Samsung is giving Michael Jackson fans another way to honor their pop idol with the release of a special edition external hard drive.
The portable S2 drive is a pop star-worthy gadget with its golden exterior and signature Jackson silhouette. In addition to features such as automatic backup, data encryption and password-protected data access, the hard drive comes with a preloaded copy of Michael Jackson’s This Is It movie.
The 500GB hard drive will be available in March for a price of €109.
A Michael Jackson statue made from 12-feet, 3.5 ton single black granite will be donated to the late music icon’s Neverland Valley Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, according to recent reports.
The creators of the statue, Chennai, India-based granite firm RC Golden Granites, wrote to the Jackson family to present their gift. They reportedly also offered to pay for the freight charges from India to U.S.
The statue was reportedly sculpted out of a single rock from Kanakapura mines by six craftsmen in 45 days. It has been displayed at Stona 2010: Ninth International Granites and Stone Fair from February 4 to 7 in Bangalore.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said the King of Pop, who unexpectedly died in June, had a special bond with India and Hinduism. Reports said Jackson learned how to meditate, and was reading India’s first Noel Laureate Rabindranath’s poems during the last days of his life.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 5:58PM GMT 03 Feb 2010
Dr Conrad Murray flew to Los Angeles from his practice in Houston, Texas, last weekend in the expectation that he will be charged imminently over Jackson’s death last June from an overdose of anaesthetics.
Police sources say Dr Murray is likely to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum four-year prison sentence.
Michael Jackson, 50, died after Dr Murray gave him propofol, a powerful painkiller, and two other sedatives to help him sleep. The local coroner’s office ruled the death a homicide.
Propofol, usually given before surgery, is supposed to be administered by a professional anaesthetist in a medical environment.
Dr Murray has faced months of speculation over his culpability in the singer’s death. Law enforcement sources now say that prosecutors want to charge him rather than take the case to a grand jury.
He has spent this week discussing how he will respond to charges with his team of three lawyers.
Ed Chernoff, his lead lawyer, said: “I haven’t received any phone call from anybody asking for the doctor to surrender. If we get the call, we’ll be happy to.”
Dr Murray, a cardiologist, has always insisted that he gave the singer nothing that should have killed him.
Prosecutors will have to show the doctor deviated from accepted medical norms when he administered propofol in a non-medical setting while Jackson already had other sedatives in his system.
In their first public appearance since Jackson’s memorial service, Prince, 12, and Paris, 11, dressed in black suits with red armbands, an outfit which Jackson often wore.
Although nervous, they spoke clearly and with great composure as they paid tribute to their father, who died last June.
Prince said: “We are proud to be here to accept this award on behalf of our father, Michael Jackson.
“First of all, we would like to thank God for watching over us for these past seven months, and our grandma and grandpa for their love and support.
“We would also like to thank the fans – our father loved you so much because you were always there for him.
“Our father was always concerned about the planet and humanity. Through all his hard work and dedication he has helped many charities and donated to all of them.
“Through all his songs, his message was simple – love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world. Thank you.”
The siblings were surrounded by their cousins on stage at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, where Jackson was in final rehearsals for his tour when he died.
Paris followed her brother to the podium and said simply: “Daddy was supposed to be here. Daddy was going to perform this year. He couldn’t perform last year.
“Thank you, we love you, Daddy.”
An Earth Song video which Jackson intended to show during his tour was played at the awards as a backdrop to a tribute performance by Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson, Usher and Carrie Underwood.
