Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is larger than life— the sets are fantastical, the angel wings are enormous, the lashes are a foot long, the heels are a mile high, and the diamonds are aplenty. But the main attraction is a group of carefully chosen, otherworldly supermodels. We caught up with a few of them pre-show, including veteran Angel Heidi Klum, and first-timer Chanel Iman.

Angels Revealed @ Yahoo! Video

Bupers Online

Bupers Online is a website for Navy sailors to see where they stand as far as rank advancement is concerned. Next fall Navy sailors that have earned college degrees are going to get some extra help when it comes advancement time.

Bupers Online is getting a lot of buzz today because of this announcement. The program was designed to reward those that have received bachelor degrees and associates degrees. Those with bachelor degrees can get up to 4 advancement points and those with associate’s degree can get up to two advancement points.

Bupers Online and this new advancement program were designed by officials to reward those that have received off duty education. Joe Campa, the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, told the Navy Times “This approach really makes sense for our sailors.” It does sound like good news for those that have gotten education like this. If we hear any breaking news regarding this story we will provide an update.

Nicole Richie To Create & Star In Comedy For ABC

Nicole Richie is going from "The Simple Life" to the comedic halls of network television.

The former reality star, fashion designer and mother to Harlow, who turns 2 in January, and Sparrow, 2 months, announced on Monday night that she is gearing up to star in a new comedy for ABC.

"I am so excited to announce that I am officially working on a television project," Nicole wrote on her official Web site. "I am creating a half hour scripted comedy for ABC in which I will be starring in, as well as producing."

The star explained her comedy "revolves around a young, modern and professional woman who must balance her business and family relationships."

"She must deal with, and navigate the many ideas of what a woman's role is: modern vs. traditional," the budding series actress wrote.

Nicole starred in several seasons of the reality show "The Simple Life" alongside Paris Hilton and later made a handful of cameo roles on shows including NBC's "American Dreams" and "Chuck." But the star revealed she has been doing some homework to prepare for her new role.

"Lately, I have been surrounded by many different women of all ages and walks of life. It amazes me to watch and observe how many different ideas there are about what a woman's role should be in this era," Nicole continued. "I've taken these fascinating ideas, and compiled them into something that I think will be very special (and funny!). We're still in the very early stages and I can't wait to share more with you soon!"

Jaimee Grubbs of 'Tool Academy' claims she had an affair with Tiger Woods

Jaimee Grubbs, a 24-year-old waitress, has come forward and claimed that she had an affair with Tiger Woods. This new claim comes amidst rumors that Woods had previously seen another woman named Rachel Uchitel. Grubbs claims the affair lasted 31-months, and says that she has text messages, photos, and a saved voicemail from Woods to prove it.

Grubbs says she was 21 when the two got together in 2007. She tells Us Magazine that she and Woods had twenty sexual encounters.

Grubbs was last seen on a VH1 reality show called "Tool Academy," where she tried to get her immature boyfriend to wise up and commit to a long-term relationship.

Grubbs is a Los Angeles cocktail waitress.

Price Is Heavier, But These Laptops Are Very Sleek

PC makers this fall are trying to get consumers who want small laptops to move up from low-profit netbooks to larger, costlier models called "ultrathin" or "thin and light." These models are lighter and thinner than many regular laptops, but they have bigger screens and keyboards than most netbooks do.

The slim portables tend to start at around $500 and many fall into the $600 to $900 range. You can easily find bigger, heavier laptops for less. But the manufacturers are hoping mobile consumers will be willing to pay a premium for sleekness and long battery life.

I've been testing three examples of the new class: the Toshiba Satellite T135, the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dm3t and the Lenovo IdeaPad U350. All came equipped with bright 13-inch screens, power-sipping Intel processors and Windows 7 Home Premium. The particular configurations lent me by the manufacturers for testing were priced at $600 for the Toshiba, $840 for the HP and $700 for the Lenovo.

I found the trio a mixed bag, with notable pros and cons for each. These trade-offs left me unable to declare a clear winner. The one you'd like best would depend on your own weighting of various qualities, like the feel of a keyboard or touchpad.

Nevertheless, I found that all three were capable, easy-to-carry laptops. In my tests, each easily handled common consumer tasks at acceptable speeds. The three weighed between 3.5 and 4.2 pounds. All were about an inch thick, or a bit less, at their thinnest points

I ran all three through my tough battery test, where I turn off all power-saving features, set the screen to maximum brightness, leave Wi-Fi on and play a continuous loop of music.

The Toshiba and the HP turned in excellent results in this battery test, while the Lenovo was disappointing, mainly because it comes with a smaller standard battery. In a re-test, with a $50 optional larger battery, the Lenovo also did very well, but at the cost of added weight and thickness.

In normal use, with power-saving turned on, the Toshiba and HP could easily last for a full work day of typical activities, and the Lenovo could, too, with the optional battery.


Toshiba Satellite T135

This is a sleek, glossy machine that starts at around 3.9 pounds for the 13-inch models. It got the best battery life of the three with a standard battery: five hours and 38 minutes, which I estimate would easily translate into more than seven hours in normal use. It also cost the least, at $600, of the three I tried. My test model came with three gigabytes of memory and a 250-gigabyte hard disk. It was very fast at resuming from sleep, but took more than two minutes to perform a restart with just three common programs running, and nearly two minutes to start up cold.

My main beef with the Toshiba is its keyboard and touchpad buttons. The keyboard felt too rubbery and flexible, and the buttons under the touchpad were in the form of a single, slippery, hard-to-use bar.


HP Pavilion dm3t

This laptop, the most expensive of my test models by far, at $840, was also the heaviest, at 4.2 pounds. The chassis is metal, instead of plastic. Its battery life clocked in at five hours and two minutes in my test, which means you could easily exceed six hours in normal use. My test model came with 3 GB of memory and a huge 500 GB hard disk.

The keyboard felt solid, but the fatal flaw of the dm3 for me was its metallic touchpad, which made the cursor move slowly and even stop at times. Like the Toshiba, the HP took a long time to get going: almost 2.5 minutes for a restart and about two minutes for a cold start.

The HP dm3 also is available for about $100 less when equipped with AMD processors, though HP says those have weaker battery life.


Lenovo IdeaPad U350

In many ways, I liked the U350 best. It was sturdy, but thinner overall than the others because it lacked a bulging battery. The keyboard is firm and well designed, and the touchpad and buttons are comfortable and easy to use. It came with 4 GB of memory and a 320 GB hard disk for its $700 price. It was the only one of the three to restart in under two minutes. It also weighed the least, about 3.5 pounds.

But the IdeaPad's downfall is its small, flat battery, which offered only two hours and 38 minutes of life, or maybe 3.5 to four hours in normal use. With the optional $50 battery, the battery life in my test zoomed up to nearly six hours, which means maybe 7.5 or eight hours in normal use. But that extra battery brought the computer's weight to four pounds and made it thicker.

These thin, light, machines perform adequately and can last a long time unplugged. But I urge you to test them personally before choosing one, to make sure you're comfortable with their designs.

Michelle Wie Is a Winner on the LPGA Tour

After all the promises and the hype, after all the endorsements and the embarrassing gaffes, after all the celebrity-before-achievement insanity that has surrounded Michelle Wie for most of the last decade, we at last have this: Michelle Wie has won her first LPGA tournament.

Wie notched a two-stroke win over Paula Creamer at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico, marking a new high point in a 10-year career that began when she qualified for a USGA event at age 10.

It wasn't an easy win, and Wie had every opportunity to give this one away. Creamer and Cristie Kerr were even with Wie as late as the 12th hole on the final day, but this time around it was the others, not Wie, who faded in the stretch. And all of a sudden, Michelle Wie's story looks much different today than it did four days ago.

Because she had so much so soon for so little effort, Wie has naturally attracted legions of detractors who critique her every misstep. And it's easy to see why; she got untold millions based on potential alone, and then appeared to squander that potential time after time. But right around this time last year, she buckled down, played her way onto the LPGA, and now here we are.

Sure, this is just one win. She could easily go into a tailspin. But combine this with her outstanding, undefeated play at the Solheim Cup and a newfound sense of perspective on the course, and you could be looking at that rarest of all sports breeds – a prodigy who lives up to her potential.

Wynonna Judd Slams Swift's CMA Win

At last night's CMA Awards show, host Brad Paisley likened the country community to one big family--"George Strait plus eight," he joked.
And, truth be told, he's not too far off the mark. Nashville is an insular and protective community--sure, it's full of gossip and pettiness and all the other things you find in any tight-knit group. But, as Paisley humorously noted, most of the time everyone gets along pretty well.
Most of the time.

What's up now, you ask? Well, country legend Wynonna Judd (a presenter at last night's show) has declared that Taylor Swift--who won the CMA's top honor, Entertainer of the Year--is nowhere near ready for so much success.
The country legend, one-half of famed mother-daughter duo the Judds, spoke to USA Today before the awards show, commenting in regards to Swift's extraordinary sweep of 2009: "You want my honest comment? It’s too much too soon."
"Mom [Naomi Judd] and I rode in a car for the first year of our career to visit radio stations," Judd continued. "There was a making of the star, there was a rising up, and the fans went with us.
"Now it’s over coffee breaks, the success, almost. It's like the girl who wins an Oscar and she's under 20. What do you do from here?"
Well, well. Truth be told, many music fans out there--rightly or wrongly--are saying basically the same thing. However, this sort of commentary tends to not go over very well in the country world.

Remember back in 2006, when Faith Hill gasped a theatrical "WHAT?" on camera in response to Carrie Underwood's CMA Female Vocalist of the Year win? Hill claimed to be just joking around, but the validity of her humor came under scrutiny and the incident made out-of-proportion national waves. (It blew through the roof on Yahoo!'s Buzz Index, which tracks hotly searched stories on the web--and even national broadcaster Don Imus talked about it on his show.)
Carrie Underwood, now Taylor Swift.
For what it's worth, Hill presented Swift with her Entertainer of the Year award, and did so most graciously. (Swift, who has cited Hill as her childhood idol, was incandescent at the moment.)

Also, just as an aside--what is it with the Judds and rising young talent? Naomi Judd recently put twin-sister duo Kate & Kacey (who, incidentally, are on Swift's record label) through the wringer during their stint on CMT's reality series Can You Duet. According to the twins, Judd, a judge on the program, was so hard on the pair that they ended up writing a song about the incident titled "You're Not My Judge."
Kacey Coppola termed the experience with Naomi to be "disappointing."
"Kate and I have looked up to the Judds for as long as I can remember," she told Yahoo! Music.

No need for the sour grapes, Judds. If anyone's proven their mettle in the entertainment industry, and can afford to be benevolent to the newcomers--it's you guys.

And, take a lesson from Faith Hill (and, hey, George Jones--who got skewered last week for his comments about "new country"). Watch it.
There's no problem with stating an honest opinion, but like I said, this sort of thing just tends not to float too smoothly with the country fans at large.

Sarah Palin In Book: McCain Aides Kept Me 'Bottled Up'

The rumors are true, according to Sarah Palin: The McCain-Palin campaign was not a happy family. In Palin's new memoir, "Going Rogue," she confirms reports of tension between her aides and those of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. The vice presidential candidate confirms that she had wanted to speak on election night, but was denied the chance and says she was kept "bottled up" from reporters during the campaign.

Palin also writes harshly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom she describes as "badgering" and biased. Palin's series of interviews with Couric were widely regarded as disastrous, leaving the impression of an ill-informed candidate who was unsuited for the job.

The 413-page book with 16 pages of color photos but no index comes out Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday. "Going Rogue," with a first printing of 1.5 million copies, has been at or near the top of Amazon.com and other best-seller lists for weeks, ever since publisher HarperCollins announced that the book had been completed quickly and the release date was being moved up from next spring.

The book follows Palin from childhood to her departure last summer as Alaska governor. It includes much of what her admirers, and detractors, expected: tributes to family and faith and patriotism, and attacks against the media and other perceived opponents.

She writes about the "jaded aura" of professional campaign aides and how McCain's entourage limited her access to the media, leading to allegations — unfounded, she says — that she was avoiding reporters.

And she says that most of her legal bills were generated defending what she called frivolous ethics complaints, but she reveals that about one-tenth of the $500,000 was a bill she received to pay for the McCain campaign vetting her for the VP nod.

She said when she asked the McCain campaign if it would help her financially, she was told McCain's camp would have paid all the bills if he'd won; since he lost, the vetting legal bills were her responsibility.

Written with Lynn Vincent, "Going Rogue" is folksy in tone and homespun. For example, Palin says her efforts to award a license for a massive natural gas transmission line through Alaska was turning a pipe dream into a pipeline. She writes in awe about how the McCain campaign had hired a New York stylist who had also worked on Couric.

Taken aback by all the fussing, she wondered who was paying for the $150,000 worth of fancy clothes given to her and her family members by the campaign. Family members were told it was being taken care of or was "part of the convention." The designer clothing, hairstyling and accessories later grew into a controversy.

Palin shares behind-the-scene moments when the nation learned her teen daughter Bristol was pregnant, how she rewrote the statement prepared for her by the McCain campaign — only to watch in horror as a TV news anchor read the original McCain camp statement, which, in Palin's view, glarmorized and endorsed her daughter's situation.

Palin laments that she wasn't allowed to bring up loads of family members to the stage while McCain gave his election night concession speech, the vice presidential candidate having found out minutes earlier that she wouldn't be permitted to give her own speech.

She writes that ABC newsman Charles Gibson, who had an early interview with her, seemed bored by "substantive issues" stemming from her time as governor and that while speaking with her he "peered skeptically" at her over his glasses like a disapproving principal.

She writes at length about Couric. She says that the idea to meet with Couric came from McCain campaign aide Nicolle Wallace, who told Palin that Couric — also a working mother — liked and admired her. It would be a favor to Couric, too, whom Palin notes had the lowest ratings of the network anchors. Wallace said Couric suffered from low self-esteem. And Palin replied that she almost began to "feel sorry" for Couric.

She alleges that Couric and CBS left out her more "substantive" remarks and settled for "gotcha" moments. She writes that Couric had a "partisan agenda" and a condescending manner. Couric was "badgering," biased and far easier on Couric's Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden.

She writes warmly of her childhood and her mother's "nurturing, hospitable" personality. Her priorities were set early — faith (she would read Scripture each night before bed), hunting, current events and sports (she even dreamed of being a broadcaster alongside Howard Cosell). She remembers being a voracious reader, favorites including John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" and George Orwell's "Animal Farm." Long before Tina Fey parodied her on "Saturday Night Live," Palin enjoyed watching the show as a girl.

She met her future husband, Todd Palin, in 1982. He was good-looking and mature, like no one she had ever known. He was quiet, gruff, strong, spiritual.

Anne Pressly Autopsy

"FILE - In this June 26, 2008 file photo released by KATV Television, of news anchor Anne Pressly in Little Rock, Ark. The man accused of killing television personality Anne Pressly changed from scavenger to predator when he found the woman sleeping near the laptop computer she had on her bed, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009."

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A man who told police he had been hoping to steal a laptop was convicted of capital murder Wednesday in the beating of an Arkansas TV anchorwoman so brutal that her face was shattered and she never regained consciousness.

The panel was to reconvene later Wednesday to weigh whether Curtis Lavelle Vance should be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Oct. 20, 2008, attack on Anne Pressly at her Little Rock bungalow.

Vance, 29, of Marianna, was also convicted of residential burglary along with rape and theft of property.

After the verdicts were read, Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, raised a hand and said, "Praise God. Praise God." She burst into sobs.

Once the jurors had left, Vance gestured toward the empty jury box, pointed to his eyes and ears and shook his head.

Pressly, 26, was an anchor at KATV and had a bit part in the President Bush biopic "W." Cannady, unable to reach Pressly by telephone for her daily wake-up call, had found her daughter shortly before she was due for the "Daybreak" program.

In closing arguments, deputy prosecutor John Johnson had recounted graphic testimony that left some in the courtroom in tears. At one point, he held up two photos of Pressly: Her KATV publicity shot, and one from her autopsy showing her nose pushed to one side.

"He made this person look like this," Johnson said. A medical examiner had testified that the front of Pressly's face was broken "like an egg."

In various confessions made to police, Vance said he went to Pressly's neighborhood looking to steal laptop computers. After entering her home through a Dutch door she left open for her dogs, Johnson said, Vance found the computer he sought — and Pressly.

"It was just him and her," Johnson told jurors. "Can you imagine that? Him standing over her?

"She feels that fear; that paralyzing fear we've all had nightmares about," Johnson said.

Citing one of Vance's confessions, Johnson said the man lost control after she started to fight him.

"He began to hit her over and over," Johnson said.

Police witnesses said DNA evidence linked Vance to Pressly's death and to a Marianna rape case in which he has pleaded not guilty. The defense has said police duped Vance into confessing and giving officers a DNA sample to compare with evidence in the case.

HP 3COM

As he sat at the Cisco Partner Velocity conference in Paris, The VAR Guy pondered news of Hewlett-Packard buying 3Com for $2.7 billion. Does the HP-3Com combo make any sense? And will Cisco Systems return fire by working more closely with Lenovo? Here are some answers.

First, let’s start with some glaring challenges facing the HP-3Com combo. Alas, 3Com doesn’t have much of a channel story. Many VARs abandoned 3Com’s networking business as 3Com itself abandoned its channel chief in March 2008.

Some pundits say the HP-3Com combo creates a networking giant. But let’s keep the spin under control. It takes Cisco Systems about two weeks to match 3Com’s annual revenues ($1.3 billion).

Still, HP’s ProCurve networking team gets some key technology and international reach from the 3Com buyout. For starters, 3Com has a range of IP telephony, routers, switches, network management, security and wireless offerings. But perhaps more importantly, 3Com’s H3C business unit has a strong presence in China.

As Yankee Group told The New York Times in May 2008:

“H3C is their growth path, not traditional 3Com stuff in the U.S.,” said Zeus Kerravala, network equipment analyst at Yankee Group in Boston. “Their brand has really been tarnished here.”

Calling In Reinforcements?
Now, for the ultimate irony: Lenovo, China’s largest PC maker, is quietly negotiating a potential networking and PC partnership with Cisco Systems. Did Cisco call Lenovo or did Lenovo call Cisco? The answer doesn’t matter. The potential partners have a mutual enemy here in Hewlett-Packard.

Charla Nash, Chimp Attack Victim, Shows Face On Oprah

Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman mauled by a 200 pound chimpanzee in February, appeared on "Oprah" Wednesday to reveal her face and share heartbreaking details on her life since the attack.

Nash who turned 56 Tuesday revealed "the remnants of her missing eyes, nose and lips," as ABC News described it.

Nash told Oprah that she feels no pain but that she tries not to touch her face so as to avoid knowing the full extent of her injuries.

"I don't ask a whole lot about my injuries... I know that I have my forehead," she said. She now drinks her meals "with a straw through a small hole where her mouth used to be," ABC added.

Nash lost both her hands in the attack, as well as her nose, an eyelid, and lips. Doctors removed her eyes due to an infection, and only recently did she learn she'll no longer be able to see.

"Only . . . in the past couple of weeks did she realize that she no longer had eyes, because she had been saying that she was hoping to be able to see at some point," Oprah said, according to the New York Post.

Nash now walks around her Cleveland hospital — from which she might be released soon — in a veil.

Carrie Prejean Sex Tape Scandal

After reports started circulating that former Miss California Carrie Prejean had a sex tape, the beauty queen confessed, saying making that tape was the "biggest mistake of my life."

“It was me by myself. There was no one else with me. I was not having sex,” Prejean revealed on the 'Today' show.

Prejean said she made the video of herself when she was 17 years old and that it was for her long-distance boyfriend at the time. "I was a teenager," she said. "I cared about him. I trusted him. I think now they call it ‘sexting.’ Did I think it would come back now and haunt me? No. But I think that a lot of young people can learn from this. Nothing is private anymore. Nothing is private." said Prejean.

WHO: AIDS Leading Cause of Death, Disease in Women

GENEVA – In its first study of women's health around the globe, the World Health Organization said Monday that the AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44.

Unsafe sex is the leading risk factor in developing countries for these women of childbearing age, with others including lack of access to contraceptives and iron deficiency, the WHO said. Throughout the world, one in five deaths among women in this age group is linked to unsafe sex, according to the U.N. agency.

"Women who do not know how to protect themselves from such infections, or who are unable to do so, face increased risks of death or illness," WHO said in a 91-page report. "So do those who cannot protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy or control their fertility because of lack of access to contraception."

The data were included in a report that attempts to highlight the unequal health treatment a female faces from childbirth through infancy and adolescence into maturity and old age.

WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan noted that women enjoy a biological advantage because they tend to live six to eight years longer than men. But in many parts of the world they suffer serious disadvantages because of poverty, poorer access to health care and cultural norms that put a priority on the well-being of men, she said.

Chan called it a "preventable tragedy" that nearly 15 percent of deaths in adult women occur in maternity, according to the statistics from 2004. She said the discrimination extends throughout a women's life, from girlhood diseases that aren't identified because they are not sicknesses affecting boys, to clinical trials and medicines developed on the basis of curing adult males.

"We will not see a significant improvement in the health of women until they are no longer recognized as second-class citizens in many parts of the world," Chan told journalists in Geneva.

Google to Buy AdMob!

Google today announced that it is buying AdMob, the upstart mobile advertising company based in Mountain View, Calif., for $750 million in stock. On AdMob’s blog, Google’s Susan Wojcicki, VP of product management, and Vic Gundotra, VP of engineering, write:

For publishers of mobile websites and applications, this deal will mean better products and tools and more effective monetization of their content — allowing them to focus more on their users and less on how to generate revenue.

For advertisers who want to reach users when they are engaged with mobile content, this deal will bring better, more relevant ads and greater reach. It will also mean more interesting, engaging ad formats.

AdMob has long been the dominant pure-play ad company in mobile, gaining traction as a kind of automated ad clearinghouse for inventory on the mobile web. The company has also expanded into mobile app advertising, which has exploded thanks to uptake of superphones such as the iPhone and Android handsets. Google, meanwhile, has primarily focused its mobile ad business on search.

As Google pointed out, the deal follows a handful of similar acquisitions by traditional online companies looking to move into mobile: AOL bought Third Screen Media more than two years ago, Yahoo picked up Actionality several months later and Microsoft bought its way onto the field with the pickup of ScreenTonic. But Google’s move raises the stakes for all the players in the game, and fires a warning shot across the bow of smaller mobile startups. Expect Google to move quickly to integrate AdMob’s business with its own mobile ad division as the company’s Android platform picks up steam.

While Google certainly paid a premium for not buying in earlier — or for establishing a thriving mobile ad placement business of its own — the tie-up appears to be a good fit. UBS analyst Brian J. Pitz speculated that Google is likely to integrate AdMob’s technology, clients and publishers into its AdSense network, which launched a mobile component two years ago. And J.P. Morgan said the acquisition “makes perfect strategic sense,” allowing Google to leverage AdMob’s technology to serve and analyze emerging ad formats:

"In our opinion, Google has invested heavily in growing the mobile Internet business through its development of Android and inclusion of mobile ads on AdWords,” the firm wrote in a research note. “The acquisition of AdMob should allow Google to monetize its support of the development and use of mobile Internet content further."

AdMob doesn’t disclose revenues, but J.P. Morgan estimates the company generates between $45 million and $60 million in revenue on an annual basis. The company has raised $47.2 million in venture capital from Accel Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Sequoia Partners, and it has seen its number of monthly ad requests increase sixfold over the last two years, reaching 10.2 billion in September.

Google Pushes Droid With Rare Ad On Homepage

Do you see something strange in this screenshot of Google's homepage today? No, not Bert and Ernie (it's Sesame Street's 40th birthday). It's that ad for the Verizon Droid right there under the search box (today is also Droid Day). Although, the juxtaposition does make it seem like Bert and Ernie are trying to get you to buy a Droid.

Google's homepage is normally an ad-free zone. No more than 28 words are allowed on it, and Google is always trying to find ways to make it even sparer.

But the company does make exceptions now and then to promote a partner's product, such as it did with Firefox back in the day, and with the launches of Chrome and the very first Android phone from T-Mobile a year ago. And at least this Droid ad does not break the 28-word rule. The page weighs in at 27 words.

The ad goes to this Google landing page, which then links to Verizon's Droid page. I guess they want to lose some folks along the way. Still, I'd love to see the clickthrough rates on that promotion.

Geisy Arruda Photo

Meet Geisy Arruda, Brazil’s latest celebrity after she was expelled from a University for the crime of wearing a miniskirt.

The Bandeirante University in Sao Bernardo do Campo said Geisy Arruda was expelled on the grounds that she disrespected “ethical principles, academic dignity and morality” when she wore a short, pink dress to class.

Before you think that the University acted alone, it should be noted that a sizable number of students at the University heckled and screamed abuse at her when she wore the mini-skirt to school. Video posted to YouTube was picked up by Brazilian media, who have been running with the story ever since.

To add insult to injury though, the University has published ads attacking her and calling her out for “inadequate clothing” and “posing for pictures and provoking other students.”

You get the feeling that the Brazil you see in movies (mini-bikini’s etc) isn’t quite the same as the Brazil in real life, don’t you. Two Geisy Arruda videos from YouTube as follows: both are in Portuguese, but you can get the general idea.

Rihanna's interview with 20/20: details of Chris Brown assault

Rihanna talks with 20/20 Friday night, November 6, 2009 about the details of Chris Brown’s assault against her. The young singer shares intimate details of what led to the fight and the frightening blankness that she saw in Brown’s eyes as he assaulted her.

The argument started when Rihanna says she caught Brown lying about a text message he received from another woman as they were leaving a Grammy Awards party.

Rihanna says in the 20/20 interview that Brown wouldn’t tell the truth and she “wouldn’t drop it.”

“I couldn’t take that he kept lying to me, and he couldn’t take that I wouldn’t drop it. …It escalated into him being violent towards me. And it was ugly,” stated Rihanna.

Rihanna said she knew she couldn’t get out of the car and walk away in a gown and bloody face. She said the entire night “was not part of my plan.”

In the interview, Rihanna discusses how she broke things off with Brown and that her feelings today for him do not include hate. In fact, Rihanna stated, “I actually love and care about him. I want him to do well, have a great career, have a great life and grow up. And just take this as something you had to go through to grow up and learn.”

Verizon Google Phone

Verizon Wireless customers tend to love the company’s fast 3G network. But many tech-oriented Verizon loyalists gripe about the carrier’s high-end smart phones, which haven’t matched the cachet and versatility of the Apple iPhone sold by AT&T. In fact, some Verizon customers have switched to AT&T simply to get an iPhone.
But this week, Verizon is rolling out a device that finally gives it a more credible alternative. This new $200 phone is the Motorola Droid and it’s the first Verizon model to run Google’s Android smart-phone operating system. I’ve been testing the Droid, and while it has some significant drawbacks, I regard it as a success overall. It’s the best super-smart phone Verizon offers, the best Motorola phone I’ve tested and the best hardware so far to run Android. I can recommend the Droid to Verizon loyalists who have lusted for a better smart phone, but don’t want to switch networks.

Like the iPhone, the Droid is really a powerful hand-held computer that happens to make phone calls, and is a platform for numerous third-party programs, or apps. Currently, Android offers over 12,000 apps. That is just a fraction of the 100,000 apps available for the iPhone, but it’s well above what the newer BlackBerry or Palm phones offer.

The Droid is also the first phone that runs the 2.0 version of Android, which sands off some of the rough edges of Google’s platform and adds some features—notably, a free voice-prompted turn-by-turn navigation program. Android still isn’t as slick or fluid as the iPhone’s OS, in my view, but it has some functionality Apple omits, including the ability to run multiple third-party apps simultaneously.

Tyra Banks Show!

Nearly two years after she was scrutinized for her weight and told critics to kiss her “fat ass,” Tyra Banks (hosted of The Tyra Show) is revealing how she lost nearly 30 pounds.

It wasn’t because of a diet.

“I do not believe in diets. I have been on diets in the past, and they are a bunch of bologna,” she says on The Tyra Show, airing Wednesday (check your local listings). “This is a lifestyle change. It’s not about being skinny. It’s about getting in the best shape that you can be.”

See stars who are tired of being called fat

The former supermodel, 35, says she has been working with nutritionist Heather Bauer, who has helped her re-evaluate her eating habits by keeping a food diary. (Banks also shares sample lunch and dinner menus, healthy fast food options and carbs to cut out.)

“I switched up my unhealthy eating habits for healthier eating habits, and I haven’t had a tummy attack since December ‘08,” she says.

See how Tyra Banks and other stars dressed for Halloween this year

Banks admits she still indulges — “some BBQ ribs and some ice cream and some Haagen Daaz” are her faves — but “just not every second.”

The trick?

“It’s about working with what you’ve got, and knowing, and learning what’s right for your body,” she says.

See Tyra Banks and other celebs’ surprise BFFs

The 5′ 9″ model — who reveals she has maintained her “34DD boobies” and her “round booty” — was careful to stress that she doesn’t want to lose her curves.

“I feel good about my curves and my imperfections — my booty, my boobs, my thighs — I embrace it all,” she says. “Now I really can say … kiss my fit — and still fat — ass.”

To find out more about her fitness plan, tune in to The Tyra Show on Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the CW network.

Alanis Morissette’s Time: NYC Marathon Results 2009

Canadian-American singer-songwriter, Alanis Morissette has completed her second race at the NYC Marathon, only a few weeks after running her first marathon. Alanis Morissette completed the New York City Marathon today with a unofficial time of 4:28:45.

Alanis official finishing time will be posted when it becomes available. The singer ran the first 5Km in 27 minutes, 32 seconds; she then crossed the halfway mark in 2:03:51, according to the unofficial race results.

She completed her first marathon in 4:17:03, which she ran to benefit the National Eating Disorder Association, Morissette said “An unbelievably harrowing and beautiful and moving and serene experience.” The star ran the NWC marathon to raise money for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, along with fellow celebrities David Blaine and Edward Norton.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7

What if a new version of Windows didn't try to dazzle you? What if, instead, it tried to disappear except when you needed it? Such an operating system would dispense with glitzy effects in favor of low-key, useful new features. Rather than pelting you with alerts, warnings, and requests, it would try to stay out of your face. And if any bundled applications weren't essential, it would dump 'em.

It's not a what-if scenario. Windows 7, set to arrive on new PCs and as a shrinkwrapped upgrade on October 22, has a minimalist feel and attempts to fix annoyances old and new. In contrast, Windows Vista offered a flashy new interface, but its poor performance, compatibility gotchas, and lack of compelling features made some folks regret upgrading and others refuse to leave Windows XP.

Windows 7 is hardly flawless. Some features feel unfinished; others won't realize their potential without heavy lifting by third parties. And some long-standing annoyances remain intact. But overall, the final shipping version I test-drove appears to be the worthy successor to Windows XP that Vista never was.

Microsoft's release of Windows 7 also roughly coincides with Apple's release of its new Snow Leopard; for a visual comparison of the two operating systems, see our slideshow "Snow Leopard Versus Windows 7" Read on here for an in-depth look at how Microsoft has changed its OS -mostly for the better - in Windows 7.

Interface: The New Taskmaster

The Windows experience occurs mainly in its Taskbar — especially in the Start menu and System Tray. Vista gave the Start menu a welcome redesign; in Windows 7, the Taskbar and the System Tray get a thorough makeover.

The new Taskbar replaces the old small icons and text labels for running apps with larger, unlabeled icons. If you can keep the icons straight, the new design painlessly reduces Taskbar clutter. If you don't like it, you can shrink the icons and/or bring the labels back.

In the past, you could get one-click access to programs by dragging their icons to the Quick Launch toolbar. Windows 7 eliminates Quick Launch and folds its capabilities into the Taskbar. Drag an app's icon from the Start menu or desktop to the Taskbar, and Windows will pin it there, so you can launch the program without rummaging around in the Start menu. You can also organize icons in the Taskbar by moving them to new positions.

To indicate that a particular application on the Taskbar is running, Windows draws a subtle box around its icon — so subtle, in fact, that figuring out whether the app is running can take a moment, especially if its icon sits between two icons for running apps.

In Windows Vista, hovering the mouse pointer over an application's Taskbar icon produces a thumbnail window view known as a Live Preview. But when you have multiple windows open, you see only one preview at a time. Windows 7's version of this feature is slicker and more efficient: Hover the pointer on an icon, and thumbnails of the app's windows glide into position above the Taskbar, so you can quickly find the one you're looking for. (The process would be even simpler if the thumbnails were larger and easier to decipher.)

Also new in Windows 7's Taskbar is a feature called Jump Lists. These menus resemble the context-sensitive ones you get when you right-click within various Windows applications, except that you don't have to be inside an app to use them. Internet Explorer 8's Jump List, for example, lets you open the browser and load a fresh tab, initiate an InPrivate stealth browsing session, or go directly to any of eight frequently visited Web pages. Non-Microsoft apps can offer Jump Lists, too, if their developers follow the guidelines for creating them.

Other Windows 7 interface adjustments are minor, yet so sensible that you may wonder why Windows didn't include them all along. Shove a window into the left or right edge of the screen and it'll expand to fill half of your desktop. Nudge another into the opposite edge of the screen, and it'll expand to occupy the other half. That makes comparing two windows' contents easy. If you nudge a window into the top of the screen, it will maximize to occupy all of the display's real estate.

The extreme right edge of the Taskbar now sports a sort of nub; hover over it, and open windows become transparent, revealing the desktop below. (Microsoft calls this feature Aero Peek.) Click the nub, and the windows scoot out of the way, giving you access to documents or apps that reside on the desktop and duplicating the Show Desktop feature that Quick Launch used to offer.

Getting at your desktop may soon be — come even more important than it was in the past. That's because Windows 7 does away with the Sidebar, the portion of screen space that Windows Vista reserved for Gadgets such as a photo viewer and a weather applet. Instead of occupying the Sidebar, Gadgets now sit directly on the desktop, where they don't compete with other apps for precious screen real estate.

Old Tray, New Tricks: Windows 7's Taskbar and window management tweaks are nice. But its changes to the System Tray — aka the Notification Area — have a huge positive effect.

In the past, no feature of Windows packed more frustration per square inch than the System Tray. It quickly grew dense with applets that users did not want in the first place, and many of the uninvited guests employed word balloons and other intrusive methods to alert users to uninteresting facts at inopportune moments. At their worst, System Tray applets behaved like belligerent squatters, and Windows did little to put users back in charge.

In Windows 7, applets can't pester you unbidden because software installers can't dump them into the System Tray. Instead, applets land in a holding pen that appears only when you click it, a much-improved version of the overflow area used in previous incarnations of the Tray. Applets in the pen can't float word balloons at you unless you permit them to do so. It's a cinch to drag them into the System Tray or out of it again, so you enjoy complete control over which applets reside there.

More good news: Windows 7 largely dispenses with the onslaught of word-balloon warnings from the OS about troubleshooting issues, potential security problems, and the like. A new area called Action Center — a revamped version of Vista's Security Center — queues up such alerts so you can deal with them at your convenience. Action Center does issue notifications of its own from the System Tray, but you can shut these off if you don't want them pestering you.

All of this helps make Windows 7 the least distracting, least intrusive Microsoft OS in a very long time. It's a giant step forward from the days when Windows thought nothing of interrupting your work to inform you that it had de­­tected unused icons on your desktop.

Who Kathy Gloddy?

KATHY GLODDY PHOTO

Kathy Lynn Gloddy was the 13-year-old girl who was beaten, raped and hit over the head. She was murdered on November 1971 after been ran over by car several times. 20/20 magazine is trying to bring nations eyes on this unsolved case. Her family is not hopeless and they are determined that the accused shall be bring to justice.
Janet Gloddy Young, one of Kathy’s three sisters said:

" We are excited that 20/20 has chosen to take on Kathy’s case. We are hoping through continued media exposure and through the creation of the Kathy Lynn Gloddy Reward Fund we will be able to find some answers and peace for our family."

Retired Massachusetts Police Chief and Detective Thomas Shamshak are helping her family for the justice and they also creates fund for this unsolved case.
The case has many twists. Florida resident Ernest Dukette went into a police department and expressed that he believed that he was with the girl when she was murdered but not sure whether she was raped. Later police said that he was ill by taking excessive medicines. Senior Assistant State Attorney Will Delker said the case is reopened and it is believed that there may be more then one rappers involved in the murder.
Ann Ring, sister of Kathy said she believed two more men were involved in the murder one of them is currently residing in New Hampshire. She also said “We can’t give up hope.” She described Kathy Lynn as a “loving little girl”.

Woman Kisses Charlize For US$140,000

No, it’s not that Charlize Theron has fallen on hard times. She sold the kiss for a greater good – charity of course.

Thirty four-year-old Charlize took part in a live auction during a gala for the charity OneXOne in San Francisco on 22 Oct. And while she was initially selling a 2010 trip to South Africa that included World Cup tickets, a safari and a meet-and-greet with Nelson Mandela, she raised the stakes when bidding stalled at US$37,000, far below the $280,000 Entourage actor Jeremy Piven had just raised. "For f*** sake! You can do better," she told the audience. "There is no way I am leaving here with Jeremy Piven getting a higher bid. I've got t**** for God's sake."

To sweeten the pot, she offered up a seven-second kiss for US$130,000 to a male bidder. "Swine flu is going around. This is high risk kissing!" she told him. After one man bid US$135,000, a woman upped the stakes to US$140,000 – getting up on stage for a 20-second smooch as the audience counted down. Charlize, who is in a long-term relationship with actor Stuart Townsend, 36 joked, "My boyfriend is not here tonight," drawing laughter from the crowd.

Whether sold to a man or a woman, cheers to Charlize for her effort.

Lily Allen Quits Twitter For Lover

Quitting your Twitter account seems to be the in thing with celebs these days. First Miley, then Courtney Love and now it seems British singer Lily Allen has also given up on the social networking site.

You see, Lily was addicted to Twitter and MySpace so much so that her boyfriend, Sam Cooper, felt neglected.

She once admitted, My boyfriend gets really angry. He's like: 'I want to spend some time with you, do we have to have one and a half million people in the room with us?' I'm like, 'Yes, shut up!'"

But now Sam has made her choose and Lily chose Sam. A source told Daily Mirror, "We thought she was joking, but it's been a month since she last Twittered."

Lily also gave up her computer and BlackBerry to appease Sam.

Quitting your Twitter account seems to be the in thing with celebs these days. First Miley, then Courtney Love and now it seems British singer Lily Allen has also given up on the social networking site.

You see, Lily was addicted to Twitter and MySpace so much so that her boyfriend, Sam Cooper, felt neglected.

She once admitted, My boyfriend gets really angry. He's like: 'I want to spend some time with you, do we have to have one and a half million people in the room with us?' I'm like, 'Yes, shut up!'"

But now Sam has made her choose and Lily chose Sam. A source told Daily Mirror, "We thought she was joking, but it's been a month since she last Twittered."

Lily also gave up her computer and BlackBerry to appease Sam.

Hardware hacking a cat and mouse game

TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Grand showing some
of the tools hardware hackers use, which are available at affordable
prices. He was one of the speakers at this year's Hack in The Box
Security Conference.


IF YOU ask Joe Grand, president of Grand Idea Studio — an R&D and product design company, he’ll tell you that no piece of hardware can ever be safe enough from hackers.

“If something has electronics running inside, it can easily be tampered with, and many such products are susceptible to being compromised by even simple attacks,” he said.

According to him, hardware hacking has recently reappeared on hackers’ radars because of the plethora of easily available tips and tools available on the Internet.

He said the tools of the trade are very affordable and for a paltry sum experienced hardware hackers can have a die made of the circuit board they wish to hack.

This form of outsourcing is something new in the hardware hacking world, Grand said in his keynote address at the recent Hack in The Box Security Conference (HITBSecConf) here.

“Things that used to be difficult to do for hardware engineers and hackers have become so easy that there really isn’t any excuse now for hackers not to hack into hardware,” he said.

A mix of new and old methods can also help with the process of hacking hardware.

Citing an incident where he hacked into parking meters in San Francisco, Grand applied social engineering techniques to learn how the meters worked. “and the officials were only too happy to tell me everything.”

With that information and some software tools, he managed to confound the system running the parking meters into granting him US$999.99 (about RM3,600) worth of parking time.

“I didn’t use it, of course. I informed the city council about it and they are currently doing something to fix (the loophole in the) system,” he said.

Another trend that is making the job of a hardware hacker even easier is product enthusiasts disassembling a product and then posting detailed pictures of its components on the Internet.

“This shows hardware hackers what kind of components are used to build the product, which can clue them in to its vulnerabilities,” he said.

Good and bad

Just like with any other hacking activity, hardware hacking can lead to detrimental consequences, such as service theft or having your product cloned by unscrupulous parties.

But there is a silver lining, Grand said. If product developers make an effort to understand the skills of hardware hacking, they will be able to build a more secure product.

He said hardware designers usually leave a lot of clues on how to hack into a product because they are always in a hurry to put the devices on the market and place little emphasis on security.

Grand said hacked hardware is probably a more costly problem to solve than hacked software.

“In the software world all it takes is an inexpensive patch but it’s not that simple when it comes to hardware. A lot of times, it requires the companies to issue a new version of the hardware which can be a costly fix,” he said.

Having said that, Grand believes that it is impossible to devise a totally secure hardware product, no matter how much a company chooses to spend on this. The trick is for the company to keep staying ahead of the hackers.

“It’s a cat and mouse game. Hardware developers will try to make their products secure but there’ll always be an unplugged hole somewhere,” he said. This keeps everyone on their toes.

Kidman: Hollywood probably contributes to violence

Nicole Kidman tesified before a U.S. congressional panel on violence against women, conceding that Hollywood probably has contributed to the problem by portraying women as weak sex objects.

However, the Academy Award-winning actress said she is not interested those kinds of demeaning roles, adding that the movie industry also has made an effort to contribute to solutions for ending the violence.

Kidman testified Wednesday before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that is considering legislation to deal with violence against women overseas through humanitarian relief efforts and grants to local organizations working on the problem.

Asked by Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher whether the movie industry has "played a bad role," Kidman said "probably" but quickly added that she herself does not.

"I can't be responsible for all of Hollywood, but I can certainly be responsible for my own career," she said.

Kidman appeared before the committee in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Development Fund for Women, known as UNIFEM, to promote the International Violence Against Women Act.

"In the real world, the laws go unenforced and impunity is the norm," she said.

The legislation has stalled in the past, but a sponsor, Democratic Rep. Bill Delahunt, said he and others plan to reintroduce it soon.

The Australian star told Congress that the U.N. women's fund needs more resources. "We need the money," she said. Before the hearing began, a crowd of people lined the hall and around the corner to hear her speak.

Microsoft hopes for a fresh start with Windows 7

REDMOND (Washington): Microsoft Corp.’s newest version of Windows has arrived. Windows 7 is available on new computers, and as an upgrade for some older PCs.

Microsoft hopes people like Windows 7 more than its predecessor, Vista, which tended to be slow and didn’t work well with existing programs and devices. Windows 7 promises to boot up faster and cut down on the clicks needed to get common tasks done.

Microsoft has also updated the look of Windows and added features to help people keep track of open programs or folders.

Thursday’s launch of Windows 7 comes as computer makers and retailers such as Best Buy Inc. are cutting prices for PCs to try to goose holiday-quarter sales.

Apple's New Magic Mouse is One Clever Rodent

Apple's low-key product rollout on Tuesday included updated iMacs and a new $999 MacBook, but one of its more innovative new offerings deserves a closer look: the Magic Mouse. Featuring multitouch features borrowed from the iPhone, iPod Touch, and MacBook Pro, Apple's latest pointing device is a clever melding of the traditional desktop mouse with the swiping and swirling gestures of today's touchscreens.

The Magic Mouse comes with the new iMacs, and sells separately for $69. It's a sleek, low-slung wireless pointer with a smooth top shell. There are no buttons or scroll wheels.

No buttons? Well, not exactly. The top shell is actually one giant button. It's a multitouch sensor that allows you to click anywhere.



The device tracks like a conventional mouse. To right-click or activate a shortcut menu, you click the top-right corner of the mouse. Lefties can configure Magic Mouse to do the same thing with a top-left click.

Magic Mouse brings iPhone-like scrolling to the desktop. To scroll through a Web page or document, you run your finger vertically up and down the mouse's top shell.

Apple's New Magic Mouse is One Clever Rodent

To scroll side to side, move your finger horizontally (left or right). And you can scroll a full 360 degrees by moving your finger in a circular motion--handy for viewing and editing large photos.

Apple's New Magic Mouse is One Clever Rodent

To magnify your desktop, hold down the control key on the keyboard, and then run a finger upwards on the mouse. To zoom out, run your finger back down.

Apple's New Magic Mouse is One Clever Rodent

Tired of all the scrolling and swiping? You can turn off the multi-touch features and use Magic Mouse as a conventional point-and-click device too.

Magic Mouse is certainly clever, but questions remain as to how well it'll work in day-to-day usage. Will the multi-touch features enhance the desktop experience, or will they annoy users and get in the way?

Paris Hilton Wants Lobsters For Her Cameo?

It’s no secret that celebs have riders but the latest request from Paris Hilton as part of her contract has left some people very surprised.

According to the New York Post, Paris has landed a cameo in The Other Guys, a movie starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes currently filming in New York and her three-page list of demands included live lobsters to be prepared fresh when she’s ready to eat and a bottle of Grey Goose vodka.

Mind you, she’s only on the set for just one day. That’s a bit excessive, isn’t it?

Of course the rep for Paris denies there’s any truth to this story, dismissing it as “totally ridiculous and untrue.” Yeah, why would she admit it if it is true?

Britney Spears, photographer settle suit

Court records show Britney Spears and a photographer whose foot she ran over have settled a lawsuit.

Ricardo Mendoza sued the pop singer in May, accusing her of assault, battery and negligently driving her car when she ran over his foot in Beverly Hills in October 2007.

Court records filed in Los Angeles show a settlement notice was filed on Monday. The records do not disclose the terms of the agreement.

TMZ, who employed Mendoza at the time, auctioned his tire-stained sock and donated the proceeds to charity.

The incident happened during a turbulent period for Spears, who hours earlier had lost custody of her two sons. She now has the No. 1 song on Billboard's charts with her single "3" and has since regained visitation rights.