Terry O’Quinn joins ‘Hawaii Five-0’ for season 2

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It’s a Lost reunion in Hawaii! The incredibly talented Terry O’Quinn (John Locke) decided it is time to go baaaack to the Island and join his fellow castaway Daniel Dae Kim (Jin Kwon, now Chin Ho Kelly) in what TVLine describes is a “pivotal recurring role” on Hawaii Five-0. Furthermore the source says, “O’Quinn will play a Navy Seal Lt. Commander who trained Alex O’Loughlin’s McGarrett in Coronado, and served with his father in Vietnam. Described as strong, stubborn and a man you want in your corner when things go south, the character holds some of the answers to the mysteries surrounding the respective murders of McGarrett’s mother and father.” O’Quinn was ready to star in Marc Cherry’s ABC pilot Hallelujah but it was not picked up. Also, at one point he was supposed to star alongside Lost alum Michael Emerson in the tentatively titled Odd Jobs but that idea is shelved for the time being. Fortunately for us it all worked out in the end–O’Quinn returns to TV this fall! (And so does Emerson in the CBS procedural Person of Interest).

In related Five-0 casting news, Masi Oka (Heroes) who plays the quirky coroner has been promoted to series regular status. So you can expect to see much more of him next season. All good news.

[Via TVLine 1, 2]

Games Hub gets spruced up in Windows Phone Mango

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The next release of Windows Phone is coming this fall. Windows Phone Mango includes deeper social network integration, Internet Explorer 9, and the ability to multitask. Among the 500 new features coming to the mobile OS is also an updated Xbox portal. Here’s a quick rundown of the new Games Hub:

  • A cleaner and lighter design that emphasizes your game collection and Xbox LIVE info
  • Improved overall performance and speed
  • An improved Collection view will organize and list all the games you download from the Marketplace
  • Interactive, 3D avatars
  • Improved Xbox LIVE messaging: read and reply to Xbox LIVE messages sent from another Windows Phone, a PC, or an Xbox console
  • Xbox LIVE friends are more accessible: You can search, browse, initiate, and respond to friend requests right from your Windows Phone.
  • Integrated achievements and new comparison views: See the recent games your friends have been playing, and compare gamerscores and achievements for all Xbox LIVE games played on the phone, console, or PC.
  • You can edit your Xbox LIVE profile on the go
  • Improved Spotlight content will now be complemented with rich and vibrant images
  • Improved game request notifications: You’ll receive notifications for multiplayer game or turn requests and can track them in the Requests section of the Games Hub.

In sum with Mango the Xbox on-the-go experience is going to be a helleva lot more streamlined and easier to use. Look in the gallery below to tour the updated UI.

[Via WindowsPhoneBlog]

Microsoft aims to bring “natural user interface ads” to Xbox

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Teenagers are social creatures; it is known. That’s why Microsoft is experimenting with Kinect to bring interactive and socially-inclined advertisements to Xbox 360. Such ads that take advantage of gestures and speech captured by Kinect are being called “natural user interface ads,” or NUads for short. Imagine you spy an ad for Coke that piques your interest. Say aloud “Xbox, tweet” and the console will automagically send out a short message and link to the ad to all your Twitter followers. New scenario: You see a spot for Adidas that’s advertising a promotional event and want to learn more about it. Simply say “Xbox, more” and instantly you’ll receive an email with more information about the sponsored event. Here’s another: You see an ad for NBC’s The Voice and you can’t miss tomorrow night’s new episode. Speak “Xbox, schedule” and the console will send a reminder to your Windows Phone and you’ll be alerted before the episode begins. Watch the video embedded above to see all these voice commands and gestures in action. Others include “Xbox, near me” and voting for your preferences by waving your hand.

Ads suck in general. But new innovation like this might just inject a spark of excitement into the viewing experience. Social interactivity is all the rage these days; add these elements to advertisements and perhaps the act of watching them will be less painful.

[Via MicrosoftAdvertising]

Apple outs new Time Capsule, Final Cut Pro X [Update: Conan slams it (video)]

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At long last Apple’s Time Capsule gets a refresh. The sleek device that serves as a wireless base station and a backup hard drive comes in two sizes: 2TB and 3TB. The 1TB model has been discontinued. But now you get more bang for your buck! While the local storage increases, prices remain the same: $299.99 for the 2TB model and $499.99 for the 3TB model. Besides the bump in storage, Apple claims that “new technologies in Time Capsule and refinements to Time Machine make backing up to Time Capsule using Snow Leopard up to 75 per cent faster than before.” Get yours at Apple’s online store today.

In related Apple news, the company has let loose its totally revamped version of Final Cut Pro. The video editing software is built on 64-bit architecture and boasts a completely redesigned UI which includes a Magnetic Timeline, Content Auto-Analysis, and and background rendering. Jump after the break for more details. Final Cut Pro X is available today exclusively from the Mac App Store (read: no disc) for $299.99. Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are also available for download in the Store for $49.99 a piece.

Update: Watch Conan slam the new FCP in the hilarious clip posted after the break! There’s been public outcry concerning lack of features and backwards compatibility; such omissions could lead one to madness.

[Via Apple] Continue reading Apple outs new Time Capsule, Final Cut Pro X [Update: Conan slams it (video)] →

Google intros Voice Search & Search by Image

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I’m sure you noticed the new microphone icon that sits in the far right corner of the Google search box. Click it and now you can speak your search! Google hopes that this new feature will be useful for hard-to-spell and complex searches. Voice Search is rolling out now on google.com in English; if you don’t see it yet you should soon.

When you head over to Google Images, a new camera icon replaces the microphone in the search box. Click it to upload any picture from your computer or paste in an image URL from the web and Google will try to figure out what it is and provide relevant results. For example, if you upload an old vacation photo Google will try to pick out and identify landmarks and then instantly provide other images and relevant websites pertaining to the landmark. Give it a try at images.google.com. The new feature is being rolled out now globally in 40 languages.

Note that these new features require the Chrome browser to work. Search by Image, however, can be used inside Firefox if you download the appropriate extension available here. Demonstration videos sit after the break.

[Via GoogleBlog] Continue reading Google intros Voice Search & Search by Image →

Weird Al parodies Lady Gaga in “Perform This Way” video

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“I’m sure my critics will say it’s a grotesque display/Well, they can bite me, baby — I perform this way/ I might be wearin’ Swiss cheese or maybe covered with bees/It doesn’t mean I’m crazy — I perform this way.”

Weird Al Yankovic is back and this time he’s taking on pop queen Lady Gaga. From the intelligently goofy lyrics (see above) to the strange and bizarre direction of the music video everything here is pure win. I can’t wait to see what else the master of parody comes up with next; we can expect more content coming soon since his thirteenth studio album Alpocalyse drops tomorrow.

Trailer: The Muppets

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It’s finally here. After rom-com and Green Lantern teasers and this, the first full-length real deal theatrical trailer for The Muppets has been released. Human stars Jason Segal and Amy Adams are joined by the entire Muppet cast (including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy) in this super fun trailer that’s filled to the brim with action, adventure, and…driving! Watch it above and look forward to the movie’s November 23 release date.

Bloodthirsty kids deal fake drugs in this spectacularly animated music video

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You may not have heard of London-based pop group Is Tropical, but I guarantee you will get a kick out of their music video for their latest single “The Greeks.” Directed by Megaforce (the man behind the trippy Cudder clip “Pursuit of Happiness“), the video follows a bunch of bloodthirsty kids who indulge themselves in murdering each other in the most spectacularly disturbing of ways. The cartoonish animation is provided by Seven and it helps spin the rather graphic nature of the music video into an enjoyable visual feast.

The band describes the video like this: “Part Rumblefish, part Die Hard, part Akira, we wanted to work together to create something both visually appealing and aesthetically relevant to the band. We like kids, we like gangs, we really like daydreaming and imagination; the video straddles the line between nostalgia and the visual death-porn of our generation – the action film. Don’t get carried away by politics – this is a straight-up kid brawl the way it played out in your head when you were stealing your mums mascara to be like Arnie in Predator. It isn’t a shocking rebuke to our drama queen, populist news culture either – just naive, blissful shoot-yr-mate until he’s definitely dead war-games – the way you wish it still could be.”

Sure the video is great and all, but do you also like what you hear? The single “The Greeks” is available to download for free right here, and Is Tropical’s debut album Is Native is out now in the UK.

Owl City’s ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ out now

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Adam Young’s third studio album is out now! “All Things Bright and Beautiful” features 12 songs from the electro-pop-synth master, including singles “Alligator Sky” and “Galaxies.” iTunes is currently offering the bonus track version which includes all 12 tracks, the aforementioned singles, and “How I Became the Sea.” Pick up Owl City’s new space travel-themed album today; it should join Ocean Eyes, Maybe I’m Dreaming and An Airplane Carried Me To Bed in your growing collection of all things Adam Young.

Bonus! Hop after the break to watch a “making of” video that features Young talking about the process of putting the album together. Continue reading Owl City’s ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ out now →

Single: Skylar Grey – “Invisible”

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The followup to Skylar Grey’s buzz single “Dance Without You” is her official single “Invisible” and it’s out there for you to hear today. The 25-year-old singer/songwriter debuted the track this morning on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show and she explained the song like this: “[Invisible] is where I started out when I moved up to the woods and I was trying to find out who I was in the world because I felt very lost. Then I came out of that whole experience with this new found strength and I made me feel invincible, the whole theme of the album tells that story.” Grey’s debut album Invinsible is expected to drop this fall. Dig the single below.