does have a good friend at Motorola, or that he's been talking to some unicorns.

Angry Birds: New payment system, 50 million users

12/11/2010 02:41:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Angry Birds , Mobile News , 0 Comments

Angry Birds creator Rovio is ruffling its feathers and spreading its wings. At an event today touting the game's popularity, the company discussed an in-app payment system it will soon open up to all developers.

Dubbed Bad Piggy Bank, the service is designed to be a "one-touch payment" option for consumers who want to buy goods in-game. Rovio was quick to point out that no registration or credit card is required at the time of purchase. Instead, users will be billed on their monthly phone bill.

Rovio said its decision to launch Bad Piggy Bank is rooted in its desire to be a company that is "all about choice." It also said the functionality should appeal to developers who want to generate more cash from their respective programs.

It will take some time to get Bad Piggy Bank off the ground. Not only does Rovio need developer support, but the company must also ink deals with carriers to ensure that they can bill a user's mobile plan.

12/11/2010 02:41:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Microsoft , Mobile News , Windows Phone 7 , 0 Comments

Coming this February, at a Mobile World Congress near you, from the company that popularized the Service Pack: a second major update to Windows Phone 7. The observant among you will already be leaping out of their seats to point out that the first WP7 update hasn't even been delivered yet, but it seems like Microsoft's calendar stretches beyond the next month and the company's already churning away on enhancing and improving its rebooted mobile OS. Such is the scuttlebutt coming out of WinRumors, and it's kind of hard to argue with the postulation that Steve Ballmer wouldn't be keynoting MWC in 2011 without something significant to announce. Word is that users will be getting added customization options for their phones, while developers will gain an extra few API hooks and controls that will ideally lead to more sophisticated apps in WP7's future. Sounds good to us, now how about some landscape love, Microsoft?

See Marisa Miller Naked!

12/11/2010 02:40:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Marisa Miller , 0 Comments

Here's one more reason to be thankful it's Friday.

Model Marisa Miller takes it all off—save for a pair of sneakers—in Marc Jacob's new skin cancer awareness campaign, Protect the Skin You're In.

The image of the 32-year-old Victoria's Secret strutter will appear on T-shirts and will be available at Marc Jacobs boutiques, with all proceeds benefitting the NYU Cancer Institute.

Just in case you're looking for a stocking stuffer...

Microsoft Offer of $15 BILLION Rejected by Facebook

12/11/2010 02:40:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Facebook , Microsoft , Technology , 0 Comments

Mind you, before you start thinking “but that’s not a lot of money, right?”, you’ve got to consider that this offer didn’t come in just yesterday. News of it, however, DID just come in TODAY via LeWeb over in Paris, where at “How to get acquired,” one of the many panels held at the conference, Microsoft’s Senior Director of Strategy and Acquisitions Fritz Lanman spoke in reply to a question host Loic Le Meur. The question was one concerning a rumor started in the book “The Facebook Effect” by David Kirkpatrick saying Microsoft tried several times. Turns out that’s true -at least part of it.

Replying to the rumor, Lanman noted “Yeah we tried to acquire Facebook. Facebook had a lot of similarities to Microsoft back in the day.” And went on to say that their original offer was somewhere around $15 billion around the year 2007. In the book The Facebook Effect, it’s written that Ballmer asked Mark Zuckerberg directly, “Why don’t we just buy you for $15 billion?” To which Zuckerberg replied, “I don’t want to sell the company unless I can keep control.”

The book continues by saying, “Ballmer took this reply as a sort of challenge. He went back to Microsoft’s headquarters and concocted a plan intended to acquire Facebook in stages over a period of years to enable Zuckerberg to keep calling the shots. But Zuckerberg rejected all the overtures.” Eventually Microsoft ended up agreeing on a $240 million small stake in the company, Facebook and they now working together in a search partnership.

Google Cr-48 laptop torn down and destroyed in one unlucky day (video)

12/11/2010 02:39:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Google , Google Cr-48 Chrome , Google Cr-48 Chrome Netbook , Google Cr-48 laptop , Technology , 0 Comments

Boy, we know the Cr-48 is supposed to be a test platform and all, but even by that standard, Google's Chrome OS laptop has had a very rough first day on the job. Ambushed by one of our kindly tipsters upon its arrival, the Cr-48 has been gutted and disassembled (mostly, the motherboard is mercifully left attached to the chassis), revealing the typical arrangement of tiny electronics, which includes Hynix memory chips and a SanDisk-branded SSD. We're just glad to see that masking tape isn't playing a structurally integral role in its construction. Things don't really get much better for the slinky 48 once it gets back home to Google HQ, however, as its makers have put together an entire video composed of creative destruction methods for it. Cruel, cruel people.

12/11/2010 02:38:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in HTC , Mobile News , 0 Comments

Taiwan-based news outlet DigiTimes cited "industry sources" Friday in a report that claims cell phone manufacturer HTC will ship 60 million handsets in 2011, triple 2010's number. It's unclear as to whether this refers solely to smartphones or whether this also involves yet-to-be-released tablet devices.

As one of the biggest hardware manufacturers producing Android phones (from the successful Droid line to the discontinued Nexus One), this is a promising sign for the Google-built mobile operating system. HTC is also a big manufacturer of Windows Phone 7 devices, with the Surround on AT&T and the HD7 on T-Mobile.

No more information was provided in the DigiTimes rumor except that the sources in question floated the figure at a gathering of handset component suppliers in Taipei.

Can Jacko ever rest in peace? An album of 'new' songs he didn't want released hits the shelves and his family battle over his millions

12/10/2010 11:12:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Featured Stories , Michael Jackson , Music News , 0 Comments

How ironic. In Breaking News, one of

the songs included on Michael Jackson’s posthumous album, he sings about ‘Everybody wanting a piece of Michael Jackson’.

Because 18 months after his death, the fight over Jackson and his legacy continues.

Next week, Michael, an album of ‘new’ material from the singer, is released. Made up of just a few of the hundreds of songs Michael recorded and discarded before his death from an ill-fated combination of prescribed drugs, it is the first release from the £125 million ten-album deal Michael’s estate made with Sony Records in March.

But the fights have already started, with his family and friends saying the perfectionist singer would never have wanted the songs to be released because they aren’t of a high enough standard.

‘As an unfinished product, Michael Jackson did not want them recorded,’ Brian Oxman, the Jackson family lawyer told me this week.

‘Sony were continually asking him to release these unfinished songs and he always said he did not want them put out. It was a huge bone of contention, but they hounded him.’

12/10/2010 11:12:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Box Office , Movie News , 0 Comments

After last week’s deadly results, the box office will thankfully be injected with some fresh energy this weekend. For one thing, Narnia is happenin’. Fox is releasing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third film adapted from C.S. Lewis’ beloved series of fantasy novels. Aslan the Lion will be facing off against two of Hollywood’s biggest cash cows, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, in Sony’s romantic thriller The Tourist. The victor should easily be Narnia, but the real test will be whether the $140 million film can make enough in the long run to convince Fox and Walden Media to finance a fourth Narnia movie. My weekend predictions:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: $40 million

Will 3-D and Narnia equal crazy delicious? (Okay, sorry, ending 5-year-old SNL reference now.) Disney abandoned the series after 2008′s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian grossed “only” $141.6 million domestically (and $419.7 million worldwide). By comparison, the first entry, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe converted $291.7 million stateside, and $745 million worldwide. It’s hard to know whether the series, which Fox is now distributing, is trapped in a downward spiral or not. Or maybe all of the Narnia sequels will simply earn around the same amount as Prince Caspian. I’m opting for a slight spiral in which Dawn Treader debuts to $40 million. (Wardrobe tallied $65.6 million when it opened the same weekend in 2005, and Prince Caspian premiered to $55 million). The PG movie should then play well throughout the rest of the holiday season, especially as Fox continues to court Christian audiences.

12/10/2010 11:10:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Chrome OS , Chrome OS Netbook , Cr-48 Chrome Netbook , Featured Stories , Google , Google Cr-48 Chrome , Google Cr-48 Chrome Netbook , Technology , 0 Comments

Well, would you look at what showed up on our frigid doorstep this morning? That's right, we are now the proud owners of Google's first Chrome OS laptop -- the Cr-48. Obviously, we ripped open the box and got right to handling the 12.1-inch, Atom-powered laptop. So, what does the thing feel like? How's that keyboard? And more importantly, how's Chrome OS looking? Stand by for our impressions, which we'll be adding in depth over the day. First impression: this thing is different.

Mega update: We blew this thing out! There's that video we already showed you, along with a way deeper dive into the hardware and the OS. It's all after the break, and you'd be a fool to miss it.

12/10/2010 11:10:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Angelina Jolie , Johnny Depp , Movie News , 0 Comments

Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie star in The Tourist together, but who's the bigger star and who can open a movie better?

Sure, let's start another celebrity rivalry. They're fun, and they keep sites like mine in business. Also, I did some digging, and took a look at the numbers, and—whoa.

I sure did not expect this:

Jolie may own the tabloids. Depp may have bigger box office deliveries—and he does. But according to people who actually quantify the fame of stars, Depp and Jolie are neck and neck.

"They're both at the zenith of their fame and fandom," says Tom Meyer, president for entertainment for The Marketing Arm, which runs the celebrity DBI, or Davie Brown Index.

The DBI measures a star's fame and appeal based on eight criteria, including public awareness and the star's influence.

12/10/2010 11:09:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Games , Mobile News , PlayStation phone , PlayStation Phone Zeus Z1 , Sony , Sony Ericsson , Zeus Z1 , 0 Comments

We can't get enough of Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone (also known as Zeus Z1), and we're guessing neither can you. We were just sent a new video of the device in action, only now it's running Qualcomm's Neocore benchmark app. As you can see, the device managed 24.4 frames per second on average. That doesn't seem like much -- our Nexus S, for example, just pulled off 55.6fps -- but bear in mind, this isn't the final software (or hardware probably), so there's no conclusions at all to draw from this benchmark right now. Just think of it as another nice view of the phone as we inch closer to a finish line we still can't make out over the horizon. Sorry, no slide-out gamepad, but you saw that last week -- don't be greedy. Video after the break.

12/10/2010 11:08:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Celebrity-Gossip , Jake Gyllenhaal , Kristen Stewart , Robert Pattinson , Taylor Swift , 0 Comments

We've bitched tons how we've been on caffeine overload just from reading about Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal's gazillion coffee dates. And now friends of the couple known as Jaylor are coming forward and telling us to, uh, reconsider.

Here's what's being said:

"She's not 21 yet, what else are they supposed to do?" sasses a source close to Jake.

Adds another insider when we pressed what we can expect from the couple after Swift's birthday next week:

"Well, what Taylor's really looking forward to about turning 21 is being able to go to clubs and see bands she's never been able to see before."

Jake will be in attendance as well, natch.

"She's really looking forward to that," assures Deep Jaylor. "She hasn't liked that she hasn't been able to do that before."

Somehow we think her version of clubbing may be different than that of, oh say, Miley Cyrus.

Doesn't this slightly sound like another couple we know? Robsten, perhaps?

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson frequent the music scene together, especially in L.A. It's pretty much a perfect date night around Hollywood parts.

Guess their choice in bands are more 18-and-over appropriate, since K.Stew isn't 21 yet, either, and she still goes to certain venues.

Then again, we highly doubt Stewart and Swift have the same taste in tunes.

Still, the fact that Jaylor is a couple with a dating plan makes us a bit less cynical.

Oh yeah, the kicker from Deep Jaylor:

"And what's the big deal if they just really like coffee?"

Uh, we're done on that subject. We'll leave it to the rest of you jaded types to weigh in here.

Video game industry posts record November sales

12/10/2010 11:08:00 AM

kenmouse , Posted in Games , Microsoft Kinect , Technology , 0 Comments

The video game industry posted its best-ever November sales on the strength of Microsoft's Kinect motion controller and games like Call of Duty: Black Ops.

That was the report from industry analyst, The NPD Group, which puts out monthly tallies for total video game software and hardware sales. According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, the video game business was good for $2.99 billion in November, up 8 percent from $2.76 billion a year earlier, and about $30 million more than the previous record November in 2008.

According to Frazier, every category of the business was up for the month except portable hardware and software. And Microsoft's Xbox 360--likely on the strength of its brand-new Kinect, saw a sales boost of 68 percent from a year earlier. Microsoft said that it sold 2.5 million Kinects in just 25 days, and 1.37 million Xboxes.

In its own release, Microsoft touted its sixth-straight monthly win in the head-to-head-to-head battle for console supremacy between its Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 3, and Nintendo's Wii. In addition, Microsoft's cited NPD's numbers in saying that four of the top-10 titles at retail for the month were for the Xbox platform: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fable III, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Halo: Reach. All told, NPD said, 40 percent of all video game dollars spent in November were spent on Xbox 360 games, hardware, or accessories.

For its part, Nintendo said it sold 1.2 million Wiis, as well as 1.5 million Nintendo DS units.

As of this writing, Sony had not issued a release touting its sales for the month.

On the software side, Call of Duty: Black Ops quickly raced to 8.7 million units sold, becoming in less than a month, the 7th-best selling game of all time.

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