Chinese search giant Baidu has announced the launch of its first smartphone Changhong H5018.
It is the Baidu’s first move into the mass smartphone market.
Built by Foxconn, the low-cost Changhong H5018 is powered by Baidu’s own mobile operating system, Cloud.
Analysts say it is extremely important Baidu to secure significant presence in the booming mobile industry in China, which has the largest number of smartphone users in the world.
The phone will be the first mobile device to run on Baidu’s Cloud Smart terminal platform and will come with 100GB of cloud storage on Wangpan, the local equivalent of Dropbox and Google Drive.
Built by Foxconn, the low-cost Changhong H5018 is powered by Baidu's own mobile operating system, Cloud
With a price tag of less than 1,000 yuan ($158), it will face fierce competition at the Chinese low-end smartphone market.
Customers currently have a choice between low-cost handsets made by firms such as Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corp, HTC, Lenovo and Xiaomi.
But Baidu’s director of international communications, Kaiser Kuo, said he believed that H5018 would do well.
“It’s a terrific market opportunity for us, and Baidu is constantly adjusting, understanding what users are interested in,” said Kaiser Kuo.
“The new handset is integrated with the cloud – and with our 100GB offering, I think that no one will be able to match that.”
Earlier this year, Baidu said it had to develop a stronger presence in China’s rapidly expanding mobile space.
With its Cloud Smart terminal platform, it hopes to attract the interest of hardware manufacturers.
“Baidu is recreating itself – we used to be a product-focused company, but now we are becoming a platform-focused company,” said Kaiser Kuo.
It was important for internet companies to secure presence in the mobile industry, said Beijing-based digital media analyst Bill Bishop.
“Mobile internet usage is booming. If Baidu doesn’t have a significant presence, they risk challenges to their business, and they [could] miss out on a new frontier,” he said.
“That said, they also risk alienating other handset partners who might use them as the search partner, but now see them as competitors.”
The new smartphone is primarily aimed at the Chinese market.
“Access to cloud-based services is a critical piece of the technology, and since they are tailored for China, it doesn’t make sense to push outside to other markets right now,” said Kaiser Kuo.
With access to Google’s search hampered by the Chinese government’s internet regulations known as the Great Firewall of China, Baidu dominates the country’s search traffic.
France’s President Francois Hollande has arrived in Berlin for key talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after his plane was apparently hit by lightning.
Presidential plane was forced to turn back to Paris and Francois Hollande later completed his journey on a second plane.
During his inauguration speech earlier in the day, Socialist Francois Hollande appealed for “a compromise” over the German-led focus on austerity.
He called for an emphasis on “growth”.
Describing the incident with the first plane, Francois Hollande’s spokesman said that the aircraft “could have been hit by lightning”, the AFP news agency reports.
“For security reasons, it turned back,” he said, adding that no-one was hurt.
It is very common for planes to be hit by lightning and most pilots will experience two strikes a year, some many more.
Planes are designed to dispel the electricity out through the wingtips, so that it is rare to have to turn back after a strike.
Francois Hollande's plane was apparently hit by lightning during his flight to Berlin
Analysts are watching to see how German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande can overcome their differences on how to resolve the crisis.
Stock markets and the euro have fallen amid continuing political uncertainty in Greece.
The chairman of the group of eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, insisted on Monday that they would do “everything possible” to keep Greece in the euro.
Francois Hollande was sworn in for a five-year term at the Elysee Palace in Paris, becoming France’s first Socialist president in 17 years.
In his inauguration speech, Francois Hollande said he wished to deliver a “message of confidence”.
“My mandate is to bring France back to justice, open up a new path in Europe, contribute to world peace and preserve the planet.”
The new president said he was fully aware of challenges facing France, which he summarized as “huge debt, weak growth, reduced competitiveness, and a Europe that is struggling to emerge from a crisis”.
Francois Hollande also said he wanted other European leaders to sign a pact that “ties the necessary reduction of deficit to the indispensable stimulation of the economy”.
“I will tell them the necessity for our continent is to protect, in an unstable world, not only its values but its interests in the name of commercial exchange,” he added.
After the ceremonies, Francois Hollande named Jean-Marc Ayrault, leader of the Socialist group in parliament, as his prime minister.
Jean-Marc Ayrault, who is regarded as a Germanophile with good contacts in Berlin, had been widely tipped for the post.
Francois Hollande, 57, has spent the past week preparing to take up the presidency, and now the work begins in earnest.
Shortly after his swearing in, Francois Hollande left for Berlin to have dinner with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said she would welcome the new leader “with open arms”.
But Angela Merkel’s embrace will hide some embarrassment after she openly supported Nicolas Sarkozy in the election battle.
“We don’t think the same on everything,” Francois Hollande acknowledged on French television on Monday.
“We’ll tell each other that so that together we can reach good compromises.”
Francois Hollande has demanded that a European fiscal pact that cracked down on overspending be renegotiated to include a greater emphasis on measures to stimulate growth, while Germany insists the treaty must be respected.
Whatever their differences, the crisis in the eurozone will put them under huge pressure to compromise, our correspondent says.
As the eurozone’s two biggest economies – and biggest contributors to its bailout funds – Germany and France are key decision-makers over the strategy supposed to pull Europe out of crisis.
According to official figures released on Tuesday morning, the French economy showed no growth in the first quarter of 2012. Growth in the final quarter of 2011 was also revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%.
However, Germany’s economy grew by a stronger than expected 0.5% in the first three months of the year.
Following his German trip, Francois Hollande will hold his first cabinet meeting on Thursday followed by a visit to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama on Friday.
Cissy Houston is reportedly telling friends she fully supports the idea of a family reality show because she believes the exposure will be great for granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown’s singing career.
Houston family just inked a TV deal with Lifetime to star in a reality show that will follow Whitney’s relatives in the wake of the singer’s untimely death.
Family sources told TMZ that Cissy Houston knows Bobbi Kristina Brown shares Whitney’s passion for music and she believes a reality show could be the perfect place to showcase her granddaughter’s talent.
Cissy Houston knows Bobbi Kristina Brown shares Whitney's passion for music and she believes a reality show could be the perfect place to showcase her granddaughter's talent
Cissy Houston also believes a reality show will “help with the healing process” by “keeping the family as one.”
Whitney Houston’s mother also likes the fact that her “extended family” will be making money from the deal.
But don’t expect Kardashian-style antics on the Houston show as producers are suggesting it will have a more serious tone, at least for now.
After 14 years, Bobby Brown comes out with a new album, The Masterpiece, because he has spent so much time trying to get his life on track.
Now on tour with bandmates New Edition, Bobby Brown, 43, says he is ready to return to his solo career with the album TheMasterpiece, due out June 5.
“It’s what I’ve been through throughout my life, and just trying to heal myself through my music,” Bobby Brown said in a recent interview.
The Masterpiece is Bobby Brown’s first album in 14 years. He was a multiplatinum star with New Edition and later developed his solo career. But his well-documented battle with drugs and his legal woes led to his musical decline. His turbulent marriage to Whitney Houston further eroded his image.
After 14 years, Bobby Brown comes out with a new album, The Masterpiece
In a recent interview with the Today show’s Matt Lauer, Bobby Brown denied that he got his late ex-wife addicted to drugs. Whitney Houston’s career was derailed by her drug use, which came to the public’s attention during her marriage to Bobby Brown. The superstar drowned in February in Beverly Hills, California; her death was complicated by heart disease and cocaine use, according to authorities.
“The Matt Lauer interview was just for me to clear the air about what everyone was feeling about my ex-wife’s death,” the singer said.
Although he was arrested for DUI in March, Bobby Brown insists he has been drug-free for more than seven years. He said his attempt to get his life in order is part of the reason why the album took so long to make.
“When you’re working on yourself, you have to really concentrate on working on yourself and it takes a back seat to what you want to do and what I’m gonna do,” Bobby Brown said.
Bobby Brown says TheMasterpiece, which he started working on last year, is “the best album I’ve done so far”.
“But I’m going to do better in the near future,” he said.
“I just want to get back to what I do, which is entertainment, and this is the start to me getting back to what I want to do.”
Bobby Brown is engaged to his manager, Alicia Etheridge, with whom he has a young son. He also has other older children, including 19-year-old Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Whitney Houston.
Bobby Brown said he and Alicia Etheridge plan a private wedding, and described his life as content.
“I’m happy right now in my life, I’m comfortable with who I am,” he said.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is counter-suing New York hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, who accused him of sexual harassment, seeking $1 million in damages.
The former IMF chief was held in New York in May 2011 after Nafissatou Diallo alleged he had forced her into sex in his suite in Manhattan’s Sofitel Hotel.
Prosecutors later dropped charges amid concerns about Nafissatou Diallo’s credibility.
She then opened a civil suit for undisclosed damages against the former French politician.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is counter-suing New York hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, who accused him of sexual harassment, seeking $1 million in damages
DSK filed his counter-claim on Monday, one year after Nafissatou Diallo’s original allegation, and one day before Francois Hollande was sworn in as the Socialist president of France.
The allegation led DSK to resign from his post at the IMF and was widely seen as having ruined his chance of becoming the socialist presidential candidate back in France.
He is now seeking compensation for the loss of his job, defamation and false imprisonment. His claim also demands further unspecified punitive damages as well as his legal fees.
In his legal filing Dominique Strauss-Kahn denies all wrong-doing and says the sexual encounter was consensual.
“Ms Diallo falsely and maliciously asserted that Mr. Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her when she knew such allegation to be untrue,” the claim states.
But accusations pertaining to his sexual conduct have continued to dog him since the maid’s allegations were dismissed.
In March DSK was placed under investigation by French authorities for links to a prostitution ring in the northern city of Lille.
One of Nafissatou Diallo’s lawyers said the counter-claim “personifies Strauss-Kahn’s misogynistic attitude”.
Both lawsuits have been filed at the Bronx Supreme Court in New York.
Asteroid 2012 JU passed within nearly 119,000 miles of Earth on May 14, just a whisker away from us in astronomical terms.
Indeed, the bus-sized asteroid came closer to us than the moon does, with our celestial partner spinning around us at a distance of 238,000 miles.
Luckily, we were never in any danger from the 12-metre wide asteroid, but it is another reminder of the risk we face from these remnants of the solar system’s early days.
NASA’s Near-Earth Object Programme, which is based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, tracks the bullets from space.
Asteroid 2012 JU passed within nearly 119,000 miles of Earth on May 14, just a whisker away from us in astronomical terms
They put together an animation of 2012 JU’s orbit, showing how the asteroid swings towards Earth, having spent the last two months travelling towards us from Mars.
After its brief fly-by of our planet, allowing any space aliens on a Greyhound tour to take their space-photos of our little blue marble, the asteroid heads out towards the orbit of Jupiter.
Then the sun’s gravity pulls it back towards to centre of our solar system, and it sweeps round on another tour of the inner planets.
Earth gets asteroid fly-bys all the time from asteroids, with the NASA researchers doing their best to track as many as possible.
They are currently tracking 8,900 near-Earth asteroids, hoping to spot any threats to our planet before they arrive, like the asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs 65million years ago.
Evangelos Venizelos, leader of Greek Socialist Pasok party, has announced that the country is set to go to the polls again after days of coalition talks failed to produce agreement on a new government.
A final round of talks on Tuesday morning broke up without a deal.
In elections on 6 May, a majority of Greek voters backed parties opposed to austerity plans demanded by the EU and IMF in return for two bailouts.
Greek president Karolos Papoulias will appoint a caretaker government on Wednesday.
Karolos Papoulias will meet all political leaders at 13:00 local time on Wednesday to put in place an interim government until the new vote, which is expected to take place on 10 or 17 June.
“Unfortunately, the country is heading again toward elections,” Evangelos Venizelos told reporters after the talks on Tuesday.
The euro fell sharply on the news, tumbling from $1.2842 to $1.2771 shortly after 13:15 GMT – its lowest value since 18 January.
Greek shares also fell before recovering slightly.
Greek parliamentary results
The leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks Party, Panos Kammenos, said: “The pro-bailout parties would prefer a government which will further torment the Greek nation, rather than finding a solution. They have offered a proposal that is too rigid for me to accept.”
European leaders say that they will cut off funding for Greece if it rejects the bailout agreed in March.
This would mean effective bankruptcy for Greece and its all but certain exit from the European single currency, analysts say.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble again ruled out amending the bailout agreement.
“The people in Greece must know that what we have agreed for Greece and have set in train is an entirely unusual effort,” he said after talks in Brussels on Tuesday.
Polls suggest the leftist Syriza bloc, which came second in the 6 May vote and rejects all further cutbacks, could become the largest party after a new election.
Syriza wants to renegotiate the bailout package but also wants to keep Greece in the euro.
Greece must also decide whether to redeem an outstanding bond worth 436 million Euros ($558.67 million) which matures on Tuesday.
A Greek official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that Athens would pay off the debt on schedule, thereby avoiding a default.
The chairman of the eurozone group of finance minister, Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, said on Monday he wanted Greece to remain in the single currency but warned that Athens must keep to its commitments.
Pasok and New Democracy, which signed up to the bailouts and had previously dominated Greek politics for decades, saw their combined share of the vote drop from about 77% to about 33% on 6 May.
Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez posed side by side at the Hollywood premiere of their hotly anticipated movie, What To Expect When You’re Expecting.
The stars each opted for sexy dresses but in entirely opposing ways, and it was Jennifer Lopez who came top of the style stakes by a long shot.
JLo resembled a Grecian goddess in a floor-sweeping blush-colored gown by Romanian designer Maria Lucia Hohan.
The pleated lamé silk dress oozed sex appeal with a neckline that plunged all the way to the 42-year-old’s waist.
Jennifer Lopez teamed the billowing long-sleeved frock with sparkling caged shoe boots and a clutch bag and bracelet to match.
She completed her elegant look with a sleek ponytail and deep plum lipstick, and arrived at the event with toyboy Casper Smart on her arm.
JLo resembled a Grecian goddess in a floor-sweeping blush-colored gown by Romanian designer Maria Lucia Hohan
Meanwhile Cameron Diaz went for a more overtly sexy look in a semi-sheer black knitted dress that clung to her slender figure.
The pleated mini skirt of the frock allowed Cameron Diaz, 39, to bare her endless pins and she accentuated her long legs further with the help of nude Mary Jane heels.
Cameron Diaz kept the accessories to a minimum with just a pair of black teardrop earrings, and she wore pink make-up while keeping her blonde locks loose.
The other female stars also dressed to impress as they arrived at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to pose on the red carpet this evening.
Brooklyn Decker, 25, was on trend as she opted for a lemon yellow drop waist maxi dress by Giambattista Valli that boasted different patterns on the top and skirt.
Meanwhile Anna Kendrick, 26, dazzled in a taupe dress with sparkling silver embellishment by Elie Saab couture.
Elizabeth Banks, 38, chose a dramatic crimson red dress with black embroidery
The ladies all posed up together at the event and were joined by the movie’s male stars Matthew Morrison, Chace Crawford and Joe Manganiello.
The comedy film, based on the book of the same name, hits cinemas in the US on May 14.
A new study has showed that women who cycle regularly are at risk of decreased sensation in the pelvic region.
Scientists at Yale University found that female cyclists may experience less pleasure during sex if the handlebars of their bike are lower than the seat.
They learned that a low handlebar position puts extra pressure on nerves and blood vessels, or neuropathies, in the genital area.
The study reported that modifying a bicycle’s setup by raising its handlebars “helps alleviate neuropathies” in females.
The findings, which were published in the Journal Of Sexual Medicine, were based on analysis of 48 women who each rode at least ten miles per week, four weeks per month.
Researchers had each participant mount their own bike on a stationary machine.
Scientists at Yale University found that female cyclists may experience less pleasure during sex if the handlebars of their bike are lower than the seat
They were asked to speak out if they experienced “soreness, tingling and other sensations”.
Sensation in the woman’s pelvic floor was then measured by a researcher using a pressure map.
Genital sensation was “measured in microns using biosthesiometry measures of vibratory thresholds”.
The study explained: “Handlebars positioned lower than the saddle correlated with increased perineum saddle pressures and decreased anterior vaginal and left labial genital sensation.”
The research follows a 2006 study from the same university, which acknowledged an association between cycling and decreased genital sensation, but not a reason for it.
While the effects of bike-riding for long periods of time have widely been linked to male erectile dysfunction, effects on a woman’s sexual health are often overlooked.
The German economy returns to growth in the first quarter of 2012 with a better-than-expected 0.5% rise in GDP, official figures have shown.
In Q4 2011, the German economy contracted by 0.2%, its first dip since 2009.
Meanwhile, the French economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter, after growth of 0.1% at the end of 2011.
Figures released later on Tuesday are expected to show that the eurozone as a whole has returned to recession.
Data also showed that the Italian economy fell deeper into recession after contracting by 0.8% in the first quarter, slightly worse than analysts had expected. The economy shrank by 0.7% in the previous quarter.
Compared with the same a quarter a year earlier, the German economy grew by 1.7%.
The German economy returns to growth in the first quarter of 2012 with a better-than-expected 0.5 percent rise in GDP
The German statistics agency Destatis said growth was due to a rise in exports and higher domestic consumption.
The return to growth means Germany has avoided a so-called double-dip recession, confounding the predictions of a number of commentators.
In contrast, the French growth figures failed to outperform analysts’ expectations, and the growth figure for the final quarter of last year was revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%.
“There was no good surprise,” said Philippe Waechter at Natixis Asset Management.
“There was weak consumption [and] no investment.”
The French GDP figures come on the day of the inauguration of the new French President Francois Hollande, who has vowed to boost economic growth.
In the run up to the presidential election, in which he ousted Nicolas Sarkozy, he campaigned hard for measures focusing on stimulating the economy alongside the austerity measures that have been adopted across the eurozone.
He will visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel later on Tuesday to make the case for growth.
Francois Hollande believes that growth rather than austerity is the best way for governments to reduce their debts, a view that is being discussed more widely as the eurozone economy continues to struggle and increasing numbers of Europeans voice their anger at austerity.
The eurozone economy contracted by 0.3% in the final quarter of last year, and many analysts believe growth figures published later this morning will show further contraction in the first quarter of this year. If they are correct, the eurozone will be back in recession.
Eric Stroud, an American chemist, says he’s found a substance – several, in fact – that can repel some of the most fearsome predators in the ocean.
He wants to use his discovery to protect them, and us.
Eric Stroud is setting up an experiment. He unwraps twenty pounds of frozen sardines, drops them into a mesh bag tied to the pier, and tosses the bag into the water. He’s hoping to attract a large bull shark.
“It’s a fairly dangerous shark,” he explains.
“It can be aggressive, especially when provoked or cornered.”
If a bull shark does turn up, he’ll throw a large baited hook into the water. But it’s not your typical fishhook. In fact, if all goes well, this hook won’t catch any sharks.
For more than a decade, Eric Stroud has been working to develop shark repellents.
He used to work as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry. Then, in the summer of 2001, he and his wife went on a cruise to Bermuda.
“We hit bad weather, and we were trapped in a cabin, and on the news was shark bite after shark bite,” he says.
“It seemed like everyone that stepped in the ocean in Florida was getting attacked by a shark that summer.”
Eric Stroud's "smart hook" is magnetized and wrapped with a magnesium alloy foil
That’s when his wife suggested he turn his talents to developing shark repellents. When they got home to New Jersey, he set up several small pools in his basement, and filled them with small sharks.
He watched how the sharks fed, swam, and behaved. Then, one day, he accidentally dropped a large magnet from his workbench. He noticed some small nurse sharks dart away.
“That night, we put magnets into the water and couldn’t believe the nurse sharks were extremely distressed and stayed away from them,” he says.
Eric Stroud had discovered that magnets repel sharks.
He demonstrates the effect at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas. He stands waist-deep in water, just offshore, in a fenced-in pen in the sea. Several young Lemon sharks glide around the perimeter. One of Eric Stroud’s assistants captures one of them and slowly rotates it onto its back underwater. This puts the shark into a sleep-like state.
Then Eric Stroud takes a magnet and spins it as he moves it towards the shark. The shark darts away suddenly.
“There you go,” he says.
“Look at that beautiful bend away from the magnet like he’s repelled by it.”
Sharks possess electrical sensors, called the ampullae of Lorenzini, that look like tiny freckles on their snouts. Biologists believe sharks use these sensors to detect the heartbeats of their prey and to navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field.
Eric Stroud suspects the spinning magnet overwhelms these electrical sensors.
“It’s probably something like a bright flashlight across your eyes,” he says.
“It’s just temporarily blinding, and you’re startled. And it’s not pleasant.”
Eric Stroud says other ocean species don’t appear to be affected.
“Bony fish, like tuna or swordfish, do not have this special organ. Therefore, they are not affected at all in the presence of magnets or metals.”
He says the same is true for eels, invertebrates, and crabs. “We have not tested this on sea turtles – which, like sharks, use the Earth’s magnetic field as a compass – but some early work by other researchers indicates they have no effect.”
Eric Stroud made his discovery in 2004. It helped him jumpstart a company he’d founded called SharkDefense, that aims to develop and commercialize shark repellents.
He and his team tested other substances, and they found that some metals also interfere with a shark’s electrical sensors.
“Certain metals didn’t work, others did,” says Eric Stroud.
“You begin to hone down the periodic table.”
Particularly effective are rare-earth metals like samarium, neodymium, and praseodymium.
His team are also in the process of testing various chemical shark repellents.
Eric Stroud’s original plan was to develop repellents to protect people, and he’s working on ways to do that. For instance, he and his partners are researching a magnetic underwater fence that might keep sharks away from swimmers.
But his main focus has switched to using repellents to protect sharks.
Many shark species are being overfished, and some are endangered. One reason is that fishermen trying to catch other fish often catch sharks by mistake. Eric Stroud wondered – what if he could produce fish hooks that catch fish like tuna and halibut as usual, but that sharks avoid?
“We realized we could magnetize the fishing hook, and coat it with a rare earth metal,” he says. “It looks just like a regular hook.”
Several countries are now testing his so-called SMART hooks to see if they work. Some tests show a 60 to 70 per cent reduction in the number of sharks caught.
Eric Stroud received an award from the World Wildlife Fund for his invention, and he’s hoping to sell the hooks commercially before long.
In the meantime, he continues to refine the design, trying new combinations of metals and magnets, and observing how they affect different types of sharks.
AMD is launching its new Trinity processor family boasting “twice the performance per watt” of its earlier Llano chips.
Like Intel’s rival Ivy Bridge release, the update includes up to four CPU (central processing unit) cores and a single GPU (graphics processing unit).
AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) claims its product offers gamers a superior experience.
The first computers using the chips go on sale in June, with the US launch of a Hewlett Packard “Sleekbook”.
AMD’s focus on low power requirements reflects manufacturers’ desire to offer thinner laptops and slimmer all-in-one desktop models.
Trinity can be set to run off as low as 17 watts, half the minimum amount possible using Llano.
The move should also allow traditional-sized laptops to run off their batteries for longer. The firm says systems could last up to 12 hours, although the figure cannot be verified until models utilizing the chips are released.
AMD is launching its new Trinity processor family boasting "twice the performance per watt" of its earlier Llano chips
While Intel has shifted to a new manufacturing process – radically changing the design of its transistors – to make gains, AMD has opted for an alternative innovation.
The “Piledriver” architecture of its CPU cores introduces an energy-saving technique called “resonant clock mesh technology” which allows it to “recycle” some of the energy consumed as it carries out calculations.
“Over the past decade, several test chips successfully demonstrated a variety of resonant clocking implementations,” said AMD’s chief technology officer Steve Scott.
“None however, has achieved integration into a commercial processor due to various practicality or cost issues. AMD has managed to overcome these challenges.
“[It] results in a reduction in total core power consumption of up to 10%.”
Further power savings will be achieved by running more processes on the chipset’s GPU which is the same “Northern Islands” design used in its standalone Radeon graphics cards.
AMD claims that the component and the accompanying software drivers are superior to the equivalent products from Intel.
Third-party software including Photoshop, the media-player VLC, Adobe’s Flash plug-in and many of the leading web browsers have undergone recent updates to take advantage of GPU’s skill at handling “parallisable” tasks – processes that are split into different parts and then run simultaneously.
This ability is also particularly suited for handling computer graphics, and AMD is keen to promote Trinity’s ability to handle high definition games on systems not fitted with discrete graphics cards.
“Thirty frames per second is the industry standard for smooth gaming,” said Sasa Markinkovic, AMD’s head of desktop and software product marketing.
“What we are able to do with Trinity is offer HD, 1080p resolution, gaming and deliver 30 frames per second.
“When you look at Ivy Bridge it is a step forward for Intel in terms of graphics performance, but it’s still not good enough for HD gaming – and that makes the difference between playable and not playable.”
Computers using Trinity will also offer AMD’s “Steady Video” feature which automatically stabilizes playback of shaky videos posted to sites such as YouTube; and “Quick Stream”, a setting which ensures PCs prioritize streaming video when downloading several files from the internet at once.
Despite its advantages, one analyst said AMD might still find itself at a disadvantage against its long-term rival.
“Trinity is a compelling product from a graphics performance and power consumption perspective,” said Sergis Mushell, processor expert at the tech analysis firm Gartner.
“But Intel’s advantage is that it has a bigger ecosystem – there will be 10 to 15 times the number of systems using its chips than AMD’s.
“This gives it better economies of scale and the ability to offer its chips at more price points, ultimately putting it in a strong position to challenge Trinity.”
Francois Hollande is set to be sworn in as French president, before travelling to Berlin to discuss the future of the eurozone with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He will be the first Socialist leader since 1995 to occupy the Elysee Palace.
Francois Hollande will later try to “find a compromise” with Angela Merkel over the German-led focus on austerity as the way out of Europe’s economic crisis.
On Monday, the value of stock markets and the euro fell amid continuing political uncertainty in Greece.
The chairman of the eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, insisted on Monday night that they would do “everything possible” to keep Greece in the euro.
Jean-Claude Juncker said he looked forward to the swift formation of a new Greek government, nine days after the general election.
But he also warned that Greece had to continue the “significant efforts” already made to restructure its economy despite these policies having been rejected by a majority of voters.
Francois Hollande is expected to be sworn in shortly after meeting outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in central Paris at around 10:00.
The new leader has asked that the inauguration ceremony be kept as low-key as possible, and has invited just three dozen or so personal guests to join the 350 officials attending. Neither Francois Hollande’s children nor those of his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, will be there.
The ceremony will be followed by the traditional procession in an open-topped car along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier underneath the Arc de Triomphe.
Francois Hollande will then pay tribute to the 19th-Century educational reformer Jules Ferry and the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Marie Curie.
Francois Hollande is set to be sworn in as French president, before travelling to Berlin to discuss the future of the eurozone with Chancellor Angela Merkel
His first lunch as president will be with the former Socialist prime ministers Pierre Mauroy, Laurent Fabius, Michel Rocard, Edith Cresson and Lionel Jospin.
Francois Hollande, 57, has spent the past week preparing to take up the presidency, and now the work begins in earnest.
His first job is to name a new prime minister, who our correspondent says will most likely be Jean-Marc Ayrault, leader of the Socialist group in parliament, a German speaker and a close ally.
Michel Sapin, a key economic adviser to Francois Hollande, is tipped to be finance minister.
On Tuesday afternoon, Francois Hollande will fly to Germany for dinner with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who says she will welcome the new leader “with open arms”.
But her embrace will hide some embarrassment after Angel Merkel openly supported Nicolas Sarkozy in the election battle.
“We don’t think the same on everything,” Francois Hollande acknowledged on French television on Monday.
“We’ll tell each other that so that together we can reach good compromises.”
Francois Hollande has demanded that a European fiscal pact that cracked down on overspending be renegotiated to include a greater emphasis on measures to stimulate growth, while Germany insists the treaty must be respected.
Whatever their differences, the crisis in the eurozone will put them under huge pressure to compromise, our correspondent says.
As the eurozone’s two biggest economies – and biggest contributors to its bailout funds – Germany and France are key decision-makers over the strategy supposed to pull Europe out of crisis.
According to official figures released on Tuesday morning, the French economy showed no growth in the first quarter of 2012. Growth in the final quarter of 2011 was also revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%.
However, Germany’s economy grew by a stronger than expected 0.5% in the first three months of the year.
Following his German trip, Francois Hollande will hold his first cabinet meeting on Thursday followed by a visit to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama on Friday.
• 08:00-08:30 Francois Hollande arrives at the Elysee Palace and meets Nicolas Sarkozy
• 08:30-09:30 Inauguration ceremony followed by procession up the Champs-Elysees
• 09:45 Francois Hollande lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under the Arc de Triomphe
• 11:45 Francois Hollande pays tribute to Jules Ferry in the Jardin des Tuileries
• 12:30 Francois Hollande honours Marie Curie at the Curie Institute
• 13:00 Ceremony at the Hotel de Ville with Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe
In a new trailer for the seventh season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the family, is seen with a pout which looks suspiciously enhanced compared to her usual appearance.
Kris Jenner, 56, is seen looking shocked as she wakes up in her bed with a much bigger top lip.
The leader of the Kardashian clan shows off her new look to daughter Kim, 31, and son Rob, 25, as the two siblings stand gobsmacked at their mother’s bedside.
Kris Jenner, who is still in her pyjamas and is wearing no make-up, appears horrified by her overnight transformation and tries to hide her mouth with her hand.
Kris Jenner is seen looking shocked as she wakes up in her bed with a much bigger top lip
The rest of the family hear the commotion and rush into the bedroom surprised by Kris Jenner’s plump top lip.
It is not clear from the 30 second clip whether the mother-of-six has really had a bad reaction to a cosmetic surgery procedure, or if she is playing a prank on her children.
Later in the trailer viewers are shown the Kardashians going on holiday to their favorite destination of the Dominican Republic.
It isn’t long before Kris Jenner is the centre of attention again as her daughters decide to target their mother.
Four bikini clad Kardashian girls gang up on Jenner who is again lying in her bed.
The socialite and businesswoman is literally dragged from her mattress kicking and screaming on a dark blue rug.
Her daughters pull her all the way to the swimming pool before dumping her in the crystal blue waters while she is still wearing her dressing gown.
Embarrassed and not much amused by the antics of her offspring, Kris Jenner barely keeps her dignity as her derriere is exposed as she tries to exit the pool.
The seventh season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians will premiere on 20 May 2012 on E!
With eighteen, hour long episodes, this will be the longest ever series of the popular reality TV show.
Barack Obama’s re-election campaign has released a new ad seeking to undercut Republican rival Mitt Romney’s record on jobs.
The new video features former workers of a steel plant that was bought and later shut down by Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Mitt Romney.
“It was like a vampire. They came in and sucked the life out of us,” one former GST Steel employee says.
Mitt Romney has repeatedly attacked the president for failing to create jobs.
The former Massachusetts governor’s business credentials are seen as a core part of his campaign message.
The two minute-long negative ad is set to be broadcast in five battleground states – Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Colorado.
Barack Obama’s ad features former workers of a steel plant that was bought and later shut down by Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Mitt Romney
The campaign also issued a six-minute online-only version and launched a website specifically aimed at criticizing Mitt Romney’s record.
Barack Obama’s political allies and surrogates are also expected to denounce Mitt Romney’s track record as a private equity executive at a series of campaign events.
The new ad echoes a theme used earlier in the year by a group supporting former presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich.
A half-hour video called When Mitt Romney Came To Town, which appeared in January at the height of the primary battle, portrayed Mitt Romney as a “corporate raider” who destroyed thousands of jobs while amassing large profits.
At the time Newt Gingrich was criticized by members of the Republican establishment, who described the video as “anti-capitalist”.
After the release of the Obama campaign’s latest ad, the Romney campaign said it welcomed the president’s efforts to focus debate on jobs.
“If the Obama administration was less concerned with pleasing its wealthy donors and more concerned with creating jobs, America would be much better off,” Mitt Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement.
The campaign ad wars are beginning to heat up as the Obama and Romney campaigns embark on the six-month march towards November’s presidential election.
On Sunday both teams released videos marking Mother’s Day, and the fundraising committee Crossroads Generation, which supports Mitt Romney, released a campaign video focusing on the problem of growing student debt.
The Crossroads video is an effort by Republicans to engage younger voters, many of whom back Barack Obama in 2008.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom had to deal with a very sensitive issue on the season finale of their reality show as she began worrying after a story emerged in the press that there was a chance Robert Kardashian is not her biological father.
While her sisters Kim and Kourtney attempted to help by suggesting Khloe Kardashian get a DNA test to give her peace of mind, it only made matters worse.
Kim phoned Khloe to make her aware that Robert Kardashian’s ex-wives were claiming Khloe’s father, who was OJ Simpson’s lawyer, had told them she is not his biological daughter before he died.
Khloe Kardashian, 27, then turned to brother Rob for help, who made a cruel joke by pretending the pair’s mother Kris Jenner had called a family meeting and admitted she had “made a mistake as a mother”.
When Khloe Kardashian became furious at the prank, Rob said: “For you to think that you’re not related to us – that’s ridiculous.”
The next day, Khloe Kardashian received a phone call from Kourtney, who told her: “I was talking to Kim and we were saying why don’t we just get a DNA test?”
Khloe Kardashian fumed to the cameras: “Why would my own sister even ask that?”
Kris Jenner urged her daughter Khloe to take a DNA test to prove Robert Kardashian is her biological father
When she jetted from Dallas to Los Angeles for a photo shoot with her sisters, the rumours had clearly started to worry Khloe and she expressed her concern to Kim and Kourtney.
Khloe Kardashian said: “This whole thing weirds me out, freaks me out, it makes me feel really uncomfortable. It also kind of scares me, the what if, like what if I’m really not?”
When Khloe Kardashian arrived back in Dallas and vented about the situation to her best friend Malika Haqq, it became clear she was placing some blame on her mother.
She explained: “The majority of this stems from her book. She wrote in her book that she had an affair when she was 30. That means she had an affair around the year I was born.”
Kris Jenner also suggested she have a DNA test and said: “There’s got to be a part of you that wants some resolution in your heart.”
But an irritated Khloe Kardashian brushed it off and told her mother: “I don’t care either way, because my dad is my dad and my stepdad is my stepdad.”
And she reiterated to the cameras: “I am one million per cent comfortable with not getting a DNA test and knowing that my father is my father.”
However a preview for an upcoming episode of the clan’s family show Keeping Up With The Kardashians suggests the brood decide to all take a DNA test to offer Khloe Kardashian resolve.
The season finale of Khloe & Lamar, which will now take a hiatus so that Lamar Odom can concentrate on his basketball career, also saw the sports star manage to open up to his wife about the grief of his cousin’s murder.
Khloe Kardashian co-hosted The Talk where she received some romantic gifts from Lamar as a thank you, as well as a bizarre visit from a giraffe.
Lamar Odom told the cameras: “I’m just happy that I’ve got someone like Khloe to get me through the trying times.”
World markets are down as Greece’s continuing political uncertainty undermines confidence.
Greece failed to form a coalition government through talks on Sunday and will continue discussions with political leaders on Monday evening.
Bank shares are worst hit, particularly in Spain and France, with Madrid’s IBEX index down 3% and the CAC down 2.7%.
The Dow Jones has opened 1% lower while London’s 100 share index is down 2%.
Germany’s DAX is down 2.5%.
The undermining factor is again the future of the eurozone.
Eurozone finance ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the situation in Greece and Spain.
World markets are down as Greece's continuing political uncertainty undermines confidence
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan expressed his support for Greece’s place within the eurozone: “We are not planning a Greek exit, that’s not our business.
“My view is that Greece should continue to stay in the euro, and any support I can give them at the meetings over the next two days to achieve that objective I will do so.”
But he warned that any new Greek government must stick to the austerity plan already agreed.
French banks were among the biggest fallers as investors worried about their exposure to other troubled eurozone countries.
Losses worsened throughout the session leaving BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole down almost 5%.
Spain’s Banco Santander was also down almost 5% while part-nationalized Bankia lost more than 9%.
They said they would set aside an extra 2.7 billion Euros and 2.1 billion Euros respectively to meet new government requirements aimed at cleaning up the country’s ailing property market.
The price of oil also fell on fears about weakening economic activity.
Brent crude fell $1.69 to $110.57 a barrel. In March, it was $128 a barrel.
US crude fell $1.86 to $94.27.
Meanwhile, both Spain and Italy carried out successful bond auctions on Monday.
Appetite for Spanish and Italian debt was more than strong enough, but the return demanded by investors in Spain’s debt was higher than in previous auctions, reflecting a dip in confidence.
Spain sold 2.9 billion Euros in short-term debt, paying 2.985%, up from 2.623% last time.
The difference in the rate demanded by Spanish 10-year bond investors over the equivalent German bunds hit 4.83%, its highest level since the creation of the euro.
The yield, or interest rate, on Spain’s key 10-year bonds, which are traded on the market, jumped 23 basis points to a record high of 6.22%.
Italy raised 5.25 billion Euros, paying a yield of 3.91%, almost unchanged on the previous rate of 3.89%.
Greece’s lack of a government puts in doubt its ability to stick to austerity measures imposed as part of its financial bailout. Without holding to agreed cuts it will not get the rest of the support funds it needs to function.
Adding to the lack of clarity is the fact that anti-bailout parties did well in the elections.
Anti-austerity feeling may be growing in Germany too after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party suffered a defeat on Sunday in an election in North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous state.
On top of that, new French President Francois Hollande won his place after promising to focus more on growth rather than austerity, raising concerns as to whether he will be able to work as closely with Angela Merkel as his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy did.
The two were the driving force behind the eurozone’s fiscal compact.
A prototype Leica camera has sold for 2.16 million Euros ($2.8 million) at the Galerie Westlicht in Vienna, Austria, setting a new world record for a camera.
It was one of just 25 models created in 1923 as a prototype for the groundbreaking Leica A, which was the first commercially successful compact camera to use 35 mm film.
Branded the “null-serie”, or 0-Series, only 12 are known to have survived.
The camera was bought by an anonymous bidder.
Saturday’s bidding started at 300,000 Euros, with an estimate of 600,000 Euros.
But by the time the hammer fell, the bids had escalated to 1.8 million Euros. The remainder of the sale price included taxes and fees.
A prototype Leica camera has sold for 2.16 million Euros ($2.8 million) at the Galerie Westlicht in Vienna, Austria, setting a new world record for a camera
The prices such cameras fetch show the growing interest in early photographic materials.
The previous record was also held by a 0-Series Leica which fetched 1.32 million Euros. In 2007, that camera had been auctioned for just 336,000 Euros.
Leica was founded in 1849, specializing in the development of lenses and microscopes.
Optical engineer Oskar Barnack worked in the microscope division, but was a keen photographer in his spare time. Because he suffered chronic asthma, he longed for a lightweight camera that would be less cumbersome to carry around with him.
Seeing the potential of 35 mm film – the same format used by Hollywood movies – Barnack designed personal prototypes for the Leica cameras in the years 1908-1923, and many of his shots from this period still survive.
After he brought the idea to his bosses, the 25 0-Series cameras were created for internal tests, and to discover whether other photographers would adopt the format.
Although the prototypes received a mixed reception, the company took a gamble and produced 1,000 units of the Leica A.
Notable for its collapsible lens, the camera went on sale in 1925. By 1932, about 90,000 Leica cameras were in use.
The company, based in Solms, Germany, remains a leading camera manufacturer today.
Apple has decided to stop using the phrase 4G in adverts for its latest iPad.
The description proved controversial because 4G is not widely available in the UK and the iPad will not work with it when it is.
The UK’s advertising watchdog and others around the world investigated Apple over use of the 4G phrase.
Apple said the confusion arose because of the ways operators refer to different high-speed mobile technologies.
When the newest version of the iPad was launched in March, adverts for the device claimed it would work with 4G, meaning fourth generation, mobile technology. The 4G in question was a technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) that was starting to appear in the US.
The UK's advertising watchdog and others around the world investigated Apple over use of the 4G phrase
However, when LTE arrives in Britain, the rest of Europe and many other nations, it will use different frequencies to those in the US meaning the iPad will not be able to use 4G everywhere.
The disparity led to many complaints. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated and won assurances from Apple that its advertising would change.
A spokesman for the ASA said it had started a second investigation after consumers told it that the 4G phrase was still being used to describe the iPad’s capabilities.
The ASA had been “working closely” with Apple to amend the way the iPad is advertised, said the spokesman, adding that the consumer electronics firm had been very co-operative during the investigation.
“We will be checking the amendments to ensure they adhere to the Advertising Code,” he said.
Apple said the confusion had arisen because of the different high-speed mobile technologies dubbed 4G by operators and carriers.
Apple would change its terminology to remove this confusion, it said.
“Carriers do not all refer to their high speed networks with the same terminology, therefore we’ve decided to use ‘wi-fi + cellular’ as a simple term which describes all the high speed networks supported by the new iPad,” Apple said in a statement.
“The advanced wireless features of the new iPad have not changed,” it added.
A bionic eye which is powered by light has been invented by scientists at Stanford University in California.
Implants currently used in patients need to be powered by a battery.
The new device, described in the journal Nature Photonics, uses a special pair of glasses to beam near infrared light into the eye.
This powers the implant and sends the information which could help a patient see.
Diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinal pigmentosa result in the death of cells which can detect light in the eye.
Eventually this leads to blindness.
A bionic eye which is powered by light has been invented by scientists at Stanford University in California
Retinal implants stimulate the nerves in the back of the eye, which has helped some patients to see.
Early results of a trial in the UK mean two men have gone from being totally blind to being able to perceive light and even some shapes.
However, as well as a fitting a chip behind the retina, a battery needs to be fitted behind the ear and a cable needs to join the two together.
The Stanford researchers say their method could be a step forward by “eliminating the need for complex electronics and wiring”.
A retinal implant, which works in a similar way to a solar panel, is fitted in the back of the eye.
A pair of glasses fitted with a video camera records what is happening before a patient’s eyes and fires beams of near infrared light on to the retinal chip.
The creates an electrical signal which is passed on to nerves.
Natural light is 1,000 times too weak to power the implant.
The researchers said: “Because the photovoltaic implant is thin and wireless, the surgical procedure is much simpler than in other retinal prosthetic approaches.
“Such a fully integrated wireless implant promises the restoration of useful vision to patients blinded by degenerative retinal diseases.”
The implant has not been tested in people, but has been shown to work in rats.
Edward Klein’s new book claims that First Lady Michelle Obama orders women close to the president to be watched in case he cheats on her like John F. Kennedy did to his wife.
Michelle Obama is supposedly “unusually jealous” and has so little trust in Barack Obama that she turns up unannounced during the day to see what he is doing.
The First Lady also objected to her husband’s close relationship to U.S. chat show queen Oprah Winfrey – and shunned her because she “hates fat people”.
The explosive claims are likely to feed the image of Michelle Obama as an “angry black woman”, a label she herself dismissed earlier this year.
They could also reopen questions about the Obama’s marriage of 20 years as in the past they reportedly rowed a lot and came close to splitting up.
In his book, The Amateur, journalist Edward Klein claims that Michelle Obama’s “obsessive” behavior is the talk of the White House.
Michelle Obama objected to her husband’s close relationship to Oprah Winfrey, claims Edward Klein in his new book, The Amateur
Portions of the book that were released to The New York Post tells of quotes from a source close to Oprah Winfrey as saying: “Michelle is very jealous, I would say unusually so.
“Most people after years of marriage have trust and don’t follow their husbands around and check on them.
“Michelle doesn’t seem to trust Barack at all. She insists on knowing his every movement and drops in on him at all kinds of odd times.
“Michelle makes it clear to her inner circle…that she wants women around Barack watched and wants info about who he has an eye for and gets touchy with.
“The thing is, she knows, like everybody, about JFK’s shenanigans, and she thinks, hey, JFK was young and good looking like my guy.”
In The Amateur, Edward Klein claims that relations between Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama took a nosedive over the chat show host’s close relationship with Barack Obama.
The book claims that in the weeks after the 2008 U.S. election victory Barack Obama gave Oprah Winfrey’s advice “priority over Michelle’s”.
Edward Klein writes: “When she [Oprah Winfrey] phoned, he dropped everything and took her call. They huddled over strategy. Of all of Obama’s unofficial White House advisers, Oprah had unparalleled access, input, influence, and power.”
The author quotes a White House insider who says that Michelle Obama was “furious” about her husband’s late night phone calls to Oprah Winfrey and that he should be turning to her for advice instead.
Another sticking point was that Michelle Obama thought that Oprah Winfrey had urged Hillary Clinton to run in the election against her husband.
When she grew sick of being rejected, specifically in her offer to help with Michelle Obama’s campaign against obesity, Oprah Winfrey is supposed to have screamed out to a friend: “Michelle hates fat people and doesn’t want me waddling around the White House!”
In extracts already made public Edward Klein’s book also claims that former U.S. President Bill Clinton once branded Barack Obama “an amateur” and too incompetent to hold office.
The Dalai Lama says he will give away to charity $1.7 million Templeton Prize money awarded to him.
The Tibetan spiritual leader received the Templeton Prize for exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension in London.
About $1.4 million will go to Save the Children in India, with $200,000 set aside for The Minds and Life Institute.
Money will also go towards a fund to educate Tibetan monks about science.
The Dalai Lama, 76, who leads a Tibetan government in exile in India, has been awarded the prize for encouraging “serious scientific investigative reviews of the power of compassion”, and its potential to address world problems.
The Dalai Lama says he will give away to charity $1.7 million Templeton Prize money awarded to him
The John Templeton Foundation said he was chosen for exploring these issues – which are key themes of his teachings – with people beyond his own religious traditions.
Dr. John Templeton, president of the foundation and son of the late prize founder, said: “With an increasing reliance on technological advances to solve the world’s problems, humanity also seeks the reassurance that only a spiritual quest can answer.
“The Dalai Lama offers a universal voice of compassion underpinned by a love and respect for spiritually relevant scientific research that centres on every single human being.”
The Dalai Lama, who was born Lhamo Dhondub, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Other recipients of the Templeton Prize include fellow Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, the first recipient of the prize in 1973.
The Avengers has topped the US and Canadian box office for the second week in a row, taking $103.2 million, studio estimates suggest.
Superhero movie The Avengers is now the first in Hollywood history to ring up more than $100 million in its second weekend of release.
It is the movie’s second record, after scoring the biggest-ever US opening weekend, with takings of $207.4 million.
The blockbuster sees a team of Marvel comic-book heroes team up to fight an extra-terrestrial threat.
Among the cast are Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth – who have appeared in previous Marvel movies as Iron Man, Black Widow and Thor, respectively.
The Avengers has topped the US and Canadian box office for the second week in a row, taking $103.2 million
Globally, the film looks set to top the $1 billion mark this weekend, distributor Disney said on Sunday.
The Avengers’ performance this week left Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s Dark Shadows standing in the dust.
Their spoof horror movie, which opened on Friday, made an otherwise-respectable $28.8 million, taking second place at the box office.
Romantic comedy Think Like a Man finished in third place with ticket sales of $6.3 million.
The Avengers was directed and co-written by Joss Whedon, creator of the TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
An Oscar-winner for his work on Toy Story, Joss Whedon has had a notoriously rough decade – with TV series Firefly and Dollhouse cancelled, and his horror film Cabin In The Woods delayed by three years due to financial trouble at MGM.
After The Avengers took $207.4 million in the US last week – the biggest opening weekend on record – Joss Whedon posted a public letter on his website, thanking his supporters.
“Topping a box office record is super-dope,” he wrote.
“People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good – change is exciting.
“What doesn’t change is that I’ve had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of – I’m not even gonna say fans. I’m going with ‘peeps’ – that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of.”
Joss Whedon also faced up to the fact that his box office success could soon be eclipsed by The Dark Knight Rises – the heavily-anticipated final chapter of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
“I will feel sad, but let’s look at the bigger picture,” he said.
“I can’t say this enough: This is not a zero sum game. Our successes, whoever has the mostest, are a boon to each other.”
Elsewhere in the US box office, The Hunger Games held on to the number four spot, bringing its total domestic takings to $388 million.
Zac Efron’s romantic drama The Lucky One was at number five, while two British films took spots in the top ten.
Aardman’s Pirates! was at number six, taking $3.1 million, while comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel jumped from 16 to 8, taking $2.7 million.
