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Who would have thought that the most interesting thing to come out of Apple's "Spring Forward" event would actually be a new laptop? In addition to spilling more details on its new smartwatch, the company also unveiled a brand-new (and long-awaited) ...

Now that Mobile World Congress has come and gone, bringing with it a slew of smartwatch announcements, it's time to learn more about Apple's own highly anticipated entry into the market. We finally have a firm release date and a price -- April 24, st...

<a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=8496&bandname=The+Gentle+Storm>The Gentle Storm</a>, which merges the talents of Arjen Lucassen (<a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=304&bandname=Ayreon>Ayreon</a>, <a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=305&bandname=Star+One>Star One</a>, <a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=4161&bandname=Guilt+Machine>Guilt Machine</a>) and Anneke van Giersbergen (<a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=187&bandname=The+Gathering>The Gathering</a>, <a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=87&bandname=Devin+Townsend>Devin Townsend</a>) just revealed the gentle version of the track 'Shores Of India" just now. The song will appear on the upcoming debut album <i>The Diary</i> that hits stores two weeks from now. So, you get to enjoy a different side of the album, which features two different versions of the songs: the acoustic (gentle) and the heavy (storm) version. Do you like what you hear? <a href="/events/news_comments.php?news_id=25935>Read more...</a>

Former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy, who is currently touring Europe with THE NEAL MORSE BAND, has apologized for blasting the staff at the Whittington Hospital in London, England for allegedly refusing to see him quickly enough so that he could make it in time to the Islington Assembly Hall, where the group was scheduled to perform Saturday night (March 7). Said Portnoy in a post on his Facebook page: "I'd just like to apologize to anybody I offended with [Saturday's] post… It was not a personal attack or rage against England's health care system in general (of which I know nothing about)… [Saturday] I was the sickest I've EVER been in my life. "The paramedics came to see me at the gig and then decided to take me to the emergency room, only for the ambulance to run out of gas and I was then driven to the hospital by a very kind fan who offered to help. Neal and I calmly waited in the A&E [Accident & Emergency] without any indication from any of the staff of when I would be seen. I did NOT expect any special treatment or wanted to be put ahead of anybody else in need (as I have been so wrongly accused)… We only wanted some (ANY!) answers as the clock was ticking until showtime... "At 7:45, I had to make the decision to continue to wait and cancel the show… or leave without being seen in order to make the 8 p.m. show. I desperately did NOT want to disappoint the fans and made the decision to leave in order to make the show. I played the show in the worst physical condition of my life. "I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating this experience was and I stupidly posted about it on my social media. "I am shocked and appalled at some of the rude and downright nasty comments that have been posted in the wake of this… really, 10 [times] worse than my post. It's sad to see such hatred… but whatever, I can suck it up and take it. I surely never meant for such attention and controversy. "Thank you to everybody that cared and sent me well wishes and prayers… The positive vibes will help me on the road to recovery. "In any case, I really need to crawl back in my bunk, get off the Internet to try and recuperate... but I wanted to address this issue and explain what happened and apologize to whomever I offended." THE NEAL MORSE BAND leader Neal Morse offered his own version of what happened the night of the London concert. He wrote: "Regarding [Saturday] night in London, the paramedics came around 6:00 and THEY said Mike should go to the hospital, loaded him in the ambulance (I got in with him). They ran vitals. Then, after some time, the driver said they were too low on fuel and suggested alternate transport. Shocked and in a bit of a panic, I ran into the venue and asked if anyone had a car. We got a ride from a very kind fan and it took us 30 minutes because of traffic that the ambulance probably could've avoided. It was now about 7:15 and we were supposed to go on around 8:00. The women at emergency told us to sit and wait though we gave them the ambulance papers and told them the situation. No one would tell us anything about how long it might take or any info at all. I did most of the talking as Mike was pretty out of it. No one made a scene at all. We were all very polite to one another. So we waited... Not sure what to do, at around 7:45, I went back where it said no admittance and found a nurse who kindly looked him up in the computer to see where he was in the queue and said he wouldn't be seen for quite awhile and there was no way to change that. So, Mike opted to go back and do the gig untreated. That's what happened as best I can tell it. "My only comment is that Mike was never rude to anyone at all during the whole process. This is being blown way out of proportion. There was no rage at all. The fact that he did the gig as well as he did is a testimony to what a workhorse kind of guy he is! I had the same thing and went to the doctor (I've never been to the doctor on tour in my life!) in Zurich 2 days before and I can tell you it's nasty. "Anyway, I just wanted everyone to know how it all went down." According to the National Health Service (NHS) web site, the Whittington Hospital is part of Whittington Health, an NHS organization that provides hospital and community services to 500,000 people living in Islington and Haringey as well as other London boroughs, including Barnet, Enfield and Camden. The National Health Service is a completely public "socialized medicine" system. The Business Insider reported in January 2015 that "NHS just released its most recent stats on accident and emergency room waiting times. The headline number is that 84% of patients are seen within four hours. In the UK, this is regarded as a huge failure — the standard the NHS is supposed to meet is 95% of patients in four hours." Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER 30 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI). Portnoy later revealed that he tried to rejoin DREAM THEATER, only to be rebuffed.

Testing times in store for test suites

Asgard's Lady Sif returns to Marvel's Agents of SHIELD this Tuesday for the episode "Who You Really Are," but this time there's a catch. As with her last appearance, she's down on Earth tracking an enemy, but by the time Coulson and his agents find her, her memory's been wiped. That's right. The mighty warrior Sif's got amnesia.

I spoke to actress Jaimie Alexander about her return to SHIELD, playing Sif as an amnesiac, the state of the Asgardian throne, and more.

IGN: What was it like coming back to SHIELD as Sif, but then having her not know anyone?

Jaime Alexander: It was very comical actually. Definitely comical in the beginning. You know, I was just so happy to come back. I always enjoy playing Sif but I also love working with everyone over at Agents of SHIELD, cast and crew. Just everyone. They're just great people. And they have such a good time doing what they're doing. It's not work for them, which is so wonderful. It's play. They love to play. They play pranks on each other and do all sorts of funny things. It was just a great experience the first time that, you know, when they called and asked me to do it again, I said "Yeah, let's just do it. Let's have fun with it." Especially this time around, because Sif has amnesia. So there are some very funny moments. But there are also some sadder moments later on when she doesn't remember some things that Coulson was hoping she'd remember.

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Blueprint for the future

Selfie sticks, the logical "extension" of an already irksome activity, were recently banned in Premier League soccer stadiums. Now museums around the world are starting to do the same over worries of accidental damage to artwork. The Smithsonian barr...

My first impression of the Powers set is appropriately that it's powerful. The PlayStation Network original series, debuting March 10th, films in a massive space that allows for standing sets so sprawling you can get lost in them. And I did briefly lose my way during a visit at the end of last year. It's a fitting setting for a world where super powers are a common occurrence and part of everyday life. The series, based on the comic books of the same name created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming, centers on Detective Christian Walker (Sharlto Copley). He used to be a Power, specifically a hero known as Diamond. But he lost his powers and now works in the Los Angeles Powers Division investigating crimes committed by Powers.

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As every nerd and their barber probably knows by now, Jared Leto cut off his long hair and shaved his Biblical beard this week in preparation for playing Joker in the Suicide Squad movie.

But, oh, that's not all he did to his locks. He also bleached them blond as revealed by these new photos posted to the Oscar winner's Instagram:

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Following his plane crash in Venice, Calif., on Friday, it's quite possible Harrison Ford will not be allowed to pilot planes while he's also working on movies.

Insurance execs and risk management consultants speaking with the Los Angeles Times claim it's quite probable that movie insurers will stipulate that Ford -- who suffered injuries when the vintage plane he was flying alone crash-landed on a golf course -- not be allowed to fly planes while also in production on a film.

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If you recently installed or updated uTorrent on your PC, you may have have picked up an unwanted passenger: a bitcoin miner called Epic Scale. If you don't pay attention, that piece of code can be inadvertently installed with the latest uTorrent bui...

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Arno Burgi/DPA Germany A driver in Finland has been fined a staggering €54,000 (£39,225) after being caught driving at 103 kph (64mph) in a 80kph (50mph) zone. continue reading

File under: Latest News

David Davies/PA WIRE Spanish F1 driver Fernando Alonso showed worrying signs of memory loss after his high-speed crash during pre-season testing in Barcelona in February. continue reading

Actor Harrison Ford (Blade Runner, Indiana Jones, Star Wars -- seriously, it's Harrison Ford) reportedly suffered "moderate injuries" after the PT-22 he was flying (presumably with special modifications) crash-landed at a Los Angeles golf course this...

<a href="/events/news_comments.php?news_id=25769">Last month</a>, <a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=60&bandname=Iron+Maiden>Iron Maiden</a> shocked fans by announcing that their legendary frontman Bruce Dickinson underwent chemotherapy and radiology to treat a cancerous tumor at the back of his tongue. Now the group's manager Rod Smallwood has released an update. According to Smallwood, Bruce is on the road to recovery and everyone remains optimistic. <a href=/bands/band.php?band_id=60&bandname=Iron+Maiden>Iron Maiden</a>'s plans will be determined by Bruce's progress. Recently, the heavy metallers drummer Nicko McBrain <a href="http://www.gaterrocks.com/onair/andy-preston-4515/video-nicko-mcbrain-gives-an-update-13294547/">confirmed in an interview</a> that the band's new album is ready but the launch has been delayed while Bruce Dickinson recovers. <a href="/events/news_comments.php?news_id=25911>Read more...</a>

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(photo via AlexanderBlum)

According to a recent press post on the official website, motion tracking developer SIXENSE has teamed up with Valve to make the company’s newest motion controller, STEM, compatible with Steam integration. The company has been demoing the device at GDC 2015, and many outlets – Like The Verge, Gizmodo, and Pocket Gamer -- all over the web can’t stop talking about it.

This device was previously licensed and paired with the Razer Hydra, however, the newest edition of the motion controller is now wireless and will be integrated within Steam to allow compatibility with games like Portal, and all the other titles that have supported the Razer Hydra up to this point.

Check out a demo of their controller's power below.

For more information about STEM check out the official SIXENSE website.

You no longer have to fiddle with your smartphone (or an in-car interface) to share your location while on the road. Glympse has trotted out Glympse for Auto, an Android app that lets you send your position with a minimum of distractions. You only ha...

Remember way back in 2009? Times were simpler then: Pittsburgh's Steelers were Super Bowl champions; Tiger Woods was caught having an affair; and I was playing a lot of Rock Band. You probably were too. Many millions of you were, anyway, and the plas...