Juno," "The Savages," and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" shared top category honors at the 2008 Film Independent's Spirit Awards, making the highly anticipated annual event into a celebration of the diverse films that captured the public's attention this year. "Once," "Crazy Love," "Talk to Me," "The Lookout," "August Evening," and "I'm Not There" also received awards at the event.

The 2008 Film Independent's Spirit Awards were held Saturday, February 23, in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The Spirit Awards is a celebration honoring films made by filmmakers who embody independence and who dare to challenge the status quo. This annual event, which began as a small grassroots program, has grown into one of the most anticipated events of the film year. As part of an organizational greening initiative, Film Independent implemented numerous changes to produce an eco-friendly awards show this year.

Semiconductor industry hits record sales of $255.6 billion

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported $255.6 billion in global semiconductor sales for 2007. Revenues were up 3.2% from $247.7 billion in 2006.The industry association said that major drivers for chip sales remained personal computers, mobile handsets, and consumer electronics. PC shipments were up 13.8%, cellphone shipments were up 20% and MP3/PMP player as well as digital camera shipments increased by about 20%, while LCD TVs gained about 50% in 2007, the SIA said.Memory devices, including DRAM and NAND flash, saw "strong pricing pressures" and average selling prices (ASPs) for both DRAMs and NAND flash declined. Total bit shipments for DRAMs nearly doubled in 2007, but total revenues declined by 7.4% due to a 39% decline in ASPs. NAND flash revenues were up 26% but unit shipments grew even faster at nearly 46%, the SIA said.

Business news in brief

A complete-response letter is issued when the FDA reviews a product and wants more information, agency spokeswoman Karen Riley said. Glaxo is seeking new sources of revenue as sales of its top-selling products slow or face competition from generic copies. - Bloomberg News Two Phila. residents charged in insurance case Pennsylvania's attorney general charged two Philadelphia residents with the operation of an illegal insurance-adjustment scheme involving more than $100,000 in false claims in the Harrisburg and Philadelphia areas. The defendants, Clarence Jackson, 40, and Jacqueline Cooper, 40, acted as intermediaries between property owners and insurance companies, allegedly enhancing property damage to inflate insurance claims and then forging signatures to pocket insurance payments. A grand jury heard testimony from 16 property owners whose claims resulted in unauthorized payments to Jackson and Cooper, the attorney general said.

Wednesday's total lunar eclipse may be a doozy

It's a good thing none of us are cavemen, or Wednesday night we might find ourselves on a panicked run for ironwood clubs and sharpened mastodon bones.

For early man, a blood-red sphere hanging in the sky was a scary thing, a message from an angry god.

How a Pro Thinks About Investing in New Markets

A good example is Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's largest bank, which has a price-to-earnings ratio in the high single digits. Management is reasonably good and improving; it's just that investors have become despondent with the domestic economy and the prospect for rising interest rates. But we see that as a cyclical setback, not a permanent one, so we're buying in now at a low valuation.

Every one of the target prices for the stocks we follow closely is dependent on currency changes. So big currency swings can change our holdings. Take Yamaha Motors, which we think is a great company; they make motorcycles, ATVs, and outboard motors. As the yen recently strengthened, we saw investors selling the stock on the expectation that it would impact overseas sales, which gave us an opportunity to add to our position.

Qtrax's Jackass Move, Mideast Net Blackout, VMware's Hangover

Egypt and India were hit with massive Internet and phone outages when undersea cables were severed just off the coast of Alexandria. The accident knocked out about 70 percent of Egypt's available bandwidth and cut international phone access by 30 percent. About half of India's capacity was knocked out, though it was able to reroute its traffic through a backup system.

Chipnuts Wins Two Big Awards at the EDN China Innovation Awards 2007

SHANGHAI, China, Nov. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Chipnuts announced today that it has won the "Consumer Electronics IC Product Excellence Award" for its C7280 Application Processor and the "Local Innovative Company Award" for its sustained technology leadership and innovative product offering. Both of these awards were presented to Chipnuts at the EDN China Innovation Awards 2007 ceremony and banquet held at Shenzhen Jinjiang Shenzhen Airlines Hotel on November 8th.

"Innovation" is the most popular buzzword in China's electronics industry. Further, electronic product design companies must be constantly aware of the latest technical developments and application trends in order to establish a position in the innovation-driven, intensely competitive landscape of the future. The "EDN China Technical Innovation Meeting" seeks to provide China's electronic design industry a platform for accessing and sharing information and, in so doing, hopes to become an important beacon for the direction of China's electronic industry development.