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This Relationship Just Won't Work: Leo DiCaprio Kicks "Wife" to the Curb

8/28/2010 01:33:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Leonardo DiCaprio has a steady girlfriend. So he's making sure the "wife" stays away for a while.

A California judge has granted the actor's request for a temporary restraining order against a Chicago woman who, according to court docs, believes herself to be Mrs. DiCaprio. Oh yeah, she also thinks she's carrying the Inception star's child—who also happens to be baby Jesus.

Creeptastic!

Read the court docs.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson issued an injunction Wednesday against 41-year-old Livia Bistriceanu, barring her from coming within 100 yards of DiCaprio and his property.

In a court declaration, the Titanic heartthrob says the obsessed fan repeatedly tried to contact him "sending me unwanted and unsolicited letters in which she expressed delusional thoughts and irrational feelings, calling and showing up at business I am associated with and, most recently, locating and traveling to my private residence."

Aside from turning up at his home acting "aggressively" and "yelling and screaming," the 35-year-old star also claims the woman—who has twice been placed on psychological holds in the past—has vowed to live with him in the afterlife.

"[Bistriceanu] maintains a delusional belief that she is my wife and carrying my child, Jesus...and has threatened that we will live together forever..in His Kingdom," says DiCaprio. "I am frightened of Ms. Bistriceanu and feel that my personal safety, and the personal safety of those around me, is in jeopardy."

The judge agreed. Along with the keepaway, Goodson also instructed Bistriceanu not to possess any firearms.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Sept. 10.

This isn't the first person Leo's longing to get away from. A Canadian woman was ordered this week to stand trial on charges of assault for allegedly slashing his face open with a broken beer bottle at a Hollywood party five years ago and then going on the lam.

"Toy Story 3" to Cross $1 Billion Boxoffice Mark

8/28/2010 01:32:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 3" is the gift that just keeps on giving at the box office.

The animated movie sequel, which ranks seventh among all-time worldwide grossing films, is expected to cross the $1 billion mark on Friday, according to the studio, making Disney the first company to field two $1 billion blockbusters in the same year

Earlier this year, Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," also crossed that line and currently stands in fifth place in the all-time worldwide rankings with $1.024 billion.

Disney has one other previous movie in the $1 billion club: 2006's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which ranks fourth with $1.066 billion.

On the North American domestic box office all-time chart, "Toy Story 3" ranks ninth with $404.6 million. As of Thursday, the movie had collected more than $592.9 million internationally, to become Disney's largest international animated release.

Latin America contributed $138 million, making the movie the highest-grossing Disney film ever released in the region.

It is also the most successful U.K. release in Disney history and currently stands as the fourth biggest title in that territory's history with $102.4 million in box office receipts to date.

In Japan, it has taken in $111.2 million and spent five consecutive weeks as the No. 1 movie.

"It's been an incredible year as we saw the Pixar team bring Buzz and Woody back to the big screen and watched Tim Burton's vision for 'Alice in Wonderland' take the world by storm," Disney studios chairman Rich Ross said.

"These box office triumphs prove that creative storytelling brought to life by imaginative, inspired and talented professionals is something audiences respond to the world over."

With "Toy Story 3" muscling its way into the select circle of $1 billion grossing movies, three of the seven entries in that exclusive club were presented in 3D. In addition to "Alice" and "Toy," Fox's "Avatar" tops the list with $2.74 billion.

Costar Dishes on Steamy Sex Scene with George Clooney

8/28/2010 01:32:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

For most women, getting naked with George Clooney would be intimidating.

But for his costar in the upcoming thriller The American, there was no such trepidation – on her part, at least.

"He confessed … that he didn't do lots of sex scenes," Violante Placido, who plays prostitute Clara and Clooney's love interest in the film, tells PEOPLE. "I felt like this was in a way something new to him, he wasn't that experienced."

She says the relatively graphic love scene came together well, though, once they agreed to trust each other.

"We had to find a way to make it natural and let your body speak somehow," Placido says. "We were very open to one another to try and make it work. We just said 'let’s trust each other' and we did. I felt like we had to let ourselves go."

Ultimately, she says, the scene was an important one to get right.

"It had to look real; it is the turning point for the two characters," she says. "I can tell you that watching it, I don't feel as calm as I did when I was on set filming it. Just watching it is a little like … wow."

In the film, Clooney plays Jack, a professional killer attempting to escape his trade after one last assignment to the Italian countryside. The movie hits theaters Sept. 1.

Google mimics Firefox for managing browser tabs

8/28/2010 01:31:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Chrome programmers have begun experimental work to endow Google's browser with a full-screen tab-management interface similar to the Panorama feature Mozilla is adding to Firefox.

As browsers have expanded to accommodate ever larger amounts of computing tasks, separating different tasks into different tabs across the top of the browser window, managing them has become more onerous.

A list of five or six tabs isn't so bad, but when there are 20 or 40, it's a different story. Mozilla's Panorama, nee Tab Candy, provides a full-screen view of all a browser window's tabs, grouped how the user desires into sets.

Chrome could get a similar feature, at least on Mac OS X, called "Tabpose." Work on the project began in July, but is labeled "experimental."

Dealing with larger numbers of tabs is a bigger issue as people spend more and more time in the browser, said Linus Upson, Google's vice president of engineering for Chrome and Chrome OS. "I think Mozilla is doing interesting things there," he said. However, he cautioned, Google tries a lot of things that don't necessarily become permanent.

"We try lots of things and experiment. We put things out in the developer channel and take them back if we don't like them. The key to building a great user interface is iteration and velocity," Upson said. "We try something, throw it away, and try it again. We put [something] on a shelf, maybe pick it up a few months later."



Chrome gets 'labs' ability

It seems likely people will be able to try it relatively easily, though. Tabpose is one of the features set to be enabled by a new "about:labs" mechanism to enable experimental features. Google likes the "labs" approach to letting people try new technology, with labs projects for search, Gmail, Maps, and more.

That contrasts with today's much more user-unfriendly mechanism, launching Chrome with specific options enabled via textual command-line "switches" or "flags." Changing Chrome options by using a regular browser interface is similar to Mozilla's "about:config" command, which exposes many options for tweaking Firefox behavior.

But Google has a little more on its mind than just convenience, Upson said. That's because Chrome OS doesn't expose any underlying operating system to make the change.

"With Chrome OS, it's challenging when it's the whole operating system and there is no command line you can launch it from," Upson said.

On Windows, the "about:labs" mechanism also will be used to enable a feature to put tabs on the left side of the interface.



Graphics chip acceleration

After a few months of planning, Google also revealed Friday its full plan for Chrome's hardware acceleration technique. Hardware acceleration lets faster, more power-efficient hardware handle tasks such as scaling images, drawing vector graphics, processing Web page display instructions, and rendering text, and it's a big performance overhaul under way in the browser market.

Google had a trickier time implementing hardware acceleration than some rivals because Chrome isolates browser rendering chores into a separate process that for security reasons isn't permitted to talk directly to the operating system's hardware interfaces. Thus, Google needed to create a separate process with appropriate authority to enable hardware acceleration.

It's not yet clear when exactly hardware acceleration will arrive in Chrome. Many features, such as accelerated compositing of two-dimensional Canvas graphics, were just pushed back from Chrome 7 to Chrome 8. The move happened about the same time that Google began working on the development version of Chrome 7.

[Via Cnet - Source: Google Operating System blog]

There Will Be No iPad Killers This Year

8/28/2010 01:31:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Shanzai performed some decidedly sober analysis of the tablet market and came away with one simple conclusion: no matter how much LG boasts, no matter how much Samsung leaks, no matter how many Notion Inks ship, the tablet market is sewn up this year. Why? Because no one will have product in pipeline for the holidays and thus the only things selling in the slate form factor will be the Kindle, Nook, and iPad, in that order, and you’ll note that two of those items aren’t tablets.

First, here is Shanzai’s money shot:

For a single product to be a true iPad killer it would have to achieve at least one if not all of the following goals.

1. Sell more units than the iPad
2. Have better performance than the iPad
3. Create a bigger oooh, aaaah and buzz than the iPad

Time constraints alone will prevent any of these products from selling more units than the iPad in 2010 (even if they were purchasable tomorrow) and most of them won’t even be available for purchase this year.

Shanzai is at the epicenter of the junk tablet world being based in Shenzhen where manufacturers are flogging all sorts of tablets. I trust them and I trust what I’m seeing in the market on this.

Contrary to popular belief, I’m not against competition in the tablet space. What I am against is Balkanization. The iPad is successful because it is a monolithic entity. It has a rich ecosystem of content and applications and it works well. My fear, then, is a plethora of tablets that run various and sundry versions of Android or a stripped-down Windows 7, that offer little in the way of productivity or entertainment benefits, and, in the end, will follow the trajectory of the much-vaunted netbook – rash exuberance followed by virulent justifications for purchase and then slow acceptance that the form-factor is a dud. I was bearish on netbooks for the same reason I’m bearish on tablets and cheap ereaders: companies have, for too long, rushed garbage to market and we’ve sucked it up.

Hardware companies are in the business of releasing hardware. To not release hardware is anathema to their business model. Therefore, they will release garbage until they potentially hit a winner and then copy that over and over again until the next thing comes along (see Motorola RAZR). In this way, most hardware companies are less about being creative than about aping their competitors.

I don’t trust most manufacturers to produce good products. I trust most manufacturers, including Apple, to produce “good enough” products.

That is not to say there are not good tablets out there or coming. The Dell Streak is really nice, which is kind of like saying it has a great personality. It’s good enough, and I don’t think that’s enough to propel sales and support to create a tablet ecosystem worth a damn.

The top it off, manufacturers are currently quite skittish. They’ve realized they can’t release garbage. Creating a good tablet is hard and they want Google and Android (and probably Chrome OS) to do most of the heavy lifting for them. Burned by years of failed, homebrew OSes (TouchWiz, anyone?) manufacturers want Google to take the blame when the OS is junk.

Why am I so down on the production of product? After all, the gadget hound in me should revel in more devices, right? Wrong. Of late manufacturers have been able to do little more than push product out the door and every product that isn’t used ends up in a landfill. We don’t need resources spent on “iPad killers.” We need resources spent on good devices for business and leisure. In many cases, these devices already exist – they’re called thin-and-light laptops and media players. There is room in the world for a good tablet, but no one tablet will be “good” this year. They will be acceptable at best. I’ll be the first to lead the parade if someone comes up with a good tablet idea, but to push good money and plastic after bad ideas is an affront to us as consumers of technology.

[Via Crunchgear]

Windows Live Sync To Upgrade Storage To 5GB And Become Windows Live Mesh

8/28/2010 01:31:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

When Microsoft launched Windows Live Sync in beta at the end of June, it merged it with its long-awaited Windows Live Mesh, but both still kept separate branding. The product will take on the Windows Live Mesh branding in the next couple of months. There are a few other changes coming too.

Right now Windows Live Sync, which is already being used by 240,000 people in beta, syncs files between PCs or between PCs and the cloud (mobile will be added later, but that is the ultimate vision). Syncing between PCs is unlimited, but syncing to the cloud up till now has been capped at 2 gigabytes per account. That will soon be increased to 5 gigabytes.

The average person in the beta is syncing only 240 megabytes of data to the cloud, but you can never have too much storage. Between PCs, however, they are syncing 675 files, or 1.2 gigabytes of data, on average. As soon as Microosft adds mobile into the equation, the amount of storage in the cloud will jump considerably, because nobody wants to keep big files on their phone if they can help it.

Windows Live Sync will also be upgraded to sync hidden files and do a better job showing which files are synced and which are syncing at any given time. And on Monday, in a related announcement, Microsoft will be making Hotmail emails, contacts, and calendars available to most mobile phones via Exchange Active Sync, which is a push technology (think IMAP, plus contacts and calendars).

Syncing files and media between devices is a big problem that has yet to be solved completely. Getting all your data on your mobile phone from the cloud will become especially important. But I am not sure the model of picking folders to sync really works. Sometimes you don’t know ahead of time what you will want to access, and you just want to be able to grab anything that is on your computer. Startups like Libox are taking this approach, and already offer a mobile solution, but not yet a cloud backup. Someone will get this right.

Apple's App Store Dominated By Pay Apps, Google's By Free Apps

8/28/2010 01:30:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , 0 Comments

Are iPhone owners more willing to pay for applications than Android owners? Or are Android developers just more interested in giving away their apps?

Something's going on with these two app markets which have completely different make ups, according to Royal Pingdom. Pingdom surveyed the App Store and the Android Market and discovered that only 30% of the apps in Apple's store are free, while 65% of the apps in the Android Market are free.

Why the disparity? Pingdom speculates that maybe more Google developers are just hobbyists or tinkers who can get their app in store because they don't have to deal with Apple's gate keepers. Another important factor, Google only supports paid apps in 13 countries.

It's also much easier to install pirated software on Android phones than it is Apple phones. So perhaps this pushes down sales.

Maybe it's just cultural? Google gives away Android. Apple does not.

Intel's bad news could translate into bad news for Microsoft and Windows 7?

8/28/2010 01:30:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Intel, following an upbeat assessment a few weeks ago, is now cutting outlook for the third quarter following weaker than expected demand from consumers.

Intel Corporation today announced that third-quarter revenue will be below the company’s previous outlook. The company now expects third-quarter revenue to be $11.0 billion, plus or minus $200 million, compared to the previous expectation of between $11.2 and $12.0 billion. Revenue is being affected by weaker than expected demand for consumer PCs in mature markets. Inventories across the supply chain appear to be in-line with the company’s revised expectations.

Weaker than expected consumer demand for silicon from Intel (and AMD) means less demand for Windows 7. So far, Microsoft has enjoyed considerable success with its new OS, but this could be the first sign that the good times are coming to an end.

Which leads us to the obvious question - what was driving PC and Windows 7 sales in the first place? Was it Windows 7’s excellence? Was it the feeling that the economy was improving so it was safe to spend money? Was it part of a normal cycle of obsolescence? Whatever the reason, declining consumer CPU sales will translate directly into declining Windows 7 license sales, which is bad news for Microsoft.

Mysterious Verizon-bound HTC handset appears mysteriously on the internet

8/28/2010 01:29:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Hey -- what's this? Well, from the looks of it, it's a new, as-yet-unnamed HTC device. There is perilously little info available about the mystery mobile, but it appears to boast an 8 megapixel camera with a flash plus a front-facing camera, a 4.3-inch screen, a headphone jack and a kickstand. It also appears that it's going to boast HTC's own Sense UI. This falls in line with what we've heard about Verizon's Android-heavy fall launch this year, so we would not be surprised to see this device make an appearance. Furthermore, we could go out on a limb and guess that it's possible this is the Merge mentioned in that lineup, which supposedly boasts a 1GHz processor. That's all there is to the story right now but we're going to stay up late tonight to be on the lookout for further information on this one. More photos below.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, Facebook, AOL, eBay, Netflix, Yahoo!, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and YouTube over patents

8/28/2010 01:28:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen fired a patent shot across the bow of several prominent technology companies Friday, suing Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and others over patent claims.

Allen's firm Interval Licensing filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the above companies, as well as AOL, eBay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples, are violating patents he received for several Internet technologies while leading Interval Research, now out of business. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, based in Seattle.

Interval said in a press release that "the patents in the lawsuit cover fundamental web technologies first developed at Interval Research in the 1990s, which the company believes are being infringed by major e-commerce and web search companies." David Postman, a spokesman for Allen, said this is the first time that patents related to Interval Research's work have been litigated.

Postman wouldn't comment on whether licensing discussions had taken place with the defendants prior to the filing of the lawsuit, but did say that all companies were informed that Interval held "patents of interest." The companies targeted were done so because of their work in e-commerce and search, Postman said. For example, Interval included as an exhibit in its lawsuit a screen grab of a very early "About Google" Web page from 1998 that lists Interval Research Corporation as an outside collaborator.

One may wonder why Allen's former company--Microsoft, which operates the third-leading search engine in the U.S. and now provides search technology to Yahoo--was not cited in the complaint. Postman said he would not discuss litigation strategies but emphasized that Interval is not necessarily done with these patents; in that, it might seek to widen the circle of defendants at a later date.

Representatives for Apple and Google did not immediately return requests for comment. However, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said "We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously."

The story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Dual SIM iPhone 4 case gives your multiple personality disorder a new lease on life

8/28/2010 01:28:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Sure, there are any number of phones with dual SIM card slots, most of them built for Asian markets, but the iPhone 4 is about the furthest thing from dual SIM: in fact, it doesn't even have one Big Person SIM to call its own. Luckily, USBFever has a hacktastic solution to this problem (a followup to their iPhone 3G version), with a new $30 case that can host dual full size SIM cards on the back of an iPhone 4 (entombed in some classy clear plastic, naturally), while running an adapter to the iPhone 4's micro SIM slot. You can then switch between the two SIMs from the iPhone's own settings menu, though unfortunately you can't rock both SIMs simultaneously.

Britney Spears Stuns Again in Pink Bikini, Short-Shorts

8/28/2010 01:28:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Britney Spears is channeling Katy Perry's "California Gurls": daisy dukes, bikini on top!

The singer, 28, continued to show off her body -- taut and better than ever -- hanging out with her man Jason Trawick in Maui, Hawaii on Thursday. Check out more hot shots of Brit on the beach!


Although things are going well with former manager Trawick -- they've been dating for over a year -- Spears recently used her Twitter to slam a tabloid report that they're planning to get hitched in a "double wedding" with Spears' little sister Jamie-Lynn.

Spears recently confirmed she's back in the recording studio making the follow-up to her 2008 smash Circus; she also recently filmed her talked-about appearance on Glee.

"Britney was very professional and very much the sweet Southern belle," a set source says in the new Us Weekly. "Her attitude was, 'I'm here to work, let's do this!'"


Katy Perry has her head in the clouds as she performs in New York

8/28/2010 01:27:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

She took to the stage earlier this month on top of a giant banana split, and Katy Perry continued her string of larger-than-life performances on the Today Show in New York.

Taking inspiration from the cover of her new album Teenage Dream, the singer appeared on a giant pink cloud to belt out her latest hits from the album, which launched yesterday.



Russell Brand's bride-to-be showed off her pre-wedding figure in a tiny flesh-coloured leotard embellished with pink and red stones and pink heels.

Her hair, still showing the multi-coloured highlights she debuted this week, had extensions added and piled into a high ponytail. She finished the look with bright red lips.

Katy's fans camped out overnight for a glimpse of the star, and she showed her appreciation by ensuring they were nice and comfortable during their sleep-out.

The 25-year-old tweeted, 'I had special #TeenageDream pillow & blankys made just for those of u that r camping out for the Today show! Yay!'


The quirky star seemed excited ahead of her big performance: 'Gnight humidifier, Gnight Chanel sleeping eye mask, gnight new glittery costume, gnight new rainbow colored hair, gnight people camping out!'

Earlier in the day, Katy was spotted leaving rehearsals at a studio in the city, taking advantage of the warm weather in a cute red printed sundress.

The California Gurls singer has been on a major promotional push for her much-anticipated second album, which features her familiar style of upbeat, catchy pop songs with suggestive lyrics.

This week she appeared on David Letterman, and discussed her risqué image with the TV host.

Letterman asked the star if her strictly religious parents 'understood' that her sexy outfits, lyrics and videos were simply part of showbusiness.

'Uh, I don’t know if it’s the "understanding" that they do,' she replied. 'I think there's some grunts and moans and a couple of "Oy veys."

'There’s a dynamic between children and their parents that sometimes you can agree to disagree, and we definitely do that.'

Katy's second album has exceeded expectations already. Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt spoke to MTV about artists' notorious struggle to repeat the success of their debut album, and grouped Katy with Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber:

'Gaga was an unknown who steadily built her way up through the dance charts, Perry had already been dropped from several labels when she released her debut, and Bieber was just a cute little underage nugget with a bunch of YouTube page views,' she says, adding that all three have achieved their success by 'investing in fans' through interaction such as Twitter.




The singer is due to wed Russell Brand later in the year and revealed to People magazine recently that she is finding the planning a little stressful: 'Most people have breakdowns just over weddings, and I'm planning mine and my tour' she said. 'I really have to learn to breathe and delegate.'

And she will be avoiding her parents' 'oy veys' on the big day; she revealed that, despite her outlandish stage costumes, she will be going down a more traditional route when it comes to the dress:

'I'm definitely not going to get married in latex,' she said. 'When I wear latex onstage, I sweat. I could wring out those dresses- and I don't want to do that at my wedding.'



Lindsay Lohan: Pumped Up For Freedom!

8/28/2010 01:27:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Set free from rehab earlier this week, Lindsay Lohan looked happier and more relaxed than we've seen her in a long time as she stopped at a gas station last night.


Her friend and rumored lover, Eilat Anschel, was driving the black Mercedes she filled up in Hollywood. Doesn't the troubled star look a lot less ... troubled?

Clearly happy and hopefully healthy, a fresh-faced Lindsay Lohan makes a late pit stop on her second night of freedom. Cute! [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

The judge has made it abundantly clear that her release is contingent on a zero tolerance policy - one slip up from the star and she'll be back in captivity.

Regrets? Levi Johnston Has But One: Apologizing to Sarah Palin

8/28/2010 01:26:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

For a man who has posed for a nudey magazine and gone out of his way to publicly embarrass the mother of his child, you'd think Levi Johnston would have a lot of 'splaining to do. But that's just not the case with the aspiring politician, who tells CBS's 'Early Show' that the only thing he regrets doing during his bizarre tenure in the limelight is apologizing to his near mother-in-law, Sarah Palin.

"The only thing I wish I wouldn't have done is put out that apology," Johnston says of his mea culpa to PEOPLE in July. "Because it kind of makes me sound like a liar. And I've never lied about anything. So that's probably the only thing. The rest of the stuff I can live with."

In that apology, Johnston admitted to saying "things about the Palins that were not completely true" and acknowledged that he had privately apologized to Palin and her husband, Todd.

His two-time former fiance, Bristol, even weighed in following that apology to praise Johnston, who has posed for Playgirl, for doing the "honorable thing."

Johnston explained to CBS that the original apology was "something I did to make my fiancée happy. She wanted it so we wrote something down and we sent it out because that's what she wanted. Together we put it out there."

Asked why he would put his name on something that he does not mean, he replied, "Trust me it's easier to make them happy. If you gotta live with them, you gotta make them happy. I wish I hadn't put out that apology, it makes me look like a liar. The rest of stuff I can live with."

During his war of words with Palin, Johnston accused the GOP star of not caring about her job as governor of Alaska and said that the Palins were thinking about divorcing. He also previously alleged that Sarah knew he and Bristol were sharing a bed in the Palin house while they were dating.

Besides retracting apologies, Johnston used his 'Early Show' appearance to promote his bid to be the next mayor (or city councilman) of Wasilla, Alaska. He filed papers last week for the run, but hasn't decided whether he'll run for the council or for Palin's old job as mayor.

"I really don't think it's [becoming mayor] about qualifications," Johnston says. "It's really about, you know, the people liking you and believing in you."

He insists he's not running for office to spite his ex-girlfriend's mom.

"I don't care what she did or where she was at. I'm doing it because I want to."

Johnston and Bristol split for good just weeks after announcing their reunion and engagement in the pages of Us Weekly. This week, it was announced that Bristol had signed on to star on season 11 of 'Dancing with the Stars.'

The would-be politician acknowledged Bristol's new gig as a TV dancer in a subtle dig at his ex.

"I don't think I'm any more obsessed with making a career out of this than she is. Obviously she [Bristol]'s doing 'Dancing With the Stars.' I wouldn't say I'm obsessed, I'm just taking opportunities as they come."

Scandalous Miley Cyrus Turning Heads ... and Profits

8/28/2010 01:25:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Miley. Miley. Miley.

The 17-year-old star sent shock waves through Hollywood after the script for her upcoming film, 'LOL: Laughing Out Loud,' leaked online. In the film, Cyrus' character reportedly loses her virginity, smokes pot, gets wasted, kisses two girlfriends on the lips and flashes her va-jay-jay.

Okay, she "can't be tamed." We get it. Young women in Hollywood, including Hilary Duff, Dakota Fanning and Lindsay Lohan, have all taken turns showing the world they're all grown up. For Cyrus, the hits just keep on coming. The 'Hannah Montana' star cannot be a Disney girl forever, but she can't be totally oblivious about how her antics are turning heads and profits.

Cyrus has pole danced on an ice cream cart, posed nearly naked in Vanity Fair and kissed a girl (move over Katy Perry) during a live TV performance. We buried her "good girl" image a long time ago, so why do we care so much about her shocking antics? Perhaps its because she's done all of the above in the spotlight -- all before her 18th birthday.

The attention for 'LOL' has skyrocketed because we see Cyrus -- as herself -- not the character. Oh my gosh, what will Miley do next?! The leaked script (was it really an accident?) has created so much publicity for a film. But how will this affect the profits she's making from the young girls who look up to her but who won't be able to relate to this film? In a recent PopEater poll, 66 percent of readers thought this movie was an awful career move for Cyrus.

"Controversy alone doesn't always help at the box office," New York Daily News film critic Joe Neumaier tells PopEater. "I think Cyrus' worry ought to be whether the young girls who've followed her career for so long will care about a remake of a French film. She's not a draw for women over 25 or 30 -- the ones who'd presumably be the most interested -- and teens will only really appreciate the title. That doesn't mean 'LOL' will be DOA, but it does mean a few too many audience members will be asking, 'WTF?!'"

The Cyrus camp is pretty business savvy, though. Cyrus ranked No. 4 on Forbes magazine's list of the highest paid celebs under 30 thanks to the estimated $48 million she reportedly earned in 2009. Although 'Hannah Montana' made her famous, she's bringing home the Benjamins thanks to her tour and movie roles in both 'The Last Song' and 'Hannah Montana.'

'LOL' will likely succeed at the box office with everyone hoping to sneak a peak at Cyrus' "bad girl" side. Plus, as Neumaier points out, Cyrus' reputation won't be tarnished because respected actress Demi Moore plays her mother in the film.

"Miley will actually be part of a parade of sassy girls past and present here -- Demi Moore plays her mother, and Marlo Thomas, star of 'That Girl' in the '60s, will play Demi's mother. Three generations of cool chicks in one package ... sounds like Miley had a thought and realized that, at least on film, she needed advice from her elders. Which can only help: Julia Roberts did it in 'Steel Magnolias,' and Mandy Moore did it in 'Because I Said So.' Now, it's Miley's turn," the film critic adds.

You have to hand it to Miley -- even at 17, she's a pure business woman. People can criticize her all they want, but she knows what she's doing -- look how much money she makes.

Five Reasons You'll Go See Avatar—Again

8/28/2010 01:25:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , 0 Comments

Last month, you said no way. But we strongly suspect some of you will find your back to Pandora this weekend. And, no, not just via your Blu-ray disc.

Yes, Avatar's back in theaters, and here's why we think you will be, too:

1. Sex! The most buzzed-about part of the special edition, featuring eight, no, nine minutes of new CGI, is the augmentation, as it were, of the intimate encounter between Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). But not to worry, puritanical geeks, director James Cameron told MTV the extra "alien kink," as he put it, amounts to about 20 seconds of foreplay that didn't threaten the film's initial PG-13 rating.

2. Death! Probably the most significant addition to the special edition is the onscreen death of Tsu'tey (Laz Alonso). The Na'vi notable previously was killed, natch, offscreen.

3. Big, fat round numbers! When the world's No. 1-grossing movie of all-time left U.S. theaters 19 days ago (yes, just 19 days ago), its domestic take stood at $749,766,139. Come Friday, when the new edition goes wide in 800-plus theaters, it'll become the first Hollywood film to hit, and quickly surpass, $750 million. Exhibitor Relations is calling for Avatar to make as much as $8 million by Sunday.

4. Alice in Wonderland can't stop you! The most commonly stated reason for the rerelease is that the first time around Avatar got cut down in its prime—you know, for a mega-grossing, Oscar-winning, Blu ray-record-setting movie. See, back in March when Cameron's 3-D hit was still rolling, Burton's own 3-D hit came along, and hijacked most of the 3-D screens. So, if you never got to see Avatar as Cameron intended, this is your chance. And you won't have any other choice: The second time around, the movie is only being shown at 3-D and IMAX 3-D theaters.

5. Better popcorn! Is your home theater really as good as an actual theater? Is it? In its four-and-a-half star (out of five) review of the special edition, the movie site Obsessed With Film allows that while you may not notice much difference between the old edition and the "special" edition, you still owe it to yourself to get off the couch: "Even the smartest of HD tellies will pale in comparison to the marvel of 3-D on a big screen."

Besides, who really knows how many more years 'til Avatar 2?

Playboy Model Confirms She Made Sex Tape With Heidi Montag

8/28/2010 01:24:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Maybe Spencer Pratt isn't the porn auteur he says he is.

Playboy Playmate Karissa Shannon says it's true that she made a sex tape with Heidi Montag -- but Montag's estranged husband Pratt had nothing to do with it.

"There is a sex tape of me and Heidi," Shannon tells Radaroline, adding that Pratt, 26, was not present for the filming. "It's just me and Heidi, that's it."

Last weekend, Pratt said that he found the X-rated footage while going through things at the Malibu home he once shared with Montag, 23. According to Shannon, he not only stole the tape but the video camera in which it was found.

"He 'accidentally' took my camera," Shannon charges. "Spencer had no right to steal my camera. There are other things on there that I don't want to come out, including the video of me and Heidi."

The nude model says she didn't make the flick with Montag for public consumption, and that she doesn't "want people to see it."

Earlier this week, a source confirmed to UsMagazine.com that "the sex tapes exist. There's more than one. But that doesn't mean they'll ever see the light of day, despite Pratt's threats.

"This is all a PR stunt, They will never really sell unless they get desperate."

Also a PR stunt: their divorce. "They are still a couple," the source reports. "They are not really breaking up. It's disgusting and vile, but Spencer will do anything to keep his fame, even tempting companies with [the sex tapes]. Whatever they do, though, will be together. He is doing nothing behind her back."

Rumors of 7-inch iPad persist; Apple parts with developer of tablets

8/28/2010 01:23:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Another report has claimed Apple plans to build a smaller, 7-inch iPad, and the company has severed ties with a California design firm after nearly a decade, because the company publicly showed off its own iPad-competing tablet prototype.

Samsung hopes to compete with 'mini iPad'

Taiwan-based tech industry publication DigiTimes reported Friday that Samsung plans to unveil its new tablet PC in September. The report said that Samsung decided it would not make a 10-inch model, to compete with Apple's 9.7-inch iPad, but would instead release a device with a 7-inch display.

That size, sources allegedly indicated, was chosen to compete with a 7-inch "mini iPad" that Apple is rumored to release.

"Since Samsung skipped the 10-inch panel format and jumped directly to 7-inch panel, the sources believe the company is actually aiming at Apple's upcoming 7-inch iPad for competition and not the current model," the report said.

The publication has repeatedly said that Apple plans to offer a new, smaller iPad with a screen size of 7 inches, and other reports have indicated the same. Earlier this month, the Chinese-language newspaper Economic Daily News indicated that the device would have a weight of 500 grams, reduced from the current hardware's 700 grams.

Apple severs ties with developer of tablets

Surface Ink, a small design firm based in Silicon Valley, has lost Apple as a customer, according to The New York Times, after the company publicly showed off a 12.1-inch tablet prototype. The company's relationship with Apple is unknown, but SurfaceInk indicated that the parties had "gone in separate directions."

Apple decided to move on, the report said, because SurfaceInk's latest business moves apparently "unsettled" the iPad maker. It indicated that SurfaceInk's showing of a 12.1-inch tablet prototype in June at an electronics trade show was enough to shoo Apple away.

"The device was meant to showcase SurfaceInk's design capabilities to potential clients... (but) Apple viewed those capabilities as a potential threat," the report said.

Apple Wants to Remake the Audio Jack

8/28/2010 01:23:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Simply put, Apple wants fewer holes in its devices. Headphone jack—that's a hole. Microphone—that's a hole. According to a recent patent filing, Apple is looking to consolidate by combining the functionality of the two into one unified jack.

The patent argues that "in addition to using housing real estate, sound input apertures and electrical connectors introduce openings in the housing and breach the barrier that protects components inside the housing." So, fewer holes in the device itself, fewer ways for dust and other gunk to find their way inside. It also jibes completely with Apple's obsessively minimalist design ethos. Another potential perk of the two-in-one design would be enhanced voice quality, thanks to the addition of an extra noise-snuffing microphone—what Apple calls "audio beamforming."

With recent attention aimed at some of Apple's grander patent plans, this filing seems more immediately actionable, and speaks to the company's engineering meticulousness.

[New Scientist]

H.264 Will Be Royalty Free For Internet Video Forever, Mozilla Still Doesn't Care

8/28/2010 01:22:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , 0 Comments

MPEG LA, the group that licenses the h.264 video codec, has extended its royalty-free use (for free internet video) from 2016 until, well, forever. But Mozilla thinks that the better part of forever could belong to Google's WebM format.

The announcement serves as MPEG LA's not-so-indirect response to Google's announcement of their own WebM format in May. You'd think that this news might persuade Mozilla to just go ahead and jump on board the good ship h.264—one of their chief objections was that we'd wake up one day and the propriety standard wouldn't be free anymore—but according to Mozilla's Vice President of Engineering, Mike Shaver, this doesn't change diddly:

The MPEG-LA announcement doesn't change anything for the next four years, since this promise was already made through 2014...Given that IEC [International Electrotechnical Commission] has already started accepting submissions for patents in the replacement H.265 standard, and the rise of unencumbered formats like WebM, it is not clear if H.264 will still be relevant in 2014.

Apple iPod Touch 4th Gen Could See New Flat Back, iPod Nano Getting a Touchscreen

8/28/2010 01:21:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

The closer we get to September 1st, the more the rumor mill regarding the upcoming devices from Apple will pick up. It’s the same every time. That doesn’t make it any less exciting, though. After seeing some cases pop up on a Chinese vendor’s website, it seems that some new sources are coming forward, and enlightening us on what the new fourth-generation and sixth-generation iPod Touch and iPod Nano are going to look like.

The iPod Touch will apparently feature a more flat back, which will highlight the overall flat surface and the curved edges. What’s more, is the new iPod Touch won’t take the same back as the iPhone 4. Meaning, it won’t be an all glass surface. Instead, it could be something akin aluminum or stainless steel. The The ruling is still out on this one, as this is anyone’s guess. But having an aluminum-backed iPod Touch may make sense for Apple. As for the back of the device, it will apparently have a camera, but there is some argument about there being an LED flash, or another microphone for capturing better audio while shooting video. There’s certainly a mighty big difference between a hole for a microphone and that of an LED flash, so this has us more confused than anything else.

As for that little iPod Nano/iWatch contraption we saw make its face known a few weeks back? According to the sources, that is indeed the new iPod Nano, and not the Shuffle. It will feature an all touchscreen face, just as we saw in those images (pictured above). And, if we compare them to the cases we saw yesterday, that makes perfect sense. With September 1st just under a week away, the excitement continues to build, but we don’t have long until Steve Jobs finally unveils the new projects.

[via Boy Genius Report]

Firefox Mobile Fennec Alpha hits Android and N900

8/28/2010 01:20:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , , 0 Comments

Mozilla this morning introduced the Alpha release of the next version of its mobile browser Fennec for Android and Nokia N900. Fennec, which serves as the codename for Firefox mobile, comes with add-ons and is also built on the same technology that powers Firefox for the desktop.

An earlier version had surfaced back in April this year.

Fennec Alpha for Android and Nokia N900 comes with Firefox Sync built right into the browser, which means your smartphone browsing experience should closely match the one on your desktop.

Thanks to Firefox Sync, Fennec is able to synchronize your Firefox history, bookmarks, open tabs, passwords and form data between your desktop and mobile. Just login with your Firefox Sync account info and Fennec will recognize you.

Apart from that, Mozilla says the main focus of this release is to increase performance and responsiveness to user actions. From the blog post:

This is being implemented using two major technologies, “Electrolysis” and “Layers.” This Alpha release includes Electrolysis, which allows the browser interface to run in a separate process from the one rendering Web content. By doing this, Fennec is able to react much faster to user input while pages are loading or CPU intensive JavaScript is running.

The upcoming beta release will start taking advantage of Layers to greatly improve performance in graphic intensive actions like scrolling, zooming, animations and video. We’re also working to optimize these actions using the hardware-accelerated graphics rendering capabilities showing up in today’s mobile devices.

No word on the launch date of that upcoming beta release, though.

Viewsonic ViewPad 7 is an OlivePad rebadge?

8/28/2010 01:18:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments


Remember when Viewsonic was a respectable company? It made modest but reputable monitors that seemed to define the product category. Now the company is slapping its colorful finches onto just about any OEM device it can grab. Next on the agenda is the 7-inch Viewsonic ViewPad tablet, expected to launch at the big IFA show next week with an Android OS and 3G and WiFi connectivity. Thing is, the device leaked to Pocket-lint (pictured above) is the very same tablet known since July as the Olive Pad VT00, aka, "India's first 3.5G Pad." So line up now if you like your seconds served stale and without originality.

Verizon Samsung Fascinate pre-orders starting August 29 at Best Buy

8/28/2010 01:18:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Best Buy has announced that the Samsung Fascinate (Verizon’s Galaxy S) would be available for pre-order starting this Sunday (August 29), with Best Buy Reward Zone members being able to reserve the smartphone today.

Best Buy doesn’t mention the handset’s price, but it’s probably $199 with a 2-yr contract agreement.

The Fascinate will run Android 2.1 at launch (rumored for September 9), but an update to Android 2.2 Froyo is planed for later this year.

Verizon will be the last of the big four to introduce its own Galaxy S in the US, after T-Mobile (Samsung Vibrant), AT&T (Samsung Captivate) and Sprint (the Epic 4G will be out on August 31).

Amazon sells the Samsung Epic 4G for only $199.99

8/28/2010 01:17:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

The Samsung Epic 4G is Sprint’s version of the Galaxy S and the penultimate smartphone in the line to launch (the last will clearly be Verizon’s Fascinate).

Sprint have officially announced it a couple of months ago, and pre-orders have started a couple of weeks ago (and have since been stopped) on Sprint’s site.


The most important detail of all, aside from release date (which we know is August 31st) was price, and Sprint disappointingly set that at $249.99, $50 more than any other comparable high end smartphone in the US.

But don’t worry about that anymore. Don’t even worry about not being able to pre-order it from Sprint anymore. Amazon to your rescue.

You can pre-order the Epic 4G from Amazon now, they’ll ship it to you on August 31st (although some small delays may occur, as always with big launches), and, best of all, it will only set you back $199.99 – which is the price for which all of its competitors go. Of course, a 2-year service agreement is still involved, but hey, you can save a cool $50 on Sprint’s second “4G” phone.

If you’re patient enough, the price may drop even more a couple of months after the official release, but if you have to have the Samsung Epic 4G as soon as possible, Amazon seems to be the place to get it from.

Get Sprint Samsung Epic 4G for $199 from Amazon

Verizon confirms Android 2.2 update for Droid Incredible hits today

8/28/2010 01:17:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

Just as we thought, HTC's Droid Incredible for Verizon is getting boosted from Android 2.1 to 2.2 today, which should make plenty of owners (and plenty of non-owners who've been unable to find any stock for the past couple months) happy as a clam. Major features include pre-installed Flash 10.1, 720p video recording, mobile hotspot support as first introduced for Verizon on the Droid X, and naturally, all the other standard greatness you've come to expect with Froyo. We imagine this update will take a couple weeks to roll out to everyone, so show some patience, Droid Incredible owners -- or, you know, do like we do and search frantically for an update.zip to get posted somewhere.

Eric Tsang explains on behalf of Jackie Chan: It wasn't him who wrote

8/28/2010 01:16:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Yesterday Jackie Chan's remarks on Twitter has been interpreted as "supporting the Philippine's police", inviting many comments expressing their unsatisfactory towards the message. Yesterday Eric Tsang attended the mourning ceremony, he expressed, "I did see the remarks, the words didn't seem like they were from him, it's someone by his side wrote it, his English is not that good, maybe he's not in Hong Kong, he didn't watch the live telecast, that's why he didn't feel it too much, he doesn't understand our feelings. He cannot represent the feelings of Hong Kong people, he did not handle it well, he should explain to the public, he's wrong everytime, this time his mistake is even worse, everytime he doesn't convey his message well."

PakHo Chau also expressed that he saw Jackie Chan's remarks, "The meaning of the contents were deep, I don't really understand, that's why I won't make any comments, this is a personal opinion, I believe he had good intentions."

Patricia Ha attended a fashion event yesterday and responded to Jackie's remarks, she said, "Maybe he's doing something to get people's attention, nothing to comment. This time Philippine's way of handling the matter, we can describe it as stupid, really retard. I don't understand how their President can still be smiling?"

Source:Oriental Daily
Translator: Eujean Lee @ TVB Newsworld

Emma Watson swaps Hogwarts for the high life as she parties in London

8/28/2010 01:16:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Emma Watson appears to be living out her pledge to take time out as an actress by having fun hitting London's nightclubs instead.

The 20-year-old Harry Potter star - who plays young wizard Hermione Granger in the movies - was dressed casually in skinny jeans, flowery top, cute pale blue cardigan and cream pumps as she was spotted coming out of Bungalow 8 in Mayfair earlier this week.

The star was sporting a huge grin too - possibly as there's no early-morning on set roll calls to worry about right now.



However, it seemed she'd had such a magic night out, was having a spell of trouble with her buttons and hadn't done up her cardie properly as she left the exclusive nightspot.

Still sporting her new elfin crop, Emma said earlier this week that she needs a break from performing before she can decide whether or not to step back in front of the cameras.

Currently on summer holidays from her studies at prestigious Brown University in the U.S., she explained: 'I think I need to find some real belief in myself away from acting.

'I know that I can play Hermione but... I really think I need to recharge my batteries and go and be me for a bit.'

Obviously, the fact that she's worth a reported £22million according to this year's Sunday Times Rich List means there's no pressure on Emma to get back on set any time soon - if ever.



Still, Emma is no slouch when it comes to work and even though the star filmed her final Harry Potter scenes in June, since then has been busy launching her new fashion line for ethical clothing company People Tree.

The star has become increasingly interested in fashion since she was hired as the face of Burberry, although the company dropped her earlier this year.

She's also been busy promoting the last installments in the movie behemoth that is the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final film in the series and will be released in two parts.

Part One is slated for release on November 19 this year, with the second and final part hitting cinemas on July 15.

As for the actors that she worked with this time round, Emma she'd gets on especially well with two of the grand dames of British acting.

She said: 'I really got on with Emma Thompson, I loved her to bits. Maggie Smith is an an absolute sweetie. She sends me chocolate and a note at Christmas.'

Ms Watson, who had her trademark locks chopped off at the start of the month for a pixie crop, has virtually grown up on a movie set.

She starred in her first of the adaptations of JK Rowling's childrens' books almost a decade ago when she was cast aged just nine in 2001's Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone.

The 'Bones' season 6 poster!

8/28/2010 01:15:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Anyone available to help me analyze another piece of Fox key art? This time it’s the official poster for Bones‘ upcoming sixth season, and, as you can see, there’s much to discuss. The coordinating outfits. The body language. Brennan’s sexy new ‘do. The cadaverous paws. And a tagline that screams, “Sex by May Sweeps!” Well, that’s what it screams to me anyway. I suppose that could be the jetlag talking. In any event, scroll down to the comments and scrutinize away!

YouTube Debuts New Movies Section With 400 Free, Full-Length Films

8/28/2010 01:15:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

YouTube has launched a fresh Movies category on its website, gathering about 400 full-length films for your on-demand viewing pleasure, all free of charge.

The renewed section, which is actually more like the next step in previously announced projects, comes courtesy of deals the Google company struck with U.S. studios like Lionsgate, MGM and Sony Pictures and UK service Blinkbox.

What can you find there? Loads of Bollywood flicks, a bunch of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan films, obscure horror movies and cartoons, among many other sections.

“This is one of many efforts to ensure that people can find all the different kinds of video they want to see, from bedroom vlogs and citizen journalism reports to full-length films and TV shows,” YouTube head of video partnerships Donagh O’Malley told The Guardian.

“We hope film lovers enjoy the range of titles in this free library, whether catching up on a mainstream hit or delving into the vast archive of classic films from decades past.”

Personally, I haven’t spotted many mainstream hits or real classics in the catalog, but maybe it’s just me. Ah well, off to watch Teenage Devil Dolls.

[Techcrunch]

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