Australia Parliament investigating why Apple?s digital goods cost more down under

The standing committee on infrastructure and communications in the Australian House of Representatives will be launching an investigation into why digital goods (such as iTunes music and iBooks) are priced so much more highly in Australia than elsewhere in the world. Traditionally, shipping costs drove prices up for physical goods, but for electronic files you're downloading, there's really no good reason for such a price disparity.

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One World Trade Center Becomes the Tallest Building In New York Today [Architecture]

After six years of construction, One World Trade Center will surpass the 1250-foot Empire State Building as the tallest in New York this afternoon. When construction is finished, the final height of the building will be 1368 feet, with the antenna spire pushing the edifice to the patriotic height of 1776 feet. [NY Daily News] More »

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Fun. Ready To Burn Bright At MTV Movie Awards

'It's an opportunity to have a performance that will be talked about forever,' band says of taking the Movie Awards stage on June 3.
By James Montgomery

Nate Ruess of fun.
Photo: Getty Images

Given that Fun. are the first musical act announced for the 2012 MTV Movie Awards, you'd think they'd be privy to all sorts of insider info on the big show, like potential hosts, nominees, etc. But, you'd be wrong. Turns out, they're just as much in the dark as the rest of us.

"We haven't heard anything. Who's going to be there?" frontman Andrew Ruess laughed. "Jackie Chan? Jon Bon Jovi? They better be there, for sure."

Sadly, we can't vouch for either gentleman's availability on June 3, when the Movie Awards air live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. But we can tell you that the guys in Fun. are planning on making the most of their time on stage, by going big with their performance of chart-topping smash "We Are Young."

"It's one of the most flattering things that's happened to us on this rollercoaster ride of this song and this album, because I just remember watching all those award shows — like the Video Music Awards and Movie Awards — and you always wonder like how they're doing it, what their big reveal is going to be, all those other type of things," Ruess said. "We've had meetings about how our set's going to be and what it's going to look like, and it's so exciting. It's so exciting how much effort MTV puts into this show, like, we have to show up and play the song, but they build this whole entire world around us, and it's so amazing."

"It's also an opportunity to have a performance that will be talked about forever," guitarist Jack Antonoff added. "Like, I still talk about [the 2000 VMAs], when Eminem had the thousand people dressed like him, or when Smashing Pumpkins did 'Tonight, Tonight' [at the '96 VMAs] ... these are moments that, for us, growing up, last forever, and if we could pull off something like that, it would be amazing."

And as if being tapped to perform at the 2012 Movie Awards wasn't already a big enough deal for the band, there's also the fact that they've got previous MTV awards-show experience ... though, to be fair, this will be the first time they've actually been invited to attend.

"I went to the Video Music Awards when I was 14. My friend from camp had a friend who had a dad who was involved, and we sat near Rebecca Lobo and the Spice Girls," Antonoff said. "It was the year that Fiona Apple gave the big speech, which, in hindsight, was pretty inspiring. My mind was blown, and I thought 'This is just filled with famous people, and somehow I'm in the middle of it.' So, to be able to go back to an MTV awards show — not through a friend of a friend who has a dad who works at Viacom — but to actually be invited, is an honor."

The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: biophotovoltaic table, giant rubber ducky and cushions of shredded cash

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Buon giorno! Milan Design Week 2012 is in the rear-view mirror now, but we're still sifting through the incredible furniture, lighting and technology that was showcased all throughout the city this year. Inhabitat sent a couple of correspondents to report on everything that was on display, and they didn't disappoint. We featured a nifty biophotovoltaic table that uses moss to generate electricity through photosynthesis. We also caught wind of a digital camera that IKEA unveiled in Milan that's made of cardboard. And given our love for terrariums, we were pretty excited to find this pendant lamp that doubles as a vegetable garden at this year's fair. But the star of the Milan show this year had to be British designer Tom Dixon, who rolled out countless innovative lamp designs, including the gorgeous Etch Light, which casts geometric shadows all over the room -- and he even invited visitors to design their own flat-pack lamps!

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: biophotovoltaic table, giant rubber ducky and cushions of shredded cash

Inhabitat's Week in Green: biophotovoltaic table, giant rubber ducky and cushions of shredded cash originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Explanation of the Multiverse Is a Heavy But Delicious Sunday Brunch [Video]

Here's a TED talk you must watch: Brian Greene explains why there is a multiverse, the theory that we live in one of many different universes. All to answer this question: Why do we humans find ourselves existing in our universe? More »

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Would You Rather Date Hugh Grant or John Cusack?

We're used to swooning over Hollywood's young, chiseled hotties, but let's not forget the original romantic-comedy hunks! This weekend, two of our favorite lovey-dovey heroes are back in the box office -- Hugh Grant lends his voice to The Pirates! Band of Misfits, while John Cusack shows his dark side in The Raven.

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Video: Living with Arizona's immigration law (cbsnews)

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Hang Out with NFL Draft Picks on Google+ Because That's Not Awkward [Google+]

Like the horror movie villain that never dies, Google+ Hangouts is still somehow finding a way to slither into our collective mind even after we've forgotten about it. This time, the expected top two NFL picks in this year's draft, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, will host Google+ Hangouts on their teams page. More »

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Jony Ive Prize, Beer Here, and Other Stories We Didn't Post [Video]

So much news passes before our collective eyes every day that we couldn't possibly cover it all. Mostly because much of it isn't worth covering! But here are a some borderline tidbits we passed on, just in case. More »

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