Worst Inside: 5/1/11

May 29, 2011

September 20 Release Date - 'Gears of War 3' Trailer Reveals Daddy Issues

The latest trailer for Epic Games' hotly-anticipated Gears of War 3 hit the media today and the clip promises an explosive and emotional end to the interspecies war that threatens to destroy the planet of Sera.
Epic's already released a taste of what the multiplayer portion of Gears 3 will play like, with a month-long beta that just ended, but the new trailer offers the first glimpse of the storyline that will wrap up the Gears trilogy.

Do Not Like - Twitter and Facebook Know Where You've Been Online

For those who like to Like things on Facebook or tweet them to friends, beware: You're telling your social media much more about you than you might think.

A study carried out on behalf of the Wall Street Journal found that "Like" and "Tweet" widgets on websites track users' movements across the internet even when they're not used, with Facebook admitting to sharing data for advertising purposes only when the widget is clicked on.

Sharp

One of the greatest things about Android is that phone makers can cram the software into whatever hardware they like. It's also one of the worst things about Android, as proven by Sharp's upcoming Android clamshell phone.

This abomination, dubbed the Aquos Hybrid 007SH, hides a 3.4-inch display underneath one of its swiveling, flipping halves. On the opposite panel is a numeric keypad and a directional pad.

An explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, China has killed two people and injured 16 others, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Chengdu plant is one of two facilities owned by Foxconn that produces iPads for Apple.

The explosion happened at around 7:00 Friday night in a "polishing plant" thought to be "at the end of the production process after devices are assembled," according to the Journal.

Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't want you looking at him in his underwear.

Actually, that's not necessarily true. What he doesn't want is you looking at pictures of him in his underwear that he claims are actually just his head Photoshopped onto someone else's body... and he's willing to take legal action to make you stop.

RIM

Someone in retail's not happy about Research in Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook.

An anonymous source, reportedly from a "major big box retailer," told Boy Genius Report that RIM's tablet missed sales targets by more than 90 percent. The source also said that return rates were much higher than those of the Motorola Xoom, which itself was marred by higher-than-average return rates.

A new study from French internet company Miratech took a look at the reading patterns of newspaper readers versus iPad readers. Utilizing eye tracking technology and using subjects who already owned iPads, they were able to conclude that, for various reasons, newspaper readers were able to retain more of the information they read than iPad readers.

The study, however, isn't without its flaws: There's no sample size given,

The U.K. media is atwitter this weekend over a controversy about press gag-orders known as “super-injunctions” that have recently been disobeyed on Twitter. It's an unlikely combination of celebrities, sex, social media, and press freedoms that has exploded into a scandal that led Twitter this week to break its U.K. traffic record and get sued by an anonymous VIP. It's also another example of bewildered officials having to face the new reality that information on the internet can't be controlled.

Sony's PSN Apology Package Won't Please Everyone

Poor Sony. In addition to rebuilding the PlayStation Network and enduring weeks of well-deserved criticism for letting hackers through its defenses, the company faced one more unenviable task: creating a "Welcome Back" package that will actually pacify customers.
The result is rather generous. PlayStation 3 users get to choose from two of the following: Dead Nation,

Last week, a complaint was filed with the Federal Trade Commission that Dropbox misled its customers about its file security. What does this mean? Other people, besides you, can see the contents of your files.

In particular, the complaint, which was filed by security reseacher Christopher Soghoian, says that Dropbox employees and other people could indeed see the contents of your files, thus putting users' privacy at risk.

Lady Gaga must be feeling good about her promotional prospects for new album Born This Way. Not only has she taken over social media gaming to break ground for GagaVille, but she's also just become the first person on Twitter to gain 10,000,000 followers.
Her ten millionth follower arrived around midnight on May 15th, and Gaga celebrated with - what else? - a tweet and a picture of herself:

AOL Makes New Editorial Hires, Surprisingly Pays Them

Following the controversial layoffs and addition of thousands of unpaid bloggers that came with the formation of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, it looks like it's time for AOL to start rebuilding its content team more traditionally. Former CBSNews.com and Salon.com staffers are being brought into AOL - in paid positions, of course - to head up departments, and internal reshuffles look set to make more sense of the group's structure.

Reuters

Something weird's supposedly going down at Apple Stores ahead of their 10th anniversary.

Employees are planning an overnight shift on Saturday, an unnamed tipster told Boy Genius Report, during which cell phones will be confiscated and 10 or 15 individuals will have to work through mid-Sunday.

Marvel Entertainment announced this morning that they'll be publishing a graphic novel adaptation of Richard Castle's thriller Deadly Storm in September. On the surface of it, that sounds pretty straightforward: over the past few years, Marvel's published adaptations of everything from Pride and Prejudice to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to The Stand.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Internet rumor mill is buzzing and has churned out a slightly farfetched idea: Nokia may be selling its phone business to Microsoft.

This is total speculation, of course, but Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin, who scooped word of the deal first, has proven to have some foresight when it comes to Nokia.

If you find yourself losing things—keys, children, pets—on a regular basis, it may be time to step into the technological age with this little 1.7-ounce, water-resistant Garmin GPS tracker. It packs a tiny AT&T connection that you can configure to send out e-mails or text messages when it crosses over the invisible geofence that you've set up for it.

ISLAMABAD /LAHORE: Actress Veena Malik has suffered injuries in a car crash while travelling from Islamabad to Lahore.

According to latest information available, her car crashed on the motorway while travelling from the Federal capital to the provincial capital on Monday night.

‎$1.53 Million USD - Worth of "Apple" Brand

Millward Brown has published the list of World’s Most Expensive Brands of 2011. This time we have great news for Apple lovers that Apple has beaten Google and took the first place in the World’s Most Expensive Brands List.

This research was done by the global brands agency Millward Brown. Annual BrandZ study of the world’s top 100 brands says that “The Apple’s brand is now worth $153 Million Approx, which is almost half of Apple’s market capitalization”.

Dressed in tight-fitting yellow and black spandex like a human bumblebee, 51-year-old Swiss daredevil Yves “Jetman” Rossy defied death—or at least gravity—to soar over the Grand Canyon last Saturday at speeds approaching 200 m.p.h.

At daybreak, Rossy can be seen (in the video below) wheeling his triangular strap-on carbon-fiber jetpack (it looks like a miniature version of the Stealth

Twitter image service Twitpic today apologized after an update to its terms and conditions implied that it claimed ownership of all images uploaded to its servers, and could sell them on without the original photographer's permission.

After a day of protest online, Twitpic rushed to amend its terms page, and said sorry to users on its blog. Company founder Noah Everett wrote:

In about a week's time, owners of Microsoft's game console will have another way to pay for their Xbox Live memberships and DLC, when PayPal support happens by way of a spring update. If you're setting up through the Xbox accounts web site, you can already choose the popular payment service as a billing option but the update will let you do so on the console.

Because everything needs to be "social" nowadays, we'll soon have electronic cigarettes with built-in network connections. Get within 50 feet of someone who smokes your same brand, and both of your packs will light up and vibrate. Then the two of you can high five each other and exchange contact information—all of which is stored inside your pack of smokes.

Need a laptop? Mainly for web stuff?

How does $20 per month sound?

That's the deal reportedly about to be announced by Google any moment now.

For your $20, you'll get a Chrome laptop - a cousin of the experimental CR-48 notebooks the company was handing out a few months ago (see Doug's review of one here).

Getty Images

Not that I'm really shocked by any of this, but Symantec says Facebook apps are giving third parties access to your profile. That Farmville request doesn't look so benign and innocent now, does it?

Who are these third parties, exactly? Advertisers? No way. Apparently, they've had access to your profile, photos, chat,

Get MS Office 2007 Enterprise for Free Forever

I have been looking for free download but I was really annoyed to realize that all the links are giving a download link but it is not free they ask for registration to activate it. I have actually got a CD and I want you guys to enjoy it too for free.

I was using download links but I have recently been informed not to do so as it is not good for some one.

Here's a side effect of global warming no one saw coming: it could negatively affect Wi-Fi signals. A report from the British Government's environmental department suggests that higher temperatures as a result of global warming will reduce the range of wireless signals, while storms brought on by climate change will similarly reduce the signals' reliability.

British Secretary of State for the Environment, Caroline Spelman, said while presenting the report:

It's the social network bombshell no one in a zillion years saw coming: millions of Facebook users are underage. I know. Gasp.

That's according to Consumer Reports' annual "State of the Net" survey, in which the watchdog routinely checks with over 2,000 U.S. households about Internet usage and related online behavior.

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to announce a new plan to alert Americans of oncoming natural disasters in their area today... or, that should be, a new PLAN. The initiative is called the Personalized Localized Alerting Network (or PLAN for short), and will allow emergency officials to send text messages to cellphones in regions threatened by hurricanes, tornadoes and similar disasters.

Google's 2011 developer conference kicked off today. Did you see the live blog? It's okay if you didn't. I'm not one of those How dare you not read everything I write! kinds of writers. I just kind of fell into this whole blogging thing a few years back after my career in modern dance was cut short due to my lack of talent, drive, ambition, coordination and so forth.

All joking aside, unexploded landmines pose serious, serious threats to post-war communities. In late 2010, it was reported at a UN Council meeting that 3,956 people died due to undetected explosives, without even taking into account the countless injuries and limbs lost in the aftermath. What's more is they debilitate entire communities, paralyzing its citizens out of fear.

NEW YORK - The Bio Channel is giving Bristol Palin a reality series.

The network said Monday that Palin will star in a 10-episode series. She is the daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and a former contestant on "Dancing With the Stars."

The new series will follow her move from Alaska to Los Angeles with her son, Tripp, to work at a small charity.

NEW DELHI—Google Inc. told Indian regulators in a confidential February memo that the nation's tough proposed restrictions on Internet content could present serious problems for the company and others hoping to tap a promising growth market. The regulations were enacted last month little-changed despite Google's input. Google's concerns, laid out in a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, add to criticism from civil rights advocates who say the new rules amount to a crackdown on free speech on the Web.

NEW YORK: Internet giant Google could launch an online music service as early as Tuesday to rival Amazon's "cloud" service, which allows users to store digital music online, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said on Monday that Google, like Amazon, has yet to secure licenses from the major record companies, and would limit users to a "streaming mode" to prevent piracy.

Jodie Foster’s risky film starring her long-time friend Mel Gibson is appropriately enough, all about getting a second chance. Gibson’s recent tabloid infamy sparked a backlash that delayed the film’s release, finally it has been in the theatres and the timing seems about right. He’s aged for sure, but its classic dramatic Mel, powerful, visceral and complicated.

Microsoft has officially announced its purchase of VoIP provider Skype for a whopping $8.5 billion. As we reported late last night, it's Microsoft's most expensive acquisition to date. This is a big, big gamble for Microsoft, but one that could ultimately pay off in several key areas. I'd expect to see Skype deeply integrated in the Windows operating system — with Windows Phone 7, Xbox 360, Office and Windows Live, at the very least. Microsoft's official stance is as follows:

Musician Aadesh Shrivastava has vowed to look after his dead brother Chitresh's familyThe car crash that killed composer Aadesh Shrivastava's brother Chitresh could have also ended Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's life.Minutes before the crash, the Pakistani singer got out of the car and decided to join his musical troupe in a bus that accompanied their car. "What do we say to this? How does God decide who lives and who dies? Is there any law governing our existence any more?"

JENSON BUTTON does not fear risking his life racing at 200mph but admits to a few nervous moments teaching his girlfriend to drive at 35mph.The British ace has just splashed out on a new Mini Cabriolet for his Japanese stunner Jessica Michibata. And he is teaching the lingerie model, 26, the ways of the road on the leafy lanes near his home in Guernsey.But Button, 31, said: "I've got Jess a Mini Cooper S Cabriolet, which is awesome."It's cream with a hot chocolate roof, that's what she calls it

Musician Faiza Mujahid has laucnched her new single and first official music video for “Meri Zindagi”.

Written and composed by young musician Faiza herself, “Meri Zindagi” is perhaps a coming-of-age song for the musician and somewhat introspectively,

talks to the youth, more specifically young girls, to be more independent and in decision making control of their lives; a vision driven from the musician’s own personal experiences and journey of young rebellion, having constantly clashed with tradition and expectations, carving out a path for herself. The video for ‘‘Meri Zindagi” sees the musician in a new avatar and has been shot in high definition, conceptualized and directed by Armughan Hassan, featuring artist and drummer Mehreen Murtaza and Asma Lakhwaira on guitars.

I have recently purchased a Microsoft Office 2010 CD for use and I wanted to share it online as well so that others can also avail it for free. I have been searching around the web to find out how can I upload a 800 MB file to share it online. The best free solution I found was uploading files to ADrive.com.

Osama mission agreed 10 years ago by US, Pak

LONDON: The US and Pakistan struck a secret deal almost a decade ago permitting a US operation against Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil, British daily newspaper report quoted.

The deal was struck between the military leader General Pervez Musharraf and President George Bush after Bin Laden escaped US forces in the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001, British newspaper reported quoting retired Pakistani and US officials.

Sat on a sun-dappled deck of a 60-foot yacht sipping an iced-coffee and smoking a cigarette, Gordon Hui looks pleased with himself.

He has good reason.

Mr Hui, the boss of the Asia operations of UK yacht-builder Sunseeker,

is poised to seal a massive deal worth potentially up to 20m pounds ($33m) to sell five yachts - two over a 100 feet (30m) - to a mainland Chinese customer.

A room that must be planned and constructed with maximum practicality in mind, the bathroom also possesses the greatest potential to soothe. This should come as no surprise: everyone responds positively to the sound of running water,

and to the splash of it on bare skin, both in the natural world and in the washroom. Increasingly, spas, Turkish baths and saunas are becoming popular places in which to unwind outside the home, and these days we naturally associate the bathroom with a place to relax. A bathroom also promises to be a private place, where we expect to shut the door on the world and be alone.

Stained fingers. Bad breath. Sore throat. Hacking cough. Noxious clothes. Need more reasons to avoid smoking? How about lung cancer, weak bones, stomach ulcers and dry, wrinkled skin? These aren't even half of the unfortunate side effects of smoking,

and yet thousands of teenagers continue to take up this unsavoury habit every day. Unfortunately, too little information about the dangers of smoking often combines with a sense of invincibility to fool these teens into thinking that they aren't doing anything harmful. Save yourself the misery and get the real facts on smoking.

This sounds like a cliché, right? My question really is; is there ever too much Quality time with the kids? Okay, I'll rephrase that: is there ever too much time with the kids?

As parents/ guardians in the 21st century we seem to be really crazy

about spending time with our kids, and that's a good thing, but what i dare to question is that can it ever be too much? A situation wherein a parent/ guardian spends every moment with their kids in the bid to spend quality time with them can be unhealthy for both the parent(s)/ guardian and the kid(s).

A Claude Monet painting of poplars sold for $22.5 million at a Christie's auction in New York on Wednesday, while a Maurice de Vlaminck smashed records for the artist by also selling for $22.5 million. The works were among the better earners at the impressionist and modern art spring sale. Monet's "Les Peupliers," painted in 1891, had been estimated to sell for $20 million to $30 million. Another Monet, "Iris Mauves," was estimated to sell for between $15 and $20 million dollars, but found no buyer in tepid trading.

Scouts often cruise the streets of Mumbai looking for westerners to work as extras in Bollywood films. I ended up dancing on the set of a movie within a day of landing in India as a backpacker, says Howard Johnson.

Some people spend their lives seeking their 15 minutes of fame.

But as I experienced in India, sometimes it comes looking for you.

It may be hard to picture, but before oil was discovered in the 1960s, the Gulf was not just uninhabited desert. The region has a long history, and one of the best places to learn about it is Al Ain.

Just an hour east of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain sits on the border with Oman. And what is initially most striking about it is the greenery. The roads are lined with palm trees and landscaped gardens abound. Known as the Garden City of the Gulf, it is a welcome contrast to the concrete jungle of construction and development so often seen in cities in this part of the world.

Sefam (Pvt.) Limited began its operations in 1985 with one outlet, named Bareeze, in Lahore. Bareeze was the first entity to sell premium quality embroidered fabric in the cities of Pakistan. After the success of embroidered fabric Sefam brought a range of premium quality products of textile from couture to bed spreads and from casual to fancy wear for the people of Pakistan. These products were well received and within a few years Bareeze outlets were present in most of the major cities of Pakistan.

John Travolta called her the "most delicious" thing to come out of Italy, Roberto Benigni serenaded her with the Neapolitan song "O Sole Mio" and Billy Crystal said she was his "first great love." Hollywood came out on Wednesday to honour Sophia Loren, 50 years after she become the first person to win an acting Oscar for a foreign-language role with the Italian movie "Two Women."

According to latest media reports Oksana Grigorieva let Mel Gibson off the hook in court, concerning her domestic violence claim being grounds for changing their custody order. Oksana's representative confirmed that the rumors of the dropped claim, as well as the termination of a protective order against Mel are "accurate" but he did not want to make any further comment on the matter. Last month, Mel Gibson broke his silence, discussing the leaked audio recordings that allegedly feature the Oscar winner shouting obscenities at Oksana in a fit of rage.

While most phones are getting smaller and being crammed with non-phone functionality, the "Sixty" cordless phone from French company Sagemcom harks back to an earlier age of domestic communications ... with an injection of 21st Century design and technology. The Sixty delivers a new twist on the 1960's Bakelite telephone by transforming the stocky rotary form into a folded, slimline design and adding a digital time fascia and capacitive touchscreen.

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