US videogame sales hit record high in December

San Francisco: NPD Group reported Thursday that US sales of videogame hardware and software hit 5.53 billion dollars in December, setting a new monthly record and giving a blockbuster end to a lackluster year. "The big sales (in December), particularly on the hardware front, is a positive move for the industry headed into what will hopefully be a recovery year in 2010," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. Videogame industry revenues for 2009 totaled nearly 19.66 billion dollars, an eight percent drop from the record-high 21.4 billion dollars seen in the prior year, according to NPD. "Clearly, 2009 was (a) tough year for consumers and the national economy," said Michael Gallagher, chief executive of the Entertainment Software Association that represents computer and videogame publishers. "That said, our industry's structure is solid, and I anticipate a strong 2010 with a pipeline full of highly-anticipated titles." Sales of videogame consoles and hand-held devices hit an unprecedented high in December, with Sony selling more than 1.3 million of its PlayStation 3 models in its best monthly showing to date. "We knew 2009 would be a turning point for the platform due to the new price and a content line up that is fueling unprecedented consumer and industry interest," said Sony Computer Entertainment of America communications director Patrick Seybold.
Launches of hot titles such as "God of War III" and a new motion-sensing controller this year should bolster the popularity of PS3 consoles, according to Seybold. Nintendo also set new US records, selling 3.81 million Wii consoles and 3.31 million DS hand-held gaming devices here in December, according to NPD. "Wii, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi combined to sell more than 7 million units in the month of December alone," said Nintendo of America executive vice president of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway. "Clearly there is overwhelming consumer demand for fun games, motion controls and value."

Microsoft weighed in with a strong showing also, selling 1.31 of its Xbox 360 videogame consoles in December, according to the industry tracking firm. NPD expects videogame sales to be buoyed this year as millions of console owners go shopping for titles to play. "Hopefully, the big increase in the overall install base of hardware systems will bring good things for software sales in 2010," Frazier said.
"Especially with the incredible line-up of content coming out early in the year."
Game software for Nintendo devices took six of the Top Ten sales spots for December, with a "New Super Mario Brothers" title topping the rankings. Other big sellers on the list included Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed II" and "Modern Warfare 2" by Activision. "Modern Warfare 2" was the top selling console game in the United States in 2009, while "The Sims 3" led sales for videogames played on personal computers, according to NPD.
AFP (Agence France-Presse)

Comparison with Katrina Kaif is insulting, fumes Kareena!!!

Mumbai: While Zarine Khan finds it flattering to be compared with Katrina, Kareena Kapoor is fuming with the reports of her comparisons to Kaif. A recent article in a B-town tabloid declared the both actresses are on par and their films in 2010 which will prove who will come out on the top. A source close to the actress confirms the news and says, "Bebo has been around for years and she has done tons of performance-oriented films. Her body of work is different. How can you compare them?" But the similarities between both the hotties are too many to be ignored. For starters they share their initials; both started with duds; they have the same endorsement manager; they share a PR manager. As far as the physical attributes go, again, both are tall, fair and beautiful.
According to a trade analyst, "It is hard very to choose between Kareena and Katrina. They're both neck-to-neck. In Bollywood, people respect talent but they also give a lot of importance to Friday favourites." Both the gorgeous girls have their hand full in 2010. While Kareena has Karan Johar's remake of Stepmom, Red Chillies' Ra 1, Illuminati Films' Agent Vinod and Rohit Shetty's Golmaal Returns, Katrina is rumoured to have been cast in Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar and Karan Johar's Dostana 2 but these films will not release this year. Her Rajneeti is ready for release.
Let's wait and watch who steals the show and becomes the clear No.1.

Electric car road test planned for Quebec

Ottawa: Quebec's power utility is teaming up with Mitsubishi Motors to road test the performance of up to 50 all-electric vehicles against the rigors of the Canadian climate and measure their infrastructure needs. The C$4.5 million ($4.4 million) project, which organizers say will be Canada's biggest trial yet of all-electric vehicles, is planned for this autumn near the Boucherville research facility of Hydro-Quebec, the provincial government-owned electricity utility. "It will allow us to advance our knowledge of the technology and its integration into our grid, which in turn, will help us plan the necessary charging infrastructure for homes, offices and public places," said Thierry Vandal, Hydro-Quebec's chief executive. Organizers said the road test is the first to include a car manufacturer, public utility, municipality and local businesses, which will integrate Mitsubishi i-MiEVs into existing fleets.

Mitsubishi says its Innovative Electric Vehicle, or i-MiEV, is an all-electric, highway-capable, charge-at-home commuter car. Quebec was Canada's first province to adopt California's strict auto emission standards. The new rules came into effect January 14 and impose increasingly stringent limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars and light trucks.

Reuters, 2010

Longest Solar Eclipse of the century begins

Karachi: The first and longest annular or ring-like eclipse solar eclipse of this century can be observed today in many countries including Pakistan. The eclipse will last for an average of about twelve hours. In Pakistan, it will begin at 1230 and ends at 1:00 approximately. 11:30 am whereas it will occur in Quetta and Karachi at 11 am. According to meteorologists, the eclipse can be partially observed in Pakistan and will also be visible in African countries, India, Sri Lanka, China and Myanmar.

Annular solar eclipses occur when the Moon is too far to cover the Sun entirely. Therefore, when the eclipse reaches totality, you would see a ring (Annulus) around the moon and hence the name annular.

Please do exercise caution while watching this eclipse. Do not look directly at the Sun during the eclipse for it might put your eyes at risk even with your cool sunglasses. Also, do not try to use binoculars or telescopes and point at the eclipse directly without sufficient protection as you run the risk of being blinded.

Aaj News (aaj.tv)

Ranbir Kapoor gets a new girlfriend

Mumbai : If you believe that Bollywood’s blue-eyed boy Ranbir Kapoor has found a new arm candy post his hush-hush break up with Deepika Padukone, its time to put your thinking caps on!

According to the latest Bollywood news, Sarah Thompson, the ‘Cruel Intentions 2’ star plays Ranbir’s perfect arm candy in Prakash Jha’s ‘Raajneeti.’ In the film, Sarah plays the role of Ranbir’s American girlfriend, the one whom the actor abandons to pursue his dynastic politics in India. Sarah Thompson played South African cricketer Hansie Cronje’s wife in 2008 biopic ‘Hansie.’ Sarah was chosen for ‘Raajneeti’ after a great deal of prudence as Jha said, “We auditioned nearly 30 girls before we selected Sarah. She was right for the part. It’s a substantial role and we needed an actress who could act and would look compatible with Ranbir.” In ‘Raajneeti’, the characters of Sarah and Ranbir fall in love in an American university.
By the way, Sarah is the first Caucasian actress to star opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Grapevine has it that both stars shared cold vibes as a result Jha scrapped a kissing scene between the two!
AAJ NEWS (aaj.tv)

Karan Johar to work with Aishwarya Rai

Mumbai : If grapevine is to be believed, Karan Johar is toying with the idea of finally working with Aishwarya Rai, with whom he hasn`t made a single project in his over decade-long career. "Karan said that Aishwarya is his ideal heroine and all the scripts that he writes are keeping her in mind. He also said that various reasons have veered them from working together. But he is hoping that it is the right time that he gets her to work in his production sometime soon," a source, who overheard Karan`s conversation with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, told reporters on condition of anonymity. The two filmmakers were discussing Aishwarya at Sonali Bendre`s birthday party on Dec 31.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali was overheard telling Karan Johar that Aishwarya is very original and there is no one like her. He further said that if a director has not worked with her in his or her career, it`s a big loss for them. Sanjay also praised her work in `Guzaarish`," the source said.

Aishwarya has worked with Bhansali in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ and ‘Devdas’ - both of which did well at the box office. Now she is being directed by him in ‘Guzaarish’, which also features Hrithik Roshan.

Google lets people store files in Internet 'cloud'

San Francisco: Google on Tuesday said it will let people store pictures, videos, and other kinds of digital files online at Google Docs, adding virtual hard drives to services offered 'in the cloud'. "This makes it easy to backup more of your key files online, from large graphics and raw photos to unedited home videos taken on your smartphone," said Google Docs product manager Vijay Bangaru. "You might even be able to replace the USB drive you reserved for those files that are too big to send over email. "The data storage service will roll out in coming weeks, according to Bangaru. Google will let people upload files no larger than 250 megabytes each to Docs, allocating each person a gigabyte of free storage space for data that is not converted into a document at the online text program. Additional storage space at Docs will cost 25 cents per year per gigabyte, according to Bangaru. Businesses that subscribe to Google Apps Premium Edition will be charged 3.5 dollars for each extra gigabyte of online storage space. "With this change, you'll be able to upload and access your files from any computer; all you need is an Internet connection," Bangaru said.

Google offers spreadsheet, calendar, and other applications as free services hosted on the California firm's computers in the Internet "cloud" in what is seen as a threat to Microsoft's sales of packaged software. Microsoft has offered people 25 gigabytes of free online data storage at a Windows Live SkyDrive service for more than a year.
AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010

Mexico cold snap leaves nine dead

Mexico City : A wave of cold weather pummeling much of Mexico has left nine people dead, the country's health minister said on Saturday, as residents in the normally sun-baked north struggled to cope. "Since the end of last week, we have had nine deaths caused by the cold across the nation," said Jose Angel Cordova, noting the northern states were hit particularly hard. As Mexicans accustomed to clement winters took to building snowmen and throwing snowballs near the usually toasty capital, those in the north struggled with rare sub-zero temperatures. Chihuahua state -- a desert inferno most of the year -- saw temperatures plummet to -6.6 degrees Celsius (20 Fahrenheit). Coahuila, another barren state bordering the United States, saw thermometers touch -8.5 degrees Celsius (16.7 Fahrenheit), according to the National Meteorological Service. Cordova said many of the dead had succumbed to hypothermia, while some suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning as they tried to keep warm. Many homes in the country are built without central heating due to the normally mild winters. The cold also wreaked havoc with travel plans and normal routines, with flights canceled and schools in 10 of 32 states closing schools. Meteorologists said the snow and cold was set to continue for the next one to three days.
AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010

20 injured as thick fog covers Punjab

Lahore : The spate of thick fog is underway in most parts of Punjab and 20 people have been injured in road-related accidents in different parts of the province, Aaj News reported on Sunday.
According to the sources, 20 people have been injured in collision among 15 vehicles in Sheikhupura due to thick fog. Trains and flights have been delayed while people have been issued a warning against travelling in intense hazy environment on Sunday morning.
Meteorological department predicted that spell of fog will continue in coming few days while rain is not expected in next 24 hours. Met office has also forecasted cold and dry weather in different cities of Punjab including Lahore. 

Aaj News (aaj.tv)