dismissible used: October 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Inside The Dungeon of Doom: Kevin Sullivan on wrestling's wackiest group

In summer 1995, one year before the emergence of The nWo, WCW was stuck in a seemingly inescapable limbo. The era of Ric Flair’s thrilling rivalries against Vader, Sting and Ricky Steamboat was in the rearview mirror. Hulk Hogan had arrived one year prior, but he wasn’t being accepted by Atlanta crowds with the same maniacal frenzy that had stirred up WWE fans in the ’80s.

The lead producer of WCW at the time, Kevin Sullivan – a Boston-bred veteran brawler – needed to come up with something. He needed to do it fast. And what he came up with might be the single most absurd narrative that has ever unfolded in one of the major sports-entertainment organizations — The Dungeon of Doom.

View photos of The Dungeon of Doom's members | Watch the absurd videos inside The Dungeon's lair

A cadre of cartoonish villains that assembled in a haunted fortress, The Dungeon grew and grew to amass no fewer than 20 individual members, each more ridiculous than the next. Watching the group’s television segments today is a surreal experience and plays like a B-movie out of the mind of Troma’s Lloyd Kauffman. There were bizarre sci-fi elements like teleportation, Hogan’s turn to “the dark side” long before going Hollywood and even the first on-screen appearance of Big Show.

With the rise of YouTube, the group's run has developed a cult following thanks to its cheap production values and endlessly quotable lines like, “It’s not hot!” Fascinated by the the macabre world of The Dungeon of Doom, and the notion that its existence overlapped with the intense realism of The nWo, WWEClassics.com set out to discover the inside story. We sat down with Kevin Sullivan, the Dungeon's Taskmaster, to find out what made the group tick and why it even happened at all.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/classics/kevin-sullivan-on-the-dungeon-of-doom
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Nikon hurt by falling DSLR prices, but still faring better than Canon

Nikon's finance department has been forced to revise its quarterly revenue forecast in a southerly direction due to the fact that entry-level DSLRs are selling for lower prices than it originally expected. One of the culprits is likely to be the D3200 shown above, which is currently going on Amazon ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/6oc06qAml6o/
Category: NFL Network Ryne Sandberg

Google releases Android 4.4 KitKat SDK

Kit Kat

Developers will have access to new features and APIs with today's SDK update

As part of today's announcements, Google has made available the Android 4.4 Kit Kat SDK component. Designed primarily for application developers, the SDK allows programs to be written using the newest APIs and features when targeting the devices that will run Kit Kat. Support for all of the features, like Project Svelte to help lower-spec devices, the new immersive screen mode, and host card emulation for NFC payments will be available for the great developers Android is blessed with, and we're plenty excited to see what they can do with it all.

If you're interested in checking things out for yourself, you can update your existing SDK through the normal channels and install it from scratch using the directions detailed here. Well be digging in and playing with any bundled emulator as soon as things settle down and it's available for download. Stay tuned!

More: Platform Highlights | API overview

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/bTNNS59c4v4/story01.htm
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Oracle shareholders vote against Ellison's compensation package

A majority of Oracle shareholders have once again voted against the company's executive pay practices, including for CEO Larry Ellison.

Thursday's vote at Oracle's annual shareholder meeting is nonbinding, and follows complaints from some large shareholders and their representatives who say Ellison is overpaid compared to his peers.

[ InfoWorld presents the Bossies 2013, the best open source software for data centers, clouds, mobile, and more. | Get the latest insight on the tech news that matters from InfoWorld's Tech Watch blog. ]

Ellison is paid $1 in salary, receiving the rest of his pay in stock options. In Oracle's past fiscal year, that totaled $76.9 million. Ellison declined to receive a bonus. Other top Oracle executives such as co-President Mark Hurd also receive a lot of stock options.

Ellison, who is one of the world's richest people, controls about one-fourth of Oracle's shares.

Shareholders voted against Oracle's executive pay practices at last year's meeting as well.

Oracle has defended its policy on the grounds that the stock options aren't worth anything unless Oracle's share price rises, which is good for both executives such as Ellison and every other Oracle shareholder.

Earlier this month, Oracle secretary and general counsel Dorian Daley described Ellison as the company's "most critical strategic visionary" and characterized his pay as a bargain compared to the benefits Oracle receives.

Ellison took questions from shareholders in attendance after the meeting's formal agenda concluded and the topics didn't always center on enterprise technology.

One referred to a near "disaster" the city of New York would have experienced had Eliot Spitzer been elected comptroller, and asked Ellison whether Oracle could "intervene financially" in New York elections.

"We live in a democracy, and the people pick their leaders, and we do that all the time," Ellison said. "If we're not happy with that we can pick someone else. I don't think Oracle should engage in political activity specifically trying to influence the New York City and New York state elections. We should focus on things like building fast computers and better software."

Another shareholder questioned why Oracle has two presidents in Hurd and Safra Catz.

"I just figured two's better than one," Ellison said to laughter. "Seriously, it's a large company. We have a separation of responsibilities." Hurd focuses on sales and support while Catz handles operational matters, he said. "I think they've both done outstanding jobs in their respective areas of expertise," Ellison added. "Either one of them could go out and get a CEO's job tomorrow."

A third questioner complained that she had to call Oracle's investor relations office three times to find out when the shareholder meeting was supposed to occur.

"We love people to come to our annual meeting," Ellison said by way of apology. "We even have cookies." Oracle will make sure information about the meeting is posted to its website, he added.

Ellison steered clear of saying anything controversial when asked about Oracle's involvement with the troubled Healthcare.gov website.

"As an information technology company we are doing everything we can to make it a highly performant, highly reliable [system]," he said. "I will refrain from editorial comments about what has happened there. I think most of us want our government to operate efficiently."

But Ellison revealed which rivals Oracle watches most closely. IBM, EMC, SAP, and Salesforce.com "are four competitors we spend a lot of time thinking about," he said.

Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris' email address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/oracle-shareholders-vote-against-ellisons-compensation-package-229980
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Heidi Klum Shares Sneak Peek Photos of Her 2013 Halloween Costume

It's the most wonderful time of the year for Heidi Klum! The 40-year-old supermodel will be celebrating Halloween on Thursday, Oct. 31 ,with her annual A-list party, this time at Marquee nightclub in New York City. Every year Klum goes all out with her costumes -- and this year appears to be no exception.

PHOTOS: Heidi Klum's best Halloween costumes

The Project Runway host tweeted sneak peek photos of herself getting ready for her holiday bash on Twitter Thursday afternoon. "Ok guys........I am going into the future," she teased with a "before" look of her sitting in a makeup chair.

Heidi Klum shared this photo on Twitter of herself getting ready for Halloween 2013.
Credit: Courtesy Heidi Klum

One hour later, Klum shared a photo of herself with her back to the camera while three makeup artists worked on her face. The German model's long blonde hair was covered with a bald cape and her bare back was exposed, revealing a creepy, fake spine.

PHOTOS: Celebs' 2013 Halloween costumes

She later posted a third photo to show fans the progress. In the snapshot, four makeup artists are working on her legs while a fifth one applied makeup to her arm. She appeared to be wearing a short black strapless dress while sitting in a high directors chair. Her team had a large table set up filled with body paint.

Heidi Klum shared this photo on Twitter of herself getting ready for Halloween 2013.
Credit: Courtesy Heidi Klum

In a fourth image, Klum shared a closeup shot of her makeup artists Bill Corso and Mike Marino applying a mask to her face and neck to make her look old and wrinkly.

Heidi Klum shared this sneak peek photo of her 2013 Halloween costume on Twitter Oct. 31.
Credit: Courtesy Heidi Klum

Klum has previously transformed herself into Cleopatra in 2012, an ape in 2011, an alien robot in 2010, a black crow in 2009 and a Hindu goddess in 2008 -- to name just a few. Last year, Klum decided to postpone her Halloween party until Dec. 1 due to Hurricane Sandy hitting the East Coast. Her 2012 party marked her first Halloween since splitting from husband Seal in January of that year after seven years of marriage.

PHOTOS: Stars in matching costumes

Tell Us: What do you think Klum is dressing up as for Halloween 2013?

Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/heidi-klum-shares-sneak-peek-photos-of-her-2013-halloween-costume--20133110
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David Arquette Drunk Dials Howard Stern after Bootsy Bellows Night Out

Stepping for some Halloween festivities, David Arquette stopped Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood on Wednesday (October 30).

The "Scream" star dressed in a Dia de Meutos-inspired suit as he made his way into the club for the spooky celebration.

Later that evening after a bit too many drinks, Arquette drunk dialed Howard Stern during his talk show's hour to announce how "wasted" he was.

"You're amazing. You are incredible. You are God," David rambled. "We're all gods in our own way. We're all droplets of God... The whole game is to entertain God. God created us all. God is love. The best feeling is love... We're all connected. It's all the same."

While discussing his former wife Courteney Cox, the 42-year-old actor raved about his wife and how much he loves her with all his "f***ing heart."

"She's the most brilliant, beautiful friend that I've ever met," he stated.

When her recent breakup with "Cougar Town" co-star Brian Van Holt came up, David proclaimed, "I'mnot going to get into her personal stuff. She's with someone who loves and cares for her. That's all I care about."

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/david-arquette/david-arquette-drunk-dials-howard-stern-after-bootsy-bellows-night-out-1074681
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VEVO Relaunches Its Web And Mobile Sites To Streamline Music Video Search And Discovery

Music video powerhouse VEVO is launching a major redesign this week, after rebuilding its back end from the ground up. The online music video site has undergone a complete overhaul, which you can see here, designed to make it easier for users to browse and discover new content, while also streamlining the ability to search for the videos that they want to watch.

The new VEVO, which goes live Friday, is an extension of the company’s continued iteration on its web, mobile, and connected TV platforms. With this launch, the VEVO team has done a lot of work to actually simplify the user interface and strip out some of the clutter that had been in previous versions. At the same time, it’s setting the stage for VEVO to do some more interesting things around content discovery and personalization.

The new website is designed to be cleaner, faster, and dynamic, so viewers can tune in via desktop, smartphone, or tablet, and it automatically fits the screen. Now viewers who go to VEVO TV will have a simplified nav bar with just a few options: VEVO TV, Search, and Browse.

On the homepage, in addition to the carousel of videos, there’s also now a feed of regularly updated content that goes beyond its usual daily feed. By featuring new videos regularly, the hope is to draw the user in and get viewers watching videos more quickly.

“We wanted to simplify things to get people watching videos right away. As we started thinking about engagement, there’s now a sense of urgency… There’s always something new coming up,” SVP of Product & Technology Michael Cerda told me.

In addition to updating the homepage, VEVO has also expanded its VEVO TV live music feed. Launched in May, VEVO TV is designed to evoke the same feeling of that old “music television” — you know, from back when it actually played music. But it’s mean to be streamed rather than just delivered via cable.

Now instead of a single VEVO TV channel, VEVO will have three channels of videos. VEVO’s “Pop” channel will take over as the main feed, providing a live broadcast of all the most popular music videos today. It’s also introducing two new channels — Country and R&B/Rap — to provide viewers with access to continuous, linear programming of music from both of those genres.

While the most obvious changes might be on the VEVO homepage, the more important work went on under the hood. When it first launched, VEVO had been built on a Microsoft .NET stack. But according to Cerda, the team has quietly moved its backend to a Node.js framework.

It’s also refined and rebuilt its API, which will help VEVO extend its content to new partners, and also make it easier for the company to build experiences for new platforms.

Given all the changes behind the scenes, Cerda called it the most significant update that the company has ever done. The company started building the new experience in the late winter, rebuilding the backend from the ground up. The first step was building the web and mobile web sites, but the new backend will speed up its ability to reach new devices and update apps on existing platforms.

For instance, the company just rolled out a new experience on Samsung Smart TVs and is currently working on apps that work with Google’s $35 Chromecast streaming dongle. Once that’s done, viewers will have the AirPlay-like ability to send videos from its mobile apps for iOS and Android straight to their TV.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Bf5jqWow5rI/
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A Galaxy S4 Active Mini Might Be on Its Way

This phone here appears to be yet another miniature version of a popular full size model, with official filings revealing something we suspect might end up being known as the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Mini. Could do with a smaller name, too.

Three UK announces iPad Air pricing, starts at £119 up front

In less than 24 hours, the first UK iPad Air customers will be walking out of stores across the land with their new hotness, but for those looking for something a little more subsidized, Three might have you covered. Leaving it almost as late as possible, the carrier has announced pricing for the iPad Air and associated data plans. If you're going subsidized, then you're looking at dropping at least £119 up front.

For that, you'll get a 16GB WiFi + Cellular iPad Air with 15GB of data per month for two-years, at a monthly rate of £29. Pay £179 up front for the same iPad Air and you'll drop the monthly cost down to £25. Prices monthly remain the same and with 15GB of data for the 32GB and 64GB models, but prices up front then start from £219 and £289 respectively. And of course, these prices will include 4G LTE when Three launches it sometime in December.

If you're OK with buying your iPad Air outright – either from Apple or from Three – then you're open to a pretty good 10GB 1-month rolling contract for just £15 per month. The iPad Air will go on sale both online and in-stores at Three tomorrow, November 1. The iPad mini with Retina Display will follow later in November, though when is still anybodies guess. We'll update with pricing as and when we learn more. So, anyone buying this way?

iPad Air and Retina iPad mini buyers guide

Source: Three

iPad Air
Apple's full-sized iPad gets slimmed down. Features include:

A7 custom processor
Improved LTE 4G support
FaceTime HD camera
iOS 7 software

Complete preview >

Released
November, 2013

Alternatives
Retina iPad mini, iPad 2

Replacements
iPad Air 2 (iPad 6)
Fall, 2014

Resources
Buyers guide
Help forum

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/-AaTjcnNvLY/story01.htm
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