You’ve Heard Of 3D — How About 6D? IMDb
Light Cinema, a British-based company that aims to establish high-end digital theaters in Europe, has launched what it calls the world’s first “6D Cinema” in Bucharest, Romania. The 40-seat theater combines 3D movies with environmental elements (rain, wind, odor) as well as chair movement. The 8-screen cineplex combines popular Hollywood fare with “alternative content.” It also features a café/bar in a stylish foyer. A second Light Cinema is scheduled to open in Oradea, Romania in the fall.

In downturns, Internet cos look to sell start-ups Reuters
Many Internet and media companies that were busy buying start-ups in the boom years could shed assets they no longer deem central to their business, as the recession imposes an age of frugality. Scathed by the heavy losses they incurred when the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, tech companies moved quickly to cut costs and focus on staying profitable as the current recession hit. Now, as the doldrums linger, many are taking a hard look at the start-ups they bought during the good times, many of which were never a good fit. Some of those acquisitions could wind up right back on the sales block. Venture capitalists, who invest in start-ups and recover their money by taking them public or selling them, say the dealmaking has already begun. Many expect more sales and spin-offs in the next few months as companies squeeze their assets for cash and reassess business strategies.

Russia launches antitrust probe of Microsoft Reuters
Russia’s state anti-monopoly service launched a probe of Microsoft Corp over cutbacks in supplies of the Windows XP operating system in Russia, it said on Thursday. The agency said it thought Microsoft had violated antimonopoly legislation by cutting delivery of Windows XP to Russia both separately and pre-installed on personal computers, as well as in its pricing policy on the product. “Analysis of the market for various operating systems shows that the transfer to the new Windows Vista operating system is occurring while demand for the previous operating system, Windows XP, continues,” the service said. “Demand for separately packaged and pre-installed versions of Windows XP is also confirmed by retailers and the number of orders from the government.”

Danger: Mac and Linux builds available The Chromium Blog
In order to get more feedback from developers, we have early developer channel versions of Google Chrome for Mac OS X and Linux, but whatever you do, please DON’T DOWNLOAD THEM! Unless of course you are a developer or take great pleasure in incomplete, unpredictable, and potentially crashing software. How incomplete? So incomplete that, among other things , you won’t yet be able to view YouTube videos, change your privacy settings, set your default search provider, or even print. Meanwhile, we’ll get back to trying to get Google Chrome on these platforms stable enough for a beta release as soon as possible!

Google recruiter: Company kept ‘do not touch’ in hiring list Mercury News
A recruiter who left Google last year says that the company had maintained a “do not touch” list of companies including Genentech and Yahoo, whose employees were not to be wooed to the Internet search giant. That revelation could be significant in light of this week’s disclosure that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Google, Yahoo, Apple, Genentech and other tech companies conspired to keep others from stealing their top talent. Although Google declined to comment on the list or other aspects of the investigation, Palo Alto attorney Gary Reback, who has been involved in a number of high-profile antitrust cases, said having such a list is not unheard of and not necessarily illegal.

“Slumdog” child star, 9, to publish life story Associated Press
One of the child stars of the Oscar-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire” is to publish her life story, her publishers said Friday. Transworld Publishers said Rubina Ali’s book will tell the story of her life in the shantytown where she grew up. Danny Boyle cast 9-year-old Rubina and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, in a movie about an orphan from Mumbai’s slums who wins the India version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” The filmmakers set up a trust aimed at ensuring the children get proper homes, a decent education, a monthly stipend and a nest egg when they finish high school but relations with the children’s families have grown tense amid disagreements over money.

Acer Android netbook to dual boot Windows Heise Online
Taiwanese firm Acer has announced that it plans to release its first Aspire One netbook featuring Google’s Android open source mobile operating system. Jim Wong, president of IT Products Global Operation at Acer said The Android operating system offers incredibly fast wireless connection to the Internet; for this reason, Acer has decided to develop Android netbooks for added convenience to our customers. Acer isn’t the first netbook manufacturer to announce plans to release an Android netbook, however, they are the first to promise one that will dual boot both Android and Microsoft Windows. According to the DigiTimes, Acer’s chairman JT Wang said that the company decided to choose a dual operating system strategy because, as consumer acceptance of the Android platform is currently unclear, they felt it would be a safer option. Wang also said that Acer has not ruled out the possibility of releasing Android-only models, provided that there is enough demand from consumers and telecom providers.

David Carradine’s death forces film recast Hollywood Reporter
The death of David Carradine has forced a recast of what was to be his next project, the indie drama “Portland,” on the eve of principal photography in Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and along the Pacific coast.

Colbert to broadcast 4 shows from Baghdad Associated Press
Stephen Colbert will broadcast four shows next week from Baghdad, where he says he’ll be “Bob Hoping” it for the troops. Colbert arrived at the former Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory on Friday. For weeks, he’s promoted the trip on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” but because the military urged caution, he has only trumpeted a vague trip to “the Persian Gulf.” The series of shows, each to be taped in front of an audience of about 450 troops, have been dubbed “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando.” It’s the first time anyone has broadcast from Iraq for a USO tour.

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June, 2009