Download a movie in just seconds

Samsung sayssays it has successfully tested super-fast 5G technology that will let users download an entire movie in one second. Source: AFP

SAMSUNG Electronics says it has successfully tested super-fast fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology that will eventually allow users to download an entire movie in one second.

The South Korean giant says the test has witnessed data transmission of more than one gigabyte per second over a distance of two kilometres.

The new technology, which will not be ready for the commercial market before 2020 at the earliest, will offer transmitting speeds "up to several hundred times faster" than existing 4G networks, it said in a statement on Monday.

That will permit users to "transmit massive data files including high quality digital movies practically without limitation", it said.

"As a result, subscribers will be able to enjoy a wide range of services such as 3D movies and games, real-time streaming of ultra high-definition (UHD) content, and remote medical services," it added.

Samsung said it had found a way to harness millimetre-wave bands which have proved to be a sticking point for the mobile industry to date.

The test used 64 antenna elements, which the tech titan said overcame the issue of "unfavourable propagation characteristics" that have prevented data travelling across long distances using the bands.

One of the most wired countries on earth, South Korea already has around 20 million 4G users.

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Thirty Seconds to Mars blast off

Thirty Seconds To Mars perform at the Soundwave 2011 music festival in Sydney. Picture: Charles Brewer Source: News Limited

ROCK band Thirty Seconds to Mars wanted the announcement for their latest studio album to be out of this world.

So that's where the album's first single debuted.

Up in the Air was sent to the International Space Station for an exclusive listening Monday. It will be released Tuesday on Earth.

The new album Love Lust Faith + Dreams will be available May 21.

A compact disc containing the song was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 1. The band got to watch the rocket blast into space.

"It was amazing to feel it take off," said frontman Jared Leto. "The noise and the brightness was overwhelming, and you're still a mile away."

Leto said the challenge of sending a song into space paled in comparison to being sued for $US30 million ($28.8 million) by EMI when the band was working on This Is War, released in 2009, which sold over 500,000 copies. The band also launched an aggressive world tour to promote the CD.

"The last album was about closure. There was a battle and a war that we fought. This one is a new beginning," the 41-year-old singer-actor said.

The new single "has to do with getting to a point in your life where you're ready to let go of the past, embrace change and become more of who you really are," Leto said.

The lawsuit was eventually resolved, and the band has continued working with EMI. Leto said the out-of-this-world debut for the new album was fitting after the enormous weight of the lawsuit was lifted, although sending a CD into space was no easy task.

"Most worthy things are not easy to get done. I think a lot of great things have a tremendous amount of challenge, a tremendous amount of difficulty, and I think this was one of those things," he said.

Leto said he wrote and recorded more than 70 songs before determining the final 12 for the new album.

"My songs must feel like discarded lovers because I'm continuously abandoning time," he said. "But that feels better than being sued."

EMI sued the band in 2008 for breach of contract.

"That $30 million lawsuit in that battle was very real. It wasn't a headline. It was something we thought about every single moment of the day that was there, weighing on us. And not just the fact that we would lose and owe a corporation $30 million, but we would have our creative lives stamped out," Leto said.

Their documentary Artifact chronicles the production of the band's third album.

"The film is highly critical of the record business, but I'm not anti-record label, at all. I'm anti-greed. I'm anti-corruption," Leto said.

"I'm pro-artist. I believe that everybody can win. You don't have to steal from one another to do it, or to treat one another unfairly."

Artifact won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and was recently shown at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

While things are back to normal, Leto feels the "cuts are still fresh."

"I think they're healing. But they're definitely not healed yet. It takes some time. The good news is that there's an entirely new group that's running things. It's essentially a new record company," Leto said.

The band, which also includes Shannon Leto and Tomo Milicivic, will begin a world tour in June to support the new album.

Meanwhile, Leto will return to the big screen this year, starring opposite Matthew McConaughey in the AIDS drama, Dallas Buyers Club.

"I hadn't made a film for five years, and this role came along to play a transsexual in a film about the birth of this horrible plague. I wasn't looking to make a film, or to take five years off, either," Leto said.

A conversation between astronaut Tom Marshburn from the International Space Station and Leto will be available on both the band's and NASA's websites.
 

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$2100 for 30 seconds with Ringo Starr

Former Beatle Ringo Starr greets fans at an exhibition of his paintings at the Silver K Gallery. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis Source: Herald Sun

A DISGRUNTLED Beatles fan has paid $2100 for a 30-second meeting with Ringo Starr.

Melbourne woman Briar Gunther purchased one of Starr's pricey artworks expecting a two minute chat and photo with the former Beatle.

However Gunther said she and her father were bundled in and out of Armadale's Silver K Gallery in seconds after a quick photograph.

"If I hadn't have been told I would meet Ringo Starr, I wouldn't have bought the piece," Gunther said.

Fans meet Ringo Starr at his exhibition opening at the Silver K Gallery. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

"I got to meet him for a maximum of 30 seconds. I got in a hug, my dad shook his hand, two photos were taken by a photographer and we were then moved on very quickly. They were trying to kick me out of the room before I had retrieved my handbag. There were quite a few people in the room, and a lot more there than what it was described to me at the time I bought the piece."

Colin Kaye, owner of Silver K Gallery, said nearly all of the 100 people who paid between $1600 and $5200 for Starr's artwork were happy with their experience with the Beatle.

"When you do something like this you're never going to please everyone," Kaye said. "There were art agents, tour managers, security and minders there. The minders took control so to some degree it became a bit rushed which was very disappointing. Some clients got prime (access), but Ringo was only at the gallery for an hour and a quarter so it tightened the whole thing up. The time wasn't allocated as well as it should have been unfortunately."

Ringo Starr unveils one of his works at the exhibition opening. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

Starr's proceeds go to charity the Lotus Foundation, who offer money for family and child welfare, women's issues, animal protection and addiction recovery and education.

"Ringo's only made five or six appearances worldwide for his art," Kaye said. "It's very rare. All the money we pay Ringo goes to the Lotus Foundation, we're giving half our entrance fee to the foundation as well. I had to put some (major) money on the table to make this thing happen, I'm not sure if I'll make any money from this or not. It initially was only exposed to our client base, if it was open to the general public it would have been an impossible situation."

Gunther said many Beatles fans were happy to pay thousands just to be in the same room as Starr.

"There was a definite comradeship amongst the crowd because we were hardcore enough to spend that much money just to meet Ringo and we'd all been dying to do that for years. I did not get to talk to Ringo and we were told in advance no personal photos were to be taken with him and that we could buy the professional photograph at a later date. If we had have been warned at the door that the plans had changed and we were only getting a photo with Ringo I wouldn't have been as miffed as I was."

Kaye said fans were told upfront Starr would not sign any memorabilia, however he signed each artwork sold at the gallery.

Canny fans who managed to meet Starr at his Melbourne hotel were told flatly by the Beatle he would not sign their albums - echoing a message he posted on You Tube signifying his retirement from autographs.

"Ringo doesn't sign anything anymore," Kaye said. "The only thing he signs is his artwork, so you're getting a genuine Beatle signature, everyone got genuine hand signed work by Ringo Starr."

Starr's artwork, designed on a computer, has divided many.

"My sister is a prep teacher and she said her five year olds can draw better than Ringo's work," Gunther said. "I tend to agree, although I have grown quite fond of mine. It's by Ringo, after all!"

Kaye, who compared Starr's work to "Andy Warhol pop art", took the drummer upstairs to the gallery to look at his Beatles exhibition.

"I had to pinch myself, Ringo's upstairs telling me about these photos in our Beatles exhibition. It was surreal. It was the most amazing experience I've had at the gallery. It was an electric atmosphere."

Ringo and his All Starr band play Adelaide on Tuesday and Perth on Thursday after a East Coast shows.

MEET AND GREET MONEY MAKERS

Nicki Minaj: For $250 fans got a concert to her ticket and access to a meet and greet where the rapper happily signed fan's breasts. ''Boob signing'' is part of Minaj's brand.

Jennifer Lopez: Last year Australian fans paid $800 to see J-Lo's concert and briefly meet her beforehand. The packages (20 per show) sold out instantly at each concert.

New Kids on the Block: $820 got Australian New Kids fans front row seats and an individual picture with the man band.

Andre Rieu: The pensioner pin-up helped pioneer the new revenue stream when he charged cashed-up local fans $1250 to meet him backstage on his 2008 tour.

Kiss: Cashed-up Kiss fans coughed up $1500 for a VIP package for their Australian tour next month whose money shot is a Kiss autograph and photograph. Many fans use the opportunity to get Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley to sign their body, then go to a tattoo parlour to get it permanently etched on their person.

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