Carla Bruni Talks Pregnancy, Press

Just hours after the televised confirmation of her pregnancy, French First Lady, Carla Bruni was spotted out in Paris, France earlier today (September 5).

Showing off her burgeoning baby bump in a belly-hugging gray sweatshirt, the 43-year-old mother-to-be was all smiles as she made her way through the bevy of impending shutterbugs.

During an interview with TF1 program "Sept A Huit," which aired last night, Carla not only confirmed news that she and husband Nicolas Sarkozy are expecting, but she also described her staunch stance against putting her baby in the public eye.

"You don't have a child for the [photo] gallery," she told, adding that her "position as the wife of the head of state has made me even more defensive. I understand the media interest, and I don't see any inconvenience in it for myself or my husband, but when it concerns the children, it's not impossible."

Bruni, who has already dealt with the media's prying eyes with her first child, 11-year-old Aurelian, added, "I will do everything to protect this infant, and I'll be absolutely rigorous. I will never show photos of this child. I will never expose this child."

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/carla-bruni/carla-bruni-talks-pregnancy-press-540234

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How Secure is My Password lets you know just that

howsecureismypassword
We've all heard it before; you need to select a lengthy password, one that's hard to guess. Not a dictionary word. And it has to have some capital letters in it too, and some digits, and a symbol or two won't hurt either.

That's a handy set of rules to keep in mind, but How Secure is My Password helps us understand why they're important.

It's basically like a full-screen version of one of those password-strength meters websites sometimes use. But instead of showing you a bar going from "weak" to "strong", it shows you an estimation of how long your password would take to crack. That's a much more visceral way to understand why your password is strong.

For example, when I entered "rabbit", it came back with "your password is one of the 500 most common passwords. It could be cracked almost instantly". "rabbit5" would take two hours, "$rabbit5" would take 38 days, and "$rabbitZ5" would take 237 years. It's quite enlightening to see what a difference three simple characters can make.

How Secure is My Password lets you know just that originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/05/how-secure-is-my-password-lets-you-know-just-that/

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'Apollo 18': The Reviews Are In!

Critics say the 'found-footage' film requires a suspension of disbelief to truly work.
By Terri Schwartz


"Apollo 18"
Photo: Dimension Films

"Apollo 18" is not a documentary — NASA made a point of clearing that up — but that doesn't mean that a certain suspension of disbelief won't make the movie a terrifying experience.

The flick is just the latest to cash in on the found-footage premise made popular in 1999's "The Blair Witch Project," but it is the first to bring that filmmaking style to outer space. Some critics thought the premise worked in its new location, while others felt the film lost its momentum in the second hour.

The consensus is that it either will work for you or it won't; which way will you sway? Check out what the critics have to say and make your decision in theaters this weekend.

The Premise
"These days, none but the most naive, gullible and uninformed of moviegoers would ever fall for the déclassé claim that a horror film purporting to consist of found footage is, in fact, real. 1999's 'The Blair Witch Project' was one thing, since it started the trend, but that was 12 years ago and most viewers are more savvy now to the flimsy trickster ways of overzealous studios and marketing execs. The latest entry into the genre, 'Apollo 18,' is clearly fictional despite claims to the contrary, but it doesn't matter. A willing audience member's suspension of disbelief can go a long way in creating the necessary sense of reality as long as the performances are natural and the filmmaking itself free of obvious artifice." — Dustin Putman, DustinPutman.com

The Presentation
"It's easy to dismiss a bad feature film as 'something that'd play better as a short,' but such is most certainly the case where 'Apollo 18' is concerned. If it clocked in at around thirty minutes, it would still have the novelty of its premise and presentation, but it'd also be wonderfully bereft of all the dead air, aimless wandering, and redundant dialogue that all but ruin a potentially fun movie. Not helping is the fact that the 'character development' is clumsy at best and that much of the narrative is just plain, old worthless wheel-spinning. Lifelong apologist for the oft-lamented 'sci-fi horror' genre I may be, but there's virtually nothing of value to be found in 'Apollo 18.' I have no problem with gimmick movies, but the story and its presentation should always be more important than the gimmick itself. Or at least more interesting." — Scott Weinberg, FearNet

The Scares
"The best horror films are movies that play on our real fears, that speak to something universally understood or shared, and that create a situation we can imagine ourselves in. The notion of being trapped on the moon could work if they really wanted to play on the notions of isolation and dependence on technology and the onset of madness in a closed space. There are definitely fears that this film could have cranked up to have an effect, but instead, there is this cheap, false tension that all comes down to cheap jumps and moon rocks with legs." — Drew McWeeny, HitFix

The Subtext
"In fact, this is what makes 'Apollo 18' special; it is perhaps the first narrative film to address the popularity of 9/11 conspiracy documentaries. Though it never touches on the modern world, the 'lunartruth.org' title card, the large scale conspiracy elements, the closing frames of the astronauts official cause of death and the 'edited from stolen footage' conceit all heavily recall 'Loose Change,' the Abu Graib photos, Saddam's hanging video and even at hint of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. While most viewers will never pick up on this subtext, it will play just below the consciousness of many, adding depth and a creeping sense of malaise. Even as someone who is 100% not a 'truther' it added an extra element that I responded to emotionally." — Hunter Daniels, Collider

The Final Word
" 'Apollo 18' is innovative, intense and will make you scream like a little girl. It's not a great film by any means but it's all about the atmosphere and the world that is created by Director Gonzalo López-Gallego (his first major motion picture). Even though I knew going in that the film was fake, I still found myself suspending my disbelief. Hats off to the amazing film makers for making me feel like I was on the moon with these actors. I mean seriously, the film looked just like found footage from the 1970's. The post-production on this project must have been insane, adding in all the scratch marks, etc. The tight spaces these actors had to film in were absolutely insane. What the film does really well is use a slow-build effect for the scares which became a very important factor in keeping you entertained for ninety minutes." — Kevin McCarthy, BDKReviews

Check out everything we've got on "Apollo 18."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670214/apollo-18-reviews.jhtml

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Michael Fassbender Premieres "Shame" in Venice

Back for more press duties after a midday photocall, Michael Fassbender was front and center at the premiere of ?Shame? at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday night (September 4).

The ?Inglourious Basterds? actor suited up for the Palazzo del Cinema screening while joined by producers Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, as well as screenwriter Abi Morgan and director Steve McQueen.

As for Michael's new movie, it is "a drama centered on 30-something Brandon, his myriad sexual escapades, and what happens when his wayward younger sister moves in with him."

Also starring "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" actress Carey Mulligan, "Shame" is currently only scheduled for release in the UK on January 13, 2012.

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/venice-film-festival-2011/michael-fassbender-premieres-shame-venice-539707

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Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only

Amazon Android Cloud Player appIt's hard to believe: our world-spanning network, our Internet, which is the cornerstone of free speech and free society -- which, on a good day, is capable of causing populist revolutions -- is still crippled by banal geolocation restrictions. We are, of course, talking about Amazon's two latest offerings, both of which are only available in the United States. Last week it was the excellent Android Appstore for Android, and today it's the Amazon Cloud Player for Web and Android.

Along with Cloud Player, Amazon also launched Cloud Drive, which is basically just like any other cloud storage digital locker. It's not particularly feature rich, and there's no real reason to use it over something like SugarSync or SkyDrive -- it does work outside the US, however.

Its primary purpose, as far as we're concerned, is that it stores your your Cloud Player music in a subdirectory. You get 5GB of Cloud Drive storage for free, and then it's $1 per gigabyte per year if you need more space.

The Amazon Cloud Player itself will not, to put it bluntly, blow your mind. It works, but it's very much an early, and possibly rushed, release. Let's dive in to the Web and Android players for a closer look.

Continue reading Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only

Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/amazon-cloud-player-hands-on-review-functional-not-mind-blowin/

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Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed set Wedding Date!

Mark your calendars for October 1, as Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed have set a wedding date! Yes, the KISS power-couple will transform their 28-year relationship into an actual marriage with a party at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California. So check your mail for a wedding invitation. For those of you, like myself, who have been watching their Reality TV series, ?Gene Simmons Family Jewels?, this news answers the hanging question of whether or not Shannon said ?Yes? when Gene proposed to her in Belize. October 1, 2011 is set as the wedding date for Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed. Image Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / WENN.com. We all like a happy ending and this certain qualifies. Gene and Shannon had a rough year, though Shannon would say a rough three years or so. For a while, it did look like she would leave him now that their children, Nick and Sophie, are both in college. Shannon had had enough of Gene schmoozing with women. The KISS front man is 61 now and a bit long in the tooth to keep up his rock star image. Shannon has also been irritated with Gene?s many business meetings and such. Hopefully [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/1_dM17TYLb4/

Amy Smart Ana Beatriz Barros Ana Hickmann Ana Ivanovi Ana Paula Lemes

Booktrack: Just A Horrible Idea. Really Horrible

noisepollution460I was going to leave this one alone. In the interests of light and shade, I wanted my next column to be something fun and positive. Whiskers on kittens and warm woolen mittens -- all that good stuff. To say, damn it, let's take our minds off the drama with something unequivocally great. I wanted to do all of those things. And then Robin Wauters asked for my thoughts on Booktrack.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/xkHd1UzCmWI/

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Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU

Zotac ZBOX nano AD10
The box looks more like Zotac's VIA-powered mini-PC, but inside the AD10 falls right in line with rest of the AD series, packing an AMD E-350 APU alongside a Radeon HD 6310 chip. You're also looking at integrated 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and a pair of USB 3.0 ports -- not bad for something that's (just barely) palm-sized. The AD10 Plus model comes pre-stocked with a 320GB hard drive and 2GB of DDR3 RAM for only $276. The barebones model doesn't seem to have been priced yet, but we wouldn't expect it to be too much less considering how cheap memory and hard disks are these days. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break.

Continue reading Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU

Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/c-N6t8o5b6o/

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