Lady Gaga scores third No. 1 single

Lady GaGa joins Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base(!) in Billboard history

This week, according to Billboard.com, Lady GaGa becomes only the third artist in the 16-year history of the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart to score three number-one hits on a debut album when "LoveGame" officially goes to number one this week.

"LoveGame," the third single from last October's The Fame, follows "Just Dance" and "Poker Face," and puts her in some interesting company: In 2002 and '03, Canadian Sk8er girl Avril Lavigne squeezed three no. 1s from her debut, Let Go: "Complicated," "Sk8er Boi," and "I'm With You."

Way back in 1993 and '94, Swedish quartet Ace Of Base hit the same trifecta with its debut The Sign: "All That She Wants," the title song, and "Don't Turn Around" (I knew the last one was a hit for U.K. reggae act Aswad back in 1988, but Wikipedia also says it was originally written by Diane Warren and Albert Hammond, dad of Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., for Tina Turner, which is kind of blowing my mind right now.)

So if we want to get technical about it, GaGa, a.k.a. the artist formerly known as Upper West Side Catholic-schooler Stefani Germanotta, is the only American to ever pull off this hat trick. Are you surprised, Music Mixers?

Who else would you peg to be first-album three-hitters? Do you think GaGa will stand the test of time, or waft away gently into musical-footnote history, a la some of our international friends listed here?

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Vanessa Hudgens Can't Wait to Get Naked...Again

High School Musical hottie Vanessa Hudgens is taking it off yet again.

We probably don't need to remind you of that whole debacle two years ago where she sent full-frontal photos to boyfriend Zac Efron.

Anyway, in May, the 20-year-old told E! News she would "show nudity in a film when the time is right." Apparently, that time is now.

Supposedly, she told the U.K.'s Metro she'll be stripping down for her role as a hooker in the upcoming Zack Snyder flick Sucker Punch.

"I'm playing a character named Blondie and it's set in a brothel in the 1950s, so there's not a whole lot of clothes," she teased.

Raise your hand if you already miss the sweet and innocent Gabriella.

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'Harry Potter' Star Emma Watson On 'Awkward' Kiss With Rupert Grint

'We were like giggling children where you just couldn't keep it together,' actress says of filming kissing scenes.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" star Emma Watson has appeared in six films based on J.K. Rowling's book series, but she's never been kissed — at least not onscreen. But all that changed recently when the 19-year-old and co-star Rupert Grint began filming the two-part franchise finale, "Deathly Hallows."

"I was like, 'Do I use tongue?' " she laughed during a recent interview with MTV News. " 'Do I not use tongue? Do I cover my teeth? What do I do? Do I go first? Oh my God!' "

With all these questions swirling in her head, she ended up nearly attacking Grint, who plays Ron Weasley. "I ended up pouncing on Rupert," Watson confessed. "I was so desperate to get it over. After the first take he was like, 'Whoa, there! Where did that come from?' I was like, 'Sorry!' "

"It took me by surprise," Grint admitted.

Grint has had a lot more on-camera smooching experience than Watson. He spends a good portion of "Half-Blood Prince" snogging with classmate Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave) and completely oblivious to the amorous feeling of Watson's Hermione Granger. Kissing Lavender, kissing Hermione — it's all pretty uncomfortable for Grint.

"Kissing [on camera] is always quite embarrassing, because you've got a whole crew of people watching you and it just feels really self-conscious and you don't really know what to do with yourself," he said.

Add in the fact that Watson and Grint have known each other since their pre-teen years, and the kissing scene reached new levels of weirdness. But at least it was a shared weirdness. "The only good side to it was the fact that we were both in the same boat," said Watson. "We were both just like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe we have to do this. This is so awkward. Really awkward.' So I could take comfort in the fact that Rupert felt the same way. We were both giggling. We were like 12-year-olds. We were like giggling children where you just couldn't keep it together."

Yet even more difficult than the actual kiss was the moment after director David Yates yelled "Cut!" "The hardest part was having done the kiss and having to put it away and having a moment of looking at each other," Grint said.

And did Watson think she did well for her first time? "I have no idea if I did it right!" she laughed.

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Ryan Seacrest = Highest-Paid Reality Host Ever!

He hasn't nabbed that Primetime Emmy yet, but Ryan Seacrest has landed himself one hell of a consolation prize: The biggest pay raise in reality-TV history.

The American Idol emcee has signed a whopping $45 million contract extension with the show's coproducer CKX's 19 Entertainment, and he'll continue lording over the top-rated talent competition for another three years.

So how much of a pay hike is it?

Seacrest's new deal dwarfs the $5 million-a-season salary the 34-year-old currently earns. It also keeps him on Idol through 2012 and makes him the highest-paid reality host—ever.

In addition, he'll have more freedom to develop new projects with 19 and Idol mastermind Simon Fuller under his Ryan Seacrest Productions banner.

"I'm truly appreciative of being part of a show that has had such an enormous impact on popular culture across all ages," said Seacrest. "I look forward to expanding the relationship with Simon Fuller and [CKX chairman] Bob Sillerman, who share the same visionary approach to entertainment media that I strive for with every project."

Added Fuller: "Ryan is an essential ingredient to American Idol's success, and I am so happy that we will continue our relationship beyond 'Idol' into the future. Ryan is without doubt one of American television's most talented stars."

Seacrest, who, of course, also anchors E! News, hosts a daily radio show and American Top 40 and helps shepherd Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, leaked the big news this morning to fans online.

"Very excited about locking in a deal to host Idol for this season and the following 2," he twittered.

Seacrest also predicted all of the American Idol judges will be back next year as well. Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi's contracts expired at the end of last season and both are currently in negotiations for renewals. Cowell and Randy Jackson are signed for one more season.

Think the foursome will use Seacrest's hefty salary increase as leverage for their own contract demands?

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Will Pan's invitation to Dance for Two; Jolin sits on lap to seduce

Will Pan held a concert last night at Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf. Jolin Tsai appeared as a special guest, who only danced with him, and did not sing, but fans were already very excited to see the diva. After six years, Will Pan finally held another concert in Taiwan, celebrating the excellent sales results for his new album, <007>. On the LED screen, racing lights showed the numbers, "007", then the screen splitted in half, and Will Pan immediately came on stage singing, <Limited Edition>, while fans roared in excitment.

Sexy dancing created climax of concert
Jolin entered the stage sitting in a white retro convertible sports car, and the fans screamed from her alluring appearance. Will Pan welcomed the beauty on stage and sang the new song, <Dance for Two>. Jolin turned into a dancer and danced with him. After their sexy dance, Jolin sat on Will Pan's lap and they were lowered off stage together, which was also the climax of the concert.

Will Pan sang <Spilt water cannot be retrieved 2009> together with Jeremy Ji. When Will Pan was singing <Be With You>, Ah Ken posed as Akon and came on stage to sing with him, and fans laughed. Both Will Pan's father and mother were at the concert cheering their son on.

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Louis Koo and Da S kisses from night to morning

Louis Koo was promoting for his new film "Forbidden City Cop: Smart Dog", he exposed that when he filmed kissing scenes with Da S, there was a warm feeling, but he didn't get into her. He said that they were doing the kissing scenes from night to morning, kissed so much that even the roots of his hair popped out, not a very pleasant feeling. But he praises Da S's great potential for acting and joked that she'll be very good at paying villain roles.

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Dong Bang Shin Ki representative, “There are no plans for UKnow YunHo to act in dramas”

Dong Bang Shin Ki’s representative said on the 13th, “We have not received any proposals for drama acting. There are no plans for him to act in dramas yet.”

There has been rumours recently that Dong Bang Shin Ki UKnow YunHo will be acting in a drama and fans are greatly interested in it. Especially with reports that UKnow YunHo is very likely cast for dramas ‘??????’ and ‘????’ on 13th July. But SM has confirmed that there are no plans for him to do dramas as for now.

Rumours that UKnow YunHo will act in dramas have actually surfaced a long time back. Many would want to know how the member of the one of the biggest boybands in Korea acting in a drama would be like.

Meanwhile, Dong Bang Shin Ki member Hero JaeJoong has acted in the drama ‘Heaven’s Postman’ for a his acting debut. It is said that the drama will air the later half of this year.

source: kbtes

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'G.I. Joe' Cast to Visit Seoul July 28

The director and main cast of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", including British screen beauty Sienna Miller and hallyu star Lee Byeong-Heon, will visit Korea later this month to promote the Hollywood action flick, domestic distributor CJ Entertainment announced Monday.

Stephen Sommers, best known as the director of "The Mummy", Miller and lead actor Channing Tatum will arrive in Seoul July 28 ahead of the film's release here Aug. 6.

Lee, the heartthrob of hit TV soap "All In", will join the co-stars of his Hollywood debut piece in a press conference the following morning at Shilla Hotel.

The action- and computer graphics-packed film is based on the G.I. Joe Real American Hero toy franchise, and brings together the producer of "Transformer" and the special effects team of "The Bourne Ultimatum". The globetrotting mission has scenes across Paris, the Egyptian desert and the Arctic seas.

Set in the near future, it is about an elite American military force that must deal with the rise of the terrorist organization Cobra. According to USA Today, the director is quoted as saying that the film is for people who know nothing about the original franchise.

Lee stars as Storm Shadow, a Japanese assassin, among other evil Cobra members such as the Baroness, played by Miller. Tatum, who became popular as a break dancer in "Step Up", assumes the role of the good guy, the lead G.I. Joe soldier Duke.

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Microsoft Office 2010 heads online to counter Google threat

After Google launched Chrome OS last week, there were dark twitterings about the search giant attempting to steal the thunder from a Microsoft announcement today. Microsoft’s news has gone live, and it seems that as Google are slowly making their way toward the desktop, Microsoft are looking to cross them in heading to the cloud with Office 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Visio 2010. Each of the new software suites gets a shot of Microsoft’s “three screens” strategy with phone, browser and desktop sync, but for mainstream consumers the biggest news might just be free online versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.

The online versions will obviously have fewer features than their desktop counterparts, but they’ll still offer basic document creation, editing and distribution functionality. They’ll also tie in with the desktop apps, which are getting their own clutch of new functionality. Word 2010, for instance, will have collaborative editing, new navigation abilities and a nifty copy & paste boost that has Robert Scoble practically weeping with anticipation; Outlook 2010 search is improved, and there’s a new threaded messaging system and the ribbon UI from other apps.

PowerPoint 2010 introduces an in-app video and image editing package, similar to iMovie and Photoshop, plus real-time slide sharing online. Meanwhile Excel 2010 will get browser-based spreadsheet support, one-click snapshots of trends and, crucially, will offer more functionality in the online version than Google Spreadsheets.

TechCrunch have a good overview of the new features and what might change, and there are more details at the official Office 2010 site. The software itself is expected in the first half of 2010.

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More alleged Chrome OS screenshots for your viewing pleasure

Well, here we go again -- another set of unverified, likely-fake Google Chrome OS screenshots has just landed in our inbox. Our tipster claims that while most apps are online, Picasa runs locally for photo and movie viewing, and the "System" tab displays the contents of SD cards and digital cameras. Do we believe it? Well, no -- all of this is just too easily mocked up -- but it's certainly interesting stuff, and there's something about that super-nasty blue scroll bar that we find oddly intriguing, even though it's mysteriously missing some pixels at the top. We'll leave it up to you to decide if this is real -- hit the gallery and let us know what you think.

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Microsoft releases Office 2010 details, test code

The next version of Office moved a step closer to reality on Monday as Microsoft released an invitation-only technical preview of Office 2010.

However, the release of the software will be limited. Attendees of this week's Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans, as well as the recent TechEd show, will gain access to the desktop versions of Office 2010. Microsoft has also been taking sign-ups via its Office 2010: The Movie teaser Web site.

Also, it won't show off the program's biggest change--the addition of browser-based versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote.

Those so-called Office Web Applications are being demonstrated on Monday, but the technical preview of the Web apps won't come until later this year. For consumers, Microsoft plans to make the browser-based versions a free part of Windows Live next year, but hasn't decided whether they will include advertising.

The applications, which run in Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer, are aimed at both expanding the number of Office users within businesses as well as holding the ground threatened by Google Docs and other Web-based productivity programs.

On the desktop side, Microsoft plans a broader beta of the software later this year, with a final release in the first half of 2010.

Much of what is in the technical preview of Office 2010 is not a shocker, given that a test version of the software leaked onto the Web earlier this year, although Microsoft is offering further details on what's in the product as well as how it plans to sell the new software.

In its last update to Office--Office 2007--Microsoft introduced entirely new XML file formats and a major shift in its interface to use a "ribbon" that shifts commands based on what the user is doing. Office 2010 is a set of less jarring changes, with Microsoft saying the goal was to make the basics better.

Office 2010 sticks with the ribbon motif, expanding it to include many of the Office components that didn't get the interface the last time around. Office 2010 will also come in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions--a first for Office.

Word gets a collection of cool image effects that stem from the DaVinci Imaging Engine that was part of Microsoft's now-discontinued Digital Image Suite product. Word, as well as the other programs, gets a new "paste preview" tool that lets users hover over different paste options and see what their paste will look like before accepting that selection.

Excel gets a new feature called Sparklines, which are tiny graphs that can fit in a single cell of a spreadsheet. PowerPoint picks up video editing features as well as the ability to create a video of one's presentation, including voice annotations.

The Outlook e-mail and calendar program adds a conversation view feature, a la Gmail. Microsoft's feature goes further though, offering an "ignore thread" option which keeps a user from having to see a message string they are no longer interested in being a part of. It also has a "MailTips" feature that offers etiquette and security alerts before doing things as replying to a large group or sending a document outside the firewall.

To handle file tasks like saving and printing across Office, Microsoft has added a "backstage view" to each of the applications. It has also made it possible for multiple people to work on the same document simultaneously through co-authoring tools.

Microsoft is also simplifying the number of different Office bundles it sells. There will be three consumer versions. Office Home and Student comes with OneNote, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Office Home and Business adds Outlook to the mix, while Office Professional includes all that, plus the Access database and Publisher page-layout programs.

On the business side, Microsoft Office Standard, the standard package for volume licensing customers, includes Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, OneNote, and Publisher, with the last two applications being new additions to that edition. Licensing Office Standard also gives businesses the ability to host the browser-based versions of the software. The Professional Plus version adds Access, InfoPath, SharePoint Workspace (formerly Groove), and the Microsoft Communicator instant-messaging program.

Microsoft has yet to announce pricing for any of the products.

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Apple Tablet tipped for October announce, $800 tag

The iPhone 3GS managed to distract attention from the regular Apple Tablet rumors, but thanks to the China Times speculation is back with a vengeance. The paper is claiming that the device will arrive in October this year, priced at around $800, and – like we heard back in May – use Wintek capacitive touchscreens.

Other manufacturers involved include Foxconn and Dynapack, the report continues, and suggests that Apple will unsurprisingly position their device as a premium model rather than a direct competitor to touchscreen netbooks such as the ASUS Eee PC T91. While it will be announced in October, they claim, it may ship a little later; Apple are tipped to be looking to corner the holiday market with the new device.

The Apple Tablet (aka Apple Media Pad, aka Apple Netbook) was rumored to make an appearance at the WWDC back in March, but failed to materialize. Apple traditionally announce their new iPod range in September, so the October rumors indicate the Tablet could be a more distinct product line.

[via Gizmodo; Image credit Adam Benton]

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Windows 7 not soup yet

Despite the arrival of a new leaked test version, Microsoft says it has not yet declared Windows 7 final.

In a blog posting late Monday, Windows blogger Brandon LeBlanc said the company still expects to finalize the code later this month.

The blog posting also confirmed that Microsoft plans to make the code available to those in its MSDN and TechNet developer programs within a few weeks after that point. Earlier on Monday, Microsoft said that businesses with volume license deals can get access to Windows 7 starting September 1.

Meanwhile, those who have pre-ordered the software or want to buy it on retail shelves or on a new PC will have to wait until its general availability on Oct. 22.

LeBlanc also cautioned against using code found on the Internet as some leaked versions have contained various types of malware.

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Bing claims 8 percent rise in users during June

Microsoft's internal data credits the launch of its new Bing search engine with an 8 percent boost in unique visitors during June.

It's been clear for a while that Bing's launch produced gains for Microsoft during its initial month, but the degree to which that gain was produced by those strolling by as a lark or by those actually using the service daily was unclear. Microsoft released data Monday claiming an 8 percent gain in unique users during the month, and said "based on our own polling, we have also seen the number of people 'likely to recommend' Bing double in our debut month."

Microsoft relaunched its search engine business in early June with the introduction of Bing. The company confirmed that the data outlined above refers to June 2009 as compared to May 2009, prior to the launch of the new service.

Three times as much traffic landed on Bing Shopping during the month, and Bing Travel has increased its traffic by 90 percent. Advertisers also saw some gains, according to Microsoft; a "large wireless communications company" enjoyed a 28 percent increase in clicks in the Bing era.

The steady drip-drip of data points regarding Bing's market share has been a bit over the top--Statscounter twice issued press releases based on day-to-day estimates of traffic--but it's pretty safe to say that the launch has gone well for Microsoft. How well? Data from companies like Compete and Hitwise point to only very small gains, according to Search Engine Land, which believes the real evidence of Bing's staying power will come once the summer vacation period ends and overall search queries rise.

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Acer Android dual-boot netbook coming August?

Acer’s dual-booting netbook, which will offer users both Windows XP and Google’s open-source Android platform, is tipped to arrive in August 2009. First announced back at Computex, the company had only suggested a Q3 release; contrary to initial expectations, Acer hedged their bets and decided to make Android the “quick-boot” option rather than the sole OS.

As a result, the as-yet unnamed netbook won’t necessarily be any cheaper than Acer’s existing Aspire One range. Many had hoped to escape the so-called “Windows tax”, believed to add around $25 to the cost of each netbook for an XP license. However the company had also confirmed that if demand for a solely-Android netbook is perceived, then they will consider developing such an option.

It’s unclear what the announcement of Google Chrome OS, an open-source platform for netbooks, will do to Acer’s plans. The company has already been named as one of Google’s hardware partners. As for Android netbooks, MSI and ASUS are tipped to be developing such devices but with no 2009 launch plans.

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LG Chocolate BL40 is a long chocolate bar

Just a week after LG has announced its upcoming announcement for the next generation LG Chocolate phone, a youtube video is revealing a long chocolate bar design that comes with 800 x 345 display screen in 21:9 ratio. The new chocolate also has built in WiFi, aGPS and supports multi-touch on its scratch-proof touch screen. Check out the video after the cut.

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