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  • T-Mobile Galaxy S II Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Update Rolling Out Now

    T-Mobile has started rolling out the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for its Galaxy S II variant in the United States. The carrier had promised a few weeks ago that it will start rolling out the update beginning from 14th July, and has managed to keep it words.
    The Ice Cream Sandwich update for the T-Mobile Galaxy S II brings with it many new features and enhancements, bug fixes and none of the visual goodness introduced by Google in stock Android 4.0. Below is the full change-log of the update -:
    • Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
    • CMAS Improvement
    • Wi-Fi Calling Enhancements
    • Voicemail Enhancements
    Other features introduced by this update include Face Unlock, slightly refreshed UI elements, better performance and stability, a new browser with support for bookmark sync and more.
    T-Mobile Galaxy S II owners can update their handset only by using Samsung KIES software, as the update is not being rolled out via OTA. Users also need to make sure that they are running on Android 2.3.6 (TKID/KL1/LDE) update with at least 50% of battery life before proceeding to update their phone to Ice Cream Sandwich.

    Samsung Galaxy S III – First Impressions of the ‘Nature-Inspired’ Superphone

    The Samsung Galaxy S III is perhaps the most exciting smartphone the industry has ever seen. The phone, which was initially slammed badly by critics for not being up to their expectations has been smashing every single sales record since the day its pre-order page went live.
    India is one of the few lucky countries where this sleek piece of technology was first launched and without wasting much time, I quickly went to a Samsung store and returned with this superphone. It has been only two days since then, but I’m already in love with it. I often find myself holding the phone in my hands and adoring its beauty. No matter what other people say, the Galaxy S III is undoubtedly the best phone I’ve ever handled.


    The Super AMOLED HD screen of the Galaxy S III is the foremost thing that comes into notice. It’s huge, black as an onyx and stunning in all its beauty. The Galaxy S3’s 1280×720 (SAMOLED HD) screen is one of the most impressive screens I’ve ever seen, which produces eye popping colors that are bright, vibrant and rich in colors, especially when set to Dynamic screen mode which gives a stunning picture.


    Obviously, it does not produce images as sharp as the Super-LCD 2 display of the HTC One X due the pentile structure of pixels in SAMOLED HD screen, but the difference is imperceptible in daily use and not at all a ‘bummer’. On a comparison note, the Galaxy S III easily beats One X when it comes to creating more vivid colors and blacker ‘blacks’.
    display
    The display is remarkably visible under direct sunlight, thanks to its screen technology that has the highest contrast ratio in any smartphone.
    The Galaxy S II is also the first phone to boast a coating of Gorilla Glass 2 and surprisingly, the screen is (really) a lot smoother than the Galaxy S II’s screen. It’s now also resistant to fingerprint smudges, something which was very frustrating about my Galaxy S II.
    Samsung-Galaxy-S3
    Moving on to the aesthetics, contrary to what many ‘expert’ people have commented about the phone’s design, the Galaxy S III is a very beautiful phone. In fact, it even puts my Galaxy S II to shame when held together.
    The phone feels very solid and better than what I was expecting before handling it. The Hyper-Glaze coating on the phone feels great in hands. As my personal opinion, the smooth and glossy back-cover feels even better than the mesh textured back cover of Galaxy S II. However, it does invite a lot of fingerprints.
    On the sides, the Galaxy S III flaunts a wrapping of a silver band. This combination of silver band and glossy Hyper-Glaze coating gives an amazing fake perception of premium brushed aluminum on a glass build of the phone. Even if it’s not real, it does look and feel really good.
    Another interesting thing to note about this phone is that, unlike the recent trend in smartphones, the Galaxy S III is a tad heavier (by a few grams) and thicker than the Galaxy S II. Despite that, its uniform thickness makes this difference unnoticeable and is still very light to hold.
    An LED is also present this time, which was missing from the first two Galaxy S phones. I had to previously rely on third party apps like noLED and BLN to keep track of missed events, but thankfully they are no longer needed now.
    The arrangement of physical buttons remain the same as any other Samsung phone, one Home button being at the bottom center and two capacitive buttons beside it. This time, the size of the home button has been narrowed down, which does look good, but is a bit harder to press, which is my biggest gripe with this phone. However, the volume and power buttons are actually softer and easier to press than the stiff buttons in Galaxy S II.

    Hungry Jack syrup truck spills onto Buttermilk Pike

    A highway truck accident never sounded so delicious. A semitrailer hauling Hungry Jack pancake syrup collided with a highway median at the Buttermilk Pike overpass in northern Kentucky, causing the truckload of syrup to spill all over the highway.
    "Every lane of southbound I-75 was covered in pancake syrup," Fort Mitchell Police Officer Mark Spanyer told the Kentucky Enquirer. "It was a royal pain in the butt."
    The semitrailer dumped hundreds of boxes of Hungry Jack syrup bottles.
    Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt in the accident, including the driver. Spanyer said the incident occurred on Thursday when the Hungry Jack driver maneuvered to avoid a car on the highway with a blown-out tire. While the driver was able to avoid the car, he then crashed into a median on the Buttermilk Pike overpass.

    Sadly, cleanup crews were forced to use sand, rather than giant pancakes, to clean up the mess.

    ‘UFO’ over Middle East reportedly a Russian missile test

    A mysterious light seen over several countries in the Middle East on Thursday night has been confirmed by multiple sources as a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile test. There had been speculation that the strange sight, which was seen over countries in the region including Syria, Israel and Iran, might have been some sort of unidentified aircraft.

    The object was first seen when journalist Rob Stevens posted an image to his Twitter account. Stevens wrote, "Just Seen a strange UFO over Fheis. It hovered, and then made a swirl and disappeared."

    Ynet News reports that the missile test resulted in hundreds of calls to Israeli police stations. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the missile test originated in the Astrakhan region in central Russia and was spotted in several other countries along the way, including Armenia, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

    "It most likely spun out of control and its remnants and the fuel was what people saw," Israeli Astronomical Association Chairman Dr. Yigal Pat-El told Ynet News. "It reached a height of 200-300 kilometers and that's why it was seen from so many locations."

    The Jerusalem Post Yaakov Lappin also confirmed the test, tweeting: "Mysterious light explained. Russia announces it carried out successful inter-continental ballistic missile test."

    You can view several other videos of the missile sighting taken from Syria and one allegedly shot in Iran.

    Video game players may appreciate the observation of one particular YouTube commenter, who said of the video Alan Wake: "IN SPACE!_ Great flashlight."

    50 Cent, Oprah Feud: Pair Resolves Conflict On 'Oprah's Next Chapter'

    The beef is over: Oprah and 50 Cent have officially hugged it out.

    The duo had quite the tete-a-tete on "Oprah's Next Chapter," hashing out a number of the conflicts that had led to a six-year feud. Chief among the TV queen's complaints was the rapper's criticism that Oprah was creating television for "white women as old as [his] grandmother" -- and the fact that he named a female dog after her.

    "That was not a compliment," the TV host told Curtis Jackson. "I heard you had a bitch named Oprah!"

    "At the time, I was just looking at the situation and I saw I was developing negative feelings for someone who doesn't even know me - and I gave it to the dog," he responded.

    50 cent oprah

    Oprah's famed crusade against the use of the N-word in rap also rubbed Jackson the wrong way, though they eventually agreed to disagree on the matter. "When you're actually using it with malice in your heart, you can feel the difference," Jackson said.

    The interview -- which took place at his grandmother's house in Queens, where he was raised -- also revealed a softer side of Jackson. "I've had to be my grandmother's baby in the house and be more like what people perceive 50 Cent as outside," he said. "I'm not even allowed to curse around her."

    Perhaps most surprising, however? 50 Cent is a pro-toenail painter. He revealed that he used to rub his grandmother's feet and paint her toenail's "like we in a nail shop." What a guy!

    KKK wants to ‘adopt’ highway in Georgia

    A group affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan wants to "adopt" a mile-long stretch of highway in Georgia.
    According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Georgia Department of Transportation is currently reviewing the May 21 request—filed by International Keystone Knights of the KKK in Union County—to clean up part of Route 515 in the Appalachian Mountains in Blairsville.
    "Any civic-minded organization, business, individual, family, city, county, state, or federal agency is welcome to volunteer in the Georgia Adopt-A-Highway program," according to the department's website.
    The state attorney general's office is expected to decide Monday.

    "We just want to clean up the doggone road," Harley Hanson, who filed the application, told the paper. "We're not going to be out there in robes."
    But Rep. Tyrone Brooks, head of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, called on state officials to reject the application.
    "This is about membership building and rebranding their name in a public way," Brooks said. "What's next, are we going to let neo-Nazis or the Taliban or al-Qaida adopt highways?"


    "We are good, decent Christian Americans," Hanson, the group's "exalted cyclops," added. "What we're trying to do is to work with the local community."
    It's not the first time the KKK has participated in an "Adopt-a-Highway" program.
    In 2000, the KKK successfully adopted part of Interstate 55 south of St. Louis after a federal judge ruled that the Missouri Department of Transportation could not keep the group out of the cleanup program.

    House committee schedules contempt vote against Holder

    CBS News has learned the House Oversight Committee will vote next week on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. It's the fourth time in 30 years that Congress has launched a contempt action against an executive branch member. This time, the dispute stems from Holder failing to turn over documents subpoenaed on October 12, 2011 in the Fast and Furious "gunwalking" investigation. The Justice Department has maintained it has cooperated fully with the congressional investigation, turning over tens of thousands of documents and having Holder testify to Congress on the topic at least eight times. However, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., says the Justice Department has refused to turn over tens of thousands of pages of documents. Those include materials created after Feb. 4, 2011, when the Justice Department wrote a letter to Congress saying no gunwalking had occurred. The Justice Department later retracted the denial. "The Obama Administration has not asserted Executive Privilege or any other valid privilege over these materials and it is unacceptable that the Department of Justice refuses to produce them. These documents pertain to Operation Fast and Furious, the claims of whistleblowers, and why it took the Department nearly a year to retract false denials of reckless tactics," Issa wrote in an announcement of the vote to be released shortly. It will reveal the vote is scheduled for Wednesday, June 20. Read the memo and draft version of contempt report (PDF) Gov't answers CBS News "Fast and Furious" records requests with blank pages Republicans prep contempt citation against Holder over Fast and Furious ATF let "gunwalking" suspect go after arrest Issa says the Justice Department can still put a stop to the contempt process at any time by turning over the subpoenaed documents. If the House Oversight Committee approves the contempt citation, the matter would likely be scheduled for a full House vote. For several weeks, there has been closed-door discussions and debate among House Republicans as to whether to move forward with contempt. Some have expressed concern that it could distract from the Republican's focus on the economy in this election year. Led by Republicans Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Issa, Congress' investigation into Fast and Furious is now in its second year. In the ATF operation, agents allowed thousands of weapons to "walk" into the hands of Mexican drug cartels in the hope it would somehow help ATF take down a major cartel. Some of the weapons were used in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry at the hands of illegal immigrants crossing into Arizona. Mexican press reports say hundreds of Mexicans have died at the hands of the trafficked weapons. The story was exposed nationally for the first time by CBS News in February 2011. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have called the Republicans' move to find Holder in contempt a politically-motivated "witch hunt." In 1983, Congress found EPA administrator Anne Gorsuch Burford in contempt for failing to produce subpoenaed documents. In 1998, the GOP-controlled House Oversight committee found Attorney General Janet Reno in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena on campaign finance law violations.

    Sheer delight! Jessica Chastain leads the glamour at the Tony Awards in a see-through nude dress

    Outfits like this are usually reserved for the Oscars.
    But Jessica Chastain injected some Tinseltown magic into the Tony Awards red carpet this evening.
    The flame-haired actress, 31, proudly showed off her feminine curves in a see-through Marios Schwab dress while attending the New York event held at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre.

    The knee-length frock was detailed with beads and pearls, while appearing to be transparent.
    However, Academy Award-nominee protected her modesty with a flesh-coloured corset beneath which acted as an additional layer and covered her assets as a bra would normally do.
    Trademark curls: Jessica is instantly recognisable with her strawberry blonde ringlets
    Trademark curls: Jessica is instantly recognisable with her strawberry blonde ringlets

    Daring: Jessica's gown was revealing from the front, but more protective of her modesty from the rear
    While the Tonys recognise achievements in live Broadway theatre, and Jessica is a silver screen star, she will actually be heading to the stage this autumn to play the leading role in The Heiress.
    The rising star is already on her way to global domination, having won a BAFTA and Golden Globe for her efforts in The Globe.
    Read more:

    Syria's steroid-mad 'Ghost' killers who keep Assad in power by slaughtering women and children

    These are the 'Ghost' killer thugs pumped up on steroids who are proving key to keeping Syria's brutal President Bashar Assad in power. Covered in tattoos of images of their leader, they are blamed for roaming the nation massacring children and women by slitting their throats or shooting them at point-blank range. Wielding AK-47s and machetes, they are said to carry out the government's dirty work so officials can claim the rampages are not being sponsored by the state. Scroll down for latest video from Homs Pumped up: Areen Al Assad, with a tattoo of Bashar Assad on his bicep, is said to be one of the 'Ghost' killers roaming Syria Pumped up: Areen Al Assad, with a tattoo of Bashar Assad on his bicep, is said to be one of the 'Ghost' killers roaming Syria Meat-head: Known as the 'Shabiha', they wear combat trousers and black t-shirts and are paid the massive sum of £130 per day Meat-head: Known as the 'Shabiha', they wear combat trousers and black t-shirts and are paid the massive sum of £130 per day Known as the 'Shabiha', translating to 'Ghosts', they wear combat trousers and black t-shirts and are paid the massive sum of £130 per day. Their modus operandi sees them swarm in to towns after the army has stopped shelling. A source said: 'Their mission is to terrorise the civilian population and conduct ethnic cleansing.' A massacre of 108 civilians in Houla two weeks ago, including 49 children, has been blamed on the group who fanatically follow the Muslim Alawite sect. They are also reported to have shot dead 12 workers in Qusayr and 78 villagers in Qubair last week. Messing about: The 'Ghosts' modus operandi sees them swarm in to towns after the army has stopped shelling Messing about: The 'Ghosts' modus operandi sees them swarm in to towns after the army has stopped shelling Muscle man: Emergence of the death squad pictures comes after William Hague said yesterday he may have to send troops to Syria if the country spirals into a Bosnian-style civil war Muscle man: Emergence of the death squad pictures comes after William Hague said yesterday he may have to send troops to Syria if the country spirals into a Bosnian-style civil war Dr Mousab Azzawi, who runs the Syrian Network for Human Rights from London but had treated some of the Shabiha in Latakia, said recently: 'They were like monsters. 'They had huge muscles, and big bellies and beards. They took steroids to pump up their bodies. I had to talk to them like children as they like people with low intelligence. He delivered them Sunday night at a ceremony in Jerusalem commemorating fallen soldiers. Syrian activists estimate more than 13,000 people have died since an uprising against the Syrian regime erupted 15 months ago, drawing a bloody crackdown. Israel has been watching the carnage in neighboring Syria with increasing concern. The two countries have fought major wars and multiple attempts to reach a peace deal failed. Syria has strong ties to Iran, Israel's most fearsome enemy, and to Palestinian and Lebanese militants that have warred with Israel. 'That is what makes them so terrifying — the combination of strength and blind allegiance to the regime.' Emergence of the death squad pictures comes after William Hague said yesterday he may have to send troops to Syria if the country spirals into a Bosnian-style civil war. The Foreign Secretary said Britain would have to 'greatly increase our support for the opposition' if the current United Nations plan for a ceasefire fails, as his office now fears. Mr Hague repeatedly refused to rule out military action yesterday if Syria descends into 'terrible' sectarian violence. And he twice compared the violence raging in the Arab state to the conflict in Bosnia, where 12,000 British soldiers were eventually sent, rather than Libya, where the Government resisted sending in ground troops. Mr Hague told the BBC: 'The reason I don’t rule things out is because we really don't know now how this situation is going to develop or how terrible it is going to become. 'Increasingly the analogy is not with Libya last year but with Bosnia in the 1990s. 'We are on the edge of that kind of sectarian murder on a large scale. So who knows what may be required from the international community to try to deal with that, if it gets going in that way.' As violence continued to rage yesterday, claiming at least 38 lives, Mr Hague reiterated his message on Sky News. He said Syria is now 'on the edge of a sectarian conflict in which neighbouring villages are attacking and killing each other so I don’t think we can rule anything out'.

    ‘Once’ is big winner at Tony Awards

    With its folk-driven score and its wistful, meditative tone, “Once’’ is not your typical Broadway show. But that didn’t prevent it from taking home eight Tony Awards on Sunday night, including best musical. “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,’’ which premiered at the American Repertory Theater last fall before moving to Broadway, won the Tony Award for best revival of a musical. As expected, Audra McDonald’s devastating performance as Bess in “Porgy and Bess’’ earned her the Tony for best actress in a musical. It is McDonald’s fifth Tony, and her first for a leading role. In an emotional acceptance speech, McDonald said: “I was a little girl with a pot belly and Afro puffs, hyperactive and overdramatic, and I found the theater and I found my home.’’ In perhaps the night’s biggest upset, James Corden won for best actor in a play for his uproarious, pratfalling performance in “One Man, Two Guvnors,’’ a British farce. Philip Seymour Hoffman had been expected to win for his performance as Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman.’’ Corden also struggled with his emotions during a speech in which he called Hoffman “my favorite actor in the world.’’ Nina Arianda won the Tony for best actress in a play for her protean performance in “Venus in Fur’’ as Vanda, a seemingly bumbling actress whose audition with a playwright-director for a part in his new drama spirals into a series of mind games that end with him tied in knots, figuratively and literally. Bruce Norris’s “ Clybourne Park,’’ which manages to be both satirical and dead-serious in its examination of race relations, won the Tony for best play. When he accepted the Tony for “Porgy and Bess,’’ producer Jeffrey Richards saluted ART artistic director Diane Paulus, who helmed the musical in Cambridge and New York, as a “visionary director,’’ and called the ART “a great home to incubate’’ the production. Paulus lost out in the competition for best direction of a musical to John Tiffany, director of “Once.’’ “Porgy and Bess,’’ the story of the love between a crippled beggar and a drug-addicted outcast, got off to a stormy start last summer when the legendary composer Stephen Sondheim wrote a letter to The New York Times that harshly criticized the “Porgy’’ creative team’s description of their plans to overhaul the Gershwin opera. (The most far-reaching changes that had been considered were not in the final version of the show.) On Sunday night, “Porgy and Bess’’ defeated a revival of Sondheim’s “Follies.’’ But the big story of the evening was the success of “Once,’’ which was developed in a workshop at the ART last spring. Steve Kazee, who plays an Irish street busker who falls in love with a Czech pianist, won for best actor in a musical. “Once’’ also notched victories for best book of a musical, by Enda Walsh; best sound design of a musical, by Clive Goodwin of Arlington, the resident sound designer at the ART; and in the categories of best orchestrations, best scenic design, and best lighting design. “Death of a Salesman’’ won for best revival of a play, and Mike Nichols won for best direction of a play. In a recessionary era, there was a fresh currency to Arthur Miller’s 1949 classic about a man whose desperate, lifelong pursuit of a misguided version of the American dream ends with him being cast aside by his employer. Accepting the Tony Award, his sixth, Nichols said that Miller’s drama “does the rarest thing a play can do: It gets truer as time goes by.’’

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