2010 In Review: Videos Where We Hoon Around In Cars

2010 marked the year where we here at CrunchGear finally started taking the technology in today's hottest vehicles seriously. And why not, really? The infotainment stack and in-car technology systems within some vehicles are stunning. It's remarkable to think that just nine years ago, XM Radio alone was considered the best you could get in a car. Now it's nearly standard along with Bluetooth streaming and GPS navigation. It's systems like 4-wheel steer, customizable dash clusters and electronically-controlled terrain management that are leading the pack. We're gearing up for even more coverage next year, but until then, click through for our favorite auto-themed videos of the year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/EqTzBmT3i5I/

Blu Cantrell Alicia Keys AMAZONCOM Asia Argento ADOBE SYSTEMS

LG B Could Make the iPhone Look Fat and Dull

Hot on the heels of its announcement of the Optimus 2X smartphone this week, LG is reported to be working on yet another Android mobile phone. The new, ulta-thin phone will be known as the "B," according to Phandroid. LG itself has been somewhat coy regarding the smartphone. After Phandroid's story broke, LG posted a message on Twitter via an account dubbed "LGmobileCES11."

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/71486.html

Angelina Jolie DLINK Autumn Reeser Anna Faris Ashanti

Teaser For Michael Jackson's 'Hold My Hand' Video Released

A 30-second preview of MJ's duet with Akon promises epic images.
By Gil Kaufman


Michael Jackson
Photo: Ebet Roberts/ Redferns

It's hard enough to finish a song by a noted perfectionist such as Michael Jackson after the singer's death, but the challenge of filming a video for the first posthumous single from the most celebrated video maker in music history has got to be even more daunting.

So MJ fans must have been eager to check out a 30-second teaser of the clip for the Akon collaboration "Hold My Hand," that was posted on Jackson's website over the weekend, just over a week before the King of Pop's first posthumous studio album, Michael, is slated to hit stores.

The quick-cut preview opens with Jackson, bathed in a spotlight on stage and dressed in a black leather jacket, black pants and a gold lame unitard, blowing a kiss to unseen fans and spreading his arms wide. With the song's swelling, cinematic strings and Jackson and Akon's vibrant vocals on the chorus pumping behind, we then see a succession of images, including a mother holding a smiling baby, MJ on stage during his prime, a lit-up Ferris wheel, a grade-school girl stretching her arms toward the sun, a baby in a diaper learning how to walk and the track's title graffitied on a cement wall.

The action then moves inside to a dark venue, as a blinding light emerges in the distance from the point of view of an ecstatic, clapping crowd. It quickly becomes clear that the audience is awaiting Jackson's arrival on stage, as his unmistakable profile appears in shadow on the curtain. More quick cuts reveal a b-girl in a gold lame top busting a few moves while swinging chains and a child MJ impersonator shuffling his feet amid classic images of Jackson on stage at various points in his career.

Those clips are then interspersed with shots of a huge chorus singing the song's refrain while waving their arms in the air on a set that looks like a reservoir or a dam. The teaser ends with a montage of children's hands and a close-up of a grand piano cued to the tune's haunting keyboard break.

The duet with Akon was recorded in 2007 and, as a message on MJ's site points out, "a handwritten note from Michael belonging to his estate indicated his desire that 'Hold My Hand' be the first single on his next project."

After an unfinished version leaked in 2008, Akon recently went back into the studio to complete production on the track.

What do you think of the "Hold My Hand" teaser clip? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1653590/20101206/jackson_michael.jhtml

Ali Campoverdi Bali Rodriguez KDDI Chloë Sevigny MOBILE TELESYSTEMS

TRON's Cross-Promotional Branding Madness Continues (Xbox Controller Edition) [Tron]

When you use this special, limited edition TRON Xbox controller, you channel the power of Clu and The Black Guard (aka THE BAD GUYS), which is evident by the glowing evil of the black and orange colors it's adorned in. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/L_AulIxYYHA/trons-cross+promotional-branding-madness-continues-xbox-controller-edition

Chandra West Amber Valletta Bar Refaeli ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL Amanda Peet

Daily Crunch: Between Machines Edition

The Large Pocket Shirt, For The Tablet Enthusiast Echochrome II Hits PSN On December 21st Review: Dyson DC26 City Vacuum HAMDAS-R De-Boning Robot Makes Short Work Of Ham (And You) Does Wikileaks Represent The End Of Internet History?

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/12/07/daily-crunch-between-machines/

ARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT Busy Philipps CHINA MOBILE AMERICA MOVIL Amanda Marcum

Coldplay, Led Zeppelin Album Covers Featured On New British Stamps

Album art from Pink Floyd, Blur and David Bowie also included.
By James Montgomery


Coldplay's new British stamps
Photo: Royal Mail

On Thursday (January 7), the U.K.'s Royal Mail unveiled a series of 10 new stamps, honoring the most iconic album covers of the past 40 years.

The albums featured in the new series are the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin's IV, David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, The Clash's London Calling, New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, Blur's Parklife and — the most recent album on to make the cut — Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head.

Meant to honor "the most potent graphic images of modern times, many of which have provided a visual soundtrack to people's lives," the series is the end result of a lengthy research process by the Royal Mail, who looked through thousands of album covers by British artists before deciding on the final list. And, during a Wednesday night BBC Radio broadcast, it was revealed that the queen herself actually approved each design.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page — who helped design the cover for IV — was on hand to celebrate the release of the stamps and recalled the mysterious nature of the album's iconic imagery.

"Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him," he said. "That sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time."

Of course, any great honor is befitting of an equally great contest, so, on the same day the stamps were made available to the general public, Coldplay decided to give one of their Rush of Blood stamps away. In a message on their official site, the band held a contest to send one lucky fan "a letter using a Coldplay stamp, postmarked with today's issue date."

"We visited our local post office earlier today and bought some of the Coldplay stamps," the message read. "Very nice they are too."

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1629227/20100107/coldplay.jhtml

Ali Larter HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR Angelina Jolie DLINK Autumn Reeser

Rumor: Google's Asked Google TV Manufacturers to Delay CES Announcements [Google TV]

Next month is CES—you could call it the highlight of the tech industry's calendar, but I prefer calling it "hell." You'd think we'd be seeing heaps of new Google TV hardware there. But no—Google isn't ready. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2EGLt4VU1bM/rumor-googles-asked-google-tv-manufacturers-to-delay-ces-announcements

Bar Refaeli ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL Amanda Peet America Ferrera Amerie