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Thursday, May 3, 2012
EchoStar outs its HDT-610R Ultra Slim Box, says it's 'world's slimmest' DVR
EchoStar has come a long way since unveiling that HDS-600RS early last year, and today the European company's taking the wraps off of its newest DVR, the Ultra Slim Box HDT-610R. Keeping true to its moniker, the 610R measures in at a slim 14mm thin, while weighing in at just under two pounds. Physical features aside, EchoStar's managed to stuff a 500GB hard drive inside the DVR's scrawny body, as well as a couple of USB 2.0 incisions and single Ethernet and HDMI ports. On the software end, the device is equipped with a Freeview+ HD feature that offers subscription-free access to over 50 "high quality" and four high-def channels -- though, you will have to pay a one-time fee for the service. The HDT-610R will be available for pre-order starting May 4th, with Amazon, John Lewis and Maplin being the first online vendors to have it for up for grabs. No word on pricing yet, but in the meantime all you Euro folks can gander at the PR below to soak up the rest of the deets.
Continue reading EchoStar outs its HDT-610R Ultra Slim Box, says it's 'world's slimmest' DVR
EchoStar outs its HDT-610R Ultra Slim Box, says it's 'world's slimmest' DVR originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Will 'Bridesmaids' Get Last Laugh At MTV Movie Awards?
Comedy ties with 'Hunger Games' for most nominations, with eight.
By Kevin P. Sullivan
"Bridesmaids" cast
Photo: Universal Pictures
The story of "Bridesmaids" was that of a surprise success that really was anything but surprising.
Based on a hilarious script by star Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (you know her as the flick's freaked-out airplane passenger), the comedy had a strong showing at South by Southwest and Judd Apatow's producer credit to slap on every poster. A modest hit seemed all but guaranteed, but what it became was a pop-culture phenomenon.
Can women be funny? It was the dumb question that every 24-hour media outlet wanted to ask when "Bridesmaids" premiered, but all anyone had to do for an answer was sit down and watch the movie. Yes, women are funny, and there are few clearer examples than "Bridesmaids."
The movie tells the story of Annie Walker (Wiig), a failed baker who suffers a complete and hilarious breakdown when her best friend Lillian, played by fellow "SNL" alum Maya Rudolph, asks her to be the maid of honor at her wedding.
Wiig stood out as the writer and the fearless leader of a cast that included Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, "The Office" actress Ellie Kemper and scene-stealer Melissa McCarthy. Together, they formed a band of sisters, ready to push the boundaries and do just about anything for a laugh.
So many scenes come to mind: the wedding dress boutique, Wiig's drugged-out and short-lived airplane ride, one of the least-sexy sex scenes you can imagine (co-starring Jon Hamm), Wilson Phillips. It all added up to sore sides and tears of laughter.
"Bridesmaids" might never have reached the top spot at the box office, but helped by strong reviews and even stronger word-of-mouth, it went on to gross $288 million worldwide and finish with the 14th-highest domestic total of the year.
As Apatow's biggest hit yet, the financials for the film secured its status as a bona fide hit, but it wasn't until January of this year that the big picture came into view: "Bridesmaids" scored two Oscar nominations, an impressive achievement for the typically drama-minded Academy. The awards show honored both the screenplay and McCarthy's breakout performance.
With the 2012 MTV Movie Awards ahead, "Bridesmaids" will face new challenges. Competing against the likes of "The Hunger Games," "Harry Potter" and "Twilight," "Bridesmaids" is a comedy in a field full of dramas, but that didn't stop it from racking up eight nods, tying with "Hunger Games" for the most nominations. "Bridesmaids" is up for the top prizes — Movie of the Year and Best Cast — and individual nominations for Wiig for Female Performance and McCarthy for Breakthrough. The two actresses will also compete against each other for Best Comedic Performance.
Originally heralded as a film that shows off the power of women in comedy, "Bridesmaids" refused to be pinned down and instead displayed the new possibilities of comedy as a whole.
Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.
How will "Bridesmaids" fare at the MTV Movie Awards? Share your predictions below!
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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
NBC Wednesday Night Sneak Peek Videos
Happy hump day my friends! I have some pretty awesome sneak peek at tonight?s NBC lineup featuring Betty White?s Off Their Rockers and Law & Order: SVU. These videos are sure to make your mid week blahs disappear. NBC Wednesday is the place to be if you are looking for a little bit of laughter and drama all rolled up together. Tonight the peacock network is giving you a double dose of Betty White with back to back episodes, one of them is a repeat. Side note the comedy Best Friends Forever was canned so each week fans will get to see two Betty White?s Off Their Rockers. That being said I give to you a little sneak preview of tonight?s episode titled ?Birthday in Blue?. I don?t know what it is about that show but it sure makes me giggle. I told you there was some drama in store for fans tonight as well and I as always will not disappoint. Next up you can take a little glimpse at what the guys on Law & Order: SVU are in for, including special guest stars BD Wong, James Van Der Beek and Eric Close. In tonight?s show some young [...]
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Microsoft's Nook deal a real 'game-changer'
CNBC's Jon Fortt reports on the partnership between Microsoft and Barnes & Noble. Rafe Needleman, CNET editor-at-large, explains what this big bet could mean for Microsoft.
By Martha C. White
The idea of going into a bookstore and walking out with a tablet or other device might sound contradictory, but it could be the future for Barnes & Noble (BKS).?
The bookseller announced this morning a plan to spin off its digital and college divisions into a subsidiary and partner with Microsoft? (MSFT) in a digital reading venture the two companies have dubbed Newco. The Windows creator will invest $300 million in return for a 17.6 percent equity stake in the new business.?Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Fassler?called the deal a "game-changer."?
Barnes & Noble?shares surged about 60 percent Monday on news. Microsoft shares were flat.
"To me, the key takeaway is this guarantees the long-term viability of the Nook," said?Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC.
From a technology angle, it makes sense: Microsoft and Barnes & Noble need each other to better compete in the e-reader and tablet business.?Fassler wrote, "Our biggest concern for BKS has been its ability to compete against AAPL (Apple) and AMZN (Amazon), two of the deepest-pocketed players in the technology and media world. NewCo now has an equally deep-pocketed partner."
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and?Microsoft.)
Barnes & Noble needs Microsoft's global scale and money to grow its ebook business beyond the United States. Amazon has been aggressively rolling out its Kindle reader worldwide; it announced earlier this month that the?Kindle Touch 3G is available in more than 175 countries.?"It appears strategic to Microsoft to put more skin in the game by partnering with BKS for digital content supply and creation for both the U.S. and international markets," Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund wrote in response to the announcement.
Barnes & Noble and Microsoft?also have settled their patent litigation, the companies said.
Microsoft needs Barnes & Noble's presence on college campuses and its textbook business to help it compete against Apple's educational offerings. "Microsoft will want to make sure that ... there is a counter balance to Apple?s growing partnerships for content and creation of interactive educational content," Sherlund wrote.??
It's also a fascinating peek into what could be the future of the bookseller's retail presence. The two companies confirmed the development of a Nook app for Windows 8 but didn't offer any more details about whether or not the bookstores could become a sales channel for Microsoft.?
It's an idea that could benefit both brands, though. Roughly two years ago, Barnes & Noble gave its Nook e-reader a big push with spacious in-store kiosks that have been compared to the Apple store in concept and design. At the time, analysts praised the idea of letting people play around with the devices and ask knowledgeable salespeople how to use them.?
Even as the number of books read on tablets or e-readers increases, Barnes & Noble seems committed to its physical stores, said Michael Norris, senior analyst of the Trade Books Group at Simba Information. "The actual value proposition of a physical store is clearly there," he said, pointing out that Apple's retail presence boosts its brand image as well as its sales figures.
Although the market for e-books continues to climb, analysts say paper books are never going to disappear entirely. The amount of store square footage needed to house this inventory will probably shrink, though, and Barnes & Noble has an enormous real estate footprint. Filling it with more electronics could make sense.?
Microsoft has experimented with branded retail locations in the past, and it has a handful of Microsoft stores around the country, but the response from consumers has been underwhelming. (From tech bloggers, it's been downright derisive.) Being able to sell products under an existing, well-run and admired brand's umbrella would be a good solution.
Analysts also speculate Microsoft could create products designed specifically for the e-reader market.?The deal "rais[es] the question of whether MSFT will develop additional mobile devices that can enhance the sale of ebooks," Fassler wrote.?The Nook currently runs on the open-source Android operating system.
With Circuit City long gone and Best Buy planning a future of fewer and smaller stores, Barnes & Noble could be an attractive alternative for Microsoft, especially if it had more control over the sales process than it would via a third-party channel.?"If something was to ever happen to Best Buy... people still need to buy electronics, so where are they going to go?" O'Donnell said. "Maybe there's an interesting opportunity for Barnes & Noble."
More
Microsoft takes a stake in Barnes & Noble's Nook
Barnes & Noble, Sunoco among hot stocks
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Old star, new trick: Astronomers have detected arsenic and selenium in ancient star for first time
ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2012) ? The Big Bang produced lots of hydrogen and helium and a smidgen of lithium. All heavier elements found on the periodic table have been produced by stars over the last 13.7 billion years. Astronomers analyze starlight to determine the chemical makeup of stars, the origin of the elements, the ages of stars, and the evolution of galaxies and the universe. Now for the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of arsenic and selenium, neighboring elements near the middle of the periodic table, in an ancient star in the faint stellar halo that surrounds the Milky Way. Arsenic and selenium are elements at the transition from light to heavy element production, and have not been found in old stars until now.
Lead author of the Astrophysical Journal paper, Fellow Ian Roederer of the Carnegie Observatories explained: "Stars like our Sun can make elements up to oxygen on the periodic table. Other more massive stars can synthesize heavier elements, those with more protons in their nuclei, up to iron by nuclear fusion -- the process in which atomic nuclei fuse and release lots of energy. Most of the elements heavier than iron are made by a process called neutron-capture nucleosynthesis.
"Although neutrons have no charge, they can decay into protons after they're in the nucleus, producing elements with larger atomic numbers. One of the ways that this method can work is by exposure to a burst of neutrons during the violent supernova death of a star. We call this process the rapid process (r-process). It can produce elements at the middle and bottom of the periodic table -- from zinc to uranium -- in the blink of an eye."
Roederer, with co-author James Lawler, looked at an ultraviolet spectrum from the Hubble Space Telescope public archives to find arsenic and selenium in a 12 billion year-old halo star dubbed HD 160617. These elements were forged in an even older star, which has long since disappeared, and then -- like genes passed on from parent to infant -- they were born into the star we see today, HD 160617."
The team also examined data for this star from the public archives of several ground-based telescopes and were able to detect 45 elements. In addition to arsenic and selenium, they found rarely seen cadmium, tellurium, and platinum, all of which were produced by the r-process. This is the first time these elements have been detected together outside the Solar System. Astronomers cannot replicate the r-process in any laboratory since the conditions are so extreme. The key to modeling the r-process relies on astronomical observations.
"What I find exciting is that arsenic and selenium can be found in other stars, even ones like HD 160617 that we've been studying for decades," remarked Roederer. "Now that we know where to look, we can go back and study these elements in other stars. Understanding the r-process helps us know why we find certain elements like barium on Earth, or understand why uranium is so rare."?
The paper is published in the May 1, 2012 issue. Ian Roederer is supported by the Carnegie Institution through the Carnegie Observatories Fellowship. James Lawler is supported by NASA grant NNX10AN93G.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Carnegie Institution.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Ian U. Roederer, James E. Lawler. Detection of Elements at All Three r-process Peaks in the Metal-Poor Star HD 160617. The Astrophysical Journal, 2012; 750 (1): 76 DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/750/1/76
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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