Safari 4: Beats the Speed King

The web browser war is not over yet. Recently released Apple’s Safari 4 Beta becomes the front runner on term of browsing speed. According to a benchmark Safari 4 beats Google Chrome and Mozilla’s developmental Minefield 3.2a1 and the rest of the browsers claiming today’s fastest browser. The benchmark was conducted by CNET UK’s Crave. They use a PC running Windows XP SP2 and a Mac running OSX 10.6. I tried it myself to experience this claim. My PC is running XP SP2. At first you will notice that the interface is familiar and you will think that it looks like Google Chrome. I did not notice the difference of speed among Chrome and Safari 4 Beta. All I can say that it is much faster than Firefox 3 and the sluggish Microsoft IE 7. 

PC running Windows XP SP2

For the full detail of the test click here.

To download Safari 4 click here.

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Super Portable MSI X-Slim Series

MSI X-Slim

 

MSI newly released notebook just arrived. This Apple Mac Air look alike will surely make its own mark in the market. MSI X-Slim Series X320 is a super portable notebook is equipped with latest Intel platform (Intel Atom) and with 13.4” display with optimized 16:9 screen. X320 is very thin with an overall thickness of 1.98cm. The display screen thickness is only 6mm. Due to the thinness of X320 it roughly weights 1.32kg. The default battery is 4 cell but MSI also offer extended battery life last up to 10 hours.

Variants of the MSI X-Slim Series include X340 which is smaller in size and while X600 is will be having a 15.6” display. It will directly compete with Apple’s Mac Air. Prices vary on the specs of the laptop. But X320 is priced $700 - $1,000. If you think that Mac Air costs too much then MSI X-Slim is a better choice.

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Get Ubuntu Installer CD for Free

My fresh Ubuntu 8.10 CD

Want a Linux OS on your system? Then check out Ubuntu OS. Ubuntu is an operating system consisting of free and open source software. This is a great Windows alternative. You can install it on via clean install and the good news it you can install it inside your current Windows OS. You can also try and experience Ubuntu without installation using the CD installer. Ubuntu is a free Linux OS that is available for download but you can also request for a free CD if you have slow internet connection. Requesting a CD is absolutely free you just have to register to Ubuntu.com. You have to choose whether you want the Desktop edition or the Server edition. Shipping will take 4-6 weeks. I received my Ubuntu installer in less than a month. I requested the CD last January 27, 2009 and I receive it today, February 24, 2009.

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81st Academy Awards: And The Winners are...

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Winner: Sean Penn for Milk 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Winner: Kate Winslet for The Reader 

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Winner: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Winner: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Winner: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Winner: Okuribito (Japan)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SONG

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman, Sampooran Singh Gulzar("Jai Ho")

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SCORE

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire  - Chris Dickens

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

Winner: The Dark Knight - Richard King

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg,Burt Dalton, Craig Barron

BEST DOCUMENTARY, SHORT SUBJECTS

Winner: Smile Pinki  - Megan Mylan

BEST DOCUMENTARY, FEATURES

Winner: Man on Wire  - James Marsh, Simon Chinn

BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION

Winner: Spielzeugland - Jochen Alexander Freydank

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button  - Greg Cannom

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

Winner: The Duchess  - Michael O'Connor

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button  - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo

BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED

Winner: Maison en petits cubes, La  - Kunio Katô

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

Winner: WALL·E  - Andrew Stanton

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire  - Simon Beaufoy

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN

Winner: Milk  - Dustin Lance Black

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81st Academy Awards: The Nominees are...

The Nominees are:

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins in The Visitor
Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn in Milk
Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin in Milk
Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie in Changeling
Melissa Leo in Frozen River
Meryl Streep in Doubt
Kate Winslet in The Reader

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams in Doubt
Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis in Doubt
Taraji P Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler

Best Animated Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E 

Best Director
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Fincher
Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard
Milk, Gus Van Sant
The Reader, Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle

Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Cinematography
Changeling, Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister
The Reader, Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

Original Screenplay
Frozen River, Written by Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky, Written by Mike Leigh
In Bruges, Written by Martin McDonagh
Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black
WALL-E, Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Doubt, Written by John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon, Screenplay by Peter Morgan
The Reader, Screenplay by David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire, Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy 

Costume Design
Australia, Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jacqueline West
The Duchess, Michael O'Connor
Milk, Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road, Albert Wolsky

Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
The Dark Knight, Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon, Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
Milk, Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

Achievement in Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
Defiance, James Newton Howard
Milk, Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire, A R Rahman
WALL-E, Thomas Newman

Original Song
Down to Earth from WALL-E
Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire
O Saya from Slumdog Millionaire

Sound Editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man 

Best Documentary Feature
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Departures, Japan
Revanche, Austria
Waltz with Bashir, Israel

Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

Best Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland) 

The winners will be announced on February 22nd 2009 (US Time). The Philippine broadcast partner is ABS-CBN 2.

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The Razzies (dis)honors The Love Guru

The Love Guru took home 3 wins from 2009 Annual Golden Raspberry Awards. It includes Worst Picture, Worst Actor and Worst Screenplay. Paris Hilton’s The Hottie and The Nottie that turns out to be the nottie grabs 2 wins for Worst Actress and Worst Screen Couple shared with Christin Lakin or Joel David Moore. Paris is the Winslet of Razzies after winning also the Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in Repo: The Genetic Opera. Pierce Brosnan’s performance in Mamma Mia! makes him this year’s Worst Supporting Actor. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull take home the Worst Remake/ Sequel/ Prequel/ Riff-off award. The Worst Director is no other than the Razzies favorite Uwe Boll of In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. He is also the recipient of Worst Career Achievement award.

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The Dark Knight hits $1,000,000,000++

I really love this film. And I wonder if The Dark Knight (TDK) will join the other three movies that are sitting on the $1 Billion mark on the box office (Titanic, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest). When the time TDK is pulled out on most of the cinemas somewhere in January 2009, hitting the $1 Billion mark is impossible because only 6 screens are showing it. But also that same month, WB announces the US re-release of TDK due to Oscars voting season. TDK is again showed on major cinemas including IMAX. The chance is growing big for TDK. So these past few weeks I always check Box Office Mojo  if The Dark Knight already reach the $1 Billion mark on the box office. It was February 20, 2009 when TDK reach the whooping $1 Billion mark.

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