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Adobe engages Apple in passive aggressive warfare with iPhone's Flash message

11/03/2009 12:34:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , 0 Comments

Adobe's seemingly tried everything in its fight to get Apple to tear down enough development barriers to get Flash ported to the iPhone, culminating in a native compilation option in CS5 that... well, really doesn't solve much of anything. So far, nothing's worked. What's next? Get the masses fired up with some old-fashioned propaganda and let 'em riot down at One Infinite Loop, of course! Visiting Adobe's Flash download page from an iPhone now shows a pretty tersely-worded message informing the user that they're getting short-changed simply by Apple's refusal to budge, so yeah, if you hear an occasional cry of "this is outrageous, I'm writing Apple immediately!" while sitting at an airport gate or a coffee shop, you can safely guess what just happened.

Moses Chan will not make way for Wayne Lai for TV King

11/03/2009 12:34:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Wayne Lai opened his mouth and told Moses Chan to make way for him for the TV King title. Yesterday at an event that they both attended at different times, Moses said: "I will not make way for him! Wayne has a lot of strength, I greatly support him, I have always thought he's a good actor. This year if I lose to him, it be worth it! But I do have confidence for myself as well, ever since I've entered the television industry, there has been many roles of mines that have done well, well supported by the audience."

When speaking of signing a contract for TVB management and become a "biological son", he said: "Earlier I rejected TVB, we both have a good collaborative relationship. I like my freedom, I'm worried that if I get a manager, then there might be a bad ending, now it is not the time." He also expressed that something on paper affecting the chances for an award, makes the award pointless. He has confidence towards himself.

blacksn0w iPhone 3.1.2 unlock coming November 4th [Video]

11/03/2009 12:33:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Been waiting for an unlock for your iPhone 3GS? Thanks to George Hotz, who goes by the handle of Geohot and offers the blackra1n unlock tool, a new version – blacksn0w – capable of unlocking iPhone OS 3.1.2 will be launched on November 4th. According to Hotz, one unlocking company has gone as far as to offer him $10,000 for the necessary code; however the good news is that the blacksn0w unlock will remain free.

Problem is, that won’t stop various less-than-honest unlock merchants from “borrowing” blacksn0w and charging iPhone owners for what they could readily do themselves for free. Hotz is asking people to share the information about his – and the iPhone Dev Team’s – offerings, to try to reduce the number of people conned into paying unnecessarily.

blacksn0w will support hacktivation of iPhones delivered running the latest firmware, so if you can pick up a handset without AT&T (or whichever regional carrier offers the smartphone near you) then you don’t even have to go through the rigmarole of activating it and then cancelling your contract. Demo of the unlock – which only takes seconds – in the vide below.

TVXQ not allowed to continue group activities

11/03/2009 12:33:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

SM Entertainment will have a press conference today regarding the conflict with TVXQ/DBSK/Tohoshinki.


Lawyers of SM Entertainment said:

"The court's ruling for TVXQ is not fair. They didn't consider the main reasons of the case. Their long contract is so that we can let them grow and have a long term deal with them. We want to look at their career in the long run and the court's decision is not letting us do that. This is going to affect TVXQ's international promotions. It'll also create confusion for stars that want to have long term contracts and move on to bigger things later in their careers and for the companies that want to nurture talented people for a longer time. Not only that, it'll have some unwanted consequences on exports of Korean music as well as other issues."

They continued to say:

"Each year, we adjusted the contracts in favor of the members. Before this problem, the three members never complained about anything. Now that they have succeeded this much, they are complaining. They have just started to reach the top and now want to separate. Before a final decision is made, the three can do their personal and individual work. But we will not allow them to do any activities as TVXQ right now. Because of all this, TVXQ has not been able to work and we want to request money that could've been made by TVXQ during this time."

Stay tuned for more information from the press conference.

T-Mobile nabs HTC's Touch HD2, schedules release for November

11/03/2009 12:32:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments



WinMo folks, we wouldn't blame you for getting a bit of Android envy after last week's DROID onslaught, but if there's one thing that could make people pine for your OS it's HTC's HD2, and T-Mobile has just confirmed it's coming on November 9 -- a mere weekend after Moto's new hotness hits Verizon. Mind you, there is some confusion going on here, as the picture on T-Mo's site is of the old Touch HD, not the HD2 we met and loved, and the mention of "loads of applications to download from Android Market" is particularly perplexing. But, we've been told to go ahead and blame a bumbling marketeer rather than to expect some sort of cross-platform app marketplace love fest -- groovy as that may sound.

Update: We've also just learned that HTC is going to officially launch the HD2 on November 4 ahead of a November 11 release elsewhere. We're not entirely sure what there is left to learn about the thing, but we're always game for another press event.

Update 2: Just to clarify things, this is T-Mobile UK. Also, as many have pointed out in comments, we're now thinking the "09" above means 2009, not November 9, which likely points to a November 11 release. Surely you can swallow that DROID envy for another two days, yeah?

Joe Chen Qiao En might leave her company

11/03/2009 12:31:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Chen Qiao En is said to mind her being frozen by the company in the past. Sun De Rong said: "We did not freeze her, it's part of her education process."

Tony Sun’s band 5566 and Ming Dao’s 183 Club, has only 1 month left in their contract with J-Stars but all seven artistes haven’t renew their contracts. There are signs of a mass exodus. Fans petition Chen Qiao En to leave her company which is on the blink of collapse. J-Star’s general manager Sun De Rong retorted “What does fans know?” Rumours goes that the possibility of her leaving is high and her new drama “Jia Qi Ru Meng” will be her graduation work. Regarding this, Sun De Rong said: “We have shown our sincerity. If others can do better, we will wish them well.”

Earns 30 millions last year, may not renew contract.

Chen Qiao En rose from a minor artiste to the first sister of idol drama with idol dramas like “Prince Turned To Frog” and “Fated To Love You”. She has no lack of drama offers, as well as many commercials and event contracts. This year, her dramas “Easy Fortune Happy Life” and “Staying By Sunshine, Staying By You”, and five endorsements for lingerie and spectacles etc brought in an income of nearly 30 millions. However, she may not renew her contract with J-Stars with whom she has worked with for eight years.

J-Stars repelled enemies, offer bigger cut

According to sources, many companies are trying to win Chen Qiao En over. In order to keep this “golden goose”, J-Stars offers to reduce their cut of 30% of her earnings. “Jia Qi Ru Meng” also allows her to choose her dramas. Sun De Rong said: “People must remember to be grateful.” Her fans said that J-Stars is on the brink of collapse. Sun De Rong said angrily: “This is a result of the environment. If we can earn money at home, who wants to leave their home country? Now fans are like famous mouths (people known for their eloquence), they only know how to talk.”

Sun De Rong is open-minded, stay if able to work together, leave otherwise

Sun De Rong manages J-Stars which brought to frame the band 5566 which includes members Sam Wang, Zax Wang and Jason Hsu. 183 Club was left with only Sam Wang, Ming Dao and Ehlo Huang after Jacky Chu and Johnny Yan left the group. Tony Sun, Zax Wang and Ming Dao may take into account the many years of friendship with the company and renew their contracts, especially Ming Dao who is “highly productive”. He participated in three dramas and earns more than 20 millions this year and has the least complaints against the company. Regarding artistes who have yet to indicate their intentions, Sun De Rong is open-minded: “Stay if able to work together, leave otherwise.”

Edison Chen's boss: It's not time for his comeback

11/03/2009 12:10:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Lin Chien Yueh, the boss of Hong Kong artiste, Edison Chen, who is also known as the "godfather" of the Hong Kong entertainment circle revealed that he looks upon Edison as his own family and shared that the artiste will not be making his comeback anytime soon.

Since the eruption of Edison's sex photos scandal in 2008, Lin has been continuously supporting the latter in his career. In an interview with the Chinese media, he openly talked about Edison's supposed comeback to the entertainment industry.

On Edison's recent participation in a Hollywood movie, Lin said, "[I] can't say if he is making a comeback of leaving. He was in the wrong, everyone knows the mistakes he made. That was a kind of life he led when he was a child. He said that he will not be making a return to the Hong Kong entertainment industry yet but he did not say that he will not be doing any other things. It is unfair for a 20-something child to not be able to do anything else.

"He has been running his fashion business, there is no comeback or not. I can only say that he has that one [Hollywood] movie. If the public can accept him, he can make a comeback anytime, however if the audiences do not welcome him, he can't make a return.

Lin succinctly summarized everything, "At this period of time, there are many people looking for him, but I do not think that the timing is right yet, there are still many opposing voices."

Reporters asked Lin if he treats Edison like his own and he said, "Everyone has friends and relatives. When they make mistakes, they are able to better understand and empathize with them. If you do not help him, who do you help? We have already done whatever the company can do to help him. Whether or not it succeeds is another thing altogether."

'This Is It' thrills box office with $101 million

11/02/2009 11:11:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , 0 Comments

This Is It? Hardly.

Sony announced today the Michael Jackson concert movie, originally billed as a two-week-only event, will stay in theaters through Thanksgiving weekend.

The un-surprise move comes after This Is It led the box-office competition with an estimated $21.3 million Friday-Sunday, and upped its five-day worldwide haul to $101 million.

Even in success, though, the film didn't thoroughly dominate Miley Cyrus. Much less Paranormal Activity.

For starters, Jackson's This Is It barely came within $10 million of matching Cyrus' Hannah Montana concert movie's opening weekend record ($31.1 million). Best of Both Worlds, which opened on a Friday, unlike the Wednesday-debuting This Is It, also made more money in its first five days than This Is It: $37.3 million versus $32.5 million.

Domestically. Internationally was another story.

As a draw, Jackson is like James Bond, bigger overseas than he is in the United States. And sure enough, two-thirds of This Is It's eye-popping worldwide gross came from the rest of the world, led by the Jackson-friendly environs of Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany.

According to Sony, the film's $101 million take is already a new worldwide record for a concert movie. This Is It cleared the old record, held by Best of Both Worlds, natch, by nearly $30 million—and counting.

Paranormal Activity (second place, $16.5 million), meanwhile, was the weekend's top-grossing non-Michael Jackson movie. Adding to its legend, the thriller actually made more money per theater than This Is It.

Overall, the no-budget wonder has now grossed $84.8 million.

Elsewhere:

• In its third steady weekend, Jamie Foxx's and Gerard Butler's Law Abiding Citizen (third place, $7.3 million; $51.4 million overall) moved up to third, and topped its reputed $50 million budget.

• Halloween pulled a trick on Saw VI (fifth place, $5.6 million; $22.8 million overall), which saw ticket sales fall 61 percent from last weekend.

• Hilary Swank's Amelia (ninth place, $3 million; $8.3 million overall) sputtered into the Top 10 thanks to the departure of two relative old-timers, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs ($118.6 million overall) and Zombieland ($71.2 million overall), and a dearth of new arrivals.

• In limited release, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day ($525,000) was, theater for theater, bigger than Paranormal Activity and This Is It; Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess' Gentlemen Broncos ($10,006) was, theater for theater, bigger than all but those two Top 10 hits.

Here's a look at the weekend's top-grossing films based on Friday-Sunday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Michael Jackson's This Is It, $21.3 million
2. Paranormal Activity, $16.5 million
3. Law Abiding Citizen, $7.3 million
4. Couples Retreat, $6.1 million
5. Saw VI, $5.6 million
6. Where the Wild Things Are, $5.1 million
7. The Stepfather, $3.4 million
8. Astro Boy, $3.04 million
9. Amelia, $3 million
10. Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, $2.8 million

Will New Internet Domain Names Change the Web?

11/02/2009 11:10:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , 0 Comments

Finally, the World Wide Web will live up to its name. The decision by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that Web sites written in Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and other non-ASCII character sets will be able to have their Internet domain names displayed in their own languages truly makes the Web a global worldwide network. For the past 40 years (the Internet turned 40 this week) the Internet and the Web have been the exclusive domain of English language addresses. For non-English-speaking countries, it has been the real-world equivalent to forcing them to use English language stationary.

No longer will entire countries be forced to use Latin-based characters and their Web addresses and e-mail addresses will now be as recognizable as their telephone book. The move is being heralded by ICANN as the biggest technical change to the Internet since its birth.

A Truly Worldwide Wed

For that reason many around the world are cheering the move as a way of opening up Internet access to more people.

"The net result will be an expansion of the Internet in terms of resources and users. Small local businesses are likely to benefit as their Internet and e-mail address can now be in their own local language," according to a writer for Asia Times Online.

The Korea Herald pointedly quoted ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom as saying the new Internet names are "very important not only for more than half of the current [Internet] users but also for half of the Internet users to come."

More than 50 percent of the current total of 1.6 billion Internet users speak languages that aren't Latin-based, according to widely used estimates.

World Wide Web of Babel

Yet on the other hand, the new names carry risks for new security concerns and general user confusion. Some fear the Web might grow increasingly fragmented into areas easily accessible only to those conversant in local languages.

There are certainly lots of languages in the world, a problem mythologized in the Biblical tale of the fall of the Tower of Babel, in which God punished people by scattering them across the face of the Earth and splitting the human language into many different tongues.

Google, the world's leading search engine, now does support searches conducted with the use of Korean and Arabic character sets, for instance.

But ICANN's actions, although well intended, also raise nuts-and-bolts questions that are yet to be answered.

How will you be able to type the domain names of international Web sites when your keyboard doesn't support their character sets?

It would be logistically just about impossible for a PC maker to supply a keyboard supporting the Western "ABC" alphabet, along with the disparate character sets used in all of these tongues, for example: Japanese, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Cyrillic, and the Central and European languages.

It's true that you can download fonts used in these languages, along with "virtual keyboard layouts" that spare you the need to buy separate physical keyboards.

But things can get very dicey here. For instance, Russian keyboards are reportedly slightly different on Windows and Mac PCs.

And to handle the virtual keyboards with much efficiency, you need to put special stickers on your keys. Just how many virtual keyboards and sets of stickers is anyone supposed to have on hand in the house or office?

It looks as though we could see the development of a whole new class of Web domains that most people won't be able to get to easily -- even though they might be able to find those Web sites with a search engine.

Certainly language translation services and technology may be the biggest winners with today's news. I predict both will flourish along with an international land grab for variations of the word "sex" dot-com.

Mel Gibson's Girlfriend Gives Birth

11/02/2009 11:10:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Mel Gibson may be a father for the eighth time: His girlfriend, musican Oksana Grigorieva, gave birth to a baby girl, according to reports circulating on the Web. PEOPLE is currently attempting to confirm the news.

The baby, who was due in December, arrived Friday, says RadarOnline

Gibson, 53, has seven children (six sons and a daughter) with his estranged wife Robyn, while Oksana has a son, Alexander, with her former boyfriend, actor Timothy Dalton.

"I have a 12 year old, so I've been a mother for 12 years – and of course, there is no first time mother's trepidation as such," Grigorieva, 39, said on a British TV show in September. "So naturally it's more relaxed, and I'm very dynamic so the pregnancy falls into my work schedule."

In terms of her relationship with the actor-filmmaker, she said, "Actually we have no plans to marry whatsoever. I haven't thought about it – we haven't spoken about it."

In April, the actor's wife of 30 years, Robyn, filed for divorce. Later that month, he and Grigeorieva made their first public appearance together as a couple.

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