Don't want the iPad? Don't fret! The Germans have a solution...the WePad!

Immediately after Apple launched the iPad, to great success, two companies, one in India and the other in Germany have come out with their own versions of the iPad. We are gonna focus our attention on the German one; the WePad.

BERLIN, Germany (AP) --

The German maker of a new tablet PC is setting out to rival Apple's iPad with the promise of even more technology such as a bigger screen, a webcam and USB ports.

It is not, however, an "iPad killer" as it has been dubbed by some blogs but an alternative to its bigger rival, Neofonie GmbH's founder and managing director Helmut Hoffer von Ankershoffen told reporters on Monday in Berlin.

Ankershoffen stressed the system's openness: Two USB ports allow users to connect all kinds of devices with the WePad, from external keyboards to data sticks.

People who want to put music on their WePad do not have to have any particular software, Ankershoffen said — a blow at Apple's devices that require particular Apple software like iTunes.

The WePad's basic version, which comes with Wi-Fi and 16-gigabyte storage, is set to cost euro449 ($600), the larger 32-gigabyte version with a fast 3G modem is euro569 ($750.).

Ankershoffen claimed that given its technological superiority and greater openness, "that's a bargain compared with the iPad."

The iPad — which hit stores in the U.S. less than a month ago — is on sale there starting at $499 for the smallest version, coming with Wi-Fi and a 16 GB storage.

The WePad, with its 11.6-inch screen, is powered by an Intel chip and relies on a Linux software basis which is compatible with Google's Android and all Flash applications, Ankershoffen said. It also has a web cam, SD card reader and a SIM card slot.

When it hits stores starting late July, it will also boast a complete open source office package, he said.

The machine will hit stores in September in the US, probably November in Puerto Rico.

Will you buy a WePad, an iPad or the Norton Ink Adam?

And the box office champion this week is...unknown!

That's right! This weekend tally is too close to call yet. It will be until Monday when we have a clear winner!

LOS ANGELES – Steve Carell and Tina Fey are in a box-office clash with the gods of Mount Olympus.

No. 1 bragging rights for the weekend were too close to call Sunday, with 20th Century Fox estimating a $27.1 million debut for Carell and Fey's comedy "Date Night" and Warner Bros. reporting the action tale "Clash of the Titans" at $26.9 million.

Rankings will be sorted out Monday when studios release final numbers, which can vary by $1 million or more for some films compared with Sunday estimates.

Warner executives said they tracked "Clash of the Titans" as No. 1 for a second straight weekend, with "Date Night" trailing by about $1 million.

"I'm not complaining about it," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner. "They're certainly entitled to their own projection, and we'll see. Maybe they're right and we're wrong. Monday will tell."

Photo finishes are rare for the No. 1 spot at the box office, where one movie usually is the clear winner.

Weekend projections include fairly hard figures for Friday and Saturday but estimates for how much a movie will take in on Sunday. Studios base those estimates on such factors as how similar movies performed in past weekends.

Studios sometimes grumble that competitors inflate their Sunday numbers to make a debut look stronger.

"You can't do that," said Bert Livingston, a 20th Century Fox distribution executive. "What you do is you look up history, you come up with your best-guess scenario. The number is the number. Whatever it is, if it ends up being No. 1 or 5 or 6, we just estimate our numbers."

Winning the top spot at the box office is a valuable marketing edge, allowing a studio to proclaim its release as the No. 1 movie in advertising through the following weekend.

Even if rankings change on Monday, it's often the Sunday figures that linger in the minds of movie fans, who may not bother to check out the final numbers a day later.

"That's why everyone wants to be No. 1 on Sunday, because with the Internet, by Monday, it's kind of old news," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

"Date Night" casts Carell and Fey as a married couple whose attempt to spice up their romantic life leads to misadventure after thugs mistake them for blackmailers.

"Clash of the Titans" features Sam Worthington as a warrior caught in a battle between men and the gods in ancient Greece. The movie raised its 10-day total to $110.5 million.

Running a close No. 3 was DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon," which took in $25.4 million, lifting its 17-day total to $133.9 million.

In narrower release, Vivendi Entertainment's inspirational drama "Letters to God" opened at No. 10 with $1.3 million. The movie centers on a boy who writes letters to God to help cope with his fight against cancer.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Date Night," $27.1 million.

2. "Clash of the Titans," $26.9 million.

3. "How to Train Your Dragon," $25.4 million.

4. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?", $11 million.

5. "The Last Song," $10 million.

6. "Alice in Wonderland," $5.6 million.

7. "Hot Tub Time Machine," $5.4 million.

8. "The Bounty Hunter," $4.3 million.

9. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," $4.1 million.

10. "Letters to God," $1.3 million.

Preview: Resident Evil: Afterlife

Here's the official trailer for the new Resident Evil movie. Afterlife stars Milla Jovovich, Wentworth Miller, Ali Larter. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Release date is September 10 in the USA (Sept. 9 in Puerto Rico).



Enjoy!

Is this man the next Susan Boyle?

Remember Susan Boyle? Last year's singing sensation that took YouTube by storm. Now, almost one year later, it looks that it will happen again! His name is Lin Yu Chun and he's the participant in a talent competition in Taiwan called "The Million Star" His rendition of Whitney Houston's "I'll Always Love You" is something to see.

And now, without further ado...Mr. Lin Yu Chun!

The controversial slaying of two Reuters journalists by a US Apache Helicopter.

The video was obtained by an organization called "Wikileaks". In this 2007 video we can see gun camera footage from the chopper as they try to identify some people with "weapons". It turns out that they fired at two video photographers, Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh, working for Reuters. Both were killed in the attack. The chopper even fired at a van that is trying to pick up the injured. In a dozen civilians were killed and even two children were hurt by the weapons fire.

In all fairness, sometimes these mistakes happen in the heat of battle. But no battle was being waged. And even thou some of the movements look a little suspicious, still a "wait and see" attitude may have helped avoid these deaths.

Is this the way we treat those who we were supposed to liberate?


I have included the complete version of the video. You be the judge.

WARNING!
The video contains graphic violence and death. Viewer discretion is advised!

And the box office champion this week is...

Warner Bros.' 3D action fantasy "Clash of the Titans" topped the domestic rankings on Friday -- its first full day of release -- with an estimated $26.4 million.

Co-produced and co-financed by Legendary Pictures, "Titans" totes $29 million in cumulative boxoffice including some Thursday night "pre-shows" in mostly 2D venues. Now playing in a combination of 2D and 3D locations with a total theater count of 3,777, "Titans" appears ready to march north of $60 million through Sunday.

That would seem to validate Warners' decision to convert the pic from 2D to 3D just two months prior to its scheduled release. It also would render moot most negative reviews of the pic, though reviewers' criticism of the quality of the 3D conversion may bear watching in future weeks for possible impact on 3D screen grosses.

Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too?" from Lionsgate enjoyed a solid start to its Easter weekend with $12.3 million in second place on Friday.

DreamWorks' 3D animated feature "How to Train Your Dragon" took the bronze medal position with $11 million on the day and an eight-day cume of $74.1 million.

Disney's Miley Cyrus starrer "The Last Song," which bowed Wednesday, grossed $7.1 million in fourth place on Friday for a three-day cume of $16.5 million.

MGM comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" -- hitting its sophomore session in release -- ranked fifth among the daily grossers with $2.9 million and a $21.7 million cume.

John Forsythe, Actor; "Charlie's Angels", "Dynasty" 1918-2010

Seriously, the celebrity reaper is really working overtime!

LOS ANGELES – John Forsythe, the handsome, smooth-voiced actor who made his fortune as the scheming oil tycoon in TV's "Dynasty" and the voice of the leader of "Charlie's Angels," has died after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 92.

Forsythe died late Thursday at his home in Santa Ynez from complications of pneumonia, publicist Harlan Boll said Friday.

"He died as he lived his life, with dignity and grace," daughter Brooke Forsythe said.

Despite his distinguished work in theater and films, Forsythe's greatest fame came from his role as Blake Carrington in producer Aaron Spelling's 1981-89 primetime soap opera "Dynasty."

Forsythe lent dignity to the tale of murder, deceit, adultery and high finance, which often brought Carrington into conflict with his flashy, vengeful former wife, Alexis Colby, played to the hilt by Joan Collins.

"He was one of the last of the true gentlemen of the acting profession," Collins said in a statement. "I enjoyed our nine years of feuding, fussing and fighting as the Carringtons."

Heather Locklear, another "Dynasty" co-star, called him "a gentleman in every sense of the word," and a "gifted actor who knew the true meaning of being gracious and kind."

Forsythe was an important part of another hit Spelling series without being seen. From 1976 to 1981 he played the voice of Charlie, the boss who delivered assignments to his beautiful detectives, including Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Ladd, via telephone in "Charlie's Angels."

"We were so happy when he agreed to be the voice of Charlie, and he always laughed about having to take a back seat to Farrah's hair," Spelling's widow Candy said in a statement.

Ladd, who lives near Forsythe, said she would miss him terribly.

"I'm mourning with the rest of the world for the talented, gorgeous, funny, intelligent John Forsythe," she said in a statement.

Forsythe evidenced little of the ego drive that motivates many actors. He viewed himself with a self-effacing humor, considering himself "a vastly usable, not wildly talented actor."

In a 1981 interview by The Associated Press, he also said: "I figure there are a few actors like Marlon Brando, George C. Scott and Laurence Olivier who have been touched by the hand of God. I'm in the next bunch."

With his full head of silver hair, tanned face and soothing voice, Forsythe as Carrington attracted the ardor of millions of female television viewers. "It's rather amusing at my advanced age (mid-60s) to become a sex symbol," he cracked.

While he had small roles in a couple of films in the early 1940s, Forsythe's first successes were mainly on the stage. While serving during World War II, he was cast in Moss Hart's Air Force show "Winged Victory," along with many other future stars.

After the war, Forsythe became a founding member of the Actors Studio, recalling it as "a wildly stimulating place for a guy like me who was a babe in the woods. I never suspected there was that kind of artistry and psychological approach to acting."

Forsythe began appearing in television plays as early as 1947, and he continued his Broadway career. A role in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" led to the awesome task of replacing Henry Fonda in "Mister Roberts."

He was next able to create a role of his own, as the naive Army officer in occupied Okinawa in "Teahouse of the August Moon." The play was a huge success, winning the Pulitzer Prize. "It gave me a sense of worth as an actor," Forsythe remarked.

The call to Hollywood was irresistible, and Forsythe came west to star in such films as "The Captive City," "The Glass Web" and "Escape from Fort Bravo." His best break came in 1955 when he starred in Alfred Hitchcock's one attempt at whimsy, "The Trouble with Harry," about a corpse that kept turning up in a New England town.

Forsythe's film roles were limited because he was already busy in television. The comedy "Bachelor Father," in which he played a Hollywood lawyer who cared for his teenage niece, lasted from 1957 to 1962.

His later films included "Madame X" (opposite Lana Turner), "In Cold Blood" and Hitchcock's spy thriller "Topaz."

"And Justice for All" in 1979 marked a departure for the actor. Director Norman Jewison cast him as a judge with a kinky sex life.

Forsythe credited the role for causing him to be considered as the unscrupulous Carrington in "Dynasty."

"The producers didn't know what the hell they wanted," Forsythe recalled. "They talked to me in terms of J.R. in 'Dallas.' I said, 'Look, fellas, I don't want to play J.R. Part of my strength as an actor comes from what I've learned all these years: when you play a villain, you try to get the light touches; when you play a hero, you try to get in some of the warts."

He was born John Lincoln Freund on Jan. 29, 1918, in Penn's Grove, N.J.

He won an athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina, had a stint as public address announcer for the Brooklyn Dodgers, then launched his struggle to become an actor against the wishes of his father. Having had his name mispronounced all his life, he adopted the name of Forsythe, which came from his mother's family.

He toured the country in a children's theater troupe with his first wife, actress Parker McCormick, and began appearing in radio soap operas and Broadway plays.

His first marriage ended after the birth of a son, Dall. During the run of "Winged Victory," Forsythe married another actress, Julie Warren. They had two daughters, Page in 1950, Brooke in 1954.

When not acting, Forsythe maintained a strong interest in politics and sports, often playing in charity tennis tournaments. A devoted environmentalist, he also narrated a long-running outdoor series, "The World of Survival."

In lieu of flowers, Forsythe's family asked that donations be made to the American Cancer Society. The family said there will be no public service.