PlayStation Network Currently Experiencing Issues [Update]

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All services now back online. By Alex Osborn

Update:All PlayStation Network services are now back up and running, according to thePSN Status page.

Original Story:PlayStation Network is currently experiencing issues, limiting users" access to content from PlayStation Now and Sony"s online marketplace.

Additionally, the PSN Status page confirms that both gaming and social features are also facing problems. As such, you may be "experiencing issues related to launching games, applications, and/or social features such as trophies, messaging, or friends list."

Sony is aware of the situation and asks for your patience while these issues are being addressed.

Stay tuned to IGN, as we"ll keep you updated on the network"s status until it"s back online.

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/08/playstation-network-currently-experiencing-issues

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Inside Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and Ciara"s Relationship

There have been rumors for months that Ciara and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson were dating, but neither party confirmed the news. Then, Wilson, 26, spoke about his lady love during an interview with San Diego"s Rock Church over the week and revealed a lot about their romance.

Here are some highlights, coming from not only the interview, but Instagram posts that have the couple at the most lavish of events and also spending time to bring hope to some children who need it.

The Romance and the Prediction

"I do have a girlfriend, yes," Wilson said, speaking to Pastor Miles McPherson for the church"s show on Sunday. "She"s a sweetheart."

Then, a picture of the two popped up on screen, as Wilson added, "Yeah, that"s my girlfriend. ... she"s everything you could ever want, honestly."

"I met her 5, 6 months ago," he said. "The funny thing is, I told somebody that"s the girl I want to be with before I even met her."

Wilson actually predicted the two would be together.

"If there"s a 10, she"s a 15," he said about her.

The Relationship Now and Abstaining

Wilson, who passed up millions of dollars in high school to play baseball to go to college, is very passionate about his faith and admitted he and Ciara are abstaining for religious reasons. Wilson adds that Ciara, 29, is a believer and is religious, as well.

"She"s been through some heartaches, I"ve been through some heartaches," he said. "I was married before. I married the person I was with in high school."

Ciara also has a son with her ex, rapper Future.

Even though his relationship didn"t work out, Wilson had faith and after meeting Ciara, he said that while she was on tour, he was looking at her in the mirror and "G*d spoke to me, he said "I need you to lead her.""

"I was like, "Really, right now?"" he said, adding that at the moment, he suggested they take "all that extra stuff" off the table. "We are talking about s*x."

Wilson said Ciara agreed and "it"s the fact that could we love each other without that?"

Wilson still joked, "I ain"t going to lie to you all now, I need you all to pray for us," he said.

The Award Shows and the White House

Wilson walked the carpet last week at the BET Awards with Ciara and gushed on Instagram, "Blessed to wear the one & only German Designer Philipp Plein next to this beautiful lady @Ciara at the BET Awards as she did an epic tribute to Janet Jackson."

Even though they hadn"t gone public yet, Wilson also posted a picture of the couple dressed to the nines for dinner at the White House. That"s as official as it gets.

"Dancing at The @WhiteHouse to Prince & Stevie Wonder w/ my lady @Ciara Thanks Mr. President & First Lady! #IsntSheLovely #Blessed," he wrote.

P.Y.T.

A photo posted by Russell Wilson (@dangerusswilson) on Jun 13, 2015 at 5:54pm PDT

Giving Back

Wilson is known for visiting the local children"s hospital and just over a month ago, he brought Ciara to raise some spirits and share the love.

"We are #StrongAgainstCancer," he wrote last month.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/inside-seahawks-qb-russell-wilson-ciaras-relationship/story?id%3D32273484

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Prediction: Maria Sharapova will stun Serena Williams, snap 16-match losing ...

Maria Sharapova was so close. Victoria Azarenka looked to have Serena Williams on the ropes in their Tuesday quarterfinal, a position the world No. 1 has steadily found herself in during her 26-match Grand Slam winning streak. With an Azarenka win, Sharapova would be facing a woman shed defeated four-straight times in Thursdayssemifinal, a woman who would give her an easily defined path to just her second Wimbledon final in 11 years.

Instead, Serena Williams did what Serena Williams does. She buckled down, let out of a few screams and made that first-set deficit a distant memory by the end, rolling over Azarenka like shes rolled over so many before, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

(AP)

And now, its Serena vs. Sharapova for the right to go to the Wimbledon final. But what should be a tennis delight featuring the two best players in the gameover the past decade is instead a rivalry if you can even call itthat on par withthe Globetrotters and Generals. Over the past decade, when they have consistently been two of the best tennis players in the world, Serena Williams is 16-0 against Maria Sharapova. Sixteen and zero. How bad is it for Sharapova, beyond that 0-16 record?

1. Of the 16 matches, 13 have been decided in straight sets.

(Getty Images)

2. Just three of the 35 sets theyve played have gone to a tiebreak. (Serena has won all three.)

3. Serena has won a total of 32 sets during the streak. Ten of those were by a score of 6-0 or 6-1, including the famous 6-0, 6-1 beatdown in the 2012 Olympic final at Wimbledon.

4. The last time the womenwent to three sets (Miami, 2013), Serena won the decider 6-0.

(AP)

5. And its not as if this rivalry is based on old matches that hold little meaning today: Ten of the 16 matches have taken place since 2012.

But if youre going to talk about all those pro-Serena stats, you have to mention the one pro-Maria stat: When they played their second match, all the way back in 2004 when Sharapova was a lanky 17-year-old Russian and Serena ruled the game, Sharapova pulled what was, at the time, one of the biggest upsets of a generation. It came in the Wimbledon final, created a tennis superstar in Sharapova and sent Williams into a relative tailspin (she had six majors at the time, then would win just three in the next half-decade).

(AP)

Theyve only played in Wimbledon once since then, six years later when Serena won one of the harder fought battles of their rivalry, taking their fourth-round match 7-6 (9), 6-4. And, to her credit, Sharapova has played Williams (relatively) tougher of late. Their meeting in the Australian Open final was 6-3, 7-6 (5). An early-2014 final in Brisbane was 6-2, 7-6 (7). The 2013 French Open final was 6-4, 6-4.

Put aside the stats for a second.Sharapova is going to win one day. She just has to. Unless one of them retires this year, the odds say that shell get the best of Serena at some point in her career. All streaks end. And there will be no better time then Thursday. Serena looks completely dialed in at the moment, dispatching her sister with ease, then calmly coming back against an opponent in Azarenka whoeasily could have won that match in straight sets. Serena Williams currentlylooks like a freight train barreling through London en route to New York.

(AP)

Still, the historical weightof the Grand Slam looms for Serena. She has to be calmer after getting through that tough Venus/Vika double, but now that the Wimbledon title is just four sets away, we could start to see some of the tight playing we saw earlier in the tournament and during the French Open final. For the first time since Serenas winning streak over Maria became a thing(say around match No. 8), the pressure will bemore on Serenas side of the court than Sharapovas. The Russian isexpected to lose. Seventeen doesnt sound that much worse than 16. She can be freer and easier, knowing that Serena is two wins away from a second Serena Slam and nine wins away from a historic Grand Slam. Sharapova, on the other hand, is just playing with house money.

This is Serena Williams match to lose. But maybe, just maybe, its Maria Sharapovas to win. The streak will end some time. Why not Thursday?

Prediction: Maria Sharapova d. Serena Williams, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

(Getty Images)

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Source: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/07/serena-williams-maria-sharapova-wimbledon-semifinal-preview-winning-streak-last-time-she-won-tv-time

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Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis tie the knot in private ceremony

Hollywood star couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are reportedly married.

The stars tied the knot this weekend, reported People magazine.

However, neither the pair nor their representatives have confirmed the news.

The couple sparked wedding rumours back in January after Kutcher posted a cryptic snap on Facebook with the words Happy New Year Love The Kutchers written on the sand.

Later in March, Kunis was asked about her relationship status with Kutcher in an interview with James Corden.

Are you married? Did you get married? Have you gotten married? the late-night show host asked.

I dont know. Maybe. Maybe, Kunis replied, leaving fans wondering if she and Kutcher were actually a married couple.

37-year-old Kutcher and Kunis, 31, first met on the set of FOXs sitcom That 70s Show which ran from 1998 to 2006.

However, its not until 2012 their romance started blossoming. In February 2014, they got engaged and later in October, they welcomed their first daughter Wyatt Isabelle.

This is Kuniss first marriage and Kutchers second after his divorce from Demi Moore was finalised in November 2013.

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Source: http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/ashton-kutcher-mila-kunis-tie-the-knot-in-private-ceremony/article7391483.ece

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Amazon Pushes Prime Service With Day of Deals

NEW YORK Amazon (AMZN) is trying to lure more subscribers to its $99 Prime loyalty program by pushing a day of discounts it calls "Prime Day" during the sleepier summer shopping season.

The e-commerce retailer plans to offer thousands of deals on July 15 in the nine countries that have the Prime loyalty program, including the U.S., U.K., Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Austria.

The Seattle company says the promotion is pegged to its 20th anniversary, which is July 16. Amazon says there will be more deals on July 15 than on Black Friday, the busy shopping day after Thanksgiving, and Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving when many people go online to shop for deals.

Amazon doesn"t release the number of Prime members it has, but Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, estimates there are 35 million to 40 million.

Pachter said he sees the move as an "experiment" by Amazon to see how shoppers will react to the sale.

"Black Friday is an event because it kicks off the holiday shopping season," he said. "I don"t think an event in mid-July will have much impact, and view it as more of a test by Amazon during a slow period to see how a special Prime shopping day is received by its customers."

Amazon.com Inc. has been expanding its Prime program"s offerings in an effort to add members, with additions such as grocery delivery, one-hour delivery in some cities, beefed up video streaming and the creation of a Bluetooth speaker called the Echo that syncs with Prime music.

Source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2015/07/06/amazon-pushes-prime-service-with-day-deals/

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Why GoPros Are the Only Camera Worth Buying Right Now

TIMETechWhy GoPros Are the Only Camera Worth Buying Right NowBloombergBloomberg via Getty ImagesA GoPro Inc. HERO3 camera is arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Thursday, April 23, 2015.Your smartphone is fine for everything else

Apples latest ad campaign, Shot on iPhone 6, uses iPhone photographers gorgeous still images and video to ask one question: Do you really need a standalone camera anymore? For many, the answer is noand that shows in camera companies performance. Nikons camera sales were down 15% in 2014, Canons by 7.3%.

But that pain isnt being felt universally among camera makers. One in particular is doing just fine: GoPro, which in April posted a 54% year-over-year gain in revenue, though its stock price is floating at about half its all-time high Monday after going public last June.

GoPro is succeeding in selling cameras where its bigger, older rivals are failing because its taking advantage of a major shift in consumer tastes. For many people, smartphones are now good enough to replace typical compacts, like the Canon PowerShot line. Theres no reason to carry a comparatively bulky camera if your pocketable iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S6 can take snapshots of your familys trip to the zoo just fine. That leaves Canon, Nikon and other brands catering to a far smaller crowd of hobbyist and professional photographers, hurting sales.

GoPro, meanwhile, has positioned itself as the go-to brand of choice for the so-called action cameras tiny box-shaped gadgets with ultra-wide lenses that can be attached to helmets or handlebars for hikers, bikers and climbers to get rad selfies for Facebook and Instagram. Since the introduction of the entry-level GoPro HERO, the companys cameras now start at $129.99 and go all the way up to $499.99, adding bells and whistles like 4K ultra-high resolution video, Wi-Fi communication for slicker smartphone uploading and quicker burst photography along the way. The companys newest entry, unveiled Monday, makes the whole package even smaller.

GoPros cameras are great because they offer something your smartphone doesnt. Sure, you could probably mount your precious iPhone 6 on your skateboard helmet before you go bomb that killer hill. But would you really want to? Thats whyfor most peopleGoPros are the only standalone cameras worth buying right now. For everything else, theres your phone in your pocket.

Source: http://time.com/3946741/gopro-cameras/?xid%3Dtcoshare

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NBA free agency: Lou Williams reportedly agrees to three-year, $21 million ...

The Lakers have made some quality base hits since whiffing on the top targets that defined their free-agent sweepstakes.

Lou Williams agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal on Sunday to join the Lakers, a move that shores up their backcourt depth and provides more secondary scoring. The Lakers also plan to sign free-agent forward Brandon Bass, adding to a bloated frontcourt that soon could dwindle to open up cap space.

Williams won the NBAs Sixth Man of the Year award last season after averaging a career-high 15.5 points with the Toronto Raptors. Williams has averaged 11.9 points and shot 34.1 percent from 3-point range in his 10-year NBA career, including stops with the Philadelphia 76ers (2005-12), Atlanta Hawks (2012-14) and Raptors (2014-15). Bass, a 10-year NBA veteran, averaged 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 82 games with the Boston Celtics last season.

Williams deal has no player or team options, according to a league source familiar with his contract. But the terms of Bass deal were not immediately clear since the move may require the Lakers to trade players to free up cap space, with candidates including Nick Young, Ryan Kelly and/or Robert Sacre. Those players are the only ones with guaranteed contracts for the 2015-16 season besides Kobe Bryant, DAngelo Russell, Julius Randle Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., all players the Lakers have no intentions of trading. The Lakers also have a room exception worth $2.8 million.

The most likeliest trade candidate appears to be Young, who has three years worth $16 million left on his contract.

The Lakers had visions of Young fulfilling a role Williams excelled in last season. But that dream turned into a nightmare. Young averaged 13.4 points on a career-low 36.6-percent shooting. He and Lakers coach Byron Scott clashed on issues surrounding his inconsistency, playing time and playful personality. Young also opened and ended the 2014-15 season with respective right thumb and left knee injuries that kept him out for a combined 40 games.

After missing out on LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe and DeAndre Jordan, the Lakers also filled their vacant center position by nearing an agreement with Indiana to acquire Roy Hibbert in a trade. The Pacers looked to unload Hibberts $15.5 million salary in the final year of his contract amid a reduced role under a fast-paced system. Hibbert has averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in his seven-year NBA career. But Hibbert, a two-time All-Star center, has become a proven shot blocker.

Talks heating up

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Both Jeremy Lin and Wayne Ellington have had active conversations with numerous NBA teams that could lead to a deal soon, according to league sources familiar with the situation.

Ellington has sparked interest from the Lakers, Golden State, Cleveland, Washington, San Antonio, Atlanta and New York. Lin has heard from Dallas, Memphis, Indiana, Chicago, San Antonio, the Clippers and the Lakers.

It seems unlikely Lin will stay with the Lakers, however, after L.A. drafted point guard DAngelo Russell. Lin also felt uncomfortable in Scotts deliberate offense.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150705/nba-free-agency-lou-williams-reportedly-agrees-to-three-year-21-million-deal-with-lakers

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