Looks like its time to cue up the Congratulations for J. K. Rowlings!!
The Harry Potter Series is on deck to be the # 1 film series of all-time beating “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings”! And with the summer launch of ”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, we know it’s only a matter of time before her films surpass that milestone! Read below for detail (and to find out which series is currently #1) and also check below to see the Official Trailer for the new Harry Pottermovie!
The novels of J.K. Rowling were already a global sensation when the movie adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone” hit screens in late 2001. Then the enormous success of the film franchise has turned her magical world into a full-fledged institution. Collectively, the five movies so far are the second most successful series worldwide in cinema history, beating “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings.” Only James Bond has earned more money (just over $5 billion, not adjusted for inflation), and with the upcoming release of “Half-Blood Prince,” Harry Potter ($4.5 billion) is sure to jump ahead into the top slot.
Let’s not forget, though, that the Harry Potter films aren’t just commercial successes. Every film has scored a “B” grade or higher with the critics on Yahoo! Movies along with a “Certified Fresh” rating from RottenTomatoes.com. Plus, the series has racked up six Academy Award nominations. Here is a breakdown of how each of the five movies performed at the box office, and how they were rated by both critics and fans. And we have a first look at new character banners and the latest theatrical trailer for movie number six, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
Hearst Magazines’ 2007 ad revenues from titles like Cosmopolitan, O, and Esquire rose 9%, to $2.7 billion. Since Hearst Corp. lost its CEO, Victor Ganzi, in July, Black is a candidate to succeed him, but her age works against her. She’s on the boards of IBM and Coca-Cola, and just wrote a hit memoir, Basic Black.
Sony and Google are launching a partnership that will provide users of the Sony Readers access to over 500,000 books and challenge the dominance of Amazon’s Kindle.
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Sony, Google Challenge Amazon
Geoffrey A. Fowler and Jessica E. Vascellaro, The Wall Street Journal
Sony and Google are to launch a partnership that will give users of Sony Readers access to more than 500,000 books in the public domain.
Sony Electronics Inc. is pairing with Google Inc. to battle Amazon.com Inc. in the growing digital books market.
In a strike against Amazon’s Kindle electronic book reader, Sony and Google plan to launch a partnership Thursday that will give users of the Sony Reader device access to more than half-a-million public domain books from Google’s ambitious book digitization project. The books will be offered to Sony Reader users free via the online Sony eBook store. The companies wouldn’t reveal financial terms of the deal.
“We aren’t set on just having books purchased from our store,” said Steve Haber, Sony Electronics’ president of the Digital Reading Business Division. “We believe the more content that is allowed access to the device, the better value it is to our customers.”
The partnership is a new salvo in the increasingly competitive digital-books industry. Sony and Amazon are jockeying to lead a new generation of reading devices that could do for publishing what Apple Inc.’s iPod did for music, enabling the companies to make money as gadget makers and distributors of digital media. Last month, Amazon launched a new version of its $359 Kindle device, which has access to more than 245,000 electronic books.
To date, Sony has sold more than 400,000 of its $300 to $350 Readers. While Amazon hasn’t said how many Kindles it has sold, Citigroup estimates 500,000 of the devices sold last year and Barclays Capital projects the Kindle could bring $3.7 billion in annual revenue by 2012. More . . .
Apple Inc. introduced a new iPod Shuffle that is about half the size of its previous model but with the capacity to play twice as many songs, as the company tries to re-energize its iPod business.
Apple’s new iPod Shuffle has the capacity for twice as many songs.
The new $79 four-gigabyte device will play as many as 1,000 songs, the same as the first iPod, which sold for $399 in 2001. The new model will allow users to switch between multiple playlists, which wasn’t possible with previous models.
It also includes a new voice feature that announces songs and playlists in 14 languages. One of the key differences from the previous Shuffle is that all of the controls are now on the earphone cord rather than on the device.” More . . .
For the members of the Amazon Kindle 2 Fan Club, here are some cool accessories.
By Jennifer L. DeLeo, PC Magazine
Amazon began taking preorders of its Kindle 2 e-book reader on February 9, and a month later, it’s still one of the most talked-about tech gadgets. The second-generation Kindle doesn’t disappoint, either: it has an improved screen, a better button layout, a wider selection of e-books, and the (highly debated) text-to-speech capability. There’s even a way to view Kindle books on your iPhone now. And let’s not forget the rumored touch-screen Kindle 3 in the works. Let’s all blame Oprah for the national Kindle hysteria!
If all the excitement has made you reach for your wallet to snag the $359 device, then you’ve probably noticed that Amazon forgot to include a little something in the box: a protective book cover! That’s no mistake, folks. Although Amazon’s first-generation Kindle included a book cover, the retailer decided to ship the next model without one. But don’t fret— most Kindle owners complained about that flimsy book cover anyway, and there are lots of cover options available.
If all the excitement has made you reach for your wallet to snag the $359 device, then you’ve probably noticed that Amazon forgot to include a little something in the box: a protective book cover! That’s no mistake, folks. Although Amazon’s first-generation Kindle included a book cover, the retailer decided to ship the next model without one. But don’t fret— most Kindle owners complained about that flimsy book cover anyway, and there are lots of cover options available.
To help you in your search for the perfect Kindle 2 cover—and some other useful add-ons—we present our list of some great accessories, from cases and a stand to a clip-on light and messenger bag. More . . .
Brusque is a digital newspaper that focuses on women who rock.
Here we celebrate the excellence of women and examine the issues that we face as we try to move the universe forward. Our primary focus will be on women in business. More specifically, we will focus on women as corporate leaders, and women as entrepreneurs.
The primary focus on business is because that is what we know best. (Go Blue!!!)
But as you (and we) know, women are advancing in many fields (sports, law, medicine, politics, science, etc.), so we will highlight the ascent, the successes and the key issues that pertain to women in other areas as well.
We will also focus on presenting articles that highlight issues pertaining to women in the workplace and work-life-balance.
In addition, we will take a look at how the business world is addressing and responding to the needs of women through marketing and product design; and periodically, we will highlight products that we believe will be of use to women that are also interested in the above topics.
Also note, we love gadgets, we love to cook, we love to travel, we love to shop, we love to read, we love to . . . okay you get the point, we love to have fun. So you’ll also see posts on technology and other stuff we love (cooking, shoes, biking, travel, sports, etc.) as well.
The short version is this, our goal is to create an estrogen-fueled digital newspaper that celebrates the successes of women around the globe with a focus on women in business. Again, we are big on business, entrepreneurship and marketing around here; so if you notice a bias, please excuse it, but at least you’ll know where it comes from.
Also, please note, we are new to blogging so forgive us in advance if we make a few mistakes. Feel free to let us know what you think.
Also, some people have asked “Why the name ‘Brusque’?” To put it simply - Because that’s our style (short, blunt, and straight to the point) - ESPECIALLY when we’re having pre-caffeine moments!
Cathie Black, 
Apple IPod Shrinks by Half
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For the members of the Amazon Kindle 2 Fan Club, here are some cool accessories.
Remembering Madeleine and why we loved her!
digital newspaper that celebrates the successes of women around the globe with a focus on women in business. Again, we are big on business, entrepreneurship and marketing around here; so if you notice a bias, please excuse it, but at least you’ll know where it comes from.
