An armoured Rolls Royce, a flaming piano and a 40ft sea monster... Lady Gaga kicks off £1m UK tour dressed in a nun's habit

After her pared down set at the Brits, Lady Gaga was back on form last night for the start of her nine-date UK tour.


The 23-year-old star delighted fans with a weird an wacky show, which she described as more akin to a musical than a pop concert.

Kicking off the British leg of her Monster Ball tour at the Manchester MEN Arena, the U.S. singer played a storming set involving 15 costume changes, a burning grand piano and a 40-foot animatronic sea monster.

Tiger Woods Press Conference Apology VIDEO

In his first public statement in nearly three months, Tiger Woods opened up this morning at the TPC Sawgrass golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. and apologized for the numerous affairs that came to light after he was involved in a mysterious car wreck on Nov. 27. “I am deeply sorry,” Woods said in his 14-plus-minute statement, directing his comments at family, friends, fans, business partners, and members of his foundation. “I have let you down. I have let down my fans.”

Woods spoke in broad strokes, never addressing the specifics of the affairs, instead focusing on his behavior as a whole. “I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you,” he said. “I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did. I’m embarrassed that I have put you in this position. For all that I have done, I am so sorry.”

Woods declined to provide specifics on what exactly transpired between he and his wife Elin Nordegren — who was not present at the press conference – on the evening of the car accident. He did, however, address rumors about alleged abuse. “I have a lot to atone for, but there’s one issue I really want to discuss,” Woods said. “Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence.” He continued: “Elin deserves praise, not blame. The issue involved here was my repeated, irresponsible behavior.” Later, he said that the problems between he and Elin are “between a husband and a wife” and that “What we say to each other will remain between the two of us.”

Woods also denied allegations that he’d taken performance enhancing drugs and asked the media to stop following his family, pleading, “whatever my wrongdoings, for the sake of my family, please leave my wife and kids alone.” He thanked consulting firm Accenture for understanding why he needed to make these statements today, despite the fact that their sponsored Match Play Championship tournament was underway.

Simon Cowell: My Replacement Has to Be Good-Looking

Simon Cowell may be leaving American Idol after the current season but don’t think he doesn’t care about who his replacement will be. In a conference call Thursday with reporters, Cowell talked about who is right for his job, the rumors that he and Ellen DeGeneres are squabbling and why he thinks Lady Gaga should mentor the latest crop of Idol hopefuls.

There have been rumors that you and Ellen DeGeneres aren’t getting along. Could you address them?

I wouldn’t say that we didn’t get on well. I don’t know Ellen that well. It was a difficult position for her because she started work on the Hollywood week, which is quite a difficult show to do. There was one story I read that [said] I turned up an hour late for something and that she wanted to film. The truth was I think I turned up 15 or 20 minutes late because I did a press conference earlier in the day. And they did start filming, but that wasn’t a particular problem. There was no fall out. I was trying to guide her through the week and that was it really.

Is Shakira Dating Rafael Nadal?

Are things getting muy caliente between Shakira and tennis star Rafael Nadal?

Last week, the pair was spotted sharing a cozy meal at the W Hotel in Barcelona, and the singer, 33, and the athlete, 23, get thisclose in Shakira's upcoming video for her song "Gypsy," premiering in April.

"They were giggling. They're very flirty," a source tells PEOPLE of the video shoot. "They had a lot of chemistry while they were filming."

Absent from the set to witness said chemistry? Shakira's longtime love Antonio de la Rua, and Maria Francisca Perello, whose relationship with Nadal went public last summer.

Nadal's rep has denied a romantic relationship between the pair and Shakira's rep describes them as "good friends."

Hilary Duff Is Engaged!

It's official: Hilary Duff is engaged to her hockey player boyfriend Mike Comrie.

Confirming rumors that the actress, who recently appeared on Gossip Girl, would soon be hearing wedding bells, her rep says that the Edmonton Oilers player, 29, did indeed propose.

"Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie were engaged this weekend while vacationing in Hawaii," rep Nanci Ryder said Friday. "After having been together for over two years, they are very excited to share this happy news. They are thankful for all of your warm wishes."

Early in their courtship, when he was with the New York Islanders, Comrie surprised Duff, 22, with a Mercedes for her birthday.

Duff, who said she read Hockey for Dummies to better understand her man, became a fixture at his hockey games. She's been spotted in the stands at Oilers games, and also cheered him on when Comrie played for the Ottawa Senators, where she had some famous company in the stands: Carrie Underwood Рwhose fianc̩ Mike Fisher also is on the team.

Windows 7's European browser ballot screen revealed, rolling out next week

While Microsoft’s browser-ballot screen has been in the news for the past several months, it’s not the only one the company is adding to its products.


As Neowin.net noted this week, there’s also an Office 2010 ballot screen that has been showing up in the Release Candidate (RC) version of Office 2010 in Europe. That ballot screen includes only two options, both about document formats.

The Office 2010 document-format ballot screen (a photo of which is on the NeoWin site) asks users which document format they’d like to make the default for Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The choices are Microsoft’s Office Open XML and the rival OpenDocument formats. “Microsoft Office supports many different file formats,” according to the splash screen. Users may select OOXML or ODF universally or select a different file format for each application.

EU, US approve, Microsoft + Yahoo search partnership is go

After announcing the search deal in July 2009, Yahoo and Microsoft have finally received regulatory clearance from both the US Department of Justice and the EU. Under the agreement between the two companies, Yahoo will use Microsoft's search platform to power its search results and paid search listings. Yahoo will handle customer relations with high-volume advertisers for both companies. Self-service advertisers will continue to deal with Microsoft directly. A similar deal between Yahoo and Google was abandoned after the Department of Justice threatened an antitrust lawsuit.

For Yahoo users, the visible difference will be that Yahoo search results will be identical to those of Microsoft's Bing. Yahoo will continue to offer its own content to Web users to provide more than just search results. The companies believe that this partnership will enable them to better compete with the dominant Google.

Dell Mini 5 prototype impressions

Dell's puzzled the world for quite some time with its outlandish Mini 5 -- at first glance it's just another Android-based MID, but a quick fiddle with it reveals the full-fledged 3G phone inside. So will it fit in a pocket? Can we carry it around like a normal phone? Is this the future form factor that will bring the ultimate balance between portability and practicality? With such heavy dose of curiosity, we eventually traveled all the way to Shenzhen literally just to grab this prototype. Now, before you read on, do bear in mind that some of its features -- especially the OS -- may not make it to the final design when it comes out later this year, nor do we know what stage this prototype was at. We good? OK.


Let's start with the basics: the main specs on our unit include Android 1.6 (which will definitely be obsolete for the final product), five-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, Snapdragon QSD8250 chipset (with CPU clocked at 1GHz), Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and WCDMA radio. Sadly, we have no info on whether the Mini 5 will have other cellular radio options, but it wouldn't hurt to send Dell a petition regarding this matter. For those who want the dimensions and weight in numbers, it's about 152mm x 78mm x 10mm at 8 ounces (including the battery, which lasts for almost a day for normal usage on 3G). Memory-wise there's 405MB RAM and 1.63GB of internal storage -- a slight let-down for the latter, so let's hope the retail unit will be given a more generous dose of silicon. You can add a microSD card next to the battery on the back, but it appears that the mysterious second card slot we saw in the earlier teardown only gave us false hope -- we couldn't find a way to get to it without prying open the housing. Connection to your computer relies on a proprietary port -- similar but slightly larger than the iPod's -- to USB cable, which may suggest that we will see some more peripherals made for the Mini 5 and its future siblings.

Why there is no Zune Phone

The big news out of Barcelona this week was Microsoft’s announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series, the heir to Windows Mobile and Microsoft’s platform of choice to evolve their mobile strategy. With a UI that’s looks very familiar to users of the Zune HD, I think Microsoft has done an excellent job re-inventing their mobile strategy. It’s clear they are no longer playing in this market, they’re playing to win. It’s also clear that this year will be a major inflection point for mobile and Microsoft has gotten off to a good start, much better than what we’ve heard so far this week. The key will be execution and delivery on the things they’ve shown us this week. You’d think that would be enough for most folks, but it’s clearly not. It seems there are some out there that are still looking for more.

I don’t understand why I’m still reading people clamoring for a Microsoft “Zune” phone. It’s pretty clear that we’re not going to see a phone from Microsoft themselves, at least not one based on the Xbox and Zune business models. I’ve talked about why we wouldn’t see a Zune phone before but it’s worth repeating.

The business model of Windows Mobile is totally different than Zune and the Xbox (in fact, I’d argue that we’ll see Microsoft get out of the Zune hardware business long before they become a direct handset vendor, but that’s another story).

Zune was a good idea to some extent, since the technology Microsoft was licensing wasn’t getting them anywhere. As it was, hardware partners were taken aback by Microsoft’s actions but at the end of the day, they simply were not delivering on the markets needed by Microsoft to be successful.

Did Apple Just Ban Sexual Content From The App Store?

Apple may have just made a major change to the App Store that could render many developers’ applications worthless. We’ve just heard from Jon Atherton, the developer behind Wobble iBoobs, who says that he just received an Email from Apple indicating that his application was being removed from the App Store because of a new policy change: Apple has apparently decided “to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store.” Here’s the letter Atherton says he received:

The App Store continues to evolve, and as such, we are constantly refining our guidelines. Your application, Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored), contains content that we had originally believed to be suitable for distribution. However, we have recently received numerous complaints from our customers about this type of content, and have changed our guidelines appropriately.

We have decided to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store, which includes your application.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter. If you believe you can make the necessary changes so that Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored) complies with our recent changes, we encourage you to do so and resubmit for review.

Windows 7 memory woes: It's simply not true

There's been much ado about a report by Devil Mountain Software that the vast majority of Windows 7 systems suffer from RAM woes, leading to performance problems. Based on my own experience on a machine that has run Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP, though, it's simply not true.

Computerworld reports that Devil Mountain Software claims that most Windows 7 systems max out on their memory, severely affecting peformance. Gregg Keizer reports:

Citing data from Devil Mountain Software's community-based Exo.performance.network (XPnet), Craig Barth, the company's chief technology officer, said that new metrics reveal an unsettling trend. On average, 86% of Windows 7 machines in the XPnet pool are regularly consuming 90%-95% of their available RAM, resulting in slow-downs as the systems were forced to increasingly turn to disk-based virtual memory to handle tasks.

Steve Jobs: Flash Video Would Make the iPad Battery Life 1.5 Hours

According to Steve Jobs, running Flash video on the iPad would cut its battery life from 10 hours to a measly 1.5. At least, that was his pitch to Wall Street Journal execs recently. But could it possibly be true?


Well, yes and no. Jobs is picking and choosing here between hypothetical versions of Flash. If the iPad version of Flash were to have hardware acceleration, which Flash 10.1 offered up for desktops (though not OS X), that wouldn't be remotely the case. If Flash on the iPad were to support hardware video decoding where available, it wouldn't require nearly as much CPU. You'd lose battery life, sure, the same way you lose battery life watching any type of video on any system, but nothing near as dramatic as 85%.

Of course, that hardware acceleration isn't currently possible on Macs, because Adobe doesn't have access to the appropriate APIs. So Jobs can easily on a imaginary version of Flash that doesn't have hardware acceleration and come up with an imaginary battery life impact.

Google CEO Thinks Buzz Privacy Worked Just Dandy

So much for apologies! Google CEO Eric Schmidt yesterday described user discomfort over Buzz's privacy issues as "confusion," saying that "nobody's personal information was disclosed." This is, of course, complete and utter manure.


Buzz's privacy problems are widely documented. Google's misadventure in social networking has already inspired an FTC complaint and a class action law suit. Google itself has had to make multiple security updates on the fly. So... where's the confusion?

Microsoft, Into the Light: The Unofficial Windows Phone 7 Strategy

Microsoft's last decade began dark. They seemed to screw everything up. Then, over 10 years, they made Xbox, Zune, and a better Windows. And if the reborn Windows Phone can amplify everything, they've got a shot at being the greatest.


Ten years is a long time. During that period, things got harder, and easier, for Microsoft. While Redmond was plotting a comeback, gadgets got to be a lot more than just hardware. The internet and social bloomed. The world that was in increasing need of software expertise. Just few companies—including Microsoft—had shoulders broad enough to give us the entire setup, fully integrated. That is, everything from email services to mobile hardware to desktop operating systems and maybe even movies, video games and music. Things Redmond always had potential for, but failed to deliver on in a cohesive way.

Today, phone makers like Palm, Sony Ericsson and Nokia are less threatening simply because phones need to work with everything else. Only Apple, Google and Sony have similar advantages, although none in such strong proportion as Microsoft. Theoretically.

VanNess Madness

WHEN hit Taiwanese idol drama series Meteor Garden became a worldwide sensation nine years ago, American-born Chinese actor-singer Van Ness Wu was considered boy band F4's least popular and swoon-worthy member.

F4 - now known as JVKV and also comprising Jerry Yan, Vic Chou and Ken Chu - starred as a rich-boy quartet in Meteor Garden.

Van Ness was criticised for his sub-par acting skills and poor Mandarin diction in the drama.

His character had the least screen time among the foursome, and the only one who didn't have a love interest.

Now fast forward to the present, and the 32-year-old is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.

Van Ness's latest Taiwanese drama Autumn's Concerto, which debuted last October in Taiwan, has garnered top ratings (8.2 per cent), beating previous front-runner The Prince Who Turns Into A Frog.

It premiered in Singapore on E City (StarHub Ch 56) in January, and resumes telecast on 6 Mar at 7pm after a short hiatus.

Jang Dong Gun and Ko So Young to get married in May?

Top Hallyu actor Jang Dong Gun has been dating Ko So Young for some time now and there’s rumors of a wedding in May. According to unnamed sources who are said to be close to the couple, they’ve secretly announced that the wedding will take place in May.


Official confirmation and an exact date should be revealed when Jang Dong Gun holds his fan meeting on March 6th.

Wonder Girls top the charts in Taiwan & Hong Kong

I’m sure we all know about the big success that the Wonder Girls had in Korea back in 2007-2008 when they had a triple crown of hits, starting with Tell Me, followed by So Hot and Nobody. Well, it looks like the girls are having success overseas in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well!


It’s only been two weeks since the Wonder Girls Special Edition Album was released, and it has already topped the album sales chart in both Taiwan and Hong Kong, beating Super Junior, F.T Island and BoA’s albums! Their album consists of 16 tracks including Tell Me, So Hot and Nobody in Mandarin as well as a DVD containing music videos for their three hit tracks.

Harisu is charged with promoting pornography?

Veteran singer, Lee Kwang Pil (44) has filed a charge with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against transsexual celebrity, Harisu (35) for promoting pornography through her photo exhibition, and violating the Youth Protection Act.


The charge was filed on the 18th claiming that although the photo exhibition which had hoped to raise awareness of transgender people was restricted to those aged 19 and above, it was still harmful to youths as promotional (explicit) photos for the exhibition were freely distributed and published through media channels.

2PM’s ‘Star Dance Battle’ rehearsal


Nearly a week ago, beastly idol group 2PM (minus Nichkhun and Jaebeom) duked it out with Super Junior on MBC’s ‘Star Dance Battle.’ Now I don’t know about the rest of you girls but I nearly fainted from their more-than-awesome performance (and don’t lie, I know you drooled over their body waves and pelvic thrusts).

Well lucky for you girls, a rehearsal video has recently been released of 2PM dancing to Chris Brown’s ‘Take You Down.’ Check it out!

Se7en is coming back!

It looks like the long wait will finally pay off soon – Korea’s original superstar, Se7en will be returning with his new album this spring after undergoing a four-year-long hiatus from the k-pop scene!

Se7en’s return has been highly anticipated since last year, when the news regarding his comeback preparation began to circulate around the web. However, no set dates had been confirmed by the YG Entertainment until now. It has just been reported that Se7en is still in the progress of recording with various well-known producers, and will finally be finished around May.

A representative of YG Entertainment revealed,

    “The actual date of comeback will be decided upon after we consider the format of the album and its musical quality. We are expecting a comeback around May or June. So far, only 50% of the album has been recorded; however, it won’t take much longer.”

Kristen Stewart Dates Taylor Lautner at Oscar

Robert Pattinson presented at last year's Oscars, but guess which Twilight stars are doing it this time around?

I'll let Kristen Stewart tell you…

"Yeah, I'm going," Stewart just told me when I asked if we'd be seeing her on March 7 at the Academy Awards. "Me and Taylor are going to present."

Stewart admitted she's very nervous.

"I've been looking at shoes," she said. "I'm trying to pick shoes that I know I won't fall down in."

I chatted with Stewart at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, where she'd been holed up for most of the day promoting her new drama, The Yellow Handkerchief, with costars Eddie Redmyane, Maria Bello and William Hurt.

In a couple of days, she'll be in London for BAFTA's Orange Awards, where she's a Rising Star nominee.

Elton John: Jesus Was 'Gay' and Super-intelligent

Elton John has never been one to hold back his feelings. This time, he's ruffling a few feathers among Christians.


"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East -- you're as good as dead," John tells PARADE.

Go Behind the Scenes of Lady Gaga's New Video!

Another great meeting of the pop music minds: After Lady Gaga and Beyonce already gave the world a ferosh collaboration with their remix video of B's "Video Phone" (who can forget Gaga gyrating B-style with a toy gun?), the divalicious duo reunited right before the Grammy's to tape a Tarantino-inspired clip for Gaga's Fame Monster hit, "Telephone" (it's already No. 1 in Canada!).


Gaga even Tweeted while filming that she "feels bad for the "Bad Romance" video," meaning this latest vid will surely top it. And if these behind-the-scenes pics are any indication, she'll at least blow the hairstyles of that spot far out of the water, even without a polar bear coat to add oomph.

Hayden Panettiere: What a Lush

Heroes decided to royally suck after about Season One, and with its free fall, Hayden Panettiere became less the $h!t than she initially was. But cute she remains.

She's posing here for Lush magazine, whatever that is. Peep it:



We're sure Wladimir Klitschko approves of the look above. What guy wouldn't? Too bad she's not 10 years older and on a show that doesn't eat ass, are we right guys?

Just kidding ... her age stopped more than one 30-year-old from going there.

American Idol's Top 24 Revealed

They came. They sang. But only 24 conquered.


The remaining 17 candidates for American Idol season-nine glory were revealed Wednesday, with most of the slots going to those you saw coming a mile away, a couple going to people you've barely seen at all, and a few yanked from the mouths of potential greats.

For instance, what is up the annual torture of Angela Martin, the single mother of a disabled little girl whose dad passed away a few days before she auditioned for season seven? She got cut in round two of Hollywood week.

Then she left the top 50 in season eight because she had to go to court to settle a traffic violation. And her mom went missing just this past December.

Opera Mini on iPhone is fast, but why?

We came, we saw, and we're still scratching our heads over what Opera is up to with its Mobile World Congress demonstration of its Opera Mini browser running on the iPhone 3GS. But before we get into that, let's talk performance: it's fast. Opera Mini is very, very fast on the iPhone. Loading the New York Times, for example, was about 5x faster than loading the same page in the iPhone 3GS' stock browser. Pages loaded smoothly and were interactive just as quickly as the content began to load -- not unlike the Safari browsing experience. From a functionality standpoint, Opera Mini operates exactly as it does on other, less-contentious platforms. So while double-tap to zoom is supported, pinch-to-zoom is not. The iPhone version does, however, remember the state of the browser when you exit Opera Mini. As such, you'll find your tabs and recent pages right where they were when you last used the app.

The impressive performance gain has to do with how Opera Mini works. First, it's not doing any rendering of the pages or code processing locally. Web pages are processed by Opera's servers before sending just the results to the iPhone. Not only does this speed up the local processing but it also limits the amount of data sent -- a potential big money saver for people browsing while data roaming (like us in Barcelona) or for those without unlimited data plans.

Opera Mini on iPhone is fast, but why?

We came, we saw, and we're still scratching our heads over what Opera is up to with its Mobile World Congress demonstration of its Opera Mini browser running on the iPhone 3GS. But before we get into that, let's talk performance: it's fast. Opera Mini is very, very fast on the iPhone. Loading the New York Times, for example, was about 5x faster than loading the same page in the iPhone 3GS' stock browser. Pages loaded smoothly and were interactive just as quickly as the content began to load -- not unlike the Safari browsing experience. From a functionality standpoint, Opera Mini operates exactly as it does on other, less-contentious platforms. So while double-tap to zoom is supported, pinch-to-zoom is not. The iPhone version does, however, remember the state of the browser when you exit Opera Mini. As such, you'll find your tabs and recent pages right where they were when you last used the app.

The impressive performance gain has to do with how Opera Mini works. First, it's not doing any rendering of the pages or code processing locally. Web pages are processed by Opera's servers before sending just the results to the iPhone. Not only does this speed up the local processing but it also limits the amount of data sent -- a potential big money saver for people browsing while data roaming (like us in Barcelona) or for those without unlimited data plans.

Apple Boosts iPhone 3G Download Capacity

Apple has increased the cap for downloads over 3G networks on the iPhone from 10MB to 20MB, in what some think is a sign of heavier multimedia content appearing for the upcoming iPad.

By now, every time you wanted to download a podcast or application from the App Store that was over 10 MB, you got an annoying message asking you to use Wi-Fi because the file was too large. But not anymore.

Apple lifted the 10MB cap, only to double it to 20MB, which should be a more reasonable figure for video and podcast downloads when out of Wi-Fi range. If you try to download files over 20MB though, a message will prompt you to switch to Wi-Fi.

Besides giving iPhone users a wider variety of content they can download over 3G networks, the cap increase may be a sign that the iPad will require larger file downloads over 3G because of higher resolution graphics and more complex applications.

Google Shopper Android app lets you shop smarter

Google has launched yet another application for Android – this time, it’s one that should help you shop smarter.


The app is called Google Shopper and uses your Android phone’s camera to scan “most barcodes”, as well as cover art of CDs, DVDs, video games and books. After you’ve scanned the desired product or barcode, Google Shopper provides product-related info, like where to buy and for how much.

Info can also be provided if you simply speak the name of the product you’re looking for.

OpenPeak debuts OpenTablet 7 at MWC

I don’t think anyone is surprised that we are seeing new tablets hit the market in the post iPad unveiling days and weeks despite the fact that some are predicting the iPad will not be popular for Apple. The latest new tablet to debut is from a company called OpenPeak and it is called the OpenTablet 7.



The OpenTablet 7 is a slick looking device that is portable and has a multi-touch touchscreen that is 7-inches wide and uses LED backlighting. The tablet also supports 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, and cellular connectivity. That cellular connectivity allows mobile broadband access and the device has a mic and speakers allowing it to be used as a phone.

Windows Mobile's Incredible Death Spiral

Before Windows Phone 7 was even an embryo of a concept, Windows Mobile was king: It powered nearly half of smartphones in use, a led the industry in features. Then, in 2007, things started to go wrong. Very, very wrong.


Silicon Alley Insider has charted Windows Mobile's platform share, which is to say the proportion of users who were using it at a given time, over the last four years. For showing decline, figures like these are more telling than sales—they mean that, for years now, people haven't been buying Windows Mobile phones nearly as fast as they've been ditching them.

Sex.com Domain To Be Sold At Auction. The Bidding Starts At $1 Million

It’s been through several owners, legal battles and even the subject of books, but Sex.com will be sold once again in an auction next month. Bids will start at $1 million.

Ownership over the Sex.com domain was the subject of a decade-long legal battle chronicled in not one, but two books. It was sold to a company called ESCOM in 2006 for a reported $14 million. It is possible that ESCOM was never able to pay off that amount because the notice (embedded below) says the sale is due to a foreclosure “for default in the payment of debt and performance of obligations owed by Escom, LLC (“Borrower”) to DOM Partners LLC (Secured Party”).

eBooks for iPad may be cheaper than we think

One of the cool services that was unveiled along with the iPad was the new Apple eBook store. The problem with the store that Apple unveiled is that the tech company had negotiated prices with the publishers that would have the books selling for more than they do elsewhere such as Amazon.

After Apple agreed to the price, some publishers held Amazon’s feet to the fire to get the company to increase the price the books sell for. Whereas prices for many new books on Amazon were $9.99, the price for the books via Apple would range from $12.99 to $14.99. The New York Times reports that people with knowledge of the discussions between Apple and publishers have said that the price range quoted by Apple was merely the price ceiling.

Opera Mobile running on the Nexus One


We had a brief chat with Opera Software product analyst Phillip Grønvold here at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday. We had a conversation about the company’s plans to submit an Opera Mini iPhone app up for App Store approval, of which we posted the video interview yesterday.

Another thing we touched upon was the recently announced plans to provide handset manufacturers with a toolkit to get the company’s Opera Mobile product preloaded on Android devices. Grønvold demoed the app running on Google’s Nexus One phone, and we recorded the video of the app in action, embedded above.

Yahoo, Microsoft make search pact official (FAQ)

It took eight months, but the search strategy that Microsoft and Yahoo settled on after years of flirting is about to get started.


The U.S. Department of Justice and European Union gave their blessing to the deal early on Thursday, paving the way for Microsoft to take over the business of providing search results to Yahoo while Yahoo will get to sell search ads on both Yahoo and Bing. Yahoo is busy reminding anyone who will listen that it will still control the way search results are presented on its pages, while Microsoft thinks it can improve its search algorithms with access to Yahoo's massive audience.

It will take some time for the companies to implement the complicated deal. In the meantime, here's a list of questions and answers that are sure to arise now that the deed is done.

Microsoft’s own Windows Phone 7 handset may be released in early 2011, made by Asus

A few days ago at MWC 2010, when Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series, it demoed the new OS on an Asus-made smartphone, saying that the device won’t be commercially available.


However, it looks like a different (or maybe similar) Asus smartphone is in the making, and Microsoft plans to launch it as “its own phone”

The Street has it that, according to analyst Ashok Kumar (who was the first to provide details about the Google Nexus One), Asus and Microsoft “have encountered some setbacks on the road to manufacturing” the smartphone, which should be “the next Apple iPhone killer or Google Android annihilator.”

Leaked Windows Phone 7 info details developer hoops

Microsoft may be playing their Windows Phone 7 development cards close to their chest – the perpetual message at MWC 2010 this week was “wait until MIX 2010 and we’ll tell you more” – but that hasn’t stopped leaks from tipping the company’s plans. According to an XDA-developers forum thread, leaked OS 7.0 Application Platform documents have confirmed some of the expectations and hints from the WP7 launch, including that it’s an almost entirely different environment from what developers are used to from Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and earlier.

Like the Zune HD, WP7 uses XNA, along with both the .NET Compact Framework and Microsoft’s own Silverlight Flash-alternative. Microsoft also intend to be a whole lot more controlling as to what they let through onto the smartphones: developers will have access to a limited selection of managed APIs, and have to apply to use the native APIs if they find that provision insufficient. Functionality like accessing the camera will be permitted from the managed APIs, however, so it’s possible that developers will be able to recreate their titles without needing to go through that secondary assessment process.

TVXQ’s Yunho to train in Los Angeles for Michael Jackson tribute concert

It’s been reported that Yunho of TVXQ will be part of the Korea leg of the posthumous concert This Is It dedicated to legendary icon Michael Jackson. Of course, for this concert, Yunho can’t stay in Korea / Japan for TVXQ promotions and will be heading to the United States!

Set to leave for Los Angeles in March, he will improve on his singing and dancing while working with the “This Is It” team. Yunho will work closely with Bashiri Johnson, Maurice Pledger and Judith Hill for his training.

A representative of the concert said,

“For the concert, every member who was set to perform the 2010 This Is It World Tour that was set to launch on July 7th in London will be performing here. There are plans for the Korean singer Yunho to be part of the concert and present a Michael Jackson performance.”

Backstreet Boys, “Dong Bang Shin Ki, it’s like looking at the mirror for us”

In Korea for their 3rd concert tour, popular group Backstreet Boys mentioned boyband Dong Bang Shin Ki in their recent interview.


[Excerpt] The Backstreet Boys know Korean group Dong Bang Shin Ki.

The Backstreet Boys said, “We met a Korean group called Dong Bang Shin Ki in Japan some time ago,” and “They looked and dressed differently, but other than the fact that they color coordinate their clothes and are of a different race, it was like looking in the mirror for us.” They continued to say, “I remember thinking that Dong Bang Shin Ki reminds us of our former selves.”

Xiah Junsu's twin brother to make debut in China next month

TVXQ member Xiah Junsu's twin brother Kim Junho looks set on following the footsteps of his pop idol sibling by making an official singing debut in China next month, according to a Chinese media report.

Chinese entertainment website iFensi.com recently reported that Kim Junho, Junsu's older fraternal twin, will be "holding a showcase in Beijing and making [his] debut as a singer."

iFensi further explained that Kim, who had appeared on [popular Hunan TV] 'Tian Tian Xiang Shang' while he was studying at Beijing Normal University, is "especially fond of China" and that his single "Wo Ai Ni" received "positive feedback".

Rain to release special album in April, plans for 2 album releases this year

Actor singer Rain will be releasing a special album coming April. This is revealed by JTunes Entertainment on 19th February.

According to JTunes representative, Rain wll be releasing a minialbum with 4~5 songs coming April, and after the release of this special album he will released a full length album in October.

This will be his new single album released 1 year and 6 months after his 5th album ‘Rainisim’ released in May 2008. And for last year, Rain was caught up with the filming and promotions of his Hollywood movie ‘Ninja Assassin’ and did not release any new album.

The rep added, “Currently the recording for some of the songs are completed. We have been receiving better songs from the composers. Of the songs to be included, there will be ballad songs. But as for what genre the title song will be, it is still unconfirmed as of now.”

Lee Hyori’s comeback 4th album release pushed back to March

It has been revealed that Lee Hyori’s comeback album will be delayed by a little.

A Mnet Media rep revealed on 18th February over a phone interview, “Lee Hyori’s 4th full length album will be delayed a little and be released in March.”

Initially the plans were for the album to be released within this month. But the release date is pushed back in order to attain a high degree of perfection for the album.

Lee Hyori previously released her 3rd album ‘Hyorish’ in July 2008 and afterwhich she was active on SBS Family Outing which even earned her a daesang award at SBS Entertainment Awards in 2009.

But there are plans for Lee Hyori to concentrate more on her singing activities.

Big Bang presents ‘Lollipop 2′!


Just last year, Big Bang and 2NE1 brought the ‘Lollipop’ fever all across Korea. 2010 is bright and once again Big Bang is in the spotlight with ‘Lollipop 2′! Unlike the stronger and colorful beat sounds presented on the first version, ‘Lollipop 2′ carries the subdued beat sounds along with the different voice colors of each members.

What do you guys think? The original ‘Lollipop’ or ‘Lollipop 2′? Also find the CF under the cut.

Doctors Explain: What's Wrong With Angelina's Face

Angelina Jolie was photographed in Venice, Italy Wednesday afternoon with two protruding muscles where her chin meets her neck.

The photo was not altered, as Jolie, 34, sported the same facial protrusion at the BAFTA awards in February 2009 (see bottom photo, at left).

UsMagazine consulted a number of plastic surgeons to find out what's really going on because, as Beverly Hills-based Dr. Gabriel Chiu tells Us, "it's unlikely that the banding can occur from strong facial muscles alone."

Dr. Elie Levine, who has not treated Jolie, says that it appears she's "received Botox to her face and likely her neck" because she shows "no wrinkles along the sides of her eyes (the crow's feet) despite that very large smile... and her forehead is smooth."

Kendra: "When the Baby Sleeps, We Have Sex!"

Many new parents may live by the motto, "When the baby sleeps, you sleep," but not Kendra Wilkinson and hubby Hank Baskett.


"When the baby sleeps, we have sex!" Kendra told me earlier today. "That's what it is for us. That's why it's so cool to be young parents because we have the energy to do that."

As well as having the energy to get back to her...

See Britney Spears' Newest Candie's Ads!

Britney Spears shot another round of ads for Candie's. This time the juniors clothing line, only available at Kohl's, got all fancy, titling the campaign "Britney Spears Through the Lens" and hiring several well-known photographers.


The gray industrial backdrop is the work of Annie Leibovitz, while Terry Richardson took over for the sexy bikini portion with his stark white background. And then there's Mark Seliger, who got two different sets:

‘Sexier and More Confident’ Heidi Montag Designing Clothing For Her New Body

Continuing her aesthetic overhaul, Heidi Montag, who famously underwent ten plastic surgery procedures in one day to become what she calls “the new me,” has also tapped into her inner-fashion designer. The reality star packed four dresses of her own creation for her trip to Las Vegas last weekend, where she co-hosted Pure nightclub’s Valentine’s Day bash with husband Spencer Pratt. On the red carpet, the 23 year-old opted for a body-hugging, fuchsia dress. “Pink is a color full of love and it’s so vibrant and beautiful–and it was, of course, very festive,” she tells PEOPLE. “It was exactly what I wanted to wear for my new body. I’ve never felt sexier or more confident in my life. It was revealing but still kept something to the imagination. It hugged all my curves perfectly.”
As for where she finds inspiration, Montag says, “Most of my inspiration comes from old movies and I have tons of books on old Hollywood. I just love the magnificence of that time–the sequins, the sexiness. I want to capture the true luster of Hollywood in all my designs.” Montag also professes her admiration for designers like Coco Chanel (“so classic and timeless”) and Dolce & Gabbana (“They have such a sexy shape and have women looking their best in every silhouette,” she says). Expect more Montag-made clothing to surface: “This is just the beginning. I’d really love to eventually wear mostly my only designs. And I really would love to do a low end line [for my] fans and it can be really accessible and then a one of a kind couture line to really showcase my creativity.” But just around the corner? “Look out for my bikini line this summer!”

Chris Brown: Ridin' Dirty ... Enough?

One year after beating the crap out of Rihanna, Chris Brown has been rebuilding his image and career, belting out hits on Graffiti, attending Fashion Week, etc.


But the Rihanna case lingers. Brown will face an L.A. judge today to determine if he is doing enough to satisfy his probation on his felony assault conviction.

Judge Patricia Schnegg has been skeptical about the type of community service Brown has been performing in Virginia - and whether it's been true hard labor.

Chris' sentence actually called for hundreds of hours of community labor, not just service - meaning he has to be poundin' the pavement (not just Keri Hilson).

Lady Gaga Rules Brit Awards

Lady Gaga won three awards, rocked a Marie-Antoinette-on-steroids wig and paid tribute to the late Alexander McQueen at the Brit Awards in London on Tuesday.


All in a night's work.

"Thank you to Lee McQueen," she said, using the celebrity fashion icon's real name, prior to a rendition of "Poker Face," "Telephone" and "Dance in the Dark."

"I was really excited to win the first two awards," she added. "They mean even more to me because I worked so hard on this album (The Fame) for so long."

Christina Hendricks Talks Weight Criticism With New York Magazine

Ravishing redheadChristina Hendricks admits recent barbs about her voluptuous figure have left a “bad taste in her mouth.”


A New York Times blogger was forced to apologize after writing “Big girls shouldn’t wear big dresses” after spying the Mad Men star in a lavish ball gown at last month’s Golden Globe Awards. The writer later insisted the photograph of Hendricks had been accidentally distorted.

Pam Anderson: Does Nearly Nude Shock Anymore?

Oh, look. It's Pamela Anderson wearing next to nothing.


Zzzzzz...

We'll keep this supershort, because this isn't the first time (and it surely won't be the last) the former Baywatch star has found herself somewhere—in this case, the Richie Rich A*Muse fashion show in NYC—trying way too hard.

And what exactly is going on here? Does Pam think this is sexy? Is she hoping to shock us? Or is it simply another desperate attempt to cling to her glory days?

Google Admits Buzz Testing Sucked and They Are "Very, Very Sorry"

Google has admitted that their Buzz testing process was equivalent to mine: Click enable, then disable it ninety seconds later. They said to the BBC that their testing sucked donkey balls, which is why many people hate it. The excuse:

We're very early in this space. This was one of our first big attempts. We've been testing Buzz internally at Google for a while. Of course, getting feedback from 20,000 Googlers isn't quite the same as letting Gmail users play with Buzz in the wild. If it becomes clear that people don't think we've done enough, we'll make more changes.

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