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A section of the BCCI selection committee was unaware, while picking the squad, of the major changes in the format of the Emerging Players tournament in Australia in August. That may have led to a few contentious choices in the 15-man squad, the most controversial being Anirudha Srikkanth, the son of selection committee chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth. For the first time in its six years, the Emerging Players Tournament has moved from being an event featuring Twenty20 and 50-over games to exclusively three-day matches. This information was not available to some selectors during their meeting when they believed they were choosing the second rung of India's limited-overs talent, and in so doing added in a couple of misfits. Eyebrows were raised over Anirudha's selection but those selectors ESPNcricinfo spoke to stressed there was no pressure to include him, and one of them denied that Srikkanth senior had proposed the son's name. The selector said that during a previous me

Earlier this week, reports surfaced suggesting Sony would be launching the PlayStation 4 next year. Almost immediately, Sony fans jumped for joy at the news, while Microsoft fans scoffed at the idea. And along the way, Sony hasn’t said for sure what might happen. Even so, I’m here to tell you (and Sony) that the PlayStation 4 should launch as early as possible next year. When we consider Sony’s current market position, we find a rather interesting story. Internationally, the PlayStation 3 is still selling at a rapid clip. However, in the U.S., the console continues to have trouble catching on with casual gamers that are more intrigued by the Wii and the hardcore segment that would rather play first-person shooters on the Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE. There’s also the issue of motion gaming. Sony’s PlayStation Move just hasn’t caught on the way the company would have liked, and the Kinect’s controller-free offering seems to be appealing to a growing number of people. Combine that with Sony’s

And why Apple has the rest of the keys to the kingdom. That’s what we’re about to talk about here. Let me preface this by noting a few facts: The day I write this article is the first day since the launch of the Google+ BETA web and mobile-based service that we’ve seen the ability to invite new users up for more than a few hours. Another factoid: Google now has a successful presence in each of the following sectors: software (mobile andweb-based,) global web-based search, web-based email, and media sales (primarily apps at the moment, with much more on the way in the near future.) Then they’ve got the most important component of all: a globally recognized top-tier brand. With each of these elements in place, Google, (and more specifically their new social networking project Google+,) has become truly and forevermore impossible to compete with. Over the past week we’ve seen a massively impressive display unfold in the form of a social networking brand being layed out by Google with a si

Here’s an interesting green concept gizmo that can be useful on your next camping trip. It’s a wood-burning stove by BioLite that can cook your s’mores and double as a charging station for your iPhone or any other device chargeable by USB. The first version aptly called the CampStove is already set to launch in spring of 2012. The CampStove converts heat energy into electricity that powers a small fan to improve the combustion from the burning wood. Surplus power of one to two watts are available to charge a cell phone or LED light. However, the CampStove isn’t just for campers. BioLive believes that it will be useful in developing countries where meals are often cooked using wood-burning stoves. The company claims that the CampStove requires half the amount of wood as an open fire and cuts smoke emissions by up to 95%. The benefits are thus two-fold in that it gets rid of the emissions that are bad for human health and reduces the need for wood to help curb deforestation. Weighing jus

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, that is William and Kate, will be touching down in Los Angeles later today. For their grand arrival, Governor Jerry Brown will be presenting the royals with a very special gift that represents California. No, not any fruits or nuts, but the designed-in-California Apple iPad 2. This anointed iPad 2 will be preloaded with a bunch of Californian-themed apps, music, and movies. For instance, the song “California, Here I Come,” along with the Beach Boys, Mamas and Papas “California Dreamin” and undoubtedly Katy Perry’s “California Gurls.” The royals will also certainly appreciate some Notorious BIG and LLCoolJ’s “Going Back to Cali.” Movies will include the “Social Network” based on the Silicon Valley-based Facebook, while games and apps will include SFExplorer, California Central, and Netflix. There’s still a few more hours before they get their present, so plenty of time to load up that tablet. What other apps do you think the Duke and Duchess ought to g

New reports have surfaced that suggest Apple may begin testing a limited selection of 1080p HD movies on iTunes. Up unil now, most Apple products max out at HD 720p (1280 x 720) and the existing Apple TV even downscales 1080p content to 720p. But all this could change come this fall. AppleInsider has been told by sources familiar with the situation that Apple may offer a new HD+ format. A small number of films have been submitted to the iTunes store for release in the September and October timeframe that sport an optional 1920 x 1080 resolution. One of the films from 20th Century Fox is said to be encoded for 480p SD, 720p HD, and a new 1080p HD+ format. The sources also suggest that a new Apple TV with an A5 chip may be in the works that will support 1080p streams. There was also evidence found in the iOS 5 code to suggest that 1080p would be supported in the new update. Add to that speculation of an iPad HD for September, and it looks like Apple users will finally be able to enjoy 10

Today in the SlashGear labs we have another Android phone to show you all. This is the Motorola XPRT. Aimed right at all those Blackberry users. The XPRT was recently unveiled in NYC back in June and our man Chris Burns was there live to capture the moment and you can see all about that right here. The Motorola XPRT is an updated version of the Droid Pro released on Verizon a while back and looks very similar and we reviewed that too. Head down past the break for the rest of the details. To start things off first I want to compare it to a Blackberry. The same hardware in the Droid Pro was reviewed by Vincent like linked above and he took the time to sit it next to the BlackBerry Torch so we could see the keyboards for a nice comparison. So I’ll start with that then get into the video for you all to enjoy. As you can see the Motorola XPRT keyboard is very similar. The keys have little lips so you know where one key ends and the next begins and they have a nice, solid feel to them. Not o

Verizon’s new tiered data plans officially kicked in yesterday with four packages ranging from $10 per month for a meager 75MB to $80 per month for 10GB. It’s a bummer for new customers here on, but if you were lucky enough to have snagged a 3G unlimited plan earlier, there’s some surprising good news. Two Verizon support Tweets today revealed that current Verizon customers with the $29.99 unlimited 3G data plan will be able to upgrade to a 4G LTE smartphone and still be able to keep the unlimited data plan. Additionally, a $30 unlimited mobile hotspot tethering plan can be added. This offer is good for Verizon customer that signed up for an unlimited data plan prior to yesterday. Other packages in Verizon’s current tiered data plan includes $30 per month for 2GB and $50 per month for 5GB. Each gigabyte over your limit will cost you an additional $10. Verizon also plans to help customers monitor their usage via free text alerts.

Verizon’s very first blazing fast 4G LTE smartphone was the HTC Thunderbolt. We did a full review on the handset and although we were a disappointed by the poor battery life, we were indeed impressed by its speed. However, that connection speed is also what makes the HTC Thunderbolt the most expensive phone to make at the moment. According to iSuppli, the teardown of the HTC Thunderbolt reveals that the total bill of materials (BOM) comes to $262, which is the highest of any smartphone they have ever torn down. The cost even rivals the expense of tablets. The culprit for the bloated cost is the 4G LTE component that adds $39.75 to the BOM. The current Verizon iPhone 4 has a BOM of $171.35, which means that if it were to incorporate the same first-generation 4G LTE component as the HTC Thunderbolt, its BOM would jump to $211.10. This doesn’t include any other changes to the design that could incur other materials costs. This may indicate that the next iPhone won’t support 4G LTE yet bec

I will admit that I am a hater. An overwhelming majority of my movie reviews on SlashGear have been negative. When they were positive, they were usually reviews for pretentious Oscar-fodder like Black Swan. I’m more likely to hate movies that other people liked, and I pride myself more on hating those movies in new and interesting ways, rather than bucking the trend. This is why my review of “Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon” may come as a surprise. If you liked anything about the previous Transformers movies, you will like “Transformers 3.” I recommend it. Go see it and have a good time. Of course, that’s a qualified recommendation, right? Not necessarily. After all, the group of people who liked “anything” about previous Transformers movies must be quite large. These movies make literally hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, and often break records on opening weekend. Clearly, there are plenty of people who like ‘something’ about Transformers movies. Granted, the last T

Seems like  Big Brother  has to follow its own motto of "Expect the Unexpected" after a major development/game changer landed on its doorstep yesterday evening. Seem like Dick "Evel Dick" Donato has  exited  the  Big Brother house for reasons currently unknown, besides it being a "personal matter." His daughter, and Dynamic Duo partner, Daniele Donato is still in the game and was unaware that Dick exited the house. The reasons behind his exit will be explained during the Wednesday, July 13th episode, but I'm sure some  BB blog will have the story behind Evel Dick's departure  way  before then. The news of Dick's early exit isn't too shocking given that not long after the HOH competition he disappeared for about six hours  according  to Zap2It's Andrea Reiher and left through the Diary Room, never to return. While all of the houseguests (and  BB  fans) were speculating on whether this was a ploy on Evel Dick's part, there a

Basketball Wives  producer Shaunie O'Neal caused a bit of an uproar with a self-penned article for CNN.com  where she responded to some of the criticism that has been aimed at the VH1 hit. Where some see nothing more than a circus of thrown drinks, flashy diamonds, and innumerable bleeped out curse words, Shaunie maintains that behind the smokescreen of explosive drama,  Basketball Wives  is about "a group of women trying to get their lives back on track and figure out who they really are". So which is it? Is  Basketball Wives  a positive show about a group of single women (with strong personalities) simply trying to move on from their past, accept their present, and prepare for their future? Or is it a bunch of socially inappropriate gold diggers with too much time on their hands? Let's look at both sides.

Agatha Christie's Poirot  is simply classic. We all know Poirot, played in a chameleonic turn by actor David Suchet, is an entirely mercurial character, entirely different from the milder Jane Marple from Christie's stories. Instead, Poirot is completely unpredictable in his mannerisms, and thus, is a better character to watch. He's actually much more complex than you would think; despite his funny accent and tendency to reference his "little grey cells," there's a darkness to him that just isn't present in the protagonist of  Marple . In  The Movie Collection, Set 6  (out on DVD from Acorn Media July 12), Poirot is on top of his game. The collection includes three feature-length mysteries starring the Belgian detective -- it's essentially the twelfth series of Poirot , minus the mystery  Murder on the Orient Express , which was released on Blu-ray last year. Included in this set are "Three Act Tragedy," "The Clocks," and "H

On July 9, 2001, a little series called  The Office  premiered on BBC Two. Helmed by then-unknowns Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the series premiered to modest viewership. By the time it wrapped up with its two-part Christmas special in 2003, the series had become a critical and commercial success. It spawned a U.S. remake which premiered in 2005, and allowed for Gervais and Merchant to continue working together on such projects as  Extras, The Ricky Gervais Show, An Idiot Abroad,  and the upcoming  Life's Too Short . The Office , though, was a work of groundbreaking hilarity. It remains polarizing amongst viewers for its uniquely dry humor, though it's generally lauded by many (including myself) as a classic of the medium. Bar perhaps  Arrested Development , it's the best comedy series of the past ten years, and definitely one of the top of all time. So in the slide-show below, I take a look at the best moments from that little British comedy that turns a dec

In less than a week,  Friday Night Lights  will be closing up shop for the second time. After finishing up its final season on DirecTV earlier this year and releasing the  entire season on DVD  before its run on NBC, the show will be airing its  series finale  on Friday, July 15th. It's a sad time for the small but passionate fan base of what some consider to be one of the greatest shows of all time, but it's also a time of reflection and looking to the future. After  Friday Night Lights  was canceled by ABC Family after only a couple of weeks living in syndication, I was pretty upset, as this show needs to be exposed to as many people as possible and it looked like it was going to have to rely on word-of-mouth once again. That is, until ESPN came into the picture and,  according to The Wrap , picked up reruns of  Friday Night Lights  starting the week the show finally signs off. On Tuesday July 12th, the first two episodes of  Friday Night Lights  will air on ESPN Classi

Tonight marks the premiere of  Torchwood: Miracle Day  on Starz. The first episode of the season, titled "The New World," will air on the BBC in the UK on July 14. But what's in store for U.S. audiences tonight? According to the press release for the episode , the episode begins with the sudden cessation of death. "People keep aging -- they get hurt and sick, but they never die. The result: a population boom overnight. With all the extra people, resources are finite. It's said that in four months' time, the human race will cease to be viable." Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer), an American CIA agent who miraculously survives a car crash that impales him, begins investigating who is behind this event -- and he keeps coming back to the secret British institute of Torchwood. His analyst, Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins), works to discover just what exactly Torchwood is. Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), the last surviving Torchwood member, remains in hiding. Oswal

Fox is getting into the Comic-Con spirit by creating special posters for the shows that it will be bringing to San Diego in a few weeks (as originally reported by  THR ).  Earlier this week we posted the schedule for all Fox show panels, including which actors/actresses were going to be in attendance The network will be hosting panels for returning shows like  Bones ,  Fringe ,  Glee , as well as its animated shows (like  Family Guy ,  The Cleveland Show , and  The Simpsons ).  The network also plans to introduce some of its new fall shows like  Terra Nova ,  The Finder , and  Allen Gregory  at Comic-Con.

True Blood  had solid viewership for its fourth season premiere, but it was a huge surprise when viewership plummeted for the second episode. The premiere received about 5.42 million viewers, while the second episode garnered 2.9 million viewers. That's a 46% drop over one week! While that drop's got me worrying about the future of the vampire drama series, an HBO executive has revealed that he's not worried by the huge drop. "The numbers were not a surprise at all," HBO's corporate affairs senior vice-president Jeff Cusson  told  The Hollywood Reporter . "We offered episode two immediately after episode one on multiple platforms including HBO Go and HBO On Demand, as well as our affiliates' broadband portal as well. So there were many opportunities before Sunday night's airing on the linear network to have already seen episode two." Cusson also placed some of the blame for the drop on the fact that the episode aired the night before

Ever since Russell T. Davies moved to Los Angeles from the UK, rumors have cropped up about an American version of  Doctor Who  being made. The rumors only grew after the announcement of the Starz/BBC collaboration on the fourth season of Torchwood  (titled  Miracle Day , which begins tonight). Recently, though, Davies, who created Torchwood  and was responsible for the revival of Doctor Who  in 2005, denied that an American version of  Doctor Who  is in the works from BBC Worldwide. Speaking to the  Radio Times , Davies stifled those rumors: “No one at BBC Worldwide is looking at an American version of  Doctor Who ,” he confirmed. “I know everyone thinks we have secret plans. But we do have plans for new dramas, and non-science fiction drama. It’s about time I got back to that sort of material, ’cause I have a lot to say in that world. So our ambitions are endless – but not for that particular one!”