Google invests in maker of Google Glass components

GoogleInc will take a 6.3 percent stake in the unit of Taiwanese chipmakerHimax Technologies Inc that develops display technology for devices such as Google Glass, Himax said.

The investment will help fund the production of liquid crystal on silicon chips and modules used in head-mounted devices such as Google Glass, head-up displays and pico-projectors, Himax said in a statement.

Google, which reported lower-than-expected results last week, is pushing forward with Google Glass, a product which CEO Larry Page has described as vital to the company's future success.

The agreement also allows Google to raise its stake in the unit, Himax Display Inc, to 14.8 percent within a year, Himax said.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

GoogleGlass, announced in June last year, is a stamp-sized electronic display mounted on the left side of a pair of eyeglass frames that can record video, access messages and retrieve information from the Web.

With this investment, Google will join Intel's Intel Capital Corp, KhoslaVentures I LP and KPCB Holdings as a core shareholder of the chipmaker's unit.

The transaction is expected to close in the current quarter.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: nbsnews

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Datsyuk aggrees to three-year extension with Detriot

The Detroit Red Wings and star center Pavel Datsyuk have agreed to a three-year contract extension.

Datsyuk, 34, has one year left on his current contract. The new deal is reported to be worth $22.5 million with a $7.5 million per season cap hit.

"Based on a couple of brief conversations that I had with Gary Greenstin (Datsyuk's agent) over the last couple of months, I felt that there was an interest in Pav to stay," general manager Ken Holland told the official Red Wings website. "I had my exit interview last week with Pav and we talked a little bit. He called his agent and in the next few days we were able to get the extension done."

Datsyukwas first to confirm the news via his Twitter account, writing:

“Signed 3 yr. extension. Detroit, glad to be here for 4 more yrs.Thanks to our fans, friends and Ilitch family @DetroitRedWings @danmilstein “ – Pavel Datsyuk

He can't officially sign the new deal until July 5, the first day a contract that starts in the 2014-15 season can be filed with the League, but at least now the Red Wings and their fans can rest easy.

There had been reports that Datsyuk would consider signing with a team in his native Russia at the end of his current contract. Datsyuk had 15 goals and 49 points in 47 games this season.

The three-time Selke Trophy winner is one of the top two-way forwards in the League and has been a staple in the Detroit lineup since the team won the Stanley Cup during his rookie season in 2001-02. The Red Wings went back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 and 2009, winning again in 2008, and Datsyuk had a career-high 97 points in both of those seasons.

Source: nhl.com

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Joss Whendon Spills First 'Avengers: Age of Ultron”

'Ultron' won't be based on the Marvel comic series of the same name and will have a darker tone than the original film.JossWhedon could have escaped Comic-Con a hero simply by taking the stage in Hall H on Saturday and announcing the title of his next Marvel flick, "Avengers:Age of Ultron."

But on Sunday at the Con, the director decided to pull back the curtain on his plans for the superhero sequel during a chat with Marvel LIVE, and for that we salute him.

"Ageof Ultron," he revealed, will start shooting in London at the end February or the beginning of March (ahead of the film's summer 2015 release date). Read on for the rest of the news Whedon revealed about the film.

'Ageof Ultron' Will Not Be Based on 'Age of Ultron. "Age of Ultron," a recent Marvel event penned by Brian Michael Bendis, shot up the Amazon sales chart after Saturday's announcement. Those eager buyers might have acted a bit too swiftly.

"[That's] not the case," Whedon said of basing the movie on the book. "We're doing our own version of the origin story of Ultron....We were crafting our own version of it where [Ultron's] own origin comes more directly from the Avengers were already know about."

HankPym Isn't Involved. Since a) an "Ant-Man" movie is in the works, b) Ant-Man is a creator of one version of the robot Ultron, and c) HankPym is one alter-ego of Ant-Man, many people assumed Pym would play a role in Whedon's "Age of Ultron." Not true, said Whedon.

"The other thing is in the origin story there was Hank Pim, so a lot of people assumed he was going to be in the mix, but he's not," he said. "We're basically taking the things from the comics for the movies that we need and can use. A lot of stuff has to fall by the way side."

Ultron Was An Obvious Choice.We'll let Whedon take this one: "Ultron has been their chief villain when I read the book. He's been the Avengers villain. I was amazed anybody was surprised it was going to be him in the movie. Since before I even took the job of making the first one: 'I don't know if I want to make this movie but the second one should have Ultron in it.' "

He added of the character's physical appearance in the film, "Ultron is definitely someone who evolves, so we're going to get a couple different iterations."

Ultron Was Obvious.The script is almost done, according to Whedon — and it will likely look and feel quite different than the 2012 original.

"It'sa little bit darker than the other film since Ultron's in the house," he said. "It's got a sci-fi element to it that's a little bit stronger than the other film. Getting the team together was so rousing. But seriously, keeping the team together is a completely different problem."

Source: mtv

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Phil Mickelson wins first British Open

Instead of another excruciating loss in a major championship, Phil Mickelson got a chance to celebrate early.

A brilliant closing round at challenging Muirfield made it possible.

Mickelson won the claret jug for the first time and his fifth major championship with a 5-under 66 on Sunday, matching the best round of the tournament on a day when the other contenders -- including TigerWoods -- faded away.

Lefty birdied four of the last six holes, winning by three strokes and emphatically erasing the memory of all those close calls that didn't go his way -- the latest one just last month when he was runner-up at the U.S. Open for a staggering sixth time.

"This is such an accomplishment for me," Mickelson said. "I never knew if I'd be able to develop the game and the shots to play links golf effectively. To play what is arguably the best round of my career, to putt the way I putted, to shoot the round of my life, it just feels amazing to win the claret jug."

Overall, Mickelson has eight runner-up finishes in the majors, including one at golf's oldest major championship just two years ago.

Now, at age 43, he's finally got his name on the claret jug, three-fourths of the way along to a career Grand Slam and assuring he'll go down as one of the greats of the game.

"I putted soooo good," Mickelson said.

He began his amazing finish with a 8-footer for birdie at the 13th, getting his score back to even par and giving him a score that he thought would be in the mix at the end if he simply parred out.

Mickelson did much better than that, rolling in a 20-footer at the 14th for another birdie, reaching the green in two at the par-5 17th to set up yet another birdie, and closing it with a 10-footer on the final hole for a 3-under 281 total.

Even though there were still four groups still on the course, Mickelson knew he had done more than enough to win. He pumped his fists and let out a yell. His caddie burst into tears. His wife and kids celebrated just off the green.

Lee Westwood began the day with a two-stroke lead but was again denied his first major title. He struggled to a 75 that left him four shots back, and Mickelson's victory was assured when Westwood didn't come close to making the eagle he needed on the 17th.  Woods was two shots out at the start but a 74 left him five shots behind the winner.

Mickelson was the only player to break par over four days at a baked-out course that bedeviled the world's best golfers.

Everyone but Mickelson, that is. Henrik Stenson was the runner-up at 284. Ian Poulter and Adam Scott finished another shot back.

"Phil must've played really well," Westwood said. "Five-under par is a good round of golf this afternoon."

Source: fornews

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Box Office Report :”R.I.P.D” Digs early grave: 'The Conjuring' Eyes Spectacular $38.2 Million Debut

James Wan's supernatural horror pic The Conjuring -- costing a mere $20 million to produce -- stole the show on Friday as it opened to a spectacular $17 million for a projected weekend debut of $38.2 million, far more than expected.

The New Line and Warner Bros. pic received an A- CinemaScore, unusual for a horror film. The R-rated movie stars VeraFarmiga and Patrick Wilson as paranormal investigators who help a family terrorized by a dark force. Ron Livingston andLili Taylor also star.

For Universal, the Friday box office delivered wildly different news.

Just as Despicable Me 2 celebrated racing past $500 million worldwide, Robert Schwentke's action-comedy R.I.P.D.became the latest big-budget casualty at the summer box office, grossing a dismal $4.8 million to come in No. 6. for the day. Earning a C+ CinemaScore, R.I.P.D. is anticipating an abysmal $12.2 million weekend.

The $130 million movie, based on the comic book Restin Peace Department by Peter M. Lenkov, stars Ryan Reynolds andJeff Bridges as deceased police officers who must protect the living from evil spirits who refuse to move on. Drawing comparisons to Menin Black, R.I.P.D. also stars Kevin Baconand Mary-Louise Parker (who appears in Red 2 as well).

Universal can certainly withstand a box-office flop, considering the profits it will reap from summer hits Despicable2, Fast & Furious 6 and The Purge. And once the studio realized R.I.P.D. was in trouble, it scaled back its marketing spend.

R.I.P.D. isn't the only box office disappointment of the weekend.

Despicable 2 is making life virtually impossible for new animated entry Turbo, from DreamWorksAnimation and 20th Century Fox. The 3D family film, which opened Wednesday, grossed $6.5 million on Friday to place No. 3 and is anticipating a $21.4 million weekend for a five-day total of $31.1 million, one of the lowest showings ever for a DWA title.

Despicable2 took in $7.4 million on Friday to place No. 2, where it's supposed to stay for the weekend. The toon is now the No. 1 animated title of the year domestically, besting Monsters University.

Turbo -- battling a glut of animated product -- opens only two weeks after Despicable Me 2 and four weeks after Monsters University. Fox is counting on Turbo to have strong legs, noting that it received a glowing A CinemaScore and an A+ from moviegoers under age 18.

The film, directed by David Soren and costing $135 million to produce, is about an ordinary garden snail whose dream of racing in the Indianapolis 500 comes true. Reynolds voices the title role; Paul Giamatti, Snoop Dogg, Michael Pena, MayaRudolph, MichelleRodriguez  and SamuelL. Jackson also lend their voices. DWA is playing up the fact that Turbo is an original story.

Source: holluwoodreporter

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The Pioneering White House journalist Helen Thomas dies at 92

FamedWhite House journalist Helen Thomas has died at the age of 92.

The Gridiron Club and Foundation, a journalistic organization in Washington, D.C., confirmed Thomas' passing to NBC News on Saturday.

Thomas died on Saturday morning at her Washington apartment after a long illness, the club said in a statement. A former president of the Gridiron Club, Thomas broke a long line of all-male leadership when she was chosen for the position in 1993.

Thejournalist who scored a front-row seat at White House press briefings after years of reporting for wire services had been in and out of the hospital recently, a friend, Muriel Dobbin, told the Associated Press. The daughter of Lebanese immigrants, Thomas had grown up in Detroit before moving to Washington, D.C., where she broke several barriers for female correspondents.

Known for her persistent style of questioning, Thomas was most recognized for her work with United Press International, and covered nine presidents over her long career. She started as a copy girl at the Washington Daily News, moving to what was then called the United Press in 1943.

She spent her last 10 years in journalism writing a column for Hearstnewspapers, a post she retired from in 2010 after she was caught on a videotape saying that Israel should “get the hell out of Palestine.” Her comments spread quickly on the Internet, and Thomas announced that she would retire shortly before her 90th birthday.

In a statement issued later, Thomas said she regretted her comments: “They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”

A 49-year veteran of the White House press, Thomas was known for getting the last word at presidential news conferences: “Thank you, Mr. President.”

She saw the nation's leaders at their best and worst from her front-row seat to the executive branch.

“I have witnessed presidents in situations of great triumph and adulation, when they are riding the crest of personal fulfillment, and I have seen them fall off their pedestals through an abuse of power or what President Clinton called ‘a lapse of critical judgment,'” Thomas wrote in her memoir.

Her husband, The Associated Press’ Douglas Cornell, died in 1982.

Source: nbcnews

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Ratings Rat Race Update:”Teen Beach Movie”

DisneyChannel’s unveiling of Teen Beach Movie last night clocked an average of 8.4 million viewers. That’s more than five times the crowd that came to the unveiling of Syfy’s Sharknado! But sadly, Damon Lindelof did not live-tweet the Teen Beach Movie premiere, so the press largely declined to live-hyperventilate as it was premiering. TBM attracted 1.6 million viewers in the 18-49 demo, 4.6 million kids 2-11, 3.9 million kids 6-11, and 3.4 million tweens (9-14) — in case you’re wondering who’s watching TV on Friday nights.

With that in mind, the broadcast networks Friday aired reruns and originals of news programs, workplace reality series, and procedural crime dramas — real kid-magnet stuff. CBS wound up with the largest primetime crowd among broadcasters with a lackluster 4.5 million viewers — because, turns out,Undercover Boss, Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods are no Teen Beach Movie.

ABC’slineup — a Shark Tank repeat, What Would You Do? and 20/20 — was the night’s leading broadcaster in the 18-49 demo with a nothing-to-write-home-about 1.0 rating. Did we mention Teen Beach Movie did a 1.5 rating in the demo?

Following TBM, Disney Channel’s preview of new sitcom Liv& Maddie logged 5.8 million viewers — 3.2 million of them kids 2-11 and 2.4 million of them tweens.

Source: deadline

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