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Apple CEO and cancer survivor Steve Jobs is not keen on discussing speculation about who will replace him when the inevitable happens. This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company's board of directors have been discussing plans about who will take over the position that has been held by Jobs since the late 1990s, and perhaps the title that some will always bestow upon Jobs and Jobs alone, once the man is no longer able to hold the position himself. The Journal said it had credible information that the board has already been meeting with headhunters and "at least one head of a high-profile technology company." It said the discussions have been casual and gave no indication that Jobs's condition has recently worsened, however this is a rather new development. Even though the tech community is unanimous in understanding that the days are numbered for Jobs, very few have posited on who would replace him at the helm of the company he has embodied arguably more than any other company CEO has managed to do.

But before anything happens, as long as Jobs is still around and kicking - and presenting the newest iPads or iPods himself - he will always have the last word. And so he emailed the Wall Street Journal, saying of its story on his successor, "I think it is hogwash." Jobs has managed to defy the odds time and time again, so we're not sure what to think at this point. Every time we think he's down for the count, he pops back up and is at least able to maintain the impression of a man who is fully capable and as excited about Apple as ever. His day will come, but is it so soon that there's a need to pick a new CEO now?

The man who revolutionized the personal computer is putting his efforts — and foundation — to revolutionizing toilets. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he will dedicate $42 million towards reinventing the toilet.

Water hygiene and safe waste disposal are two of the biggest causes of infant mortality in the developing countries. Gates and his foundation hope to create inexpensive toilets to vastly improve the living conditions of millions of people. It may seem like a silly subject but it’s one that could save lives around the world.

“No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by invention of the toilet,” said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the president of the Global Development Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “But it did not go far enough. It only reached one-third of the world. What we need are new approaches. New ideas.”

The initiative was launched by Burwell on Tuesday in Kigali, Rwanda.

Part of the foundation’s plan is the Reinventing the Toilet Challenge, which funds research at eight universities around the world to develop a toilet that will turn waste into energy, clean water or nutrients. The solution must be a stand-alone unit without piped-in water, a sewer connection or outside electricity. The foundation partnered with USAID to fix water sanitation as part of the UN’s 2015 Millennium Development Goals.

Today, 40% of the world’s population does not have access to flush toilets. One billion people defecate in the open. Each year, 1.5 million children die each year from diarrhea, many of which are preventable with improved sanitation.

The foundation is prioritizing convenience and affordability in the solutions it considers. The toilets must be easy to install and cost no more than $0.05 a day to maintain.

Months after generating controversy with their union, 16-year-old Courtney and her actor husband, Doug Hutchison, share pictures from their Las Vegas wedding.

After offering their side of the story, teen bride Courtney Alexis Stodden and her husband, Doug Hutchison, are giving the world a look at their wedding through a series of pictures. Coming out via E! News, the photos capture moments from their Las Vegas ceremony back in May.


One of the shots displays Courtney holding hands with Doug before who seems to be Reverend Douglas Gilbert, while another one sees the 51-year-old "Lost" actor carrying his 16-year-old wife. In one other photo, the newlyweds are snapped locking lips near Chapel of the Flowers sign. Other images share private pictures of the two in their home.

Less than a week after their "Good Morning America" interview, Courtney and Doug made an appearance on the "Father Albert Show". Speaking about their controversial union, Doug tells host Albert Cutie, "God connects us. When you meet that someone you love, there's something inside that's leading you towards that person."

HTC, one of the most innovative and fastest growing smartphone manufacturers in the world today, recently unveiled a new phone built entirely to be social, combining the simplicity and ease-of-use of HTC Sense with the power and connectivity of Facebook. Having debuted globally at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain earlier this year, the HTC ChaCha features a dedicated Facebook button for one-touch access to the key functions of the Facebook service that are integrated throughout the HTC Sense experience. The new HTC ChaCha offers a new unique way to experience Facebook on a mobile device to communicate with your circle of friends on a brand new level, said Lennard Hoornik, president of HTC South Asia Pacific. With more than 500 million active users worldwide, Facebook has become synonymous with the social Web and we wanted to create the ultimate socially connected phones with mass market appeal, he added. We have worked closely with HTC for several years on bringing Facebook to their devices and HTC ChaCha is the next stage, said Henri Moissinac, head of mobile business for Facebook.

HTC has brought Facebook to the new device in an innovative way enabling people to connect and share easily whenever they want, wherever they are, Moissinac added. The Facebook button on the HTC ChaCha is context-aware, gently pulsing with light whenever there is an opportunity to share content or updates through Facebook. One can take a photograph of friends on their phone and upload it instantly to Facebook by simply pressing the button. Or they can let friends know what song they're listening to by pressing the button while listening to music on the phone. The new device features the latest version of Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 and uses the latest iteration of HTC Sense to integrate Facebook throughout the HTC Sense experience.
When users make a phone call, the dialer screen displays their friend's latest status and photos, and even reminds them if their friend's birthday is approaching. The same updates are also displayed when users receive a call from a Facebook friend. They can also use their phone's existing contacts to help them connect with friends on Facebook or personalize their handset further with a number of new, Facebook-branded widgets. The HTC ChaCha also boasts Facebook Chat and Messages applications. Facebook messages and conversations are integrated within the phone and appear within the text and email inboxes alongside one's regular conversations.

It's been all about pool parties and bikinis for Katie Holmes this summer! And there's nothing wrong with that—sounds like a pretty fabulous time to us.

But with every snapshot of this bathing-suit-clad babe, the buzz has been building about how thin Katie's been appearing...

This weekend, while hubby Tom Cruise was busy filming Rock of Ages, the 32-year-old actress stripped down into a skimpy black bikini before hopping into a Miami Beach hotel pool with 6-year-old Suri—and revealing a whole lot of, er, ribcage in the process.

Maybe Katie was just sucking in for a second or flexing her abs?

Google has unveiled an incremental release of the Android platform featuring optimizations for a wider range of tablets and a compatibility enhancement for fixed-size applications.


Android 3.2, which starting becoming available on Motorola Xoom devices last week, offers refinements to ensure a greater user experience on more tablets, said Xavier Ducrohet, Android SDK lead. A new compatibility display mode in version 3.2 gives users a way to view fixed-size applications on larger devices. "The mode provides a pixel-scaled alternative to the standard UI stretching, for apps that are not designed to run on larger screen sizes,"

Version 3.2 also offers an extended screen support API. "For developers who want more precise control over their UI across the range of Android-powered devices, the platform's screen support API is extended with new resource qualifiers and manifest attributes, to also allow targeting screens by their dimensions," Ducrohet said.

On today’s ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ it was all about the best and worst things you can do. During the first segment on the television show, Doctor Mehmet Oz shared what he thought was the best and worst ways a person could go about losing weight.

Doctor Oz said that the best day of the week to start a weight loss program is on Saturday, while the worst day is on a Monday. The most beneficial aisle at the grocery store that will help you lose the pounds is the produce section, while the worst is the checkout stand because of candy temptations. Doctor Oz explained that eating at the dining room offers the best weight loss strategy, while eating in the kitchen can sabotage your dieting because you will be tempted to go back for seconds. Doctor Oz shared a list of the best and worst things you can do to lose weight.

Diet Pills

Worst – – Ephedrine or phed is the worst diet pill said Dr. Oz. He explained that it is very dangerous because the heart can get damaged. The diet pill causes the heart to pump faster and can increase blood pressure. This extra strain on the heart could rip holes in the arteries, which could cause sudden strokes said Dr. Oz.

Best – Glucomannan is a supplement that is also a natural thickening agent. Doctor Oz said this is the best diet pill because it has a lot of fiber and swells up in the stomach. He said that when you take the pill, you should make sure to drink it with a lot of water. Glucomannan comes from a root and cost around $10 for the diet pill supplement.

Exercise

Worst – Sit-ups are the worst exercise to do because he said most people do not do them correctly. The stomach muscles are important to keep toned, but he suggested that a person should do a plank exercise so no injury will happen to the neck.

Best – Doctor Oz pick for the best exercise is to do lunge exercises because it works more muscles and burns more calories than sit-ups do. He demonstrated a front lunge and explained that the knees should not overextend past the toes. Doctor Oz added that these lunges do not cost any money to do. There is no exercise equipment needed to do lunges.

Snacks

Worst – Eating anything that is a bar is bad for weight loss explained Dr. Oz. The reason, he said, is that people may think that what they are eating is good for them. He said that a granola bar can contain sugar alcohols that will cause bloating. There can also be added sugar as well.

Best – Doctor Oz recommends eating Inca peanuts, which are grown in the Andes Mountain in Peru. The reason he recommends this particular nut is that they have both ample amounts of Omega 3 and Vitamin E, which are both good for the heart. Only one ounce has 5 grams of fiber. Dr. Oz said that there is 3 times more omega 3 than what is found in walnuts. He said that Sacha Inca Nuts are usually sold at health food stores.


Metabolism Boosters

Worst – Energy drinks are not good because they cause a temporary boost that does not last. The beverages usually have either caffeine or sugar.

Best – Doctor Oz said that cayenne pepper has been proven to burn fat.

The social networking world may be getting even more interesting. Microsoft confirmed that it accidentally leaked an image of its own social networking platform. Called "Tulalip," the site is designed to enable users to "find what you need and share what you know easier than ever," according to the image of its home page. Judging from the one page, users would be able to sign in to the site using their Facebook or Twitter accounts. If Microsoft is getting ready to release some kind of social network, at least two industry analysts said it looks like they're arriving at the social networking dance a little late.

In an email to Computerworld, a Microsoft spokeswoman wrote, "Socl.com is an internal design project from one of Microsoft's research teams which was mistakenly published to the web. The spokeswoman did not say whether the company is going to launch either a social network or a social search site associated with its Bing search engine. Socl.com is an internal design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published to the web. This development comes on the heels of Microsoft competitor Google's unveiling of its own social network, Google+, two weeks ago. Late Thursday, Google CEO Larry page announced that the company's fledgling site, which is still in field trials, already has gained more than 10 million users.

A direct challenger of Facebook, Google+ is stirring up the social networking world with its quickly found momentum. Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said, "It looks like Microsoft is worried that Google is going to suck all the remaining oxygen out of the social networking room." Microsoft And Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with Yankee Group, said, "It's a bit of monkey see, monkey do for Microsoft here." He also noted that he's not surprised to hear that Microsoft is cooking up its own social network or social search site. They might come out with an interesting take on social, but again, it may be too late."

We knew that Marvel had been planning to release a trailer for The Avengers, and assumed that it would play this weekend in front of Captain America: The First Avenger. It just makes sense, after all the word “Avenger” is in the title. In fact there had been reports that it may be shown at the very end of the movie, in the closing credits, which begs the question… what is this?

The following video has popped up all over YouTube tonight. It appears to be some sort of leaked version of The Avengers trailer, but since Captain America hasn’t been released yet and The Avengers trailer definitely hasn’t, you have to wonder where the heck it came from. There were a handful of special Cap press screenings held in LA today, but our own Eric Eisenberg was there and reported back that the post-credits footage wasn't shown to the press. Even if it were, those are usually so heavily policed it’s hard to imagine would be dumb enough to try and recording anything in those, much less get away with it.

So with all that said, we’re not quite sure what this is, or where it came from. It may be The Avengers trailer set to be shown after Captain America this weekend… which may mean it’s a spoiler and you shouldn’t watch it. But… maybe not. So here’s a warning…

WARNING! The following may be a Captain America: The First Avenger spoiler. Click play at your own risk.

Beyond the eclectic nature of its speakers, the conference is unusual in many ways and has become something of a cult for its followers - appropriately known as TEDsters. There is both a big and little TED. Delegates love the coolness of the event; to borrow from a well-known beer commercial - if Apple did conferences it would probably be something very like TED. Those three subjects make up the acronym TED but these days the talks are much wider. Nadia Al-Sakkaf, editor-in-chief of the Yemen Times, gave a moving speech about her desire for a democratic Yemen. Philip Blond, architect of the Big Society idea talked about how society was broken, although there was little insight into how his big idea was going to fix it.

Meanwhile philosopher Alain de Botton talked about the need for religion 2.0 - with one particularly enthusiastic Tedster suggesting later that TED itself could be the new church. This mix of intellect and emotion seems to be a defining feature of TED, which also offers its high-powered, wealthy audience a range of social and cultural distractions, including this year a launch party at Edinburgh Castle. Where other conferences offer Delegates a feedback form, TED invites the audience to select a badge that most reflects their mood. The badges are housed in plastic tubes and at the end of the week TED will assess which was the most popular. TED began life as an elitist club for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs until it was bought by British publisher Chris Anderson in 2001 and turned into a nonprofit organisation dedicated to ideas worth spreading.

He angered some TED purists by agreeing to post videos of all the speakers online for free after the conference. It has opened the event out to a much wider audience and has spawned TEDx, localised independent conferences set up by volunteers around the world. This summer TED is also pondering how it can spread its ideas in schools and an announcement on TED ED is due in the autumn. Cutting-edge tech remains at the heart of TED. Rezero, as it is known, is part of a family of ballbot robots whose design offers a range of real world applications, from guides around museums to intelligent trolleys in hospitals.

Ennis House was originally put on the market in 2009 for $15m but the sale price was later lowered. The building needs substantial restoration work.

It was bought by supermarket tycoon Ron Burkle who will continue renovating it, the building's sellers announced.

Built in 1924, the house overlooks Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.

It has featured in several films including Blade Runner, House on Haunted Hill and Grand Canyon.

But the house was severely damaged after a 1994 earthquake and during record rainfall in 2005 and it has also suffered from delayed maintenance, the Ennis House Foundation said in a statement on its website.

"Mr. Burkle has a track record of preserving important historic homes, and we know he'll be an excellent steward of the Ennis House," the statement said.

'Textile block' icon
The foundation estimates it has already spent $6.5m on repairs for the house.

When the house was first put up for sale the foundation estimated that it would need up to $7m of renovations to return the house to its original state.

At about 6,200 sq ft (576 sq m), it is the largest of Frank Lloyd Wright's four Los-Angeles "textile block" houses.

These experimental houses are made up of patterned and perforated concrete blocks, which lend them a unique textual appearance - Ennis House was constructed from more than 27,000 concrete blocks.

It was originally built for the men's clothing chain owners Charles and Mabel Ennis but it has changed hands several times since then.

It is unclear exactly what the new owner plans to do with the house. But the Ennis House Foundation said that Mr Burkle will provide public access to the house for a minimum of 12 days each year.

A spokesman for the foundation says it expects Mr Burkle will use the house for fundraising and other events, the Associated Press news agency reports.