The founders of YouTube on Wednesday bought popular bookmarking site Delicious from Yahoo, promising to keep it up and running and maintained.
Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who sold their video hosting site to Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion, said they planned to integrate Delicious with their new Internet company AVOS.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We're excited to work with this fantastic community and take Delicious to the next level,” Hurley, CEO of AVOS told AFP in a statement. “We see a tremendous opportunity to simplify the way users save and share content they discover anywhere on the Web.”
Hurley and Chen said they would seek to use Delicious to “develop innovative features to help solve the problem of information overload.”
“We see this problem not just in the world of video, but also cutting across every information-intensive media type,” Chen added.
Delicious will most likely evolve into something slightly different as AVOS pursues its mission.
“We see a tremendous opportunity to simplify the way users save and share content they discover anywhere on the Web,” said Hurley.
Delicious, created in 2003, provides a forum for sharing Web bookmarks to URLs. Yahoo will hold onto the site until July, when it will be transitioned over to AVOS.
“We believe this is the right move for the service, our users and our shareholders and look forward to watching the Delicious technology develop,” said Yahoo, which bought the bookmarking site in 2005.
YouTube’s sale to Google made both Hurley and Chen wealthy. Hurley received 735,000 shares of Google stock worth an estimated $350 million when the deal closed in November 2006. Chen received 625,000 shares of Google worth about $300 million.
Yahoo decided to scrap Delicious as part of a cost-cutting strategy adopted by CEO Carol Bartz. That strategy helped boost Yahoo’s earnings, but revenue still remains shaky more than two years after Bartz was hired to turn the company around.
This last installment in the excellent “Harry Potter” movie series looks like it is going to be the best–at least from the special effects bursting out of this new trailer.
It seems that there is no innovative digital wizardry was left on the drawing board, from giant flame monsters to sparkly explosions to a lovely delicate floating flower.
CD Projekt has seemingly confirmed PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of its upcoming role-playing sequel The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
Speaking in an interview on Polish TV, CD Projekt's Michael Kicinski reportedly said that the studio is looking at the home console versions of the game as "separate projects" and revealed that it's currently working on them,
"Yes, it is for us an entirely new project. But of course, [we are] already working on it," he's reported to have said. "You can expect that during such events as the largest fair in the world of computer games, E3 and Gamescom [we will] inform you about what we're currently working on."
Last year The Witcher 2 publisher Namco Bandai told CVG it had no console plans "for the moment". The game is scheduled for a PC release on May 17.
BOSTON–High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the fifth-deadliest cancer among American women, is thought by many scientists to often be a fallopian tube malignancy masquerading as an ovarian one. While most of the evidence linking HGSOC to the fallopian tubes has so far been only circumstantial, a new Dana-Farber Cancer Institute study suggests there is a direct connection, a finding that could aid in the development of better treatments for the cancer.
Dana-Farber scientists report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences they have developed a laboratory model that mimics the process by which fallopian tube cells may morph into cancer cells that appear to have come from the ovaries. Their demonstration that this process can happen in the lab is powerful evidence that it does happen in patients, throwing new weight behind the theory that HGSOC begins, in fact, in the fallopian tubes.
“The hypothesis of fallopian tube origin of high-grade serous ovarian cancer is based primarily on examinations of fallopian tubes surgically removed from women with a genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer,” says Dana-Farber’s Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD, senior author of the new study. “Areas of the tubes adjacent to the ovary often had patches of cells that were predecessors of serous cancers. But to convincingly show that these cells are the source of high-grade serous ovarian cancer, we need to trace each step of the disease’s development. Our model provides that kind of demonstration.”
The origins of HGSOC have been so difficult to track down because of the insidious nature of the disease. Ovarian tumors often establish themselves without producing any warning symptoms. By the time the disease is discovered, the ovaries can be so overrun with cancer that adjacent sections of the fallopian tube are obscured, making them difficult to examine under a microscope. Late detection is one reason why ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to treat. The American Cancer Society estimates that 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with HGSOC each year, and 14,000 die of it. Worldwide, the incidence approaches 200,000 women with 115,000 deaths each year.
In work published last year, Dana-Farber researchers created a laboratory model for studying the lining of the fallopian tubes. Using tissue from women who had had their fallopian tubes removed for reasons unrelated to cancer, the researchers established a model that mirrors the structure and function of normal fallopian tube tissue in the body.
For the new study, researchers removed secretory cells from the fallopian tube tissue model and “immortalized” them – altered the cells’ genetic programming so they could divide indefinitely, much as cancer cells do. As the Cancer Genome Atlas Project has shown, ovarian cancers don’t have a consistent pattern of gene mutations (other than in the p53 tumor suppressor gene). What they have, instead, are broad irregularities in the number of copies of key genes – too many, too few, or none at all. The gene most commonly missing from ovarian cancer cells is hRb, the one most often overduplicated is c-Myc. The Dana-Farber researchers made the immortalized cells mimic those abnormalities by shutting down hRb and sending c-Myc into overdrive.
Like true tumor cells, these “artificial” cancer cells proliferated rapidly and were able to leave their home tissue and grow elsewhere. When implanted in laboratory animals, they also gave rise to tumors that were structurally, behaviorally, and genomically similar to human HGSOC.
“The model allows us to introduce other genetic abnormalities into these cells to see the effect on tumor growth and development,” says Drapkin, who is also an assistant professof of pathology at Harvard Medical School. “Such studies will help us identify different types of high-grade serous ovarian cancer, as well as possibly discover biomarkers – proteins in the blood – that signal the presence of the disease. Ultimately, the model will enable us to test potential therapies to determine which work best in each type of the disease.”
The study’s lead author is Alison Karst, PhD, and the co-author is Keren Levanon, MD, PhD, both of Dana-Farber.
The research was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship, a Marsha Rivkin Foundation Scientific Scholar Award, the American Association for Cancer Research/George and Patricia Sehl Fellowship for Cancer Genetics Research, the American Physicians Fellowship for Medicine in Israel/Claire and Emmanuel G. Rosenblatt Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the Robert and Debra First Fund, the Randi and Joel Cutler Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and the Mary Kay Foundation.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. It provides adult cancer care with Brigham and Women’s Hospital as Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and it provides pediatric care with Children’s Hospital Boston as Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital Cancer Center. Dana-Farber is the top ranked cancer center in New England, according to U.S. News & World Report, and one of the largest recipients among independent hospitals of National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health grant funding.
Despite of the tremendous natural disaster, Apple is all set to release the iPad 2 in Japan on April 28. The launch is exactly after a delay of a month due to the tsunami & earthquake that did a huge destruction in various parts of the country. Apple continuous improvements in iPad 2 online shipping in US & UK could be the indication towards the iPad 2 debut in India as well.
The rumor has been reported by the CNNGo, a popular Japanese site. However, there is no official announcement from Apple about the launch on the same day. Just after the iPad 2 rumor, someone posted a screenshot of a poster which clearly depicts the white iPhone 4 availability on 28 April.
If the rumors are true then we can expect the iPad 2 in India ahead of the Japan launch. It is needless to say here that Apple has finally figured out a way to manufacture the product with ease which can meet the international demand.
Friday's royal wedding is set to boost shops and pubs with a record £1billion spending spree.
Food and drink is flying off the shelves along with bunting and commemorative memorabilia as the nation plans a day of barbecues and street parties.
When Friday dawns, shoppers are expected to have bought four million bottles of champagne, cava or other bubbly, 20 million bottles and cans of beer, five million punnets of strawberries and 500,000 Union Jack paper cups.
Revellers are also set to snap up 300 miles of patriotic bunting, 500,000 cup cakes, 300,000 frozen cheesecakes and two million extra loaves of sliced bread for the festivities.
Many of the country's 52,000 pubs are already putting up Union Jacks and red, white and blue bunting and balloons. The British Beer and Pub Association estimates bars will pour an extra 100 million pints over the weekend. And 5,500 road closures have been requested to allow street parties.
Total spending on food, drink and souvenirs is set to hit £480million with pub sales over the weekend adding another £500m - more than double the figure for a normal bank holiday.
Last night Asda revealed it expects a sales bonanza including 350,000 royal wedding tea towels and 100,000 boxes of commemorative fudge. The chain also says camping sales are up 56 per cent on last year as shoppers buy extra chairs, bags for party guests.
Tesco says it expects to sell rolls, 200,000 packs of Union 45,000 TVs - and is one of many wedding promotions to boost sundaymirror.co.uk also says camping sales are up 56 per cent on last year as shoppers buy extra chairs, airbeds and sleeping bags for party guests.
Tesco says it expects to sell 40,000 packs of sausage rolls, 200,000 packs of Union Jack party napkins and 45,000 TVs - and is one of many stores running royal wedding promotions to boost last-minute spending.
Embassy personnel in London and staffers stationed at U.S. consulates in Belfast and Edinburgh had the day off Monday in observance of Easter Monday — a major British holiday — and are scheduled be out of the office again Friday in observance of the nuptials.
Despite the closure, emergency consular services will be available as they always are when the embassy is closed, according to embassy spokesman Philip Breeden.
The embassy plans to issue “a very generic notice” to staffers advising them of the parade route “and to use prudence in crowds,” Breeden said in an e-mail.
Their boss, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Louis Susman, is scheduled to attend the wedding as the official representative of the U.S. government. But he’s going stag, because his wife, Marjorie, was not invited due to limited seating at Westminster Abbey, according to published reports.
No other U.S. government officials and no foreign heads of state are invited to the wedding. Top diplomats from Germany, Israel, Poland and other countries are also expected to attend.
As if having Friday off wasn’t enough, U.S. diplomats in the U.K. will enjoy a four-day weekend because next Monday is May Day, another major British holiday. American diplomats stationed in the U.K. observe nine federal holidays and seven British holidays, including two bank holidays.
Lest you think they’re getting off easy, remember it is customary for U.S. embassies around the globe to observe major local or national holidays. In Beijing, U.S. diplomats observe the nine federal holidays and six Chinese holidays, including the Lunar New Year, Tomb Sweeping Day and a five-day break for Chinese National Day.
Nintendo has confirmed it will launch a successor to its popular gaming console Wii in 2012.
As of March, Nintendo has sold 86.01 million Wiis since 2006 when the console was launched. However, in 2010 the company sold only 15.1 million Wiis – a 25% drop from 2009 when it sold 20.1 million units globally.
The company also revealed its yearly financial results for 2010, marking a big drop in net profit which was $825 million – 66 percent less than in 2009.
The declining Wii sales paired with the shoddy financial results make this a perfect moment for Nintendo to announce the next version of Wii. A “2012 launch” is as vague as launch dates come, but Nintendo promised to have a playable unit, as well as more details and specifications of the upcoming Wii model, at the E3 Expo, which is held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.
Mac & Cheese with Braised Leeks, Asiago and Parmesan Breadcrumbs
If you think Macaroni and Cheese is for kids then check out this version with braised leeks, Asiago cheese and Parmesan breadcrumbs by Chef Viviane Banquet Farre… remarkable and a complete departure from traditional recipes.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter 6 tablespoons unbleached white flour 6 cups milk – warmed 1 cup heavy cream freshly ground nutmeg to taste (use microplane grater) 1/2 teaspoon sea salt freshly ground black pepper to taste 8 oz Wisconsin Asiago – coarsely grated (2 cups) For the bread crumbs
1/3 cup bread crumbs 1/2 cup finely grated Wisconsin Parmesan 1 tablespoon olive oil For the pasta
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Starbucks is celebrating Earth Day by offering a free cup of coffee or tea for any customer who brings their own mug.
Click here to learn more about the offer, which is good only today, Friday, April 22, 2011.
WXYZ and WXYZ.com do not endorse any daily freebie and do not receive any financial compensation from the companies involved, unless otherwise indicated.
Please be sure to carefully read the rules of each offer to help make sure you receive your freebies
Ratings and running times are in parentheses; foreign films have English subtitles. Full reviews of all current releases, movie trailers, showtimes and tickets: nytimes.com/movies.
★ ‘The Adjustment Bureau’ (PG-13, 1:46) A politician (Matt Damon) and dancer (Emily Blunt) try to hold on to love across time and space in an enjoyable film based loosely (very) on a short story by Philip K. Dick and directed with confidence by the writer George Nolfi. (Manohla Dargis)20110421
‘American: the Bill Hicks Story’ (No rating, 1:41) Paul Thomas and Matt Harlock’s sterile portrait barely skims the surface of the comedian Bill Hicks’s scabrous wit and abrasive intelligence. Employing an animation technique that saps the tragedy from his untimely death from pancreatic cancer in 1994 at 32, the filmmakers recount a bright-burning life while leaving us mostly in the dark. (Jeannette Catsoulis)20110421
‘Armadillo’ (No rating, 1:40, in Danish, Pashto and English) Another tough, ground-level documentary immersion in the tedium and brutality of modern combat, this time in the company of a group of Danish soldiers stationed in a dangerous part of Afghanistan. (A.O. Scott)20110421
‘Arthur’ (PG-13, 1:50) There was no good reason to remake the beloved 1981 comedy starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli, but there was also no reason the remake had to be so bad. Russell Brand wears out his charm quickly as the infantile, alcoholic billionaire of the title, and the charms of Greta Gerwig (in the Minnelli role) and Helen Mirren (as Arthur’s nanny, Hobson) are not sufficient to rescue the movie from becoming a safe, second-rate bore. (Scott)20110421
‘Battle: Los Angeles’ (PG-13, 1:56) The aliens invade. The Marines (led by Aaron Eckhart) fight back. The audience, excited at first, grows bored, restless and ultimately disdainful. (Scott)20110421
‘Bill Cunningham New York’ (No rating, 1:24) Richard Press has made a sensitive portrait of a spiritual man whose devotion to fashion photography, that most worldly of pursuits, has chronicled an era. In street fashion, Mr. Cunningham, a photographer for The New York Times, has found something creative, life-affirming and free: proof of humanity amid the chaos of daily life. Interspersing lively interviews with affectionate commentary from longtime friends and subjects — socialites, editors, models, eccentrics, dandies, avant-gardists, curators and neighbors — Mr. Press has made an intimate portrait that feels more found than it does constructed. (Carina Chocano)20110421
★ ‘Blank City’ (No rating, 1:35) Celine Danhier’s documentary looks back at the New York underground film scene of the 1970s and ’80s, blending old film clips with recent interviews to create a vivid, critically informed picture of a city in crisis and the artists who thrived on its desperate, decadent energies. (Scott)20110421
‘Born to Be Wild 3D’ (G, :45) You may feel cheated by the length of this documentary about two women working in different parts of the world to save orphaned wildlife — it’s only 45 minutes long — but some of the 3-D camera work is pretty cool. An elephant’s trunk, it turns out, is admirably suited to three-dimensional filmmaking. (Neil Genzlinger)20110421
★ ‘Certified Copy’ (No rating, 1:46, in Italian, French and English) Abbas Kiarostami’s brilliant first feature made outside his native Iran is such a conspicuous leap from neo-realism to European modernism, it sometimes feels like a dry comic parody. As it goes along, the movie begins to deconstruct itself by posing as a cinematic homage, or copy, if you will, of European art films of the 1950s and ’60s. (Stephen Holden)20110421
‘The Conspirator’ (PG-13, 2:03) Robin Wright plays Mary Surratt, who was tried by a military tribunal in 1865 as part of the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. The episode, rich in historical interest and topical implications, is turned into a dull and tendentious civics lesson by the director, Robert Redford. (Scott)20110421
‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules’ (PG, 1:36) The most you can say about this sequel to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” based on Jeff Kinney’s illustrated children’s books, is that it’s inoffensive — which isn’t necessarily what you want in a movie about the humiliations of being a seventh grader with a bullying older brother. (Mike Hale)20110421
★ ‘The Double Hour’ (No rating, 1:35, in Italian) This diabolically clever Italian psychological thriller, the feature debut of Giuseppe Capotondi, is the best mystery of its kind since Guillaume Canet’s “Tell No One.” (Holden)20110421
★ ‘Even the Rain’ (No rating, 1:44, in Spanish) IcÃar BollaÃn’s bluntly political film makes pertinent if heavy-handed comparisons between European imperialism five centuries ago and modern globalization. In particular, it portrays a high-end film made on location in Bolivia as an offshoot of colonial exploitation. (Holden)20110421
‘The First Beautiful Thing (La Prima Cosa Bella)’ (No rating, 2:02, in Italian) This sweet, thoughtful film by the Italian director Paolo Virzì uses the flashback to perfection, showing why an indolent fellow named Bruno (Valerio Mastandrea) is reluctant to go visit his dying mother. You expect a simple story of bedside reconciliation but end up with something considerably richer and more nuanced. (Genzlinger)20110421
‘Hanna’ (PG-13, 1:51) Saoirse Ronan plays a girl raised by wolves (well, Eric Bana) who matches wits and weapons against a wicked queen (Cate Blanchett as a C.I.A. operative) in a twisted modern fairy tale directed by Joe Wright. (Dargis)20110421
‘Hop’ (PG, 1:30) An animated would-be Easter Bunny (voiced by Russell Brand) interacts with his human counterpart, an underachiever played by James Marsden. The best that can be said is that this is not as ghastly as “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” which was also directed by Tim Hill. (Scott)20110421
‘I Am Number Four’ (PG-13, 1:50) Based on the young-adult novel by Pittacus Lore, D. J. Caruso’s elaborate puberty metaphor concerns an alien teenager (Alex Pettyfer) hiding out in Ohio from an evil race resembling an apocalyptic biker gang with a bad case of ringworm. Despite the presence of a hot protector (Timothy Olyphant) and a hotter Number Six (Teresa Palmer), this sluggish high-school drama is only marginally more fun than a week’s worth of detention. (Catsoulis)20110421
‘In a Better World’ (R, 1:53, in Danish, Swedish and English) Illustrating that good intentions don’t always produce good movies, Susanne Bier’s thoughtful drama (this year’s Oscar winner for best foreign-language film) explores the problem of violence and the nature of justice in the modern world. Nothing wrong with that, but the narrative — in which two young boys in Denmark plot revenge against a grown-up bully, while the father of one of them tries to help refugees in an unnamed African country — is heavy and schematic, squeezing the life out of a potentially interesting and provocative situation. (Scott)20110421
‘Insidious’ (PG-13, 1:42) The first half of James Wan’s haunted-house picture is a dark, suggestive bump-in-the-night thriller with some honest scares; the second half of the film, which stars Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson as embattled parents battling shadowy presences, is literal-minded, overexplained and run-of-the-mill. (Hale)20110421
★ ‘Jane Eyre’ (PG-13, 2:01) Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland,” “The Kids Are All Right”) is Jane and Michael Fassbender (“Hunger,” “Fish Tank”) is Rochester in Cary Joji Fukunaga’s smart and vigorous adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel — the latest and one of the best, though surely not the last. (Scott)20110421
‘Limitless’ (PG-13, 1:46) Bradley Cooper plays a blocked novelist who takes a neuro-active wonder drug that gives him access to his entire brain and plunges him into all manner of paranoid shenanigans. The movie, directed by Neil Burger and based on a novel by Alan Glynn, is a bit of a mess, but also stylish and energetic and saved from total silliness by a bracing dose of satire. It’s both an exercise in and a critique of the hollow, shallow, obsessive materialism that drives so many of us these days. (Scott)20110421
‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ (R, 1:59) Matthew McConaughey, with ace support from the likes of Marisa Tomei and William H. Macy, plays a dodgy Los Angeles lawyer in Brad Furman’s satisfying adaptation of the Michael Connelly crime novel. (Dargis)20110421
★ ‘Meek’s Cutoff’ (PG, 1:44) Kelly Reichardt’s latest film, set in the Oregon Territory in 1845, is a stripped-down western that looks at the mythology of Manifest Destiny through a feminist lens, and with an acute eye for heroism, folly and danger. The cast, which includes Shirley Henderson, Bruce Greenwood and Will Patton, is excellent, with Michelle Williams standing out as a pioneer wife whose patience and resilience is sorely tested (Scott)20110421
★ ‘My Perestroika’ (No rating, 1:27, in Russian) Robin Hessman’s enthralling documentary about growing up in the Soviet Union during the final years of Communism gives you a privileged sense of learning the history of a place not from a book, but by being told about it by the people who lived it. (Holden)20110421
★ ‘Of Gods and Men’ (R, 2:00, in French and Arabic) The true story of a group of French Cistercian monks caught in the Algerian civil war of the 1990s, brought to vivid and intelligent life by the director Xavier Beauvois and an excellent cast led by Lambert Wilson as the prior, a brave man of conscience in impossible circumstances. (Scott)20110421
‘Paul’ (R, 1:44) Greg Mottola directs this low-key, genial comedy about a little green dude from outer space (voiced by Seth Rogen) who wants to phone home and enlists two British geeks (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) to help. (Dargis)20110421
★ ‘The Princess of Montpensier’ (No rating, 2:20, in French) Bertrand Tavernier directs a rousing amalgam of ambition, moods and genre conceits, set against a 17th-century French civil war, that looks like one of those old-fashioned diversions where swords clang as bosoms rise with passion but is mostly greater than its pretty parts. The excellent cast includes Lambert Wilson. (Dargis)20110421
★ ‘Le Quattro Volte’ (No rating, 1:28) An elderly man, a baby goat, a towering tree, a lump of charcoal — these are the subjects of Michelangelo Frammartino’s sublime and strange inquiry into the nature of existence. It’s a deadpan pantheistic head trip, with more life in 88 minutes than movies twice as long. (Scott)20110421
★ ‘Queen to Play’ (No rating, 1:36, in French) Caroline Battaro’s tangy comic bonbon plucks the game of chess out of the metaphorical realm of spy thrillers and re-imagines it as a fable about relationships and upward mobility. (Holden)20110421
★ ‘Rango’ (PG, 1:47) This lizard-themed western, chockablock with creepy-crawly critters and learned movie references, is a rarity among recent animated features in that it allows itself to be odd and complicated as well as cute and sensational. It’s also not in 3-D, which is refreshing. Gore Verbinski of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise directed, with Johnny Depp as the chameleonic protagonist, who becomes the sheriff of a dry desert town called Dirt. (Scott)20110421
‘Rio’ (PG, 1:38) A rich voice cast, exuberant music and a vibrant palette make this animated outing a big step forward from the “Ice Age” movies for Fox animation. As kids’ movies go, “Rio” brings a lot to the party. (Andy Webster)20110421
‘Scream 4’ (R, 1:43) Like its predecessors, this sequel replaces the joys of storytelling and suspense with the satisfaction of being in on the joke. Unfortunately, in the 11 years since “Scream 3,” the joke — primarily, that the characters’ fates are determined by the “rules” of the horror-movie genre — has gotten really old. (Hale)20110421
★ ‘A Screaming Man’ (NC-17, 1:32, in French and Arabic) A quiet, tender and finally wrenching fictional story of an individual at the intersection of the personal and the political: an Everyman who works at a pool becomes engulfed by calamitous jealousies even as a civil war fast approaches. From the Chadian-born filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (“Daratt”). (Dargis)20110421
‘Soul Surfer’ (PG, 1:46) For all its pronounced religious overtones and glossy, commercial sheen, this picture about Bethany Hamilton, the competition surfer who at 13 lost her arm to a shark, manages to provide an interesting portrait of a determined athlete. It benefits from strong performances and an honesty about its protagonist’s daunting challenges. (Webster)20110421
‘Source Code’ (PG-13, 1:33) Duncan Jones (“Moon”) directs and Jake Gyllenhaal stars in a nifty science-fiction thriller with a contemporary twist about a man who toggles between realities, one of which lasts eight minutes and ends with a boom. (Dargis)20110421
★ ‘Win Win’ (R, 1:46) Tom McCarthy’s comedy of middle-class anxiety and scrambled good intentions is sharp and sweet, and in no hurry to reach conclusions or teach lessons. This gives plenty of room for the terrific cast — including Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale and a young first-timer named Alex Shaffer supporting the sad sack in chief, Paul Giamatti — to give the movie a scruffy, lived-in shape and texture. (Scott)20110421
‘Wretches & Jabberers’ (No rating, 1:34) The two autistic men followed by this documentary are evidence in favor of never giving up on a person with a disability: only when they reached adulthood did they learn how to communicate effectively using a keyboard. The film follows the men, Larry Bissonnette and Tracy Thresher, as they (and two aides) travel to several foreign countries to tell their story. It can be slow going — the men need lots of time to peck out their thoughts letter by letter — but it’s inspiring nonetheless. (Genzlinger)20110421
‘Your Highness’ (R, 1:42) David Gordon Green directs this self-conscious, sometimes overly self-satisfied goof about ye olde high times with James Franco and Danny McBride as two princely brothers on a royal if not royally excellent quest. (Dargis)20110421
Film Series
The Urge for Survival: Kaneto Shindo (Friday through Thursday) Best known in the West for his grim, unsettling period thriller “Onibaba” (1964), Mr. Shindo is a protean filmmaker whose work often circles the bombing of Hiroshima, the city where he was born in 1912. This 11-film retrospective, which continues through May 5, is sponsored by the actor Benicio Del Toro, who will appear with the director’s son, Jiro Shindo, to introduce Friday’s 6:50 p.m. screening of “The Naked Island,” an allegorical account of a family’s struggle for survival on a small island. The series will include rarely seen works from all periods of Mr. Shindo’s long career, including the 1952 “Children of Hiroshima” (which is being screened daily through Thursday) and “Postcard,” the 2010 feature that Mr. Shindo, who will turn 99 on Thursday, has said will be his last. BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene , (718) 636-4100, bam.org; $12; $25 for “The Naked Island,” with proceeds going to the earthquake relief effort in Japan. (Dave Kehr)20110421
Kino! 2011: New Films from Germany (Friday through Thursday) MoMA’s annual survey of recent films from Germany includes “The Weissensee Saga: A Berlin Love Story,” Friedmann Fromm’s hit six-part television series about two families in East Berlin (Thursday, Episodes 1 to 3 at 4 p.m.; Episodes 4 to 6 at 7:30 p.m.), and Florian Cossen’s first feature, “The Day I Was Not Born,” about a champion swimmer who discovers her unsuspected origins (Friday at 4 p.m.; Saturday at 7:30 p.m.). Next week’s screenings include the documentary “Dancing Dreams: Teenagers Dance Pina Bausch’s ‘Contact Zone’ ,” in which the filmmakers Anne Linsel and Rainer Hoffmann observe Ms. Bausch, who died in 2009, at work (May 1 at 1 p.m.; May 2 at 6 p.m.). Museum of Modern Art Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, 11 West 53rd Street , (212) 708-9400, moma.org; $10. (Kehr)20110421
W. C. Fields (Friday through Thursday) Here are 28 films in 12 days (the series runs through May 3) starring the great misanthrope; rarities include four of Fields’s silent films, including Gregory La Cava’s 1926 “So’s Your Old Man” (Thursday, 6 p.m.). Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, west of Avenue of the Americas, South Village , (212) 727-8110, filmforum.org; $11 (Kehr)
I've always loved Robert Frost's line about home being the place where, "when you have to go there, they have to take you in." Perhaps I'm putting an overly optimistic reading on it, but it's reassuring that even on our coldest, darkest nights, there is always a place with a warm light in the window. That's kind of the way I feel about having eggs in the refrigerator.
It doesn't matter how gruesome the workday has been or how late it is when I get home, give me a couple of eggs and some of this and that from the fridge and I know I can fix a meal that will not only get me through the night, it will even redeem the day.
Yet it seems like every time I mention eating eggs for dinner, I get met with a blank look — "Dude? You don't know those are for breakfast?" — or even worse, pity — "So, at long last it's come to this, has it?"
But while I'll happily acknowledge the rules-turned-upside-down pleasure of eating things like waffles and pancakes for dinner (or pizza for breakfast!), that's not at all what this is about.
These are egg dishes that make perfect sense as light main courses. Better yet, throw together a quick salad and you've got a complete, elegant meal that can probably be prepared in less time than it would take my big pasta pot to come to a boil.
Of course, there are omelets and frittatas. Those are easy answers. Eggs, cheese, a few bits of vegetables and you're there. But you don't even need to get that complicated.
You're going to have to trust me on this, but one of my favorite late-night dinners is scrambled eggs. These aren't your typical diner eggs, though. They're more like the ones you get at great restaurants. In restaurants, these are cooked long and slow, often over a double boiler, with someone whisking the whole 20 or 30 minutes until the eggs are set. The result is glorious — rich and creamy eggs that are more like a slightly curdled hollandaise than what Andy brings to the counter with a couple of slices of bacon.
Several years ago I came up with a trick that makes them really easy to prepare at home. The secret is butter. Cold butter, specifically. Here's the deal: The trick to getting that creamy texture in scrambled eggs is monitoring the heat really carefully.
The proteins in eggs begin to set at a relatively low temperature, about 150 degrees (that's roughly correct — the whites and yolks set at different temperatures). And once they start to set, they get very firm very quickly.
One way to get around this is by whisking them constantly over very low heat — or you can just outsmart the proteins.
The way I fix scrambled eggs, I add just a little bit of cold butter to the raw eggs and start cooking over medium-low heat. You do need to stir constantly — a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula is perfect.
Keep the eggs well agitated and in a couple of minutes, when you can feel them getting thick and see them looking creamy start beating in little cubes of cold butter, a few at a time. Adding the cold butter moderates the temperature, keeping it just below the point at which the eggs will actually set.
Oh, and the butter also emulsifies into the eggs, making them absolutely delicious. The eggs will be done when they have formed tiny, creamy curds. Some people (like my wife) don't like their eggs too runny; for them you can go just a little longer. Whatever your preference, take the eggs off the heat while they still look a little too moist. They cook so quickly they'll firm up more in the couple of minutes that you're dishing them up.
If you have caviar or truffles languishing on your counter, by all means use them for garnish. I usually use just a couple of pinches of minced fines herbes (a mix of any or all of parsley, tarragon, chervil and chives, varying according to what I have on hand). And I have to say that, in a pinch, a good grinding of cracked black pepper cuts the richness deliciously.
Another favorite dinner is based on a recipe for eggs fried in bread crumbs that I learned from my old friend Judy Rodgers. For years this was my standard order when I'd stop by her Zuni Cafe in San Francisco for Sunday breakfast. And they're even simpler to make than scrambled.
Put a generous handful of fresh bread crumbs in a small bowl (I've tried this with dried bread crumbs and with Japanese panko bread crumbs, and the fresh crumbs work best). Stir in some chopped fresh thyme and just enough olive oil to moisten them nicely.
Cook the bread crumbs in a skillet over medium heat until they begin to toast. You'll see the color change from pale to light tan, and you'll also hear the change as the crumbs crisp and sizzle when you stir them.
Gather the crumbs into two low mounds that are as near to a single layer as you can manage, and then immediately crack an egg over each mound (this recipe can multiply out for as many eggs as you want to make, but I find four eggs is about the most that will fit in a 9-inch skillet).
Cover the pan and, if necessary, adjust the heat so the eggs cook evenly without scorching around the edges. When the yolks are as firm as you like transfer the eggs to a plate and quickly sizzle about a tablespoon of vinegar in the pan to free up any stuck crumbs or bit of eggs and pour that over the top.
This is the epitome of subtle sophistication. Simple ingredients are cooked in a smart way to get the most out of them. The toasted bread crumbs add crispness to the eggs, and the vinegar finish keeps them from being too rich.
Serve it with just a tart salad, but at this time of year, when I seem to be eating as much asparagus as I can hold, it's even better with the egg laid languorously over a bundle of steamed spears.
It's a simple thing, really just fancy fried eggs, but knowing I've got this waiting for me when I get home, I don't care how my day has gone or how long my commute might be — how dark the world might seem at the moment — there is a light shining at the end of the tunnel.
Asparagus with Bread Crumb-Fried Eggs
Makes 2 servings
1/2 to 3/4 pound asparagus
Olive oil
Salt
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
A few leaves fresh thyme
2 eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon red wine or sherry vinegar
1. Prepare the asparagus: If it is thin, simply cut off the bases. If it is thicker than a No. 2 pencil, cut off the bases and peel, starting at the tips with light pressure and gradually increasing the pressure as you work your way down the stalk until you're pressing quite firmly at the base.
2. In a tightly sealed pot over rapidly boiling water, steam the asparagus until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes for thin asparagus, 4 to 5 minutes for thick. Drain, pat dry, dress lightly with 1 tablespoon oil, season with a pinch of salt and keep warm.
3. Place the bread crumbs in a bowl. Season lightly with salt and thyme leaves and then add enough oil to generously coat, about 1 tablespoon.
4. Transfer the bread crumbs to a small nonstick skillet and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to darken. When they have fried enough that they feel dry when you stir them and make a dry, static-y sound, 2 to 3 minutes, divide them into 2 equal batches and pat to make a thin layer.
5. Crack the eggs over the bread crumbs. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, cover tightly and cook the eggs until they're as done as you like. 6. Divide the asparagus in half and arrange it on 2 warm plates. When the eggs are done, drape one egg over each asparagus bundle. Add the vinegar to the empty pan and let it sizzle for a moment before drizzling it over the eggs. Serve immediately.
Note: This is based on a recipe from Judy Rodgers' "The Zuni Cafe Cookbook."
3/4 teaspoon minced herbs, from a mixture of fresh tarragon, parsley, chives and chervil, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes, divided
4 slices hot toasted and buttered baguette
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat briskly with a fork to break them up and homogenize them. There should be no trace of white remaining. Beat in half the fresh herb mixture and the salt and stir in about 1 tablespoon of the cubed butter.
2. Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When it is warm, pour in the egg mixture and stir briskly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, scraping the bottom and sides to make sure the egg doesn't set too quickly. If you feel the cooking is too fast, remove the pan from the heat for a moment or two, stirring constantly, then return it.
3. After a couple of minutes, the butter will be melted and the eggs will have begun to thicken into a creamy sauce. Add the remaining cold butter in 2 or 3 portions, continuing to stir briskly. When the eggs are thick but not yet set, arrange the hot toast on warm plates. 4. The moment the eggs begin to set firmly (they will still be slightly creamy), spoon them over the toast, season with just a little black pepper and the remaining fresh herbs and serve immediately. These must be eaten hot to be appreciated fully.
Sony’s PlayStation network is suffering massive outages.
Just in time for a few big game releases, Sony’s PlayStation network is suffering massive outages.
Portal 2, Mortal Kombat and SOCOM 4 were all released for the PlayStation 3 this week, making the downtime all the more frustrating for gamers.
In a blog post Thursday, Sony said that it is investigating the issue but that it could be “a full day or two” before the company can get the network back up to full strength.
Users have been reporting problems connecting to the network since Wednesday night.
Some had speculated that Anonymous, the loosely affiliated hacker group, was responsible for the outages. The group declared war against Sony over the company’s lawsuit with accused hacker George Hotz. Anonymous has said that it is not responsible for the most recent downtime. The group had promised to stop attacking the PlayStation Network to avoid affecting Sony customers.
It’s not clear whether the PlayStation Network outage is being caused by an outside attack or whether it’s due to other usage or maintenance problems. But this outage — along with the Amazon server outage that brought down a lot of Web 2.0 services yesterday — does remind users that although cloud services make our lives easier, they have their downsides, too.
Dyed eggs are, of course, the star of any Easter celebration, but consider serving regular eggs as a component of your Easter brunch or dinner. They're a healthy protein that most guests -- even vegetarians -- are happy to enjoy. Plus, nothing says "spring" quite like a fresh farm egg.
Check out these five lovely egg dishes that pair well with Easter ham, lamb, or whatever you happen to be celebrating with on the big day.
Brunch:
Classic Eggs Benedict is typically two English muffin halves topped with poached eggs, slices of ham or Canadian bacon, and Hollandaise sauce. But there are plenty of ways to dress yours up for an Easter brunch. Substitute smoked salmon for ham, serve with fresh asparagus, or go totally crazy and make this amazing Poached Egg and Crispy Pork Belly on Potato Pancake With Bacon-Maple Vinaigrette.
Similar to an omelet or quiche, a frittata baked in the oven is an elegant way to enjoy eggs during brunch. Go simple with fresh herbs and cheese, or the whole nine yards with apples, bacon, and cheddar cheese.
Dinner:
Poached Egg Over Asparagus is perhaps the most perfect of all Easter sides. If you make it correctly, the beautiful egg yolk oozes over the fresh steamed asparagus and is richly satisfying. Don't like asparagus? You can add a poached egg to any salad or pasta dish to make an ordinary dish more special.
Now, quiche in a flaky pastry crust is typically eaten at brunch, but it shouldn't be overlooked as savory side dish at Easter dinner. A couple of recipes that would pair well with ham: Caramelized Onion Quiche or Gruyere and Spinach Quiche.
Finally, Deviled Eggs make for a fun accoutrement to the meal. The trick is to fancy them up with gourmet ingredients. Don't Bacon Deviled Eggs With White Truffle Oil sound absolutely amazing?
Cambridge University professor Colin Humphreys says Jesus' final meal with his disciples actually was eaten on the Wednesday before the crucifixion - one day earlier than has been traditionally accepted.
The mix-up, Humphreys concludes in his book, The Mystery of the Last Supper, might be because Jesus and disciples Matthew, Mark and Luke used one calendar and disciple John used another.
Humphreys notes that the Gospels attributed to the first three said the last meal coincided with the Jewish Passover, whereas John's Gospel said the meal took place before Passover.
Humphreys thinks Jesus used an older Hebrew calendar rather than the official lunar calendar of the time.
That, Humphreys said, would put the Last Supper on the Wednesday, and means Jesus' arrest, interrogation and trials were not all crammed into a single night but were instead spread over a longer period.
Humphreys based his findings on research that established the date of the crucifixion as Friday morning, April 3, 33 A.D.
Merchants, clubs and churches in Rochester and Austin have scheduled Easter egg hunts for Saturday, the day before Easter. They include:
• Shops at University Square in downtown Rochester. Easter bunny will appear, and photos may be taken with him. Hunt begins at noon.
• 40&8 American Legion in Rochester. Easter egg hunt for children 10 and younger, with two golden eggs and 24 ceramic eggs, and sacks of candy for all. Starts at 10 a.m., near the Ninth Street Northeast entrance to Quarry Hill Park.
• People of Hope Lutheran Church of Rochester. Easter egg hunt with thousands of candy-filled eggs hidden on the church grounds. Starts at 10 a.m., 3703 W. Country Club Road.
• Grace Lutheran Church of Rochester. Bring a basket and a camera for photos with the Easter Bunny. Rain or shine. Starts at 11 a.m., 800 E. Silver Lake Drive.
• Oak Hills Wesleyan Church of Rochester. Free community breakfast (8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.) and giant Easter egg hunt (10:30a .m.). 410 28th St. S.W.
• The Original Canine Easter Biscuit Hunt at Bone Appetit Canine Bakery in Rochester. Hidden treats for dogs and 500 Easter eggs with gifts inside. Prize for the best-dressed dog. Starts at 10 a.m. Rochester Feed & Country Store, 5 11 1/2 St. S.E., Rochester.
• Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin. Carnival games, puppet show, treats and egg hunt. Free. Adults must accompany children. 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. 802 Fourth St. S.W.
Aliens might be among us, but this one is more sandwich than spaceman.
A Russian man who filmed a video that supposedly showed the discovery of the frozen remains of an alien near the Siberian town of Kamensk has admitted that it was all a hoax after the police arrived at his home. The scared moviemaker revealed that the alien was made of bread and chicken, and given a lick of paint to look more authentic.
The video met with startling success when the UFO news site, All News Web posted an English translation of it on YouTube, saying that it was evidence of a government cover up of a recent UFO crash. The video accumulated more than three million hits in just three days, and caught the attention of the chief editor of the Kamensk-Info newspaper, who - fearing that it might be the body of a child - contacted the police. It didn't take long for the police to track the man down, at which point he showed them his extraterrestrial culinary creation.
According to news site Russia Today, the man will not face any punishment stronger than a stern talking to, as making a fake alien out of things you have in your refrigerator is not really a crime. There are already some conspiracy buffs claiming that this is just a cover story put up to hide the truth - that aliens are among us - but of the two, "Deli Counter ET" is significantly more likely.
As an aside, having watched the video, I have to say that the man behind it should really consider pursuing a career in movie special effects. That's a pretty impressive alien, especially when you consider how he made it. Just imagine what he could do with the kind of resources that a company like WETA has on hand.
2 teaspoons Nutella per crepe and thin banana slices
Strawberries and whipped cream, optional for serving
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, milk and eggs; mix well.
In an 8-inch nonstick skillet, melt about 1 teaspoon butter over medium heat. Stir the batter; pour about 2 tablespoons into the center of the skillet. Lift and tilt the pan to evenly coat the bottom with the batter. Cook until the top appears dry; turn and cook 15 to 20 seconds longer, until the crepe is just slightly firm. Remove to a wire rack.
Repeat with the remaining batter, adding the butter to the skillet as needed. When cool, stack the crepes with waxed paper in between. (Plain-cooked crepes can be stacked between sheets of waxed paper and refrigerated for two days or frozen for one month.)
When all the crepes are made, spread 2 teaspoons Nutella, or more to taste, on the crepe, top with banana slices to taste, fold the crepe in half and then fold in half again, forming a triangle. Remove to a serving plate, and repeat with the remaining crepes as needed. The crepes also can be served with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, to taste, if desired. Makes 18 crepes
Per crepe (filled with Nutella and bananas): 149 calories (39 from fat), 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 23 mg cholesterol, 3.5 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 1.5 g fiber, 29 mg sodium
Last week we asked you to submit your questions for our Portal 2 review and with internet verdicts now live, here are our answers to the most asked reader questions...
Socheeky asks: Is there a lengthy challenge and replay value for the solo game, given that Valve have designed half of the sequel for co-op play?
As you'll know if you've read our review, replayability is our only major criticism of Portal 2. Although both solo and co-op campaigns are fantastic (you really should check out the latter - we challenge you not to love it), they're ultimately both plot-driven and linear experiences.
Bizarrely Valve's opted not to include the scoring and time challenge features of Portal: Still Alive (DLC?), so once you're done there's little reason to go back - and we finished solo in seven and a half hours, co-op in four.
The game's Achievements and Trophies, as with the Left 4 Dead games, are admittedly fun to chase and could encourage you to replay a few chambers if you're into upping your Gamerscore/Platinum count (there are a few decent co-op-themed ones too, such as time challenges and portal count limits).
Valve's Director's Commentary Mode too, as always, could warrant another walkthrough if you fancy listening to the developer's tricks and trials in coming up with the final game - but we wish we didn't have to trudge through all of the chambers and cut-scenes to get to them.
Mark240473 asks: Can you complete co-op missions in any order, rather than having to complete the whole game with the same person?
The co-op campaign is presented via a hub world split into various themed "classes" ("Mass and Velocity", "Hard Light Surfaces", "Excursion Tunnels" etc). So yes, it's possible to progress through the game in chunks with different online partners.
In fact, the game's Achievements/Trophies actively encourage it; there's one for hugging three different players, for example.
PRM8 asks: How easy/hard is it to control the aim, movement and quite importantly for Portal, momentum using a control pad?
As with any FPS the 'twitch factor' means you'll always be a bit more responsive with a PC mouse compared to a console joypad. That said, we definitely preferred the console version of the original Portal to its PC counterpart - and we feel the same about the sequel.
Of all of Valve's creations, Portal lends itself most to the laid-back couch experience, where little quick-fire aiming is required and you'll spend plenty of time out pondering how to solve the next puzzle.
Altitude2k asks: Are we going to be disappointed if we're expecting any hints of the Half-Life variety?
Probably, yes.
Don't expect Half-Life 3; the references don't go beyond a few mentions of Black Mesa (and in fact all Half-Life sound effects have been removed), but do expect strong dialogue, scenes of epic proportions and to eventually learn Aperture's darkest secrets.
Craiglackenby asks: Is there a steep learning curve? I'm guessing there will be a lot of n00b-comers to Portal 2 just like me...
Valve's put extra effort into making sure new players can easily get to grips with the sequel. Puzzles expectedly start progressively, initially restricting you to environment-set portals, then allowing you to set down a single hole etc...
Because of this forgiving start, veterans will naturally cruise through the opening sections, but thanks to GlaDOS's consistently entertaining banter you won't really care.
Parishioners, bishop visit city churches on pilgrimage.
The Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades follows the Jubilee Cross down LaSalle Avenue on Sunday after an opening prayer at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, as he leads a pilgrimage from parish to parish in South Bend to mark the start of Holy Week.
Sean Malone has lived in South Bend for nearly all of his 16 years, but it wasn't until Sunday that he realized how big his hometown truly is.
"I didn't even know half these churches were here," said Malone, standing outside St. Stanislaus Church on North Brookfield Street.
Malone and a gathering of about 100, including The Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades, bishop of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, took part in the Palm Sunday Walk that visited six South Bend churches as part of the official start of Holy Week, the seven days leading to the Christian holiday of Easter.
Starting at St. Joseph Church, near the East Race, the procession of children, teens and adults walked through downtown, stopping at the city's historic Catholic churches.
St. Patrick. St. Hedwig. St. Augustine. St. Stanislaus. Holy Cross Church.
At each stop, the participants were told a bit about each parish's history and the complex weaving of ethnic groups that arrived in the city.
But the walk wasn't really about local history; participants said they were making a pilgrimage of faith, praying through the Stations of the Cross at the first churches, and carrying palms -- the symbol of Palm Sunday -- through their final stops.
"It's a great way to start Holy Week," said 22-year-old Sara Morgan, who came with her husband and infant son. "To see all these people walking together in faith -- it's what this week is about."
Although the walk had been designed for teens and young adults, a survey of the crowd showed that all ages -- from the very young to the elderly -- were in attendance Sunday.
Linda Cleveland brought her 5-year-old daughter, Jessica, and 6-year-old son, Jeremy, to partake in the festivities at St. Stanislaus, where they attend weekly.
"We picked up with (the pilgrimage) on Washington Street," Cleveland said. "It's just been very neat to see."
MIND-bending puzzler Portal 2 is the game most worthy of your money this weekend....
Portal 2 breaks new ground
Title: Portal 2
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action/Puzzle
Price: £49.99
From the minute that Portal hit the shelves within The Orange Box collection, a sequel has been a certainty.
And it proves to be the finest execution of physics-based action adventure puzzling of its generation.
Portal 2 is a terrific title that breaks new ground in next generation gaming by expanding that heady recipe of absorbing gameplay, story and music.
The introduction of new game modes - multiplayer and co-op - really takes Portal 2 to the next level, and you’d be mad to miss out on this masterpiece.
April 14, 2011, 7:56 AM — Valve's Portal 2 comes out next week, and a lot of gamers are pretty excited about it. I don't usually talk about specific game releases in this blog, but I'm going to make an exception because Portal 2 is breaking some new ground – at least the Sony Playstation 3 version is.
Portal 2 marks the first time that Valve's social gaming network (and digital distribution system), Steam, will appear on consoles. So what does this mean? It means (once you link your Playstation Network [PSN] and Steam accounts) you'll be able to keep tabs on what your Steam friends are up to from within a game of Portal 2 on the PS3. Just hit the Select button on your controller to bring up the Steam Overlay.
Even better, you'll be able to play Portal 2 with friends playing on PC or Mac. I can think of at least one other example of cross-platform gaming (Shadowrun supported both PC and Xbox players in the same game servers) but it's still very rare. Perhaps if more console games start using Steam it'll be less so. In this case Xbox 360 gamers are still left out in the cold so we're still waiting for a truly platform-agnostic online game.
Steam has an achievement system and the PSN has Trophies. These are synced up in Portal 2, so when you do something that earns you a PSN Trophy it'll also award you the corresponding Steam Achievement.
Portal 2 will be "Steam Cloud" enabled, which means you can store your save games in the cloud. The PSN already supports this (at least for Playstation Plus members) and save games aren't interchangeable between PS3 and PC/Mac versions of the game, so I'm not sure how much this feature will get used. If you happen to bounce around between several PS3 systems and aren't a Plus member, then I'm sure it'll be a welcome feature.
As a bonus, purchasers of the Playstation 3 version of Portal 2 will get a code to unlock the PC and Mac version, too.
When Valve's Gabe Newell talked about Portal 2 at Sony's E3 2010 press conference he said the PS3 version of the game would be the ultimate console version. Seems like Valve is putting its money where Newell's mouth was. For more details on Portal 2 and Steam on the PS3, check out Valve's FAQ.
An intense StarCraft II game on Metalopolis is unfolding itself when Mondragon is training vor his TSL match against Cruncher with the former WarCraft III progamer ToD.
An intense StarCraft II game on Metalopolis is unfolding itself when Mondragon is training vor his TSL match against Cruncher with the former WarCraft III progamer ToD.
An intense StarCraft II game on Metalopolis is unfolding itself when Mondragon is training vor his TSL match against Cruncher with the former WarCraft III progamer ToD.
An intense StarCraft II game on Metalopolis is unfolding itself when Mondragon is training vor his TSL match against Cruncher with the former WarCraft III progamer ToD.
UFO mainstream media coverage, worldwide UFO sightings increasing at a phenomenal rate. BLUEBEAM? NEPHILIM RETURNING? PORTALS? NEW WORLD ORDER PROPEGANDA?
Capcom have unveiled a whole host of trailers and screenshots for their upcoming fighting match-up Street Fighter X Tekken, as well as confirming some of the characters who will feature.
Street Fighter X Tekken: Fight! Fight!
The long-awaited clash between Capcom and Namco's classic fighting titles was first announced back at Comic-Con in 2010, but this is the first proper look we've got at the game.
It sees characters from Capcom's Street Fighter taking on those from Namco Bandai's Tekken, in a 2D fight environment which promises to blend the fighting styles (and controls) of both series so that fans of either will feel at home, although predominantly retaining the look and feel of Street Fighter - it uses the same engine as Street Fighter IV.
The new screenshots and trailers, released by Capcom yesterday, give a flavour of the gameplay ad show off some of the environments - including, quite prominently, a Dino Crisis-inspired stage filled with onlooking T Rexes.
Must get quite distracting having those dinosaurs staring at you all the time
Confirmed characters include Ryu, Ken, Guile, Abel, and Chun-Li from Street Fighter and Kazuya, Nina, King, Marduk, and Bob from Tekken.
The game is due out in 2012 on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Also in development is Namco's 3D take on the same match-up, naturally named Tekken X Street Fighter - with the two companies merrily talking up the rivalry between the two firms.
Based on the Street Fighter IV fighting engine, Capcom’s Street Figher X Tekken will pit a team of Street Fighter veterans such as Ryu, Guile, and Able against Namco’s Tekken stars like Kazuya, Nina, and Bob. The game will be a tag-team fighter which will let you switch out your characters as you play or link their combos together for massive damage. Capcom also promises a more robust online mode with “upgraded functionality and some new surprises.” The game is expected to be released sometime in 2012 and will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Check out the new cinematic trailer for the game below that showcases Ryu and Ken fighting off Kazuya and Nina.
Going Green in Heart and Mind: Seagate Barracuda 2TB
Following our review of two of the fastest notebook hard drives on the market, we're going to review a very interesting product for the desktop - a green hard drive. For many people, most hard drives have attained a size that is enough to hold the majority of their data. This has been primarily achieved by the introduction of 1TB and 2TB HDD. The 2TB drive is safe to say the most prevalent data drive to date. Many users find themselves buying 2TB drives as data drives and in some cases, even operating system drives. As the market saturated itself with 2TB drives last year, a second generation of those drives began to roll out with improvements upon the original designs. This leads us to the development that Seagate has come out with, the Seagate Barracuda Green also known as the Seagate Barracuda LP (for low power). This drive is intended to not only be considered a "green" drive but also one that is generally considered to be cooler and quieter as well. Today we will see how Seagate’s 2TB Green drive stacks up against the competition as well as other Seagate offerings.
Specs and Background Data One of the key factors about the Barracuda Green is that the drive is not a 7200rpm "desktop speed" drive, nor is it a 5400rpm "notebook speed" drive. Instead, it is actually a 5900RPM drive which means that it in theory will not quite operate as slowly as the majority of other 5400 rpm "green" low power drives, but at the same time will not likely be as fast as some 7200RPM drives of the same size. This is achieved through doubling the available cache memory. Seagate Barracuda Green features 64MB of cache unlike 32MB in its predecessor. Furthermore, this drive is capable of utilizing SATA 6Gb/s which should further make it a quicker drive. Also, like our previously reviewed WD Scorpio Black, Barracuda Green also comes with the new Advanced Format 4K sector standard, which the company calls Seagate SmartAlign. We will see how much of an effect this really does have on performance, though.
As you can see from above, 2TB capacity is packed in a typical 3.5" housing with nothing to write home about. Turning the hard drive upside down changes the story, though.
Notice that Seagate also opted to go for a smaller than usual PCB (Printed Circuit Board) on the drive as well. Recently, we spoke with Seagate on their new strategy towards the enterprise segment and it was disclosed that the company is shifting focus from mature 3.5" form factor to 2.5" and that the R&D focus will be tuned to building as fast performing 2.5" drives as possible. Thus, seeing a PCB that could almost fit on a 2.5" one is no surprise at all.
(CBS) - When you go out to a nice meal, are you looking for something tasty and refined? Or do you want something EPIC? Personally, I'm a fan of the latter, which is why I love the "Epic Meal Time" crew, and especially love their latest video creation: "Epic Indian Experience."
I've been following the "Epic Meal Time" gang since the beginning and really love their use of comedy and cooking to make some of the most amazing, horrifying, incredible, heart-attack inducing creations you've ever witnessed. If you haven't seen their work before and like their style, you can check out more of their stuff here.
The theatrical poster for the highly anticipated sequel has just hit the web. Check it out after the jump!
Remember those character posters released in promotion of Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? Well, we now have all those posters in one group shot. Your viewing pleasure directly below...
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides hits theaters May 20th!
Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta pitches in the first inning of the Baltimore Orioles’ home opener against the Detroit Tigers at Camden Yards in Baltimore Monday.
BALTIMORE -- As pitching ailments have piled up, the Orioles have done a bit more than shrug aside the adversity. It's been more of an all-out shove.
Brian Matusz, Justin Duchscherer and Jeremy Guthrie have all been sidelined, forcing the club to turn to options deeper on the depth chart less than a week into the season.
And entering Brad Bergesen's unexpected season debut tonight, Baltimore has handled the misfortune with aplomb.
The Orioles have opened 4-0 for the first time since 1997 and can match the best start in franchise history (5-0 in 1970) with a win tonight. The team's starters have been the key to that, combining to allow just two runs in 26 innings for a spectacular 0.69 ERA. They've also permitted just 12 hits, fanned 20 and walked nine through four contests.
They are just the second team in American League history to begin a season 4-0 while allowing no more than one run in any game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Baltimore manager Buck Showalter acknowledged Monday that he couldn't expect anything more than that.
"No you couldn't, especially with some of the challenges we've faced with Matusz and Duchscherer, and a couple of line drives off pitching arms towards the end of spring, and now Bergy's going to have to pick up the slack for Guthrie," Showalter said. "The starting pitching, obviously, this year's been everything you can ask for. They've kind of fed off each other a little bit."
Duchscherer was limited to one spring start spanning two innings before hip and back issues landed him on the 15-day disabled list to open the season.
The Orioles scratched Matusz from his start Saturday and placed him on the DL because of an intercostal strain - small muscles between the ribs. The left-hander is expected to miss anywhere from three to six weeks.
Guthrie became the latest fallen starter, as he was hospitalized Monday with a form of pneumonia. The timing couldn't have been much worse for a couple of reasons. First, Guthrie was coming off a sparkling season debut when he held Tampa Bay to three hits in eight scoreless innings. Second, he missed the Orioles' home-opening festivities. Guthrie is expected to miss five to seven days, but hasn't yet been ruled out to start April 10.
Because of Duchscherer's injuries, both right-handers Chris Tillman and Bergesen made the team out of spring training with Bergesen starting the year in the bullpen. In response to Matusz's injury, Tillman's first start was pushed up from Sunday to Saturday and top prospect Zach Britton was brought up to make his major-league debut at least three weeks before anyone expected.
And because of Guthrie's illness, Bergesen is also starting earlier than expected. Bergesen was originally slated to make his first start Sunday.
"I'm comfortable with it," Bergesen said of starting tonight. "I knew all along that I was here to fill in if needed, so when we got the bad news that Jeremy wasn't going to be able to make the start, I figured that I was going to get the call. It's upsetting that we've had [three] of our starters go down, so hopefully Jeremy will be back with us soon."
So far, the response to all the shuffling has been positive.
Tillman tossed six hitless, scoreless innings in his first start Saturday and Britton gave up one run in six innings in his initial big-league start Sunday.
Bergesen, who hopes to follow suit tonight, believes it says something about the quality of the team that the rotation has excelled despite early adversity.
"I think that the depth is the answer," Bergesen said. "We've seen that already in the first four games of the year. Hopefully we get them back, but guys are able to step up and hopefully will continue to do so."
That hot start on the mound has allowed the offense to ease into April, as everyone but Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy have scuffled to some degree early on.
"I feel like what we've done so far is we've been able to take pressure off the hitters and it seems like they're relaxed," right-hander Jake Arrieta said. "It's fun to be a part of this team right now and I'm just real excited about the direction we're going."
