IBLOG SPACE

Will people use energy more thoughtfully if they’re able to monitor it via a familiar device? That’s what nergy management technology provider Tendril reckon; they’ve borrowed style inspiration from a digital clock for their Vision energy monitor , which can not only show real-time usage but predict future patterns. That means you could wait to put on the tumble dryer until a low-power period was predicted, or Vision could highlight when cheaper energy rates were active. There’s also an accompanying website which shows more in-depth data together with allowing for “personal energy use plans” to be created; presumably they then educate the meter to make better predictions. Vision measures around 8 x 6 inches and weighs under two pounds, and Tendril believe that with continuous use you could see 10 to 15-percent reductions in energy bills. All well and good, but it remains to be seen how expensive Vision turns out to be, who it’s offered to – Tendril work with energy companies, rather

All of this mess with Google, China, and Google China has come to a head as of late. We’ve seen Google be the brunt of brute-force cyber attacks , before which they were trying to uncensor a nation of censorship . And now it seems that the word getting pushed around is that Google is about ready to close up shop, and it’s happening sooner than we imagined it would. Google has been positive about their presence in China, with some assuming that the company would shift in their views and positions, or at least figure out a way to work with the Chinese government to meet both their needs. But, there’s no surprise that the two of them probably couldn’t come to an agreement. Even if the last few things swirling around was that Google would be sticking around, with hopes of keeping the Google China employees, you know, employed, it’s looking like that’s not going to be the case after all. Citing an anonymous source, the Chinese Business News is saying that Google is closing up their China s

There’s no hiding the fact that when you get something new, the first thing you want to do is open up the box, pop in the battery (if it needs a battery), and then turn that thing on and start going about your business. What you don’t want , is to turn on that said device, and find out that you’ve got some information-jacking malware botnet program running on it. That’s a bad day. That’s exactly what happened to several thousand folks who had recently picked up a Vodafone Spain HTC Magic, the wireless carrier has recently admitted. The Mariposa botnet agent has officially infected somewhere in the ballpark of 3,000 handsets, the company affirmed to Spanish media on Thursday. The company had met with their Iberian branch, along with representatives from Panda Security, who actually caught the malware infraction right from the start. Vodafone Spain provided an HTC Magic to a representative from the company to test, and that’s when all this trouble first started, back at the beginning of

The push for 3D TV is definitely going full force, and therefore seeing an announcement like this is only a little bit surprising. We are a bit shocked to see it happening so soon, especially considering that 3D TVs aren’t really that common yet, but apparently Sky thinks it’s perfect timing. In fact, they’ve got April 3rd pegged for the official unveiling of their 3D service, which lines up with a pretty big football match on the same day. Sky 3D is exactly as it sounds. It’s Europe’s first 3D TV channel, designed specifically to watch 3D entertainment. That’s the meaning of its entire existence, in fact. So what’s got Sky so amped for the upcoming 3D revolution? Football, naturally. They’ve got the official hard launch of the 3D TV service lined up with the Manchester United vs Chelsea Barclays Premiere League match, which should see quite a few viewers(/sarcasm). Sky is offering the service a little bit before April 3rd, so customers can add it to their service at no extra cost to

While showing admirable recycling motivation, sticking a clock inside an old coffee can isn’t enough to impress us; Instructables member florinc makes the grade because his DIY IllyClock adds in some color magic too. Based on a Wiseduino – an Arduino clone with an integrated real-time clock – and an LED shield, the clock lights up its numerals in different shades depending on the time of day. Three hours before the alarm is set to go off, the numerals change from green to orange. Then, an hour before it’s due, they switch to red. The idea is that you can squint at the alarm clock in the night and tell roughly how much time you have left in bed without actually needing to decipher the actual time. If you’re short-sighted then that could be a particularly handy feature. The Instructable is seemingly based on this previous IllyClock , as shown in the video below.

Having heard straight from the horse’s mouth that Samsung are planning an iPad rival for launch later in 2010, new leaks from the company are beginning to flesh out the details. According to Tweakers’ sources, the Samsung tablet will run Android; that makes it reasonably unlikely that the company will – as execs hinted earlier this week – use an Intel Atom processor. The sources also claim that the Samsung slate will have integrated data connectivity, with 3G confirmed but some talk of 4G potentially being on board as well. As well as allowing for data services, the tablet will also apparently support voice calls, most likely via some sort of wired or wireless headset. Samsung previously suggested that their slate would have more connectivity options than Apple’s iPad, which makes do with a dock connector and 3.5mm headphone jack. The company claims it will be targeting the tablet at a consumer audience, as opposed to its earlier experiments with UMPCs that focused on enterprise and

JVC have stuffed their latest camcorder with Bluetooth, but while you might automatically assume the short-range wireless functionality was to be used for media transfers, you’d be wrong. In actual fact, the JVC Everio GZ-HM550 uses its Bluetooth for remote control, GPS geotagging and even for sound monitoring using a hands-free headset. If you’ve ever wanted to remotely control your camcorder from your smartphone, JVC have your back. An include app – no word on what platforms are supported – allows users to control recording, zoom and playback; alternatively you can pair up a Bluetooth GPS puck and use it to geotag movies and images. Footage will automatically sync with Google Earth once you transfer it back over to your computer. Finally, you can pair up a Bluetooth headset, allowing you to either monitor audio being recorded through the GZ-HM550’s microphone, or to overlay a director’s track yourself. As for the photography specs, the GZ-HM550 has a 10.6-megapixel CMOS which ca

Awareness of the Kleer wireless alternative to Bluetooth A2DP is slowly growing, and the market for entry-level headphones (as opposed to, say, Sleek Audio’s range) is broadening. Into the fray comes DigiFi’s Digital Opera S5’s, intended specifically for iPod owners. Mediocre sound quality let DigiFi’s S2’s down; can the reworked S5’s pick up the slack? If you the S5 headphones look familiar, that’s because they’re identical in design to DigiFi’s Digital Opera S2 set which we r eviewed. The earbuds themselves are tethered to a small receiver/power box, intended to hang at the back of your neck; there’s a USB charging cable to power it up. Where the two sets differ is in the transmitter: while the S2’s came with a generic dongle that plugged into a 3.5mm headphone socket, the S5’s come with an iPod-specific dongle that slots into your Apple PMP’s dock connector. While that limits the S5’s to an Apple-owning audience, it also means DigiFi can add in some remote control support. Whereas

We keep asking digital photo frame manufacturers to put cellular data connections into their displays, only very few of them seem to listen. One prospect on the near horizon is the Vizit from Isabella Products, a 10.4-inch 800 x 600 touchscreen that can be left freestanding or wall-mounted, and which uses an integrated GSM/GPRS quadband modem to receive images emailed, shared from an online gallery or sent from a cameraphone. Having been up for pre-order for a while now, we now know that Vizit will go on sale March 23rd. The Vizit’s connection is always-on and photos can not only be sent to the display but from it, too. They go through the company’s VizitMe.com online gallery, which can be fed by direct uploads, RSS feeds or MMS messages from cellphones. Only preset numbers and email addresses can send pictures through, so nothing untoward should frighten your grandmother when it pops up on-screen. In fact, the only really scary thing is likely to be the price. The Vizit frame i

Will flexible data contracts like Apple have negotiated for the iPad – and Spring Design are planning for their Alex ereader – drive adoption of integrated 3G/4G data connections rather than external modems? That’s certainly one interpretation of DigiTime’s latest statistics; they’re quoting industry sources who reckon global sales of built-in 3G modules will exceed sales of external data cards by 2012. Key players in the segment are Qualcomm, whose dual-mode Gobi chipset – which can be used as a GSM/HSPA modem or a CDMA/EVDO one – has been finding its way into an increasing number of ultraportable devices as manufacturers look to satisfy multiple markets with a single component, and Ericsson, who have apparently been pushing adoption of their modules in embedded devices like ereaders and MIDs. So far the major downside to having integrated cellular wireless connectivity has been the ensuing data tariff, which can cost $60 on a typical laptop with a two-year agreement, something owne

Typically, as soon as I buy a new gadget I stat looking for things to keep it safe and scratch free. I have used scratch-resistant films on my iPhone since I got it. A new scratch resistant film called Wrapsol Ultra has been announced that claims to not only protect your iPhone from scratches, but from falls as well. According to Wrapsol, the new Ultra film protects from falls of up to 6-feet. Shock absorption properties are not something that is normally found in a film. Wrapsol makes films that are pre-cut for the iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, DROID, and Nexus One as well as other devices. The film applies in three steps with no liquid needed in the application process. The company says that the adhesive helps to remove air bubbles as well for a smooth install. The film starts at $24.99.

Could Palm’s attempt to reinvigorate their dreary financial performance include adding the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to their O2 line-up? That's the remour over at Tracy & Matt, who have received an anonymous tip claiming that the two devices will arrive in April 2010. O2 have already been offering the GSM version of the Palm Pre for some months now, but so far the Pixi – which has a smaller display and candybar form-factor – is yet to make an appearance outside of the US. The Pixi Plus gets 8GB of storage and WiFi (unlike the original Pixi, which lacked WiFi), while the Pre Plus has 16GB of storage and double the RAM of its predecessor. Frankly, while anonymous tips can always be discounted as make-believe, it seems particularly likely that Palm will attempt to turn around their fortunes in the short-term with broader device availability, while simultaneously developing their next generation of hardware.

We already know HP is ready to throw its Slate on the market to fight the iPad for the dollars of geeks wanting some tablet computer love. What we didn’t know was how much the Slate would cost and the hardware specs of the machine. Its reports that specs have been uncovered that reportedly come directly from HP. The machine will sell for €400 or about $546 in the US. We will need to wait for official pricing for the US. The thing is expected to be cheaper than similar iPad models so a straight conversion may be off. The Slate runs Windows 7, supports Flash, offers USB connectivity, a memory card reader, and a webcam. The Slate really sounds like a netbook sans keyboard with its Atom processor running the show according to the report. The Slate is expected to launch in June.

Pros using Mac products will have a couple new choices starting in June reports AppleInsider . According to sources cited by the publication, Apple is working on its second LED backlit Cinema display and new updates for the Mac Pro desktop. The new Cinema display is a 27-inch LED backlit unit that is basically a larger version of the 24-inch display the firm already offers. Sources familiar with the new screen says it has been in the Apple labs for a while and is often called the K59. Resolution is said to be 2560 x 1440, very close to the typical 30-inch resolution of 2560 x 1600. Apple is also reportedly set to launch a 6-core update for the Mac Pro by way of adding the new Intel Xeon 5600 series CPUs to the mix. The updated Mac Pro is also pegged for a June launch and will offer 6-core chips in 2.66, 2.8, 2.93, and 3.33GHz flavors.

For a while NVIDIA and Intel played nice with Intel licensing NVIDIA to develop chipsets for past generation processors. When the new integrated memory controller processors in use today from Intel came to be, a legal battle ensued when NVIDIA started to make chipsets for the new processors only to be denied by Intel. NVIDIA has now announced that it has combined its core-logic teams and the SoC teams into one development team. The combined team puts lots more developers under the Tegra banner with the exact number pegged at 650 engineers. The combining of the two teams is a signal that NVIDIA is not planning to develop chipsets and it throwing more of its resources at developing high-performance GPUs for mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and other small gadgets. That market is probably going to be better for NVIDIA than the chipset business was anyway.

Scosche makes all sorts of cool gear to keep our gadgets powered up and operating longer everywhere we go. The company has unveiled a new line of gear that it will be showing off at CTIA. Among the gear are all sorts of devices for notebooks and netbooks. One of the coolest is the netBOOK Power line of inverters. This little gadgets are power inverters that lets you juice your netbook or notebook up and use it in the car from a DC power source. The netbook Power line includes a 100W inVERT unit, 50W netVOLT unit, and a 40W netVOLT. Scosche also has a cool new skyCASTER wireless RF headphone set that uses USB to transmit sound from your Pc with no cables with up to 100-foot transmission range. Other products include a netbook connect line of great that offers a low profile Bluetooth USB adapter not much larger than those nano transceivers common on mice today. The thing adds Bluetooth to netbooks and notebooks lacking it.

Your existing iPhone (yeah, even the original) can surf the information superhighway at 4G speeds. Today. Who knew, right? Sprint's Overdrive -- which creates a WiFi hotspot that enables nearby devices to cruise on Clear's 4G (or 3G, if you're not in a 4G locale) network -- can theoretically enable any WiFi-capable phone to surf on WiMAX, but Sprint's taking a pretty bold approach by actually touting the feature in a new spot. Befuddled? Hop on past the break and mash play. Too bad this is about as close the iPhone will ever get to Sprint's shelves...

Nokia may still not have brought turn-by-turn navigation to Maemo with its own Ovi Maps, but N900 users can now get their fix courtesy of Sygic, which has just released a version of its Mobile Maps app for the device. Available only in Europe to start with, the app costs €60, and includes maps of both eastern and western Europe, along with the usual "millions" of points-of-interest, speed camera locations and speed limit warnings, and plenty of customization options (including support for multiple languages). No firm word on availability outside of Europe just yet, but Sygic does say that additional regions will be announced "gradually."

If you recall, about a month ago Sprint tweeted that it was working on delivering Android 2.1 upgrade for its HTC Hero and Samsung Moment in early Q2 this year. An optimistic guess would be April, right? Funnily enough, Techie Buzz has heard that two eager customers managed to squeeze a more precise date out of Sprint over a phone call -- end of March or even March 26th. Don't go reaching for that champagne just yet, though -- a self-proclaimed Sprint employee shared a recent internal memo on XDA-Developers forum, revealing that it's "actively working on having the Android 2.1 platform available to our Hero and Moment customers over the coming weeks," and that "more information coming in April." Oh Sprint, you do love playing with our little minds, don't you?

Microsoft's not going to allow HTC to cover Windows Phone 7 Series with its Sense UI overlay (which is going to be an interesting thing to watch in and of itself), but there's no question that the homegrown user interface has made a-many Windows Mobile phones look and feel a whole lot better than stock. Sense is also gaining traction in the Android realm, a sector where it's far more likely to either make a huge impact or be overlooked entirely. So, the question we're posing here today is this: if you were granted an HTC badge for a day, how would you change Sense? Are you satisfied with the quickness? Does anything simply get in the way? Any quirks that you just can't figure out? Any tweaks that you'd love to see made? We aren't always serious when we say that these companies are listening to you, but trust us when we say that design folks from HTC might just give your comments a once over. Here's your chance. Don't screw it up.

Sprint had promised a first-quarter update for its Touch Pro2 way back in January, and sure enough, it's delivered the Windows Mobile 6.5 boost right on time. It might not have as much punch now that we know everything there is to know about Windows Phone 7 Series, of course, but it's still a pretty big deal -- the Touch Pro2 remains one of the best Microsoft-powered phones you can buy in the States, and unlike AT&T's Tilt2, it launched with that grubby old WinMo 6.1. It's available now, complete with Sense "enhancements" and a variety of bug fixes -- so if you've got one of these bad boys in your pocket, it seems like a must-grab.

It looks like the virus-strewn HTC Magic that was recently purchased from Vodafone UK is only the tip of the iceberg. According to Vodafone Spain, some 3,000 users in all may have been exposed to Mariposa malware -- which used the handset's storage to make its way to customer's PCs via USB, leading the company to replace the microSD cards for infected customers. The company also says that the incident is "isolated and local," but with the number of infections rising from one in the UK to 3,000 in Spain in just over a week we wouldn't be surprised this story was just heating up.

So we're in the middle of testing our Sony Ericsson X10 here -- stay tuned for that review, by the way -- and in the course of flipping through the settings, we noticed something strange: it's reporting two 3 G MicroCells nearby. Now, to the best of our knowledge, you can't buy a MicroCell in these parts -- sales are still strictly limited to a small handful of test markets -- but it makes you wonder. For what it's worth, SE shipped the phone with a GoPhone SIM, but we're not sure whether that makes a difference. We're looking into the situation and we'll report more as soon as we have it.

We actually haven't seen any official shots of the Office apps for Windows Phone 7 Series , but now that Microsoft's emulator has been hacked and unlocked, we've got a glimpse of what creating a Word doc in OneNote looks like -- and while there's a high probability that this a super-early version of the app, it's still revealing in how drastically minimal it is. Microsoft says most people just want to make minor edits and leave comments to Office docs while on the go, not make large edits with copy and paste, so we'd expect to see track changes in the final version, but something tells us the main interface isn't going to look tremendously different than this. One more shot and the video with Word after the break -- hit the source for the second vid with Excel.

Are these grabs from RIM's refreshed BlackBerry OS 6.0 or just fanart from some sleepy design school student meant to trick the tech press? We don't know, but BBLeaks claims that they come "highly regarded as real from one of our best connects." But before getting too worked up, it's worth noting the bizarre similarities between these grabs (San Francisco, the weather widget colors, Haiti tweet, and font) and the slide pulled from that "Super Apps" developer webinar back in February -- images that RIM called nothing more than mockups of nothing important at the time. Still with a consumer-focused, BlackBerry slider rumored to be making its first appearance next month at RIM's own WES show, well, who knows. Really, does anybody know? Webinar image after the break for your clinical comparison.

Microsoft was kind enough to release the software development kit for Windows Phone 7 Series on Monday, and although there was some fun to be had by scrolling around and exploring, much of the cool stuff the company showed off at MIX last week is not included -- or is it? As it turns out it's in there; only a little help is needed to unlock 'em and then all those magical hubs start them spinning for your enjoyment, including a few things not seen before. Most notable? A comprehensive looking file explorer and even a task manager, something a bit curious given the OS's effective lack of multi-tasking. The unlock was discovered and initially distributed by engineer Dan Ardelean, but he has since recanted and pulled the required file. Naturally, though, it has been mirrored in numerous places, links to which can be found at the xda-developer forum if you'd like to try this yourself. Just keep in mind that this is a far from final version of the OS, so don't be too disa

Dubai's annual art fair hit new highs in both sales and volumes despite concerns in the Gulf's trading and tourism hub over a debt crisis. The four-day contemporary art show drew more than 18,000 visitors, up 28 percent from last year, and featured more varied galleries and artwork. "Everybody's talking about doom and gloom in Dubai ... but we've sold almost everything," said Raman Frey, of New York-based gallery Frey Norris. Dubai World, the government-owned conglomerate behind the emirate's iconic palm shaped man-made islands, is expected to present soon a plan to creditors to refinance $26 billion in debt. The fair, which ended late on Saturday, featured pieces by world-famous contemporary artists and a wider geographical mix than earlier years, with 31 countries represented. Some galleries, such as Saudi Arabia's Athr Gallery and Berlin's Galerie Christian Hosp, said they sold 90 percent of their works. "Generally less people are buying gl

Actor Aamir Khan Sunday asked Indians to support hundreds of thousands of Haitians devastated by an earthquake. 'What has happen in Haiti is really terrible and I would strongly recommend the people of India to reach out and help in every way possible,' Aamir told reporters at Grand Hyatt here Sunday, where auction of Indian modern art was organised to raise funds for Haiti. The Jan 12 quake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale killed more than 200,000 people and destroyed much of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and its surroundings, tearing up roads and bridges and reducing homes and hospitals to rubble. Aamir supports 'Hope for Haiti', an organisation raising funds for the earthquake-affected people of the island. 'I think we should all do what we can to help people who had been through such a tragedy. I am here to support the cause,' Aamir said. Asked if he wants to convey any message to people of Haiti, he said: 'It is extremely difficult, at

Following are the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the three days beginning on March 19, led by the reigning champion "Alice in Wonderland," according to studio estimates compiled on Sunday by Reuters. 1 (1) Alice in Wonderland .... $34.5 million 2 (*) Diary of a Wimpy Kid ... $21.8 million 3 (*) The Bounty Hunter ...... $21.0 million 4 (*) Repo Men ............... $ 6.2 million 5 (3) She's Out of My League . $ 6.0 million 6 (2) Green Zone ............. $ 6.0 million 7 (4) Shutter Island ......... $ 4.8 million 8 (7) Avatar ................. $ 4.0 million 9 (6) Our Family Wedding ..... $ 3.8 million 10 (5) Remember Me ............ $ 3.3 million NOTE: Last weekend's rankings in parentheses; (*) denotes new release. Avatar................... $736.9 million Alice in Wonderland ..... $265.8 million Shutter Island .......... $115.8 million Green Zone .............. $ 24.7 million Diary of a Wimpy Kid .... $ 21.8 million The Bounty Hunter ....... $ 21.0 mi

Disney adventure "Alice in Wonderland" stayed atop North American movie box offices for the third straight week, collecting $34.5 million and beating three new films including Jennifer Aniston comedy, "The Bounty Hunter." Family film "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" from 20th Century Fox film studio claimed the No. 2 spot with $21.8 million while, "Bounty Hunter," which came into the weekend heavily promoted by Columbia Pictures, was third with $21 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The weekend's other new movie, science-fiction adventure "Repo Men" was a distant fourth with a mere $6.2 million. It was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of the NBC Universal media wing of General Electric Co. The Disney film studio is a unit of Walt Disney Co., Fox is a division of News Corp and Columbia is part of the Sony Pictures Entertainment group of Sony Corp.

British music company EMI is in talks to allow rival labels to manage its back catalogue in order to raise funds and prevent a takeover from its lender, reported the Sunday Times. EMI, which is owned by Guy Hands' private equity group Terra Firma, is trying to put in place a new business plan as it faces a covenant shortfall on its 2.6 billion pounds ($3.95 billion) debt. The group is offering other labels the chance to manage its North American catalogue business for a five-year period, which Terra Firma thinks could raise 400 million pounds, enough to stave off a looming takeover by lender Citigroup, the newspaper said. EMI declined to comment.

Film: 'Kacheri Aarambam'; Cast: Jeeva, Poonam Bajwa, J.D. Chakravarthy, Vadivelu, Nisha Kothari; Director: Thiraivannan; Music Director: D. Imman; Rating: ** Jeeva delivers yet another commercial potboiler without bothering to worry about finesse. Debutant director Thiraivannan seems to be content with a cliched story and, hence, takes no strain to tell us anything new or novel. The story is all about a youth coming to the city, falling in love and confronting the baddie. The hero lands up in Chennai (like many other heroes have done in the past) and takes up the job of an assistant to Vadivelu, who runs a shop in the Burma Bazaar locality. Enters Madhi (Poonam Bajwa), who accidentally saves Jeeva from a 'road accident' and steals his heart instantly. Our hero keeps following Poonam wherever she goes, but the girl tries hard to avoid him. She is not even ready to accept the customary thanks for saving his life. The reason behind her mysterious silence is a local don Siv

Your love for karaoke can now make you famous. You can sing via mobile, upload on your profile and get heard by a larger audience with Airtel 'isinger', an online karaoke competition. The participants have to submit a song via mobile phones on Airtel isinger on ibibo.com contest. Once the song is submitted, community members will vote for their favourite singer. The contest is in six languages and it will be judged by veteran composers from each language. The judges panels have composers Neel Dutt (Bengali), Raghu Dixit (Kannada), Hanif Shaikh (Hindi), Sanjeev Rana (Bhojpuri), Maulik Mehta (Gujrati) and Jassie Gift (Malayalam). 'Our attempt is to give an opportunity to each one of those who believe they have the ability to sing but are clueless how to go about it. The participant just needs to record a song on their mobile phone and post it on the website,' Ashish Kashyap, CEO of ibibo, told IANS. 'There are close to 7,000 singers that are participating in the conte

Former 'Friends' star Lisa Kudrow was in tears after she uncovered a harrowing tragedy linking her family to a Nazi massacre. The revelation came as she traced her ancestors on the programme 'Who Do You Think You Are?' and the actress found that her great-grandmother was 'killed and burned' with 900 other Jews caught in the Holocaust during the Second World War, reports express.co.uk. 'I knew my great-grandmother was murdered but to hear the words 'killed and burned' - that's...urgh. God,' she said. Kudrow also found an elderly woman who was a close friend of her grandmother Grunia and spoke of their childhood fear of the Germans. She was told that in March 1942 Adolf Hitler's Nazis searched out 900 Jews and forced them to run to the market place. They were led to a deep hole, stripped, lined up and shot from all sides. Each body fell into the pit and the Nazis then poured in oil and set it on fire. 'These people were no threat, it

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway is being stormed with letters from incarcerated ex-beau, Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri. Follieri, who is serving four-and-a-half years' jail term for trying to con 35 million pounds from the Vatican, is pleading her to wait for him. Hathaway broke up with Follieri after he was jailed and is currently dating actor Adam Shulman, 28. A friend revealed her new love wants her to write to Follieri telling him to leave her alone, reports express.co.uk. 'But Anne fears anything she says to him will lead to a fresh avalanche of mail. The letters are not only torturing Anne, they are putting pressure on her new relationship,' said the friend. An FBI spokesman said: 'It's deeply unfortunate if the letters cause distress but unless they contain clear criminal intent our hands are tied.'

The Gulf Film Festival (GFF) received over 1,300 submissions from 77 countries, including India, seeking entry into various categories at the annual event to be held in Dubai next month. Submissions have come from India, China, the US, South America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The Festival, scheduled April 8-14, also received applications from Afghanistan, Ghana, Macedonia and Vietnam, WAM news agency reported. The large number of submissions from across the globe highlights the emergence of the Gulf region not only as inspiration for films but also as one that promotes independent filmmaking, GFF Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said. 'The Gulf Film Festival showcases the best of both cinema making - movies about the region and movies made in the Gulf,' he said, adding that it provides a 'platform for local talent and thus contribute to further strengthening the industry'. Winners will be selected for three sub-categories- feature, short films and documentary

Pop singer Lady Gaga has hit back at the lawsuit filed by her former mentor, insisting the business agreement between them was 'unlawful'. Contactmusic.com reports that producer Rob Fusari has filed a $35 million lawsuit against her alleging that she dumped him as soon as she became a star. He produced several tracks on Gaga's debut album, 'The Fame', including the hit 'Paparazzi'. According to the legal papers, Gaga and Fusari created a joint company called Team Love Child LLC, of which Fusari had a 20 percent share. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, has responded to the lawsuit in a letter, claiming the pair's arrangement was 'structured in such a way as to mask its true purpose - to provide to the defendants unlawful compensation for their services as unlicensed employment agents.' Ortner also claims Fusari and his company charged Gaga 'an unlawful fee for their purported services,' reports contactmusic.com. But Fusari's legal rep

Film: 'Shaapit'; Cast: Aditya Narayan, Shweta Agarwal, Rahul Dev, Natasha Sinha; Director: Vikram Bhatt; Rating: ** 1/2 There are good spirits and bad spirits waltzing all over the place. All we have to do is reach into the past and pull out the relevant ghoul, and we are into the realm of the spooky cool. Vikram Bhatt's 'Shaapit' has a certain coherence and clarity generally denied to the horror genre. Bhatt, a past master at creating the shiver, treats the material on hand with affection and respect. 'Shaapit' is one of those rare horror thrillers which are not designed simply to scare the yell out of viewers. The research on spirits and ghosts that underlines the story of a boy in love and his effort to liberate his object of adoration from a 300-year-old family curse includes scholarly interpretations of witchcraft, sorcery and other spiritual know-how. While this knowledgability is an advantage, it also dampens the spirit. While on the one hand, you app

Film: 'Mundhinam Partheney'; Cast: Arvind, Ektaa, Lisna, Sai Prashanth; Director: Magizh Thirumeni; Composer: Taman; Rating:*** One should admit both the film and filming comes as a pleasant surprise. When big films starring big stars can't guarantee success, it is not so easy to make a film that makes one sit up and take keen interest in the proceedings on the screen. The attempt of debutant director Magizh Thirumaeni, a Gautam Vasudev Menon protege, to narrate a love story between two typical upper middle-class youths in an almost realistic manner is commendable. The story and the treatment come as fresh air in the cliche ridden Tamil film industry. Sanjay (Arvind), a software professional, starts narrating his nostalgic moments when he was in love. His expression is worth watching and even other characters force their way into our heart and a gripping first half is over even before you blink your eyes. Sanjay finds himself madly in love with dance teacher Aarthi (Ektaa).

Brazilian beauty Ana Beatriz Barros has been recruited as the new face of the Marks and Spencer lingerie. Barros had featured in Sports Illustrated's famous swimsuit issue six years ago. "Ana is perfect. She's sexy and exotic but approachable. We expect her to appeal to men and women alike," the Mirror quoted an insider as saying. In fact, the company has a brought in a fresh team of models for its springtime ad campaign. It includes X Factor judge Dannii Minogue, singer VW Brown and TV presenter Lisa Snowdon.

Film: 'Dildaara'; Cast: Aman, Nishma Chengappa, Rangayana Raghu and others; Producer: Aman; Director: Amar; Camera: Thoranagatte Ravikiran; Music Director: Praveen D. Rao; Rating: *** Surprise of surprises. Here comes a neatly made film. People had least expectations from the movie before its release, but it really carries off so well that it gives a pleasant feeling to the audience. 'Dildaara' made by a bunch of newcomers - debutant director, cameraman, composer and even fresh faces in lead roles - comes as a breath of fresh air though you feel for its wrong release date. 'Dildaara' deals with the emotional connect between the hero and his adopted father. First time director Amar has worked well in writing a competent script for the film that successfully engages the audience. In the narrative, the main attraction is the way Amar has handled the sequences between the hero and his adopted father. For a change, character actor Rangayana Raghu has given a restrain

The Delhi High Court has said that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has no power to stay the telecast of a TV reality show without completing an inquiry. Justice S. Muralidhar in an order passed last week said: 'NCPCR cannot on its own pass any directions without first completing the inquiry. Thereafter it can make recommendations to the government for initiation of proceedings against the concerned person.' The court was disposing a case filed by NDTV Imagine challenging the powers of NCPCR that stayed the telecast of its reality show 'Pati Patni Aur Woh'. The stay was later lifted by the court. The show went on air Sep 28 last year. The channel immediately faced the ire of NCPCR, an autonomous body that alleged that the show exploited children. Modelled on international reality show 'Baby Borrowers', 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' is about parenting - from living the life of an eight-month pregnant woman to taking care of an infant,

Hugh Grant is providing emotional support to actress Sandra Bullock after her husband Jesse James cheated on her, sources say. e two have been apparently talking over the phone, following the TV mechanic's link up with a tattoo model. "I hear Sandy has been having long phone conversations with Hugh while she decides what to do about her five-year-long marriage to the biker dude," the Mirror quoted a source as saying. The insider added: "Hugh has been a huge support to her. He's always thought extremely highly of Sandra and was really upset to hear about her troubles. "Sandra's shell-shocked by what's happened - especially so soon after everything seemed so perfect after winning an Oscar for The Blind Side. "She doesn't know whether she wants to fight for her marriage or not, but Hugh's been talking things through with her and he's been great. "Sandy and Hugh have a special connection - always have. And Hugh will do everything he

The newest sensation on the web is the video of a Los Angeles band called 'OK Go', that shows a four-minute chain reaction of household objects crashing into one another. The video of the group's track 'This Too Shall Pass' begins with a balding man in a red-paint-splattered jump suit running a child's orange lorry into a row of dominoes. The dominoes topple leading to pushing a billiard ball to a speaker playing the band's song.he speaker then releases ball bearings which, in turn, tee off a golf-club-wielding teddy bear to dispatch more ball bearings that launch a tennis ball that unhooks a tyre that rolls down a ramp that turns on a fan that blows the first of many umbrellas across the floor. All this happens in the first minute of the clip, reports Timesonline. In the full video, more than 700 household objects crash inside the two-storey warehouse crashes. The video ends with the four members of the band facing a firing squad of cannon loaded with paint

Filmmaker Karan Johar, otherwise known for his jovial and friendly nature, has hit back at people making comments on his personal life on microblogging site Twitter. 'While most tweets are objective, frank and warm... the ones that are constantly making tactless statements about my personal life are upsetting,' Karan wrote. 'Critical appraisal and analysis is more than welcome...but insinuations and comments about my life, choices and orientation are NOT...,' he added. Actress Sonam Kapoor tweeted in favour of Karan, suggesting he should block such people. 'Block them on your twitter account, they are haters who are just jealous,' she wrote. Right now he is busy completing his untitled film with Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The movie is an adaptation of Chris Columbus' 1998 movie 'Stepmom'. Karan is also expected to start shooting for the 'Dostana' sequel with Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham this summer.

Rachel Uchitel, the first woman linked to Tiger Woods following the public expose of his extramarital affairs, has threatened to file a lawsuit against a Las Vegas showman for making derogatory remarks about her on Facebook. Comic and showman Jeff Beacher apparently referred to the socialite as a "hooker," "slut", and "whore" on his Facebook page, according to a letter obtained by TMZ.com. A legal team for Uchitel was said to have shot off a letter claiming the comments amounted to defamation, the New York Post reported. They have demanded the remarks be removed from the popular social networking website.

The set for the final Harry Potter movie has been left in ruins by a huge blaze after a dramatic battle scene went wrong. Firefighters were said to have fought flames for 40 minutes at Leavesden Film Studios after explosives used in action sequences for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows set light to scenery for the wizardry school. "We were shooting the scenes where Hogwarts gets blown up during the battle. But fire managed to catch hold of the set and it went up in flames. It was completely out of control at one point," News of the World quoted a source as saying. No injuries were reported but the source added: "The special effects guys involved are devastated. There's always a risk when there's shooting involving fire and explosives but this shouldn't happen." Makers Warner Brothers is continuing with the production.

Mark Owen is being kept in virtual isolation in rehab, with no visits from pals or fuming wife Emma. Owen, 38, is receiving help for his issues with booze, drugs and depression at the clinic. "Doctors want to focus Mark's mind and shake up his normal routine and any emotional crutches - even coffee and sugar are banned," News of the World quoted a source as saying. "Everyone's treated the same, including celebs," the source added

The fourth Bollywood film festival in Poland opens Monday but this time there won't be any movies of superstar Shah Rukh Khan who has a huge fan following in the country. This is the first time this has happened. Though the distributors were keen to organise a special show of 'My Name Is Khan', they could not persuade the 20th Century Fox, distributor of the movie, to agree. 'To have a film festival in Poland without Shah Rukh Khan's movie is like playing Hamlet without King of Denmark. Shah Rukh's popularity in Poland is amazing and every Bollywood buff knows him. His biography has been translated into Polish,' said J.J. Singh, president of Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI). If King Khan is missing from the event, he is being replaced by 'Singh Is Kinng' (Akshay Kumar). 'It is a great opportunity for Akshay Kumar to make a place (for himself) in Polish psyche with his masala dances. I think young Poles will lap him up,' sa

Pop singer Lady Gaga has come out in defence of the raunchy video of her new track 'Telephone', insisting it is groundbreaking and will be remembered for long time. The nine-and-a-half minute promo shows the singer being taken to a women-only cell and includes scenes of swearing, a lesbian kiss and simulated murder. The video also stars Beyonce Knowles, reports contactmusic.com. 'There are transsexual women and transgender women, and suddenly it becomes poisonous and something else because there are some people who believe being gay is a choice. It's not a choice, we're born this way. That's why for me this video is groundbreaking because it has one foot in the art community and one foot in the commercial world,' she said. 'I told Beyonce this after it aired, you'll see this video is not just great now but six months from now what this video will mean. Hearing people say the video is sadomasochistic or that the video promotes murder for young people,

Rapper 50 Cent has laughed off the lawsuit filed by a woman who claims he edited himself in the spoof version of a sex tape she recorded in 2008 and then uploaded it online. Lastonia Leviston, an ex-girlfriend of rapper Rick Ross, has filed the papers in the New York Supreme Court. In the lawsuit, she slaimed that 50 Cent blurred out her then-lover Maurice Murray's face and altered the tape to depict himself as his online character Pimpin' Curly wearing a curly wig and blue robe, while adding his own narration. She wants compensation for the unauthorised use of her name or image as well as emotional distress caused by the public release of the clip. 50 Cent has laughed off the legal threat insisting Leviston should be looking to punish Ross instead for allegedly referring to her as a 'call girl' in his music, reports dailystar.co.uk. 'That wasn't me, that was Pimpin' Curly!' he said. 'A person tries to say you've done mental harm to them, then th

Cheryl Cole is taking a six-month pause before deciding if she should divorce soccer love-rat Ashley, it has been revealed. The Girls Aloud star, 26, is torn over what to do. "Cheryl has decided to take a deep breath and wait before she makes a final decision," News of the World quoted a close pal as saying. "Deep down, she knows the marriage should be over. But her love for Ashley hasn't gone. "She's going to take a few months before she starts any formal proceedings. That will be after the World Cup and it gives Ashley a bit of a reprieve," the pal added. The friend also said that if Cheryl does divorce Ashley, she is unlikely to call in high-profile lawyers. "It would be done behind closed doors, between the two of them. Cheryl would never have some sort of big public battle," the friend said.

Freida Pinto has signed a multi-million pound deal to become the next Bond girl, it has emerged. The 'Slumdog Millionaire' star will play the suave spy's love interest in the 23rd James Bond movie after being approached by director Sam Mendes. The new Bond flick is set in Afghanistan. "Sam has been talking about Bond for months now and is so excited about it. The project has been in the pipeline for months and Freida was always the dream Bond girl, but initially she was nervous about accepting it," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted a source as saying. "This is going to be the most ambitious 007 yet. Sam plans to reinvent the genre. "Peter Morgan, who wrote The Queen, has penned the first draft of the script and it promises to be visually stunning," the source added. Pinto's beau, 'Slumdog Millionaire' co-star Dev Patel, is excited about his girlfriend's high-profile role. The source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It will be a

In the wake of her split from cricketer Michael Clarke and a whirlwind media storm, Lara Bingle is said to have regained a sense of clarity and wants to take control of her life. The 22-year-old is flying overseas for a month-long holiday, is on the hunt for a new apartment and is considering dumping her controversial manager Max Markson. The model has reportedly decided to ditch Markson after advice from friends and family that the agent has ruined her career and cheapened her image. "Lara is definitely considering dumping Max," News.com.au quoted a source as telling The Daily Telegraph. "She's not happy with how he's handled the whole thing and she is trying to work out what to do next," the source added. Bingle has also engaged the services of McGrath Real Estate agents and accountant Anthony Bell to help her buy an apartment. "It's incredibly confidential - unfortunately, I can't talk," Bell said when asked where Bingle was looking to b

'Slumdog Millionaire' star Freida Pinto has been roped in to play the next Bond girl and her boyfriend Dev Patel is cool with seeing her 'rolling around' with the super spy, says a report. The 24-year-old actress will be seen alongside Daniel Craig in the upcoming 007 movie, which is to be directed by Sam Mendes. It will be set in Afghanistan, contactmusic.com reported. 'It will be a typically glamorous and raunchy role and Dev (Patel) has been joking to friends he is cool with seeing Freida rolling around with 007,' said a source. Meanwhile, American actress Olivia Wilde is reportedly in talks to star as the second Bond girl in the 23rd outing of the spy franchise. 'Sam (Mendes) has been talking about Bond for months now and is so excited about it. The project has been in the pipeline for months and Freida was always the dream Bond girl, but initially she was nervous about accepting it,' said a source. 'This is going to be the most ambitious 007 yet

Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez will be seen having special powers in her next Bollywood venture 'Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai'. No, she doesn't play superwoman...she plays a woman from planet Venus! Writer-director Milap Zaveri says his film is not a sci-fi action movie but a romantic comedy about Tara, a girl from Venus who comes to Earth in search of love. And that's why he didn't want his heroine to do daredevil stunts but she does have some super abilities - the Venus woman has the power to freeze time. ''Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai' is a love story rather than a superwoman story. So there was no point indulging in anything that would have made Jackie (as Jacqueline is fondly called) appear to be overtly larger than life. Yes, she is different in a lot of senses and hence there had to be something special attached to her. However, we didn't want anything too gimmicky about her behaviour or persona,' Zaveri told IANS. Jumping from rooftops, dod

He is the man behind the unforgettable lyrics 'Dil cheez kya hai' from the 1981 classic 'Umrao Jaan'. Urdu academician and poet Akhlaq Mohammed Khan 'Shahryar' has stayed away from film music for years and says he can never write for today's songs as they just provide instant gratification. 'The songs that are being made nowadays - I can't write such songs. It's not that I am against those songs but I know I can't write like that. That is why I am not writing for films any more. When a film is being made where my songs would be suitable and needed, then I will definitely write,' Shahryar, now 73, told IANS in an interview. Th lyrics of songs from 'Umrao Jaan' like 'In aankhon ki masti' and 'Justuju jiski thi' still continue to find fans, but the poet who penned the words refrained from being active in Bollywood soon after his first outing as a lyricist. Asked the reason, the poet said: 'After 'Umrao Jaan

Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow admits that she is a big fan of body doubles. 'Whether it's a nude scene or a stunt, I just say: 'Bring body doubles in,' dailystar.co.uk quoted Paltrow as saying.