“The Heist” Overtakes “Angry Birds” As The Best Selling App For A Third Consecutive Day Almost every second person with an Android device has the Angry Birds app downloaded on it. This game is entertaining the Android users for quite some time. Angry Birds is simple but entertaining game for all the ages. The simplicity and the funny graphics caught the attention of the entire world and helped it to become the most downloaded app for a long time. However, it has been now dethroned of this coveted position by a new game “The Heist”. Till now, a few apps had overtaken the ”Angry Birds” for a few hours or even a day but had been unable to last long in front of the awesome app that again catapulted to the number one position. However, it has been three days since “The Heist” leapfrogged ahead of “Angry Birds” and it is still going strong. Actually, the sales of this paid app are increasing rapidly. The game had a slow beginning with number of downloads just crossing the 25,000 mark. But even this was enough to take it to first rank. The second day saw a rise in the sales with 89,798 downloads. Now, there are 86,400 seconds in a day. Yes, that means the app is being downloaded at a rate better than 1 download per second! That too when this is a paid app ($0.99). The total number of downloads are well past 100,000 and the revenues have exceeded the $100,000 benchmark. It is also the top earner in the AppStore. So what’s the secret mantra behind the huge success of this app? Well, obviously the game is an excellent one with great puzzles and good story line well worth the 99 cents. But the marketing strategy used by the developing team deserves some appraisal. The team is the same that brought to us the MacHeist OS X software bundle. It started dropping hints about the game earlier this year with the clues hidden in the nascent version of Twitter for Mac. This plan worked in their favor and pushed The Heist beyond all other games. Once it secured the number one place, everyone became curious about it and many such curious customers downloaded it. This led to increased sales on day 2. The app is developed by the team that was behind the insanely popular Camera+ app which is ranked seven in the list of top paid apps on AppStore. The Heist has received good reviews from many critics and users as well. So are you planning to download it or have you already done that?

Angry Birds Game Makes Open Source More Sexy

During this time, Linux was not as lucky as MacOSX and Windows in attracting the gamers. Moreover, when the popular game Angry Birds released by Rovio Mobile on the iPhone platform (IOS), Android, and then on the Mac and Windows, arguably the desktop Linux users could only wished it, when the popular game can be played on their platform. However, the wait is over. Today’s top games from the Rovio Angry Birds can be played online and for free on Google Chrome browser and browser are very supportive of Linux platforms. Then, what the consequences maneuver Rovio Mobile is the future of Linux What is the future platform Linux is no longer a ‘pariah’ in the computer gaming arena? Maneuver Rovio Mobile for Google For those not familiar with the Angry birds, this game is basically very simple principle. But simplicity is what made her popular. In early versions, Angry birds make various types of birds as protagonists, and the pigs green as the antagonist. What we must do is simple, namely angry birds, so the green pigs, which often hide behind the building or bunker. Installing the Chrome browser is very easy, just install via the Chrome Web Store. The author has tried to play Angry Birds Chrome browser at the workstation version of Fedora Linux version 13, and the game runs very well with excellent graphics quality. Indeed, the game is still a beta. But of course this is marketing strategy Rovio Mobile, in order to invite more and more users to wait for the next game development. Of course, this maneuver is very profitable Linux / Open Source. Because this will be a teaser for the user to consider the Linux platform, and another party game developers will not want to miss are expected to develop games for the Chrome browser. During this, one of the superiority of the Windows platform is an unbeatable dominance in the field of entertainment / gaming. After Angry Birds can be played on the Linux platform, the dominance will be questioned. Success Angry Birds in browser Chrome is a successful implementation of cloud computing (Cloud Computing) from Google itself. Inspiration and the journey of Angry Birds If we look at the flow Angry game birds, it can be concluded that the designers did develop it based on the surrounding environment. Finland has one of the most rigorous in determining the environmental quality standards, and the presence of birds is one indicator that the environment is healthy. Predictable, in the green atmosphere and full of singing birds, so the designer can get an idea Angry birds. Rovio Mobile is already working with Google before Angry birds released Chrome browser version. Angry game birds are very popular on the Android platform, and different from the IOS platform, the Android game priced free by Rovio Mobile. Going forward, we will see more fruits of cooperation the two companies, because it still seems Rovio Mobile will continue to develop Angry birds and other games. Angry Wisdom birds for the development of Linux / Open Source Linux is a plaform established on the basis of idealism. Unlike other platforms, Linux is fully Open Source platform, in the sense of consistently releasing all his Source code to the public. For the IT and “Hard-core computer scientist”, Linux offers the flexibility, efficiency and scalability that is difficult to match other platforms. Only, the benefits of Linux is ultimately only be enjoyed by the highly segmented, ie those groups mentioned above. End users, or regular users such as offices, designers, students IT still remain loyal to the platform of Windows and MacOSX. Meanwhile, Windows is the only platform that offers the most complete game on the desktop, and this causes the user’s Windows platform is difficult to switch to Linux / Open Source.However, Google’s strategy-Rovio Mobile to provide the Angry birds on Chrome browser is an important breakthrough. Why? Because the consequences of the game ‘in the cloud’ is a platform independent, meaning that any platform that is used is not too important. Chrome browser available in versions of MacOSX, Windows and various Linux distributions. It makes Linux has the potential to get the ‘overflow’ game. Hopefully, more and more developers are developing games for the Chrome browser, so that Linux will become an attractive platform for end users as well.

Monte Carlo Formula 1 Saturday report

Formula One report - Team Lotus driver and personnel comments following the qualifying session on the streets of Monte Carlo. Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04 "Before I talk about the sessions today I want to say that it’s good to hear that Sergio is conscious and talking. I’ve had a big accident myself and know what it’s like for the team, friends and family as you wait for news, so I hope he’s back on track soon. “In qualy it was quite a tricky session for me today, but I’m reasonably pleased with where I ended up. My first run didn’t really go to plan, I definitely didn’t get the best out of the tyres so I had to really go for it with the second set and that was definitely better, but not quite enough to get into Q2. But the gap to the cars ahead is pretty close and I think we’ll be ok tomorrow.” Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03 “That was a bit unlucky for us. The car’s not been responding as I’d like all day and the tyres were behaving strangely, the first set was mega and the second set were really poor, so I’m not too sure where we’re going wrong. I know I could have gone much quicker on the second run with more rubber on the track but for some reason I was only marginally faster which is why we ended up where we did. Tomorrow in the race we’ll keep our heads down, run to our plan and see what happens around us. I’m sure there will be places to pick up so let’s wait and see. I also want to say that I hope Sergio is ok. That was a massive shunt and I hope we have more good news about him soon.” Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader “During FP3 we worked more on the driveability of the engine which is the most important aspect of engine behaviour here. We had good feedback from the drivers who were both happy, especially in the slow speed corners where the engine is reacting in a good way but unfortunately in qualifying we were not able to get into Q2, but were pretty close. Both cars were very close to each other so we have clearly found a good, consistent set-up, but I think we struggled a bit with the tyres and that is what has stopped us pushing into Q2 today. I also want to echo what the whole team has said about Sergio. I hope he's ok and we have good news soon.” Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer “Firstly we obviously hope that Sergio Perez is in good shape following his accident. Our best wishes are with him and the whole Sauber team. For us that was a reasonably good qualifying session. Jarno was reporting more grip than in the morning but he couldn’t get the most out of his second set of tyres, but overall we are close to the group in front and we look forward to a strong race tomorrow.” Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer “To begin with I want to say that I hope Sergio Perez recovers quickly. He had a big accident and the early news is that he’s taken a knock but is ok so that’s encouraging. “On track I think we knew we would probably struggle to get into Q2 here as the performance difference between the tyre compounds doesn’t give us the same chance we had in Spain to play with the strategies. Despite that we have had a good, reliable weekend so far and the aim is definitely to have both cars cross the finish line tomorrow. We have obviously had a couple of pieces of good news so far this weekend so perhaps tomorrow will bring us something else to cheer.”

Vettel on pole in Monte Carlo

Vettel on pole in Monte Carlo

Sebastian Vettel returned to pole following a qualifying session that saw another crash at the Monaco Grand Prix

Perez's wrecked Sauber is hoisted away after the third crash at the Monte Carlo street circuit [GALLO/GETTY]  World championship leader Sebastian Vettel secured his fifth pole position of the season after posting the fastest time in Saturday's crash-marred qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix. Vettel's best lap time of 1 minute, 13.556 seconds gave Red Bull its sixth straight pole, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber. "If you'd asked me before qualifying if I would have taken third, I probably would have," Webber said. Webber took pole at last week's Spanish Grand Prix, Vettel took the previous four poles and already leads McLaren's Lewis Hamilton overall by 41 points as he bids to win in Monaco for the first time. It was a disappointing session for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who was quickest in the final practice on Saturday morning, but dropped to fourth in qualifying. Tunnel trauma Mexican driver Sergio Perez became the third driver to crash at the Monaco Grand Prix this year, racing out of the tunnel and skidding across the track late in the afternoon's qualifying session. The Sauber driver lost control of his car as he was about to come out of the tunnel, and the front slid over to the right and slammed into the tunnel barrier. The car then span round and hit a tire wall on the circuit. "It's difficult to keep the focus and it's difficult to keep the concentration when you don't know what's going on," Vettel said. "We all wish him the best." A medical crew rushed to Perez's car, and a giant blanket was immediately draped over it. After a few minutes the battered car was lifted off the track. Sauber team official Hanspeter Brack told reporters: "Sergio was conscious and he has been talking. He is now being brought to the hospital and we will have to wait for further information." Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg and Hispania's Vitantonio Liuzzi were both unharmed after crashing in practice earlier on Saturday. Rosberg crashed at almost exactly the same spot as Perez, who is racing in his debut season, but the Mexican's accident was more violent. Perez was too wide coming out of the tunnel and smashed into the barriers at the tunnel exit at the fastest point of the street circuit. The impact projected his car sideways out of the exit tunnel and about 30 meters down into the tire wall. One of the Sauber car's tires rolled down the track seconds after the car had slammed into the tire wall, and another incident was thankfully avoided as there was no other car immediately behind Perez. Jenson Button had a similar accident at the same spot in final practice with BAR Honda in 2003 and had to miss the showcase race that year. "I know how much it hurts (to crash there)," said Button. "I'm not sure he'll be racing tomorrow but hopefully he'll be watching." Hamilton hindered Perez's crash severely hampered Hamilton, as he had yet to set a lapped time and the heat went out of his tires as he waited nearly 40 minutes for qualifying to resume. The 2008 F1 champion will start Sunday's race down in seventh spot, a disappointment for the English driver, who was fastest in both the opening two qualifying sessions. Early into Saturday's morning practice, Rosberg walked away unharmed when the German driver ploughed into a crash barrier after flying out of the tunnel and swerving off to the right. Toward the end, a second red flag went up when Liuzzi crashed sideways into the barriers at the Sainte Devolte turn. The Italian was also unharmed and his Hispania car was airlifted away.

Men in Black III Photos Have Will Smith, Josh Brolin, and Future Pods!

If you are to believe the hype, Men in Black III is a dead man walking, disaster in production. Its The Bonfire of the Vanities for the Aughts generation. But seriously, after the ending of the hour and eleven minutes long Men In Black II, in which they fail to even attempt to explain what happened, or where Johnny Knoxville disappeared off too, how bad could this be? The pictures from the set look fun, even if Will Smith's face looks locked in agony. And poor Josh Brolin is experiencing the same "no script" problems that he faced on the Howard the Duck of the Tens, Jonah Hex. New set photos have arrives from Queens, New York, which show Will Smith and Josh Brolin interacting with two Doctor Who-like future pods. Should they pull the plug and get out while they still can? Or do you want to see Men in Black III? Check out the photos below.








Men in Black III comes to theaters May 25th, 2012 and stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Gemma Arterton, Nicole Scherzinger. The film is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.

Jerry Seinfeld, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith survive Oprah-fication

Jerry Seinfeld, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith survive Oprah-fication

 
Thank the show-biz gods for Jerry Seinfeld. Amid the "Super Size This" atmosphere of "Oprah's Surprise Spectacular," his comic tribute to Winfrey explained why her interplay with performers has often rubbed me the wrong way.
During a hilarious riff on her daily shows as training sessions for husbands like me, who can always use more training, he said that male guests on 'Oprah' actually learned to answer questions and listen.
Seinfeld made a brilliant joke out of Oprah's insistent kind of sincerity -- her view that her sofa was a hot seat for "the truth." Her demand for tell-all honesty made a lot of actors lose their playfulness and wit and edge -- or just go overboard. Is it any wonder that Tom Cruise jumped the couch on "Oprah?" These days it's a relief to see him revert to being a toothy variation on an old-time action hero.
For deadly Oprahfied sincerity, no one can top Tom Hanks. In the pre-Oprah Eighties he burst on the scene as a frolicking comic in TV's "Bosom Buddies" and a feather-light romantic lead in "Splash." In the post-Oprah Nineties and 00s he became increasingly earnest and often dull on-screen, and increasingly sappy off-screen. As one of Oprah's farewell hosts, you could believe in his pride and happiness and sadness and still regret that he wore his heart on his sleeve, his cuff, and his collar. His real emoting looked like mugging.
Not everyone succumbed to Oprah-itis during her final shows.

Like Seinfeld, Will Smith didn't forget that show-biz artists express their authenticity through entertainment. Smith showed you could be full of heart without losing style and panache. Jamie Foxx dazzled the audience with his electrifying performance of "Isn't She Lovely?" The yearning faces and outstretched arms of the females in the audience proved that he convinced each woman in the gigantic stadium (and probably at home, too) that he was singing just to her. It made you wonder when, oh when is Foxx ever going to get another role as great as his Oscar-winning Ray Charles in "Ray" (2004)?
Kristin Chenoweth displayed amazing power and control as she sang "For Good" while hundreds of Morehouse College scholarship students, supported by Oprah, moved in a poignant and inspiring procession onto the stage. In our post-Oprah culture, we've put too big an emphasis on performers being "real." Chenoweth, like Seinfeld, Smith and Foxx, proved what really makes them real is their art.

blackbeard

Hulton Archive, Getty

Captain Edward Teach (1680 - 1718), better known as Blackbeard.

Blackbeard's facial hair wasn't the only thing the infamous pirate liked big.

Archaeologists on Friday recovered one of three giant anchors believed to be used by the 18th-century high seas bandit on his ship, Queen Anne's Revenge.

The 11-foot, 4-inch long anchor was pulled from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina.

Scientists hoped to raise the ship's other two anchors, but they are stuck to the sunken ship.

"This is a very important piece that is on top of the wreck," Mark Wilde-Ramsing, the project manager for the recovery, told the Wilmington Star-News. "When we remove this it will allow us to see more of what's below it."

The Queen Anne's Revenge was first discovered underwater in 1996. Historians believe the ship was originally a French slave vessel before Blackbeard captured it.

Five months after the ship sank, Blackbeard's pirating days were ended when he was killed in 1718 by the Royal Navy in Ocracoke Inlet.

Blackbeard's killers adorned the bow of their ship with his severed head, according to a website devoted to the archaeological project.

The recovery of the anchor comes a week after the third installation of the wildly popular "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies hit theaters. Blackbeard and his famous ship are both featured in the film.