রবিবার, ২৯ এপ্রিল, ২০১২

From the Editor's Desk: London calling, inside man and Nexus done right

From the Editor's Desk

It's another working weekend. Time for some quick hits:

  • If I wasn't over the Samsung Galaxy S3 fakes, leaks and fake leaks, I certainly am now. Alex and I will be at the event on Thursday. I can wait till then.
  • Speaking of heading overseas, I used MaxRoam in Barcelona this year and am using it again this week in the UK. 500MB for $13? (Which is more than even I can use in two days.) Sold.
  • And that's just the start of the travel. Coming up next week we've got the CTIA conference in New Orleans.
  • If you haven't seen Jean-Baptist Queru's latest Q&A on updates to Ice Cream Sandwich and how Sony's gotten updates out the door in about 5 months. That's due in no small part, JBQ says, to the amount of code that Sony's contributed back to the Android Open Source Project. Remember the early days of Sony Ericsson and the Xperia X10, which launched in the age of Eclair with Android 1.6 Donut, and finally got updated a year later. Things certainly have changed.
  • Something that hasn't changed? Carrier approval times. JBQ rightly points out that carriers often are the bottleneck in getting updates released, which does seem a little insane in the Nexus world. But neither is it new. If the carrier's selling the phone, it's going to go through (I'd assume) the same rigorous (read: slow) testing process as any other phone. Verizon's been, shall we say, fastidious, long before Android even existed. It's funny to see blogs set their hair on fire over this one.
  • I hesitate to even write about these sorts of Q&As. They're a rare glimpse into the inside workings of things and are best read in their entirety, straight from the source. It pains me to see blogs pick and choose the juicy parts for publication. ("OMG Verizon is sooooooo slow." Thanks for that insight.) It's pretty rare that we get a relatively unfiltered and unfettered look at how things work, with actual opinion from the folks who make the donuts instead of PR-speak and lawyered releases, and even more incredible that folks like JBQ stick around to answer questions. Let's not spoil it and waste the opportunity.
  • I'm pretty excited about Google once again selling devices. I'm still curious as to how it's going to handle the problems it ran into the first time — namely customer service, though it does have a dedicated page for orders and returns questions. But this is the way Nexus devices were meant to be sold and maintained (meaning updated). Forget the carrier. (And, yes. That means CDMA gets shut out again. Them's the breaks.) And if you didn't notice, note how Google's calling it a "Devices" store and not a "Phone" store. If that's not a flashing neon sign that tablets are coming, I don't know what is. (And I'm willing to bet it's going to go beyond tablets, as well.) The important part is that I should once again be able to say "You want updates the day they're pushed? Get a Nexus." — and do so without looking like an idiot.
  • The site redesign is coming along well. (Major props to our designers and coders, whose work you enjoy every day but whose names you never get to see.) We're still tweaking things, and as I've said before, this is only the beginning. If you've got feedback, leave it here.

TTFN. We'll see you from London this week, and NOLA the next.



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Google Maps 'Cube' game rolls out, back, up, back again

Google Maps 'Cube' game rolls out, back, up, back again

Cast your mind back to January if you will. Head full of steamy CES action? Of course, but you may also remember Google teased us about a new tilt-and-roll Maps game. Well, it looks like the creators may have missed the original February deadline, having finally snuck it out this week. The browser-based game is a series of maze challenges, that'll take you through the streets of San Francisco, downtown Tokyo and beyond. All atop Google's iconic 3D textured maps, naturally. Eight levels in total are on offer, making it an ideal lunchtime -- or if the boss is away -- afternoon time kill. Roll down to the source link below to give it a spin, nudge and roll.

Google Maps 'Cube' game rolls out, back, up, back again originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 07:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is this RIM's BlackBerry 10 development device?

Image

You know the drill -- grab yourself a spoonful of Morton's and get ready for another supposed leak of a gadget. This time around, you're looking at what's claimed as being one of Research In Motion's BlackBerry 10 "Development Alpha" devices that'll be handed out during next week's BlackBerry Jam -- just like the company promised a month ago. Images of the device first surfaced over at CrackBerry's forums and, as the site points out, the touchscreen candy bar seems to share its design DNA with the PlayBook. Keeping in mind that it's likely to remain a testing device for devs, don't bank on it ever hitting store shelves. That said, we're now curious how pivotal a role RIM's famous tactile keyboards will play on its next-generation phones -- if any. Head over to the source links below if you'd like to catch more photos from Mr. Blurrycam and extra information in the meantime.

Is this RIM's BlackBerry 10 development device? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook?s Patent Acquisitions? They?re More About Google Than Yahoo

Screen Shot 2012-04-27 at 6.57.55 PMIn the past few months, Facebook?s patent portfolio has grown exponentially as?a result of acquisitions of patent portfolios from IBM and Microsoft. After acquiring?650 AOL patents and patent applications from Microsoft, the company now has?approximately 1,400 patent assets. Amazingly, only 46 of these assets (24 issued patents?and 22 published applications) were originally filed by Facebook. In recent years, Facebook has consistently looked to the outside to augment its IP?holdings with strategic acquisitions of patent assets. The company paid 40 million for the?Friendster social networking patent portfolio, acquired a group of patents from Walker?Digital, and another from Hewlett-Packard. These deals expanded the portfolio to?approximately 160 patent assets prior to Yahoo?s lawsuit being filed. After Facebook?s?IPO decision, and the subsequent patent suit by Yahoo, Facebook has kicked its patent?acquisition program into overdrive.

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শনিবার, ২৮ এপ্রিল, ২০১২

Facebook?s Patent Acquisitions? They?re More About Google Than Yahoo

Screen Shot 2012-04-27 at 6.57.55 PMIn the past few months, Facebook?s patent portfolio has grown exponentially as?a result of acquisitions of patent portfolios from IBM and Microsoft. After acquiring?650 AOL patents and patent applications from Microsoft, the company now has?approximately 1,400 patent assets. Amazingly, only 46 of these assets (24 issued patents?and 22 published applications) were originally filed by Facebook. In recent years, Facebook has consistently looked to the outside to augment its IP?holdings with strategic acquisitions of patent assets. The company paid 40 million for the?Friendster social networking patent portfolio, acquired a group of patents from Walker?Digital, and another from Hewlett-Packard. These deals expanded the portfolio to?approximately 160 patent assets prior to Yahoo?s lawsuit being filed. After Facebook?s?IPO decision, and the subsequent patent suit by Yahoo, Facebook has kicked its patent?acquisition program into overdrive.

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Fla. boy struck by SUV, killed at softball game (Providence Journal)

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'Five-Year Engagement': The Reviews Are In!

Critics agree that talented cast of Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt and Alison Brie brings honest script to life.
By Fallon Prinzivalli


Emily Blunt and Jason Segel in "The Five-Year Engagement"
Photo: Universal Pictures

"The Five-Year Engagement," starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, doesn't adhere to the same predictable romantic-comedy formula audiences are used to seeing. It doesn't open with a comedic meet-cute, and there's no quirky first date: The film follows Violet Barnes (Blunt) and Tom Solomon (Segel) after they're already engaged.

When we meet the characters, their hurdle is how to survive a long engagement due to Violet's budding postdoctoral career.

While some critics believe the movie is a half-hour too long, most agree that the talented cast of comedians brings the honest, insightful script to life. While "Five-Year Engagement" may not be the "Bridesmaids" of 2012, the reviews suggest the film will be a weekend hit.

The Story
"The first 45 minutes or so of 'The Five-Year Engagement,' which Segel wrote with director Nicholas Stoller ('Get Him to the Greek'), pop and zing with both comic fizz and refreshing authenticity. Set to a delicious soundtrack dominated by Van Morrison standards, Tom's and Violet's lives feel more real than the usual Hollywood confections." — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

The Cast
"This Judd Apatow-produced romantic comedy bares familiar Apatow markings — bawdy humor, crass jokes, coarse language — but steers clear of gross-out gags. Sweetness wins out in the end, and the film gets by on the charm of its leads and a stellar supporting cast, led by 'Parks and Recreation's' Chris Pratt." — Adam Graham, Detroit News

"This seems like another breakthrough for Blunt, who demonstrates an ample gift for physical comedy. She and Segel make an inspired team." — Lou Lumenick, New York Post

"Alison Brie ... with a British accent and a high-octane goofiness that will astonish those who know her best as Trudy Campbell on 'Mad Men' pretty much steals the whole movie as Violet's fertile, impulsive sister." — A.O. Scott, New York Times

The Script
"Every scene in 'The Five-Year Engagement' — virtually every part of every scene — is carefully crafted to introduce an original comic situation, work it and build on it. The movie is a precision instrument with no parts jammed together, just everything smooth and functioning. Take a moment to notice the actual work going on here, and you'll be impressed at the skill. Even then, you'll be dragged back into the picture's spell in less than a minute. ... The screenplay doesn't pump up the stakes; it makes nothing extreme. These are just two people, and this is the drama of the everyday. The filmmakers trust that you'll be interested in what happens to the couple, and in return they keep it honest." — Mike LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The Final Word
"A scene, late in the film, with [Violet and Suzie] trying to have an adult talk in front of Suzie's kids is a laugh riot, mostly because Suzie speaks in the voice of Elmo while Violet does Cookie Monster. OK, you have to be there, but the moment is memorably hilarious. 'The Five-Year Engagement' is like that, moving in fits and starts, but building a rooting interest in its characters that slaps a goofy smile on your face and keeps it there." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Check out everything we've got on "The Five-Year Engagement."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Ke$ha Goes Pee-Pee In The Street (Photo)

Ke$ha Goes Pee-Pee In The Street (Photo)

Ke$ha must be hard-up for attention and has posted a photo on Twitter of herself urinating right on the street. The flamboyant singer showed her [...]

Ke$ha Goes Pee-Pee In The Street (Photo) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News


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VIDEO: Jason Segel: Dating a Fellow Actor "Does Help"

 

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শুক্রবার, ২৭ এপ্রিল, ২০১২

Simon van Kempen Orgasmed During Birth of Son


There are times when we love our job. Hot case in point: when Heidi Klum nude photos hit the Internet.

There are also times when we'd prefer to be an airport baggage handler. Disgusting case in point: when we learn that Simon van Kempen had an orgasm while his wife gave birth.

Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen Book

This nugget came to our nauseating attention today, as an except from "Little Kids, Big City: Tales from a Real House in New York City" is making its way around the Internet.

The memoir, penned by Simon and Alex McCord in 2010, details the lives of the former Real Housewives of New York City cast members. In it, McCord writes of welcoming her first child into the world:

Once he was finally out of my body, I experienced a tsunami of endorphins that was almost orgasmic, and I understand completely the stories of women who have written about ecstatic birth. Simon was sitting behind me at the point of birth, and later, when we untangled ourselves, he discovered he’d actually ejaculated though hadn’t felt any of the normal lead-up to that.

Yes, this was published two years ago. But we first heard about it today and - we're very sorry - but we saw it as our mission to pass it along. You may now go deposit your lunch in the nearest toilet.

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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৬ এপ্রিল, ২০১২

Deal of the Day ? HP Folio 13 Core i5 1.6GHz Ultrabook with 128GB SSD and Backlit Keyboard

Wednesday’s LogicBUY Deal is the 13.3″ HP Folio 13 Notebook, starting at $734.99.? Features: ?weighs 3.3 lb. and 18 mm thick, ultra-slim 13.3″ LED display, up to 9.25 hours battery life, 128GB SSD, HD webcam, multi-gesture touchpad, USB 3.0 ports, CoolSense technology, Dolby Advanced Audio, full-size backlit keyboard, HDMI, 2-in-1 card reader, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n [...]

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'Survivor: One World' Is Kim's Game To Lose

Troyzan goes and Kim falters in the latest episode, and MTV News is back with former player Rob Cesternino to recap it all.
By Josh Wigler


Kim Spradlin during the immunity challenge on "Survivor: One World"
Photo: CBS

Few people would have predicted Greg "Tarzan" Smith to be the last man standing on "Survivor: One World," but that's exactly what's happened now that his similarly named competitor Troyzan is no longer in the game.

After an astonishing drop in likability paired with an equally stunning win last week, Troyzan redeemed himself (to a degree) on a personal level in the latest episode, at the expense of his life in the game. Now, six women remain: wishy-washy Christina, foul-mouthed Alicia, dim-witted Kat, savvy Sabrina, the seemingly unbeatable Kim and her partner-in-crime Chelsea — with only Tarzan representing the men of "One World," poop pants and all.

As the season moves toward the end game, it's bridal shop owner Kim who remains the player to beat. Not only the dominant strategist in her alliance, Kim also proved herself a serious challenge threat this week by winning both reward and immunity with little to no competition. Still, not even Kim is infallible: She made a controversial choice to share her reward with her clear-cut ally Chelsea, leaving another member of her alliance, Kat, feeling insecure about her place in the grand scheme of things. Will Kim's biggest blunder to date come back to bite her down the line, or is it much ado about nothing?

MTV News once again paired up with two-time "Survivor" contestant Rob Cesternino to cover the latest episode of "One World," including the fall of Troyzan and Kim's continued warpath.

MTV: We were hard on Troyzan last week, understandably so. This week, even though he was voted off, I feel a lot better about the guy. He did what he could to survive without being overly obnoxious. What was your take on Troy this week?

Rob Cesternino: He sort of went through the five stages of grief over the last two weeks. Last week was anger and denial. This week, he moved onto bargaining and acceptance. He had a really good week this week. I really wanted to believe — and maybe I'm like Kat, and I just want to believe — but I hoped that Troyzan would pull it off this week. But I kept doing the math in my head: He still needs one more vote. Who's going to vote with him? The math just didn't work out that way.

MTV: Part of me thought that maybe, finally, Christina's time was up. Somehow, she gets to survive another day.

Cesternino: I don't understand why people keep trying to take her out, though. Even for Troyzan, if he could have swung the vote against Christina, it wouldn't have been a power move. It wouldn't have changed anything.

MTV: Well, in fairness, it would've changed a lot for Troyzan.

Cesternino: Sure, for Troyzan, it's important. But it's basically just cutting the tail off the snake [for anybody else]. Nothing really fundamentally changes if she's voted off. She's not a part of anybody's alliance, so getting rid of her wouldn't have been a power move for anybody else in this game. I think she's next though, and that's good for Kim — it keeps up the status quo, and gives her another week before she has to start making hard decisions. It's not looking good for Christina at all.

MTV: Why Christina over Tarzan? He's the last man on the beach, which makes him an easy vote.

Cesternino: I don't think they have a very strong preference either way between those two. They're both pretty expendable to the overall plan. I actually think Tarzan has now become someone who could win the game, if you have a bitter jury of men saying, "Well, at least he has a penis!"

MTV: Fair point! [Laughs] Sticking with Christina for a minute, I can't believe Sabrina just flat-out told Christina that she was getting votes that night.

Cesternino: It was so bizarre, Sabrina telling her, "We're putting votes on Troyzan, and we're also putting votes on you. Hope you're on board with this plan!" And Christina was pretty much on board. And then she goes, "You know, I don't know if I can trust the girls 100 percent." Well, they just said they're putting two votes on you! I don't know what kind of wakeup call she really needs in this game, because, come on!

MTV: You and I have been on the Kimsanity train for a while now, but she screwed up this week, picking Chelsea over Kat to come with her at the reward challenge.

Cesternino: She really did make a big blunder. It reminded me of "Survivor: Nicaragua," when Sash did the same thing with Fabio; he didn't let Fabio see his mom. He got a very similar reaction. Also, for future reference, anytime they show you two people [striking a deal] before a reward challenge, you know that one of those two people is going to win, and they're not going to do what they just said they'd do. It's "Survivor" foreshadowing.

MTV: How bad was Kim's blunder? What kind of damage is that going to do down the line?

Cesternino: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no big deal and 10 being Erik Reichenbach giving his immunity necklace away on "Fans vs. Favorites," I'd give it about a 3. It's not a big deal. Kat's a little upset, but what's Kat going to do?

MTV: Kat was clearly very upset, though. Now she has those Russell seeds in there; she wants to be a power player.

Cesternino: I think this whole episode was about perception and reality. For Kat, when she was confronted with what reality is and how different it is from what her perception of the game is — how people really see her — she really did need to wake up and smell the coffee. I don't know which show Kat thinks she's on, where she's been the dominant player all season long, but I would like to watch that show.

MTV: That show exists in the same universe where Kat has never failed at anything in her life.

Cesternino: Right! [Laughs] This is so hard for her. She's never failed at anything. It's unfathomable!

MTV: Troyzan tried to make it look like Kim, Chelsea and Alicia were the top dogs based on the results of the reward challenge. Do you think that's the actual final three?

Cesternino: With final threes instead of final twos now in place on "Survivor," I think that everybody left really thinks that they're in the final three with Kim. It's like what Boston Rob was able to do a couple of seasons ago on "Redemption Island." Alicia thinks she's in the finals with Kim and Chelsea, Sabrina thinks she's in the finals with Kim and Chelsea, and Kat thinks she's in there too. We may not see how things really shake out until the final five, because you have all these people who think they'll be in that third spot. Plus, somebody's still working with Tarzan. Somebody's telling him what he wants to hear to keep him from voting with Troyzan. And nobody tells Christina anything; she'll vote however they want her to.

But what's going to happen is, these people on the bottom are going to scratch and claw their way for the top three. No one's going to get together and take out Kim, saying, "We can be the new top three. Forget Kim and Chelsea." If Alicia and Christina could just stop bickering with each other, they could do something. Troyzan laid it out so obviously: With seven people left in the game, it could very easily be Kat, Christina, Alicia and Tarzan as the final four of the game — but that's not going to happen.

MTV: Certainly not with Troyzan gone. Will you miss having him on the show?

Cesternino: It's sad to see him go, because it felt like he was the only one left who could give Kim a run for her money. It's really just Kim and a bunch of also-rans now. We'll see if a bitter jury just doesn't give Kim her money.

MTV: I would like to believe you're right, because I want to see Kim win the game. But there's an argument to be made for Chelsea, too. She's playing a solid game: She's vocal, she's strong in challenges. I think Chelsea could beat Kim.

Cesternino: Absolutely. Just like last season, where Coach dominated the game, brought his alliance to the finals, told everybody what they wanted to hear to get to that point, and the jury gave the money to Coach's loyal sidekick who was more blunt, honest and won challenges. It could easily go down the same way. I think Kim is savvier about the game than Coach is, but you have a voting block on the jury of five guys who want to blame somebody for what happened to them. Will they blame Kim and not give her the win because they look at her as the person who engineered the idea to get the men out of the game? We'll see.

MTV: Kim said that winning the reward challenge was the worst thing to happen to her in the game so far. I have a feeling she'll have worse days coming up.

Cesternino: Wah, wah, wah. [Laughs] If your worst day on "Survivor," you win a reward challenge and an immunity challenge, then you're doing pretty damn good out there. Let's start a new hashtag: #winnerproblems.

Get more of Rob's thoughts on "Survivor" by following him on Twitter.

Previously on MTV's "Survivor" coverage ...
» Leif blows away; Troyzan goes crazy
» Kimsanity is heating up
» Tarzan denies "poop pants" allegations
» Colton's appendix ruptured by evil
» The "One World" beach breaks in half

What did you think of this week's "Survivor"? Let me know in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter at @roundhoward!

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বুধবার, ২৫ এপ্রিল, ২০১২

Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video)

Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of Uncharted (video)

Skype continues to spread itself to anything with a data connection, and while while we don't expect this to be the last gaming device it'll appear on, it's the second. Yes, the Microsoft-owned Skype will be available to download for free on the Sony-made PlayStation Vita later today and it's capable of video calls from the get-go -- although we're yet to test whether that's possible on a 3G signal. Embarrassingly, the app looks far more capable than its recent gone-gold compadre on Microsoft's very own mobile platform. While the Windows Phone version is unable to tick along in the background, the Vita (with all that top-end processing power) can still keep your account online while you're running other apps, even take those video calls mid-game. Thankfully, Skype has drafted in professional gamer Fatal1ty to give us a quick tour of the UI and how it's all meant to click together -- it's included right after the break.

Update: To allow the Skype app to connect in the background, games like Uncharted, which switch off wireless connections, are unfortunately not supported.

Continue reading Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video)

Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coachella, through the eyes of the Samsung Epic 4G touch

Coachella

By all accounts folks that went to Coachella had a blast. Music, food, beverages, X, you name it -- it was there. So was AC member ramonm2 and his trusty Epic 4G Touch, and he has an entertaining tale about the funs times, and more importantly, how his Android phone helped him out and held up to a day in the desert. Check it out!



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