Apple settles iPod class-action suit in Canada, todays news..

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. has agreed to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits in Canada alleging it misled customers about the staying power of their iPods, the latest courtroom truce over the dwindling battery life of early generations of the device.
According to a court document, the Cupertino-based company is offering credits for its online store of about $44.75 (€29) to people who live in Canada and bought certain iPods there on or before June 24, 2004.
To be eligible, the battery life of their iPods—while continuously playing music—needs to have dropped to five hours or less for the first and second generation of the device and four hours or less for the third generation.
The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuits—iPod owners Ines Lenzi and Bradley Waddell—claimed Apple misrepresented iPods’ battery life by claiming they were capable of eight to 10 hours of continual music playback. After recharging, however, the iPods’ battery life began declining.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the notice of the settlement agreement Apple posted on its Web site.
Motions to approve the settlement are scheduled for June 11 in Quebec Superior Court and June 20 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the two courts where the lawsuits were filed.
In 2005, the company settled a separate class-action lawsuit in the US over similar claims about iPod battery life. In that case, Apple agreed to give some iPod owners $50 in store credit or $25 in cash if the battery life in their early-generation iPods dropped below certain levels.

source: AP/gmanews.tv

Fire in Pacquiao’s eyes, todays featured articles.

His cheekbones now more prominent and dressed in a fancy jacket moments after working out at the Wild Card on Tuesday afternoon, Pacquiao said that he can’t wait to get his hands on Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15."I have no fear," said Pacquiao, who goes after Marquez’s World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight crown at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
"I am excited to finish the unfinished business," the 29-year-old Filipino hotshot said, referring to the score he is looking forward to settle with Marquez, the 34-year-old counter-puncher who battled him to a split draw in May 2004.
Pacquiao is so juiced up for the Marquez rematch that he made good on his promise to train at the Wild Card for eight solid weeks under Freddie Roach instead of just asking Roach to hop in a plane and meet up with him in the Philippines for training camp.
"I am trying hard to rekindle my thirst (for winning) just like I was starting my career," said Pacquiao, whose stock took a nosedive following unimpressive victories over Mexicans Jorge Solis and Marco Antonio Barrera in 2007.
In his almost-daily training at the gym — most especially during sparring days — Pacquiao would not wait for the buzzer to sound signaling the resumption of action as he would walk towards his sparmates’ corner so they could go at it again right away.
While most of his sparring partners are still being attended to by their cornermen during the rest period, Pacquiao would already position himself near the opposite corner just like what happened when he banged bodies with Juan Garcia of Arizona, said to be a clone of Marquez."Everything is good," Pacquiao said shortly before a gym barker requested that there be silence for one minute.
One could hear a pin drop at the gym and Pacquiao took the opportunity to say a little prayer in the far-end corner where Roach gives out instructions as everyone inside either stopped chatting or joined the fighter in contemplation.
Pacquiao’s training lasted two and a half hours with the only time he was not exerting effort was when he would go from one area to another and it came on the eve of an open workout scheduled Wednesday with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and representatives from various media outlets expected to gather there.
"This is the toughest training camp I’ve been," added Pacquiao before getting inside his Mercedes Benz 550SL which has a special spot in the parking area en route to his two-bedroom apartment at The Palazzo in La Brea, a mere 10-minute drive from the Wild Card.

NOTES: Freddie Roach left the gym while Manny Pacquiao was already doing his stretching as he had to go to Pasadena to train Bernard Hopkins…Top fight scribe Steve Kim of mamboing.com, a regular at the Wild Card where he also works out, said he’s never seen Pacquiao so pumped up for a fight.
"The last time I saw him this focused was during the first Barrera fight," said Kim…Pacquiao adviser Mike Koncz said the fighter will go to Las Vegas by land on Monday. "Manny’s always superstitious about a lot of things." Top Rank head Bob Arum has offered a private plane.

source: Nick Giongco

88DB to hold RP’s first online Battle of the Bands

88DB.com, a multimedia service portal and lifestyle network, takes the power of the worldwide web and hosts a revolutionary online battle of the bands to support the upcoming rockers and spot the next big name in music.
The 88DB First Online Battle of the Bands revolutionizes the way band competitions in the country are held. Amateur and upstart bands with no prior recording deal will go head to head via an online voting system at the 88DB.com website (www.88DB.com.ph.) Genuine music lovers and fans of good old rock n’ roll can check out each band’s ad profile and performance samples and vote by logging on to the site.
The contest is open to all amateur bands based in Metro Manila. Band members should be at least 16 years old to be able to qualify in the contest. To register, bands must create profiles with their complete and verified details, which include the band name, the members’ names and contact info and a short background of the band. They also need to upload at least three pictures of their members and two embedded videos of studio or gig performances from video streaming websites.
These online video productions will be hosted by 88DB.com.ph for the Internet voting. Fans and friends can register, log on, view the pod casts and enter their pick. The top 15 bands with the most number of votes by March 31, 2008 will move on to the finals and rough it out again with their scores back to zero.
This time, the emerging top three, who will be determined with the most votes by April 15, will get to perform live with hot newcomers Taken By Cars, hip hop and jazz it group Sinosikat and Philippine rock legend The Dawn on April 18, 2008 at Tiendesitas, Pasig City!First placers will take home P10,000, second placers get P8,000 and third placers will receive P6,000! Registration starts on February 1, 2008 and ends March 14, 2008.