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Champions League Quarter-Finals First Leg [Day 1]: Atletico holds the European champions

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April 22, 2015

Champions League Quarter-Finals First Leg [Day 1]: Atletico holds the European champions

We are at that stage of the season when you just can’t afford to miss a match. The quarter-finals of the Champions League 2015 are famous for pulling out notorious upsets and as only four teams will advance to the next stage we can expect really intense matches.

Atletico Madrid 0 – 0 Real Madrid

Last year’s finalists Atletico and Real faced each other at the Vicente Calderon and none of the sides could find a breakthrough. Before this clash it was common knowledge that this Madrid derby will be decided over two legs rather than a ninety minute game. Although Diego Simeone’s side are far behind their city rivals on the league table, yet they have had a pretty impressive run whenever they faced the Champions League holders Real Madrid.

Mario Mandzukic was involved in a lot of scuffles with the Real Madrid players including Ramos and Dani Carvajal. Carvajal was also observed biting and punching the Croatian forward, but he escaped all the charges and there was no retrospective action after the match. The Brazilian defender Marcelo received a yellow card in the 89^th minute, which would keep him out of the second leg of this fixture.

After the 0 – 0 draw at home, the Spanish champions would head into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu with both an advantage and a disadvantage. Atleti didn’t allow Carlo Ancelotti’s men to score an away goal, which could prove to be a big deciding factor in the second leg. A draw, except a goalless one, would see Atletico advance to the semi-final on the away goals rule. Although Real Madrid will have the backing of home fans at the home turf at the Bernabeu (no pun intended).

Juventus 1 – 0 Monaco

Juve have come out victorious from their first leg clash at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday. Although a 1 – 0 lead isn’t a very reassuring one. Arturo Vidal’s 57^th minute penalty separates these two sides and it won’t be a big surprise if Monaco turn it around over the next ninety minutes. The Ligue 1 outfit will invite the Italian champions to France for the second leg.

After the match, the Juventus boss Allegri claimed that he doesn’t care if the game was entertaining or not, his only concern was the result. When asked he was satisfied with a 1 – 0 win, the former Milan manager told La Gazzetta dello Sport, “Yes, the result is good, there’s no doubt about it.

“It was crucial not to concede in the home leg. Let’s not say that we’re already in the semi-finals though.

“It was a boring game? If you want to have fun, you should go to the circus. I’m only interested in reaching the semi-finals.

“We are pleased with the performance. Whoever thought that it would be an easy quarter-final is mistaken.

“In truth, Vidal has been playing well for some time. This time, he scored which is for the best. He and [Carlos] Tevez are the penalty takers.”

National League Baseball Week 1 Winners & Losers 2015

Peter Tebin

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April 21, 2015

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National League Baseball Week 1 Winners & Losers 2015

The month of April has arrived opening up the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball season in the National League. As the kids sat around waiting for the Easter Bunny to arrive, most adult sports fans sat patiently waiting for that opening game of the season featuring the Chicago Cubs taking on the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley field.

That officially opened the first week of the season while the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamond Backs wrapped up the playoff the first week in the National League. As we look at around to gauge which teams were the real winners and losers it is very even in all of the divisions in the NL.

One early on favorite is the Atlanta Braves who got off to one of the hotter starts in all of baseball picking up five wins over their first six games. This came after the team elected to part ways with a few big names this offseason. On the opposite end the Washington Nationals might have gotten off to the worst start simply based on how much success the team is expecting to have this year.

While the Nationals don’t have the worst record in the league, they did however finish the week just 2-4. Another team that finds themselves on the loser list to start the season is the defending World Series Champions the San Francisco Giants. The Giants started the season picking up three of four games before losing three straight.

These are just a few of the winners and losers of the first week of the 2015 MLB season. Here are the rest of the winners and losers around the American League.

Winners:

Atlanta Braves: While it is still early the fans of Atlanta should be pleasantly happy after the team’s 5-1 start to the season. The team traded away Justin Upton, Melvin Upton, Jason Heyward, Evan Gattis and the latest to join the list Craig Kimbrel. Despite the moves, the team got off to a fast start something management has to like as they prepare for their move into a new ballpark.

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds have looked good over the first week despite losing back to back games to end the week. The team has seen some solid play from a variety of players including first baseman Joey Votto. Now if the team can keep up this production they could compete for the NL Central crown.

Colorado Rockies: All offseason all the news in the division was geared to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. This allowed many to simply forget how good the Rockies could be if their key guys in the lineup stay healthy including Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. The Rockies went 4-2 over their first six games allowing just 22 runs in those six contests.

Adrian Gonzalez: The Dodgers first baseman got off to a record setting performance becoming the first player in Major League History with five home runs over the course of his team’s first three games. Currently after his hot first week, Gonzalez is hitting .609 with three doubles, five home runs, seven runs driven in and four walks.

Julio Teheran: Teheran deserves much of the success for the Braves hot start. The Braves right hander picked up a win in both of his starts during the first week of the season. In those two contests, the Braves starter went 12 innings allowing just two earned runs while striking out nine hitters.

Losers:

Miami Marlins: The Marlins who some experts had a sleeper pick inside the NL East division picked up just one win over their first six games. The major concern early on has been the team’s ability to manufacture runs only scoring 18 runs while allowing 35 runs.

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers joined the Marlins with the worst record in the National League over the first week winning just one of their first six games. Much like the Marlins troubles the team has had a difficulty scoring runs as they were outscored by 19 runs in those six contests.

Chicago Cubs: While the team has gotten off to a hot start going 4-2 over their first week much of the news leading up to the game was the demotion of Kris Bryant. Nonetheless the Cubs make it to this list for neither of those situations but more so for the inconvenience with the teams public restrooms on opening day due to construction.

Starling Marte: The Pirates talented young outfielder got off to a slow start over the team’s first six games picking up just three hits in 22 at bats. The bigger concern has come from his 12 total strikeouts. In total Marte posted four multi strikeout games over the first six games of the season.

Curtis Granderson: Despite his solid spring training the New York Mets outfielder has gotten off to a terrible slow start. In his first six games, Granderson hit just .063 with one hit in his first 16 at bats for the Mets. The Mets will need the veteran outfielder to turn it around if they want to compete in the NL East.

Kyle Lohse: After a solid 2014 campaign, Lohse has gotten off to a terrible start in 2015. The veteran starter made two starts over the first week combining to throw 9.2 innings for the club. In that stretch, Lohse allowed three home runs and 12 runs scored jumping his earned run average up to 11.17 for the season.

American League Week 1 Winners & Losers 2015

Peter Tebin

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April 21, 2015

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American League Week 1 Winners & Losers 2015

The 2015 MLB season is here with the first week of the American League is in the books. The first week of the season provided some much needed fireworks for the everyday baseball fan. The one performance that stood out from the first week was Hanley Ramirez debut with the Boston Red Sox.

Ramirez who was one of the biggest offseason acquisitions earned every penny in just his first game of the season. The former Los Angeles Dodgers short stop picked up two hits in his first four at bats. Before you jump to conclusions Ramirez’s two hits went for home runs.

Overall Ramirez picked up eight hits in his first five games including three home runs and five runs driven in. Ramirez is just one of the many winners around the American League over the first week. While we have seen some great performances we have also saw some bad performances.

One player that has stood out is Evan Gattis of the Houston Astros. The Astros acquired Gattis this offseason from the Atlanta Braves to provide the club with another powerful bat in the middle of the lineup. The little problem is the fact that Gattis failed to pickup a hit in his first 20 at bats to start the season.

These are just a few of the winners and losers of the first week of the 2015 MLB season. Here are the rest of the winners and losers around the American League.

Winners:

Kansas City Royals: The Royals might be the hottest team in all of baseball winning all six games over the first week of the season. This includes a three game sweep of the Chicago White Sox followed by an even more impressive sweep of the Los Angeles Angels. The team’s success over the first six games has been their hot start on the mound.

The Royals pitching staff has allowed just 15 runs in those six games against some very good offensive teams. The Royals held the White Sox to one run in two of three contests and the Angels to two runs in two of three contests.

Detroit Tigers: The second undefeated team after week one of the Major League Baseball season included the Tigers. The Tigers picked up a three game sweep over the Minnesota Twins to start the season. In the series the Tigers pitching staff allowed just one earned run while the teams offense was able to score 22 runs

While the Twins were expected to be at the bottom of the Central Division, the Tigers repeated their success against the Cleveland Indians. The same Indians team that many have as a true contender in the Central Division.

Miguel Cabrera: As you can imagine when any team in baseball gets off to a hot start typically that team has a few players that are hot. That has been the case as Cabrera has been hot early picking up 13 hits over his first 25 at bats. In that stretch Cabrera picked up two doubles, two home runs, eight runs batted in along with four walks.

J.D. Martinez: While Cabrera has been picking up the hits for the Tigers, Martinez picked up three home runs in those same six games. Martinez looks to be an every day power hitter for the Tigers for the years to come. Martinez also has one double and seven runs driven in this season.

Losers:

Minnesota Twins: No one expected the Twins to compete this season but any time a season starts with just one win over the teams first six games earns a spot on our loser list. The main key to the Twins struggles early on has been the team’s ability to score runs only recording 13 through their first six games.

The Twins opened up the season being shut out in back to back games before scoring just one run in the third game of a three game series with the Tigers. The team bounced back scoring 12 runs in a three game series against the White Sox.

Los Angeles Angels: The defending American League West division champs have gotten off to a slow start in 2015. After losing opening day against the Seattle Mariners 4-1, the team bounced back with two straight wins. The team could not figure a way to build on the success losing three straight games against the Royals.

George Springer: The Houston Astros entered 2015 with high hopes for Springer who hit 20 home runs in just 78 games as a rookie last season. That hasn’t been the case to start the season as Springer has failed to hit one long ball in 23 at bats to start the 2015 season.

Overall, Springer is hitting just .174 with four total hits this season including just one double and one run batted in.

Jered Weaver: Most of the Angels troubles to start the season has been around the teams pitching struggles. Weaver might be the biggest problem this season as he has struggled in back to back starts for the Angels. Weaver has managed to pitch just 10.1 innings this year.

In those innings, Weaver has allowed 15 hits to go with 10 earned runs and four walks allowed.

Clay Buchholz: The struggles have rolled over from 2014 for the Red Sox starters. Buchholz got off to a hot start going seven innings allowing zero earned run and nine strikeouts in his first start of the season. The problem was that start came against a Philadelphia Phillies team that was expected to finish at the bottom of the National League.

The struggles returned in his second start of the season against a much better New York Yankees team. Buckholz allowed nine earned runs in just 3.1 innings while allowing nine hits.

CSI: CYBER Ep 106 Evil Twin Recap

Julie Wein

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April 21, 2015

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On this week’s episode of CSI: Cyber a NYC hotel’s computer system was hacked into, compromising the personal information of hundreds of people. Agents Mundo and Ryan then flew to NYC to talk to the staff at the hotel. They told him that to be on the safe side the hotel shut down all of its wifi service to guests. The hotel staff then found out that the previous week’s security footage had been wiped out. Agent Mundo asked the staff if their security cameras were linked to their wifi system.

The hotel manager then knocked on a guest’s door and said that the music they were playing in their room was too loud and that it was bothering the other guests. When the person staying in the room didn’t respond the hotel manager opened the door to the room with his key. He then found Adele Foster, the female guest, dead in her room. Agents Ryan and Mundo found the victim’s cell phone in the toilet and discovered that the phone had been hacked into.

Back at FBI headquarters the team accessed a blueprint of a typical guest room in the hotel. They found malware in the hotel’s computer system after party invitations containing viruses were sent out to each of the hotel’s employees. They determined that the hacker had gotten into the hotel’s file for the female guest found dead and ordered spa, laundry and room services to her for three days after she had been killed so no one in the hotel would suspect she was dead. The computerized do not disturb system kept the hotel’s housekeepers out of the guest’s room. Nelson then hacked into the hotel’s computer system to show Agent Ryan how easy it is to do so. Through an email that the hacker sent to one of the hotel’s guests over its wifi network the team was able to find the hacker’s IP address.

At a NYC bar/night club Agent Mundo went to investigate another hacking incident and found the suspect in the murder of Adele Foster. The man’s IP address matched the IP address that they recovered through the hospital’s wifi network. Agent Mundo then arrested the man inside the bar. When Agents Mundo and Ryan started to interrogate the man he said he didn’t even know how to hack into anything. He denied knowing Adele Foster and said that he hadn’t killed anyone. Agent Ryan told him they had security surveillance footage of Foster at the bar/nightclub the man works at on the night that she was murdered.

Nelson and Daniel were tasked with putting back together the destroyed cell phone of Adele Foster so that they could retrieve information from the phone relevant to her murder. When they did so, they discovered that the hacker had put fake text messages on Foster’s phone to make it look like she was still alive after she had died.

After further investigation Daniel and Raven determined that a coffee shop next door to the hotel also had its wifi hacked and that they believe Evan, their original suspect, who hung out regularly at the coffee shop, may have been framed by the real hacker. They suspected the real hacker got into the coffee shop’s wifi and hijacked the original suspect’s computer to make it look like he had hacked into the hotel. Agent Ryan told Agent Mundo that the case reminded her of when she was a psychologist and a man hacked into her computer and used the information he obtained to murder one of her clients. She also said that she woke up every day wondering if it would be the day her hacker finally got caught.

Through their investigation the agents found out that Foster was in New York to escape Shane, a man she was in a relationship with who was abusing her. They found out that Shane had targeted Evan to frame him for hacking because he had become involved with Fisher. Shane then confronted Evan and the situation escalated quickly. Agent Mundo confronted Shane and forced him to drop his gun. Shane fled the scene and attempted to commit suicide but was arrested instead. Once they got a hold of Shane’s phone they unraveled more details about what happened that led to the death of Foster. They determined that Shane got into Foster’s hotel room, murdered her and then fled the scene. A microchip in his phone recorded every move he made the night Foster died, proving that he killed her.

Will Android Lollipop 5.1 avoid all the headaches from 5.0?

Tech News

David Silvester

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April 21, 2015

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Will Android Lollipop 5.1 avoid all the headaches from 5.0?

Most people have heard of Android – the mobile operating system that pretty much dominates the market and has done for some time. In fact as reported in the last quarter of 2014, Android was running on roughly 76% of mobile devices worldwide.

This market share is very impressive, especially considering that it has grown from only 52% in just over 3 years.

There are quite a few reasons behind the success of the Android operating system.

Open Source

Due to the open source roots of the Android OS it is very popular amongst the community of users and developers that support this methodology. In addition this method of developing software by its very nature encourages fast and robust development.

Linux foundations

The operating system is based on the Linux kernel which makes it very stable, very secure and also easy to build on top of for both the core developers (Google) but also for third party software developers that want to integrate with the operating system.

Flexibility for the end user

In addition to these points, the Android OS has found much of its success due to the fact that it is flexible to its users – compared to a close competitor (iOS) it is very flexible in its nature and allows users a much greater insight into its workings.

Stability

The operating system has been very stable up until recently which is also a very big factor in its success and widespread take-up.

Unfortunately though these benefits are now coming into disrepute after the most recent major release of the operating system Lollipop 5.0 has caused much disruption amongst its users due to many bugs and software faults being present.

WIFI issues

Lollipop 5.0 has had quite a few issues relating to wireless connectivity and has led to some mobile devices being unable to get onto the Internet at all. This in itself has caused major disruption to the community of Android users.

Battery Life

Probably the second most prevalent problem that has been seen in this release of the operating system is an increased drain on the battery which is not proportionate to any additional or beneficial activities carried out by the operating system.

Generally not running as well

In addition to these key issues that the operating systems latest update has brought with it, users have also reported that the system is far more unstable than previous releases. Users have faced many general problems with the OS including crashes, slow speeds and also problems with other processor dependant operations such as video playback.

Mitigating the situation

Google have release several small updates to the latest operating system version in order to try and mitigate or resolve the various issues that have been occurring but have not succeeded. Despite each release the issues have prevailed in the main and users have grown more and more dissatisfied with the response to these problems.

The release of Lollipop 5.1

After much outcry from the community Google have finally released a major update to the operating system – Lollipop 5.1.

Google have confirmed that the latest release will address and fix all of the previous issues faced by users of 5.0 including the WIFI issues and also the battery drain issues.

In addition to providing permanent fixes for these issues the latest release has also brought with it some brand new features.

Enhanced security

The new 5.1 update comes with enhanced security capabilities that allow the device to remain locked even after it has been party to a factory reset. Once in this state it can only be unlocked once the owner has signed in to their Google account. This feature is great for device security and means that even if the phone is stolen it cannot be used or sold on in a working state.

Dual Sim Support

Another great feature that has been added in the latest update is the support for dual sim cards. This is a very cool feature that allows sims on different networks or tariffs to be present in the device at the same time. This allows the user to switch between sims very easily. This feature is particularly useful if you travel abroad and require easy access to sims belonging to networks in different countries.

HD Audio calls

5.1 also come with the ability to carry out audio calling in HD (high definition). This allows for extremely high quality audio functionality on mobile phones and can be particularly useful for meetings and conference calls that involve multiple participants.

What next?

So it seems that Google have used the release of 5.1 to addresses multiple things at the same time – on one hand they are fixing some problems that have been on-going for some time and on the other they are bringing out new features perhaps to inspire continued and greater use of the operating system. This is likely to target the users (with the bug fixes) and also the phone manufacturers (with the new features) at the same time.

Is this a good idea? Only time will tell and this will really hinge on whether or not all of the issues really have been ironed out and also whether or not there are any new issues that come along with the new features.

It is a dangerous game that Google are playing because with the upset that has been present due to all of the issues with 5.0 if there are still existing issues or new ones that come with the release of 5.1 then there really be outcry in the Android community.

It may have been more sensible to release a major update purely to address the on-going issues and then to plan the release of a new features update further down the line.

Can Microsoft Really Rival Linux?

Tech News

Marius Manuella

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April 21, 2015

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Can Microsoft really rival Linux? That’s a strange question in the consumer-level point of view. Wherever have we seen any laptops or desktops in display shelves with some form Linux? It’s rare, except for Chromebooks which are growing in popularity. As per Ars Technica’s stats for desktop operating system market share last 2014, various versions of Windows are used by over 95 percent of desktops worldwide. So in the desktop arena, the answer is yes. In the server arena, Linux is more preferred than Windows, because of better security, fault tolerance, resource management and total cost of ownership. But Microsoft wants to change that by announcing the development of a stripped-down Windows Server called Nano Server which is part of the upcoming Windows Server vNext.

As per W3Techs, web servers that use Linux have 36.72% market share while Windows has 33.10% as of November 2014. Other Operating systems such as FreeBSD and Unix-based servers have a combined share of 30.18%. On mainframes, Linux has a 28% market share while the remaining percentage belongs to Unix. According to Top500, Linux is used in 97% of all supercomputers.

Why the high numbers for Linux? Linux is more stable. Linux servers have been known to run without failure for several years. That’s because Linux handles multitasking and process management better than Windows. That is debatable on the mobile area since many cheap Android (a Linux descendant) devices often freeze. Linux is also more secure since it’s built as a multiuser operating system from the ground up. It is better at sandboxing or containing applications and processes from the root system than Windows does. Linux servers are also minimal targets of hackers and malware, though not exactly a guarantee but it’s something to take advantage of. As for hardware requirements, Linux can be run on most computers. Depending on the distribution, Linux can run very smoothly on ten-year old computers. Lastly, all Linux distributions are free though some versions for the enterprise, like Red Hat, offer technical support for a fee.

The problem with Linux however, is finding talented administrators who can handle the job of company server administration as well as marry Linux and Microsoft technologies. Another difficulty involves the desktop or user level, because Linux has a rather steep learning curve for both new computer users and users weaned on Windows technologies. Applications such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop remain the de-facto standard for productivity that their open-source equivalents have yet to match. Many companies prefer to receive Microsoft Office documents instead of formats from Open Office or Libre Office. Yet Linux continues to gain traction in the desktop world through Chromebooks, Android desktops and other distros such as Ubuntu, Debian and Mint. Microsoft has also made some compromises by offering its Office apps for Android users but at the same time, trying to regain its lost market share due to the backlash from Windows 8 by suggesting optional enforcement of UEFI to its OEMs.

windows server vnext to rival linux 2015

Microsoft currently has no need to worry in the desktop world so they need to continue improving their chances in the server world. Their 33 percent market there is not bad; but in the spirit of competition, of innovation as well of revenues, they need to do better. Many web companies such as Google and Twitter run server farms running on Linux. Web startups continue to pop up in Silicon Valley and all over the world and Microsoft has to prove that they are better than Linux. They do have a big advantage when it comes to the desktop and other technologies and they can push that advantage to the server level. As for web hosting and web services, Microsoft needs to offer a slimmer form of Windows with better container technologies than their current Server Core which is part of Windows Server 2008 onwards.

That is where the next version of Windows Server comes in, called Windows Server vNext, and part of it is Nano Server. As the name suggests, it’s an installation option with a minimal footprint similar to but smaller than Server Core. Nano Server features better container management, in tandem with Hyper-V technology. It’s also optimized for cloud-based applications. Nano server also promises added container-level security. Nano Server is part of Microsoft’s program of getting along with everything else instead of pushing its own agendas since the appointment of Satya Nadella as CEO. Basically, if you can’t beat them, join them.

When it comes to cloud computing, it’s important for providers to make use of container technology or the ability to run multiple isolated systems; the way Linux CoreOS can run several Linux virtual machines. Nano Server is designed to do the same in tandem with Windows Hyper-V technology. Microsoft’s promise of added security could easily appeal to many businesses and government agencies especially in today’s computing atmosphere saturated with hacking and espionage. Also, aside from the added security, Microsoft also takes a page from CoreOS in terms of ease of installation. Microsoft’s only caveat in this endeavor would be licensing fees which in the Linux world is practically unheard of. But as mentioned, Microsoft can still trump that its desktop level and server level technologies can work well together. Can Microsoft really rival Linux? Nano Server isn’t out yet. Time will tell but they’re certainly giving it a try.

Celebrity Gossip Roundup: Nicki Fully Meeked & A Father Gets It Wrong

The Curvy Girl Diva

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April 21, 2015

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Celebrity Gossip Roundup: Nicki Fully Meeked & A Father Gets It Wrong

A new round of celebrity craziness and sadness arrives a day late, but you can check out our editor’s note below to see why. Bobby Brown sadly wishes Bobbi Kristina Brown were awake and tells concert goers she is but Cissy Houston reverses that. Then Kylie Jenner’s lips have sadly created a very unhealthy challenge that she isn’t responding to.

Love and Hip Hop Atlanta

For all you love and Hip Hop fans, New York may be over but you know that is not the end of it. Atlanta starts up today and from the trailer, it looks like it is going to be one hell of a season.

I personally prefer New York over any other franchise so I am not looking forward to ATL that much (although you know I am going to have the recaps for you). Nonetheless, we will have the drama, we will have the fighting, we will have the unbelievable actions of grown people. All I as is that you don’t go out and try to replicated what you see. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.

Bobby Brown Says Bobbi Kristina is Awake

It hasn’t really been in the news lately, but the situation with Bobbi Kristina is still going on. We have been sending prayers, thoughts and more her way and we plan to hold on with the family until something happens.

We were given a glimmer hope when her father Bobby Brown said during a concert on April 19^th in Texas were he let the audience know that Bobbi Kristina is awake.

“I can say today Bobbi is awake. She’s watching me,”

This is amazing news and it is surely something people are very happy to hear. Of course no one is as happy to hear it as the family. Confirming Brown’s statement, Tina Brown wrong on her Facebook page:

“So many messages, sorry can’t answer them all right now but I will get to them later…Just allow me this time with my family, yes, she woke up and is no longer on life support!!!!!:):)God is good!!Thanks for your prayers,, still a process, but she is going to be ok:):):):).”

There are no words for how much this warms my heart. For those that believe in prayer, it really does work. The family has yet to release an official statement which I can totally understand why. For now, all we have it word from Brown and his sister and that’s enough for me.

Editor’s Note:

Bobby Brown wound up admitting he was a little emotionally charged when he made these statements which turned out to be false. Shortly after he said this during a concert this past weekend, a more reliable source, Cissy Houston, quickly corrected things.

Houston said that Bobbi Kristina Brown has “irreversible brain damage and remains unresponsive.”

Bobbi Kristina Brown was hospitalized Jan. 31 after being found unresponsive in a bathtub inside her Georgia home. She remains in a long-term care facility.

“I have just returned from visiting my granddaughter Bobbi Kristina in the hospital and while she is no longer in a medically induced coma she has a tracheotomy and according to the doctors she has global and irreversible brain damage and remains unresponsive,” Houston said in a statement to People this week, adding, “Meeting with the doctors and understanding that she can live in this condition for a lifetime truly saddens me.”

A couple of days later his lawyer, Christopher Brown, clarified those comments, saying, “Bobbi Kristina’s condition has changed since moving from Emory University Hospital and there has been improvement. Doctors have indicated that she will have a long life. However, Bobbi Kristina is presently embarking on a rehabilitation process and the quality of her life will not be known for years to come.”

Meanwhile, Bobby Brown’s wife, Alicia Etheredge-Brown, notes that Bobby Brown was in an “emotional state” while onstage and made his statements regarding his excitement about his 22-year-old daughter.

“My husband made an attempt to correct the negative comments he must endure on a daily basis from both family and the public regarding his daughter’s medical condition,” she said, noting that Bobby Brown is encouraged by the steps Bobbi Kristina Brown has taken since entering the hospital in January.

So sadly, Bobbi Kristina Brown remains in the same condition. We are running our usual Celebrity Gossip Monday edition one day late so we were able to correct the errors in this article.

We have also pulled this part of the video section out of this edition of Celebrity Gossip on our YouTube channel as it is also full of wrong information that was not corrected. You’ll notice it will be a little shorter than usual.

Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj Engaged

So much has swirled around on the gossip sites about these two. They are together they aren’t together, they are just friends, their lovers. Recently Meek Mill opened up about his true feelings for the rapper/singer and says that she was the one holding him down during is stint in jail last year.

Rumors about their alleged engagement started last week when Nicki posted a picture on a gigantic 15 caret heart shaped yellow and diamond ring (which is estimated to cost about $500,000) on her Instagram account (yes it was on the ring finger). Of course everyone immediately screamed of intended nuptials.

It also didn’t help the couple if they are indeed trying to keep their engagement on the low, low when Drake all but confirmed that they are soon to be husband and wife. During his performance at Coachella he made a big fuss and congratulated her.

Okay so he didn’t come straight out and say it but we are pretty sure that what his excitement was all about. Plus, when the two hugged, the audience was blinded by the bling on her finger, which dispelled light from each and every angle.

Meek Mill is a dope ass rapper and Nicki does her thing too so congratulations to the both of them.

Girls Go to Extreme to get Kylie Jenner Lips

So you know how stupid people can be with all the gimmicks they try in order to look like the current “it” celebrity. Well, add to the list plumping their lips to look like Kylie Jenner.

These stupid ass chicks (I don’t care that they might be teenagers… their stupid) are actually putting their lips inside a bottle to swell them up so they will have Jenner’s “signature” pout lip.

This is what everything that is wrong with the world. Impressionable young people ( hell even adults) do whatever they can to look like celebrities who just go and have plastic surgery to fool everyone anyway. They are even coining it #kyliejennerchallenge.

I bet that the “challenge” originated from the Kardashian/Jenner camp and is probably some kind of social experience to show how far gone our society is with that whole crew. Ugh it just burns me up… Stop being stupid people!

Sadly, the person these teens are doing this for has kept mum on the subject, or at least mom Kris Jenner is scrambling with her pr team trying to figure out the best thing to say. The best thing to say is just have your daughter come on showing that she cares and tell kids it’s not healthy to do this. Pretty simple, but sadly, Kris Jenner seems to instill no type of sensible morals in her children/pieces of talent.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel

These two gorgeous people are just high on life right now. Jessica Biel recently gave birth to their son Silas and he is just the cutest little bundle of joy. I particularly love his name too.

They gave us look at his first public pictures on Justin Timberlake’s Instagram account (the picture has 1.2 million likes as of yesterday) and you can just see the joy and love that these two have for their son.

I am happy for them and glad that JT finally settled down and created a sweet little offspring to carry on his legacy.

2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Rangers, MN Wild & Ducks Win Monday Night

Shane Lambert

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April 21, 2015

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2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Rangers, MN Wild & Ducks Win Monday Night

The 2015 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs continued on Monday night as six teams took to the ice for game three of their respective series. Those teams included, comprehensively, the New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the St. Louis Blues, the Minnesota Wild, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Winnipeg Jets.

In Pittsburgh, the Rangers and Penguins were knotted at one game apiece. The Pens, hosting game three from the Consol Energy Center, had to be keen on taking the series lead. However Pittsburgh bumped into a hot goaltender in Henrik Lundqvist as he posted a 95.8 save percentage to keep his team ahead in what was a low scoring affair. As a result, the Rangers reclaimed home ice advantage in the series and they could advance to the second round as early as game five following their 2-1 victory in game three.

In St. Paul, the Minnesota Wild were looking to take a series lead on home ice as well. The Blues and Wild split games one and two with all to play for in their best-of-seven series. Monday’s game saw a strong defensive outing on Minnesota’s part. Devan Dubnyk, the goalie for the Wild, earned a shutout victory and, to the team’s credit, he only had to make nineteen saves to do that. The Wild now lead their best-of-seven series with the Blues 2-1 following the 3-0 victory in game three.

In Winnipeg, the Jets’ contingent came out in full support of their team. The city, bereft of playoff hockey since 1996, carried on an old school tradition of displaying as much white as possible in the stands. But despite both the spirit and the fact that the Jets held a very late lead in the game, Winnipeg fell in overtime after Rickard Rakell scored about five minutes into the extra session. The Jets, now down 3-0 in the series, appear as though they are destined for a first round exit, something else that’s old school.

Four games in the Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled for Tuesday night. Tampa Bay and Detroit will meet in game three with their series knotted at one. Washington and the New York Islanders will meet in game four with N.Y. leading 2-1. Nashville and Chicago also play while Calgary will host Vancouver. Both of those series are also 2-1 for Chicago and Calgary respectively.

RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE Ep 707 Recap: Max Gets Snatched Out

Julie Wein

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April 20, 2015

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RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE Ep 707 Recap: Max Gets Snatched Out

On this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race the eight drag queens remaining had to come up with an outfit to impress RuPaul, based on a celebrity they like. Miss Fame said she was planning a Donatella Versace outfit and had been since the first time she ever auditioned to be on the show.

The Maxi Challenge for the week was Snatch Game where the drag queens had to participate in a parody of the Match game. Each drag queen had to choose a star to dress and act like for this challenge. Kennedy Davenport said she wanted to dress as Little Richard but Ginger Minj told her she couldn’t because Little Richard is a man. Violet told RuPaul she was upset because Miss Fame wanted to do Donatella Versace as well, so Violet chose another star to dress like. RuPaul told Violet to do what was best for Violet and not for anyone else in the competition. Violet then said she chose to dress as Theresa Caputo instead.

RuPaul asked Katya why she wasn’t going to do a Russian character for the challenge. Katya said she was afraid to show the character and that she is addicted to anxiety. RuPaul told her not to be afraid to do what she wants.

RuPaul then introduced the guest judges as contestants for the Snatch Game. Each drag queen on the panel was introduced as their character for the challenge. This included Alyssa Edwards and Big Ang as well as Adele, Raven Symone, Suze Orman, Little Richard and Donatella Versace.

As the game progressed Ginger Minj said that Jaidynn, who was doing Raven Symone horribly, was probably going to be lip syncing for her life to stay in the competition. As RuPaul wrapped up the Snatch Game she said her therapist was going to benefit from this.

On Elimination Day Ginger Minj said she thought everyone was feeling the pressure. Katya said she was second guessing herself because she didn’t know where she stood in the eyes of the judges. Katya told Miss Fame she was freaking out and admitted that she has struggled with sobriety. Miss Fame shared that she had been sober for nine years. Katya then admitted to being terrified of failure and she used humor to smokescreen her fears. She then had a bit of a breakdown telling Miss Fame she felt like she didn’t belong in the competition and she has never been able to love herself. Katya said she didn’t expect to have the fears she was having throughout the competition. Miss Fame and Katya then hugged and Katya told Miss Fame she loved her.

When it came time for the drag queens to walk the runway the guest judges said they were ready to assess each queen’s performance. The drag queens then had to model in leather and lace outfits. Ginger Minj came out in a white outfit that she called Elvis “Prisley”. Katya walked the runway as Samantha Fox. Kennedy Davenport came out showing off her “black box.” Violet dressed like a 1940s woman and Max walked the runway dressed as a grieving widow. Jaidynn walked the ramp as Chaka Kan. Pearl came out in a pink outfit that seemed to please the judges. Miss Fame updated her “fresh and sexy look” to resemble something out of Cagney & Lacey.

Pearl and Violet were the first two drag queens to be told by RuPaul that they were safe from elimination this week. The judge’s then gave critiques and Ginger Minj was praised for impersonating Adele. Michelle said the shape of her hair was too triangular. Miss Fame was told she looked absolutely stunning tonight and that her style was something different. She was also told it seemed like she wasn’t fully focused on the competition. Kennedy Davenport was told she took a weird risk but the judges liked it. Max was told she looked to normal for the Snatch Game. Jaidynn was told her look fell flat. Katya was told she looked beautiful and she acted like a 45 year old Britney Spears. RuPaul then dismissed the drag queens from the stage so they could discuss each one.

Ginger Minj was praised for choosing a challenging yet creative character. Kennedy Davenport was praised for her over the top character during the Snatch Game. The judges loved Katya dressing as Suze Orman. RuPaul then announced she had made her decision. Kennedy Davenport and Ginger Minj were told they both won the Snatch Game challenge for the week. Jaidynn and Max were told they were up for elimination. Max said she was overwhelmingly disappointed in herself. Max and Jaidynn then had to perform their lip sync to try and avoid being eliminated this week. Jaidynn said she refused to go home this week and she had to protect her spot in the competition. RuPaul then announced that Max was being eliminated this week. She ended the show by saying she regretted her decision to send one particular drag queen home early, but she refused to name names.

Could Apple Kill 4K by Going Straight to 8K?

Tech News

Marius Manuella

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April 20, 2015

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Could Apple Kill 4K by Going Straight to 8K?

Apple just loves going premium, sometimes driving technology to new heights just to be different. Before the iPod, a thousand songs in a portable music player was unheard of. Before the iMac, personal computers were dull beige, white or black boxes. Now, after delivering high resolution retina displays on its iPhones and Macbooks, Apple is allegedly pushing monitor resolutions to new heights. The company just released its stunning new iMac with Retina 5K display but it looks like one of its contractors just let slip that it’s manufacturing an 8K display for Apple.

The 5K and 8K iMac
Apple just came out with its new 5K retina display iMac. 5K means 14.7 million pixels to control. The screen size is 27 inches and is just 5mm thin. Accomplishing such a feat would mean fitting a system powerful enough to drive that massive quantity of pixels and render and process images and video inside a very thin frame. Doing so would require a lot of power which Apple actually reduced by 30 percent. For the 5K iMac, 5K is equivalent to 218ppi and a 5120 x 2880 pixel resolution. The difference can be clearly seen when the 5K is put beside an older 2014 iMac. 5K means easier editing for 4K videos through Final Cut Pro and it will be easier to edit high resolution images in Photoshop. If the system handles video editing at 5K, handling games such as Crysis is not much of a problem at 63fps at full HD resolution. However, the 5K iMac isn’t designed for 5K gaming so the built-in AMD Radeon M290X chip needs to be upgraded to an M295X. With that in mind, many fans and critics who got wind of the rumor are now wondering how Apple will be able to manage 8K video. If the 5K iMac can’t handle 5K gaming out of the box, can Apple pull off a miracle in time for the alleged 2016 release? But knowing Apple, its audacity to subcontract an 8K display means that it has something up its sleeve.

Again with the Osborne
By outing the 8K iMac, which LG promptly corrected by removing its post along with the string of denials, the company may have Osborned Apple’s upcoming 5K iMac. For those not familiar with the term, the Osborne computer company in the 1980s came up its successful Osborne 1 computer. However, while there was still plenty of inventory left, the company announced the more powerful Osborne Executive. Resellers cancelled previous pre-orders in anticipation for the new model. The Osborne 1 inventory gathered dust and the company turned the page to Chapter 11. The same could happen to Apple’s upcoming 5K iMac since fans, especially gamers and resolution nuts would rather wait for the 8K.

There Goes the Surprise
Apple won’t be filing a Chapter 11 anytime soon but LG’s 8K spoiler puts Apple at a loss. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, everyone now knows that Apple has an 8K display in the works pre-empting Tim Cook’s ‘one more thing’ in a future keynote. There goes the surprise. There goes the innovation. Now the competition’s likely to try and squeeze in more pixels in their systems as well. If they do succeed in releasing such as system before Apple does, Apple won’t be the first anymore. It’s not a total loss for Apple because the competition doesn’t have as much style and flair as they do. On the financial side, when Apple launches a surprising product, its already high stock prices often rise but the spoiler could dampen that effect. That’s what spoilers do.

8K Gaming?
Again, many are skeptical that Apple’s new 8K monitor. That it would just be a gimmick and won’t be able to work fully without tradeoffs. That it can hold out only for mundane tasks but not for full 8K gaming or video editing. Even Nvidia’s new Titan graphics card will be up to its heat sinks in rendering a sustained 8K 60FPS gaming experience. Also, without much 8K content available to take advantage of the system, that much screen real estate would not be fully appreciated except maybe for editing two 4K videos or images at once. Up to this point, it’s mostly speculation. Building an ark means filling it with a lot of animals. We could speculate that Apple is engineering the system by filling it with pairs upon pairs of graphics, memory and processing power to make the system float. That’s the best people can do with the current technology available.

So will Apple kill 4K?

Not necessarily, at least in the premium market. The display alone would be terribly expensive, not to mention the hardware and engineering required to run it. Instead of getting an iMac with a 4K or 5K display, execs of the insanely rich would rather grab an 8K. It could be Apple’s target all along, a premium partner for the iMac 5K. However, if Apple’s doing it, we need to do it too, says the competition. As always, there would be a greater demand for 8K displays not only for the display market but for the television market as well. Perhaps in a couple of years, prices would go down and 4K will eventually fall in the budget category. 4K won’t be dead but it just reserved a seat at a nursing home.

2015 Smartphone Battles: HTC One M9 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

Tech News

David Silvester

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April 20, 2015

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Both of these phones are very smart pieces of tech, compiled into a very lightweight case and powered by the latest version of the Android mobile operating system. They are also similar in size as well as functionality but there are some subtle differences and the smart phones each hold favour with two different groups of tech users. The aim of this article is to provide a review of each device – highlighting its weak points as well as its assets in the hope of creating an easy to follow comparison of the two phones.

HTC One M9

Designed and produced by HTC, the M9 is the next model in line to follow on from the M8 and whilst the two are similar the M9 does have some additions in terms of aesthetics as well as functionality.

True to form HTC has maintained their curved design with the new M9 that comes as part of the sleek two tone outer casing of the device. Marginally thicker than the M8 the phone measures up at around 9.6mm. Compared to the Samsung Galaxy s6 Edge this is a slightly thinker phone.

Under the bonnet

As soon as we look at the features that come with the new M9 one thing stands out when compared to the Samsung and that is the addition of a microSD card slot which the Samsung does not have.

This means that with the HTC One M9 you can add to the already impressive 32GB internal storage with a 128GB MicroSD card bringing the total storage to 160GB.

Of course you could opt for the larger internal storage model but that is generally more expensive than the SD card upgrade and it gives you the flexibility to upgrade the capacity at a later point in time which adds an element of future proofing to the phone when compared to the Samsung.

The HTC One M9 is packed full of other cool features including a 20MP camera, impressive “BoomSound” front facing speakers as well as very crisp display despite it being behind Samsung on paper.

The operating system that runs on the HTC M9 is of course Android – released with 5.0 it will also support the latest 5.1 release that has addressed some of the major bugs that were present in 5.0.

On top of the base install of Android Lollipop the HTC One M9 also features quite a few customizations that are specific to HTC. One of which is the new addition of phone theming allowing the user to customise the look and feel of the phones OS using custom themes – a handy little feature for the fashion conscious among us. Full review of the HTC One M9 below.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

The Samsung offers similar slender design to that of the latest HTC One although the materials differ slightly with the Samsung comprising of both a front and back glass surface that sandwiches a metal casing. This layout gives the phone a very slick look whilst keeping it very robust.

After a complete redesign project Samsung have also launched the Galaxy S6 Edge with a curved screen which has been the root of much contention amongst Samsung users. Some favour the curvature of the screen and class it as being a very pleasing aesthetic design whilst others consider it to be a burden to the phones use making touch functionality hard work as well as causing light to reflect off the screen making it hard to read.

As always though you have to respect bold moves in tech and only time will tell whether this design wins hearts.

The Samsung features a lower rating camera compared to the HTC at only 16MP but also features an additional front camera rated at 5MP as well as a more impressive screen to view the photos on at 5.1 with impressive Quad HD specification.

The device is also slightly thinner than the HTC M9 at only 6.8mm making it easy to fit into the pocket and also giving it a lightweight feel.

Battery power

One of the very impressive features that come as part of the Samsung package is the lightning fast charge capabilities. Samsung have clearly seen battery use time as a very important feature to phone users and this is probably banged on the money. With the amount of use that modern smartphones tend to get coupled with the rich functionality that they tend to provide it isn’t surprising to see a phones battery run out well before a days end. With the new Samsung S6 charging that battery back-up is a total breeze with the user being able to get up to 4 hours of additional use from the phone with as little as 10 minutes of charge time. In addition to these impressive figures the phone can also be charged wirelessly when paired with the wireless charging pad.

A look at the software

The phone comes in two storage sizes – 64GB and 128GB allowing for you to pack both full of software and apps that will run on its Android OS system. Once again the phone runs on the latest version of Android (Lollipop) with a few of its own customisations in terms of layout and the functionality of use.

All in all both of these smart phones are very impressive both in terms of aesthetics as well as overall functionality.

Whilst the Samsung S9 is arguable more sleek with its thinner glass and metal combination case and its curved display the HTC M9 is also very visually appealing and in fact the preferred look in our opinion.

As for features, both phones are impressive in different areas and make fantastic use of the Android OS that is loved by so many.

Which is the better phone? We’ll leave you to decide!

Editor’s Note: While David had trouble deciding which was best, I’ve used the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge for weeks now and it’s a great upgrade after using the Samsung Galaxy S5. I tried the HTC One M9, but it just didn’t offer everything for me that the Samsung did. Plus all our tablets are Samsung which makes it much easier for a fully wired office. Check here for some of the better prices you can find plus more facts and figures to help make up your mind.

HTC One M9 Full Review:

Microsoft Justifies Spartan Not Covering People’s Tracks: Windows 10 Updates

Tech News

Marius Manuella

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April 20, 2015

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Microsoft Justifies Spartan Not Covering People’s Tracks: Windows 10 Updates

So far so good for Microsoft’s Project Spartan browser for Windows 10. It works nicely with minimal crashes. It does look simply Spartan up to the point that the address bar can’t be discerned from the window header. The browser works smoothly, the interface looks simple, the reading mode works nicely for compatible sites and annotation mode works quite well. However under the hood, privacy advocates are in for disappointment since Microsoft set the ‘Do Not Track’ option as disabled by default.

Ideally, a ‘good little browser’ must be able to protect the privacy of its users by introducing mechanisms that keep websites such as Google and Facebook from tracking users’ activities whether it’s an incognito mode, the ability to block popups and cookies or little settings such as the ‘Do Not Track’ option. After all, a non-protected browser could show ads tailored to the user’s web activities. For example, Colleague B of User A might borrow User A’s desktop or laptop for a day or two and start browsing only to see ad after ad for prescription drugs related to hemorrhoids; a condition User A has been keeping secret from the rest of the company, a condition anyone will keep secret from everyone else. The secret is out unless Colleague B is unaware of tracking and dismisses the ads as coincidence. That is just one reason why privacy settings are important. Another is mainly to avoid any annoying popups, glaring GIFs and banners from spoiling the browsing experience as well as to keep spammers away.

Despite the anticipation or Project Spartan, Microsoft may have marred the browser’s image early on by setting ‘Do Not Track’ as disabled by default. That doesn’t mean that the setting can’t be enabled later on, but users aware of privacy settings, usually privacy advocates and IT security will surely mark this move as questionable. Basically, it means that Microsoft could be selling out would-be users of Project Spartan to big business.

Microsoft has downplayed the decision to set Do Not Track as disabled by saying that the setting has been so watered down that it doesn’t really matter much. Microsoft doesn’t seem to believe in the saying “every little bit helps”. Aside from that, according to the current DNT standard, the user must prefer to set “Do Not Track” whether or not to send the signal. The signal of course can’t come from any institution or vendor that basically wants to be seen by the users and wants to know the users. The user is in charge of changing the setting. As per Microsoft, the consensus among ordinary users is that they don’t care. People often don’t bother changing browser settings. They either don’t know what the settings mean, afraid they might break something or simply just don’t care. Other users can change the settings only because they know how to, are directed to do so by their employers or government agencies and just paranoid or secretive enough to hide their web activities from the NSA. Microsoft is looking at the majority of browser users that don’t care whether the setting is enabled or not but are still wary of those who do. Otherwise, the setting won’t be there at all.

Microsoft further contests that the Do Not Track setting has been so diluted that it barely affects websites that tries their darnedest to ignore or go around it rendering the setting as either a figurehead or a placebo for users interested in privacy and privacy advocates. The setting is after all not mandatory for advertising companies to follow.

Basically, Microsoft washes its hands of the settings issue because big business doesn’t care to acknowledge DNT signals because they can’t be forced to and that most users can’t be bothered by browser settings unless instructed to do so by their favorite websites. As far as the company is concerned, the setting is there for users who want as much privacy as possible and it is up to them to enable it.

Still, everyone has to bear in mind that Project Spartan and Windows 10 are works in progress and future builds just might see the ‘Do Not Track’ option as enabled by default, either as a moral business move or due to backlash from users and privacy advocates. The browser’s very name is a work in progress but Spartan is already a very good name for a browser. Spartan evokes thoughts of both simplicity and power. Hopefully Microsoft manages to move away from its consistency with failures in nomenclature and keep the cool name—and keep Do Not Track enabled for guys like User A.

Open Source

Linux foundations

Flexibility for the end user

Stability

WIFI issues

Battery Life

Generally not running as well

Mitigating the situation

The release of Lollipop 5.1

Enhanced security

Dual Sim Support

HD Audio calls

What next?

HTC One M9

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

A look at the software

HTC One M9 Full Review:

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