Sunday, March 31, 2013

Stephen Baldwin admits tax evasion

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Stephen Baldwin admits tax evasion

Stephen Baldwin Stephen Baldwin is the younger brother of 30 Rock star, Alec

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Hollywood actor Stephen Baldwin has avoided a jail sentence after admitting income tax evasion.
In Rockland County Court, Mr Baldwin admitted failing to pay New York state income taxes for 2008, 2009 and 2010.
A plea bargain was reached to enable The Usual Suspects star's record to be wiped clean if he pays back $300,000 (£197,000) within a year.
Failure to pay within that time will result in a five-year sentence of probation.
Such a sentence would require him to complete five years under supervision and following certain conditions.
The full repayment would be expected to be made during that probation period.
Mr Baldwin's total bill including taxes, interest and penalties is $400,000 (£263,000) but state Supreme Court Justice Charles Apotheker said $100,000 (£65,765) had already been paid.
The 46-year-old actor said he never intended to avoid paying taxes and got into trouble by trusting others.
Born-again Christian "Unfortunately, I got some really bad suggestions and advice ... from lawyers and accountants," he said outside court.
"I just look forward to getting the $300,000 paid in the next year," he said.
The actor is the youngest brother of the Baldwin acting dynasty which includes Alec, William and Daniel.
Married with two daughters, he became a born-again Christian following the terror attacks on 11 September 2001.
His early career included roles in acclaimed films such as Last Exit to Brooklyn and Born on the Fourth of July.
More recently he has appeared in a number of TV reality shows including the US version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here in 2009 and Britain's Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.
He is currently appearing in All-Star Celebrity Apprentice and also co-hosts a US radio show with conservative pundit Kevin McCullough.

Posted By SecBus7:37 AM

Blackberry reports 1m Z10 sales

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Mobile phone maker Blackberry says it has sold one million of its new Z10 smartphones.
In better than expected results the company said it made profits of $98m (£65m) in the quarter, after posting a big loss for the same period last year.
The Z10 handset is seen as crucial to the future of Blackberry, which has struggled to keep up with new Apple and Android phones.
It has been on sale for a month in the UK, Canada and other markets.
It went on sale with little fanfare a week ago in the United States, Blackberry's most important market.Blackberry reports 1m Z10 sales
The figures do not include US sales.
Blackberry was previously called Research In Motion, but changed its name last year.
Analysts greeted the results cautiously, saying that it was too early to judge the success of the Z10 and its sister device the Q10.
Earlier in the week, Blackberry shares were hit when two major US brokerages expressed disappointment with the US launch of the Z10.
In a note to its clients Citigroup described the launch as "a big disappointment".
The Blackberry results also showed the company lost three million users over the year. Its handsets are now used by 76 million people, down from 79 million 12 months ago.
In total, Blackberry said it shipped a total of around six million handsets in the three months to early March.
*Chart shows local time Research in Motion Ltd. intraday chart

Posted By SecBus7:35 AM

'Disruptive' Ouya games console shipped to first supporters

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Ouya console The Ouya console is powered by Google's Android mobile operating system

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A new games console which industry experts say could disrupt the industry has begun shipping to customers.
The Ouya costs $99 (£65) and runs on Google's Android operating system.
Games on the system will be a fraction of the cost of traditional console games, more comparable to those found on mobiles and tablets.
However, it may struggle to muscle in on a market dominated by big players such as PlayStation and Xbox, one analyst predicted.
The Ouya was financed using crowdfunding website Kickstarter, where it attracted over $8m (£5.3m) in funding from 63,416 backers.
The company has begun sending out consoles to the first supporters of the project - while other interested gamers can pre-order the device.
Indie movement The Ouya will look to capitalise on a growing popularity for cheap, often independently produced games.
Mobile devices have eaten into the handheld gaming market, attracting millions of casual gamers who are not prepared to invest in bespoke gaming devices, but are still keen to dabble in gaming.
While traditional platforms, such as Nintendo's DS or Sony's PlayStation Vita, have titles costing in the region of £30-£40, games downloaded from app stores are considerably cheaper, and often free.
Developers on these newer platforms are instead looking to other monetization methods, such as in-game upgrades.
The Ouya is the first major attempt to bring that same kind of disruption to the home gaming industry, says gaming analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, from IHS.
"The space of TV gaming is getting to that point where it's the one area that hasn't been significantly disrupted," he told the BBC.
"Ouya will get other companies involved in the space, looking at it more intently.
"It will get the existing console companies to be more aggressive in their business models, opening up their distribution channels."
Hotting up While Ouya is the first major launch of this style of gaming device - it will soon have plenty of company.
Gamestick, a UK-based firm, is also developing its own Android-based console.
Nvidia, traditionally a manufacturer of high-end graphical hardware, announced its Project Shield console at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
Ouya boss Julie Uhrman Ouya boss Julie Uhrman wants to see new titles written for the little gaming gadget
Perhaps an even greater threat comes from Valve, the PC gaming giant which confirmed it was to make its own "Steambox" - a console utilising the already massively popular Steam network to deliver games.
But Ouya is the first, and likely to be the cheapest.
The console, a small cuboid, can be opened up and upgraded if users wish. It uses off-the-shelf components, minimising manufacturing costs.
Speaking to the BBC in January, Ouya chief executive Julie Uhrman said her device will allow smaller players to get stuck into the home gaming industry.
"Console gaming had traditionally been closed to new entrants," she said.
"That's made it very difficult for small developers to bring titles to the television, and really expensive for gamers [to play]."
However, IHS's Mr Harding-Rolls said the console may struggle in its early days if the quality of titles does not meet expectation.
"It's obviously creating a lot of developer interest, as are others in this space, not just the Ouya," he said, adding that some games may just be direct copies of mobile games.
"I think there will be in the first case a lot of porting that goes on which will not necessarily show off the best capabilities of the device."

Posted By SecBus7:34 AM

'Disruptive' Ouya games console shipped to first supporters

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Ouya console The Ouya console is powered by Google's Android mobile operating system

Related Stories

A new games console which industry experts say could disrupt the industry has begun shipping to customers.
The Ouya costs $99 (£65) and runs on Google's Android operating system.
Games on the system will be a fraction of the cost of traditional console games, more comparable to those found on mobiles and tablets.
However, it may struggle to muscle in on a market dominated by big players such as PlayStation and Xbox, one analyst predicted.
The Ouya was financed using crowdfunding website Kickstarter, where it attracted over $8m (£5.3m) in funding from 63,416 backers.
The company has begun sending out consoles to the first supporters of the project - while other interested gamers can pre-order the device.
Indie movement The Ouya will look to capitalise on a growing popularity for cheap, often independently produced games.
Mobile devices have eaten into the handheld gaming market, attracting millions of casual gamers who are not prepared to invest in bespoke gaming devices, but are still keen to dabble in gaming.
While traditional platforms, such as Nintendo's DS or Sony's PlayStation Vita, have titles costing in the region of £30-£40, games downloaded from app stores are considerably cheaper, and often free.
Developers on these newer platforms are instead looking to other monetization methods, such as in-game upgrades.
The Ouya is the first major attempt to bring that same kind of disruption to the home gaming industry, says gaming analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, from IHS.
"The space of TV gaming is getting to that point where it's the one area that hasn't been significantly disrupted," he told the BBC.
"Ouya will get other companies involved in the space, looking at it more intently.
"It will get the existing console companies to be more aggressive in their business models, opening up their distribution channels."
Hotting up While Ouya is the first major launch of this style of gaming device - it will soon have plenty of company.
Gamestick, a UK-based firm, is also developing its own Android-based console.
Nvidia, traditionally a manufacturer of high-end graphical hardware, announced its Project Shield console at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
Ouya boss Julie Uhrman Ouya boss Julie Uhrman wants to see new titles written for the little gaming gadget
Perhaps an even greater threat comes from Valve, the PC gaming giant which confirmed it was to make its own "Steambox" - a console utilising the already massively popular Steam network to deliver games.
But Ouya is the first, and likely to be the cheapest.
The console, a small cuboid, can be opened up and upgraded if users wish. It uses off-the-shelf components, minimising manufacturing costs.
Speaking to the BBC in January, Ouya chief executive Julie Uhrman said her device will allow smaller players to get stuck into the home gaming industry.
"Console gaming had traditionally been closed to new entrants," she said.
"That's made it very difficult for small developers to bring titles to the television, and really expensive for gamers [to play]."
However, IHS's Mr Harding-Rolls said the console may struggle in its early days if the quality of titles does not meet expectation.
"It's obviously creating a lot of developer interest, as are others in this space, not just the Ouya," he said, adding that some games may just be direct copies of mobile games.
"I think there will be in the first case a lot of porting that goes on which will not necessarily show off the best capabilities of the device."

Posted By SecBus7:34 AM

Police kill three in Karachi shootout

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KARACHI: Police on Sunday claimed to have killed three suspects during a shootout near Northern Bypass.
According to SSP Investigation Unit, the one of he suspects identified Dr Daud Kishkori was the mastermind of kidnapping for ransom activities while his accomplices were identified as Ali Mallah and Akhtar Sial.
The officer said that heavy cache of arms was also recovered from the possession of the accused.
 

Posted By SecBus7:33 AM

Apple denied iPad Mini US trademark

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Apple has been denied a trademark for the popular iPad Mini by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The trademark application for the tablet was turned down because the name was "merely descriptive" and did not create a unique meaning, it said.
But Apple still has until July to persuade the Patent Office that the smaller tablet differs sufficiently from its iconic sibling.
Apple has been involved in a series of patent disputes with rival firms.
It won a landmark case against Korea's Samsung last year but this month, a judge in the US ordered the $1bn (£660m) in damages awarded to Apple be cut by 40% and set a new trial to assess the level of damages.
The award was the biggest in a series of global legal fights between the two companies over patents.
The Patent Office issued the letter in January, although it has only just emerged.
In it, it said the "applied-for mark merely describes a feature or characteristic of applicant's goods".
The terms "mini" and "pad" and the prefix "i-" were all descriptive, it decided.
Neither as individual terms nor as a composite result - iPad Mini - did they "create a unique, incongruous, or non-descriptive meaning in relation to the goods being small handheld mobile devices comprising tablet computers capable of providing internet access".
In its last quarter to January, Apple said that it sold a record 22.9 million iPads and iPad Minis.
ipads

Posted By SecBus7:32 AM

25 percent party tickets will be given to youth: Imran Khan

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SWAT: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday vowed to establish peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal region, besides introducing reforms in the education, health and police system.
Addressing an impressive rally in Swat, Imran Khan said that people of Swat rendered sacrifices but peace could not be established. “There will be peace in KP and FATA after PTI comes to power. I asked rulers not to fight the US led war but they called me Taliban Khan,” he said.
He said they called him a terrorist and Taliban Khan because he used to say there was no military solution to the issue. “I always favored a political solution. Now those who labeled me as a terrorist are themselves calling for peace talks,” Khan regretted amid slogans from the participating supporters.
But they, Imran Khan claimed, will not succeed, adding: “InshaAllaah I will show you how peace could be restored through involving tribesman. Tribesmen fought for Pakistan in 1948 and 1965 and rendered sacrifices. I will tell them to hold talks with militants in their areas. We have chalked out a comprehensive program for this purpose”.
Imran Khan said that people were worried that tickets were not being awarded on merit. “One thing that could lead to a defeat of the PTI would be awarding party tickets to wrong people. We will give tickets on merit,” he assured the crowd.
He said the PTI was the first democratic party in the country.
“There are no other democratic political parties in Pakistan because they function under family dynasties. Members will elect PTI leaders. Youth will be encouraged and new leadership will be introduced. Twenty-five percent tickets will be awarded to candidates under the age of 35 years,” Imran Khan pledged.
He said his party would not be defeated if tickets were awarded on merit.
Commenting on the education system, Khan said a uniform curriculum would be designed for both the rich and poor in the country and Rs 2,500 billion would be spent on the education sector.
Imran Khan said he set up NUML university which, he claimed, was the first institution established in a village where 90 percent students are being imparted free education and awarded a Bradford University degree.
“I know how to improve the health system as I set up the best hospital in the country. Now a cancer hospital is also being built in Peshawar," he continued.
Khan vowed that he would introduce pre-1974 justice system in Swat.
Imran Khan said that he had made all his dreams come true and that his next dream is to get PTI a sweeping win the upcoming elections.

Posted By SecBus7:31 AM