Steve Jobs Film Coming in April

jOBS, the independent film about former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, will arrive in theaters in April, the movie's distributors announced Thursday.
The film -- not to be confused with the one Sony Pictures is creating based on Walter Isaacson's biography of the late tech luminary -- will star Ashton Kutcher as Jobs and is still slated to premiere this month on the closing night of the Sundance Film Festival.
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Along with the April release date, distributors Open Road Films and Five Star Feature Films released this deeper synopsis of the jOBS on Thursday:
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, written by Matthew Whitely, shot by Oscar- winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter and produced by Mark Hulme, jOBS details the major moments and defining characters that influenced Steve Jobs on a daily basis from 1971 through 2000. jOBS plunges into the depths of his character, creating an intense dialogue-driven story that is as much a sweeping epic as it is an immensely personal portrait of Steve Jobs' life. The filmmakers were granted unprecedented access during shooting to the historic garage in Palo Alto, that served as the birthplace to Apple Inc.
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The Sundance Institute shared the jOBS promo image (above) in December. It is a play on this photograph of Jobs on desk during his early Apple days.
Jobs died from pancreatic cancer in October 2011.
Mark Hulme of Five Star describes Kutcher's performance as "inspiring and unforgettable."
Kutcher, who stars in CBS's Two and a Half Men, previously played roles on Fox'sThat '70s Show and in films such as The Butterfly Effect, No Strings Attached, Valentine's Day and Dude, Where's My Car?
SEE ALSO: How Ashton Kutcher Will Look as Steve Jobs in Forthcoming Biopic
jOBS also stars Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons and Matthew Modine. Inferno Entertainment is handling international sales on jOBS.
Steve Jobs demos Apple Macintosh, 1984

Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh to the world. Computing would never be the same.
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This Is What the OUYA Kickstarter Console Looks Like

The OUYA, the $99 Android console, is indeed smaller than a soda can.
Click here to view this gallery.
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The $99 hackable Android-based gaming console OUYA is fulfilling its orders for Kickstarter backers by sending the first units out to developers. Backers began receiving their OUYA consoles as early as last Friday.
According to the OUYA blog, 1,200 consoles have been sent out to developers. While these aren't the final run of the OUYA that consumers will receive, they have enough pieces to get developers started making games for the console. Developers receive a rooted console, along with two transparent, prototype controllers specially designed for the console.
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The OUYA raised more than $8 million on Kickstarter last summer, promising to open the television to all developers by including an SDK with every console and encouraging users to hack the system.
While questions were raised about whether the OUYA would be able to deliver on time to its Kickstarter backers, releasing the developer unit and API by the end of December met the promise listed on the Kickstarter page.
Game creator Dave Schrader gave Mashable pictures of his developer unit that he received Monday. You can check them out in the gallery above.
Are you excited about or skeptical of the OUYA? Let us know in the comments.

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Google escapes antitrust suit as FTC ends its investigation into alleged ‘patent abuse’

Good news for Google (GOOG): It will at least avoid an antitrust lawsuit in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday formally concluded its investigation into whether Google allegedly abused the patents that it acquired in the Motorola deal to block rival products over technologies that have become industry standards. Google did have to make some key concessions to end the investigation, including giving its competitors access to its FRAND patents, giving “online advertisers more flexibility to simultaneously manage ad campaigns on Google’s AdWords platform and on rival ad platforms,” and refraining “from misappropriating online content from so-called ‘vertical’ websites that focus on specific categories such as shopping or travel for use in its own vertical offerings.” Ending the investigation with only offering voluntary concessions represents a major victory for a company that earlier this year seemed to be headed for an antitrust lawsuit much like the one filed against Microsoft (MSFT) back in 1998.

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FTC ends long Google probe with mild reprimand

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators on Thursday closed a long-running investigation of Google with a relatively mild agreement that is likely to disappoint rivals and critics of the Web search giant.
Under the agreement, Google agreed to end the practice of "scraping" reviews and other data from rivals' websites for its own products, and to allow advertisers to export data to independently evaluate advertising campaigns, the Federal Trade Commission said.
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said Google also agreed to license standard patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

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It's 'cash only' now for tourists at the Vatican

VATICAN CITY (AP) — It's "cash only" now for tourists at the Vatican wanting to pay for museum tickets, souvenirs and other services after Italy's central bank decided to block electronic payments, including credit cards, at the tiny city-state.
Deutsche Bank Italia, which for some 15 years had provided the Vatican with electronic payment services, said Thursday that the Bank of Italy had pulled its authorization after Dec. 31.
The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that the Italian central bank took the action because the Holy See has not yet fully complied with European Union safeguards against money laundering. That means Italian banks are not authorized to operate within the Vatican, which is in the process of improving its mechanisms to combat laundering.
The Vatican says it is scrambling to solve the problem for thousands of visitors who flock to its very popular Vatican Museums, which include highlights like the Sistine Chapel. The Holy See had no immediate comment on the Bank of Italy's reported reasons.
Tourists in the long lines Thursday that snaked around Vatican City walls were not happy about the inconvenience.
"It's certainly a disadvantage," said Giuseppe Amoruso, an Italian. "Credit cards provide a useful service, which needs to be accessible to everybody, everywhere."
"A lot of tourists don't have cash on them, so they have to get euros and don't know where to get them," said Fluger William Hunter, an American tourist.
The central bank said a routine inspection found that Deutsche Bank Italia hadn't sought authorization when it first started providing services at the Vatican. When it finally did, the Bank of Italy turned it down because the Vatican's banking norms, including measures to combat money laundering, didn't meet Italy's more stringent criteria of recent years, a central bank official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because there was no official statement on the case.
The Vatican has been striving to upgrade its measures to detect and discourage money laundering, hiring a Swiss expert just a few months ago. Last summer, the Holy See passed a key European financial transparency test but received failing grades for its financial watchdog agency and its bank, formally called the Institute for Religious Works.
The museums, with their entrance fees and popular souvenir shops, are a big money-maker for the Vatican. Other Vatican attractions, such as tours of the Vatican's ancient underground spaces, also charge admission.

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Reports: Margaret Thatcher leaves hospital

LONDON (AP) — British media are reporting that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has left the hospital after an operation to remove a bladder growth.
The 87-year-old former Conservative leader was admitted to the hospital last week to have the operation.
The BBC and Sky News said Thatcher was doing well and left the hospital on Saturday to "convalesce privately." Her spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking confirmation.
Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, has been in fragile health since she suffered a series of small strokes more than a decade ago. Although she has occasionally appeared at private functions, she has not made public statements for some time.
She served as prime minister from May 1979 until her resignation in November 1990.

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Spanish police arrest 17 suspected pimps

MADRID (AP) — Spain's Interior Ministry says police have arrested 17 people on suspicion of smuggling Nigerian women into Spain and forcing them into prostitution using threats including claims they would cast Voodoo spells on them if they didn't comply.
An investigation began when police detected in January that around 10 women had been brought into the country illegally using a small boat.
Police said that following an investigation its raids seized computer equipment, mobile phones, false identity and work permit documents, as well as objects which detectives said were allegedly used in "Voodoo rituals."
Officers tracked down the suspected pimps in cities throughout Spain and arrested 16 Nigerian nationals and one Ugandan citizen, a statement released Sunday said. It was not clear when the arrests took place.

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Anglican leader Rowan Williams steps down

LONDON (AP) — The head of the Church of England is leaving office after a decade as the spiritual leader of the world's 80 million-strong Anglican Communion.
Rowan Williams, the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, will be replaced by 56-year-old former oil executive Justin Welby, the Bishop of Durham.
The ten years in which the 62-year-old Williams held office saw him struggling to maintain unity within the Anglican Communion amid bitter disagreements over female bishops and church teachings on gay relationships.
Williams has been praised for engaging with church critics and atheists including Richard Dawkins, but he has also raised eyebrows with his opinions on controversial issues including the war in Iraq and Sharia law.
Williams will step down Monday to start a new role as Master of Cambridge University's Magdalene College.

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Black boxes examined in fatal Russian plane crash

MOSCOW (AP) — Investigators on Sunday examined flight recorders and other evidence to try to determine the cause of the airliner crash in Moscow that killed five people, an official said.
The Tu-204 belonging to Russian airline Red Wings was carrying eight people, all of them crew members, when it careered off the runway Saturday while landing at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport. It went partly into an adjacent highway, broke into pieces and caught fire.
Four people were pronounced dead soon after the crash and the airline said on its Twitter account that a fifth, a flight attendant, died Sunday. Those who died Saturday were the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and another attendant, Red Wings said.
The survivors were reported in critical or serious condition in Moscow hospitals.
Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia's main investigative agency, was quoted by Russian news agencies saying the data recorders were being examined, along with fuel samples. In addition, he said flight documents for the plane have been taken from the airline for examination.

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Official: Turkey talking to jailed Kurdish leader

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey is holding talks with the Kurdish rebels' jailed leader to press the autonomy-seeking guerrilla group to relinquish arms and end its decades-long conflict, a senior official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser, Yalcin Akdogan, insisted in an interview with Taraf newspaper that the discussions were aimed at convincing the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, to lay down its arms for good. He said Turkey was not seeking any kind of a temporary truce, similar to those the PKK has declared in the past and which critics say allow the group to recoup before resuming attacks on Turkish military targets.
"The basic aim of the meetings is not a temporary ceasefire but to push the organization to put down its arms," Taraf quoted Akdogan as saying.
Akdogan's comments came days after Erdogan also said Turkey's intelligence agency has resumed discussions with rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life term on a prison island off Istanbul. "As long as we see a light we'll continue to talk. If there is no light, we'll stop there," Erdogan said, without providing details on the discussions.
Turkey — which has been torn between a desire for reconciliation with Kurds and its stated aim of battling a group it regards as terrorists — has admitted holding secret discussions with Ocalan and other PKK members in recent years. Officials have said those talks failed.
The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the rebels — who are seeking self-rule for Kurds in southeast Turkey — took up arms in 1984. Turkey's Western allies also label the group a terrorist organization. The Kurdish minority comprises more than 20 percent of Turkey's 75 million people.
The resumption of talks with Ocalan comes amid a surge in violence this year which has killed hundreds of PKK rebels, Turkish security force members and civilians.
Ocalan, imprisoned since 1999, is believed to still hold sway over the PKK. Last month, at Ocalan's request, hundreds of Kurdish prisoners ended a hunger strike they had started to demand more rights for Kurds and improved jail conditions.
Erdogan's government has granted unprecedented rights to Kurds since coming to power in 2002, including opening a Kurdish-language television station and allowing optional Kurdish language courses in schools. But prospects of a solution appear remote due to Turkish public opposition to granting greater concessions, including political autonomy, to the Kurds.
The recent increase in violence follows the arrests of thousands of Kurdish activists, including elected mayors and journalists, who are accused of membership in an umbrella organization prosecutors say is linked to the PKK. Many Kurds also are angered that no one has been held to account for military air strikes last year that killed 34 Kurdish civilians, many of them youngsters, who were mistaken for PKK fighters.

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