Mafia twist in Jimi Hendrix death

Steve Miller says the late, great Jimi Hendix was monstered by the Mafia. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Janis Joplin was downing 750ml of gin per day in the last two months of her life, Steve Miller says. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

CLASSIC American rocker Steve Miller says he was scared straight after seeing friends Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin kill themselves with drugs.

The Fly Like An Eagle hitmaker said Joplin's manager, the late Albert Grossman, should have been jailed for letting the troubled singer leave rehab before she got well.

He said: "I did some of the last gigs with Jimi and Janis.

"She had become a heroin addict, did 19 days of rehab, and was drinking a fifth of gin (750ml) a day.

"They booked her to 60 shows and she was dead two months later.''

Miller said Hendrix was similarly messed up.

"The last time I saw Jimi, he was completely stoned on heroin and had Mafia thugs running him,'' Miller said.

"They wouldn't let him get on stage until he had been paid $120,000 in cash.

"Then they'd shoot him up with speed.

He added: "Jimi would play noise for 20 minutes. He was so high, he didn't even know where he was.''

The Steve Miller Band frontman, whose hits include The Joker, Jet Airliner and Abracadabra, always knew his

destination.

His godfather is guitar great Les Paul. Paul was a family friend.

That connection saw Miller get guitar lessons from blues giant T Bone Walker.

He met The Beatles while working with their engineer Glyn Johns. He sat in on recording sessions for Get Back

and Don't Let Me Down. It led to friendship and collaborations with Paul McCartney.

The Beatles inspired Miller to write hits and have a stockpile of follow ups.

The Joker, released in 1973, was the first of many.

"I didn't think it was a hit. But it just did what it did. It went viral,'' he said.

Miller heard his hit on four of five radio stations while driving to a headlining show in San Francisco.

He laughed: "I was kind of annoyed it wasn't on the fifth station. You lose perspective. You're never happy.''

He said the music industry was dirty.

"It was an ugly competitive place where everybody was fighting for the same resources.

"There were kickbacks and secret deals. It was a slimy business.

"Being talented was a hard way to make it,'' Miller said. "But I made it on my talent and songs.''

Yet, after all the hits, Miller was dumped by his record company.

"They were done with me. They even hated Abracadabra. They said: `We don't like this. We don't like you, either.

We like this new kid over there with green pants and tattoos.''

Abracadabra, released in 1982, was a global hit.

Miller, touring Australia this month, will perform at the Deniliquin Blues and Roots Festival this weekend.

He also teaches popular music and music industry programs at US universities.

"My strongest message is: `Never give your songs away. Never sign a contract you can't get out of.'

"You have to know what your value is. I started learning my value when I was 12 years old.''

Miller, now 69, is recording new songs.

"It involves jazz, blues lyrics, the American songbook, and combining them all,'' he says.

He is attempting a mash-up of Miles Davis' All Blues and Ma Rainey's See See Rider.

Asked if he's mindful of messing with Miles, Miller answers: "I played a lot with Miles, so I'm not mindful of

anything.

"I'm here to stretch it out, kick it around, see if I can move it forward and make it my own.

"Miles always said I was a cocky like that.

"He referred to me in his book as `that jazz mother f---er Steve Miller.'

"That's a very big badge of honour.''

View the original article here

Smartphone users addicted and loving it

The most popular smartphone applications are used for connecting with friends and family, a new survey shows. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

US smartphone owners tend to be connected from the instant they rise until they fall sleep and revel in every minute of it, a Facebook-sponsored study showed.

"Smartphones, coupled with rich applications and mobile data services, allow us to connect with our family, friends and community from the moment we wake up until the end of our day," IDC researchers said in the report, released this week.

"Rather than feeling overwhelmed by it, we enjoy and value this increased social connectedness."

About half the US population uses smartphones, with the number of people expected to reach 181.4 million this year and climb to 222.4 million in the coming four years, according to IDC.

A week-long IDC survey of more than 7000 people ranging in age from 18 to 44 years old with iPhones or Android-powered smartphones showed that four out of five check their handsets within 15 minutes of waking.

The top three applications used were for messaging, Web browsing, and Facebook, in that order, according to IDC.

"People have a universal need to connect with others, especially those they care deeply about," IDC researchers said.

"This coupled with mass market adoption of smartphones means that social engagement via phones has become mainstream."

About 84 per cent of the time spent communicating with smartphones involved email, text messages, or social networks while only 16 per cent relied on voice calls, the survey indicated.

"This increased sense of connectedness is the primary reason we use these technologies with the frequency and duration that we do," IDC researchers concluded.
 

View the original article here

Scuba divers cut internet cables

Three men arrested by the Egyptian navy for cutting undersea internet cables said they were salvaging shipwrecks and cut the cables by mistake. Source: Supplied

THE Egyptian military has arrested three scuba divers accused of cutting an undersea Internet cable off the coast of the northern city of Alexandria, it said on Thursday.

The three had been spotted on board a small boat and attempted to flee ashore, but the navy gave chase and eventually caught up and arrested them, the military said on its Facebook page.

Pictures of three men with their hands bound were posted on the website, but there were no other details about their identity or about possible motives for the act of sabotage.

Three oxygen tanks were found aboard the boat but the divers' wetsuits were thought to have been thrown into the sea, the statement said.

Under questioning, the captured men claimed they had cut the cable by mistake, said Alexandria's security director Amin Ezz al-Din, quoted by the official MENA news agency.

The men said they were salvaging shipwrecks to sell when they spotted the cable and tried to take it, he said.

The navy had been acting on information from Telecom Egypt which reported that the SMW-4 undersea cable which provides broadband Internet to the country had been cut.

The arrests come after many internet users in Egypt reported service disruptions during the past few days.

In 2008, severed underwater cables disrupted Internet access in Egypt and several other countries.
 

View the original article here

Taylor Swift to guest star on New Girl

Taylor Swift will make a guest appearance on the season two finale of Zooey Deschanel's hit comedy New Girl. Picture: AP Source: AP

A NEW GIRL is coming to New Girl and her name is Taylor Swift.

A representative for the Grammy-winning singer said Swift will appear on the May 14 season finale of the hit show. No other details were provided.

New Girl stars actor and singer Zooey Deschanel as the awkward, but bubbly Jessica Day, who lives with three male roommates.

Swift appeared in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine's Day and guest starred on CSI in 2009. The 23-year-old launched her "Red" world tour this month.

View the original article here

Smartphone users addicted and loving it

The most popular smartphone applications are used for connecting with friends and family, a new survey shows. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

US smartphone owners tend to be connected from the instant they rise until they fall sleep and revel in every minute of it, a Facebook-sponsored study showed.

"Smartphones, coupled with rich applications and mobile data services, allow us to connect with our family, friends and community from the moment we wake up until the end of our day," IDC researchers said in the report, released this week.

"Rather than feeling overwhelmed by it, we enjoy and value this increased social connectedness."

About half the US population uses smartphones, with the number of people expected to reach 181.4 million this year and climb to 222.4 million in the coming four years, according to IDC.

A week-long IDC survey of more than 7000 people ranging in age from 18 to 44 years old with iPhones or Android-powered smartphones showed that four out of five check their handsets within 15 minutes of waking.

The top three applications used were for messaging, Web browsing, and Facebook, in that order, according to IDC.

"People have a universal need to connect with others, especially those they care deeply about," IDC researchers said.

"This coupled with mass market adoption of smartphones means that social engagement via phones has become mainstream."

About 84 per cent of the time spent communicating with smartphones involved email, text messages, or social networks while only 16 per cent relied on voice calls, the survey indicated.

"This increased sense of connectedness is the primary reason we use these technologies with the frequency and duration that we do," IDC researchers concluded.
 

View the original article here

Aussie tech predictions for 2020

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

• "All devices, from your oven to your car, will communicate with each other and with your smartphone."
• "Intelligent transport systems will help traffic authorities direct drivers around congestion by sending warnings directly to your car's navigation system."
• "People will have "personal concierge" apps that will put on their washing machine or oven, and automatically send their shopping list to the supermarket.
• "Cars will be connected to the cloud and be fitted with auto-sensing technology to be able to park themselves and avoid other cars on the road."
• "You will pay for everything with a swipe of your smartphone. Your phone will also remember your purchases, or prompt you to go shopping."

BY 2020, Australians will have personal digital concierges running their home, newspaper tablets to roll up and put in their pockets and rubbish bins that create a shopping list when people throw out their empties.

At least that is the vision of Telstra's Chief Technology Officer Dr Hugh Bradlow, who has made a series of predictions of our digital future.

Dr Bradlow admitted his predictions were speculation but were based on technologies either available today or their way, like Google's Glass spectacles, Samsung's watch and digital wallets.

"I can say with almost certainty that any technology that's going to be around in 2020, I will know about it today. I will have seen it in a lab, I will have read about it in papers, I will maybe even trialled it myself,'' he said.

"The thing I can never tell is the human behaviour reaction."

Dr Bradlow summed up living in 2020 as the age of "immersive technology" where every device in the home, office, cars and wider environment can speak to each other.

Electronic communication between people and devices is dramatically increasing.

Telstra said there were 50 million connections in Australia currently between people and devices. By 2020, there will be 240 million connections and by 2030 that figure will rise to 1 trillion.

Dr Bradlow said that by 2020 Australians would be living in a digital economy with "sensors that drive smart bodies, smart homes, smart transport and smart environment".

Telstra has created a video of its vision of the future which shows someone throwing an empty carton into the kitchen rubbish bin.

The bin registers the item through scanning the container and sends a message to the Net-connected fridge to add orange juice to the shopping list.

Dr Bradlow's predictions include:

*Intelligent transport systems in which cars talk to each other and public transport vehicles all communicate through a central network.

*Home entertainment systems to be controlled by voice, hand or eye movement.

*Near-field Communication (NFC) which is already in many people's smartphones evolving into a major tool that will enable people to use their smartphones as a digital wallet, electronic key and boarding pass or transport ticket.

*The end of waiting rooms as many people use video conferencing for their medical appointments, with sensors connected to their body to monitor their heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and even brain scans remotely.

Dr Bradlow said one of the biggest changes in the future will be the way we shop, with Roy Morgan research finding that eBay is already Australia's largest shopping mall.

"You'll walk into a store, tap your phone on a box and it will say you can get that for $3 cheaper online or there's a store 100 yards down the road that has it for $2 cheaper," he said.

Dr Bradlow said many of the challenges were less to do with technology and more to do with the way we interact with those technologies and the implications on areas such as privacy.

"I can envision a time where you go into a place and they say take your (Google) glasses off."

View the original article here

Scuba divers 'cut internet cables'

Three men arrested by the Egyptian navy for cutting undersea internet cables said they were salvaging shipwrecks and cut the cables by mistake. Source: Supplied

THE Egyptian military has arrested three scuba divers accused of cutting an undersea Internet cable off the coast of the northern city of Alexandria, it said on Thursday.

The three had been spotted on board a small boat and attempted to flee ashore, but the navy gave chase and eventually caught up and arrested them, the military said on its Facebook page.

Pictures of three men with their hands bound were posted on the website, but there were no other details about their identity or about possible motives for the act of sabotage.

Three oxygen tanks were found aboard the boat but the divers' wetsuits were thought to have been thrown into the sea, the statement said.

Under questioning, the captured men claimed they had cut the cable by mistake, said Alexandria's security director Amin Ezz al-Din, quoted by the official MENA news agency.

The men said they were salvaging shipwrecks to sell when they spotted the cable and tried to take it, he said.

The navy had been acting on information from Telecom Egypt which reported that the SMW-4 undersea cable which provides broadband Internet to the country had been cut.

The arrests come after many internet users in Egypt reported service disruptions during the past few days.

In 2008, severed underwater cables disrupted Internet access in Egypt and several other countries.
 

View the original article here

Scuba divers cut internet cables

Three men arrested by the Egyptian navy for cutting undersea internet cables said they were salvaging shipwrecks and cut the cables by mistake. Source: Supplied

THE Egyptian military has arrested three scuba divers accused of cutting an undersea Internet cable off the coast of the northern city of Alexandria, it said on Thursday.

The three had been spotted on board a small boat and attempted to flee ashore, but the navy gave chase and eventually caught up and arrested them, the military said on its Facebook page.

Pictures of three men with their hands bound were posted on the website, but there were no other details about their identity or about possible motives for the act of sabotage.

Three oxygen tanks were found aboard the boat but the divers' wetsuits were thought to have been thrown into the sea, the statement said.

Under questioning, the captured men claimed they had cut the cable by mistake, said Alexandria's security director Amin Ezz al-Din, quoted by the official MENA news agency.

The men said they were salvaging shipwrecks to sell when they spotted the cable and tried to take it, he said.

The navy had been acting on information from Telecom Egypt which reported that the SMW-4 undersea cable which provides broadband Internet to the country had been cut.

The arrests come after many internet users in Egypt reported service disruptions during the past few days.

In 2008, severed underwater cables disrupted Internet access in Egypt and several other countries.
 

View the original article here

Why Fall Out Boy love Australia

American band Fall Out Boy. Supplied by Universal Music. Source: Supplied

US punk-pop stars Fall Out Boy have credited Melbourne for restoring their health.

The band, with hits including Thnks fr th Mmrs, imploded at Rod Laver Arena while on a 2009 world tour.

Lead singer Patrick Stump said: "I remember specifically sitting in Melbourne Airport knowing it was actually over.

"Nothing came out of anger or hate. You spend too much time around people and it becomes a good idea to spend time apart.''

Guitarist Joe Trohmann added: "Sorry Melbourne. It's not your fault. But this is where the end of Fall Out Boy happened.

"If anything, you led to our health and wellbeing.''

The band reformed this year and will release a new album, Save Rock And Roll, in April.

Stump said the album title alludes to bands that take themselves too seriously.

He said: "They're missing the big picture.

"Some bands are so focused on how cool, how real, and how indie they are, that they're invalidating themselves.''

Joe laughed: "It makes it hard to relate to them.

"The more seriously you take yourself, the more people look at you and say: `WTF is your problem?'''

View the original article here

RIM sells a million new BlackBerry 10s

The BlackBerry 10 is shown off at its debut at a launch event in New York City. Source: AP

RESEARCH In Motion Ltd has sold about 1 million of its critically important new BlackBerry 10 devices and surprised Wall Street by returning to profitability in the most recent quarter.

The earnings provide a first glimpse of how RIM's new touch-screen Z10 is selling internationally and in Canada since its debut on January 31. Details on the US launch are not part of the fiscal fourth quarter's financial results because the Z10 just went on sale in the US last week.

In the quarter that ended March 2, RIM earned $US98 million ($93.7 million), or 19 cents a share, compared with a loss of $US125 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. After adjusting for restructuring and other one-time items, RIM earned 22 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a loss of 31 cents.

Revenue fell 36 per cent to $US2.7 billion, from $US4.2 billion. Analysts had expected $US2.82 billion.

The 1 million Z10 phones were above the 915,000 that analysts had been expecting. But RIM lost about 3 million subscribers to end the quarter with 76 million.

Bill Kreyer, a tech analyst for Edward Jones, called the subscriber decline "pretty alarming".

"This is going to take a couple of quarters to really see how they are doing," Mr Kreyer said.

The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, had been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before the iPhone debuted in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls.

The new BlackBerry Z10 has received favourable reviews since its release, but the launch in the critical US market was delayed until late this month.

A new keyboard BlackBerry, called the Q10, won't be released in the US for two or three more months. The delay in selling the Q10 complicates RIM's efforts to hang on to customers tempted by the iPhone and a range of devices running Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many users have stayed loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen on the iPhone and most Android devices.

RIM, which is changing is formal name to BlackBerry, said it expects to break even in the current quarter despite increasing spending on marketing.

"I thought they were dead. This is a huge turnaround," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said from New York.

Mr Misek said the Canadian company "demolished" the numbers, especially its gross margins. RIM reported gross margins of 40 per cent, up from 34 per cent a year earlier. The company credited higher average selling prices and higher margins for devices.

"This is a really, really good result," Mr Misek said. "It's off to a good start."

Chief executive Thorsten Heins said he implemented numerous changes at the company over the past year and those changes have resulted in RIM returning to profitability.

The company also announced that co-founder Mike Lazaridis will retire as vice chairman and director.
 

View the original article here

Depp to answer your questions

Johnny Depp as Tonto, a spirit warrior on a personal quest, who joins forces in a fight for justice with Armie Hammer, as John Reid, a lawman who has become a masked avenger, The Lone Ranger. Picture: AP Source: AP

JOHNNY Depp will answer fans' questions about The Lone Ranger in a live online session.

Disney announced that Depp and co-star Armie Hammer will discuss the anticipated adventure film on April 17 after showing 20 minutes of exclusive footage to about 400 fans at a Las Vegas theatre.

Director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer also will participate in the session, which is to stream live on Yahoo Movies and Livestream.

Fans outside of Las Vegas can submit questions for The Lone Ranger team through Twitter and watch the film's trailer online. The extended footage, though, is just for those in Las Vegas.

The promotion coincides with the annual CinemaCon convention, where Disney is expected to offer a similar presentation for theatre owners. The Lone Ranger will be in cinemas in July.

 

View the original article here

Aussie tech predictions for 2020

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

• "All devices, from your oven to your car, will communicate with each other and with your smartphone."
• "Intelligent transport systems will help traffic authorities direct drivers around congestion by sending warnings directly to your car's navigation system."
• "People will have "personal concierge" apps that will put on their washing machine or oven, and automatically send their shopping list to the supermarket.
• "Cars will be connected to the cloud and be fitted with auto-sensing technology to be able to park themselves and avoid other cars on the road."
• "You will pay for everything with a swipe of your smartphone. Your phone will also remember your purchases, or prompt you to go shopping."

BY 2020, Australians will have personal digital concierges running their home, newspaper tablets to roll up and put in their pockets and rubbish bins that create a shopping list when people throw out their empties.

At least that is the vision of Telstra's Chief Technology Officer Dr Hugh Bradlow, who has made a series of predictions of our digital future.

Dr Bradlow admitted his predictions were speculation but were based on technologies either available today or their way, like Google's Glass spectacles, Samsung's watch and digital wallets.

"I can say with almost certainty that any technology that's going to be around in 2020, I will know about it today. I will have seen it in a lab, I will have read about it in papers, I will maybe even trialled it myself,'' he said.

"The thing I can never tell is the human behaviour reaction."

Dr Bradlow summed up living in 2020 as the age of "immersive technology" where every device in the home, office, cars and wider environment can speak to each other.

Electronic communication between people and devices is dramatically increasing.

Telstra said there were 50 million connections in Australia currently between people and devices. By 2020, there will be 240 million connections and by 2030 that figure will rise to 1 trillion.

Dr Bradlow said that by 2020 Australians would be living in a digital economy with "sensors that drive smart bodies, smart homes, smart transport and smart environment".

Telstra has created a video of its vision of the future which shows someone throwing an empty carton into the kitchen rubbish bin.

The bin registers the item through scanning the container and sends a message to the Net-connected fridge to add orange juice to the shopping list.

Dr Bradlow's predictions include:

*Intelligent transport systems in which cars talk to each other and public transport vehicles all communicate through a central network.

*Home entertainment systems to be controlled by voice, hand or eye movement.

*Near-field Communication (NFC) which is already in many people's smartphones evolving into a major tool that will enable people to use their smartphones as a digital wallet, electronic key and boarding pass or transport ticket.

*The end of waiting rooms as many people use video conferencing for their medical appointments, with sensors connected to their body to monitor their heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and even brain scans remotely.

Dr Bradlow said one of the biggest changes in the future will be the way we shop, with Roy Morgan research finding that eBay is already Australia's largest shopping mall.

"You'll walk into a store, tap your phone on a box and it will say you can get that for $3 cheaper online or there's a store 100 yards down the road that has it for $2 cheaper," he said.

Dr Bradlow said many of the challenges were less to do with technology and more to do with the way we interact with those technologies and the implications on areas such as privacy.

"I can envision a time where you go into a place and they say take your (Google) glasses off."

View the original article here

RIM sells a million new BlackBerry 10s

The BlackBerry 10 is shown off at its debut at a launch event in New York City. Source: AP

RESEARCH In Motion Ltd has sold about 1 million of its critically important new BlackBerry 10 devices and surprised Wall Street by returning to profitability in the most recent quarter.

The earnings provide a first glimpse of how RIM's new touch-screen Z10 is selling internationally and in Canada since its debut on January 31. Details on the US launch are not part of the fiscal fourth quarter's financial results because the Z10 just went on sale in the US last week.

In the quarter that ended March 2, RIM earned $US98 million ($93.7 million), or 19 cents a share, compared with a loss of $US125 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. After adjusting for restructuring and other one-time items, RIM earned 22 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a loss of 31 cents.

Revenue fell 36 per cent to $US2.7 billion, from $US4.2 billion. Analysts had expected $US2.82 billion.

The 1 million Z10 phones were above the 915,000 that analysts had been expecting. But RIM lost about 3 million subscribers to end the quarter with 76 million.

Bill Kreyer, a tech analyst for Edward Jones, called the subscriber decline "pretty alarming".

"This is going to take a couple of quarters to really see how they are doing," Mr Kreyer said.

The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, had been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before the iPhone debuted in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls.

The new BlackBerry Z10 has received favourable reviews since its release, but the launch in the critical US market was delayed until late this month.

A new keyboard BlackBerry, called the Q10, won't be released in the US for two or three more months. The delay in selling the Q10 complicates RIM's efforts to hang on to customers tempted by the iPhone and a range of devices running Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many users have stayed loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen on the iPhone and most Android devices.

RIM, which is changing is formal name to BlackBerry, said it expects to break even in the current quarter despite increasing spending on marketing.

"I thought they were dead. This is a huge turnaround," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said from New York.

Mr Misek said the Canadian company "demolished" the numbers, especially its gross margins. RIM reported gross margins of 40 per cent, up from 34 per cent a year earlier. The company credited higher average selling prices and higher margins for devices.

"This is a really, really good result," Mr Misek said. "It's off to a good start."

Chief executive Thorsten Heins said he implemented numerous changes at the company over the past year and those changes have resulted in RIM returning to profitability.

The company also announced that co-founder Mike Lazaridis will retire as vice chairman and director.
 

View the original article here

Scuba divers 'cut internet cables'

Three men arrested by the Egyptian navy for cutting undersea internet cables said they were salvaging shipwrecks and cut the cables by mistake. Source: Supplied

THE Egyptian military has arrested three scuba divers accused of cutting an undersea Internet cable off the coast of the northern city of Alexandria, it said on Thursday.

The three had been spotted on board a small boat and attempted to flee ashore, but the navy gave chase and eventually caught up and arrested them, the military said on its Facebook page.

Pictures of three men with their hands bound were posted on the website, but there were no other details about their identity or about possible motives for the act of sabotage.

Three oxygen tanks were found aboard the boat but the divers' wetsuits were thought to have been thrown into the sea, the statement said.

Under questioning, the captured men claimed they had cut the cable by mistake, said Alexandria's security director Amin Ezz al-Din, quoted by the official MENA news agency.

The men said they were salvaging shipwrecks to sell when they spotted the cable and tried to take it, he said.

The navy had been acting on information from Telecom Egypt which reported that the SMW-4 undersea cable which provides broadband Internet to the country had been cut.

The arrests come after many internet users in Egypt reported service disruptions during the past few days.

In 2008, severed underwater cables disrupted Internet access in Egypt and several other countries.
 

View the original article here

China pulls plug on Kraftwerk gig

Electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk have been banned from playing in China over their support of a Free Tibet concert. Source: Supplied

CHINA has forbidden German electronic band Kraftwerk from performing at a music festival.

The decision is believed to be linked to band appearing on the bill of a Free Tibet concert 15 years ago.

Modern Sky records, a Chinese music company, applied to the Ministry of Culture for permission for the band to play at the annual Strawberry Festival in Beijing next month.

But a source at the firm, asking for anonymity for fear of reprisals, said: "Kraftwerk were not allowed to play... because they participated in a Free Tibet concert.

"We had already arranged the show, it's a pity they can't come, it's a great shame."

Kraftwerk achieved fame in the 1970s as pioneers of electronic pop music and were scheduled to appear at a high-profile Free Tibet concert in Washington DC in 1998. The band pulled out after the show was afflicted by bad weather.

China's culture ministry has a long-standing policy of refusing permission to acts who have voiced support for Tibetan independence, several sources with knowledge of the matter said.

No one from the ministry was available for comment.

British indie-rock band Travis of Why Does It Always Rain on Me fame will headline the festival, the state-run Global Times said, reporting that Kraftwerk had been chosen to top the bill but the arrangement collapsed because of "political reasons" it did not specify.

News of the ban on the German band comes ahead of the first Chinese performance by UK punk rocker John Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, who is set to play in Beijing on Saturday with his band Public Image Ltd.
 

View the original article here

RIM sells a million new BlackBerry 10s

The BlackBerry 10 is shown off at its debut at a launch event in New York City. Source: AP

RESEARCH In Motion Ltd has sold about 1 million of its critically important new BlackBerry 10 devices and surprised Wall Street by returning to profitability in the most recent quarter.

The earnings provide a first glimpse of how RIM's new touch-screen Z10 is selling internationally and in Canada since its debut on January 31. Details on the US launch are not part of the fiscal fourth quarter's financial results because the Z10 just went on sale in the US last week.

In the quarter that ended March 2, RIM earned $US98 million ($93.7 million), or 19 cents a share, compared with a loss of $US125 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. After adjusting for restructuring and other one-time items, RIM earned 22 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a loss of 31 cents.

Revenue fell 36 per cent to $US2.7 billion, from $US4.2 billion. Analysts had expected $US2.82 billion.

The 1 million Z10 phones were above the 915,000 that analysts had been expecting. But RIM lost about 3 million subscribers to end the quarter with 76 million.

Bill Kreyer, a tech analyst for Edward Jones, called the subscriber decline "pretty alarming".

"This is going to take a couple of quarters to really see how they are doing," Mr Kreyer said.

The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, had been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before the iPhone debuted in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls.

The new BlackBerry Z10 has received favourable reviews since its release, but the launch in the critical US market was delayed until late this month.

A new keyboard BlackBerry, called the Q10, won't be released in the US for two or three more months. The delay in selling the Q10 complicates RIM's efforts to hang on to customers tempted by the iPhone and a range of devices running Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many users have stayed loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen on the iPhone and most Android devices.

RIM, which is changing is formal name to BlackBerry, said it expects to break even in the current quarter despite increasing spending on marketing.

"I thought they were dead. This is a huge turnaround," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said from New York.

Mr Misek said the Canadian company "demolished" the numbers, especially its gross margins. RIM reported gross margins of 40 per cent, up from 34 per cent a year earlier. The company credited higher average selling prices and higher margins for devices.

"This is a really, really good result," Mr Misek said. "It's off to a good start."

Chief executive Thorsten Heins said he implemented numerous changes at the company over the past year and those changes have resulted in RIM returning to profitability.

The company also announced that co-founder Mike Lazaridis will retire as vice chairman and director.
 

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Aussie tech predictions for 2020

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Telstra releases their vision of life in Australia in 2020 - where it is predicted we would have virtual medical appointments. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

• All devices will communicate with each other
• Intelligent transport systems will sending warnings
• People will have "personal concierge" apps 
• Cars will be cloud-connected and able to park themselves 

BY 2020, Australians will have personal digital concierges running their home, newspaper tablets to roll up and put in their pockets and rubbish bins that create a shopping list when people throw out their empties.

At least that is the vision of Telstra's Chief Technology Officer Dr Hugh Bradlow, who has made a series of predictions of our digital future.

Dr Bradlow admitted his predictions were speculation but were based on technologies either available today or their way, like Google's Glass spectacles, Samsung's watch and digital wallets.

"I can say with almost certainty that any technology that's going to be around in 2020, I will know about it today. I will have seen it in a lab, I will have read about it in papers, I will maybe even trialled it myself,'' he said.

"The thing I can never tell is the human behaviour reaction."

Dr Bradlow summed up living in 2020 as the age of "immersive technology" where every device in the home, office, cars and wider environment can speak to each other.

Electronic communication between people and devices is dramatically increasing.

Telstra said there were 50 million connections in Australia currently between people and devices. By 2020, there will be 240 million connections and by 2030 that figure will rise to 1 trillion.

Dr Bradlow said that by 2020 Australians would be living in a digital economy with "sensors that drive smart bodies, smart homes, smart transport and smart environment".

Telstra has created a video of its vision of the future which shows someone throwing an empty carton into the kitchen rubbish bin.

The bin registers the item through scanning the container and sends a message to the Net-connected fridge to add orange juice to the shopping list.

Dr Bradlow's predictions include:

*Intelligent transport systems in which cars talk to each other and public transport vehicles all communicate through a central network.

*Home entertainment systems to be controlled by voice, hand or eye movement.

*Near-field Communication (NFC) which is already in many people's smartphones evolving into a major tool that will enable people to use their smartphones as a digital wallet, electronic key and boarding pass or transport ticket.

*The end of waiting rooms as many people use video conferencing for their medical appointments, with sensors connected to their body to monitor their heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and even brain scans remotely.

Dr Bradlow said one of the biggest changes in the future will be the way we shop, with Roy Morgan research finding that eBay is already Australia's largest shopping mall.

"You'll walk into a store, tap your phone on a box and it will say you can get that for $3 cheaper online or there's a store 100 yards down the road that has it for $2 cheaper," he said.

Dr Bradlow said many of the challenges were less to do with technology and more to do with the way we interact with those technologies and the implications on areas such as privacy.

"I can envision a time where you go into a place and they say take your (Google) glasses off."

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Your family's Easter movie guide

Enthusiastic: Laura Michelle Kelly. Source: Supplied

WITH the April school holidays now upon us, our cinemas have been swamped by a rush of titles geared towards younger audiences.

As always, parents are encouraged not only to include their children in the decision-making process of what films to see, but also to monitor how youngsters respond to what is on the screen. 
 
Have a chat with the kids afterwards, and ask what they did or did not like about the picture.  Take note of their observations, and adjust your choices for future cinema trips accordingly.
 
And now, on with the show(s) .... have fun!

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Subtle sounds of a subdued songstress

Australian singer-songwriter Emma Louise has produced an intriguing album in Vs Head Vs Heart. Source: Supplied

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Emma Louise recently performed a stunning, Korg Kaoss Pad-spiced cover of Alt-J's Tessellate for Triple J's Like A Version.

It showed the world where the diminutive Brisbane lass will take her career: chimerical songs built on taut studio beats, bleeps, stabs and synths, all carried forward by her lilty-but-not-wilty voice.

On a sidenote, Emma Louise has done what Silverchair did on their first record: dropped the lowercase shenanigans to stand up and be counted. Smart move, lady.

Brighter Later, Owl Eyes, Ainslie Wills and now Emma Louise are following in the footsteps of Sarah Blasko and Sally Seltmann before them. Genre-wise, this could be called everything from minstrel-wave to folk-step. And while, at times, things are too slight for their own good, bands such as The xx have proved that if you build it, they will come.

Opener 17 Hours rises out of the mist like The Sirens in O, Brother Where Art Thou?, then Atlas Eyes shifts gears with the light touch of a Radiohead album track, right down to the OK Computer background garble (American shrinks chanting "Understand your emotions"). Pontoon takes Beach-House-being-seduced-by-Chris-Isaak-guitar and makes it tremble with a tremolo, as if Laura Palmer's body has just washed up and Pete Martell doesn't know where to look.

Things move into deliciously fuzzy TV On The Radio territory on Mirrors, which sounds like it has Dave Sitek's paws all over it. Care to produce her next record perhaps, Mr Sitek? As it stands, Matt Redlich (Ball Park Music) has done a commendable job chopping down the jungle to get to the heart of Emma Louise's sound. Vs Head Vs Heart is a record you need to invest in: it'll take at least five spins before a Sherpa appears to help trek right into the mountains of your mind.

> Album of the week: Emma Louise - Vs Head Vs Heart (MGM)

Rating: 3.5/5

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> LATEST RELEASES

* BILAL - A Love Surreal (Fuse)

Bilal Oliver isn't as mythologised as that other neo-soulster D'Angelo but, then, he still puts out records and is touring here in May.

Bilal's third album, its title inspired by Salvador Dali, simulates the undulations of a love affair.

Hailing from Philadelphia, like Jill Scott, Bilal traditionally specialises in '90s hip hop soul as exemplified by the single Back To Love but he's also an experimenter, being buddies with Flying Lotus. The synthy Longing And Waiting is closer to The Weeknd's illwave than retro R&B. Bilal even strays into psychedelic rock (Winning Hand, which is a bit Steve Miller). Bilal is at his most compelling when, leaving behind neo-soul's mellow grooves, he goes epic, like Slipping Away an exquisite Prince-ly ballad with climatic guitar.

Sounds like: Bohemian Rhapsodies.

In a word: expansive

Rating: 3/5

By Cyclone Wehner

--

* DEVENDRA BANHART - Mala (Nonesuch/Warner)

LIFE'S oddballs can come and go but the truly talented hang around and refine their eccentric visions, acting as both the student and the teacher before your very ears. The Venezuelan American artist is lucid and alive on his eighth record, coming off as a new-school Rodriguez with supple grooves instead of masked anti-establishment anger. The former beau of Natalie Portman has got it made in the shade, glad to be sad because he knows life is rad. Who else can infuse lines in Hatchet Wound "I wanna sing a song and make her feel crazy, Make her forget she always forgets me" with joie de vivre. Unknown Mortal Orchestra and that's about it. Banhart's finally grown into himself. Why don't you let him stay on your couch for a while? These days he washes his feet and makes a mean couscous.

Sounds like: Going to San Francisco with flowers in your hair.

In a word: sexy

Rating: 4/5

By Mikey Cahill

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* LAURA MVULA - Sing to the Moon (Sony)

Many artists claim to be expansive. This British newcomer (and tastemaker fave) really is. How about a soul record that spins through hip hop, IDM, showtunes, psych-folk, hymns, orchestral, choral and even renaissance music?

The classically-trained Mvula, working with Rumer producer Steve Brown, might be the UK's Janelle Monae. Green Garden, with a subversive hint of auto-tune, has the handclaps and swing of Tightrope. But the tuneful Like The Morning Dew sounds like Lauryn Hill journeying in time to a '60s folk festival with Kanye West her drummer. Then on the harp-laden Is There Anybody Out There?, Mvula threatens to become the avant Shirley Bassey. Moonraking, indeed.

Sounds like: Total eclipse of the art.

In a word: stellar

Rating: 4/5

By Cyclone Wehner

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* STICKY FINGERS - Caress Your Soul (MGM)

IT'S nigh impossible to avoid a "Product Recoil" when a) looking at the cover of Sticky Fingers debut record; b) reconciling the cover with the band's name. Sticky Fingers? Realllly? But don't judge a book etc. because this is a competent, confident debut album from a band who are not Limp Bizkit meets Rolling Stones, no, they're more Salmonella Dub crossed with Cold Chisel. Yes, realllly. This isn't cerebral fare, song titles are titled, um, Sex, Freddy Crabs and These Girls and mostly revolve around getting higher than the clouds but they do it well and remain true to themselves. Debuted at 48 last week too!

Sounds like: Halftime beats at halftime

In a word: Byron

Rating: 3/5

By Mikey Cahill

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Dido puts family before new album

Singer Dido performs songs from her new album Girl Who Got Away in London. Picture: AP/RCA Source: AP

DIDO had been planning a relatively quick return to the spotlight after 2008's Safe Trip Home.

She holed up in Los Angeles and London studios to record a set of electronic-tinged songs.

"I was busy telling everyone there was an album on the way," Dido said. "And then I found out there was a baby on the way instead."

She and husband Rohan Gavin welcomed their first child, a son named Stanley, in July 2011. Dido packed up the recordings to focus on family.

But then late last year, the 41-year-old British singer reached out to her brother, producer Rollo Armstrong, to finally put the finishing touches on her fourth album, Girl Who Got Away, released Tuesday.

Quick to laugh and full of self-deprecating asides, Dido recently sat down with The Associated Press to discuss her new songs, her son's musical tastes and her tendency to retreat from fame.

AP: The album has some electronica and dubstep influence. What were you feeling and listening to as you edged in that direction?

Dido: All the music you listen to in your life is all in like this big melting pot in your head and you can't help it. All the things you love just come out - whether it's dance music, hip-hop, folk. And I just love so many different types of music. ... It's similar to No Angel in that way in it's sort of unashamedly doing what I want. But the thing that's holding it together is the songs and the same voice.

AP: The album title seems to evoke a desire to escape and be away from the spotlight. Is that right?

Dido: It's a slightly almost joking comment on me, I guess. Everyone else spotted that aspect of the title. ... They're like, 'Well, it's sort of perfect because you do keep disappearing.' And it's like, 'Really? Sorry!' I've never felt a need to sort of keep being in the public eye. I don't have that burning need. I do have a burning need to make music. I can't stop doing that and I don't want to stop doing that. Music is my thing and it's the way I see the world. And I love writing songs and I will always keep doing that.

AP: Your husband wrote and is set to release a book that focuses on a father-son relationship. Has being a mother changed you creatively?

Dido: Obviously when you first have a kid, you're so focused on them and your brain slightly disintegrates. I don't know if anyone else has that, but it's just like, 'Wow, where did my brain go?' Then it sort of comes back. ... Now I really see the world through his eyes and it gives this real freshness to everything. It's like if you thought you were going to run out of things to ever write about, you have a kid, then you're never going to run out because suddenly everything is sort of limitless again and fresh and new and it's like this amazing new start.

AP: Can you see yourself making children's music?

Dido: I doubt it. I sing joke songs to Stanley all the time, but I'm not going to be making an album of them for public consumption. No, probably not. I think I'll stick to what I do best. ... It's quite tempting sometimes when I'm writing joke songs about spinach.

AP: Is Stanley a big critic or does he love everything you do?

Dido: The things he loves, he just goes into a complete trance and he just smiles and just listens. And he's amazing when he loves something. When he doesn't love something, he just waves at it really vigorously like, 'Turn it off!' So it's quite nerve-racking.

AP: Even when you're singing?

Dido: Not when I'm actually singing to him right then and there. But there's certain records that I play where if he doesn't like it, he's waving at it. Partly because all he wants to listen to at the moment is (first single) No Freedom. It's quite strange. Again and again and again.

AP: You became famous in the US at least in part for your collaboration with Eminem on Stan. You named your son Stanley and some people have said that coincidence seems odd.

Dido: Well, Stanley was actually our favourite name, coincidentally both of our favourite names. He could never have been called anything else to be honest, because it was such a coincidence that it was both of our favourite names. ... I'm so stupid; I didn't think anyone would make the connection. ... But it's fine. I was named after a crazy queen who threw herself on a fire. So I mean, you know, it's fine.

AP: Has your son heard the Stan song yet?

Dido: Um. Has he even heard it? I don't know that he's even heard it. No. But I'm sure he'll hear it later.
 

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Rebel tricks Channing into grope

Rebel Wilson has tricked Channing Tatum into feeling down her top in an ad for the 2013 MTV Movie Awards.

Rebel and Channing get hot and heavy in their latest MTV Movie Awards promo. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

IF you ever happen to find yourself in a high-speed car chase with Channing Tatum, it would only seem fair to take full advantage of the situation, right?

That's exactly what Rebel Wilson did.

The unlikely duo stars in a couple of hilarious promo videos for the upcoming MTV Movie Awards, during which they are speeding along in hot pursuit of some baddies.

Rebel, who "can't take her hands off the wheel", tricks the Magic Mike hunk into groping her boobs by telling him that she's hiding a gun in her bra.

In an earlier clip, Channing is behind the wheel and a cheeky Rebel straddles him "to get a better view" of whoever is chasing them.

The Pitch Perfect star is hosting the awards next month, and has been updating fans on Twitter about her much-anticipated hosting gig.

"MTV won't let me do my strip routine ala Magic Mike...I also asked for a unicorn but MTV say they don't have one," the Aussie comedienne tweeted this week.

The 2013 MTV Movie Awards are being held on Sunday 14 April in Los Angeles.

Rebel and Channing team up for an explosive escape before getting cozy in their cramped getaway car in an ad for the 2013 MTV Movie Awards

 

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Fired tweet developer wants to 'build bridges'

Source: Supplied

ADRIA Richards, the developer fired after tweeting about sexist comments made by fellow attendees at a conference, has spoken for the first time about the event.

In a statement to news.com.au, Richards said she couldn't have possibly imagined how a tweet could spiral into such a public debate.

"I certainly did not, and now that the severest of consequences have manifested, all I wish to do is find the good in what has been one of the most challenging weeks of my life," she said.

The San Francisco "developer evangelist" for email company SendGrid, tweeted a photo of a group of men sitting behind her at last weekend's PyCon conference who made a comment about "big dongles."

Richards' tweet set off a social media tsunami with ominous overtones, including threats and name calling directed at Richards. The fallout led to her firing, as well as the dismissal of one of the men in the photo by his employer, PlayHaven, a San Francisco mobile-game company.

However the developer seems to have no regrets about the events that led to her firing. She there was "good to be found" from the situation, and that "Debate and recrimination can and must give way to dialog that explores the root causes of these issues in the tech industry."

Read the statement in full below:

"Those who know me well in the the developer and tech community recognize that I have always tried to conduct myself in a way that builds bridges for everyone. My central aim is to do everything I can to help create new, inclusive inroads for all, no matter who they are, where they come from or what they believe. Development is about innovation, creativity, and in a grand sense, the betterment of human society through technology. So, it stands to reason that everyone should have a seat at the table, and everyone involved in this vital community should feel welcome, safe and respected. In essence, the worldwide community of developers can and should function as a reflection of what our wider society strives to be.

“I cannot comment at this time on the specifics of what occurred at PyCon on March 17, and the subsequent events of the following days, but I can offer some general thoughts. I don’t think anyone who was part of what happened at PyCon that day could possibly have imagined how this issue would have exploded into the public consciousness the way it has. I certainly did not, and now that the severest of consequences have manifested, all I wish to do is find the good in what has been one of the most challenging weeks of my life.

"And I do believe there is good to be found in this situation. Debate and recrimination can and must give way to dialog that explores the root causes of these issues in the tech industry. As developers and members of the startup community, we can welcome newcomers, women and people of color who, as of now, are under-represented in our ranks. And, all of us can learn a great deal from those who are well-established in the field. We can solidify the values of our workplaces (yes, conference spaces are workplaces!), and set new, positive and inclusive examples for other professional disciplines.

What happened at PyCon has cast a spotlight on a range of deep issues and problems in the developer world. As ugly as this situation has become, all of these issues have reasonable, and, I think, easily reached solutions that will help us cast conflict aside and construct a more cohesive and welcoming professional environment based on respect, trust and open communication. I do not, at this time, wish to concentrate on the fallout of the last several days. Instead, I want to be an integral part of a diverse, core group of individuals that comes together in a spirit of healing and openness to devise answers to the many questions that have arisen in the last week. Together, we can work to make the tech world a better place to work for everyone, and in doing so, we make the wider world a better place for all."
 

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