Reuters - Pearl Jam cuts out the middleman with "Backspacer"

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

Pearl Jam cuts out the middleman with "Backspacer"

Tuesday, Sep 01, 2009 1:8PM UTC

By Jonathan Cohen

NEW YORK (Billboard) - "Super poppy." "Just plain fun." "Surprisingly optimistic." "Catchy as hell." These are not phrases often used to describe Pearl Jam, the 30 million-selling purveyor of angst-ridden guitar rock now approaching its 19th year of existence.

And yet these are the words being used on blogs to describe "The Fixer," the first song from the Seattle rock band's ninth album, "Backspacer."

The track is a surging, '80s-style rocker written by drummer Matt Cameron.

You can't blame Cameron, singer Eddie Vedder, bassist Jeff Ament or guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready for smiling wider than usual. President George W. Bush, who the band vilified in song and onstage for eight years, is out of office. The group remains a huge touring draw and A-list festival headliner, having grossed nearly $42 million from 51 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore from 2006 to 2008. Vedder won a Golden Globe for his soundtrack to the 2007 movie "Into the Wild." Life is quieter on the homefront, too: Four of the five band members have children.

But Pearl Jam is also celebrating because it finally made good on a longstanding desire to release its music on its own, without the aid of a major label. "Backspacer" will come out September 20 in the United States through a creative patchwork of deals with physical and digital retailers, the most prominent of which is a one-off, big-box exclusive with Target. Internationally, Universal Music is the label for the release.

The Target partnership threw fans for a loop when the news leaked in June. At first glance the move seems at odds with a band whose DIY, fan-first business ethic has set it against corporate behemoths like Ticketmaster and AT&T. But as details began to emerge, it became clear that Pearl Jam struck a deal that rewards the band and its fans as much as it does the stores that sell its music.

MORAL BAROMETER

Target agreed to let independent music retailers carry "Backspacer," a first for one of its exclusives. "Backspacer" will also be sold on Pearl Jam's Web site and at Apple's iTunes Music Store.

"We've put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and we've done it in a way that we think will be good for everybody," Vedder says. He understands why some fans may be confused about the deal, but he says, "I can't think of anything we've ever done without putting it through our own personal moral barometer. Target has passed for us. The fans just have to trust us."

As Gossard puts it, "If somebody would have said 15 years ago that they were going to give us a great chunk of money and let it be a one-off and not hold us to any strings, we would have said, 'Come on! This is the best deal ever!' We fought our way through eight records at Sony and J to get ourselves in a position where we could cut a deal to get paid $5 a record, rather than $1.50 or $2. It was the right compromise for this record, and I think it will give us even more flexibility in the future. The fact that we cut out a few other chains -- I think it's our prerogative to do that. We're bringing a lot of smaller stores with us."

The Target discs will link to a virtual "vault" of 11 concerts spanning Pearl Jam's career, from which fans can choose two. The band will also create an organic cotton T-shirt to be sold at Target, with proceeds earmarked for the hunger relief charity Feeding America. And in September, a Cameron Crowe-directed TV ad will air featuring footage shot during a private performance at Seattle's Showbox in late May.

For Vedder, an avowed vinyl junkie who still savors memories of buying Jackson 5 records as a preteen in Chicago, Target isn't exactly his preferred music purchasing environment. "Maybe it will change, but I'm not going to find Thee Headcoatees at a Target," he says, invoking the obscure British band with a hearty laugh. "But if they only have 300 records at Target, and you can be one of them, and that's how people are going to hear your music, you have to think about that."

That's not the only thing Vedder is thinking about, either. While acts like AC/DC and Aerosmith were winning new fans with branded versions of "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero," respectively, Pearl Jam was sitting on the videogame sidelines. The band finally took the plunge this spring when it made all of the songs from "Ten" available for download on "Rock Band" the same day the reissue hit stores. The band's manager, Kelly Curtis, declined to discuss sales, but sources at MTV say the "Ten" songs have generated more than 850,000 downloads.

"Backspacer" will also be available on "Rock Band" the day it comes out, and Target has an exclusive on an edition of the album featuring access to download its songs for "Rock Band" on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. It's a precursor to a dedicated Pearl Jam game that could hit stores as early as 2010.

Industry observers are eager to see how Pearl Jam's plan plays out. If successful, it could inspire a host of established bands to try a similar approach, according to Tsunami Entertainment president Bruce Kirkland, who has helped negotiate numerous exclusives between artists and big boxes, including the Pearl Jam/Target pairing.

"Any artist that can tour without support and has a base is well served by this system," he says, pointing to Wal-Mart's deals with the Eagles and Garth Brooks. "For them, the record is a marketing tool for other revenue-generating opportunities. It is a no-brainer. It's a perfect deal in that sense. The financial upside is cutting out a lot of the middle pieces. I like the model because it basically puts more money into marketing, which is a big piece missing from labels these days, and there's a better bottom line for the artist."

Others are impressed that Pearl Jam has been able to create synergy among such a disparate roster of partners. "They're playing ball with the big boys," one former major-label executive says. "This isn't like some other bands, who self-released music online and then followed it up at retail months later. They picked major partners, because this is still a major band."

LEAN AND MEAN

As Pearl Jam reinvented its business, it turned to a familiar face when it came time to record: Brendan O'Brien. The band recorded "Backspacer" in Los Angeles and Atlanta with the producer, who also worked on "Vs." and "Vitalogy" but hadn't produced a Pearl Jam album since 1998's "Yield."

Pearl Jam's members quickly realized what they'd been missing, as O'Brien provided crucial input on arrangements; played piano, keyboard and percussion; and put together orchestrations for delicate Vedder songs like the acoustic guitar-powered "Just Breathe" and the gut-punch finale "The End."

"He does those melodic things from his musician brain first, and then he's able to layer them within the music with his producer brain," drummer Cameron says. "He uses both sets of skills in a way that most producers aren't even able to do." O'Brien's efficiency rubbed off on the band, according to Gossard. "We made this faster than we've made any record," he says. "We were 30 days in the studio total, including mix. I think we had 90 percent of the record cut in the first nine days."

At 11 songs and less than 37 minutes, "Backspacer" is the leanest and meanest Pearl Jam album yet. "At one of our gigs, without flashpots and electricity, there's only so much room for those more difficult listening songs," Vedder says with a laugh. "That was one reason why we kept the arrangements lean. The songs come off more like sparkling water than pea soup, and I think that's good for our group right now."

"The Fixer" became the foundation for the album after Vedder came up with an edit of an arrangement the band bashed through without him. "My personal interpretation is that it's about how (Vedder) makes our songs work," Gossard says of the track. "When someone inspires him, he's an incredible collaborator."

Other musical highlights on "Backspacer" include the opening one-two combo of "Gonna See My Friend," a furious Stooges-style garage blast, and the propulsive, Police-y "Got Some," which Pearl Jam premiered June 1 on the first episode of "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien."

On the softer side, "Just Breathe" is a ballad based on an instrumental from Vedder's "Into the Wild" soundtrack, while "The End" is an aching love song that closes the album with startling lyrics: "My dear/I'm here/But not much longer."

"You know, I'll admit that even I felt some impact myself listening to it back the first time, and not even really knowing where it came from," Vedder says of the song, which he debuted this summer during a solo tour. "A lot of the songs on this record were ones I just tried to get out of the way of, without self-editing."

Vedder named the album in homage to a typewriter key. The frontman, who still uses typewriters for lyric writing and personal correspondence, says he got upset when he saw vintage typewriter keys being used as jewelry. "For me it was like shark fin soup: 'You're killing typewriters for a bracelet!'" he says.

The band, which headlined the past weekend's Outside Lands festival in San Francisco, has shows lined up in Seattle, Los Angeles and Philadelphia through September and October, with the Philly gigs set to be the final ones at the Spectrum.

Also on tap is a headlining slot October 4 at the Austin City Limits festival, plus a run of shows in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii in November and December.

As satisfied as they are with their new album and their new deals, Vedder and his bandmates insist they're as driven as ever to keep challenging themselves, both as a band and a business.

"You'd like to be able to go to work and have everything be smooth, but there's some weird artistic gene in some of us," he says, expanding on the theme of "The Fixer." "It can feel like a curse, because it makes you push yourself to make things better and not allow them to be easy. That's how you get the good stuff."

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)

For real-time mobile news, go to - http://usatoday.mlogic.mobi

This story has been sent from the mobile device of bombastic4000@yahoo.com. For real-time mobile news, go to .

Mexico's health care lures Americans

It sounds almost too good to be true: a health care plan with no limits, no deductibles, free medicines, tests, X-rays, eyeglasses, even dental work all for a flat fee of $250 or less a year.

To get it, you just have to move to Mexico.

As the United States debates an overhaul of its health care system, thousands of American retirees in Mexico have quietly found a solution of their own, signing up for the health care plan run by the Mexican Social Security Institute.

The system has flaws, the facilities aren't cutting-edge, and the deal may not last long because the Mexican government said in a recent report that it is "notorious" for losing money. But for now, retirees say they're getting a bargain.

"It was one of the primary reasons I moved here," said Judy Harvey of Prescott Valley, who now lives in Alamos, Sonora. "I couldn't afford health care in the United States. To me, this is the best system that there is."

It's unclear how many Americans use IMSS, but with between 40,000 and 80,000 U.S. retirees living in Mexico, the number probably runs "well into the thousands," said David Warner, a public policy professor at the University of Texas.

"They take very good care of us," said Jessica Moyal, 59, of Hollywood, Fla., who now lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a popular retirement enclave for Americans.

The IMSS plan is primarily designed to support Mexican taxpayers who have been paying into the system for decades, and officials say they don't want to be overrun by bargain-hunting foreigners.

"If they started flooding down here for this, it wouldn't be sustainable," said Javier Lopez Ortiz, IMSS director in San Miguel de Allende.

Pre-existing conditions aren't covered for the first two years, and some newer medicines and implants are not free. IMSS hospitals don't have frills such as televisions or in-room phones, and they often require patients to bring family members to help with bathing and other non-medical tasks. Most doctors and nurses speak only Spanish, and Mexico's overloaded court system doesn't provide much recourse if something goes wrong.

But the medical care doesn't cost a dime after paying the annual fee, and it is usually good, retirees and health experts say. Warner said most American retirees enroll in IMSS as a form of cheap insurance against medical emergencies, while using private doctors or traveling back to the USA for less urgent care. Medicare, the U.S. insurance plan for retirees, cannot be used outside the United States.

Program prompts relocation

The program has helped people such as Ron and Jemmy Miller of Shawano, Wis. They decided to retire early, but knew affording health care was going to be a problem.

Ron was a self-employed contractor, and Jemmy was a loan officer at a bank. At ages 61 and 52, respectively, they were too young to qualify for Medicare, but too old to risk not having health insurance.

"We knew that we couldn't retire without Medicare," Jemmy Miller said. "We're pretty much in Mexico now because we can't afford health care in the States."

The couple learned about IMSS from Mexico guidebooks and the Internet. They moved to the central city of Irapuato in 2006, got residency visas as foreign retirees, and then enrolled in IMSS.

The IMSS system is similar to an HMO in the United States, Jemmy Miller said. Patients are assigned a primary care physician and given a passport-size ID booklet that includes records of appointments. The doctor can refer patients to specialists, a bigger hospital or one of the IMSS specialty hospitals in cities such as Guadalajara or Mexico City.

In 2007, Ron Miller got appendicitis and had emergency surgery at the local IMSS hospital. He was in the hospital for about a week and had a double room to himself. The food was good, the nurses were attentive, and doctors stopped by three or four times a day to check on him, he said. At the end of it all, there was no bill, just an entry in the ID booklet.

The Millers may soon move back to the United States, but Jemmy Miller said they want to try to maintain the IMSS coverage. "If something big really comes up, we'd probably come back to Mexico," she said.

Different levels of care offered

IMSS is one of several public health systems in Mexico, each with its own network of hospitals and clinics. The program, which was founded in 1943, is funded by a combination of payroll deductions, employer contributions and government funds. It covers 50.8 million workers.

IMSS facilities are a step up from the state hospitals, but not as advanced as Mexico's private hospitals, which are often world-class, said Curtis Page, a Tempe, Ariz., doctor and co-author of a book about health care in Mexico.

Most patients seem grateful nonetheless. When Michael Kirkpatrick, 63, of Austin, fell off his motorcycle near his home in San Miguel de Allende, IMSS surgeons gave him a stainless-steel artificial hip.

There was no physical rehabilitation after the surgery, just a checkup a few weeks later.

"There was not the kind of follow-through and therapy that you would expect if you were doing this in the first world," Kirkpatrick said. "But it was satisfactory. The hip feels good."

Bob Story, 75, of St. Louis, had prostate-reduction surgery at an IMSS hospital in Mazatln and discovered that patients were expected to bring their own pillows. It was a small price to pay, he said, for a surgery that would have cost thousands of dollars back home.

"I would say it's better than any health plan I've had in the States," he said.

Hawley is Latin America correspondent for USA TODAY and The Arizona Republic

Reuters - LG to unveil 15-inch OLED TV

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

LG to unveil 15-inch OLED TV

Sunday, Aug 30, 2009 4:14AM UTC

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Electronics said on Sunday it would launch a 15-inch television set using organic display technology next month, the largest commercial model so far.

Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) displays, which use self-glowing materials, have better picture quality, consume less power and are thinner than widely used liquid crystal displays (LCD) that need backlight units.

But high price has kept it from becoming a mass-produced technology in the market dominated by cheaper LCD panels. OLED screens are making inroads into high-end mobile phones but costs to apply the technology for PCs and TVs are still prohibitive.

Sony Corp launched the world's first OLED TV in late 2007 but has not followed with new models yet.

LG, the world's second-biggest TV brand, said in a statement that it would be unveiling a 15-inch AM-OLED TV at the IFA 2009 consumer electric show in Berlin in September.

The TV set would be commercialized in Korea in November and offered overseas next year, it said.

Research firm DisplaySearch expects the market for OLED TV to reach 2.33 million units in 2013 compared with estimated 320,000 units in 2011, according to data provided by LG.

"We are planning to unveil a 40-inch grade (OLED) product in a not too distant future," LG quoted an executive as saying.

(Reporting by Marie-France Han and Rhee So-eui)

Reuters - Disney to acquire Marvel in $4 billion deal

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

Disney to acquire Marvel in $4 billion deal

Monday, Aug 31, 2009 8:20PM UTC

By Paul Thomasch and Gina Keating

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co on Monday agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc for $4 billion in the biggest media deal of the year, banking on Marvel's roster of superheroes to broaden its lineup of movie franchises that appeal to boys.

Disney adds Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and Thor to its roster of lovable characters like Mickey Mouse and Snow White, and will feature the comic book heroes in movies before rolling out associated theme park rides, TV shows and merchandise.

But the deal comes at a tough time in the entertainment business, with advertisers avoiding spending on new campaigns and consumers cutting back on everything from DVDs to travel.

The deal is also expensive. The price tag values Marvel at 37 times its estimated 2009 earnings, and offers shareholders a 29 percent premium to Friday's closing price. Standard & Poor's reacted by placing Disney's credit rating on its negative watchlist.

But the risk of overpaying did not deter Disney from seeking out a deal to address an area of concern among investors: How can it better reach more young males.

"This helps give Disney more important exposure to the young male demographic that they have sort of lost some ground with in recent years," said David Joyce, an analyst with Miller Tabak & Co.

Indeed, Disney has long been a blockbuster brand with girls thanks to characters such as "Hannah Montana," "Cinderella" and "Snow White," but has struggled to achieve the same kind of success with boys.

Movies including "Iron Man 2," due to hit theaters next year, or 2011's "Spider-Man 4" and "Avengers" should help resolve that issue.

Disney will also be able to use its marketing and entertainment strength -- stretching from ABC to cable television to theme parks -- to promote and build characters such as Thor in ways Marvel never could.

The deal is Disney's largest since the $7.6 billion purchase of Pixar in 2006, and it immediately caused reverberations. Shares in DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc spiked 5 percent on speculation it may become a takeover target.

And analysts raised questions about companies like Viacom Inc, Discovery Communications Inc, and Hasbro Inc that have existing business partnerships with Marvel.

UNDER-PROMISING?

To acquire Marvel, Disney agreed to pay a total of $30 per share in cash plus about 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share owned. The deal was approved by the boards of both companies.

The shares of Marvel, which was founded in 1939 and rolled out its first blockbuster character, Captain America, in 1941, shot up to a high of $49.29 before falling a bit to close at $48.37 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Disney approached Marvel a few months ago "to get to know them," Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs told Reuters. The overture began with a meeting between Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger and Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter and evolved into merger discussions over a series of meetings.

"We at Disney had admired them because of their position and asset base," Staggs said. "With conversations over time we came to believe in the value of a combination."

Shares of Disney, which will acquire ownership of more than 5,000 Marvel characters, fell 3 percent to $26.04. The deal is expected to close by year-end, but will not add to Disney earnings until fiscal 2012.

The acquisition came as a surprise, even though Iger had mentioned recently the company would consider acquisitions that bolstered Disney brands across international markets and on new technology platforms.

While it could kick-start more deal making in the media sector -- where stocks have outperformed the broader Standard & Poor's 500 this year -- few analysts see another bidder making a play for Marvel.

A major reason is the presence of Marvel's Perlmutter, who owns 37 percent of the company and will oversee it within the Disney empire. Perlmutter will trade his stake in Marvel for a 1 percent stake in Disney, but will not receive a seat on its board of directors -- as did Pixar CEO Steve Jobs.

Disney executives drew a number of parallels between the Pixar and Marvel deals, and suggested it would keep the Marvel brand intact.

"The goal here is not to rebrand Marvel," Iger said on a conference call.

Caris & Co analyst David Miller said Disney was "sandbagging a little" by estimating the deal would not add to its earnings for another two years.

"They said the same thing with the Pixar deal," said Miller, who has "above average" ratings on both Disney and Marvel. "I think they will make it accretive a lot sooner. They are underpromising, as they always do."

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch; additional reporting by Franklin Paul, Gina Keating and John Tilak; editing by Derek Caney, Andre Grenon and Bernard Orr)

Reuters - Time Warner Cable, Verizon to test TV on the Web

This article was sent to you from bombasic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

Time Warner Cable, Verizon to test TV on the Web

Thursday, Aug 27, 2009 10:36PM UTC

By Yinka Adegoke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two more U.S. pay-TV providers, Time Warner Cable Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, plan to test systems to offer shows on the Web to paying customers in a bid to protect their subscription revenue.

Time Warner Cable and Verizon separately announced their plans on Thursday and will follow Comcast Corp, the largest U.S. cable operator, which said in July it would test a Web TV service with some of its customers.

Pay-TV companies are concerned that the recession-resistant subscription revenue of cable television could be undermined if cable shows became widely available over the Web, effectively cutting out the cable and satellite TV operators.

So the cable network industry, led by Time Warner Inc Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes, is testing a concept called TV Everywhere as a way for paying cable subscribers to access cable shows over the Web via an authentication process.

Time Warner Cable said its TV Everywhere trial will include the NBC Universal-owned Syfy channel; Time Warner's TNT, HBO and TBS; Cablevision Systems Corp's AMC, IFC and Sundance Channel; and BBC's BBC America.

CBS Corp and Discovery Communications Inc are also involved in the trial.

Time Warner Cable's test involves making TV shows available on the Web to 5,000 homes of paying subscribers. They will be able to access the shows on the networks' own websites, as well as on Time Warner Cable's Web properties.

Verizon, meanwhile, will launch a TV Everywhere trial of its FiOS TV online with programing from Time Warner's Turner networks, TNT and TBS for no extra cost to FiOS subscribers.

DirecTV Group Inc, the largest U.S. satellite TV provider, is also working on a version of TV Everywhere, according to a person familiar with its plans.

While cable network owners are determined to stop the successful pay-TV television business model from being undermined by programing made available free on the Web, the major broadcast networks have taken a different approach.

Because free-to-air broadcasters are dependent on advertising revenue rather than subscriptions, they have made their shows readily available over the Web. Sites like Hulu, owned by News Corp, NBC Universal and Walt Disney Co, are free to anyone and feature broadcast network programs such as "The Office" or "House."

In a few cases, some episodes of full cable programs are now available free on the Internet.

(Additional reporting by S. John Tilak in Bangalore; editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Andre Grenon)

CNN - Police: 'No known suspects' in 8 Georgia deaths

Sent from bombastic4000@yahoo.com's mobile device from http://www.cnn.com.

Police: 'No known suspects' in 8 Georgia deaths

Authorities believe at least one person not in custody may have information about the deaths of eight people in a Georgia mobile home, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said Sunday.

"I'm confident to say that there's somebody, at least an individual, that we would like to know about that's not at the scene," whether or not they were directly involved in the case, Doering said.

Seven people were found dead Saturday at a residence in the New Hope mobile home park in Brunswick, Georgia. Two others were hospitalized in critical condition, and one of them died Sunday, authorities said.

Police have "no known suspects," Doering told reporters Sunday afternoon. "We are not looking for any known suspects. That doesn't say that there are no suspects. They're just not known to us."

One person, 22-year-old Guy Heinze Jr., was arrested Saturday night, Doering said. Heinze is related to one of the victims, he said, and was the one who called 911. He told police he discovered the bodies when he arrived home.

Heinze was being held on suspicion of having a controlled substance and marijuana, as well as evidence tampering and making false statements to a police officer, Doering said. He told reporters Heinze has been cooperative.

"We're still looking for anybody and everybody that may be related to this," he said. "That naturally includes [Heinze]. Of course we're looking at him." He stopped short, however, of calling Heinze a suspect in the deaths.

Autopsies on the victims were taking place Sunday in Savannah, Georgia, Doering said. Police have tentative identifications for the victims, who ranged from children to adults in their mid-40s, he said.

Police have been called to the home before, Doering said, but would not say why.

Doering remained tight-lipped Sunday about many aspects of the case, refusing to say how the victims died or to give a breakdown of male and female victims. All nine victims lived in the mobile home, he said, and police do not believe any of them conducted the assault.

He said police are making progress, and have narrowed down the timeline for when the deaths occurred.

Brunswick is about 300 miles southeast of Atlanta, on the Georgia coast.

Volunteers conducted an extended search of the area around the mobile home, but nothing was found, Doering said.

Meanwhile, police removed additional evidence from the mobile home. Authorities are examining surveillance video from nearby areas, but are not aware of any surveillance system in the mobile home park, he said.

"There is cause for concern," Doering said. "We just simply don't have a whole lot to go on, and I'm not going to sit there and tell everybody not to be cautious, because people need to be."

CNN - Michael Jackson's death was a homicide, coroner rules

Sent from bombastic4000@yahoo.com's mobile device from http://www.cnn.com.

Michael Jackson's death was a homicide, coroner rules

The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled that Michael Jackson's death was a homicide involving a combination of drugs.

"The drugs propofol and lorazepam were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Mr. Jackson's death," said a news release issued Friday by the coroner.

"Other drugs detected were: midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine."

The release said Jackson died from "acute propofol intoxication," but it added "other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect."

Lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam are benzodiazepines.

The full and final autopsy report and the complete toxicology report "will remain on security hold at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney," the release said.

"In accordance with this request, the Department of Coroner will not comment on its completed investigation."

Jackson was found dead on June 25.

Reuters - Bolt says he may take up long jump

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

Bolt says he may take up long jump

Thursday, Aug 27, 2009 3:33PM UTC

By Brian Homewood

ZURICH (Reuters) - World 100 and 200 meters champion Usain Bolt is also fixing his sights on the long jump.

"I definitely want to try the long jump," the triple Olympic gold medalist told a news conference on Thursday. "I think I would be a really good long jumper.

"I've messed around with the long jump since I've been at school and I'm definitely going to give it a try."

American Mike Powell, whose long jump world record of 8.95 meters has stood since the 1991 world championships, said last Friday that Jamaican Bolt could jump nine meters in the event.

Bolt won the 100 and 200 at this month's world championships in Berlin, breaking the world records in each event.

The Jamaican, who is due to run in the 100 and 4x100 relay at Zurich's Weltklasse meeting on Friday, said he had not yet discussed the long jump seriously with his coach or set a date for when he could take up the event.

"It's just a case of me wanting to try it," he said.

Bolt, who spent an hour at Zurich railway station at lunchtime signing around 3,000 autographs, said the recent success of Jamaican athletes in sprint events was because many had stayed at home to train rather than move to the United States.

"When you go to the States you get a lot of injuries because you have to run week after week," he said. "I have a good coach who understands this.

"The guys who are doing well are the ones who stayed in Jamaica, they can decide when they want to run."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

Reuters - Sharp eyes niche between netbooks, phones

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

Sharp eyes niche between netbooks, phones

Thursday, Aug 27, 2009 10:29AM UTC

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sharp Corp said it plans to launch a paperback-sized mini mobile PC that features a quick start-up time, touch-screen display and full keyboard, targeting niche demand between smartphones and netbooks.

Smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone, pack many computer functions in regular cellphones, and netbooks are smaller and cheaper than regular notebook PCs and optimized for simple computing tasks such as Web browsing and email. Both have enjoyed robust demand despite the global downturn.

"You can take cellphones anywhere with you, and they are always on. But you have to live with a small display. Notebook PCs offer a large display and full keyboard, but their battery life is short and it takes time to start them up," Sharp Executive Vice President Masafumi Matsumoto told a news conference.

"We are introducing a mobile device that you can take with you wherever you go and comes with all major notebook PC functions."

The new product, dubbed "NetWalker," has a high-resolution LCD screen and runs 10 hours on a single charge.

Sharp plans to launch the device in Japan in September and expects it to sell for about 45,000 yen ($480).

The company aims to sell 100,000 units by March 2010.

No specific timing was set for release overseas, Sharp said.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

Reuters - Microsoft cuts high-end Xbox price by 25 percent

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

Microsoft cuts high-end Xbox price by 25 percent

Thursday, Aug 27, 2009 12:29PM UTC

By Gabriel Madway

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp plans to slash the price of its high-end Xbox 360 video game console by $100, or 25 percent, stepping up the price war in the video game console market following a similar move by rival Sony Corp.

Effective Friday, Microsoft will drop the price of the Xbox 360 Elite to $299.99, just days after Sony cut the rival PlayStation 3 to $299.

Analysts have said that the cuts would put pressure on Nintendo Co Ltd to lower the price of its best-selling Wii console, but for now the company is not changing the price.

"We don't have such a plan," Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said when asked if the company plans to cut prices on the Wii.

The Xbox is the No. 2 console in the U.S., behind the Wii, which sells for $249. But Xbox sales are up 17 percent in the U.S., the only console to show growth.

The price on the entry-level Xbox Arcade model will stay at $199.99, and Microsoft will phase out its mid-range Pro console, leaving it with two models. The Pro will sell for $249.99 until supplies run out.

Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the price cut was in the works for some time, and was not a response to Sony's move, which was announced last week at the Gamescom video game trade show in Cologne, Germany.

Rather, Dennis said the price reduction would attract new buyers and help simplify its product mix for manufacturers and retailers as well as customers.

"It really makes the decision for consumers a lot easier," he said. "They're either price conscious and they gravitate toward the Arcade or they the want the full Xbox 360 experience."

Game publishers such as Activision Blizzard have been clamoring for console price cuts, which help boost sales of software.

The industry remains mired in a slump brought on by a lack of big-name releases and a recession that has pinched consumer spending.

Despite the slump, Hirokazu Hamamura, President of Japanese game magazine publisher Enterbrain Inc, says that Nintendo may resist a Wii price cut.

He suggests that the more powerful PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 machines are not attractive to Wii shoppers, who enjoy a range of family and fitness-based games.

"The price cuts by itself won't stop people from buying Wiis. The users are too different," he said. "With Nintendo, the issue is not about the price so much as saturation and ability to grow in new markets."

Microsoft shares were down 8 cents to $24.47 in thin premarket trading.

(Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Mayumi Negishi in Tokyo, and Franklin Paul in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Derek Caney)