Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

ASUS has hardly been keeping this one a secret, but the company has only just now finally gotten completely official with its Eee Stick gaming controller, and it’s taken the opportunity to drop a few new details about it. That includes word that the device will be “bundled exclusively” with “certain models” of the Eee PC and Eee Box (which doesn’t exactly narrow things down), and that it’ll come with a collection of games that have been designed specifically for it (we’re not getting our hopes up there). Otherwise, ASUS has confirmed that the device operates on the 2.4GHz frequency, which could be interesting depending on what other wireless devices you have nearby, and that each stick will require a pair of AA batteries, which ASUS says will give you three days of continuous use, and no doubt a good deal longer if you want to avoid a trip to the hospital.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Steve Jobs, presumably speaking from a hyperbaric chamber where he’s being nourished with an infusion of liquefied developers-souls before his next public appearance, had a few interesting tidbits about the AppStore for the Wall Street Journal this morning. Namely, users have downloaded some 60 million programs for the iPhone representing sales of about $30 million since the launch last month — a 30/70 revenue split between Apple and developers, respectively. “The thing’s going to crest a half billion soon,” Jobs added, “I’ve never seen anything like this in my career for software.” He went on to say that phone differentiation is no longer about radios and antennas (or uh, battery life) but about software. Steve also confirmed the controversial iPhone application kill switch in the event that Apple inadvertently approves a malicious program for distribution. Jobs said, “hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull.” As to the $999.99 I Am Rich application, the dubious download that displayed nothing but a glowing red gem, pulling that from the store was a “judgment” call. Sure, but that doesn’t explain how it made it through the vetting process to begin with.

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Paid-for search advertising “dominates” online marketing, according to the Ofcom.

Its report Communication Nation: UK consumers paying less but getting more found the amount spent on promoting goods and services via the internet grew to £2.8 billion last year.

The watchdog reveals the amount spent on advertising through the web was greater than the total amount spent on marketing through C4, ITV1, S4C and five.

I find this a bit frustrating. Paid search is a useful tool and can have huge benefits for any business. It is easily measurable, easily controlled and easily effective.

However, it is just one of many marketing tools and it is also one which requires an ongoing budget.

Appearing at the top of natural search results will be more beneficial for a company - but it is also much harder to achieve.

I firmly believe it is well worth the search engine optimisation (SEO) work, though, as consumers find natural results more trustworthy.

Furthermore, decent SEO continues to work to an extent even if a firm stops spending money on it.

Ultimately, the best option for any business is to use both paid search and SEO to make sure their online marketing targets everyone.

That way they never risk being dropped in favour of a competitor with better search skills.

Copyright SEOptimise. Original article from our SEO Blog - Search Engine Marketing Services

Paid search popular with marketers

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Filed under: Breakfast, Feast Your Eyes

I love this picture. I love how the leaves on the toast mimic the pattern on the tablecloth. It’s breakfast that also happens to be doubling as art. For more pictures of gorgeous, creative breakfasts, make sure to check out Cesca’s entire breakfast set.

Thanks Cesca, for adding this beautiful picture to the Slashfood Flickr pool.

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Filed under: Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom

As we all know from The Dark Knight commercials, Two Face makes his grand, grotesque entrance. But there’s an interesting twist in the whole story now. Beware of spoilers ahead …

… spoilers below …

Did he die — or didn’t he? That’s the big question. He sure looked like he did, but then again, there was that whole spiel about how falling such a short distance won’t kill a man. Why put that in there if there’s no point? And couldn’t the lovely Commissioner Gordon have lied to save the hopes of Gotham’s populace?

I like to believe he lived, for a myriad of reasons. But if a few new tie-in books are to be believed, the dream is completely dead, and the nightmare won’t continue. IGN reports that in the new novelization, it says: “Dent was sprawled, neck twisted, the mutilated side of his face exposed, his left eye open and staring sightlessly. He was obviously dead.” This is joined with the shooting script, which says: “Dent lies at the bottom of the hole, his neck broken. DEAD.”

I am not entirely convinced. There’s just something about using the word “obviously” that seems too redundant for it to be accurate. All of the emphasis of his death just makes it seem like they are trying too hard to convince us. But maybe that’s just my hope to see more Aaron Eckhart.

What say you?

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There were tremendous amounts of loses the past few days.

 The actor and comedian Bernie Mac passed away on Saturday in Chicago due to complications from pneumonia.  He was 50 years old.  Isaac Hayes, 65 and an innovatic singer passed away yesterday after being found unconscious near a treadmill in is home.

In Beijing, two Americans were stabbed by a Chinese man and then te Chinese man jumped from the building. This was not a pre-meditated attack. 

 The news only keeps getting worse.  Early Sunday, thousands of residents were forced to evacuate a north Toronto neighborhood due to a massive explosion and fire at a propane distribution facility.  How big was the impact? Watch HERE as KevJumaba, a famous youtuber witness this terrible disaster.  There isn’t a certain number of deaths or injuries, but I’ll keep you posted.

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Madonna has been forced to postpone her 50th birthday celebrations after twisting her ankle.The “4 Minutes” singer - who reaches the milestone age on Saturday (August 16, 2008) - was set to throw a lavish party at her country estate in Wiltshire, England, but has now postponed the festivities after suffering an injury during rehearsals for her forthcoming world tour.

A source told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: “Plans are very hush-hush but Madonna is definitely going to celebrate in style.”

“Unfortunately, not everything has gone as expected as she’s had many other things on her mind - not least rehearsals for her ‘Sticky and Sweet’ tour. On top of all the stress, she twisted her ankle over the weekend.”

“She views this as a sign she should postpone the birthday bash and play it by ear instead. Madonna now thinks it will go ahead during a three-day break in the tour towards the end of the month.”

Among the guests invited to the party - which the singer’s husband, director Guy Ritchie has helped plan - were officials involved with the couple’s adoption of Malawian David Banda.

The source added: “Guy wants the party to be traditional and British. He has already ordered crate loads of real ale. He’s also arranged for a folk band to play and the people invited - Gwyneth Paltrow, Stella McCartney and Trudie Styler - are basically friends Madonna’s known for years.”

“Everyone else will be immediate friends and family, plus a few people from Malawi that Madonna will be flying out. A few of her Kabbalah associates are also expected and Madonna will make sure only Kabbalah water will be served.”

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Sony’s new range of NW-E models have made an appearance on the Sony New Zealand website, featuring the NWZ-E435, NWZ-E436 and NWZ-E438 that will come in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities, respectively. Shared features include :-

• 2″ QVGA TFT LCD display


• Integrated FM tuner


• MP3, WMA, AAC, Linear PCM codec support


• 8.5mm thickness


• 50 grams

Add a comment | From: Sony NW-E Models Appear On NZ Site | Visit Ubergizmo

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Filed under: Analyst reports, Google (GOOG), CBS Corp ‘B’ (CBS)

There is a divide along age lines in terms of how people get their news. TV is still in the lead, but that may not last for long.

A Wall Street Journal story looks at the Pew Research Center’s biannual survey on news-consumption habits. Pew’s most important conclusion of the survey is that it “found that 46% of those polled have a “heavy reliance” on TV for news at all times of the day.”

But the median age of the TV loving crowd was 52-years-old. Another group, with a median age of 35, relies primarily on the internet as its news source.

Just as newspapers have faltered as major providers of information, it looks like TV may be seeing its best days. The next generation of people who are moving into their forties and fifties are unlike to migrate to the Tube just because they are aging. Their “internet heavy” habits are likely to stay with them for the balance of their lives.

Over the next decade, major TV network and TV station stocks are likely to be damaged by the trend.

Sell CBS (NYSE: CBS) and buy Google (NYSE: GOOG). Google News taps 4,500 sources and that is going to grow.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Filed under: Action, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

Since it’s shaping up that the two largest fan favorites of the summer will be Iron Man and The Dark Knight, it’s only right to hear what one superhero has to say about the other. And when you’re talking about Robert Downey Jr., it means you’re guaranteed a tremendous quote. Our friends over at Moviehole sat down with the Tropic Thunder/Iron Man star to shoot the sh*t and came away with one helluva quote from Downey Jr. on The Dark Knight. So, did Iron Man like the Bat Man?

“My whole thing is that that I saw ‘The Dark Knight’. I feel like I’m dumb because I feel like I don’t get how many things that are so smart. It’s like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I’m like, ‘That’s not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.’ I loved ‘The Prestige’ but didn’t understand ‘The Dark Knight’. Didn’t get it, still can’t tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. I’m like, ‘I get it. This is so high brow and so f–king smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.’ You know what? F-ck DC comics. That’s all I have to say and that’s where I’m really coming from.”

God Bless that man. Sure, I get that TDK was a tad confusing and complex at times, but so is the character and so is his universe. Personally, I enjoyed both films very much for different reasons, and think Downey Jr. is being a tad rough on his competition. Then again, maybe that’s the point.

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