Sneaky App Lets Your Computer Pretend That It's an Apple TV [Video]

Want to use AirPlay, but don't have an Apple TV? There's hope for you yet. TUAW's Erica Sadun put together an app which'll allow your Mac to stream media from an iPhone by pretending to be an Apple TV. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6WpFsnA6-dU/sneaky-app-lets-your-computer-pretend-that-its-an-apple-tv

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Usher's 'OMG' ' 'Kills It Every Night,' Says Tourmate Miguel

'There's so much anticipation for this song when he comes out,' Miguel says of MTV News' Song of the Year.
By Vaughn Trudeau Schoonmaker


Usher
Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images

MTV News just named Usher's "OMG" the #1 song of 2010, and clearly we're not alone in our admiration. But what is it like to watch it performed night after night? Miguel, who is currently opening for Usher's OMG Tour gave us a little insight.

"There's so much anticipation for this song when he comes out, and he really gives the fans what they want," Miguel laughs. "He kills it every night."

Before his latest string of hits, Usher was out of the spotlight for a period of time in 2009, when he was dealing with personal issues including a divorce. Miguel finds his 2010 comeback inspiring.

"There was a period of time, when a lot of people didn't believe in Usher and thought he was finished ... just kind of going to ride off into the sunset and disappear," the up-and-coming singer noted.

With the release of Raymond vs. Raymond and its extended, companion EP, Versus, in 2010, Usher proved the skeptics wrong with chart-toppers including "OMG" and "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love."

"He's such a tremendous example of perseverance and determination," Miguel beamed. "I was there throughout this album, so I've seen the adversity that he's had to overcome perception-wise."

MTV News' Top 25 Songs of 2010 have all been counted down. But the fun isn't over yet: We still want to see your picks in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1654059/20101210/usher.jhtml

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No Spotify in the U.S. this year, label deals still up in the air

spotify
Spotify is an excellent music service. At least, it appears to be, based on what our friends in Europe tell us. North American resident, of course, are still geo-blocked from using Spotify -- though we had been promised a U.S. launch in 2010. With just under four weeks left in the year, it looks like the reports we heard in October weren't totally accurate.

In truth, Spotify is not close to closing deals with U.S. record labels. Apple was thought to be protracting Spotify's problems by playing on record industry fears of falling profits and painting the service in a bad light. Spotify has nearly 750,000 subscribers each paying $10 per month for the service, though, and the global online music biz is worth anywhere between $15 and $40 billion U.S. -- so it's unlikely that the labels won't get on board eventually. Even if profits from Spotify are comparatively small, they're better than any income when a potential listener grabs a P2P share instead of firing up a streaming app like Spotify.

When is this going to happen? Spotify CEO Daniel Ek could only say "We are definitely going to do the U.S., you'll see." But added, "I can't commit to a specific date."

No Spotify in the U.S. this year, label deals still up in the air originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/08/no-spotify-in-the-u-s-this-year-label-deals-still-up-in-the-ai/

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Chromey Calculator combines the power of Wolfram Alpha and Google Calculator

chromeycalculator

Take the awesome power of Wolfram Alpha; add the convenience and intelligence of Google's built-in calculator. Now mix them up and serve in a piping hot Chrome add-on: Chromey Calculator.

When you click the extension's humble button, it opens a quick prompt pane (you can also pop it out to its own separate Chrome window). You can then feed it with any expression Wolfram Alpha or Google Calculator understands, and even mix those expressions up.

Chromey Calculator decides whether to use Google or Wolfram Alpha. You can see what engine it used for your calculation by hovering over a result; clicking the logo takes you to the source page (handy mostly for Wolfram Alpha calculations, which usually yield interesting graphs).

The add-on even supports variables. One proposed example goes like this:

@Everest = height of Everest
@K2 = height of K2
@Everest - @K2 in meters

So this basically takes the height of Everest and of K2 (the world's second-highest mountain) and calculates the difference - all within your Chrome window, without opening any other sites or tabs.

This is very powerful stuff; the only limit is your imagination - I would love to hear any interesting examples in the comments.

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Chromey Calculator combines the power of Wolfram Alpha and Google Calculator originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/30/chromey-calculator-combines-the-power-of-wolfram-alpha-and-googl/

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Visualized: Leica's first digital camera

In 1996, Deep Blue defeated chess grand-master Garry Kasparov for the first time, Dolly the cloned sheep was born, and digital cameras were still out of the reach of most consumers. This was also the year that Leica released its first digital scanning back, the S1. This bad boy was designed for the company's 35mm R-series lenses (with lens mounts for a number of other manufacturer's optics) and captured 1.4-inch square images. And what did you get for your $21,500? A camera that operated at ISO 50 and produced 48-bit (151Mb) image files with "little if any of the artifacting, blooming, and fringing that continue to plague us to this very day," according to B&H. And as one would expect from Leica, it has a design that inspires significant gadget lust. Hit the source link for plenty more photos.

Visualized: Leica's first digital camera originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/GemD4GkY4Vw/

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Beyonce's Mom Says Daughter's Style Has Always Been 'Edgy'

'It's just a result of her constantly evolving,' Tina Knowles says of the fashion in Beyonce's "I Am ... World Tour" DVD concert special.
By Jocelyn Vena


Beyoncé
Photo: Paul Warner/ WireImage

Beyoncé has never been shy about hitting the stage in stunning costumes. Her appearance has always been a mixture of showgirl sparkle and pop star razzle-dazzle. And her style is on full display in her new DVD concert special, "I Am ... World Tour."

Her mom and stylist, Tina Knowles, said that while the looks may seem a bit edgier than what fans have seen from the singer in the past, she thinks that her superstar daughter has always been ahead of the style curve.

"Well, the wonderful Thierry Mugler designed the costumes, and I actually worked on some of the dancers and the band, and it was just amazing to work with him because he is so creative," Knowles told MTV News at a New York screening of the special. "So it's just a result of her constantly evolving, but she's been edgy. It's funny for people to say she went more edgy, but she's been wearing body suits and that type of thing."

And while Knowles may act as her daughter's stylist and costume designer, she says that Bey's style decisions are all her own. "Well, we discussed her working with Thierry Mugler, and I'm the biggest fan. And so she had seen some of the fashions and she loved it," she said. "So we always discuss things, but it's her decision, it's her career."

Beyoncé, who also directed the concert special , said it gave her a better understanding of the filmmaking process. "It was hard work," she said. "I learned so much. I have a new respect for directors and I think I would like to do more of it. ... Well, I've done some co-directing for music videos [but] this was definitely a big step for me, and I'm so thrilled."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1653216/20101130/knowles_beyonce.jhtml

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Ke$ha Says Rihanna 'Meant Absolutely No Offense'

'I'm so used to the media flipping my words around,' singer tells Complex.
By James Dinh


Ke$ha on the December 2010 issue of <i>Complex</i>
Photo: Complex

Pop-star rivalry has been around for years. Whether it was Britney vs. Christina or Mariah vs. Whitney, there's always been an underlying competition between your favorite female pop singers. But don't expect any animosity between today's stars, at least not from Ke$ha.

The wilding-out singer, who's the latest Complex cover girl, spoke with the magazine about her pop-star peers, including Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.

"I actually think that's cool," the singer said of the female stars she's being compared to. "Out of that group of chicks, I'm the new bitch on the block, so I'm still getting used to being compared to some of the biggest pop stars in the world, but I don't take any offense to it. That just means people know my records."

Earlier this year, Ke$ha teamed up with Rihanna for the Barbadian bombshell's girl-power trek, the Last Girl on Earth Tour. Despite the duo's pairing, the blogosphere went into a fury when Rihanna recently revealed that she "didn't want the generic pop record that Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry could do."

The party-loving pop star admitted that she hadn't even read the quote, suggesting that the media may have taken Rih's comments out of context.

"I'm so used to the media flipping my words around that I'm sure she meant absolutely no offense to me or Katy or Gaga," said the singer. "Rihanna and me are totally cool, we were just on tour together, and I know that she and Katy are good friends. I don't take any offense because I'm sure it's bullsh-- anyway."

Based on the garbage-bag ensemble she wore to this year's MTV Video Music Awards, it seems that Ke$ha could care less about other people's opinions. "I was trying to look super-hot," she said. "I like to poke fun at when people make fun of me, because I don't take myself that seriously. People say I'm 'garbage chic,' so I thought I'd take it to the next level and make a garbage bag super f---ing chic — and I succeeded!"

As for now, the singer is focusing on her recently released Cannibal, a companion album to her debut, Animal.

Do you think there's competition between any of today's pop stars? Share your thoughts below!

Open the floodgates! It's Mega-Release Week, with Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Ke$ha, My Chemical Romance and Lloyd Banks all dropping new albums. Stick with MTV News for everything you need to know about the brand-new music.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1653073/20101124/kesha_.jhtml

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British government confirms nine EVs eligible for £5,000 rebates, but there are really only six

British government confirms nine EVs eligible for &pound;5,000 rebates, but there's really only eight
Buy an electric vehicle in the US, like the Nissan Leaf, and you can expect to get a nice boost to your tax refund: a $7,500 federal subsidy. Now the UK is getting in on the cash back game, with a programme program starting on January 1st to offer a 25 percent discount on EVs purchased -- up to a maximum of £5,000. Nine cars have been declared eligible for this decidedly choice bonus:
Sure, the first three and the last two cars are effectively the same models, just with different bits of chrome stuck on the front, but a little badge engineering never hurt anybody.

British government confirms nine EVs eligible for £5,000 rebates, but there are really only six originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/46ZSr8N0Jdc/

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