Usher Remembers Being A 'Pizza Face' On 'When I Was 17'

'I had really, really bad acne ' he admits in Saturday's episode.
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Usher on "When I Was 17"
Photo: MTV News

He's known as one of the smoothest R&B sensations to grace the stage, but when Usher was 17, he grappled with a far less flattering image.

"I went through this phase where I had really, really bad acne," the singer admits on the latest episode of "When I Was 17," premiering Saturday at 11 a.m. Usher, who was 17 in 1995, reveals with a grin that his nickname was "Pizza Face."

"His acne was so horrible," recalled one of Usher's more blunt friends, Keith. "His face was so jacked up."

Music mogul and producer Jermaine Dupri remembered how the entertainer's spotty complexion led him to shy away from the spotlight.

"He didn't want to go out. He wanted to stay in," Dupri says. "He was a little ashamed of what was going on with his face."

The singer went to extreme, and ultimately unsuccessful, lengths to disguise his breakouts.

"As a dude, you're not gonna put makeup on your face, right?" Usher said. "I tried that, it didn't even work."

He may have experimented with cosmetics and spent a few more nights at home but the multiplatinum star didn't let his acne hold him back from wooing the ladies. "I was 17, so I would still try to talk to girls [and] get past it," Usher reasoned.

He even had some smooth lines to drop when he wanted to draw attention away from his skin. " 'Don't look at that, look at my eyes, baby. I'm trying to say something real serious to you right here,' " Usher recalled, reenacting his complexion-deflecting dating moves. "I know I have pizza face, I don't care."

In the end, his skin cleared up and the singer said it was just a matter of riding out a rite passage that many teens are forced to endure.

"This is something that all 17-year-olds have to deal with," Usher said. "You can't run away from it."

— this week featuring B.o.B, Usher and Ne-Yo — premieres Saturday at 11 a.m. on MTV

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Sprint Epic 4G update now rolling out, promises 'increased 3G upload speeds'

Sprint said it was coming, and lo and behold, the carrier has proven to be true to its word. Here on the final day of September, the year 2010, Sprint has issued a highly anticipated firmware update for the Epic 4G. We're told that it'll be pushed automatically to phones, bringing along four major fixes: WiFi standby battery drain, Amazon MP3 cannot download in 4G, large emails lag in upload speeds and increased 3G upload speeds. The new version is S:D700.0.5S.DI18, should take seven or eight minutes to download and will be beamed across The Now Network over the course of the next few days. Is that a congregation celebrating off in the middle distance? Sure is.

Sprint Epic 4G update now rolling out, promises 'increased 3G upload speeds' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jessica Biel Jessica Cauffiel Jessica Paré

Justin Bieber Snapped Kissing 'Baby' Video Co-Star

Photos of Bieber locking lips with tourmate Jasmine Villegas in backseat of a car pop up online.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber may have recently insisted he's too busy for girls, but he seems to have found time in his schedule for one lucky girl. The pop star was reportedly snapped kissing his "Baby" video co-star and current My World Tour opening act, Jasmine Villegas.

While the pair have been romantically linked for some time now, both have denied a romance. Photos of the pair caught in a lip lock were posted on TMZ on Tuesday (September 21), and it may be the evidence Bieber's fans needed to confirm the two are more than just friends. According to TMZ, the photo was snapped on September 9 in Venice, California, around the same time Bieber landed in Los Angeles for his VMA appearance.

Although the photos of the pair in the backseat of a Honda were taken weeks ago, they only recently surfaced online. According to TMZ, they were taken by a Canadian tourist who spotted the singers. A rep for Bieber could not be reached for comment.

Villegas, 16, is currently on the road with Bieber, but fans may also recognize her from her guest turn as his love interest in the bowling-themed video for "Baby." Recently signed to Sony, Villegas was once a member of the girl group School Gyrls. She also has cameos in Bieber and Sean Kingston's "Eenie Meenie" video and Kanye West's for "Jesus Walks." The teen singer also has two solo videos of her own: one for "I Own This" and the other for "Serious."

When asked about his relationship status this month, Bieber told MTV News, "I mean, girlfriends are trouble at this age. Girls are fun to hang out with but, like, having that one steady girl ... we're constantly traveling and one girl's not gonna really [work]. You can't really have one girl. I don't really have any crushes at the moment. ... Right now, the best thing is [that we're] just teenagers having fun doing what we love. We're just staying ourselves and remaining humble."

Do you think and Justin and Jasmine would make a good couple? Let us know in the comments!

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Lady Gaga - Video Phone (Extended Remix)

Video Phone (Extended Remix)

• Artist: Lady Gaga
• Label: Columbia, Music World Music
• Director: Hype Williams
• Album: I Am... Sasha Fierce

Kristen Bell Kristin Cavallari Kristin Kreuk

Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj And More VMA Virgins

Sunday is a big night for these first-time nominees and performers.
By Kelley L. Carter

Justin Bieber
Photo: Robyn Beck/ Getty Images

Be gentle with these guys — it's their first time as nominees or performers at the MTV Video Music Awards. Here's a look at this year's VMA virgins and where you'll see them come Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Ke$ha
It was almost impossible to turn the radio on and not hear Kesha's party-happy pop track "Tik Tok" over the past year. (She also did the background vocals on Flo Rida's ubiquitous "Right Round.") The singer is up for Best New Artist, and she'll present an award Sunday. "This is such a monumental thing for me to be nominated, because it really means people do really like what I'm doing," she said.

Nicki Minaj
Lil Wayne's wig-loving protégé will perform during the VMA pre-show on Sunday, and perhaps the mixtape diva will give us a taste of her forthcoming debut album, Pink Friday. "Obviously, this is something everybody dreamed of being part of, and I'm no exception to that rule," she said. "I just feel like this is my coming-out party. This is major for an artist with no album out."

Cascada
Natalie Horler fronts this German Eurodance group, and along with DJ Manian and Yanou, the band will make their VMA debut Sunday. They'll be competing in the newly revamped Dance Music Video category. Earlier this year, it was announced that they were the second-most-downloaded dance artists of all time. Who's the most downloaded? French DJ David Guetta, which brings us to our next rookie ...

David Guetta
The French DJ is responsible for sweating up dance floors, both international and domestic, and he finally nabs his first VMA for "Sexy Chick," featuring Akon.

B.o.B
The Atlanta rapper is up for five VMAs, and he'll take the stage for the first time.

Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch is bringing her funked-out, soulful vocals to the VMA stage this year, where she's up for four awards.

Jason Derülo
The pop singer feels like he already won at the VMAs. Last year, he attended the awards, but he sat in the back of the house. "This year, I'm nominated for two awards. It's incredible," said the singer, who has opened for Lady Gaga. "I've watched these awards my whole entire life, so to finally be a part of it is a dream come true. Pinch me, please." Derülo will be taking the stage with VMA house artist Deadmau5.

Justin Bieber
Bieber presented a VMA with Ke$ha at the 2009 show, but this year, he's up for Best New Artist and is set to perform.

Deadmau5
In case you're wondering, it's pronounced "dead mouse" (real name: Joel Thomas Zimmerman), and he's a Canadian house producer. He'll be working as this year's house artist.

Chelsea Handler
The comedian is the first woman to host the VMAs since 1994. Prepare for laughter beyond belief from the E! talk-show hostess.

Drake
The Toronto rapper (and Lil Wayne protégé) is up for three Moonmen; he'll also perform at the VMAs for the first time.

Robyn
Fresh off a tour with Kelis, Robyn, a Swedish pop singer, will perform with deadmau5 on Sunday at the VMAs.

Bruno Mars
Up for one VMA (along with collaborator B.o.B), Bruno Mars will also perform for the first time at the VMAs.

Who's your favorite VMA virgin? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.

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Adam Lambert's 'Whole Lotta Love': The Story Behind The Cover

Glam rocker tackled the legendary 1970 Led Zeppelin song for 'American Idol' rock night.
By Gil Kaufman

Adam Lambert performs "Whole Lotta Love" on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: R. Mickshaw/Getty Images/ Fox

Imagine a freight train speeding toward you at midnight. Or a rockslide barreling down a hill as you try to outrace it. That's the feeling of the ominous, chugging Jimmy Page riff that kicks off Led Zeppelin's 1970 Stonehenge of rock, "Whole Lotta Love." And that's before singer Robert Plant leans into one of the nastiest, ecstatic rock screams this side of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."

That's the song Adam Lambert chose to sing on "American Idol" rock night Tuesday (May 5), and, needless to say, it was a challenge that the eyeliner-loving Los Angeles stage veteran was more than up for, hitting a series of high notes and rock screams that would have made Plant proud. It was a risky maneuver that paid off for Lambert, who chose a tune that came in at #75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004.

The legendary British rock act recorded the tribute to Chicago blues icon Willie Dixon during their second U.S. tour after working it out in their live show, including it on their 1969 classic album Led Zeppelin II. Like many of the songs Zeppelin performed early in their career, "Love" was a blues standard turned on its head with a heavy dose of crunching psychedelic guitar and thundering drums, courtesy of late drummer John Bonham. The song was based on a 1962 tune by another blues forefather, Muddy Waters, called "You Need Love," which was penned by Dixon.

For Zeppelin's version, Plant customized the lyrics by adding some lyrical quotes from a few other songs Dixon wrote for Howlin' Wolf, "Back Door Man" and "Shake For Me," nailing the tricky vocal in a single take. It was also inspired by 1966's "You Need Loving" from the British rock group the Small Faces, for whom Zeppelin had great affection, but they also did not credit Dixon for his part in writing the original lyrics. The song became Zeppelin's first U.S. single and their only U.S. top 10 hit. Though their manager would not let them release singles in the U.K. because he thought it cannibalized album sales, the song was finally released as the band's only British single in 1997.

Dixon sued Zeppelin over the song in 1985, claiming it borrowed too heavily from his "You Need Love," and Zeppelin reached an agreement with him, with Dixon using the money he received to set up a program that provided musical instruments for schools. A cornerstone of heavy rock, the tune -- which was the theme song for the long-running British countdown show "Top of the Pops" in the 1970s and '80s -- has been covered by dozens of artists over the years, from Tina Turner and Ben Harper to Prince, Slash, Leona Lewis, Train's Pat Monahan, the London Symphony Orchestra and Jane's Addiction.

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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Amazon unveils Kindle for the Web

Filed under: Web

You can already read Kindle books on a whole host of devices besides the Kindle itself -- like your iPhone, Blackbery, Android device, PC, or Mac -- but Amazon's not stopping there. The mammoth ebook seller has unveiled Kindle for the web, an embeddable reader which is capable of displaying book samples right in your browser. In my testing, however, I didn't have much luck -- I tried to embed every "Look Inside" book by George Carlin after the break, but wound up having to use Amazon's example instead.

As Mobiputing's Brad Linder pointed out to me, this could eventually lead to an Amazon Video On Demand-type setup for Kindle: "stream" books to your browser via the viewer, or cache them via HTML5's localstorage element for offline reading. Hey, the Web is the platform, right? Why bother developing dedicated apps for a slew of different devices if you can cleverly code a single Web app which does the job just as well?

Take a look at the embed code in action after the break -- it's a lot like a Google Docs Viewer or Scribd embed. Kindle for the Web currently bears the beta tag, so you might not see it on many Kindle books as you browser Amazon's shelves.

Amazon unveils Kindle for the Web originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jules Asner Julia Stiles Julianne Hough

Less Spam, please for Firefox lets you easily create temporary inboxes

Filed under: E-mail, Mozilla, Browsers

So, you go to a new website, and you want to leave a comment. Maybe you want to open an account, but just to check the service out. Of course, they want your email, ... but should you give them your real email? Perhaps you should head over to Mailinator and take a moment to create a temporary inbox.

On the one hand, going to Mailinator will take you a moment, and you might want that inbox in the future. On the other hand, you don't know the site all that well, and perhaps giving them your real email address isn't such a great idea. Decisions, decisions!

Less Spam, please is a Firefox add-on that strives to make this decision far easier to make. Instead of going to an external site, you just right-click any text field and choose Insert a temporary mail address for this site. The text field immediately gets a valid, working email address in one of three services (YopMail, Humaility, or Mailinator). You can fill in the form, and then right-click again and choose Open the temporary mailbox for this site to go to the selected provider and check your email. It's simple, slick, and elegant!

Now, where's the Chrome add-on for this?

Less Spam, please for Firefox lets you easily create temporary inboxes originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vanessa Minnillo Vanessa Simmons Veronica Kay

Family Photo: The Maguire?s Brunch Bunch

Tobey Maguire and wife Jennifer Meyer Maguire tote son Otis Tobias, 16 months, and daughter Ruby Sweetheart, 3�, as they leave Le Pain Quotidien in Brentwood, Calif.

Dita Von Teese Dominique Swain Donna Feldman

Britney Spears Makes First Appearance Since Lawsuit

A smiling Spears was spotted in L.A. on Thursday, just as news broke that she was being sued for sexual harassment.
By Jocelyn Vena

Britney Spears out in Los Angeles on Thursday
Photo: Fame Pictures

After news broke that Britney Spears' former bodyguard Fernando Flores is suing her for sexual harassment, Spears made her first public appearance on Thursday. Rocking a big smile, skinny jeans, heels and a white man-tailored ruffled top, the pop star made her way through sunny Los Angeles just as the story of the sexual-harassment lawsuit was making waves in the media.

According to the suit, Flores claims Spears "made repeated unwanted sexual advances," exposed herself to him and engaged in "numerous sexual acts" in front of him. On her website, Spears posted a statement denying Flores' allegations. "This lawsuit is another unfortunate situation where someone is trying to take advantage of the Spears family and make a name for himself."

And in an interview later that day, Flores told TMZ that he is "standing up for what I believe is right."

Flores has also accused the singer of child abuse (including an incident where he says Spears allegedly whipped one of her sons with a belt), but Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline, speaking through his lawyer, declared those accusations "baseless."

While it is unknown how much Flores is suing Spears for, he is seeking damages based around the sexual harassment incidents and for "intentional infliction of emotional distress." Attorney Michael Bononi, who is not involved in the case, told MTV News that the burden of proof will be on Flores.

"What he's gonna have to show in making these allegations is that he was subjected to a hostile work environment," Bononi said. "And it's gonna have to be hostile in two ways: one, that a reasonable person similarly situated would have been offended by the conduct and secondly that he was actually offended by the conduct."

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30 Seconds To Mars, Ke$ha Plan Big VMA Arrivals

Can this year's nominees rival the elephants and yachts of years past?
By James Montgomery

30 Seconds to Mars
Photo: Myriam Santos/ Kayda

For much of the past decade, the MTV Video Music Awards has really been two shows: The one where they hand out the Moonmen, and the one that occurs on the red carpet, where the stars try their very best to outdo each other with over-the-top arrivals.

From yachts to 18-wheel trucks, elephants to horse-drawn carriages, how you arrive at the VMAs has become just as important as whether you take home an award. As you can probably imagine, sometimes, things get a little crazy.

"Usually, artists don't let us know [how they're arriving] until the last minute, which makes things interesting," Video Music Awards Pre-Show executive producer Ryan Kroft told MTV News. "A lot of times, they'll want to do things like land a hot-air balloon on the carpet, or drive a car down the carpet, but generally, the fire marshal frowns on those kinds of things, so we have to tell them 'no.' "

Still, there are plenty of ideas that do get the green light, and they're just as epic as the stars that thought them up. And this year's VMA arrivals are no different, though for aesthetic reasons, they're slightly scaled back.

"In New York, we had stars arriving on a fire truck, a double-decker bus, but that wouldn't play this year," Kroft said. "The carpet is designed to look like the stars are arriving at a Hollywood Hills mansion — white, chrome, glass — so having someone arrive with a marching band would seem somewhat out of place."

But there are big arrivals nonetheless: One of the biggest involves 30 Seconds to Mars, who have already started touting their entrance as being thoroughly crazy.

"30 Seconds to Mars are recreating a scene from their 'Kings and Queens' video," Kroft explained. "They'll have an army of bicyclists arriving with them, and they'll be riding bikes themselves. Most of the bicyclists are from the video."

Going equally big is Ke$ha, who has a few surprises ready for the VMA carpet. We don't want to give it all away, but here's what we can reveal: "Ke$ha has big plans for the carpet. I can't talk about all of them, but she is arriving in a Delorean, which she got herself," Kroft said. "It'll be like 'Back to the Future.' "

And, in keeping with grand tradition, there are still plenty of stars who haven't said how they're going to be arriving — Jay Sean is planning something "big and sexy," Soulja Boy Tell'em has some swaggadocious plans in the works, and Bruno Mars is still plotting, too — and then, there's Lady Gaga, who ... well, you never know what she'll do.

"We still don't know what some people are doing," Kroft laughed. "The only way you'll know is to tune in to the VMA Pre-Show and watch."

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.

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US Open

I went to the US Open yesterday. It was quite an experience and something I'll never forget. It's like a bucket list thing, you know? And I got to watch both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer play, two of the best players ever.

I took tennis lessons as a kid and then again in college, but I'm not a player. But I knew enough to follow along and the matches were really great. Plus, my friend Lacy and I made the jumbotron! Woot woot!

The US Open takes place in the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which is a complex consisting of a bunch of smaller courts, two midsize ones, and one big one (which is the Arthur Ashe Stadium.) It looks like this:

So while the Men's Singles Semi-Finals were going on in the Arthur Ashe Stadium (which is what I got to see), junior matches were being played on some of the smaller courts.

Of the two matches I saw, Nadal won and Federer lost. I was a little bummed out by that because I like Federer, but the guy who beat him, Novak Djokovic from Serbia, was so excited and it's always nice to see an underdog win. Here he is right after he won yesterday:

And here's a photo of him hitting himself in the head yesterday after losing the third round.

Tennis can be pretty brutal. But anyway, it's really cool because the whole stadium gets really quiet when they play. You can hear their sneakers squeak on the court, you can hear the ball bouncing and hitting the racket, you can hear the players grunt... Our seats were pretty far up but we could still hear every single thing happening. But, man, was it a long day. We watched tennis for eight hours straight.

The final match is this afternoon but I haven's decided who I'm rooting for yet. I like Novak because, even though he's competed in the US Open before (he lost to Federer in 2007), he only has one Grand Slam title and he's clearly the underdog of the match. Plus, he's supposed to be really funny and I like a person with a sense of humor. But I also like Nadal because, even though he's currently ranked number one and holds eight Grand Slam titles, he's never competed in or won the US Open before. If he wins today, he will have a Career Grand Slam.

For those of you who don't know, there are four major "Grand Slam" tennis tournaments every year:

• Australian Open - Played on concrete
• French Open - Played on clay
• Wimbledon - Played on grass
• US Open - Played on concrete

Winning any one of these gives you a Grand Slam title. If you win all four at least once during your career, you have a "Career Grand Slam." Federer has won 16 titles and has a Career Grand Slam. Nadal has won eight titles, but never the US Open, so he doesn't have a Career Grand Slam. Novak has won one title.

(Btw, I never thought I'd be giving a sports lesson of any kind on this blog.)

Anywho, 2010 has been a great year for me. First my movie gets made, then I get to go to the US Open... The fact that I'm lucky is not lost on me. I'm so grateful for everything.

Click here to see my photos from the day.

Rachel Bilson Rachel Blanchard Rachel Hunter

Vintage Buble!

CLICK HERE to see photos of a younger Michael Buble!
CLICK HERE to see photos of vintage Buble!!!
CLICK HERE to see photos of vintage Buble!!!
Which photos do U like best? Baby Buble? Kid Buble? Teen Buble?

Teri Hatcher Teri Polo Tessie Santiago

Photos | MTV News' 2009 Women Of The Year: #6 Britney Spears

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Photos | Jay-Z, Beyonce, Bieber And More Nominated For 2010 BET Awards

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BlackBerry Doesn't "Need 200 Fart Apps in App World" [BlackBerry]

Been wondering about BlackBerry's app strategy? Never have I been so infuriated with a phone than when I look at their undernourished App World. According to RIM however, they "aren't focusing on, say, hitting the 50,000 app mark." More »

Esther Cañadas Eva Green Eva Longoria

Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!)

Enough with the rumored prices and launch dates for the 3DS already, let's get official. Nintendo just announced a February 26 ship date in Japan for ¥25,000 (about $298). It'll then land in the US and Europe in March for an undisclosed amount. Launch colors are aqua blue or cosmo black. At a press event in Japan, Nintendo demonstrated the ability to take your picture using the 3DS' front-facing camera and then automatically converting the image into a Mii -- you can edit it too using Mii Studio on the 3DS. You can even merge two photos into a single image if you choose. Images can then be exported as QR codes in wireless "tag mode" or as a file to the bundled 2GB SD card.

Ninty also announced a special edition Super Mario DSi LL (no hardware changes) set to launch for ¥18,000 in Japan on October 28th. It also confirmed that a Wii Remote Plus is in development (it'll be announced at a date some time in the future) and a partnership with Fuji TV that will trial 3D video streaming to Nintendo's new handheld. Finally, a virtual console-style store was show serving up downloadable Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to the 3DS.

Update: Nintendo just launched its 3DS microsite in Japan with a bit more product detail including new feature overview and software lineup videos found after the break. There you'll see a built-in pedometer with activity graph and what looks like background multitasking (or at least a state save) letting you launch other apps and then return to a game at the exact same point you left it. Nintendo also demonstrates the Mii Plaza app that lets you collect and view Miis from 3DS owners you pass throughout the day (even when the 3DS is sleeping); Augmented Reality gaming with six AR cards included in the box; a long-press home button for in-game access to web browsing, WiFi toggle, and more; a Book app; and note writing / diary software.

Gallery: Nintendo 3DS final hardware

Continue reading Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!)

Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Susan Ward Susie Castillo T.A.T.u.

Beyoncé - Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

• Artist: Beyoncé
• Label: Columbia, Music World Music
• Director: Adria Petty
• Album: I Am... Sasha Fierce

Ali Campoverdi Ali Larter Alice Dodd

Photos | Justin Bieber Brings His My World Tour To NYC

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Three Futures of Remote Control: Apple, Sony, and Samsung

Today, Apple updated its iOS Remote application to version 2.0. The free Remote app is now optimized for the iPad’s larger display and supports streaming from shared libraries over wireless networks with computers running iTunes and the new Apple TV using AirPlay.
But Apple’s vision of using your iPad — or iPhone — to play virtual [...]

Julie Benz Julie Berry K. D. Aubert

TV Ad For Norwegian Deaf Metal

This image, which nicely compliments the video below, is for a 1993 metal comp that featured some pretty ripping bands, including Eucharist, Dissection, Impaler, At the Gates, Pitchshifter and Therion, along with a bunch of groups we've never heard of. Good luck tracking it down. But before you try, check out this Norwegian TV ad [...]

Sienna Guillory Sienna Miller Simone Mütherthies

Levytator claims to be the world's first bendy escalator, has the patents to prove it (video)

You've seen conveyor belts before, most probably at your local airport ferrying beaten-up luggage in circles, but for some reason the same tech doesn't seem to have been applied to people yet. Leave it to City University London prof Jack Levy to correct that oversight with his eponymous Levytator -- an escalator that follows freeform curves (but not convention!) and offers a better "cost per usable step" than your typical moving stairs. Patented in Europe, the USA, and even China, all this thing needs is the gentle push of a kindly investor -- see the video after the break to determine if it's worth your cash.

[Thanks, Conrad]

Continue reading Levytator claims to be the world's first bendy escalator, has the patents to prove it (video)

Levytator claims to be the world's first bendy escalator, has the patents to prove it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chandra West Charisma Carpenter Charli Baltimore

Sony, Warner and Disney mulling $30 at-home viewing option, we laugh and wait for the $100 option

Ah, "premium" video-on-demand. Media controllers have been fighting the inevitable forever, but now it seems they're finally coming around to the future -- letting users watch silver screen gems (or duds, for what it's worth) in their home shortly after release in the theater. Before you bust out the golf claps for these dudes and dudettes, you should know that they're planning to ding you for around $30 for the privilege, so it's only remotely of interest if you happen to have a family of eight. According to a new Bloomberg report, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., and Walt Disney Co. are all in talks with major cable systems to "offer films for as much as $30 per showing soon after they run in theaters." Disney's also thinking of streaming its content to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with Warner expected to begin testing an offering later this year that lets consumers watch new(ish) release material for "$20 to $30 per viewing." Of course, we guess it can't hurt to throw the option out there and see exactly who is desperate enough, but we're guessing this won't exactly be the demise of the cinema. Or Redbox.

Sony, Warner and Disney mulling $30 at-home viewing option, we laugh and wait for the $100 option originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch The ?Glee? Version Of ?I?m A Slave 4 U? From ?Britney/Brittany?

Tonight’s the night! Tonight’s the night that we will finally get to see the much-anticipated and heavily hyped Britney Spears Episode of Glee titled Britney/Brittany. As we count down the hours until the ep premieres on Fox, let’s check out one last sneak peek at the show before it airs. Access Hollywood managed to get [...]

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Justin Bieber's 'CSI' Cameo Shows Off Dark Side

Fans will have to wait until February for Bieber's story line to continue.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber plays a troubled teen on "CSI"
Photo: CBS

The appropriately titled season premiere of "CSI," "Shock Waves," found the CSIs chasing down a bomb suspect with a grudge against the cops. With the investigators each dealing with ongoing physical and emotional damage from various other traumatic events, they had to put those feelings aside to chase down the McCann brothers, two young men with some authority issues.

After Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne) is stabbed by inmate Nate Haskell, it's assumed Haskell is the man behind the bombing at a funeral for a dead officer attended by Nick Stokes (George Eads). When they realize that the killer's MO doesn't match that of Haskell's, they are on the trail, looking into every lead, which includes two very key clues that bring us to Jason McCann, played by Justin Bieber in his acting debut.

We first meet Bieber at a community center, where he is defending the man who helped raise him, Ralph. "Ralph was no criminal," Bieber says. "He's a decent man. He took my brother and I when we had no one."

But it's not long before Bieber and the CSIs meet at the community center, where they are trying to track down a cell phone used to detonate one of the bombs. In Bieber's several scenes, his biggest and most convincing acting comes during his interrogation by Stokes.

After learning that a young man fitting McCann's description bought a toy plane, also used in the explosion, he sits down with the teen to try to find his brother, Alex, the main suspect in the explosion. Bieber is certainly new to acting, but he shows some quick wit and certainly has a screen presence, not to mention that signature hair, while delivering his lines alongside the veteran "CSI" actor.

"Where's your gun, your vest, your badge? You're off work or something?" Bieber quips. "You still represent the authority, everything I hate. It's probably like you hate me."

Soon, however, McCann's confused-kid nature starts to show as he opens up to Stokes about his brother's vindictive nature against the police. "They're going to kill him, aren't they?" he asks about his brother, who most likely is the guy out to settle scores by blowing up cops. "I didn't have anything to do with the bombs. I just bought the airplane."

Soon, we learn that Ralph, the man who cared for the boys, was arrested, though it is never said why or if he actually deserved it. "When the cops arrested Ralph, Alex snapped. Ralph was like a father. He was a decent man," he said, adding his brother's motives: "He told me he was going to scare the cops. He's got a house in old Henderson. You'd better hurry. That show at the funeral was just fireworks compared to what's coming."

Stokes is soon off to find Alex, though it really isn't too hard to find him. Alex is caught buying supplies to make more bombs and is killed by the cops when he pulls his gun, leaving Jason without his older brother but the CSIs with lots of evidence in the back seat of Alex's car.

The evidence? He wanted to blow up police headquarters. Jason's story is kind of left up in the air, but not without one more explosion at an abandoned building being investigated. The catch: Alex was already dead when the explosion was set off. And, with Bieber in custody and an evil look in his eyes, it seems he's keeping the family business alive.

So what will happen when Bieber's McCann returns? Well, fans will have to wait until February to find out.

What did you think of Bieber's acting debut? Let us know in the comments!

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Black Metal Goes Surfing Emperor Style

A YouTube user who calls himself MrMeddled has posted an outrageously amazing surf rock version of Emperor's black metal song 'I am the Black Wizard.' Almost as entertaining as the interpretation/transformation is the accompanying text, which reads in part:
"In 1959, Chip Ihsahn and Rocky Samoth met on the beach in California. They shared a love [...]

Pink Piper Perabo Poppy Montgomery

Britney Spears - 3

3

• Artist: Britney Spears
• Label: Jive, Jive Label Group
• Director: Diane Martel
• Album: The Singles Collection

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BlackBerry 6 shows up on Bold 9700, Pearl 3G -- and we check it out

To the untrained eye, you might think you're looking at a garden variety Bold 9700 here -- but you'd be wrong. So wrong! It's actually running BlackBerry 6, something that no device other than the touchscreen-equipped Torch has managed to do in public (in an official capacity, anyway) so far. We're not convinced that the multiple home screen navigation bar concept translates very well here -- you've got to scroll up then left or right to move between bars, which seems like too much trouble when you can just get to your entire list of apps with approximately the same amount of effort. The WebKit browser is unquestionably a huge improvement over what BlackBerry OS 5.0 users are used to, but we still witnessed it bog down significantly when checking out ye olde standby engadget.com, to the point where other UI actions in the OS were impacted. We guess it's going to take another generation of hardware or two with quicker cores (and more RAM) to fix up that stuff... hopefully. In addition to the 9700, we also checked out the re-upped Pearl 3G, which is exactly what you'd expect in practice: the same user experience, just narrower. A rep gold us that the updates are expected to launch within a few weeks, though it'll depend on your carrier. Follow the break for some quick videos!

Gallery: BlackBerry 6 shows up on Bold 9700, Pearl 3G -- and we check it out

Continue reading BlackBerry 6 shows up on Bold 9700, Pearl 3G -- and we check it out

BlackBerry 6 shows up on Bold 9700, Pearl 3G -- and we check it out originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Malia Jones Malin Akerman Mandy Moore

Exclusive: The Plans For Steve Jobs' New House [Exclusive]

You knew Steve Jobs was tearing down his old mansion. You didn't know what he was building in its place. Until now. More »

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