Author: Serkadis

After months chided in ghostly Twilight spoof spearheaded by Jimmy Fallon, Robert Pattinson is reportedly set to come face-to-face with the comedian on NBC’s Late Night next month. According to reports the Twilight star will make an appearance on March 1, Fallon’s one-year anniversary as host of the late show previously hosted by the currently-unemployed Conan O’Brien.

In addition to making his first stop by Fallon, Twilight’s Edward Cullen is also scheduled to make his debut appearance on The View next month, where he will promote the release of his new coming of age drama, Remember Me. He will be joined by his co-star Emilie de Ravin.

Remember Me hits theaters March 12.

Rumors are one thing, but patent application drawings are another. The latest illustrations picked up by the Patently Apple blog show what looks like the iPod’s famous clickwheel on the screen of an iPad. It’s not a physical wheel, it’s an interface that appears on the touchscreen.

The patent explains that the “intelligent bezel,” as it’s called, adjusts itself to the orientation of the tablet screen, either horizontal or vertical. It is accompanied by touchable controls around the edge of the screen.

Just as important, the patent document explains, it knows what touches are “irrelevant” and ignores them. So you can fumble with your iPad and not accidentally blow your eardrums out by grabbing it too close to the Play button.

The US Patent and Trademark office has approved the patent, so there’s nothing stopping Apple from building the intelligent bezel — I’m sure Apple will have a cooler name for it — into a future upgrade to the iPad’s software.

What I want to know: Can I get this on my iPhone, too? The clickwheel makes the iPod simple and relaxing to use, rather than fumbling through menus and pressing buttons. I can operate an iPod while jogging. Wish I could say that for my iPhone.

Patently Apple has more images.

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BioShock 2 debuts on Feb. 9 and it’s looking like it will be one of the blockbuster video games of 2010. The mature-rated horror shooting game is building on a base of millions of fans who are eagerly awaiting the sequel.

The game could provide a much-needed boost for Take-Two Interactive, which is the subject of constant takeover rumors. Take-Two is focusing on high-quality games, but it desperately needs to prove it can create giant hits beyond its Grand Theft Auto series produced by its Rockstar Games division.

The original BioShock was one of my favorite games of 2007. It had buzz before its launch in August of that year, but the quality of the games surprised the critics. The game had beautiful graphics, an engaging and original story with a big plot twist, and some haunting scenes that were akin to the very best of horror movies.

Check out the launch trailer for Bioshock 2. It brings back a lot of the same evil characters in the underwater utopia-gone-bad city of Rapture. There’s the cute but spooky Little Sister, who is threatened by some pretty scary critters. A Big Daddy comes to the Little Sister’s rescue, but then faces something new: a Big Sister. The trailer shows what sets BioShock apart from other games. The quality of the graphics is outstanding. The storytelling includes both lulls and shocks. You spend part of the time being fascinated with the destroyed utopian environment, but you’re also almost certain that something creepy is lurking around the corner. And the combat system is great, with the various options giving you many ways to deal with attacking creatures, from flamethrowers to electric shocks. There’s a ton of action. If you’re not shooting, you’re either absorbing the engrossing story or being scared of the hidden evils.

The game debuts on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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areview.co.cc: PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif said that all NRO beneficiaries including ministers and advisors should tender their resignations as soon as possible. He said that current policies can harm the government but democracy would not be derailed. Addressing a press conference in Rahim Yar Khan, he said that price hike was a bad decision taken by the government and it was not consulted with any party including PML-N. He stressed that all the looted money should be taken back from Swiss banks. PML-N leader said that there was no solid reason to increase the rates of electricity, gas and petrol prices. He said that PML-N was taken into confidence in this regard. He said that Supreme Courts decision has not yet implemented and this step could weaken democratic system. He said that no dictator would be allowed to derail the current set-up. He said that no foreign agreement was behind his decision of not contesting by-polls in NA-123 as if there was any accord than Shahbaz Sharif could not have taken part in the elections. He said that culprits of Karachi target killings should be arrested and strict action should be taken against them. He urged that blame game and derogatory statements against each other should be avoided. Answering a query about prevailing law and order situation in the country, he said that Pakistan needs a multi-pronged strategy to get rid of this menace.

areview.co.cc: Under Anti-Terrorism Act, rangers have been given special powers to control law and order situation in Karachi. The notification issued from CM House Sindh, it was decided by the provincial government that under Anti-Terrorism Act, Sindh Rangers powers have been extended to all across the metropolitan to make sure the strict action against the culprits. According to the notification, it was strictly prohibited to carry arms openly in the city. The provincial government has authorised Rangers to conduct house-to-house search in Karachi and take action against elements involved in violence. Earlier, Rangers had given control of 26 police stations.

areview.co.cc: Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said that constitution was the biggest obstacle for opening case against the president, so the case cannot be opened against him. He said that the government will not clash with army and judiciary and all attempts in this regard would be foiled. Addressing a ceremony in Rawalpindi, he said that acting upon the decision of the Supreme Court, 8,032 cases out of total 8,034 cases have been opened. He said that federal minister were appearing in courts while the president and the governor have constitutional immunity and cases against them could not be opened. He said that PPP will not go against judiciary.

areview.co.cc: President Asif Ali Zardari has directed to support Local Government Amendment Bill amid reservations of PPP Punjab Assembly member Taveer Ashraf Kaira. Governor Punjab Salman Taseer, Senior Provincial Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed and Punjab Minister for Finance Tanveer Ashraf Kaira met with President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday in the Presidency. They briefed the President on the new local government system to be introduced in Punjab and informed him about the reservations and decision of the Parliamentary Party meeting in Punjab Assembly which has rejected Provincial Election Authority. However, after long discussions the President directed that local government bill would be approved from the Punjab Assembly to continue the reconciliation process. Senior Provincial Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed will inform CM Punjab about the decision taken by the President.

areview.co.cc: Bullish trend continues in local and international gold markets on Wednesday. Gold price increased to Rs 36,550 per tola, up by Rs 200 whereas price of 10 grams reached at Rs 31,328, up by Rs 172 in local markets including Karachi. In world market, gold price reached at $ 1,119 per ounce with an increase of $5.

areview.co.cc: Number of mobile phone users has increased to 97.6 million. According to PTA, number of mobile phone users increased by 9 percent in 2009. In 2008, 89.99 million people have mobile connections. Wireless phone users have reached 2.7 million in 2009, up by 15 percent. Internet users are also increasing with each passing day. Number of Broad Band users increased to 5 lac 87 thousands, up by 42 percent.

areview.co.cc: New Zealand drew first blood in their series with Bangladesh by thrashing them by 10 wickets in the one-off Twenty20 in Hamilton. Having skittled the visitors for a paltry 78 in 17.3 overs, the Black Caps reached their target with ease, taking just 8.2 overs as openers Brendon McCullum (56 not out) and debutant Peter Ingram (23no) quickly rattled off the runs required. Bangladesh were not helped by some poor fielding. McCullum was dropped on six and then Ingram was given a lifeline on 11 and both players made full use of the reprieve. McCullum finally blasted his way to an unbeaten half-century, his 56 coming off 27 balls and including seven fours and two sixes. In his first taste of international cricket Ingram hit three fours in his 23-ball 20 not out. It was a tough night’s work for the visitors, who won the toss and chose to bat. They were soon in trouble as New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori proved the chief destroyer, taking three wickets for six runs from his four overs. His bowling partnership with fellow spinner Nathan McCullum (two for 15) ripped the heart out of the Bangladesh side as they slumped from 41 for three to 42 for five in the space of four balls and never recovered. Jacob Oram (two for 16) and Daryl Tuffey (two for 16) and the returning James Franklin (one for eight) ensured the visitors’ wickets fell at regular intervals. Bangladesh did not help themselves though as they swung their bats wildly and did not cope with the turn or bounce of the Seddon Park wicket. The tourists have little time in which to recover, with the three-match one-day international series starting in Napier on Friday.

areview.co.cc: A rocket streaks into the sky at a test range in Iran. According to Tehran, the missile is designed to help carry satellites into space. It appeared to be launched from the back of a truck, and is bound to stoke Western concerns that such technology can also be used to deliver long-range nuclear warheads. Earlier Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited a much bigger rocket, the 87-tonne Simorgh. This vehicle is also designed to carry satellites into space. The display of rocket technology comes a year after Iran launched a domestically-made rocket into space for the first time. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, This was a huge breakthrough when we sent live creatures into space and we hope we can send our own astronauts into space soon. It also comes as Iran celebrates the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Meanwhile, the US White House has reacted to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks, saying it had held no discussion with Iran about a possible prisoner swap. We have not entered into any discussion with Iran about an exchange, National Security Council Spokesman Mike Hammer told.

areview.co.cc: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani strongly rejected all the accusations over Pakistans premier intelligence agency about playing double game in war against terrorism. Pak Army has given more sacrifices than allied forces. Talking to senior journalists in Kakol, General Kayani said that more than 2,000 officers and jawans have been martyred and 6,000 soldiers have been injured in war against terrorism. Two three star and two star Generals and five brigadiers are also among the martyred. He said that 73 intelligence officials were martyred in Pakistan while 11 were martyred in Afghanistan. COAS said that large amount of arms and ammunition recovered from Swat during last 2 and half months.

Amnesty International reiterated its call on the Sudanese authorities to arrest President Omar al Bashir immediately, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague today reversed a ruling that held that there was insufficient evidence to charge the Sudanese President with genocide in Darfur.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in March 2009 against President Bashir, but did not include genocide charges because the court’s Pre-Trial Chamber applied too high a standard of proof to the evidence. ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo today won his appeal against  the Pre-Trial Chamber’s ruling.

"The ICC Prosecutor was asked to prove that the only reasonable inference from the evidence he presented was that the President was responsible for genocide," said Christopher Keith Hall, Senior Legal Adviser at Amnesty International. "In effect, this was requiring the Prosecutor to prove him guilty – something that can only be done at trial."

"The Pre-Trial Chamber must now reassess the evidence against President Bashir to decide whether it can charge him  with genocide," said Christopher Keith Hall.

Amnesty International urged President al Bashir to surrender himself to stand trial over the war crimes and crimes against humanity charges he already faces.

"President Bashir is a fugitive from international justice, charged with responsibility for crimes against men, women and children, including murder, rape, torture and forced displacement," said Christopher Keith Hall.

President Bashir has travelled outside Sudan on a number of occasions following the charges brought by the ICC, however, he has not yet been arrested.

"All states who have signed up to the Rome Statue underpinning the ICC which  have an absolute obligation under that treaty to arrest him immediately if he enters their territory and to surrender him promptly to the court," said Christopher Keith Hall

"Sudan is required by Security Council Resolution 1593 to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, which means to arrest and surrender him. In addition, other states which have not yet ratified the Rome Statute must not offer him a safe haven when he visits."

An arrest warrant for President Omar al Bashir was issued by the ICC over his role in the Darfur conflict that has seen more than 300,000 killed, thousands raped, and millions forcibly displaced.

A number of moderate Democratic senators are pushing to scrap comprehensive climate legislation and instead pass a much weaker energy bill that has been called a “flashback to Bush energy policy.”

Conservative Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) response? That won’t cut it.

Kate Sheppard reports:

Graham on Wednesday also rejected moving the Senate energy bill alone. “If the approach is to try to pass some half-assed energy bill, and say that moves the ball down the road, forget it with me,” the South Carolina Republican told business leaders from the renewable energy industry on Wednesday.

This from a senator whose perceived waffling on cap-and-trade just a week ago was called the “death knell” for climate legislation.

I’m still scratching my head at Mark Cuban’s comments about news aggregators being freeloading vampires that should be blocked by news sites.

As Danny Sullivan points out, Cuban is an investor in Mahalo, which is an aggregator extraordinaire.

And in 2008 at the TechCrunch50 conference, Cuban said he’s like to be an investor in news aggregator TechMeme. He says: “Gabe from TechMeme, I’ve been running after him for two years to try to let me do something with him because I think its a brilliant idea and I think I can add value…I try to stick to things that are strategic to me that I think are fun that I think are game changing.”

Cuban was mostly railing on Google News in his talk, but TechMeme has a similar model of linking to stories with a short excerpt. You can watch the entire interview here.

I’ve emailed Mark to get see if he wants to talk more about this, because I continue to be more than confused.

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The Spring/Summer campaign from Calvin Klein Underwear stays true to the historically controversial brand by holding nothing back and leaving nothing to the imagination…especially when it comes to Kellan Lutz crotch!

The Twilight hunk joins True Blood’s Mechad Brooks, Spanish tennis star Fernando Verdasco, and Japanese soccer ace Hidetoshi Nakata as the new faces (and bodies) of CK Underwear.

According to Wednesday’s Women’s Wear Daily, the new round of Calvin Klein ads is the fashion house’s most “digitally impressive to date,” promising behind-the-scenes videos and interviews with the four leading lads, as well as innovative 3D-effects in their ads.

“We’re thinking bold, graphic and provocative, as always,” says Bob Mazzoli, chief creative officer for Calvin Klein Underwear. “We’re excited to be presenting the latest chapter of evolution in communicating Calvin Klein underwear’s iconic brand image by using four distinct personalities and leveraging them across a range of media in a bold, engaging, and fun way….”

The full digital campaign is set for release March 1.

NEC in Japan has announced [JP] a total of four new DLP data projectors today. The NP53J/NP54J/NP63J and NP64J are part of NEC’s so-called ViewLight projector series. All of the new models offer XGA resolution (1,024×768), a contrast ratio of 1,600:1 and rather weak 0.3W mono speakers.

The NP53J and NP54J have 200W lamps that produce 2,600 lumens, while the NP63J and NP64J feature 220W lamps with 3,000 lumens brightness. Only buyers of the NP54J and NP64J get a USB port that makes it possible to use the devices without a PC (a Bluetooth adapter that’s compatible to all four models costs an extra $150).

NEC plans to start selling the ViewLight projectors in Japan on February 10. Prices: $1,050 for the NP53J, $1,150 for the NP54J, $1,300 for the NP63J and $1,450 for the NP64J. NEC hasn’t said anything yet about offering these devices outside Japan (but the company does sell projectors internationally).

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My idea of market research is to browse various message boards to get a sense of what the people think. I recently found myself on a PSP message board—I’m a baller, you see—and discovered that the kids there (I assume they’re kids) now refer to the PSP Go as the PSP No. So yeah, Sony would do well to re-launch that bad boy.

The story comes to us by way of Gamervision, presumably a trustworthy Web site. “Someone close to Sony” told the site that the company is seriously considering re-launching the PSP Go. Sales haven’t been great and critical reception has been somewhat mixed. (My main complaint with the hardware is that it’s only 802.11b—it took 70 minutes to download Silent Hill: Shattered Memories a few days ago! I could have gone to the store and picked up the UMD in half that time.) So yeah, by all means, Sony, re-launch away.

What would a re-launch mean? A new marketing blitz and price drop, primarily. Really, all they’d need is a price drop (it’s about $100 more than the “regular” PSP), but a price drop without getting the word out is sorta pointless.

Of course, all of this is based on that lone person “close to Sony,” so don’t lose sleep over this.

Off the top of my head, the following are worth tracking down if you’re looking for fun PSP games: Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, God of War, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Gran Turismo, any of the Grand Theft Auto games, Metal Gear: Portable Ops, Jeanne d’Arc.

Feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments. I’m not exactly a PSP expert.

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Kind of went for an opposite color vibe on this one. Maybe we’ll give it away in a bit, or something… what do you think? Pictures are in the gallery if you’d like to see some more shots. Also, special thanks to Colorware for the hook up!

Click on over to our Colorware BlackBerry 9700 Gallery!

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