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Marvel Reboots The Avengers Movie For 2013!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Marvel Comics,
HOLLYWOOD, CA - Call it "Avengers Reassembled!"
Marvel Comics today announced that even though their new all-star superhero movie The Avengers won't debut in theaters until 2012, they will reboot it for 2013.
Said Avengers executive producer Avi Arad, "It's important to get an early jump and stake out our release dates." He added that the easiest way to do that and guarantee another hit movie for for the company is to remake a movie that's almost certain to be a hit.
Marvel's rationale is borne out by the facts of movie production and audience tracking. "Word of mouth on the first Avengers movie is Snakes On A Plane huge," Arad said. "But we've got superheroes."
Arad added that by the time the first Avengers film debuts in theaters and appears on DVD, enough people will have seen it that they will be clamoring for something new. But they'll also want something that's familiar and reliable so they don't feel like they've wasted the price of a movie ticket.
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April Fools: Boom!, DC, Marvel and Captain America
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, TokyoPop,
It’s April 1, and I think we all know what that means:
Because of the declining sales of single issue comics, “Floppies” will now be referred to as “Limpies.”
Boom! Studios has announced another new title for Kaboom! their kids imprint: The Kardashikins, the wacky adventures of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe when they were children.
Based on its recent cutbacks, cancellations and layoffs, L.A.’s largest manga publisher will change its name to Tokyoplop.
Marvel is so concerned about piracy that for the new Thor movie, they’ve banned The Recorder from the premiere.
To take advantage of product placement in the new Captain America movie, the Red Skull will be called Red Bull.
Image Comics has announced a spin-off to last year’s Officer Downe: Officer Downe Syndrome.
Click to continue reading April Fools: Boom!, DC, Marvel and Captain America
Samsung starts mass producing transparent LCD panels
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Displays, HDTV,
Samsung announced today that it has become the first company to begin mass production of transparent LCD panels.
The panels, which measure 22 inches across the diagonal, support resolutions up to 1,680-by-1,050, have 500:1 contrast ratios, and are available in both color and black-and-white models.
Samsung claims that the panels offer the world's highest transparency rate: over 20 percent for the black-and-white variety, and over 15 percent for color. (The company says that conventional LCD panels with a backlight unit have only 5 percent transparency.)
According to Samsung, because panels with higher transparency rates are better able to utilize ambient light, the company's new panels consume up to 90 percent less electricity compared to traditional LCD monitors.
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HP ePrint printers now support Google Cloud Print
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Software,
Hewlett-Packard announced today that it has worked with Google to enable its Cloud Print services on HP ePrint-enabled printers.
With the additional feature, HP ePrint printers can now print via Cloud Print right out of the box, via the PC and the beta form of the technology for Android smartphones. However, we found that the technology was clunky at best.
Users can simply "email" the document to the HP ePrint address, allowing it to directly print via the Cloud Print service. Users need to add this email address to their Google account, Google said. A list of supported printers can be found at the HP site.
Previously, users had three ways of printing from an ePrint wireless printer: connect it via USB; go through a lengthy wireless setup process; including manually entering WPA/WEP keys and other security features, as well as creating a link between the computer and router from a "one touch method" that still required users to navigate several menus on the HP printer.
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Twitter concedes, finally removes Quick Bar from iOS app
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Social Networking, App Updates, Free Apps,
After a rather rough start, Twitter on Thursday said it will remove the Quick Bar from its iOS app, which provided users with updates on trending topics.
Though the Quick Bar - referred to by some as the "Dick Bar" after CEO Dick Costolo - had "incredibly high usage metrics," Twitter has opted to remove it from the app rather than continually update it.
"Rather than continue to make changes to the QuickBar as it exists, we removed the bar from the update appearing in the App Store today," Twitter creative director Doug Bowman wrote in a blog post. "We believe there are still significant benefits to increasing awareness of what's happening outside the home timeline."
The Quick Bar was added to the app earlier earlier this month as part of an upgrade that also made it easier to access features like photos, trends, and links. It sat above a user's Twitter feed and displayed one of the days' current trending topics. Tapping the word would take you to a list of recent mentions.
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Apple will absorb extra costs to ensure timely shipments of iPad 2 parts from Japan
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds,
Apple is prepared to eat some extra costs from Japanese upstream component makers in order to avoid further shipping delays for the iPad 2.
According to a DigiTimes report, Japan has implemented a power brownout policy that is seriously hindering the production of upstream component makers in the country. However, Apple has agreed to absorb additional costs to ensure "smooth shipping" from the suppliers. In return, these Japanese companies are expected to see minimal negative affects on their profit margins.
AppleInsider pointed out an iSuppli report from earlier this month that said there are five key iPad components likely produced in Japan, including the device's battery, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), NAND flash, electronic compass, and the touch screen overlay glass.
Paul Allen portrays Bill Gates as a brilliant backstabber
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft,
In an excerpt from an upcoming book released Wednesday, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen paints co-founder Bill Gates as a technical genius, but as a ruthless executive who tried to dilute Allen's financial stake in the early days of Microsoft.
In the excerpt from Idea Man, Allen's upcoming book, Gates is characterized as an intensely focused mathematical genius, with a penchant for social quirks. Allen describes himself as the glue that held Microsoft together.
Idea Man is scheduled to be published this month by Portfolio, a member of the Penguin Group. The excerpt was published by Vanity Fair.
The crux of the story seems to lie in the last anecdote Allen relates: a scene in which Gates and Steve Ballmer, brought in to run the company, apparently scheme to dilute Allen's stake in the company. Allen describes Ballmer as looking like "an operative for the N.K.V.D." Allen, then suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma, recounts the scene:
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Follow your favorite baseball team on Opening Day the geeky way
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Home Entertainment, Software,
Spring has sprung, and the best thing about spring isn't the warmer weather or the allergies—it's the baseball. The 2011 MLB season begins Thursday, taking over the lives of fantasy owners and fans alike for the next seven to eight months (depending on how good your team is). Whether you're at work, at home, on on the road, here are a few ways to track your favorite team.
MLB at Bat 11
MLB at Bat 11 is the sanctioned-by-the-league option for following your favorite team throughout the year. It's an app for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Mac OS, Windows, and other platforms, and it lets fans watch out-of-market games (crucial if your team isn't your local team), track every statistic you can think of, and see "Live Look-Ins" whenever something critical is happening in another game.
There's a lot packed into the MLB at Bat app, but it comes at a cost: the app itself is $14.99 (there's also a very stripped-down version that's free), but if you want to watch live games you'll need a subscription to MLB.tv, which starts at $99 for the season. Luckily, thanks to a deal MLB made with Volvo, you won't need a subscription for the first month of the season, so you can try before you buy.
MLB.TV on Roku and Apple TV
If you own a Roku box ($69 at Amazon) or an Apple TV ($99 at Amazon), you're already almost all set up to watch baseball this season. With an MLB.tv subscription (the same one you'll need for the MLB at Bat app), you get access to live-streaming games via your Roku box or your Apple TV, along with plenty of other features like fantasy player tracking, DVR controls, and even on-demand access to local games (which you can't watch live) 90 minutes after the game ends.
Click to continue reading Follow your favorite baseball team on Opening Day the geeky way
Apple releases Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
Apple has just released Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2 to members of the Mac Dev Program. You'll need to run a software update on the first preview of Lion to prepare for the update, reboot your system, then grab a download token from the Dev Center to use in the Mac App Store to get the 3.7 GB download to update. I know, that's a lot of steps, but you get a completely overhauled iCal UI and unified contacts window in iChat for your troubles, among other things.
Rumor: No iPhone 5 this summer, fall debut instead
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors,
The iPhone 5 might not make its debut until October or later, according to a Monday report.
Citing a translated story on Macotakara.jp, AppleInsider said today that Apple has not yet ordered components for the next-generation iPhone. As a result, the iPhone 5 might be planned for Apple's 2012 fiscal year, which begins on September 25.
The Macotakara report predicted an iPhone 5 launch in the first half of fiscal 2012, but as AppleInsider notes, Apple probably won't miss the opportunity for holiday season sales, making an October or November launch most likely.
The iPhone 4 was released at last year's Worldwide Developer Conference in June, but this year, the focus will be on software, according to Apple.
Click to continue reading Rumor: No iPhone 5 this summer, fall debut instead
