the spectacular now- Smells Like Teen Spirit

director-names ponsoldt

genre -comedy ,drama ,romance

cast -milles teller , shailne woodley

plot summary -A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."

release date -13 sep , 2013 (USA)

my rating -8.9/10

you're next

director -adam wingard

genre - comedy , horror , thriller

cast-sharni vinson

plot summary - When the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.

my rating - 7.3/10

my reviewYou're Next is a film that places the viewer on the edge of their seat. It is a chilling thrilling ride that makes you run for the popcorn and the remote. Enter the house of an American family. All begins perfectly around the table. There's food, there's wine, and wait.... then there's killers also! They have decided to invite themselves, and hunt the family one by one. The family is forced to run for their lives, and resort to the laws of survival. 

You're Next is a film that has shocked and astounded me. The footage, and audio is crisp, clean cut and straight to the action. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes to scream in the dark.

prisoners -Jackman reaches new heights in the depths of hell

director - denis villeneuve

genre - crime , drama , thriller

cast - maria bello, hugh jackman , jack gyllenhaal

plot summary-When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?

release date -19 sep , 2013 (USA)

my rating - 8.2/10

my review -Prisoners is extremely suspenseful and equally disturbing. Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, whose last film was the equally spellbinding and disturbing Incendies, builds up the tension from the first frame and does not let up for the full 153 minutes of the movie. Aaron Guzikowski's script, though on the surface a child kidnapping thriller, bucks all Hollywood trends and, as well as being a taut thriller, poses serious moral issues. It also helps that the film has a first rate cast doing outstanding work: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Terence Howard, Melissa Leo, Maria Bello and Viola Davis. Prisoners is not for the faint heated but is likely to feature strongly at next year's Oscars.

the family - great idea , poor execution

director - luc besson

genre -action , comedy , crime

cast-robert de niro 

plot summary -The Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard.

release date -20 sep ,2013 (USA)

my rating -5.1/10

Rush - F1 finally has an amazing film

Director -ron howard

cast-olivia wilde ,chris hemsworth , daniel bruhl

genre -action , biography , drama

plot summary -A re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

release date -27th sep ,2013

my rating - 8.6/10

my review - This is an amazing film. I can't recommend it highly enough for F1 fans like me, sports fans, or anyone interested in a story of rivalry i.e. something different to the unoriginal junk movies which get churned out each year.

All the crew involved should pat themselves on the back. They've done a fabulous job making this film critique, explore and honour two memorable F1 drivers.

James Hunt's fun, party lifestyle along with his brash and raw driving talent. This is contrasted against Niki Lauda's methodical thinking, technical brilliance and professional lifestyle. These two characters are total opposites but as their lives are explored it also acknowledges the value of an enemy, i.e. something to beat. I believe this is a commentary on human nature in that the best of us shines when we have something to beat or overcome.

Do yourself a favour and see it now.

Microsoft Surface 2 due today with Full HD, but still RT

Microsoft is set to take the wraps off a new generation of Windows-powered Surface tablets today -- and it'll be desperately hoping they're more of a hit this time round. The new Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 devices have been heavily leaked ahead of the New York event,

Hackers claim to have foiled Apple's new Touch ID system

Apple hyped its new Touch ID fingerprint scanning security system as a "convenient and highly secure way to access your phone," but if a new report is accurate, the system may not be as secure as the company claims. Hackers from the Chaos Computer Club claim to have successfully bypassed Touch ID "using easy everyday means."

"In reality, Apple's sensor has just a higher resolution compared to the sensors so far," a hacker nicknamed Starbug said. "So we only needed to ramp up the resolution of our fake."

While the hackers claim the method is easy, it's complicated enough that most iPhone 5S users aren't as likely to have their security compromised by an everyday thief who would have to be willing to obtain a high-resolution photograph of a fingerprint and produce a physical fake. (It's also not nearly as easy to bypass Touch ID with this method as, say, fooling Android's Face Unlock feature with a simple photo of a person). But the method's relative simplicity, which involves photographing a fingerprint left behind on a surface and then creating a glue model of it, calls the sophistication of Touch ID's technology into question. Before Touch ID was officially announced, Wired's Bruce Schneier noted that fingerprint readers have long faced vulnerabilities, and that the simplest readers can be fooled with a good photocopy.

While getting fooled by a fake glue finger isn't great for Touch ID, it's not the most serious security concern facing the system. On Friday, Senator Al Franken said that the system "raises substantial privacy questions," and wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cookrequesting more details about Touch ID. Critics are concerned that a user's fingerprints may be accessible to hackers or other bad actors — something Apple says is virtually impossible, since Touch ID is said to only locally store a mathematical representation of a user's fingerprint.

The CCC says that the bypass has been demonstrated in a video, which can be seen below.

http://youtu.be/HM8b8d8kSNQ

Apple CEO Tim Cook joins Twitter, tweets about shop visits

It's taken a while, but Apple's CEO Tim Cook has finally joined Twitter.

Despite only just having signed up, he's already just shy of 200,000 followers, which is pretty impressive. He's only tweeted once so far, and you won't be surprised to hear what it was about.

"Visited retail stores in Palo Alto 3 days ago," the Cookie monster tweeted. "Seeing so many happy customers reminds us of why we do what we do."

Shame he wasn't down at the Pasadena Apple Store the night the new iPhones launched. Some customers there weren't quite as happy as the ones Cook saw.

Nokia Lumia 929 leaks, just bigger than the Lumia 625

Nokia's Lumia 1520 Bandit -- the company's first 6-inch device -- may have been owning the headlines of late, but there's another Lumia rumoured to be making its way out of Finland.

It's known as the Lumia 929, according to the snap posted by Internet tipster @evleaks. It was originally thought to be a version of the 1520 exclusive to the Verizon network in the US, but it could be a different beast altogether, according to recent FCC filings.

iPad mini 2 to come in 'space grey', leaked pic hints

iPhone 5S? Pah. That's old news. It's all about the next iPads now, which could be with us as soon as next month. An earlier rumour said the next full-sized iPad would come in the same "space grey" as the iPhone 5S, and now comes word the next iPad mini will be available in a matching shade.

One report reckons we won't see news iPads until next year. Others, however, have pencilled in 15 October as the day Apple will announce its new range of tablets.

BBM on Android, iOS postponed over pre-release leaks

The company confirmed that those who managed to download the iOS build will be able to continue using it but anyone with the leaked Android app will not.The company confirmed that those who managed to download the iOS build will be able to continue using it but anyone with the leaked Android app will not.

insidious chapter 2 - If you were a fan of the first, you will love the second installment

director -james wan
cast- patrick wilson ,rose byrne
genre -horror , thriller
release date -15th sep ,2013 (US)
plot summary - The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

my rating - 7.5/10

my review -The movie picks up right where the first left off, and really gives you the back story of the family and why they are going through everything they are going through. They style is very similar, and there is so much originality and style that you just don't see with today's modern horror story flicks. There are plenty of scares, plot twists, surprises, a-ha moments, and plenty of tense moments and horror. I really enjoyed it just as much as the first. I got to see The Ultimate Insidious Experience which was a back to back double feature which was really cool to refresh what had happened in the first. There are moments that explain cleverly scenes that didn't make sense in the beginning but are cleverly resolved in the end. I have always loved the first Insidious and the second is equally as good in my book. If you didn't like the first, you won't like the second. It's just a great spooky, scary, haunted house, ghost, abandoned hospital story that is well-done and leaves you very satisfied at the end. They leave it open for further sequels that are sure to follow. A definite must-see for any horror movie fan.

fast and furious 6-It's certainly fast, it's also furious but above all, it's also fun • 7.6/10

                                   
director-justin lin
cast - dwayne johnson , paul walker ,vin diesel ,jordana brewster ,michelle rodriguez ,
gina carano
genre -action , crime , thriller
release date - 23 may , 2013
plot summary -Hobbs has Dom and Brian reassemble their crew in order to take down a mastermind who commands an organization of mercenary drivers across 12 countries. Payment? Full pardons for them all.
my rating - 7.6/10

my review -
an excellent movie having great fun action & little bit romance..the sixth gear actually builds up the franchise into one of the best movie franchise of all times...."...a superior piece of classical action craftsmanship... Lin and veteran screenwriter Chris Morgan have labored to add depth, dimensionality and inner conflict...""Remember the second you go through those doors," says Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto. "Everything changes." Now that's wishful thinking. The Fast And The Furious films have never strayed too far from the formula, just doing enough tinkering under the hood to keep the franchise purring.This time the gang decamp to London after Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) – the dogged DSS agent who pursued them through Rio last time out – comes asking for help.Wisely, he wants to use the street-smarts of Dom, Brian (Paul Walker) and the rest for a their crew for a particularly dangerous mission. The target? A gang of pro hijackers led by ex-Special Ops soldier Owen Shaw (Luke Evans, excellent). The reward? Full pardons for Dom and his crew. The bait? That Dom's ex Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) – thought dead after a car accident in the fourth film – is alive and working with Shaw.

the hangover part 3 -The Final Episode of a Historic Trilog

                                                  
director- todd philips
cast - bradley cooper ,ed helms , zack galifianakis
genre -comedy
release date -23may ,2013
plot summary -This time, there's no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong, right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off.
my raiting -5.3/10

my review -
 Right off the bat I noticed that the third installment of the series, though filled with awkward moments and hilarious one liners, has much more of an actual plot than the previous two seemed to have. It revolves around a drug dealer/business man who is hunting down Chow (who did a spectacular job in his role as always) to get back 21 million dollars in gold that Chow has stolen from him. The drug dealer kidnaps Doug and threatens to kill him if the rest of the wolfpack are unable to bring Chow (who is in hiding) back to him in three days.

The crew worked well together and the movie, though still fresh in my head, was very enjoyable. I wouldn't go out to say it's the best Hangover of them all, but I also wouldn't say it was the worst. Full of moments, hilariously awkward scenes, and Zach Galifianakis, this Hangover gets a 6/10 rating from me.

It's a movie you're going to want to go see, and a movie you won't mind spending a few bucks on. If you're easily offended, you'll hate this movie (even I thought they pushed the limit on a few of their jokes in this one, but hey, it's an adult comedy). I thought the near 2 hour run time felt much shorter and I thought the acting was great

before midnight -'Midnight' beats 'Sunset' and 'Sunrise' on its relevance - truly a masterpiece in acting, story and script.,

                                                  \
director -richard linklater
cast - ethan hawke , julie delpy
genre -drama
release date - 24may , 2013
plot summary -We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna
my rating - 10/10

my review -I was lucky enough to get tickets for the one of the Before Midnight- screenings at the Berlin Film Festival this year.

Being a big fan of both Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, I was truly thrilled to see this new (last?) chapter of Jesse and Celine's relationship.

To sum up the story shortly without spoiling too much, we meet Jesse and Celine 9 years after the events of Sunset. They are now a couple with a pair of twin daughters, and Jesse is struggling to adapt to the role of being a separated father for his son, Hank, having him fly several times back and forth between the United States and France, where Jesse lives with Celine and the daughters. On the last day of their vacation in Greece, Jesse and Celine are trying to find the spark in their relationship again - we are dealing with a couple, like so many others, who in their 'middleage crisis' start asking themselves "where am I in my life, why do I live it this way, and does my husband/wife still love me?".

For me, the relevance of the film, is its force, along with of course the acting and the script, which Hawke and Delpy again have written together with Linklater. Hawke and Delpy are so much into their characters and you feel how deep their relationship is established - it feels very natural and just like watching a couple in the 21st century. We live in a world where couple's separate, find a new partner, get children, separates again, find a new partner, get new children again (maybe this is a bit extreme, but something like that). Both the husband and wife have jobs and their relationships are affected when suddenly, the only things they are dealing with his who gets the groceries, who picks up the children from the kindergarten etc., and the love and romance between one another slowly fades away. That's the relevance to the age we live in now, that is so strong in Midnight.

I can highly recommend fans of the two first movies to see it, and if you are not familiar with the movies, you are certainly in for a treat! In my eyes, Midnight works very well for as an end to a trilogy, but the door is of course a little open for another sequel 9 years in the future (2022...?)

Again, the acting is superb (the entire hotel scene is magnificent!), and dialog is so grounded, natural and strong and the film has relevance and could inspire a lot of couples struggling with their relationship to their partner.

10/10

Star Trek Into Darkness -It just left me frustrated.....

                                              
director-j.j abrams
cast - chris pine ,zoe saldana ,Zachary Quinto
genre - sci-fi , action , adventure 
release date -16 may 2013 (USA)
plot summary -After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
my rating -5.7

my review- This one, honestly and truly is the worst Star Trek movie I've ever seen. It's even pretty bad compared to other movies. I've seen all old movies till date and all the series and this doesn't do them even remote justice.

It was only a massively impressive visual show and nothing more.

The Plot was flatter than a tennis tables surface, filled with extremely predictable actions and too many clichés to count. Extremely over acting by the cast, they try to imitate the original actors and for the first movie was amusing, cause it's wasn't that much screen time, but now... my god at some moments it was truly painful to watch. 

I'm also truly amazed how those people survive in space if this is their professional behavior. I reminds me for Prometheus crew, worst space explorers ever.

The Klingons were complete retards being in the movies just because they should. 

If you wanna see an amazing visual show and tons of over the top pointless action, go and check it out. If you wanna see a real Star Trek movie though, stick to the already existing ones.

the great gatsby -Not Bad, But Certainly Not Good

                                                    
director- baz lurhrmann
cast - leonardo dicaprio Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire , isla fisher , amitabh bachchan ,carey muigan
genre -drama , romance
release date -10 may , 2013
plot summary -A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor. 
my rating - 6.5/10

my review -Let me start by saying that I love the novel. But I also think it is one of those unfilmable stories. It works on paper, but it just doesn't work on screen, and it never has, although it's been tried about 5 times. This latest adaption has only two things going for it: it is visually beautiful and the actors are well-matched with their roles. Its positive aspects stop there. The irony of this adaption is that it seems to miss the point of the novel. The Great Gatsby is about the superficial lives led by the rich, yet this is one of the most superficial films I've ever seen. It's all about appearance, with so many frills and pretentiously artsy touches that the heart and emotion of the story itself are less powerful than they could be. The uneven pacing of the story makes it difficult to watch. It whirls through most of the story, and only occasionally screeches to a halt for some important scenes, as well as some unnecessary ones. All in all, it was a good try, but not something I would watch again.

the place beyond the pines -amazing film

                                                                 
director -derek cianfrance
cast -ryan gosling ,eva mendes
genre - crime , drama
release date -19 april,2013
plot summary -A motorcycle stunt rider turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover and their newborn child, a decision that puts him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.
my ratings - 8.3/10

my review-The Place Beyond The Pines was a magnificent third feature from director Derek Cianfrance. The performances were outstanding and it was a great story. The three act structure was executed brilliantly and were all tied together in a very satisfying way.

The opening tracking shot was absolutely brilliant and did a great job establishing Ryan Gosling's character without any dialogue. The soundtrack, by Mike Patton, was impeccable and did a great job capturing the tone of the film.

The story of the film is really well told and does a great job dealing with multiple genres. This film will appeal to anyone who wants to watch captivating performances, intense drama, and a great story! I highly recommend it!

pain & gain - Pumped Up and Hugely Entertaining

                                         
director-michael bay
cast - dwayne johnson ,mark wahlberg
genre- comedy ,action , crime
release date -26 april , 2013
plot summary -A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong
my rating - 6.5/10

my review -
This movie was near perfect to me, and let me explain why: The actors portraying the three (can you call them) anti hero's incredibly well. I don't quite know how accurate they were in comparison to the real criminals but as standalone characters they were pitch perfect (even the Rock, who may have actually stolen the show for me).

Tony Shaloub is no actor to be laughed at, he played such an interesting 3 dimensional yet despicable character that forced me to try to come to terms with how I felt with him being the victim.

And what really made the movie for me was the phenomenal writing and directing combination, there were intensely serious moments surrounded by the blackest of black comedy, something that shouldn't have worked, but it did!

My only problem with the flick is that it IS a true story. From what I've heard it's not even based on a true story, it's just a sensationalized docudrama with added humour... Christ (re read this after you see the movie and then you'll find it funny... I hope)

TL;DR VERSION Not for kids; great movie with great casting, writing, direction, cinematography etc.; But it loses a point for taken such a sad, serious story and making it painfully funny.

iron man 3-Made only in the hope of box office success,

                                           
director-shane black
cast-robert downey jr , gwyneth paltrow , guy pearce , don chealde
genre -action , adventure ,sci-fi
release date -3 may ,2013 (U.S.A)
plot summary -When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
my rating - 4/10

my review -
Please save your money and don't watch this film. The plot is all over the place you seen Tony having anxiety attacks then ping it magically stops.....how!?

The mandarin is not true to the comics, in fact its miles from it. No ten power rings in fact no explanation of how they came about his powers at all i mean why change a comic book storyline and main villain the storyline is already there! 

Magically at the end Tony can get rid of the shrapnel in his heart, and ceases to be ironman, genius idea.....not! if that was the case why didn't he have the surgery at the end of first ironman, secondly what the hell are you going to do with avengers two now!?

The ending with Pepper Potts i'm sure was to just keep all feminists happy!

mud -The best movie so far for 2013,

                                                             
director -jeff nichols
cast -matthew mcConaughey ,tye shheridan
genre -drama
release date -3 may , 2013
plot summary -Two teenage boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the bounty hunters on his trail and to reunite him with his true love.
my rating - 8.9/10


my review -
I went into "Mud" with no idea of what it was about. I immediately had flashbacks to "Stand By Me". That said, I think "Mud" is a better movie. I thought the acting was exceptional, the photography both real and lush, the lighting well done, and the story was fresh, real, and terrific. The direction MUST have been terrific also, as the result is a near-perfect film that everyone can and should enjoy. 

The 2 young actors (playing the characters of Ellis and Neckbone) were amazing -- especially Tye Sheridan playing the lead character, Ellis. Sam Shepherd was great as Ellis' "assassin" neighbor (and longtime friend of Mud), the actor who played Ellis' dad was TERRIFIC and stole every scene he was in. Reese Witherspoon was only on film for perhaps 10 minutes but she was perfect as Mud's white-trash girlfriend. And this was Matthew McConaughey's best job EVER. (Until now only his role in The Lincoln Lawyer was good to my mind, and I was tired of his constant good-old-pretty-boy act in everything else!) I hope it was not made too early to get consideration for the Academy Awards next year. Although it's a lowish-budget independent film, "Mud" is sure to become a classic! 

HTC first -facebook home

After endless months of speculation, the collaboration between HTC and Facebook has finally been revealed to the world. It's not a Facebook Phone per se, it's simply a skinned Android smartphone that just so happens to bestow deep social media integration upon the OS, a move which makes the First -- as well as future devices that feature the newly announced Facebook Home interface -- an appropriate candidate for the term. The First will be available April 12th for $100 on AT&T, but it can be pre-ordered starting today.

While Facebook Home is taking the spotlight, let's examine the first piece of hardware it will be featured on. On the spec sheet, the First isn't going to take anybody's breath away: it's a midrange phone with 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB RAM, 5MP rear camera and 1.6MP front-facing cam, Android 4.1 and a 4.3-inch 720p display. We're just getting our hands on the device right now and will continue to offer up our First impressions, along with a full gallery of images.

The First won't be the only device featuring Facebook Home, as it will be available for download on a limited number of flagship phones next week, but the idea is for the First to offer more optimizations in the experience: it's a cleaner setup process since it's pre-loaded on the phone, and it can take advantage of a few additional service integrations that legacy devices won't offer.

At 125.6 x 64.93 x 8.96mm and 3.37 ounces, the First is one slender and lightweight handheld. We're also pleasantly surprised by its rounded edges and matte rubberized shell -- both result in a comfortable and pleasant feel when cradled in the hand. The 4.3-inch 720p screen seemed bright enough under the demo room's task lighting, though it's obviously not as sharp as the One's. Flipping through Home's UI felt zippy enough thanks to that dual-core Snapdragon processor, but it didn't strike us as a super speedster either. Of course, we doubt it's really meant to be the most powerful device on the block: the First appears to be aimed not at power users, but at Facebook connoisseurs that simply want to be connected to friends and family as often as possible.

Taking a brief tour of the phone's exterior, the First doesn't have any fancy dedicated Facebook button or removable battery (the latter is par for the course on HTC devices, so no surprise there). A volume rocker is featured on the left side, while a power button and 3.5mm headphone jack are housed on the top. Residing to the phone's right is the micro-SIM tray and micro-USB charging port. Hanging out on the bottom is a speaker grille, and a camera with LED flash live on the top left corner of the back.

As for the front, the 4.3-inch 720p panel naturally takes up the bulk of the real estate, with an average-sized bezel to the sides, 1.6MP front-facing cam and proximity sensor just above the screen and a setup of three capacitive buttons: back, home and menu. On the whole, the First strikes us as a pretty simple phone, and its design reflects that

evil dead -Pays Homage to the Original and Then Some

director -fede alvarez
cast -jane levy ,jessica lucas
genre -horror
release date - april 5 , 2013
plot summary -Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods. The evil presence possesses them until only one is left to fight for survival.
my rating-9.5/10


my review-
This reanimated remake of the classic Evil Dead starts out a view askew from the original, but heads off into the general known storyline before things get completely out of hand. The characters get just enough back story washed over them to make the premise make sense without relying on flashbacks or any other tired story telling technique.

Once the action begins there isn't a drawn out waiting period between actions points but it's not all jammed down your throat like a chainsaw right at once either. It maintains a fairly good pace throughout and doesn't deviate from the story for any meaningless asides.

Fans of the original will be well pleased so long as they are aren't too obsessed and afraid of a little change. Newcomers completely oblivious to what they are getting themselves into will either be turned away by the blood and gore or find themselves entertained by a well spun modern retelling of Sam Raimi's cult film from 1981.

There were times I laughed, times I cringed, and at one point I flinched just a little bit. Granted I'm an avid horror fan so I don't jump so easily, but they got me once. If you're looking for a genuine scare, this might be the movie to do it for you. If you love gore and have been waiting on a movie that doesn't rely solely on it for 90 minutes, this might be for you. But if you take yourself too seriously and think there is no way an Evil Dead movie without Bruce Campbell could be good, just stay at home and miss out on one of the few excellent remakes ever made.

Supposed Photo of "Facebook Phone" Leaked Ahead of Thursday's Event

With the planned Facebook just two days away, the photo of an HTC-built handset dubbed the “HTC First” has been leaked on the internet, with several sites touting that the true “Facebook phone” may soon see a release. 

For those of you who haven’t been following the word on the street about the news, the social network giant is widely expected to show off a new operating system built on Google’s Android platform at an event scheduled for Thursday. Some rumors even went as far as to say the company will introduce its own smartphone based on HTC hardware. In a tweet on Tuesday “evleaks” who has in the past revealed several handsets before their official unveiling, revealed the HTC First, which could be the handset in question.

Although the alleged picture does exhibit some aliasing around the “HTC First” lettering, the text overlay may simply be a label “evleaks” put on a legitimate photo of the phone. Speculation of a Facebook-developed phone has been making the rounds for some time. According to the recent rumor, the firm is looking to launch an iPhone competitor that deeply integrates its social networking platform into hardware built by a dedicated handset maker, with HTC being at the top of the list. The device could feature direct Facebook profile updating and a homescreen news feed, as well as quick access to the service’s integrated apps. Sources may say the mobile OS will be a “flavor” of Android with a user interface reminiscent of Facebook’s iOS app. 

We’ll have to wait and see how much of this turns out to be true as we’ll be finding out soon enough.

Development of iOS 7 Rumored to be Behind Schedule, Supposedly a Huge Overhaul

There seems to be quite a long discussion going on over at Branch between several Apple reporters about the future release date of iOS 7. According to the sources involved in the discussion, a lot of Jony Ive’s work will be seen all over iOS 7, the only problem is it’s taking longer to develop than originally planned. In fact, Apple might have even pulled engineers away from OS X 10.9 to work on it.

John Gruber, who also runs the Apple blog, Daring Fireball, said Senior Vice President of Industrial Design and new head of Human Interface, Jony Ive, has apparently made noticeable visual tweaks to Apple’s mobile platform. So much that the “word on the street” has it that iOS engineers are required to put a polarizing filter over their iPhone displays to prevent onlookers from getting a glimpse of the new UI.

As you may already know, Apple is quite notorious when it comes to keeping projects a secret from its own employees so we wouldn’t be shocked if Gruber’s claims are true. Other participants in the discussion pointed out that all the changes made by Ive will make many users really happy by tossing out the rich-textures that Scott Forstall championed. If this was the case, a super clean and minimalist update to iOS is what we’d be seeing and that sounds like what many Apple fans have been seeking as they are starting to get bored with the iOS’ UI that hasn’t changed much since its release in 2007. The only thing to consider though is whether work on iOS 7 is worth delaying the release of OS X 10.9.

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Mobile phones turn 40, pioneer Martin Cooper honoured with 2013 Marconi Prize

NDTV Correspondent, April 03, 2013

April 3 is a special day in the world of telecommunications, as this is the day the first known mobile phone conversation took place.

On Wednesday, the 40th anniversary of the event, Martin Cooper, the engineer who made the first call on 3 April, 1973, was honoured with the 2013 Marconi Prize, recognising his contributions to the world of telecommunications.

"Motorola was one of the luckiest things that ever happened to me," Mr. Cooper told The Marconi Society. "If you wanted to change society it was the place to be. In 1965 I was given a new assignment to head the Portable Products Group. We had one over-riding belief: that people are inherently mobile."

At the time, AT&T, which invented the concept of cellular technology, was investing heavily in their own vision of the future of mobile communications and it seemed likely AT&T would be granted a monopoly by the FCC on the required spectrum.

All that changed on April 3, 1973, when, standing on a street corner in New York City, Martin Cooper demonstrated Motorola's handset prototype to a reporter by making the first public phone call on the handheld cellular phone. "I'm ringing you just to see if my call sounds good at your end," Cooper is reported to have said.

The original handset, named the DynaTAC (DYNamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage), was gigantic by modern standards, weighed over a kilo, and was 10-inches long. Since then, mobile phones have come a long way, with over 6 billion reported mobile devices around the world, with the growth showing no signs of slowing down.

iMessage "Denial of Service" Prank Crashes iOS Messages App

According to the folks over at The Next Web, a recent prank played on a group of iOS developers seems to have revealed a limitation in how Apple handles data sent through its iMessage service, which in some cases can crash the app if the incoming message is too long or contains overly complex characters.

Popular developers such as ih8sn0w and Grant Paul were among those targeted by a specific type of denial of service (DoS) attack that overwhelmed their Messages inboxes with a load of automatically-generated transmissions. The two developers believe the messages that were sent to them via the Messages app on OS X with a simple AppleScript affecting the barrage that prompts a victim to constantly clear notifications and text. According to Paul:
What’s happening is a simple flood: Apple doesn’t seem to limit how fast messages can be sent, so the attacker is able to send thousands of messages very quickly.

The real issue that arises with the attack is with the long and/or complex messages that are received. Depending on what is sent, Messages on iOS can crash because it can’t process and display the massive amount of data correctly. According to the developers, the app will force itself to close and won’t re-open because it can’t properly render the text. As of right now, there isn’t any surefire solution to remedy the crashed Messages app. 

The publication suggests "playing around with sending a regular message, then locking the phone and activating the message notification until you’re able to time it right to delete the message thread that’s causing the problem. One thing to note is that if the attacker gets a hold of a user’s iMessage handle, the only option may be to disable the account temporarily. If a user’s phone number is compromised, iMessage as a whole may have to be turned off.

The identity of the attack behind the attacks remains unknown at the moment but the messages appear to have originated from a Twitter account used to sell UDIDs and provisioning profiles. Disposable email accounts were being used to send the spam, making it difficult to simply block the culprit as they can simply open another and continue to bombard you with messages.

Apple hasn’t responded to the issue just yet but we’re hoping they will soon.