Google exec: 60% of businesses could dump Windows for Chrome OS

Google continues to send the world mixed messages about Chrome OS.

Depending on who you ask about Chrome OS at Google or among Google analysts, you could hear any one of the following messages:
  • Chrome OS will be released in December
  • Chrome OS has been delayed until 2011
  • Chrome OS will be killed before it comes to market
  • Chrome OS and Android will merge into one platform

The latest information comes from a New York Times report that cites its source as Linus Upson, Chrome chief and Google vice president of engineering. The new report says Google recently deployed new systems loaded with Chrome OS to internal Google employees, including Sergey Brin. The Google co-founder reluctantly made the exchange.

However, the kicker in the Times story was this: “Mr. Upson says that 60 percent of businesses could immediately replace their Windows machines with computers running Chrome OS. He also says he hopes it will put corporate systems administrators out of work because software updates will be made automatically over the Web.”

U.S. seizes sites linked to copyright infringement


The U.S. government has launched a major crackdown on online copyright infringement, seizing dozens of sites linked to illegal file sharing and counterfeit goods.

Torrent sites that link to illegal copies of music and movie files and sites that sell counterfeit goods were seized this week by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security. Visitors to such sites as Torrent-finder.com, 2009jerseys.com, and Dvdcollects.com found that their usual sites had been replaced by a message that said, "This domain name has been seized by ICE--Homeland Security Investigations, pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by a United States District Court."

"My domain has been seized without any previous complaint or notice from any court!" the owner of Torrent-Finder told TorrentFreak, which listed more than 70 domains that were apparently part of the massive seizure.

Jay Chou is the top money maker of 2010

Which is no surprise. Appledaily has crowned Jay Chou as the top money making singer of 2010. The popular annual ranking was based on figures provided by record companies, advertisers and concert organizers.

President Chou has outdone himself again by making an estimated 852 million NTD in 2010. It was only a year ago when he broke the 700 million mark, which earn him the title “Cape 700 million” (referencing the hit movie “Cape No. 7”.) Jay Chou completed 31 shows as part of his world concert tour, 20 paid performances, as well as numerous endorsement deals.

Coming in second was none other than his ex Jolin Tsai. The songstress was estimated to have earned 457.69 million NTD from music royalties, endorsements, concerts, paid performances and clothing line. Since the inception of this ranking in 2004, Double-J has earned a whopping 4.9 billion NTD with 3.1 of it coming from Jay Chou alone. Behind them in third place was S.H.E. Prior to Selina’s accident, the group has already earned 380 million NTD in 2010. In addition to album sales, endorsements and concert tour, they also showed their diversity with Ella’s drama and Hebe’s solo album.

Actress Goo Hye-sun to serve as South Korea's film ambassador in Asia Pacific Film Festival despite brewing anti-Korean sentiments in Taiwan


Next week marks the 54th Asia Pacific Film Festival, a prestigious film festival held in Taiwan this year which gathers top filmmakers and entertainers from around the region to celebrate the joys of film. In an effort to expand the film festival to a larger and more general audience, organizers for the festival hoped to continue inviting popular pop groups from South Korea to take part in musical performances since South Korean boy band Super Junior's participation at last year's festivities.

Due to the recent row stemming from female Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun's disqualification from the recent Asian Games by a South Korean sports official not present at the match, brewing anti-Korean sentiments in Taiwan led to organizers of the festival to terminate those original plans. "We were considering inviting South Korean groups to perform but we decided to drop the idea as the atmosphere is wrong," Justin Chou, an organizer of the Asia Pacific Film Festival, told reporters.

Aspiring singer dies during plastic surgery

A former contestant of China's Super Girl singing contest, the equivalent of American idol, died last week after a cosmetic procedure to narrow her jawbone.

2005 Super Girls contestant Wang Bei died while undergoing plastic surgery, in Wuhan, Hubei province, according to Tianfu Morning News.

The singer and sometime model, 24, was having a facial "bone-shaving" operation, when the doctor was thought to have made a mistake, causing blood to flow into her lungs. Wang died of suffocation.

Xinhua news agency reported that an "anaesthetic accident" had occurred during the procedure at the Zhong'ao Cosmetic Surgery Hospital.

The doctor is said to have secretly transferred her to Wuhan No 161 Hospital, but it was too late to save her life.

According to media reports, Wang Bei, 24, underwent the procedure with her mother in Wuhan. Her mother was only told of her death a day later.

'Tangled,' 'Harry Potter' Top Family-Minded Thanksgiving Day Box Office

It was a Thanksgiving feast for the teenage wizard, as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 led the box office on Thursday by engulfing $11.5 million, according to early estimates. That result brings the PG-13 fantasy film’s seven-day gross to $170 million. Not far behind on Thanksgiving, and performing stronger than expected, was Disney’s animated musical Tangled, which earned $8.1 million. The PG-rated retelling of Rapunzel should continue to thrive during the weekend thanks to excellent word-of-mouth — CinemaScore audiences rated it a rare “A+”. The two family-friendly movies also dominated the box office on Wednesday, with Deathly Hallows grossing an estimated $14.5 million and Tangled snaring $11.6 million. Thanksgiving Day results are below. Check back tomorrow for a full recap of Friday’s numbers, which should provide a clearer picture of how the weekend will unfold.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 — $11.5 mil
2. Tangled — $8.1 mil
3. Unstoppable — $2.53 mil
4. Burlesque — $2.5 mil
5. Megamind — $2.0 mil
6. Love and Other Drugs — $1.93 mil
7. Faster — $1.91 mil

Taylor Swift & Jake Gyllenhaal Share Thanksgiving Maple Lattes

Families across the country spent their Thanksgiving evenings tuning into Taylor Swift's NBC special Taylor Swift: Speak Now. But where was the starlet spending her Turkey Day?

In Brooklyn, alongside new boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal. Around 10:30 a.m., the pair popped into Park Slope's Gorilla Coffee for specialty maple lattes, made with pure Vermont syrup.

"They were really sweet, really really sweet," says a source at the shop, adding that the duo also tipped well.

"They get treated like normal people around here," says the source, noting that Gyllenhaal, 29, deals with the occasional star-struck customer politely.

The actor's sister Maggie Gyllenhaal lives near the crowded neighborhood shop – which boasts loud music and an energetic staff – and frequently stops in.

The source says that this was Swift's first time in the shop. Being introduced to favorite family haunts? Sounds like the singer-songwriter, 20, is being welcomed right into the Gyllenhaal family lifestyle – one maple latte at a time.

Microsoft: we figured people would hack Windows Phone 7, would suggest that they don't


Hot on the heels of the release of a utility for bypassing the Windows Marketplace and sideloading your own apps, Microsoft has released a brief statement on the state of the Windows Phone 7 hacking community... and we wouldn't exactly say they're too worked up about it:

"We anticipated that people would attempt to unlock the phones and explore the underlying operating system. We encourage people to use their Windows Phone as supplied by the manufacturer to ensure the best possible user experience. Attempting to unlock a device could void the warranty, disable phone functionality, interrupt access to Windows Phone 7 services or render the phone permanently unusable."

So yeah, we'd say this is more or less a boilerplate quote: "we figured you'd hack this thing, we'd prefer it if you didn't, and here's a laundry list of things that could (but probably won't) happen if you fail to heed our meek warning." Over the long term, we wouldn't be surprised if Redmond ended up playing an Apple-style cat-and-mouse game with these folks, breaking hacks with firmware updates only to have them re-hacked within a few days' time. Considering the lack of spitfire in the statement here, we don't see them coming down too hard unless legitimate, card-carrying, fee-paying developers throw a fit -- and granted, ChevronWP7 stands to make loading pirated apps a breeze, so that could very well happen.

Kim Kardashian's Thanksgiving Date Night With Halle Berry's Ex Gabriel Aubry

These new "friends" must be BFFs already, because they've been caught hanging out twice in one week... including Thanksgiving!

E! confirms that celeb Kim Kardashian shared her Turkey Day festivities with model Gabriel Aubry.

The duo, who was seen at a Lakers game together earlier this week, took a drive in Aubrey's white Rolls-Royce and watched Burlesque at ArcLight Cinemas.

K.K. then tweeted, "We ate too much!"

Exactly who is "we"? Well, it turns out that Halle Berry's ex joined in on the carb fest with the Kardashian clan.

Although Mama Jenner is saying they're just friends, a source claims that Aubry is Kardashian's "official boyfriend."

And just in time for the holidays!

Gigi Leung Has a Date With New Beau

Several months after she announced her split with French boyfriend of four years, it seems Gigi Lai has found another right man to be in a romantic relationship: Matthew.

Coincidence or not, Matthew, whose full name is Dolbow Matthew Steven, is also a foreigner. He stands 6 feet tall, which matches the 5'8 Gigi very well, and is quite a handsome man. Not only he is good looking, he also have a good job. He is currently a consul for the U.S Consulate General in Hong Kong and speaks for the consulate often.

The couple fell in love quickly after they were introduced by friends. But they keep their relationship in low-profile and rarely date in public. It was until yesterday reporters spotted the two in a date at a coffee shop. Gigi and a female friend arrived at the coffee shop where Matthew was waiting. The singer naturally went to her boyfriend and sat next to him. Happily in love, she did not mind even if there was a third party at the date.

After about 30 minutes, they decided to leave and Gigi's female friend left first to give some space to the couple. The two did not mind about other people looking at them and even walked closer and closer together.

Jennifer Aniston recycles her favourite bikini on girls holiday to Mexico with Chelsea Handler

You wouldn't catch her wearing a red carpet outfit more than once.

But it seems that when it comes to the beach, Jennifer Aniston is sensibly more conservative.

Enjoying yet another Mexican holiday this Thanksgiving weekend, Jennifer recycled a purple bikini which she first wore a year ago.



The former Friends star is in the country with her good friend, comedian Chelsea Handler, who also chose a revealing purple two-piece.

Jennifer, who takes frequent breaks to Los Cabos, showed off her slender figure in her favourite purple two-piece, teamed with a sarong and hat to protect her skin.

The 41-year-old is holidaying with a group of friends, in a break from filming her new movie Wanderlust.

Move over J-Lo and Beyonce! Nicki Minaj is the new bootylicious girl on the block

She's been the butt of rumours about buttock enhancements - but fake or not, Nicki Minaj was to show off her ample backside in a skin tight catsuit last night.

The singer and rapper, 25, wore the eye-popping outfit as she performed at the Hammerstein Ballroom in her home town of New York with a host of friends including Rihanna and Kanye West.



Drake and Keyshia Cole also joined Minaj during the special Thanksgiving performance for radio station Hot 97.

The star, who provides background vocals on Trey Sonz's new track called Bottoms Up, re-leased her debut album Pink Friday on Monday.

The disc features special guests including the aforementioned stars as well as Natasha Bedingfield, Will.I.Am and Eminem.

Next iPad likely to get a new screen, front-facing camera; USB port... not so likely


New rumors are swirling about the iPad 2, and they're a bit of a grab bag. The source is the same Economic Daily News paper that made one of the early calls on the first iPad, but also the one that reported in August that there was a 7-inch display being sourced for the iPad's sequel (which Steve Jobs seems to differ with). The new report says that the next iPad will be out in Q1 2011, will have dual cameras, a new display with new touch tech, and a USB port for working with third party devices.

From our own information we know there were actually some last minute revisions on the first iPad that ended up killing the camera and nixing an extra dock connector, so the camera(s) seem a particularly natural "addition" for the iPad 2. We've also heard that a revised screen is happening, though it's unclear if this will be a "Retina Display" or something more minor. On the USB plug front, which could mark a sort of adolescent transition of the iPad into "computer," our source says it's, sadly, very unlikely. We're particularly interested in this mention of a new touchscreen technology from the EDN rumor (perhaps stylus support or pressure sensitivity?) but we don't have anything else to go on there. Overall, it's still hard to tell if the next iPad will be a small update or something more splashy, but it's certainly going to be something.

$500 off-contract Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone tipped for MWC 2011 reveal

Sony Ericsson’s PlayStation Phone is poised to make its debut at Mobile World Congress in February 2011, according to the latest leaks, with the company likely to use Sony’s BRAVIA branding to describe the high-quality display and internally aiming for a $500 unsubsidized price. That’s the word from MobileCrunch‘s trusted tipster, who suggests the Android-based smartphone offered “the best gaming experience [they've] ever had on a mobile device.”



There’s still plenty left to do before MWC 2011, though. The source reckons the PlayStation phone is “no where near ready” for a holiday 2010 release, with the nature of its games still unclear. It seems the handset won’t actually play full PSP download titles, instead getting custom-made games at sub-$10 prices; that $500 sticker apparently includes a five game bundle.

Still to be decided is whether Sony Ericsson will distribute games as part of their “Z-System” – which seemingly describes both the platform and a distribution center – or, as they and Google are pushing for, in a separate part of the Android Market. Titles like Tekken have been mentioned, and the handset’s screen is supposedly on-par with the iPhone 4′s Retina Display.

Winners at the 31st Blue Dragon Film Awards


The 31st Blue Dragon Film Awards took place on November 26th at the National Theatre in Seoul.

The hosts for tonight’s event were actor Lee Bum Soo and actress Kim Hye Soo, and it was particular significant for the latter who was hosting it for the 12th year in a row.

Stars who walked the red carpet include Park Bo Young, Nam Gyuri, Yoon Si Yoon, T.O.P., Han Hye Jin, Choi Kang Hee, Lee Min Jung, Jo Yeo Jung, Son Ye Jin, Soo Ae, Park Min Young, Choi Daniel, Lee Byung Hun, Song Joong Ki, Kim Sae Ron, Won Bin, and more.

Nokia X7-00 leaks: S^3, quad-speakers and 8MP camera [Video]

Video and images seemingly showing Nokia’s unannounced X7-00 smartphone has emerged, with the touchscreen Symbian^3 handset playing Need For Speed Shift as well as navigating though the usual Nokia menus. The leak, from the Czech Modryzub forums [registration required], tips the Nokia X7 as having a polished metal body, 360 x 640 display and an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash.



The display size is unspecified, but it looks to match the Nokia E7 at 4-inches. Onboard memory is 450MB with 245MB of RAM, and there’s a microUSB port and fixed battery. The X7-00 has four speakers, one at each corner, and is reportedly “very loud”.

There’s also a 3.5mm headphone socket on the top edge, and a new, angular casing design. No word on release date or pricing at this stage.

Looks like the video has been made private and the forum post taken down. MobileBulgaria grabbed a copy – thanks Ben!

Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl Halftime Performance 2011


The Black Eyed Peas will serve as the halftime entertainment at next winter’s 2011 Super Bowl.

The NFL made the announcement during the Thanksgiving Day matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys.

The alternative hip-hop ensemble have been tapped to take the stage in the Bridgestone-sponsored Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Feb. 6. The Peas follow in the footsteps of a host of other entertainers who have swooned and crooned during the NFL’s championship game. The slot was previously taken up by U2, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Prince.

Since forming in 1995, The Black Eyed Peas have sold more than 28 million albums worldwide and nearly 31 million digital tracks. Their new album, The Beginning, hits shelves from Interscope Records on Tuesday. The disc features the dance-anthem, “The Time (Dirty Bit).”

The Pirate Bay founders sentenced to jail, $6.5 million fine in Sweeden

Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde, and Carl Lundström — the founders of the wildly popular torrent site The Pirate Bay — have had their previous convictions upheld by a Swedish court of appeals. While the three defendants did see their prison sentences reduced, the court did increase the fine levied on the the trio from 30 million kronor to 46 million kronor (USD $6.5 million). In April of 2009, a 1 year jail sentence was handed down to all three defendants, the new sentencing has the Swedish residents spending between 10 and 4 months behind bars: Neij, 10 months in prison; Sunde, 8 months in prison; Lundström, 4 months in prison.

“In two years, this type of piracy will be over,” said Ludvig Werner, chairman for the Swedish arm of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. ”After a ruling like this and all the pioneers start to get older and have children and families, piracy won’t occur to this extent.”

Christian Engström, a Pirate Party member of the European Parliament, refutes that claim, “The judgement has no meaning for file sharing. It has continued to increase from year to year and the technical capabilities continue to develop.”

No word on what impact, if any, this ruling will have on The Pirate Bay website.

Samsung SCH-I510 Stealth V leaks, has 4.3-inch screen and 8 MP camera, runs Android 2.2 Froyo

A new Samsung smartphone has just passed DLNA certification. What’s very interesting in this case is that this is a device that we haven’t heard anything about in the past. It is, in fact, the first time we hear about the Samsung SCH-I510.

Along with the certification comes info about some of its specs. So, this phone will have an 8-megapixel camera, a 4.3-inch touchscreen, and Wi-Fi 802.11n. Its codename is ‘Stealth V’ and it will run Android 2.2 Froyo.



OK, that’s what we know. Now let’s speculate.

The “C” in “SCH” means this is a CDMA device, as per Samsung’s model naming rules. Now, the SCH-I500 is none other than Verizon’s Samsung Fascinate, their version of the Galaxy S. This being 510, and not 600, 700 or something like that suggests a minor hardware revision.

And it certainly seems that this device will be headed to Verizon, and will be a ‘bigger brother’ to the Fascinate, with a bigger screen and more megapixel-packed camera. Of course, it may well be on its way to Sprint, since their only Galaxy S right now isn’t a touchscreen-only device, but has a physical QWERTY keyboard as well.

As for dual-core processors, it may be way too early to tell. Sure, it may have a better processor than the Galaxy S line. Then again, it may not. Time will tell.

For now, know this: a big-screened Samsung Android device is going to make it to Verizon and/or Sprint in the USA.

Ethan Ruan plants celebratory kiss on Tiffany Hsu; He rejects role in Stephen Chow’s latest movie

After becoming the first Taiwanese actor in 11 years to clinch the coveted Best Leading Actor title at the 47th Golden Horse Awards, Ethan Ruan has every reason to be celebrating.

The 28-year-old actor had hit a few lows in his acting career. At his lowest point, he was unable to afford his electricity bills. With girlfriend Tiffany Hsu by his side through his ups and downs, Ethan found strength.

But when it came to the cameras, he was still shy about displaying his affection to Tiffany. At a post-awards party, Ethan coyly rejected kissing his girlfriend in front of the media.

It was only at 2am the same night that Ethan finally loosened up and gave Tiffany a one-minute-long kiss while his friends cheered him as they continued celebrations at Primo, a nightclub in Taipei.

Reporters also caught sight of Ethan being surrounded by hot babes and congratulated by friends, one of whom even lit a cigarette for him. Tiffany, being the understanding girlfriend, let him bask in the moment.

She had said earlier that if Ethan won, he could have whatever he wanted. To which he replied, "I have not really thought about it, but a holiday would be good!"

The couple had also expressed that they did not mind acting together in future.

Selina has a successful third skin graft; Selina wanted to ditch fiancé

Since the filming accident that left Selina Jen with severe burns all over her body, she has undergone three skin grafting procedures, with the last session just two days ago.

HIM International, which manages Selina, released a statement saying that major areas on her skin have been grafted and they hoped the smaller areas will heal on their own.

Selina's periodic fever had also subsided slightly and she is in stable condition.

As to future medical arrangements, HIM revealed that her condition will still be closely monitored and treatment is still first priority.

Another piece of good news to encourage the bride-to-be; Selina's NTD500,000 ($20,000) Vera Wang wedding gown has arrived in Taipei.

Selina's earlier plans of having her wedding photos shot overseas together with her fiancé Richard Chang, family and S.H.E members have come to a sudden halt because of the accident. But her wedding will still proceed as planned.

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