IBLOG SPACE

Geeks camping out to be the first in line for new Apple gear is nothing new. They have been doing the campout to be first thing since back when the first iPhone launched. One dude named Rob Shoesmith in Britain has already started camping out to get his hands on a new iPhone 5. The campout isn’t out of purely geek motives though. Apparently, the man is a geeky writer and is using the camp out to snag free swag and promote his blog. It’s working too, the dude has grabbed about £40,000 worth of goods so far. His biggest freebie was a £20,000 Chevy car. He has also been given free outdoor gear, food, and apparently a giant red fire bucket. If you want to walk by and heckle Shoesmith, he is camped outside the flagship store in London at Coventry Garden. Shoesmith left his job as a binman (which is a trash collector for those in the US) and now works as a marketing exec for Medl Mobile. Our own Chris Davies lives in London in a flat not much larger than this guys tent. The difference is Chr

Google’s help pages for Google+ have officially confirmed the upcoming Games Stream, a place where results from what will presumably be social-style gaming on the new network will be pulled together. ”If you’re looking for updates shared from games, check out your Games stream” the help article suggests, though currently the link it mentions leads to a 404 page. It’s not the first time mention of gaming support has been discovered within Google+, though previous indications of the incoming functionality have been buried within the code. As well as the logo, there were several APIs referred to such as “/_/games/getGameFriends”, “/_/games/getActivities” and “/_/games/postToStream”. The exact nature of gaming on Google+ has not been detailed, though the search giant has confirmed that APIs will be available for third-party developers to hook into the network. Leaks suggested that Google was already in talks with some gaming companies, with a so-called “social gaming team” responsible for

I have used V-Moda headphones in the past and I can say from experience that they sound really good. I am not a big fan of over the ear headphones though. I prefer the in-ear style that can block sound and have a remote for my iPhone as well. V-Moda has added a new set of headphones to its True Blood branded line to go along with the V-80 True Blood headphones that we talked about a while back. The new Revamp headphones are in-ear style and they have a universal one-button mic that will work with the iPhone, Android, and other smartphones that use a 3.5mm port. The single button should allow you to control your music and answer phone calls too. The earphones also use V-Moda Active Flex detachable sport ear hooks. Those earhooks will help keep the earphones in your ear when you are active. V-Moda uses the soft and snug fitting BLISS 2.0 ear tips to block outside noise. The Revamp ships with four different sizes to fit just about anyone. The Revamp headphones will normally sell for $120,

The last time I mentioned the Fujitsu F-07C smartphone that is destined for NTT DOCOMO in Japan we were missing a few pertinent facts about the device. The big fact we were missing was when exactly the smartphone would hit the Japanese market. Fujitsu has offered that important fact for us now. The F-07C will hit Japan on July 23, which is tomorrow if you are counting. Fujitsu is still mum on the pricing for the smartphone though so you will need to check tomorrow to see what the phone sells for. The F-07C still has some interesting features like the ability to run Windows 7 and Symbian on the same device. Fujitsu is calling the smartphone the world’s smallest PC. The smartphone uses an Intel Atom processor and has the full version of IE 9 browser installed. The smartphone also ships with a 2-year license for Office Personal 2010. The QWERTY keyboard on the smartphone will let you thumb type away. The screen is a 4-inch unit with a resolution of 1024 x 600. The phone also has security

The Droid Bionic will be making its way to Verizon at some point and it should be one of the more powerful smartphones on the carrier. We talked this week about the landing page that was making rounds online showing what was supposed to be photos and a price on the smartphone. That product page turned out to be fake. Today we see some new pics of the Droid Bionic hit Amazon. The product pages for a couple official accessories have landed on Amazon and the Bionic is relaxing in the two docks in the shots. The smartphone looks cool and we have a few details on the phone itself already. Notably the smartphone will pack a 4.3-inch screen, dual-core 1GHz processor and will run on the Verizon LTE network. The new docking stations look pretty cool too and more than a few folks will be looking for the smartphone and an accessory or two. One of the accessories is a standard landscape mode desktop dock. It packs in a 3.5mm audio output, three USB ports, and a HDMI output. That will allow you to

Google+ could have already exceeded 20m unique visitors, new traffic estimates suggest, a quarter of which are based in the US. That’s unprecedented growth, comScore suggests, with previous posterchild for rapid engagement, Twitter, taking several months to amass the same level of interest. However, Google’s social chief Vic Gundotra has admitted that the way Google handed brand pages on Google+ was “probably a mistake” “I’ve never seen anything grow this quickly” comScore VP of industry analysis Andrew Lipsman told the WSJ. The figure is particularly impressive given that Google is yet to promote Google+ among its established core users of Gmail and other services, something that is expected to buoy the figures even more significantly. Google’s own numbers suggest 10m Google+ users are registered to the service, though unofficial estimateshave lifted that to as many as 18m. Unique visitors is a different matter, of course, since that can include non-G+ members viewing public posts. A

There are a lot of new smartphones and other devices that are coming to market with support for Near Field communications. NFC is a technology that a lot of the biggest companies in the smartphone industry are starting to integrate into their devices. NFC allows the user of the smartphone to pay for things in stores using their smartphone for instance. Apple has a long history of looking past what some of the industry is doing and rocking to its own beat. A new rumor suggests that Apple may be doing that again with NFC tech. The iPhone 5 is coming soon and a new rumor fresh from the mill is claiming that the new smartphone will use Bluetooth 4.0 rather than NFC inside. The new MacBook Air and Mac Mini 2011 edition both use Bluetooth 4.0. the rumor hints that since the spec was only adopted officially a year ago the fast tracking of the tech may be to allow the iPhone 5 to have a device to interact with. Bluetooth 4.0 features the Bluetooth Low Energy spec inside that allows communicati

Google’s homepage doodles have evolved from mere images to interactive games, toys and gadgets that take advantage of the latest in browser technology, and today’s is no different. Marking the 113th birthday of artist Alexander Calder, best known for his carefully balanced “objects” mobiles, the doodle uses complex physics simulations to react to being moved around with your mouse or, if you’re viewing it on a device with accelerometers, your physical movement. It’s the first doodle to be constructed entirely with HTML5 Canvas, Google software engineer Jered Wierzbicki explains, and so needs a “modern” browser in order to appreciate it. The physics simulation works out the precise motions of each balanced component – made from sheet metal in Calder’s mobiles, but slices of the Google logo colors in this doodle – and then uses realtime 3D rendering to create them in vector graphics. Although it’s less frenetic than some of Google’s previous designs – such as the much-loved Pac-Man doodl

Lensbaby makes some really interesting lenses for DSLR users that will let you make some very interesting photos. We have talked about the company in the past and the last time we mentioned Lensbaby was when it unveiled the Composer Pro. Lensbaby is back with some new kits that will let photographers have more artistic control over their portrait shoots. The new kits are the Portrait kit and the Ultimate Portrait Kit. The smaller Portrait kit includes several things inside with the Composer with Double Glass Optic, the Soft Focus optic, Wide angle/Telephoto Kit, Creative Aperture Kit 2, and a Lensbaby System Bag. This kit sells for $470. The Ultimate portrait Kit sells for $590. The more expensive kit has all the same components inside and adds a Lensbaby Scout to the mix as well. The hardware lets you play with focus and make some very cool photos. This might be great for the pro or amateur photographer looking to add something extra to the portraits they shoot. The kits are both avai

Apple is sitting on a stockpile of cash that would make Scrooge McDuck jealous. Jobs and his cohorts in Cupertino are sitting on north of $76 billion in cash and securities meaning that what Apple wants it could buy. Two sources that claim to be in the know are saying that what Apple wants it Hulu. Hulu has been pimping itself to a bunch of different companies over the last few weeks to see if anyone wants to buy. We learned yesterday that Microsoft had fallen out of the running. The sources claim that Apple is now making a bid to purchase Hulu. Neither Apple nor Hulu are making any comments about the rumored bid. Honestly, I think that Apple going for Hulu makes a lot of sense. Apple is dominating with iTunes and we all know that video streaming is a big thing for Apple moving forward. Bloomberg reports that Hulu might sell for as much as $2 billion. That is nothing for Apple; I think Jobs could shake that much loot out of the cushions of the couch in his office. However, $2 billion w

Nokia’s N9 has crossed the FCC and, as is traditional, splayed its guts for all to see. Unsurprisingly, Nokia has had to do a lot of work to get everything to fit inside its narrow polocarbonate casing, though the N9 still gets pentaband WCDMA connectivity when rivals are still bumbling along with support for a mere two or three bands. In addition to the teardown shots – which spread the 1GHz TI OMAP3630 processor, 8-megapixel camera and non-user-accessible battery across the FCC’s test bench – there’s a 113 page user manual if you want to brush up on your MeeGo before you grab the N9 itself. With ease of use Nokia’s primary goal, however, you should be able to dive straight in without troubling yourself with its pages. Official release dates for the N9 – as well as where, exactly, the smartphone will go on sale – are still unknown, with Nokia only saying that the handset will arrive later on in 2011. The company would do well to launch it sooner rather than later, however; dire financ

Microsoft and LucasArts have revealed a special Star Wars themed Xbox 360 console, the “Kinect Star Wars” bundle, intended to tie in with the new game of the same name. Shown for the first time at Comic-Con this week, the custom console looks to Star Wars’ droids for its inspiration: the 360 itself is dressed as R2-D2, while the included controller gets a C-3PO makeover. Meanwhile, the Kinect sensor itself is finished in white, while there’ll also be a wired headset included in the box. Kinect Star Wars itself allows gamers to control lightsabers and perform Force moves simply by waving their arms around, as well as pilot Speeder Bikes and take part in Pod races. It’s designed to work with both one- or two-players, and adapt to the second gamer jumping in and out as the game progresses. LucasArts says that elements from all six of the movies – originals and prequels – have been incorporated, but don’t let that put you off. Star Wars Kinect will go on sale in time for the holidays, alon

Adobe has backtracked on claims that OS X Lion dropped hardware acceleration for Flash video, after a knowledge base article suggested that Apple had disabled the systems used to speed up rendering of such clips. In a statement on the company’s Flash Player Team blog, Adobe admits that Apple “provides the same support for Flash hardware video acceleration as Mac OS X Snow Leopard” and that their false suggestion was based on misinterpreting results from a pre-beta Lion build. However, while the capabilities might still be there, it seems Adobe has been slow to take advantage of them. Flash Player can still use greater amounts of CPU processing than the same video would require on a Mac running Snow Leopard, as Adobe is yet to update the software to support Lion. Nonetheless, the company does say that it will “continue to work closely with Apple” on a fix. “The final release of Mac OS X Lion (10.7) provides the same support for Flash hardware video acceleration as Mac OS X Snow Leopard

The revamped MacBook Air with OS X Lion, Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge chip, Thunderbolt connector port, backlit keyboard, and boosted RAM and SSD, debuted just yesterday. And now, the iFixit team has already completed its teardown of the 13-inch Core i5 model, revealing an internal design with a replaceable SSD. The iFixit team found that the internal build is similar to the late 2010 MacBook Air model with an SSD that isn’t soldered onto the logic board. This disproves a recent rumor that the new MacBook Air’s NAND flash would be soldered to its base circuit. Being easily detacheable means that you remove it yourself and replace it with a higher capacity SSD should you need more storage. However, the RAM is not user-replaceable. So, if you’re getting the 11.6-inch base model with 2GB of RAM, it’s recommended that you opt for the $200 upgrade to 4GB if you know you’ll be needing it. Another interesting thing that iFixit noticed was that the use of integrated graphics with the Intel Core

Although RIM’s mobile business seems to be lagging behind in many aspects, they did manage to snag a first today. The BlackBerry maker announced that their PlayBook is now the very first tablet to be certified for use by the U.S. government. This of course is to prove the PlayBook meets even the highest enterprise security needs. The PlayBook received the FIPS 140-2 certification, which enables the U.S. federal government to purchase the tablet and be confident in knowing that it meets their data security requirements. The certification is used to judge the security of mobile devices, firewalls, routers, and servers used by federal agencies such as the FBI. This will certainly help RIM with PlayBook sales, which have been weak in the consumer sector. The company, once leading in enterprise products and services has recently seen its market encroached on by Apple and Android devices. However, Apple has also applied for the FIPS 140-2 certification for its iPhone and iPad, but approval h

Apple proudly announced that its OS X Lion, which was released yesterday, has already sold more than 1 million copies. The major OS revamp retails for $29.99 and is only available by download through the Mac App Store. This means the company raked in just under $30 million on the first day. The major revamp brings over 250 new features, including multitouch gesture controls, full-screen apps, auto-save, Mission Control, LaunchPad, and much much more. Overall, Lion appears to take a lot of inspiration from the iOS interface, striving to be more lightweight and intuitive. However, the update also brought some problems as can be expected from a major overhaul. Several Adobe features are reported to have compatibility issues and many third-party apps are scrambling to optimize for Lion. Apple’s own iTunes and iWorks also have to be updated to support some of Lion’s new features.

It’s one of those weeks lined up with quarterly earnings calls. Nokia just had a horrid earnings report followingApple and Intel, both reporting record earnings. Luckily for Microsoft, they also had strong numbers to announce with pride thanks largely to enterprise upgrades, server products, and the popularity of the Xbox. Microsoft reported a Q4 revenue of $17.37 billion, up 8 percent from the same quarter last year, beating expectations of $17.23 billion. Earnings hit $5.87 billion, or 69 cents a share, which is up 35 percent from last year. This double digit growth can largely be attributed to a jump in enterprise business due to an upgrade cycle. With rising competition from Apple, Microsoft’s PC business has slowed, but remained strong thanks to enterprise upgrades for its Windows and Office suites. Microsoft managed to sell roughly 400 million Windows 7 licenses and 100 million Office 2010 licenses. It’s Server and Tools division revenue also grew by 12 percent. Microsoft’s Enter

Over the years, I’ve tried to find the best device to connect to my television and enjoy entertainment. I’ve gone with the Apple TV, Roku set-top boxes, the TiVo, and countless other products. But when it was all said and done, I decided that Apple’s Mac mini was the best option for me. The Mac mini is a cheap computer that lacks much of the power found in other Apple products. But what it lacks in power, it makes up for by delivering Web browsing and entertainment opportunities through iTunes. In many ways, it’s an ideal companion for any HDTV. "Do you really need another drive in the Mac mini?" But with a new Mac mini on store shelves, some folks are undoubtedly wondering if the new device can deliver the same level of usability in the living room as its predecessor. The critics say that the new Mac Mini’s lack of a DVD drive is enough to get it disqualified as a worthwhile home-theater PC. As far as I’m concerned, the latest and greatest Mac mini is just as good as its pre

Watching movies on-the-go for Android has been lacking compared to some of the competition. While Android has options such as Netflix that is getting updated often and Hulu, not all devices are supported and you still can’t save movies to watch later. In comparison iOS users can download digital copies right from iTunes with ease across multiple devices. Android is seeing rapid growth with more than 550,000 devices activated daily and 20th Century Fox is looking to tap into that huge market and are aiming to bring digital downloads to all your Android devices. They are jumping aboard the Android train and will be offering Blu-ray titles with a digital-download for Android. We are hearing one of the first titles with the new option should be X-Men: First Class. The digital copy will be downloaded right to your computer like the system already in place for Windows and users will be able to side-load the movie to any and all of their Android devices. Hopefully Android tablets are included

Instead of trying to imitate the svelte iPad 2, the Toshiba Thrive goes big with beauty on the inside—sort of. The 10.1-inch tablet running Android 3.1 Honeycomb takes advantage of a larger chassis to include some powerful specs and unusual extras. I got the tablet in just this morning and will have a full review coming soon. For now, continue after the cut for the unboxing and hands-on video. The Toshiba Thrive features a 10.1-inch capacitive multi-touch screen with a 1280 x 800 resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio. Inside, it boasts an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. It features a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of 720p HD video capture. And unfortunately, it is just as heavy as it looks, if not more. It’s incredibly bulky at 0.6 inches thick. But with the extra room, the Thrive does throw in some unique features such as a full-sized USB port, a full-sized HDMI-out, and a full-sized SD card slot. There’s a user-replaceab

The Android App Player for the BlackBerry PlayBook is a big part of its future. Being able to access many of the250,000 Android apps available was a large selling point for the PlayBook. It appears you lucky PlayBook owners can get your hands on the App Player early because a few prying eyes over at N4BB found a pre-release version of the app emulator — good news indeed! Update: After reaching out to our contacts regarding the leak RIM has replied and as a courtesy we have removed the download link. This is what RIM had to say: An older version of the Android App Player beta software for the BlackBerry PlayBook was inadvertently posted and has since been removed. We recommend that users refrain from downloading and installing this software since it is outdated and non-functional in many respects. The official beta release of the Android App Player for the BlackBerry PlayBook is on track for release later this summer.” This version is based around Android 2.3.3 so it wont work with the

Nokia’s Q2 2011 financial results makes for just as uncomfortable reading as we expected. If there was ever any doubts that Symbian had seen its day, April thru June put pay to them. Nokia’s entire smartphone range – the N8, C7 and E7 included – sold fewer devices than Apple sold iPhones in the same period: 16.7-million versus 20-million. It’s not just the smartphone side of Nokia’s business, though, that needs CPR. Can you really describe Nokia’s line-up as smartphones? Or, more accurately perhaps, as they being bought as – and legitimately competing with – the Android, iOS, webOS and other smartphones on the market today? Symbian enthusiasts will eagerly espouse the platform’s merits, but with each rivals’ iteration the aging OS feels more and more like a confused halfway house between “feature” and “smart” and plainly misses whatever it is that consumers are looking for today. "Nokia has relied on sales in emerging markets to tide it through the bad times, but that demand is dr

In what appeared to be a leaked Verizon ad or landing page for the new and upcoming Motorola Droid Bionic a few keen eyes quickly saw what appeared to be a faked, or photoshopped image. Our good friends over atAndroidCommunity were quick to spot the discrepancies and tear apart the article. The original image ran over on androidcentral with all those details we already knew such as the 4.3″ display, dual-core TI OMAP processor and more, but then they added a photo that was the DROID DOES landing page we all know — it just looked different. The leak also showed a suggested price tag of $299 for the Bionic and that lines up with previous pricing on LTE handsets for Verizon such as the Droid Charge, but with the Bionic being both dual-core and LTE the price could very well be different. It pains me to see sites throw things like the above image up just for hits, or whatever it may be but at least the community was quick to spot the differences. Without getting too deep into details it loo

It’s that time again, just like it has been for the past couple of weeks, nonstop, that is a question and answer session with the Google team on their brand new social networking site Google+! I say it’s been constant because if you’re a member of Google+, you know, there’s a basically non-stop stream of questions, answers, tips, and the like going through your main stream. What’s going to happen tonight, courtesy of our good pals at TechCrunch, is an interview with Google’s VP Product Bradley Horowitz and VP Social Vic Gundotra, two major superstars, and it’ll be happening live starting at 5:45 Pacific Time, and you can watch it right here! TechCrunch’s Andrew Keen will be interviewing the couple of Google masterminds with questions submitted by readers. You can submit questions on Google+ in This Thread or by Tweeting with the hashtag #techcrunchtv before or during (but not after) the interview to get everything you want to know out of the way! Now for the stream, and remember this s

T-Mobile has today announced officially their plans for carrying the tiny yet powerful HTC Wildfire S, a mid-ranged device with aspirations for taking out the entire lower-tier of Android smartphone competitors. This palm-sized device will be available on August 3rd, 2011, and will run customers $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. This device will be running Android 2.3.x Gingerbread and will have a fabulous new version of HTC Sense for your Android enjoyment. This device will be sold on contract with a 2-year agreement with qualifying “Classic” voice and data plan. For more information on what T-Mobile will be working with for data plans, head to our post entitled T-Mobile Value plans make data an overage-free zone. This device rolls out the gate with a neat little 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen display and will have the same situation going on as the Euro version: one camera, on the back, at 5-megapixels large. You can check out our full review of the HTC Wildfire S from a few weeks

I love a good smartphone. I work for Samsung, and I carry a Galaxy S II that I’ve been “testing” for an extended period of time. I use just about every feature on it. I listen to music. I navigate. I talk and text. I take pictures and video. I’ve even read books on it. I’m not pushing my product, I can hardly name a smartphone on the market that cannot do these things. But I just read Jon Pilon’s column on TheNextWeb.com about consolidating all of your gadgets. You know, because most people want to carry around only one gadget, instead of a half dozen. Right? Well, I’m not so sure. Pilon makes some interesting suggestions about why you should ditch your laptop, your MP3 player, your GPS device, your home phone, digital camera, and eBook reader. I can’t say I completely disagree. A good tablet can take the place of all of these things. However, there still might be a reason to stick with the multiple gadget plan. Computer Okay, Pilon’s suggestion here is something of a cop-out. If you h

Lenovo’s IdeaPad K1 tablet has gone up for sale, though currently only the 32GB model is available. Priced at $499.99, with shipments expected to begin on August 1, the Honeycomb-based slate is available in either white and silver or red and silver, each with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM and dual cameras. $519.99 gets you the black and silver variant, complete with a leather cover. It’s functionally identical to the cheaper models, though, so you get 1GB of RAM, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 glossy-finish touchscreen display. The front camera runs at 2-megapixels while the back camera comes in at 5-megapixels. Ports include USB, a headphones socket and a microSD card slot, as well as mini HDMI, though the downside is that the K1 is considerably thicker than, say, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1. That’s a mere 8.6mm thick (though requires an adapter dongle for HDMI connections) whereas the Lenovo is 13.3mm thick. For more on the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 tablet –

Nominations for the 28th (!) MTV Video Music Awards were announced late Wednesday night and if you're a fan of any of the assorted pop music divas currently assaulting the airwaves, you're in luck, as several big names brought in some serious nods. Leading the way is Katy Perry with 9, spread through multiple videos from her platinum-certified  Teenage Dream  album. Followed close behind are Adele (owner of the highest selling album and single of the year so far) with 7, Beyonce with 3, Lady Gaga with 3, and Nicki Minaj with 3. On the male side of the diva spectrum, Kanye West scored 7 nods for his collaboration with Rihanna and Kid Cudi ("All of the Lights"), while Bruno Mars earned four for "Grenade" and Eminem brought home three for "Love the Way You Lie", also a collaboration with Rihanna. Listed below are the "main" categories and nominations for this year's VMAs. If you want to check out a full list of nominations (and

It was bound to happen... Tonight's  Big Brother  displayed the first cracks in the Veteran alliance with Jeff and Rachel going at each other's throats while Daniele quietly makes power plays of her own. After this week's nomination ceremony, Brendon and Rachel were not happy with Jordan nominating Dominic and Adam for eviction since they seriously wanted Cassi out the house instead. The two plead their case of backdooring Cassi to Jordan, claiming that Cassi is not to be trusted as their main issue with the girl. Thankfully, Jordan realized what every  Big Brother  watcher has been discussing since the season began: Rachel is simply jealous of Cassi and can't stand to not be the center of attention. Rachel's constant campaign gainst Cassi quickly annoyed Jordan, who actually enjoys the model's company and wants to keep the nominations the same and get rid of Dominic. While Jeff and Jordan tried their best to keep the nominations the same, Rachel and

There's no doubt that David Tennant is one of the greatest actors to portray the Doctor yet. While I suspect that current Doctor Matt Smith's legacy will be just as revered, Tennant has often been voted the favorite Doctor in polls. And while his final moments as the Doctor in last year's "The End of Time, Part 2" were absolutely heartbreaking, who's to say that we won't be seeing him again? Tennant's no Christopher Eccleston -- he's game to return to the series, he said in an interview with  Total Film . The actor, who will appear in the upcoming vampire film  Fright Night , told the website that a reappearance by the Tenth Doctor is "not impossible forever, but no plans at the moment. People keep telling me that they’ve read online that I’m coming back – but believe me, if that happens I’ll be the first to tell everyone, I’ll be shouting about it very loudly." "I’m very proud of the show and I’m fully aware it casts a long

It looks like  The Voice  is proving to be more than just a shot in the arm for NBC, as another judge has reaped the rewards from their involvement in the talent competition. Billboard is reporting  that the latest album  Red River Blue   from  The Voice  judge Blake Shelton has sold 116,000 units to debut at number 1 on the all-genre encompassing Billboard 200. Hot on the heels of multi-week number 1 country single  "Honey Bee" ,  Red River Blue,  the country veteran's sixth studio album and first to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200, gives Shelton the highest sales week of his career. It's not the first bit of evidence that  The Voice  has helped the careers of its judges, as the collaborative single "Moves Like Jagger"  with Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera recently went top 10 and has a music video coming soon. Additionally, recent albums from Aguilera, Shelton, Maroon 5 (with frontman Adam Levine), and Cee-Lo Green have seen noticeable sa

The  Game of Thrones  casting news just keeps pouring in! Yesterday, we reported that the characters of Stannis and Melisandre had been cast, while this morning we told you that the role of Davos Seaworth had been filled as well. Now, we're bringing you the news that Maester Cressen, a minor character who appears early on in the book, will be played by veteran actor Oliver Ford Davies,  according to writer George R.R. Martin . I used to be enough of a  Star Wars  geek to know off the top of my head that Davies appeared in all three   Star Wars  prequel films as Amidala's advisor, Sio Bibble (such a memorable name for such a minor character). Davies, a British actor, has also appeared in numerous British television staples:  Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, Foyle's War, Rosemary & Thyme, Pie in the Sky,  and  Agatha Christie's Poirot . Davies will appear as Maester Cressen, an advisor to the newly self-declared King Stannis. As the point-of-view character

It looks like the long, strange journey of  Love Bites  has finally come to an end. According to TV Guide , NBC has officially canceled the hourlong anthology, not long after reducing its episode order for a second time (from 9 to 8, after bringing it from 13 to 9 earlier this year). The show has had a pretty unusual existence, having been scheduled to air Thursdays at 10:00 last fall before pregnancy, cast turnover, and a crowded midseason pushed it into summer. Similar to  Love, American Style ,  Love Bites  revolves around three separate vignettes tied together through character, references, and/or theme, with a constant stream of guest stars and a touch of narration to tie things together at the end of each episode. The show featured Becki Newton, Greg Grunberg, and Constance Zimmer as the three main characters and the foundation on which  Love Bites  rests, as most of the vignettes not featuring them are about people they know or are tied into them somehow. It's not