NEWS HOUNDER

2012 Volkswagen Beetle to arrive in India

2011-12-15T23:23:00.001-08:00

Volkswagen has officially announced that they will be bringing the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle to the Auto Expo in January 2012. The company will also use the Auto Expo platform to highlight their BlueMotion technologies and its fuel-efficient cars as a part of the company's 'Think Blue' campaign, which was introduced this year with the launch of VW Passat.

The VW Beetle in its 3rd generation was first seen on the sets of a popular American talk show and was later officially unveiled at the Shanghai Auto show and the New York Auto show. The 21st century Beetle has been built using the Golf IV platform and the new model will feature some significant changes in terms of design and aesthetics. The new model is 152mm longer, 84mm wider and 12mm shorter than the current model. It improves the rear headroom and bumps up boot space. The typical round headlights of the Beetle will now don an optional bi-xenon headlight with LED daytime running lights. The company is most likely to introduce the new Beetle with three engine options - a 2.5-litre 5-cylinder engine with 170PS of max power, a 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine with 140PS of max power and a 2.0-litre TSI turbocharged Sport model with 200PS of max power. A 6-speed manual will be standard while the 6-speed DSG will be an added option. For India we expect the 2.0-litre diesel mated to an automatic gearbox, since the combination is already present in various VAG cars like the VW Passat, VW Jetta, Skoda Laura and Skoda Superb.

The company has not yet revealed any plans to launch the new Beetle in the Indian market. But we are expecting the company to launch the new 2012 VW Beetle in the first quarter of 2012 to contend in the premium small car segment which is about to expand with the upcoming Mini brand.

Hot Hazel Keech Photoshoot for FHM Magazine India October 2011

2011-10-20T23:50:00.001-07:00

Hot Hazel Keech Photoshoot for FHM Magazine India October 2011

New app reads you your Twitter feed

2011-10-18T21:33:00.001-07:00

An app developer has developed a hands-free device that reads you your Twitter feed such as when you are driving or cooking and have floury hands.
Released earlier this month, the 1.99-dollar worth 65MB app dubbed 'Tweet Speaker' is being downloaded in the thousands, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The app has adjustable reading speeds and supports Airplay and creates "a live podcast of your tweets,'' according to App Cubby.

Coupled with the Horn Bike iPhone speaker, cyclists are in in Twitter heaven. For the rest of us, an ordinary pair of ear buds takes care of any privacy or noise issues in a crowd.
--ANI

Now play CityVille on Google+

2011-09-27T23:31:00.001-07:00

Zynga added its most popular title -- CityVille -- to games that can be played at the Google+ social network recently launched in a challenge to Facebook.

"It's no secret we're big fans of Google+ here at Zynga," the San Francisco-based startup said in a blog post.

"Last month we announced that we partnered with Google to bring Zynga Poker to Google+, and today we're excited to add CityVille+ to the new game platform," the message continued.

In August, Google+ opened a gaming zone at the fast-growing social network vying with Facebook to be the hub for people's online lives.

Along with global game sensation Angry Birds, the initial array of offerings available at Google+ included Bejeweled Blitz, Zynga Poker, and Dragon Age Legends.

Intel aims to lower PC power consumption by 300 times

2011-09-16T06:31:00.001-07:00

Intel Corporation today said it is working on a host of futuristic technologies that would improve the power efficiency of PCs 300-fold in the next 10 years, as well as ensure the security of data and user identities.

Speaking on the final day of the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2011 here, Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner said the company was developing technologies to take computing to the next level, with better performance and lower power consumption.
Energy efficiency was a key theme of the three-day IDF summit this year and a number of Intel executives demonstrated the efforts being taken by the company in this regard. The move assumes significance in light of consumers gravitating toward always-on computing devices with a greater degree of mobility.

Rattner said that Intel's multi-core technology, in which more than one processing engine is built into a single chip, has become the accepted methodology for increasing performance while keeping power consumption low.

These technologies would enable faster web access, improve PC user security and reduce the requirement for wireless infrastructure to provide the optimal online experience, among other benefits, he said.

Rattner demonstrated a new technology for better PC security, wherein users would be able to see images and other data on social networking sites and other platforms only if the computer recognises his or her face.

The technology will enable parallel cryptographic and facial recognition services to improve security on Ultrabooks and traditional notebooks, besides desktop PCs, with the help of Intel microprocessors, he said.

Intel was also collaborating with China Mobile to replace existing "costly base-station hardware used on cell towers today with a fully programmable and far more cost-effective, software-based PC alternative", he noted.

Rattner revealed that Intel Labs was working on a new 'Near-Threshold Voltage Processor' that has enabled an experimental Pentium-class processor unit to deliver five times better energy efficiency levels, with the ability to run a processor with a solar cell the size of postage stamp.

He said the extreme-scale computing technologies that Intel was working on would help achieve the goal of a nearly 300 times improvement in energy efficiency levels in the next ten years and potentially even a 1,000-fold improvement in the future.

Rattner also disclosed a new JavaScript solution that could speed up browser-based content such as 3D games by up to eight-fold and said that Intel would also soon launch the world's first processor with Many-Integrated Core (MIC) architecture, which promises to revolutionise high-performance computing.

Ronald Cheng quietly marries girlfriend

2011-09-12T07:05:00.001-07:00

Hong Kong singer-actor Ronald Cheng secretly married girlfriend Sammie Yu on July 22, 2011, 10 days after she gave birth to a baby girl, Hong Kong media reported on September 6, 2011.
The 38-year-old actor announced the news during a promotional event for his new film "Treasure Hunt" in Hong Kong, adding that he plans to hold a wedding banquet when their daughter turns one.
Cheng is very secretive about his personal life. He even kept his first marriage to Charlene Choi a secret until they divorced in March 2010.
Choi, Cheng's ex-wife and a Hong Kong singer, sent her greetings to him, saying she believes Cheng would be a good father. Choi is currently dating Hong Kong singer William Chan and says she too would like to have many children, but that the time was not right yet.

Miramax films to stream on Facebook

2011-08-23T20:00:00.001-07:00

Hollywood studio Miramax began making some of its films available for online viewing as rentals at social networking powerhouse Facebook.

The release of free Miramax App software enhanced Facebook's status as an online venue for entertainment as well as an Internet neighborhood for exchanging news, views and happenings with friends.

"We are big believers in Facebook and what it could mean for the future of the content business," Miramax said in a blog post.

The initial version of the application allowed for streaming movies but the software will evolve based on feedback from users, according to the film studio.

Movie rentals cost three dollars each, with payment accepted in the form of credits at Facebook's payment platform.

Megan Fox in Amica September 2011

2011-08-20T10:14:00.001-07:00

Megan Fox in Amica September 2011

Salma Hayak to sell Nuance skincare range at CVS

2011-08-11T17:56:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Salma Hayek has teamed up with CVS to sell Nuance, her line of beauty products for hair, face and body from Mexican-derived ingredients.
The 44-year-old Mexican actress has developed the skincare range to "enhance the nuances that define every woman's individual beauty".

"I wanted to create a line of premium beauty products that were both effective and affordable using the ingredients and knowledge passed down to me from my grandmother," the New York Daily News quoted her as saying.

"My partnership with CVS/pharmacy allowed me to be truly involved in every aspect of product development, bringing my vision to life in making a line that is available to all women...," she added.

The line which is set to be available later this month have been inspired by Hayak's grandmother's youthful skin, which are formulated with fruit extracts and essential oils to tackle concerns like aging, loss of hydration, uneven skin tone and texture.
--ANI

Amy Winehouse rules UK album chart after death

2011-08-01T03:46:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

: Amy Winehouse has climbed back to the top of the UK album chart with her Grammy-winning album ‘Back to Black’, following her untimely death a week ago.
The late singer’s 2003 debut album ‘Frank’ also re-entered the chart at number five, while several of her singles are in the top 40, reports the BBC.

The title track charted highest, at eight, with ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’ at 27, ‘Rehab’ at 29, ‘Love is a Losing Game’ at 33 and ‘You Know I''m No Good’ at 37.

The 27-year-old soul diva is among the great pop stars, including John Lennon and Michael Jackson, who achieved number one records soon after they died.

Meanwhile, Winehouse''s record label had to increase the stock of the CDs to satisfy the increasing demand by the fans.

“In terms of the album sales, there was a real surge last weekend, both through downloads and people buying the CD,” said HMV''s Gennaro Castaldo.

“But a lot of stores then ran out of stock and they''ve been waiting for more to arrive which it did around Thursday,” he added.
--ANI

John Travolta, Chuck Norris to star in Expendables 2

2011-07-30T05:22:00.001-07:00

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John Travolta and Chuck Norris are reportedly cast as new members of the movie The Expendables 2. The rumours about their cast was brought to attention by David Varod, the head of the NU Boyana studios in Bulgaria, where the movie is going shooting in September.

In a recent interview with Novinite, David Varod revealed the names of John Travolta and Chuck Norris as new additions to the cast of director Simon West's movie. Dishing on the filming in Bulgaria, he said, "The shooting is going to take place the second week of September. I believe the sequel will be better than the first movie."

However, original cast like Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis are reprising their roles. Recently, Jean-Claude Van Damme has been linked to the movie. The sequel of The Expendables is slated for August 17, 2012.

Lady Gaga tears up on 'So You Think You Can Dance

2011-07-29T08:29:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Lady Gaga broke into tears as she watched contestants perform on 'So You Think You Can Dance', because their routine reminded her of her youth.
The 25-year-old American pop singer had been invited to be a guest judge on the hit US TV talent show, and she was overcome with emotions when buoyant Marko and Allison performed to Jeff Buckley's 'I Know It's Over'.

"I'm just so proud of you. You really love to dance. There were so many things I did wrong when I was younger and so many things I wish I could take back," Contactmusic quoted Gaga as telling the contestants.

"I felt every moment of that in your dance tonight. You are absolutely incredible. Whether you are number one, three or ten, you have it," she added.
--ANI

Selena Gomez to release own perfume

2011-07-29T01:18:00.001-07:00

Image by americanistadechiapas via Flickr

Lovebirds Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are not only one of the cutest couples in Tinseltown, Fashion News: but they are one of the most fashionable for young people all over the world.

Justin's perfume broke records as he launched his first fragrance 'Someday' at Maceys in New York as sales racked up more than $3m.

It would seem that her boyfriend's success has inspired the young Miss Gomez to bring out her own scent.

Selena is said to be teaming up with licensing firm Adrenalina to work on the brand which is set to be on the shelves for Spring 2012.

They may well be cute, but we see an unstoppable power couple emerging.

Selena may have beaten her fella to the top spot on the Billboard charts with her latest single 'Who Says' but she is going to have to pull something special out of the hat to beat the Biebs, whose fragrance is the highest selling celebrity perfume of all time.

Facebook for business' debuts

2011-07-28T07:51:00.001-07:00

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Facebook has debuted a step-by-step online guide aimed at helping small businesses use the social networking site.

The company is billing the new webpage, found at Facebook.com/business, as an "online education centre" that gives directions on such things as how to set up a profile page, create targeted ads and deals, and interact with customer feedback online.

The timing is interesting, as it comes just a week afterGoogle began shutting off all company profiles on its Google + social network. The search engine giant says it's just company policy to restrict Google+ access to individual users, a stance that has inspired a good deal of controversy in recent days.

Facebook's new business webpage does not come along with any new features, it simply puts a lot of information that may be handy for small businesses in one place. Perhaps most importantly, it serves as a nicely timed reminder that unlike Google+, Facebook encourages companies to use its service for company branding.

"Facebook allows small businesses to create rich social experiences, build lasting relationships and amplify the most powerful type of marketing, word of mouth," a Facebook spokesperson wrote in an email. "We created Facebook.com/business to make it even easier for people to reach these objectives and grow."

This represents the second time in a month that Facebook has followed Google+ news with its own feature launch. Earlier in July, Facebook announced a partnership withSkype to bring video chat features within the social networking site, just one week after Google+ made waves with its own in-app video chat feature called Hangouts.

Carrie Underwood richest among all American Idols

2011-07-26T05:49:00.001-07:00

Cover of Carrie Underwood

Singer Carrie Underwood has been named the highest earning American Idol contestant by Forbes magazine.

Since winning the season 4 American Idol, Underwood has released two full albums and become a Broadway star as her albums becoming hot seller of the year and earned enough to start her own clothing line.

The 28-year-old singer earned over $20 million in the last year alone, which is equal to five most successful Idol alumni combined.

“American Idol kick-started me in my career. It gave me an amazing fan base money can't buy. Some industry insiders have speculated that Idol makes as much as $1 billion per year,” Contactmusic quoted Underwood as telling Forbes.

The list of highest-paid American Idol contestants is:

1. Carrie Underwood- $20 million
2. Chris Daughtry — $16 million
2. Adam Lambert - $6 million
4. Fantasia Barrino — $4 million
5. Jordin Sparks — $3 million.

Kate Winslet rekindles relationship with Louis Dowler

2011-07-23T22:02:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Kate Winslet has reportedly revived her relationship with her boyfriend of four months, Louis Dowler.
The duo had split last year when Winslet reportedly decided that she wanted to be alone.

The couple, both 35, has been pictured together in the past few months, in New York and Edinburgh, fuelling rumours of a reunion, and Dowler’s relatives have revealed that the couple are on a holiday together.

“They are on holiday down here. He brought Kate round yesterday and it is the first time I have met her,” the Mirror quoted Dowler’s grandfather, Jack Pearce, as saying.

“We went for a pub lunch. She is a very attractive girl. She was polite and very friendly. They didn’t talk to me much about their personal life but they seemed very much together,” he said.

Dowler was spotted taking Winslet along the town’s historic Chapel street. They later visited Marks and Spencer and then the local fish market.

“They were only on holiday down here for a short while. He brought her down to meet me for lunch last Wednesday and she was lovely,” his sister Natasha, who works in Specsavers in the port town, added.
--ANI

Google+ courts celebrity users Verified accounts on the cards

2011-07-22T21:05:00.001-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

Google+ - hoping that celebs will draw in the punters

Google has plans to lure celebrity users to its infant social network, Google+, according to emails seen by CNN.

Google+ is all well and good, but it's somewhat lacking in the celebrity user department, with just a handful of early celeb adopters getting in on the circular act.

All that could be about to change with the implementation of Google's "celebrity acquisition plan", though, with a validation process akin to Twitter's 'verified accounts' in the works.

According to Brett Schulte, a Hollywood consultant who says he has spoken with Google about the matter, "They seemed to be very interested in having celebrities."

Fax? What is this, 1998?

He added that the company may verify accounts by asking celebrities to fax a copy of their driving licences directly to Google, which seems a bit labour intensive, not to mention intrusive, on the celebrities' part.

More likely than not, it will be done through agents who would approach Google for verification, rather than vice versa.

The presence of celebrities is a big selling point for Twitter, which boasts President Obama, Lady Gaga and Rihanna among its stellar line-up of well-known tweeters.

Murdoch's wife becomes internet sensation

2011-07-21T03:18:00.001-07:00

Wendi Deng, the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, became an instant hit on the internet after she quickly came to his aid when he was hit during a Commons hearing on the phone hacking scandal, the Telegraph reported.

Twitter was set alight with praise for 42-year-old Wendi, with comments suggesting she had made the hearing worth watching, it said.

Wendi, who came from middle-class China to marry one of the world's most powerful media moguls, gave a dramatic stand-by-your-man display.

She was dubbed 'Smack Down Sister' on Chinese websites.

The Yale University business school graduate, yoga devotee and former News Corp employee reacted faster than anyone else seated around Murdoch, including his son James, when the incident took place.

The hearing in the News of the World phone hacking case by a British parliamentary panel was interrupted by a man throwing a shaving-cream pie at her 80-year-old husband.

She sprang from her seat behind her husband to smack the assailant, in a scene witnessed by millions around the world on television Tuesday.

Wendi made the embattled News Corp chief look vulnerable, and herself strong. Her reaction also helped to take some of the heat off of Murdoch who had looked tired.

"That's our Wendi," said Vanity Fair writer Michael Wolff, author of a Murdoch biography.

Roku to bring Angry Birds Games on TV

2011-07-15T01:47:00.001-07:00

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Roku, a nice, low-priced, Internet-associated TV platform and Rovio, game maker company have partnered up to bring popular series of Angry Birds to the TV. The game service such as Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio video games and an Angry Birds video channel that features animated shorts based on the franchise, will be offered by Roku.

People will buy Angry Birds merchandise, one of the most platform-neutral games, through the Roku Channel Store. All these will be accessible on Roku player that will be launched in this summer, but the exact date is not known yet. TV channels show videos from Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video onto your TV screen with the help of set-top boxes that are sold by Roku. Roku will start selling games this summer through its Roku Channel Store similar to the Mac App Store and Amazon Appstore for Android.

A box that is influential enough to stream high-definition video from the internet is being worked by Angry Birds but watching, how the control system obtains worked out will be interesting. For the control system, remote-over-Wi-Fi apps are ordinary with TV boxes these days but the problem is, not all people have smartphone. If remote’s 4-way control pad is utilized to shimmy the bird into position then “OK” button is pressed to allow it fly and if ‘OK’ button is pressed again, then birds perform special tricks in the air.

At present, Angry Birds is accessible for users of Maemo, Android, Symbian, PC/Mac, Sony PS3/PSP, and Chrome Web Store. Versions for Nintendo Wii/DS/3DS, Windows Phone 7, and Xbox 360 are reportedly being worked by Rovio. Roku is conversing with other casual gaming companies and is expecting to make statements of additional offerings in the next few weeks.

Android Market going all-new

2011-07-14T21:51:00.001-07:00

Google's Android Market has gone new. In an attempt to strengthen its Android base, the company has just overhauled the Android marketplace with new look, new user interface and many new features.

According to a Google blog, the new interface aims to better showcase top apps and games. There's an all new videos app that allows users to sign into Android Market with their Google account, and can rent movies from anywhere over the Web to view it on their Android phone or tablet.

Google has also added books tab from Android Market on the phone. Like movie rentals, books are linked to Google account, so they are now available across all devices. However, Google Books and Movie rentals are currently offered in the US and some select regions only.

On the Android Developers blog, Google revealed that smartphones running Android 2.2 (Froyo) and higher will be ready for upgrade soon. Apart from an improved showcase for apps and games, the overhauled Android Market brings in an improved user interface (UI), smooth navigation and provides a clutter-free downloading or purchasing products.

Big Brother 13 tops TV ratings on Thursday

2011-07-10T02:37:00.001-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

The 13th edition of Big Brother is back with bang on Thursday. The CBS' summer series has topped the TV ratings with 7.7 million total viewers, 2.7 rating in adults 18-49 demographic improving on last year's premiere. The show was up by about 400,000 viewers.

CBS has topped the TV ratings by scoring 6.8 million viewers and a 4.3 rating/7 share in households for the night. ABC has landed in the second spot with 5.95 million, 3.5/6 and it has beaten out FOX, which got the 4.25 million viewers, 2.7/5. Meanwhile, NBC got 2.15 million viewers and a 1.5/3, which was enough to beat The CW's 1.1 million and 0.8/1.

However, CBS also managed to win the crown of the adults 18-49 crown despite averaging only a 1.9 rating in the demographic. ABC remained in the second position with its 1.7 rating. FOX, NBC and The CW landed in third (1.3), fourth (0.8) and fifth (0.4) respectively.

The following list is the hour by hour details of the TV ratings of the different networks:

8 pm

ABC: Wipeout (6.6 million viewers, 3.8/7 households)
CBS: The Big Bang Theory rerun (6.7 million, 4.3/8)/ Rules of Engagement rerun (5.2 million, 3.5/6)
FOX: So You Think You Can Dance results (5.4 million, 3.3/6)
NBC: Community rerun (2.3 million, 1.6/3)/ Parks and Recreation rerun (2.2 million, 1.5/3)
The CW: The Vampire Diaries rerun (1.2 million, 0.8/1)

18-49 leader: Wipeout (2.0)

9 pm

CBS: Big Brother 13 season premiere (7.7 million, 4.6/8)
ABC: Expedition Impossible (5.5 million, 3.2/5)
FOX: Glee rerun (3.1 million, 2.0/3)
NBC: The Office rerun (2.4 million, 1.7/3)/"30 Rock" rerun (2 million, 1.4/2)
The CW: Nikita rerun (1.1 million, 0.8/1)

18-49 leader: Big Brother 13 (2.7)

10 pm

CBS: The Mentalist rerun (6.7 million, 4.3/7)
ABC: Rookie Blue (5.7 million, 3.6/6)
NBC: Love Bites (2 million, 1.4/2)

18-49 leader: Rookie Blue (1.5)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change. Source: The Nielsen Company.

Adam Sandler to join 'Hotel Transylvania' cast as Dracula

2011-07-08T08:20:00.001-07:00

Cover of Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler is all set to play the role of a Dracula in his new animated family comedy, ‘Hotel Transylvania’.
He will be rejoining fellow actors Kevin James, David Spade and Steve Buscemi from the comedy hit ‘Grown Ups’, reports the Independent.

A release from the studio revealed that the film is about a group of legendary monsters who stay at a five-stake resort (not five-star), where monsters and their families can live it up, free from interference from humans - until a regular person stops for the night.

Singer Cee Lo Green also has joined the cast as Murray the Mummy, who entertained the great Pharaohs.

The movie is scheduled for release in September 2012.
--ANI

Neha Dhupia on the cover of FHM India July 2011

2011-07-07T21:49:00.001-07:00

Neha Dhupia on the cover of FHM India July 2011

Facebook CEO is most popular on Google+

2011-07-06T07:33:00.001-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive of Facebook -- the very service that Google+ was meant to challenge.

As of Tuesday evening, Zuckerberg had nearly 35,000 people following his updates on the service, more than anyone else in a broad survey of Google+ profiles by Social Statistics, an outside service.
His fan base exceeds that of Larry Page, one of the founders of Google and its recently appointed chief executive, who had only 24,000 people following him.

Google+ is less than a week old and is still not yet widely available to the public. But access to the service, which lets people share photos, links, status updates and video chats with groups of friends, is already in high demand among early adopters who are eager to play with its features.
That includes Zuckerberg, who apparently signed up to keep tabs on his new adversary. Neither Facebook nor Google confirmed whether Zuckerberg's profile was real. But his account is linked with those of several Facebook executives who are also on Google+, including Bret Taylor, the chief technology officer, and Sam Lessin, a product manager, suggesting that it is authentic.
Zuckerberg has yet to post anything that can be seen by the wider public. His own description on his profile page says simply, "I make things."

Katy Perry invites Prince William-Kate to Canada concert through Twitter

2011-07-05T18:10:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Katy Perry was so excited that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in Canada at the same time as her scheduled tour, that she invited them to her concert.

Perry, 26, is currently touring her California Dreams shows, which rolled into Canada last week, and coincidentally Prince William and Catherine are visiting the country too.

Thrilled at the information, Perry reached out to the royals on Twitter and offered them tickets to her July 3 show in Ottawa.

“In Ottawa! Heard Prince William and Kate are here, come to the show!!! (Kate - bring the McQueen (dress)!),” the Daily Star quoted her as writing in her post.

However, the royal couple did not take the singer up on her offer.

Facebook to launch video chat

2011-07-04T19:12:00.001-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

For million of users around the world, social networking website Facebook is planning to launch a video chat function next week in association with Skype, says a report.

"Facebook will launch a new video chat product, powered by Skype that works in browser technology,” blog TechCrunch said citing a source.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week tipped off press that the company would be launching an "awesome" new product next week that has been built by Facebook's Seattle team.

However, the press invitations to the event did not disclose anything more than "please join us for an event at Facebook on July 6."

The partnership could substantially increase Skype usage, which currently has 170 million users.

In addition, the move would "certainly help Facebook become even stickier for users as they start to have voice and video chat as an option to communicate." It has more than 750 million active users.

The report said that product has been built on Skype and will include a desktop component.

However, it's not clear whether it will work if a user has already installed Skype on the computer, or if additional software will need to be downloaded even if the user already uses Skype.

The social networking site has been introducing various services in order to capture more online users. For instance, it has launched a new payment system -- Facebook Credit – in India.

Jennifer Lopez launches new perfume ‘Love and Light’ with mum

2011-07-03T18:36:00.001-07:00

Jennifer Lopez has launched a new perfume ‘Love and Light’ with the support from her mother.

The mother-daughter duo appeared on HSN live to unveil Lopez’s latest fragrance, which is the America Idol judge’s 10th perfume.

The Spanish beauty said that she wants the perfume to channel what's inside each of us.

“With Love and Light, I wanted to create a fragrance that was less about the world around you and more about your inner light and your spirit,” the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

“It's about how you feel inside, it's not about your outside world,” she added.

The perfume will retail for $58 and would become available in department stores this September.

Kate Moss weds boyfriend Jamie Hince

2011-07-02T00:22:00.001-07:00

British supermodel Kate Moss married her rocker boyfriend Jamie Hince on Friday in a small English country church, accompanied by 15 bridesmaids. Moss, 37, and Hince, 42, a guitar player with The Kills, posed for photos outside the church in the village of Southrop in southern England, after the ceremony.
It was the first marriage for the British model, who met Hince in 2007.

Moss wore a sleeveless, full-length, white wedding dress designed by her close friend John Galliano and covered in rhinestones, according to Womens Wear Daily.

Her eight year-old daughter Lila was among the 15 bridesmaids, who were all dressed in ivory, British media reports said.

The couple are expected to throw a three-day reception and party at the model's home nearby, according to media reports.

Moss began her professional career as an ultra-slim 16 year-old and quickly became one of the best known and top-earning models in the world.

Harry Potter to cast final spell with 8th, last film

2011-07-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2", the eighth and final instalment in one of cinema's most successful series, has its premiere in London in a week, and experts predict records could tumble when it hits theatres on July 15.
The cast and crew have promised the most explosive Potter movie yet, even though computer-generated special effects and action scenes have been predominant throughout.

"The last movie is going to be really, really fast-paced and a load of action in it and it is like a war film," Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe told Reuters in a recent interview.

The final film, the first Potter instalment to be available in 3D, will reveal whether boy wizard Potter prevails over his evil nemesis Lord Voldemort in a classic good-versus-evil climax, although J.K. Rowling's novels provide the answer.

Knowing what happens next is unlikely to dampen enthusiasm among the huge fan base Rowling has built up through the seven books and movie adaptations, for whom Deathly Hallows Part 2 will be a bitter-sweet moment.

For millions of mostly young people around the world, the release of each Harry Potter novel or movie was a major event, explaining the long queues outside bookshops and screaming crowds at red carpet film launches.

"I've had eight years of my life with something to look forward to with the next Harry Potter, and it's about to end," said Ren Bishop, a 21-year-old from Springfield, Missouri in the United States.

"As a fan I'm sad; it's like saying goodbye to an old friend," added the two-time local Potter trivia champion.

Befitting such a landmark film, Hollywood studio Warner Bros will take over London's historic Trafalgar Square for the red carpet premiere, making space for the anticipated crowds dressed in Potter costumes and intense media interest.

For weeks plasma screens in Tokyo and advertisements across Britain have been flagging the sendoff, which is set to be marked with parties, stunts and promotional events.

On the red carpet will be the actors playing Harry, Ron and Hermione, aged between nine and 11 years old when they were cast and who have grown up in the bubble of super stardom.

For Rupert Grint (Ron), Radcliffe (Harry) and Emma Watson (Hermione), the transition to life post-Potter may not be easy, despite the fact that all three have sizeable personal fortunes and other acting options to pursue.

For Warner Bros, the end of Potter, its most bankable property, is equally daunting.

The seven movies released so far, starting with "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone" in 2001, have grossed $6.4 billion at the box office, averaging close to $1 billion per picture.

Although the figures hide a steady decline in admissions, with the first film still the most successful, experts predict that the combination of higher 3D ticket prices and anticipation surrounding the final chapter could see Deathly Hallows 2 break records.

Website Boxofficemojo said it could even eclipse the North American opening weekend record of $158.4 million set by Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" in 2008.

The movies are only a part of a lucrative Potter industry. Author Rowling's seven books have sold more than 400 million copies globally, and there are toys, video games and a theme park tied to the books and movies.

Despite the imminent disappearance of Potter from the big screen, Rowling wants to ensure that he lives on, commercially as well as creatively.

Last week she launched a new website Pottermore which will develop characters and storylines from the books and allow readers to interact and navigate her magical world.

There is also a shop, the exclusive vendor of the soon-to-be-launched ebooks along with other merchandise.

Ice Mobile aims to sell one million low radiation phones

2011-06-27T07:44:00.001-07:00

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Ice Mobile Network expects to sell over a million of its co-branded, low radiation Alcatel Ice3 handsets by the end of the 2011-12 financial year.

"We have conservative estimates of selling 1 million very low level radiation handset in this financial year," Ice Mobile Network Systems Managing Director M S Malik told media.

He said that Alcatel Ice mobiles have lowest Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) certification, a unit to measure radiation being emitted from mobile phones. "Our phones have SAR below 1.6 watt per kilogram," he said.

"We are expecting the government to take stringent action against the import of high radiation emitting handsets, based on an inter-ministerial report. This will chuck out a large number of cheap handsets floating in India," Malik said.

Eyeing the gaps in the mobile phone market, he said that the company will provide replacement warranty on mobile phone if the service centre of the company fails to fix a defect in its handsets.

"Our defect ratio is the least compared to the industry average. Since January, we have sold 150 thousand handsets and only 859 have complained," Malik told media. "We will replace the handset with a new one if the defect in the handsets under warranty period is not fixed for the second time by our service centres," Malik added.

He said that company will focus on having the best after-sales service in the market as many companies selling mobile phones imported from China are creating a bad experience for Indian consumers. Malik said the expansion plan of Ice Mobile has been built around after-sales service support.

"We will be expanding our reach in 35 cities this year. Our focus is on tier 2 cities. The expansion will be done in those cities where we can provide adequate after-sales service support," Malik said.

Baidu invests $306m in travel website

2011-06-25T21:57:00.001-07:00

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Chinese search engine Baidu has agreed to invest $306 million in domestic travel website Qunar as it seeks to cash in on the booming tourism market in China.

Baidu, which dominates the Chinese search market after Google retreated following a spat with Beijing over censorship and cyberattacks last year, will take a majority stake in the travel search engine, Baidu said.

"Travel has long been one of the top categories on Baidu, and the number of travellers in China has been growing very rapidly, so this is a market of obvious strategic importance to us," chief financial officer Jennifer Li said in a statement.

Chinese tourism has ballooned in recent years along with blistering economic growth as an increasingly wealthy middle class travels around the country and overseas for leisure.

The country's air travel market is growing fast with a total of 267 million air passenger trips in 2010, up 15.8 percent from the previous year, according to official figures.

Qunar will operate as an independent company, with both firms cooperating on certain areas of online travel search, the statement said.

"By working with Baidu, we can focus on enhancing our search technology and the quality of our products and services," said Zhuang Chenchao, co-founder and chief executive of Qunar.

China is the world's biggest online market, with 477 million Internet users, according to official data.

Baidu had a 75.8-percent share of the overall search market in the first quarter of 2011, dwarfing Google's dwindling 19.2 percent, according to figures from research firm Analysys International.

Heidi Klum strips again for new promotional advertisement

2011-06-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

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Heidi Klum strips for new promotional ad

Project Runway’s host Heidi Klum has revealed her curves in a daring promotional image for the new series of the show.

The 39-year-old model and mother of four posed with a pair of scissors and a pink tie ribbon around her neck. On her arm was written the catchphrase of the show’s co-host Tim Gunn - ‘Make It Work’.

“This is definitely sexier than past campaigns we’ve done,” the Daily Mailquoted Klum as saying.

The ninth season of the reality show is set to debut in the US on July 28 with Kim Kardashian possibly joining the panel of fashion experts.

Megan Fox to do cameo in The Dictator

2011-06-23T05:30:00.001-07:00

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Megan Fox has been roped in to playing the cameo in upcoming comedy film The Dictator. The actress, who is currently filming Friends with Kids, will be seen along with John C Reilly, who is also appearing in a guest role in the film.

The Dictator is currently in production stage in New York. It also features Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley and Jason Mantzoukas in the ensemble cast. The movie is directed by Larry Charles, which is directed by Paramount Pictures.

The movie is said to be inspired by Iraqi novel Zabibah and the King, which was written by Saddam Hussein. It is about a ruthless dictator, who changes the perspective of a store owner on dictatorship in the US.

Lindsay Lohan shoots ad from living room

2011-06-23T00:12:00.001-07:00

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Lindsay Lohan seems like does not want to waste her time sitting idle. The troubled actress, who is under house arrest, has shot an ad from her living room.

The Mean Girls star has shot an commercial for an internet based auction website. The actress has reportedly got a hefty amount for the ad, which runs for 15 seconds.

“Hey, all my friends: I just wanted to share with you that during some of my time at home, I found this amazing site with great deals.” The actress posted on a social networking site. If reports are to be believed, Lilo received $25,000 for the ad and a credit of $10,000 to spend on the website.

However, Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 120 days in jail and 480 hours of community service for violating her 2007 DUI probation and complete 480 hours of community service for jewellery theft. She will be finished with her house arrest.

Twilight director to auction Bella's bed for charity

2011-06-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

Cover of Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke is reportedly considering to sell off the bed on which Twilight lovers Edward and Bella shared their first kiss to raise cash for charity.

The director took the bed home after shooting wrapped on the first film and she still owns it.

Dailystar.co.uk reports that she will sell the bed to benefit the Step Up Women's Network if fans "showed enough demand for the item".

AMD launches the Fusion A-series processors

2011-06-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

AMD (Advanced Micro Systems) has announced its next generation of consumer processors - the AMD Fusion A-Series APUs (Accelerated Processing Units), which were formerly codenamed LIano.
The new processors will compete with Intel's Sandy Bridge platform and offer many new features. To start with, the processors will intelligently shut down their cores to enhance battery life. AMD claims this will deliver more than 10.5 hours of resting battery life, which will be over a 50 per cent increase in comparison to their 2010 platform. All this will be achieved through the new Turbo Core technology, which will optimise performance in accordance to the situational needs of the user.
Interestingly the company has also announced that the Fusion A-series APUs will have the capability to pair up with dedicated AMD Radeon graphical chips in parallel in the process providing massive performance gains to users.
To meet these needs, the AMD A-Series APUs will combine up to four x86 CPU cores with powerful DirectX 11-capable discrete-level graphics and up to 400 Radeon cores along with dedicated HD video processing on a single chip. AMD A-Series APUs will also allow for advanced capabilitiessuch as gestural interfaces, multi- monitor support, 3D entertainment and real-time image stabilization.
Previously, the company launched their Fusion series of APUs in January but those APUswere aimed at lower-end computing products. While performance wise these processors may not compete with Intel's second-generationSandy Bridge processors they, should definitely have a leg upon Intel in the graphics department thanks to the parallel processing capabilities of the Fusion A-series.
At present, pricing informationis unavailable, but notebooks based on AMD Fusion A-series APUs should be priced competitively in comparison toIntel's second-generation Sandy Bridge processors.

Apple’s iCloud fetches deals with major record labels

2011-06-12T18:31:00.001-07:00

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Apple launches iCloud later this week, the Cupertino-based company has signed deals with major records labels for the new music service.

Warner Music Group, EMI Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are among those which reportedly inked the deals Thursday, according to bloggers.

Apple boss Steve Jobs will unveil iCloud at the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco Monday.

Bloggers say Apple will initially offer iCloud service free to those who buy music from its iTunes digital download centre. Later, it will charge a $25 annual fee.

Under the deals signed with major record labels, Apple will share 70 percent of any revenue from iCloud’s music service with record labels, as well as 12 percent with music publishers holding the songwriting rights. Apple is expected to keep the remaining 18 percent,” according to a blogger with the LA Times.

Much is not known about iCloud except that it will allow users to upload music to their Apple computers to then play from a Web browser or Internet-linked Apple devices.

Brooklyn Decker Ocean Drive Magazine December 2010

2011-06-10T04:48:00.001-07:00

merican model Brooklyn Decker is the stunning beauty on featured in Ocean Drive Magazine for the month of December 2010. Brooklyn is promoting her upcoming movie with famous comedian Adam Sandler, Just Go With It. Movie is expected to release in February 2011.

Role-playing game Sims on Facebook

2011-06-09T05:21:00.001-07:00

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Major video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc is bringing its popular "The Sims" role-playing game to Facebook.

EA made the announcement on the sidelines of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry's annual conference, known as E3.

The move for the maker of major shoot-'em-up console games highlights the explosive growth of games like Zynga Inc's " FarmVille."

EA expects most of the growth in the global gaming industry next year to come over digitally delivered games. It says about $2 billion is now spent on so-called social games annually.

"Sims" players on Facebook will be motivated through creating rivalries, friendship and romance. In-game micro-transactions are expected to generate revenue. EA did not give a release date but said it has been developing the game for about a year.

Forgot to charge your iPod, just plug it into an iKini...

2011-06-08T02:25:00.001-07:00

It may well be something of a niche market.

But for those fed up with their iPod running out of power when lazing about in a bikini, help is at hand.

It comes in the shape of a £120 swimsuit made of solar panels that can charge everything from an MP3 to a camera.
The designer, New York-based Andrew Schneider, is even hoping to create a pair of trunks that can cool beer.

He spends up to 80 hours creating each bikini with 40 paper thin flexible, photo-voltaic panels and conductive thread.
The user can even take a dip. ‘You just need to be dry before hooking up,’ he added.

Anyone worried about getting a shock from their swimwear needn’t be. ‘You wouldn’t even feel the charge,’ insisted Schneider.

YouTube users uploading 48 hours of video every minute

2011-06-06T02:30:00.001-07:00

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YouTube, the video site, receives more than 48 hours of video upload every minute, showing an increased of more than a third over the last six months.
The video site, which is celebrating the sixth anniversary of the site's beta launch, said that the site now receives more than three billion views per day.

In a blogpost, the company said: "For the last six years we've grown and evolved in our quest to push video forward and deliver the best possible experience to you."

Over the last year the company has raised the maximum length of a clip from 10 minutes to 15 minutes, with selected users being allowed, effectively, to upload clips of unlimited length, The Telegraph reports.

It has also expanded into other types of video, moving on from user-generated clips to offer a film rental service, for example.

Last month it was reported that Google, which bought YouTube in November 2006, was investing 100 million dollars in low-budget original programmes for YouTube.
--ANI.

X-Men: First Class already a rage in India

2011-06-05T00:23:00.001-07:00

Image by Lyon & Pan via Flickr

While X-men: First Class is inching closer to its release, we have a great piece of news for fans of the action franchise.

The 5th of the highly successful X-Men saga is already acquiring great critical acclaim! Early screenings across the globe are attracting very positive reviews from noted critics, with the film being described as 'very entertaining' and 'possibly the best film of the franchise'!

Apart from the movie and the story, critics are also appreciating the star cast of the film. “A very entertaining film with a great young cast,” commented a trade source, while another exclaimed, “I thought it was really good with a great cast!”

Directed by Matthew Vaughn & starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Becon, Rose Byrne and January Jones amongst many others, the film takes you back to where it all started. The storyline of the movie revolves around the friendship between Charles Xavier a.k.a. Professor X and Erik Lensherr a.k.a. Magneto before it evolved into an eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-men.

The 1960s setting for this film, coupled with outstanding special effects, brilliant action sequences & powerful characters is sure to thrill you like never before. While promos of the film seem promising enough we now have critics noticeably welcoming the movie into cinema houses! For this X-men flick we just cannot wait! Catch it in theatres on 10th June in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu!

Tintin film to open earlier in India than US

2011-06-04T22:41:00.001-07:00

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Steven Spielberg’s 3D film on the Belgian boy cartoon character, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, will open in India on November 11, six weeks before its US release, scheduled for Christmas. Produced by Paramount Pictures and Colombia Pictures, the movie will be dubb ed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, and open along with the English version in India.

Kercy Daruwala, Managing Director of Sony Pictures (India), which owns Colombia, says that “the early India release of the film could have been motivated by the immense popularity of Tintin comics in the country. The brand awareness for the character, a Belgian news reporter, is over 90 per cent. Satyajit Ray and poet novelist Vikram Seth have referred to Tintin in their works.

“Besides, Indians love movies, and are crazy about seeing them before anybody else. They have this urge to watch the first day, first show, and with the Tintin film opening first in India, a heightened curiosity may translate into more attractive boxoffice returns”, Daruwala adds.

Gautaman Bhaskaran
Created by Georges Remi or Herge, as he preferred to call himself, Tintin comics were first translated into Bengali in India, and it is believed that every other household in Kolkata has a copy of the book. In fact, Herge himself wanted to visit Kolkata, and had incorporated India, though not the city, in two of his stories, Cigars of the Pharaoh and Tintin in Tibet.

The Spielberg film, using advanced motion capture 3D technology and based on the series, The Adventures of Tintin, will star Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Defiance) as Tintin, whose passionate pursuit of good stories pushed him into high adventure. Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace, Defiance) will essay the nefarious Red Rackham. Three new characters, who did not exist in the strips, have been added in the movie.

Spielberg himself has been a great fan of Tintin since 1981, when a review compared his Raiders of the Lost Ark to the exploits of the boy reporter. The helmer first acquired the rights for Tintin in 1983, soon after Herge’s death, and re-optioned them in 2003. The two men were to have met, but death intervened

Green tea helps fight autoimmune disease

2011-06-04T04:08:00.001-07:00

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Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University have discovered that one of the beneficial compounds found in green tea has a powerful ability to fight autoimmune disease.

They found that the compound increases the number of ‘regulatory T cells’ that play a key role in immune function.

This may be one of the underlying mechanisms for the health benefits of green tea, which has attracted wide interest for its ability to help control inflammation, improve immune function and prevent cancer.

Though pharmaceutical drugs are available that perform similar roles and have been the subject of much research, they have problems with toxicity. A natural food product might provide a long-term, sustainable way to accomplish this same goal without toxicity, said the researchers.

“This appears to be a natural, plant-derived compound that can affect the number of regulatory T cells, and in the process improve immune function,” said Emily Ho, an LPI principal investigator and associate professor in the OSU department of nutrition and exercise sciences.

“When fully understood, this could provide an easy and safe way to help control autoimmune problems and address various diseases,” she said.

In this study, OSU scientists did experiments with a compound in green tea, a polyphenol called EGCG, which is believed to be responsible for much of its health benefits and has both anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer characteristics.

They found it could cause a higher production of regulatory T cells. Its effects were not as potent as some of those produced by prescription drugs, but it also had few concerns about long-term use or toxicity.

“EGCG may have health benefits through an epigenetic mechanism, meaning we aren’t changing the underlying DNA codes, but just influencing what gets expressed, what cells get turned on,” Ho said. “And we may be able to do this with a simple, whole-food approach.”

The findings have been published in Immunology Letters.

Miley Cyrus sizzles as lingere-clad street fighter in new flick So Undercover

2011-06-02T04:19:00.001-07:00

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Miley Cyrus looked super hot as she wore some sexy lingerie in the photographs taken for her upcoming movie So Undercover.

Apart from looking sexy in the movie, Cyrus also had to learn to fight and use guns.

“I've been doing fighting, like learning how to box...mostly like street fighting, so knowing how to, like, if someone comes up from behind you, being able to defend yourself,” Gossipcenter quoted Cyrus as telling the press.

“I have a trainer and I have bruises everywhere from, like, kicking the bags... And I've learned how to use guns, which was really scary,” she added.

Twitter adds Follow button for websites

2011-06-01T19:34:00.001-07:00

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Twitter broadened its reach by letting websites add "Follow" buttons that visitors can click to begin tracking posts at the globally popular microblogging service.

Twitter billed the button as "a new way to follow Twitter accounts directly from the websites you visit every day."

The feature was rolled out the same day Web advertising company AdGrok announced it has been bought by San Francisco-based Twitter.

"When Twitter approached us and asked if we'd be interested in working on their monetisation platform, we realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we just couldn't pass up," AdGrok said in a blog post.

"Starting today, we will be working full-time on Twitter's revenue engineering team."

Websites that took part in the Follow button launch included online venues for pop stars Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears as well as news, sports, and videos.

Eminem, Justin Bieber scoop Billboard Music Awards

2011-05-26T03:36:00.001-07:00

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Eminem and teen idol Justin Bieber dominated the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, winning six awards each with the 38-year-old rapper taking the top honour for artist of the year.

With Eminem absent, Bieber helped lead the way om stage beside some of pop's biggest current stars at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, marking the music magazine's efforts to revive what was once an annual event following a four-year hiatus.

Sporting his now short, spiky hair and a sparkling gold tuxedo jacket, Bieber beat singer Bruno Mars and rapper Nicki Minaj for best new artist and marveled to the audience, "I'm 17 ... every day is crazy to me because I see so many people and I get to make so many people smile."

The Canadian pop star, who has gained a huge following of "Beliebers" through YouTube and social media websites, also won awards for top pop album, streaming artist and song, as well as social and digital media artist. He thanked "everybody who helped me get out of my home town and live my dream."

Detroit native Eminem, who released the critical and commercial success Recovery last year, including the hit single Love The Way You Lie featuring singer Rihanna, won awards for top male artist, billboard 200 album, rap artist, rap song and rap album.

Rihanna, 23, kicked off the show with a performance of "S&M" from her 2010 fifth studio album Loud, and was joined on stage by Britney Spears before going on to win three awards including top female and top radio artist of the year.

She thanked her biggest fan devotees, who call themselves the Rihanna navy, and hailed her native Barbados. The last Billboard artist of the year was Rihanna's former boyfriend Chris Brown, who pleaded guilty to assaulting her in 2009 and did not attend the awards.

Katy Perry won awards for top hot 100 artist and top digital songs, while British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz won the top hot 100 song of the year for his hit, Dynamite.

Need You Now, by Lady Antebellum won country song of the year. The title track from their second album introduced the group from Nashville, Tennessee to audiences worldwide and is now the most-downloaded country song ever, according to Billboard.

Taylor Swift, 21, who has swept music award shows in the past several years, won country artist of the year. She sold 1,047,000 first-week copies of her third album "Speak Now" in the United States last November, making it the fastest-selling new album in five years.

Lady Gaga goes gaga over 'Rocky films

2011-05-21T05:12:00.001-07:00

Lady Gaga has confessed that she is a big time lover of Rocky films.
“Rocky is my favourite. I love Rocky 3 because he gets his ass kicked in the first round and comes back,” the Sun quoted the singer as saying before she sat down to chat with Nicola Roberts for MTV Music show.

"Rocky is the ideal man. I never wanted to be the rock star. I wanted to be the girlfriend. I never wanted to be Rocky. I wanted to be Adrian.

“The Edge Of Glory means a lot to me. It was written when my grandfather died. That song is about looking life in the eye and when you die saying, I won, I''m a champion'' like Rocky sprinting to the top of the staircase,” the star added.
--ANI

Apple readying Web music service

2011-05-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

Apple Inc has reached agreements with three major record labels to let users of its new music service access their song collections from handheld devices via the Internet, people with knowledge of the deals said.

The new iTunes offering will let users store content on Apple's servers and access it using the Web, rather than loading songs into a device's memory, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven't been made public. The plans could be previewed as early as Apple's developers conference, set to begin June 6, the people said.

Apple, the largest US music retailer, follows Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc in letting consumers stream music from the so-called cloud instead of downloading it to a hard drive. Unlike competing products, Apple's cloud music service won't require users to upload online collections, two people said. Record labels are counting on cloud services to reignite sales of digital tracks, which have stagnated in recent years.

Apple has reached licensing accords with Sony Corp's music division, EMI Group and Warner Music Group, the people said. Universal Music Group, the largest recording company, is close to a deal, another person said. The company also would need to reach agreements with music publishers, which control different rights than the labels.

Lady Gaga’s ’Judas’ video cost USD 10 million

2011-05-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga's latest video 'Judas', which sees her as a modern couture wearing Mary Magdalene, cost a whopping USD 10 million.

The controversial seven-minute video loaded with biblical imagery became expensive thanks to the lavish costumes and sets, reported E! Online.

Co-directed by Gaga along with choreographer Laurianne Gibson, the video starred Walking Dead's Norman Reedus, who was cast as Judas.

The video re-imagines Jesus and his disciples as a biker gang and features an 'electro chapel', a gothic night club where he holds sway.

Gaga is going all out to promote the single and her latest album 'Born This Way', which will be released on Facebook.

The Grammy winning artiste is currently in Cannes and performed 'Judas' on the French Riviera dressed as a matador.

Ashton Kutcher excited at joining 'Two and a Half Men' replacing Sheen

2011-05-14T01:57:00.001-07:00

Ashton Kutcher has expressed his excitement at joining the team of television comedy series ‘Two and a Half Men’, but says he can’t replace Charlie Sheen.
Kutcher, 33, has been confirmed as the new lead star in the sitcom after Sheen was fired because of his erratic conduct.

"I can''t wait to get to work with this ridiculously talented 2.5 team and I believe we can fill the stage with laughter that will echo in viewers'' homes,” he said.

However, he admitted, "I can''t replace Charlie Sheen, but I''m going to work my ass off to entertain the hell out of people."

Meanwhile, Sheen took a swipe at Kutcher’s appointment, insisting that he will not attract the same demographic of viewers as he did.

"Kutcher is a sweetheart and a brilliant comedic performer. Oh wait, so am I. Enjoy the show America. Enjoy seeing a 2.0 in the demo every Monday, WB. Enjoy planet Chuck, Ashton. There is no air, laughter, loyalty, or love there," the Contactmusic quoted Sheen as telling TMZ.
--ANI

Apple now most valuable global brand

2011-05-09T06:54:00.001-07:00

Apple has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand, ending a four-year reign by the internet search leader.The iPhone and iPad maker's brand is now worth $153 billion (£93bn), almost half Apple's market capitalisation, the annual BrandZ study of the world's top 100 brands says.

Apple's portfolio of coveted consumer goods propelled it past Microsoft to become the world's most valuable technology company last year, the Telegraph reports.

Peter Walshe, global brands director of Millward Brown, which conducted the study, said Apple's meticulous attention to detail, along with an increasing presence of its gadgets in corporate environments, have allowed it to behave differently from other consumer-electronics makers.

"Apple is breaking the rules in terms of its pricing model," he said. "It's doing what luxury brands do, where the higher priced the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire."

"Obviously, it has to be allied to great products and a great experience, and Apple has nurtured that."

Of the top 10 brands in the report, six were technology and telecoms companies: Google at number two, IBM at three, Microsoft at five, AT&T at seven and China Mobile at nine.

McDonald's rose two places to number four, as fast food became the fastest-growing category, Coca-Cola slipped one place to number six, Marlboro was also down one to number eight, and General Electric was number 10.

Facebook entered the top 100 at number 35 with a brand valued at $19.1 billion, while Chinese search engine Baidu rose to number 29 from 46, the report says.

Toyota reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable car brand, as it recovered from a bungled 2010 product recall.

The survey was carried out before the March earthquake that caused massive disruption to Japanese supply chains.

Blackberry Playbook To Have Video Chat App Soon

2011-05-06T22:36:00.001-07:00

RIM announced that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is likely to have the Video Chat app by next month.

The front 5MP camera would be utilized once the PlayBook Video Chat app is available. Tom Goguen, Research In Motion (RIM) Collaboration and Social Networking’s VP said, "With the BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat application we are excited to be enabling our customers to share important moments and events with family and friends via video calls. With the BlackBerry PlayBook's high-resolution video cameras and stunning display, a Video Chat call is the next best thing to being there."

Another exciting feature to be included is the picture-in-picture view which will enable a user to see what the other person is seeing. This app will function through Wi-Fi connection.

The only possible negative aspect about it is that this app can be used only with another PlayBook tablet. However, it might prove useful for the organizations which require co-workers to communicate with each other via Video Chat facility.

It would have been more useful if RIM would have facilitated the PlayBook users to have a video chat with other Apple devices just like Apple’s FaceTime which can also be used by RIM for video chat. But, unfortunately the PlayBook wouldn’t be able to connect a video chat with other Macs, iPhones and iPad 2s.

Adele's '21' tops Billboard hot chart for 6th time

2011-05-05T01:53:00.001-07:00

Singer Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, who is popularly known as Adele, has once again topped the Billboard chart. The 'Set Fire in the Rain' singer's album '21' has landed at the No. 1 on Billboard Hot 200 this week with its sales crossing 124,000 copies. This marks her sixth non-consecutive week at the Billboard.

Taylor Swift's 'Fearless' was at the No. 1 for 11 weeks in 2008. Swift's 'Speak Now', Norah Jones' 'Feels Like Home and Susan Boyle's 'I Dreamed a Dream' have ruled the Billboard chart for six weeks. Now, Adele's new '21' is the latest addition to the list of such a hot albums. However, there were no new releases this week that made its way easy to the top.

The following is the list of the top ten albums at the Billboard:

1. "21" - Adele (124,000)
2. "Wasting Light" - Foo Fighters (34,000)
3. "Sigh No More" - Mumford & Sons (32,000)
4. "Femme Fatale" - Britney Spears (30,000)
5. "Lemonade Mouth" soundtrack album - various artists (30,000)
6. "F.A.M.E." - Chris Brown (28,000)
7. "Glee, The Music Presents the Warblers" - various artists (28,000)
8. "Teenage Dream" - Katy Perry (24,000)
9. "Rolling Papers" - Wiz Khalifa (24,000)
10. "So Beautiful or So What" - Paul Simon (24,000)

Apple iPad 2 hits Indian market

2011-05-04T03:10:00.001-07:00

PC maker Apple said its much awaited Apple iPad 2 will finally hit the Indian market Friday.
"iPad 2 will be available at select Apple authorised retailers at 9 a.m. local time," the company said in a statement.

The company also said that it has launched the tablet computer in 10 more countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa Friday.

iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while it maintains the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. The tablet PC delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.

iPad 2 with wi-fi is priced at Rs.29,500 for the 16 GB model, Rs.34,500 for 32 GB model and Rs.39,500 for the 64 GB model.

While iPad 2 with Wi-Fi and 3G is available for Rs.36,900 for the 16 GB model, Rs.41,900 for the 32 GB model and Rs.46,900 for the 64 GB model.
--IANS

Emma Watson voted best dressed woman

2011-05-03T20:30:00.001-07:00

Actress Emma Watson has been voted best dressed woman in an online poll by Glamour magazine.
The 21-year-old actress has previously been a UK Vogue cover girl and is the face of Lancome make-up.

Singer Cheryl Cole came second, followed by Kristen Stewart, Dannii Minogue, and Alexa Chung, reports contactmusic.com.

Singer Rihanna landed the sixth spot, with Kate Moss, Blake Lively, Olivia Palermo and Lea Michele completing the top 10.

The full list was compiled by over 15,000 votes on Glamour.com and will appear in the June issue of the magazine.
--IANS

Google launches 'GigaPan Time Machine'

2011-04-28T04:09:00.000-07:00

Google has created a time machine with which one can simultaneously explore space and time at extremely high resolutions.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have leveraged the latest browser technology to create GigaPan Time Machine, a system that enables viewers to explore gigapixel-scale, high-resolution videos and image sequences by panning or zooming in and out of the images while simultaneously moving back and forth through time.

Viewers, for instance, can use the system to focus in on the details of a booth within a panorama of a carnival midway, but also reverse time to see how the booth was constructed. Or they can watch a group of plants sprout, grow and flower, shifting perspective to watch some plants move wildly as they grow while others get eaten by caterpillars. Or, they can view a computer simulation of the early universe, watching as gravity works across 600 million light-years to condense matter into filaments and finally into stars that can be seen by zooming in for a close up.

"With GigaPan Time Machine, you can simultaneously explore space and time at extremely high resolutions," said Illah Nourbakhsh, associate professor of robotics and head of the CREATE Lab.

Microsoft hikes pay for employees worldwide

2011-04-23T01:56:00.001-07:00

Microsoft is making what it calls its biggest investment in overall compensation for its employees in its history, as it jostles to keep talent from fleeing to rival technology companies like Facebook , Google and Amazon .

Chief Executive Steve Ballmer announced the changes in an email sent to employees Thursday morning.

All of Microsoft Corp.'s nearly 90,000 employees worldwide will see more cash upfront as compensation is shifted away from stock awards. As well, about 80 percent of workers will now receive 100 percent of their bonus and stock awards, up from about half of employees previously.

The changes are biggest where the competition for talent has been fiercest _ for early and mid-level research and development staff, mid-level employees in general, and for workers in hotspots like China and India.

Iggy Pop American Idol Performance

2011-04-08T03:13:00.000-07:00

American Idol, Iggy Pop, the craziest performer American Idol has ever had, perform his 1986 hit “Real Wild Child” shirtless on stage. Iggy will be 64 years old in about two weeks. He is one of the forefathers of punk and alternative rock. He’s not some poser who just showed up on American Idol and he’s been taking his shirt off for over 40 years, performing for over 50 years.

Yahoo to launch Search Direct in India

2011-04-01T08:23:00.001-07:00

Yahoo is all set to unveil its latest search offering 'Search Direct' in India by the second half of this calendar, said a top official of Yahoo.

Prabhakar Raghavan, Yahoo's chief scientist, senior vice-president and head (Yahoo Labs) said the Nasdaq-listed digital media company has already rolled out the public beta version of Search Direct in the US last week.

"The new search engine predicts search results as fast as a person types -- character by character, and presents those results dynamically, generating a fast, simple search experience that goes beyond mere blue links," Raghavan told media persons. He said it (Search Direct) follows a theme ... a theme that the company has been pursuing ever since they forged a search alliance with Microsoft."

Amazon faces backlash over ‘music locker’ service

2011-03-31T05:22:00.001-07:00

A new Amazon.com service that lets customers store songs and play them on a variety of phones and computers is facing a backlash from the music industry that could ignite a legal battle.

Amazon's Cloud Drive, announced on Tuesday, allows customers to store about 1,000 songs on the company's web servers for free instead of their own hard drives and play them over an internet connection directly from web browsers and on phones running Google's Android software.

Amazon beat rivals Google and Apple into the market for such "music locker" services, which are meant to appeal to consumers frustrated by the complexities of storing their favourite songs at work, home and on their smartphones. Apple and Google were expected to launch their services at the end of last year.

Listen to Don Quixote on YouTube

2011-03-24T07:21:00.001-07:00

People from all over the world shot videos against iconic landmarks while reading different fragments of Don Quixote. These have been now uploaded on YouTube as a complete novel.

A total of 4,308 YouTube users from around the world sent videos of different fragments of Miguel de Cervantes’ knightly tale, of which Spain’s Royal Academy of the Spanish Language chose 2,149.

Japan’s Mount Fuji and Argentine and Mexican people dressed as the characters, Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, were also part of the scenes edited into the final production.

Jose Manuel Blecua, director of the academy, said: “There are no better arms for championing Spanish on the web than Quixote and Sancho.”

The project had begun Sep 30 last year to promote the use of Spanish on the internet.

“This is Quixote seen anew,” Blecua said. “The internet is a wonderful way to disseminate the language and linguistic resources, as well as the work done by researchers of the language.”

Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79

2011-03-23T19:38:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth Taylor, one of the most alluring actresses of the 20th century, died on Wednesday at age 79, her publicists said. ( Elizabeth Taylor, the queen of Hollywood )

She died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles surrounded by her four children after having been hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, a statement from publicist Sally Morrison said.

"My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world," son Michael Wilding said in a statement.

Elizabath Taylor was born on February 27, 1932, in London and was considered one of Hollywood's greatest stars of all time. She was married eight times to seven husbands. ( Elizabeth Taylor's filmography )

Amitabh, Jaya team up after 10 years for jewellery ad

2011-03-22T07:07:00.001-07:00

Did you miss seeing Bollywood power couple Amitabh-Jaya together on screen? They have teamed up again after a decade, not for an film, but for a jewellery brand ad campaign.

"At Tanishq, the jewellery business of the Tata Group for their AV for endorsement. Jaya and I doing it together," Amitabh wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. The two will be seen together after Karan Johar's super successful family saga "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" in 2001 which also starred Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan Kareena Kapoor and Kajol.

Amitabh and Jaya are latest to join the list of celebrity couples coming together for endorsement. Their son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya teamed up for Lux soap comemrcials.

Other celebrity couple seen together are Ajay Devgn and Kajol in Whirlpool ads, Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan in D'decor and Saif Ali Khan and Kareena in Airtel ads.

A royal wedding app for iPad

2011-03-21T21:59:00.001-07:00

Media company 2 For Life's "Royal Wedding 2011" app features a newswall with all the latest about the upcoming marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton and a live feed with photos of the pair.

"Royal Wedding 2011 is both a primer and a keepsake for iPad users who have a keen interest in the wedding and the Royal Family," said 2 For Life Media Inc President Diane Hall.

Now available on the App Store, it includes a guide to royal etiquette like advice on how to shake the Queen's hand, tips on how to host a top-notch royal wedding party and details of designers who may have been chosen to design Kate's dress.

Users can give the future King and Queen of England wedding tips and marriage advice via a guestbook, go on a virtual tour of London sites associated with the royals and find out about the most outrageous and extravagant royal wedding souvenirs.

Halle Berry voted No.1 in fab 40s poll

2011-03-20T06:38:00.001-07:00

atwoman star Halle Berry, 44, has topped a new poll of fab 40s.

Jennifer Aniston, 42, landed the second spot and Italian model Monica Bellucci, 46, came third.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, 42, and former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson, 43, were fourth and fifth in the cable TV survey.

"You're never too old to be sexy," the Daily Star quoted Berry as saying.

Actor Navin Nischol passes away

2011-03-19T07:27:00.001-07:00

A gold medalist from FTII, Nischol became popular actor with hits like Buddha Mila Gaya, Dhund, Victoria No 203, Hanste Zakhm and Woh Main Nahin. More than his acting, Nischol became popular for his chocolate boy looks and songs that included popular hits like Kaan mein jhumka (Sawan Bhadon), Raat kali jab khwab mein aayi (Buddha Mil Gaya), Simti si sharmaisi (Parwana) and Tum jo mil gaye ho ( Hanste Zakhm).

Nischol flourished as a hero for a decade. Film writer Dilip Thakur says, "Rajesh Khanna's popularity came in the way of the actor. Besides, he was known to be egoistic and didn't want to play second fiddle to any actor, especially to another generation of actors like Amitabh Bachchan. He turned down second lead hero roles, which went to Vinod Mehra, who benefitted from it. He was even offered Shashi Kapoor's role in Deewar which he turned down. And the rest is history."

Thakur adds "he played the lead in Parwana but it was Bachchan who got appreciate for his role as a villain."

From 1980 onwards, however, Nischol started playing character roles with films Saboot, Teri Baahon Mein and Samundar. His career was on the downslide. He was also one of the first film actor along with Shekhar Suman to join television. He worked in quite a lot of television serials including Anand Mahendroo's Dekh Bhai Dekh.

Nischol was married twice. His first marriage with Shekhar Kapur's sister Neelu ended when she found out about his affair with a starlet. They have a daughter Natasha - who is a popular make-up artiste in the film industry. His second marriage to Geetanjali also ran into trouble, when she alleged harassment by the family. She committed suicide leaving behind a note blaming the actor for her death.

The last rites of actor Navin Nischol was performed at the Santacruz creamatorium. Most of the actor's friend including Govind Nihalani, Manmohan Shetty, Prakash Jha, Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor came to pay their last respect.

Filmaker Ashoke Pandit who was also present there said, "Navin was going to Pune and was on his way to pick up Randhir Kapoor, when he got a heart attack. He was taken to Sion hospital where he was declared dead."

Eva Mendes replaces Naomi Watts as face of Angel perfume

2011-03-18T04:08:00.001-07:00

Cuban-American actress Eva Mendes has reportedly been named the new face of Thierry Mugler''s Angel perfume.
According to Women''s Wear Daily, the Spanish beauty has replaced Naomi Watts, who was ditched from the campaign for not being "sultry" enough, reports the Daily Telegraph.

"While Naomi Watts'' ethereal beauty embodied the angelic aspect of the fragrance, Thierry Mugler chose to reignite the enticing and explosive dimensions of the fragrance with the sultry Mendes," the company said in a statement.

"Though her obviously flawless physical beauty is in perfect harmony with the artist''s aesthetic canon, Ms Mendes mesmerised Mugler with her independence, determination and humor," the statement added.

The 37-year-old actress has also appeared in advertisements for Calvin Klein since 2008.
--ANI

The Kumars at No.42' to return to BBC

2011-03-17T08:10:00.001-07:00

The cult hit BBC show 'The Kumars at No.42' which saw a fictional British Indian family interview celebrities, is set for a second innings, said the series' star and creator Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Bhaskar said that the original cast of the Emmy winning show, has agreed to reunite and is currently in talks with BBC, reported Sun online.

Bhaskar said that he wanted the show to have a "credit crunch spin" and have the fictional Kumar family move to a flat above a shop.

And he said the family, in another nod to tougher times, could tackle MPs about serious issues, as well as chat to celebrities.

Bhaskar who recently won a Royal Television Society award for his work in another BBC drama 'The Indian Doctor', said the cast were now waiting for the go-ahead from TV bosses.

"I want the Kumars to return, all the cast are up for it. But I'd like to see it set above a shop to reflect the credit crunch," he said.

"We never got politicians on the show when it originally aired but I'd love to, particularly
ones from the Coalition," he added.

The show, one of the first to comprise a fully ethnic minority cast, pulled in up to 4 million viewers when it was launched in 2001, with its final series airing in 2006.

It has inspired versions around the world, including in Australia, India and Pakistan

Mega Millions jackpot moves

2011-03-16T07:33:00.001-07:00

For the 12th straight drawing, no winning ticket matched all the winning Mega Millions numbers on Tuesday night. That pushes the jackpot for Friday's drawing to $201 million, with a cash option of $128.3 million.
The numbers drawn Tuesday were 10,11, 12, 28 and 43. The Mega Ball was 45 with a Megaplier of 4x. Two of the 18 tickets that matched five numbers, but not the Mega Ball, were sold in New Jersey.
The Mega Millions was last hit on Feb. 1, when winning tickets were sold in Michigan and Indiana for a $91 million prize.
Mega Millions drawing are held Tuesday and Friday at 10:59 p.m. on the New Jersey Network.

Zynga players raise $1 million for Japan relief

2011-03-15T08:14:00.001-07:00

Zynga, maker of popular social networking games such as "FarmVille," said Monday that its players have raised $1 million for Save the Children's Japan relief efforts.

Zynga spokeswoman Dani Dudeck said in a message on her Twitter feed that the money for the Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund was raised in 36 hours.

"We at Zynga are grateful that we can offer some assistance to Save the Children by mobilizing our technology, people and amazing community of players to support this organization in providing aid to the children of Japan," the company added in a blog post.

Zynga asked users to donate money through the purchase of virtual goods in FarmVille, CityVille, FrontierVille and its other games.

All of the proceeds from the purchase of sweet potatoes in CityVille, radishes in FarmVille or kobe cows in FrontierVille are going towards Save the Children's relief efforts.

Zynga has raised millions of dollars in recent years through similar campaigns, most notably for the relief efforts in Haiti.

Zynga is one of a number of US technology giants offering digital ways to donate to Japan's recovery from the massive earthquake and devastating tsunami.

Apple has set up an option on iTunes to allow users to donate from $5 to $200 to the American Red Cross and the Red Cross has launched a campaign on Facebook through the social media giant's Causes function.

Twitter is providing information and advice as well as directing people to resources on the ground and offering ways to donate to help survivors.

Google's Crisis Response page offers a "person finder" service for people searching for information about friends or family and other resources.

Nokia's first Windows Phone to be launched in a year's time

2011-03-14T07:43:00.001-07:00

okia will launch its first Windows Mobile phone in roughly 12 months from now, the Finnish firm’s India MD, D Shivakumar said. Shivakumar also defended the deal with PC operating system maker pointing to Microsoft’s strengths in areas such as socia networking, search and other software.

In a regulatory filing in the US on Friday, Nokia had said that it expected most of its smartphones to migrate to the Windows Mobile platform only in two years, setting off speculation that it will take two years to implement the strategy.

Nokia and Microsoft had announced a deal last month under which Nokia promised to build smartphones only on Windows platform, and to abandon other platforms like Android and Symbian.

According to Canalys, a global IT market research firm, the share of Windows in total smarphone sales had plummeted to just 3% during the last quarter of 2010 despite having been present on more than half of the smartphones in the early 2000s. In comparison, Symbian, which is being discarded by Nokia, had a marketshare of 31%.

Critics and consumers dismissed the last major version of Windows Mobile, called Windows Mobile 6, as being clunky and resource-hungry, though they have been kinder on the new version -- Windows Mobile 7, unveiled earlier this year.

Big crowds greet Apple's iPad 2

2011-03-13T20:20:00.001-07:00

Thousands of people thronged Apple stores on both U.S. coasts as the iPad 2 went on sale on Friday, signaling a strong appetite for a device that dominates the fledgling market it created.
Hordes of fans -- some of whom had queued up overnight -- formed raucous pre-sale lines, and attracted curious onlookers, in the chilly rain in Manhattan, and in San Francisco.
The crowds erupted as a sea of blue-shirted Apple staff threw open the doors at 5 p.m. and gave high-fives to the first iPad shoppers in Manhattan and San Francisco.
The turnout underscores how demand for Apple's tablet remains strong nearly a year after the original proved a smash hit, single-handedly creating the tablet market, and inspiring a wave of imitators from Motorola to Research in Motion.
More than 800 queued outside the Apple store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue ahead of the launch, hoping to be among the first to get the thinner, lighter and faster iPad that Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled last week to strong reviews.

Jennifer Aniston to play country musician

2011-03-12T01:06:00.001-08:00

Actress Jennifer Aniston will be seen playing the role of a country musician in a new film.
The actress first signed up for "The Goree Girls" in 2009, but the film could not be made. Aniston is now looking forward to being part of the film as she prepares to start shooting.

The film chronicles the story of an all-female band made up of convicts, reports aceshowbiz.com.
--IANS

Secondhand smoke linked to diabetes

2011-03-11T06:13:00.001-08:00

(Reuters Health) - Cigarette smoke is tied to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, both for smokers and the people around them, a new study shows.

And the more secondhand smoke people are exposed to, the greater their risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the paper in Diabetes Care.

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The potential risks of diabetes from being exposed to secondhand smoke weren't previously known, said Dr. David Nathan, who heads the Diabetes Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and is a professor at Harvard Medical School.

"This just reinforces the lesson from a public health point of view that we've been stressing for decades," which is to limit exposure to cigarette smoke, Nathan, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health.

For the new research, Dr. John P. Forman at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and colleagues looked at the responses of more than 100,000 women to questionnaires they had answered in 1982. The women -- all nurses participating in a national study that would last several decades -- provided information about how much time they spent around cigarette smoke.

During the next 24 years, about one in 18 women were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Overall, about one in 13 people in the U.S. have this disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. Type 2 diabetes, in which the body can't process sugar properly, usually develops in adults. Sometimes it can be controlled by diet and exercise, but advanced cases require insulin treatment and can have life-threatening complications.

Forman's group found that women who smoked more than two packs a day had the highest odds of developing diabetes. For every 10,000 women in the study, about 30 of the heavy smokers got diabetes every year, compared to about 25 women who didn't smoke and didn't spend time exposed to other people's cigarette smoker.

The risks were actually higher for ex-smokers and for women exposed to second-hand smoke. In both of these groups, about 39 of every 10,000 women developed diabetes each year. However, once the researchers took things such as weight status, age, and family history of diabetes into account, the ex-smokers had a 12 percent higher risk of diabetes compared to women who were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

Even though the smokers had a lower risk of developing diabetes in this study, that doesn't mean it's better for them to continue smoking, Nathan said.

In this study, nearly all the women were white, but type 2 diabetes affects men and women fairly equally, Nathan said.

"There's no a priori reason to think that this wouldn't apply to men as well," he told Reuters Health, since the risk factors for the disease are the same for both sexes.

Nathan said no one knows why smoking and type 2 diabetes are linked, but inflammation may play a role in both.

Forman and his team did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.

Nathan noted that the study can't prove that smoking causes diabetes. It just shows they are associated with each other.

But "did we need another reason not to smoke? I don't think so," he said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/i1whLA Diabetes Care, online February 25, 2011.

Facebook, Skype in talks over video calling

2011-03-06T23:01:00.001-08:00

Facebook Inc, the world's biggest social-networking company, is holding talks with SkypeTechnologies SA about offering Web video calls to its 500 million users, two people familiar with the discussions said.

Video calling between friends on Facebook was first discussed by the two companies last year, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks were private. The feature wasn't offered in an October update to Skype, which did include voice calling between Facebook friends.

As Web users adopt new ways of communicating, such as video and mobile messaging, Palo Alto, California-based Facebook has added features to give members more ways to keep in touch. Bringing video calls to its social network would ramp up competition with Apple Inc., which introduced the feature on its iPhone in June, and with Google Inc., which offered Web calling through Gmail in August.

Video calls accounted for more than 41 per cent of all Web calling between Skype users in the second half of last year, the company said in January. Luxembourg-based Skype registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in August to sell its shares to the public.

Deadliest Catch Star Found Dead

2011-02-24T07:39:00.001-08:00

Justin Tennison, one of the stars of reality TV fishing drama Deadliest Catch has been found dead, a year after castmate Captain Phil Harris passed away.

Police discovered the body of engineer/deckhand Tennison in a hotel room in Homer, Alaska on Tuesday; and TMZ.com reports that drugs and alcohol were found in the room.

He was 33.

An autopsy is due to be performed on Wednesday afternoon.

Tennison's death is the second to hit the popular Discovery Channel reality show, about the fishing industry in the dangerous waters off Alaska.

Deep-sea fisherman Captain Harris died after suffering a stroke in February, 2010.

Kim Kardashian at the Launch of her New Fragrance

2011-02-23T20:50:00.001-08:00

Kim Kardashian at the Launch of her New Fragrance

Gaga compares 'Born..' tracks to drugs

2011-02-22T07:37:00.001-08:00

Lady Gaga has compared some of the tracks on 'Born This Way' to drugs.

While discussing the eclectic sound of her forthcoming record, the singer said her first single was like the drug 'cannabis' compared to the 'heroin' - a much stronger and more dangerous drug - of some of the other tracks.

"I, in jest, say that 'Born This Way' is the marijuana to the heroins of the album, the ultimate intense intoxication of the record. It''s an analogy," Contactmusic quoted her, as telling Billboard.

"On the album there''s not an incredible amount of breadth and eccentricity. It''s quite eclectic. It ranges from 'Born This Way' being very light to the rest of the album becoming quite darker," she added.

Health Benefits of Red Grape Wine for Women

2011-02-21T06:25:00.001-08:00

Red wine grapes skin has Antioxidants which is very beneficial to women. Consuming 5 to 8 percent of wine by women have denser bones, preventing injuries.

The red win can help in preventing few cancer and heat diseases and also helps in reducing inflammations caused by arthritis. Revesterol, an antioxidant found in red wine grapes skin may suppress tumor development in some cancers.
Negatives

Too much of anything is good for nothing. Drinking too much of wine or alcohol will ill effects on women. Drinking too much of wine will boost weight gain, addiction problems, and cause a rise in the levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol.

Red wine also increase in estrogen levels in women which can possibly form breast cancer. The intake of red wine can also impair judgment and the decision-making process.

History

The intake of red wine as a part of the daily diet by the French women was common but still there were relatively low incidence of heart disease and this particular things was named The French Paradox by Dr. Serge Renaud, in the early 1990s. This increased the level of consumption of red wine by 44%.

Types

As consumption of red wine increased, researchers started to research on the types of wines. Few red wine grapes have an antioxidant called flavonoids. Cabernet sauvignon grapes, followed by petite syrah and pinot noir, have the highest concentrations of flavonoids. Red zinfandels and merlot possess fewer flavonoids.

Quantity

4 to 5 ounce is good for one serving. Women are best advised to consume only one or two servings per day. More than two servings a day can increase the fat in the blood stream, nerve cell damage, and pancreas and liver damage.

Verizon-Apple deal may hurt Motorola Mobility

2011-02-20T07:53:00.001-08:00

Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc's sales to Verizon Wireless grew to 28 per cent of revenue last year, underscoring the carrier's importance to the mobile-phone maker as Verizon begins selling Apple Inc's rival iPhone.

Motorola's revenue from Verizon Wireless and parent Verizon Communications Inc increased from 17 per cent in 2009 and 13 per cent in 2008, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sprint Nextel Corp accounted for 13 per cent and 7 per cent of revenue in those two years.

"The loss of, or a significant reduction in revenue from, one or more of these customers could have a negative impact on our business," the Libertyville, Illinois-based company said in the filing.

Verizon Wireless, the largest US wireless carrier, began selling the iPhone this month, ending AT&T Inc's exclusive hold on the device in the US. The iPhone had already triggered "some slowdown," Sanjay Jha, Motorola's chief executive officer, told analysts on January 26.

Jha is relying on the growing popularity of Google Inc's Android mobile-phone platform to sell more models of its phones at Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint.

Google Chrome beta gets update

2011-02-19T06:15:00.001-08:00

Google released a revved-up version of Chrome as rivals Microsoft and Mozilla beefed up their own champions for the competitive Internet browsing software arena.

In keeping with the arrival of the lunar year of the rabbit, Google product managers Jeff Chang and Li Chan touted the latest test version of Chrome as "quick as a bunny."

The latest Chrome release came a week after Microsoft fielded an Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) "release candidate" boasting improvements in speed, security, privacy, and website graphics capabilities.

IE9 had been downloaded more than two million times as of Friday, according to Ryan Gavin, the senior director of the IE team.

"We are especially excited to see the number of partners and developers embracing IE9 and taking advantage of the performance capabilities," Gavin said in a blog post.

Mozilla last week released a test version of its Firefox 4 web browser with enhancements that included a "Do Not Track" feature people could use to signal websites that they don't want their online activities recorded.
"We've continued our work to improve performance and stability, while also implementing a 'Do Not Track' privacy feature to provide more control over online behavioral tracking," Mozilla said.

Firefox debuted in 2004 as an innovative, communally crafted open-source browser released as an option to Internet Explorer.

Google last month released extension software for its Chrome browser that lets users opt out of being tracked by a growing set of companies adopting industry privacy standards regarding online advertising.
"Keep My Opt-Outs" lets people opt out of having snippets of code referred to as "cookies" installed on their computers to track online behavior for the purpose of targeting ads.

Microsoft "Tracking Protection" was built into IE9, but users need to be savvy enough to activate the feature and create lists of the third-party websites that they do not want to track their behavior.

Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser in the United States followed by Firefox, Chrome and Apple's Safari.

Paris Hilton gets brand new luxury car for 30th b'day

2011-02-17T07:43:00.001-08:00

Paris Hilton, who turns 30 on Thursday (17Feb11), has already started her birthday celebrations.
The socialite held a party on Tuesday night (15Feb11) and her boyfriend CY Waits has treated her to a brand new luxury car, reports the Daily Star.

The reality TV star passes the milestone on Thursday (17Feb11), but she began celebrating two days early when Waits surprised her with a bright yellow Lexus, a day after the pair enjoyed a romantic Valentine''s Day meal together.

Hilton was photographed hugging and kissing Waits after the sports car was delivered to her driveway.

And the socialite followed it up by staging her first 30th birthday bash - on Tuesday night she was joined by 300 friends, including rapper Lil Wayne, comedienne Kathy Griffin, and sister Nicky, at a 1920s-themed party in the Hollywood Hills.

The heiress wore a red basque and feathery skirt for the Pimps and Showgirls party, and told her followers on Twitter.com: "So amazing when Lil Wayne stopped by to give me a birthday present. Everyone at the party loved seeing him!”

Hilton looks set to continue the celebrations in style - earlier this month (Feb11) she revealed she is planning a series of parties to mark the big day, saying, "It''s a big birthday so I''m going to be going to a lot of places to have parties: Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas."
--ANI

Kim Cattrall to star in The Treehouse

2011-02-16T06:52:00.001-08:00

Actress Kim Cattrall has been signed on to star in the new pre-war movie The Treehouse.

The Sex and the City star will be joined by Appaloose star Jeremy Irons and The Boat That Rocked actor Tom Strurridge.

The film will be directed by Lajos Koltai.

Based on a novel by Eduard von Keyserling, the film is set in pre-World War 1 Germany and details the story of a failed student, his glamorous cousin, her mother and his father, reports Contactmusic.com.

Kelly Brook bares all for Paris-based mag Exhibition

2011-02-15T01:07:00.001-08:00

Kelly Brook has bared all for new Paris-based mag Exhibition.
The 31-year-old posed naked with her breasts and body smeared in red lipstick for a set of shocking full-frontal photos.

The 21 images - shot by snapper Ben Hasset - are said to be "feminist, industrial, and political".

Wild-haired Brook starts off cavorting naked against a white background. By the final frame, she and the backdrop are covered in the scarlet make-up.

"This first issue is devoted entirely to lipstick shown as it is, but also in a feminist, industrial, and political sense," the Sun quoted its publicity blurb as saying.

Use FourSquare to track your love on V-Day

2011-02-14T07:06:00.001-08:00

Want to know where your love is this Valentine's Day? Use FourSquare.

FourSquare is a location-based social networking website and a software for mobile devices.

The fastest growing trend in social networking is location-based iPhone and Android apps, which tell the online world exactly which restaurant you're eating at or driveway you're parked in.

Applications like FourSquare profess to better connect us with our friends. But more and more applications use them to let people meet up and ultimately hook up.

A newly developed site called Ratio Finder takes check-ins from Foursquare and generates a map of the area according to gender imbalances, reports Fox News.

So if you're female, you'll be able to find the nearest restaurant or bar where the male game is plentiful.

The King's Speech star Colin Firth in line for second consecutive Bafta

2011-02-13T17:01:00.001-08:00

Colin Firth, who won the best actor Bafta for his role in A Single Man last year, is in the running again for playing George VI in The King's Speech.

Firth will learn if he has won a second consecutive best actor Bafta when this year's awards are held later.

And if he does, he will be only the second actor ever to achieve this feat, reports the BBC.

The late Rod Steiger was the last actor, who won Baftas back-to-back for The Pawnbroker in 1967 and In the Heat of the Night in 1968.

The Pride and Prejudice star has already won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for his performance, for which he has also received an Oscar nomination.

The actor was recognised again on Thursday at the London Film Critics' Circle awards.

Firth's drama is up for 14 awards in all, including best film and director, at the Bafta to be held on Sunday.

The Green Hornet stays on top at foreign box-office

2011-02-12T02:32:00.001-08:00

The 3D superhero saga starring Seth Rogan and Jay Chou has earned $61 million overseas and has fared exceedingly well at Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.
The Green Hornet led the foreign box-office for a second consecutive weekend last Sunday, earning just $15.7 million from 64 markets.
The foreign total for the 3D superhero saga starring Seth Rogan stands at $61 million. Weekend highlights were No. 1 openings in co-star Jay Chou’s native Taiwan ($1.2 million), as well as in Singapore and Malaysia.
Bolstered by a muscular No 1, $7.3 million opening in the U.K., where it ended the three-week reign of Oscars front-runner The King’s Speech, Tangled followed at No 2 internationally with $14.7 million from 43 markets. The Disney cartoon’s foreign total rose to $254.3 million.
King’s Speech, riding high after scoring 12 Oscar nominations, slipped to No 2 in Britain with $5.5 million, ahead of new releases Black Swan at No 3 with $4.2 million and The Mechanic at No 4 with $3.9 million.

Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Premieres

2011-02-11T05:01:00.001-08:00

Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Premieres

Prince tells Kim Kardashian to 'get off the stage' after she refused to dance

2011-02-10T06:41:00.001-08:00

King of pop Prince was seen telling a nervous Kim Kardashian to "get off the stage" when she refused to dance after he invited her to join him at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Prince, 52, had pulled Kim, 30, on stage during a moment in the show where he invites audience members up to dance with him, but the socialite was so nervous that she refused to dance.

She was promptly told to "get off the stage" by the singer, and she later excused herself on her Twitter page.

"I was so nervous I froze when Prince touched me!!!!" the Daily Mail quoted her as writing.

However Prince relented and invited her back on stage, and this time she made up for her initial nervousness.

"Went up on stage AGAIN! This time I redeemed myself. We all played the piano while Prince danced. Wow! What a night!" she tweeted.

Katie McGee FHM in lingerie

2011-02-09T00:26:00.001-08:00

Katie McGee FHM in lingerie

Facebook to be used for Census 2011

2011-02-08T06:41:00.001-08:00

Social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter will also used to make people aware of the importance of Census 2011.
The Madhya Pradesh government and the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) held a day-long workshop on the role of media in Census 2011.

It was announced that two pages on census related information had already been made on Facebook.

"While the centre's brand ambassadors are Sachin Tendulkar and actress Priyanka Chopra, lyricist Gulzar and television actress Divyanka Tripathi would be the brand ambassadors for census work in Madhya Pradesh," said Sachin Sinha, director of the directorate for census work.

"It is a real challenge for us to include everyone - from beggars to the elite class - in census," he said.

The second phase of Census 2011 will begin Feb 9 and continue till 28 across India.

AOL acquires Huffington Post for $315 million

2011-02-07T00:49:00.001-08:00

AOL has today announced it will acquire the rapidly expanding online United States news, analysis, and lifestyle website giant Huffington Post for $315 million.

As part of the deal to acquire the Huffington Post, co-founder of the news site, Arianna Huffington, will be promoted to become president and editor-in-chief of a new subsidiary to be created by AOL, The Huffington Post Media Group.

The Huffington Post Media Group -- which Arianna will lead -- will bring most of AOL's content sites including Engadget and TechCrunch under the Huffington banner. Other sites to be bought under the one umbrella include Moviefone, MapQuest, Black Voices, PopEater, AOL Music, AOL Latino, AutoBlog, Patch and StyleList.

Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL, describes the deal as being the key to providing the "next-generation American" online experience and says the "global reach" will make for new "content, community, and social experiences."

"Together, our companies will embrace the digital future and become a digital destination that delivers unmatched experiences for both consumers and advertisers," Armstrong said today in a statement.

Huffington says the deal is "full of visions", saying it's a "perfect fit for us. By uniting AOL and The Huffington Post, we are creating one of the largest destinations for smart content and community on the Internet. And we intend to keep making it better and better."

Huffington Post's founders and investors will share $315 million -- of which $300 million will be financed in cash -- with the company not publicly listed and remaining private. While both company's boards have signed off on the deal, AOL says it remains "subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of government approvals".

The acquisition of Huffington Post follows that of TechCrunch, which was acquired by AOL late last year for at least $25 million as the company seeks to grow and expand their online content presence.

Candice Swanepoel Vogue Magazine February 2011 Italy

2011-02-06T04:11:00.001-08:00

Candice Swanepoel Vogue Magazine February 2011 Italy

Manchester United stunned by Wolves as unbeaten run ends

2011-02-05T21:37:00.001-08:00

Leaders Manchester United suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday as they went down 2-1 at bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Nani gave United an early lead but George Elokobi and Kevin Doyle replied before halftime to earn Wolves victory.

United had not lost in the league since a home defeat by Chelsea last April and were one match away from beating the club record 29-game unbeaten league sequence set by their 1999 treble-winning team.

The defeat also ended United''s hopes of equalling Arsenal's 2003-04 feat of going through an entire Premier League season unbeaten.

United's lead at the top is now four points over Arsenal who earlier drew 4-4 at Newcastle United.

Facebook to unveil new office in Menlo Park next week

2011-02-05T04:51:00.001-08:00

Facebook, which turned seven on Friday, already needs new offices.

The world's largest social network invited reporters to an event on Tuesday to showcase a new campus in Menlo Park, adjacent to its current headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

"We're holding a press event on Tuesday, February 8, at Menlo Park City Hall regarding a campus that will fit our long-term business needs," a Facebook spokesperson said. "We look forward to sharing more at that time."

Facebook, founded in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, secured $1.5 billion in its latest round of financing, led by Goldman Sachs.

The social networking site, which has more than 2,000 employees, displaced Google Inc to become the most visited website in the US in 2010 according to Experian Hitwise.

Facebook has grown rapidly and has more than half a billion global users compared with about 100 million in August 2008.

RCom launches 'job search on voice' service

2011-02-04T01:29:00.001-08:00

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications has launched "job search on voice" service that would enable its customers to connect to the recruiters directly on phone line at a subscription of Rs 30 per month.

Customers can avail these services by dialling 58010. The service has auto renewal facility with fallback options of Rs 20 for 20 days and Rs 10 for 10 days. No browsing charges are involved while the renewal grace period is three days.

"The service is a real-time connection between the recruiter and the candidates and is initiated by playing the phone number of the employer which enables the job seeker to listen to the job announcements and the recruiter can listen to profiles of hundreds of candidates that matches his requirement," the company said in a statement.

Job seekers can submit their profiles and browse through hundreds of matching jobs. The service will provide details of the selected job through SMS.

"The new mobile platform fulfills the desire of thousands of eager candidates to be able to submit the resumes to recruiters from anywhere, even when they do not have access to Internet connected computers and listen to job profiles and offers," said Anil Pande, Reliance Communications head for value added services.

Jessica Alba GQ Russia December 2010

2011-02-03T00:28:00.001-08:00

Jessica Alba GQ Russia December 2010

Apple to start Verizon iPhone sales Feb 9

2011-02-02T00:14:00.000-08:00

Apple Inc said on Wednesday that it would kick off online sales of the Verizon Wireless iPhone on Feb 9, a day before the device hits its store shelves.

Electronics retailer Best Buy Co Inc also said on Wednesday that it, too, would distribute the new version of iPhone 4 in its stores starting on Feb. 10, the device's official launch day. It already sells earlier iPhone models.

Verizon Wireless will start online sales of a limited number of iPhones to its existing mobile customers starting at 3 a.m. ET Feb. 3 for delivery on or before Feb 10.

Apple said people ordering the phone on Feb. 9 can have it delivered or reserve it for an in-store pickup Feb. 10, when both companies plan to start offering the phone in their stores a 7 am local time.

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, will be the second U.S. operator to offer iPhone after AT&T Inc's more than three years of exclusive rights to the popular device.

Best Buy shares were up 0.8 percent at $34.69 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where Verizon was down 0.7 percent at $36.01 and AT&T fell 0.6 percent to $27.70. Apple was down 0.3 percent at $344.10 on Nasdaq.

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