Software gets updated all the time, and we all get those notifications now and then that an update to Apple's iTunes for our computer is available.

If you're like me, you put those updates off. They can take awhile, and, after all, iTunes was working just fine, right?

Today, however, I jumped at an update  -- even before my computer could notify me one was available. This is the much-talked-about, slightly delayed iTunes 11.

With all the updating you've done, can you remember the last time iTunes actually looked different? It does now. That, in itself, is interesting.

But the update is more than superficial. For one thing -- and this is hardly surprising -- Apple is trying to shove the iTunes Store in your business a lot more. It's much more prevalent.

That may be a little annoying (it's getting harder and harder not to spend money while you're sitting at your computer isn't it?), but I LOVE another new feature. The update includes an improved queue that lets you see the next several songs iTunes is going to play. You can move them around, and, more importantly to me, you can go into your library and tell it to put any song into the slot following the song currently playing. I'm forever thinking of a tune I'd like to hear but needing to wait until the current song is done before playing it, assuming I'm enjoying the song playing. (It's a first-world problem, I realize.)

Those of you concerned about privacy and targeted advertising probably want to be aware of an option when you're installing the new iTunes. It will ask if Apple can have access to your library to provide photos or some such thing. It's probably a way to figure out things to suggest you buy, but I went along with it. I'm all in, baby.

Here's a screen grab from my computer. This is iTunes 11 in the album view. As you can see, it's opened the third album from the left in the top row to reveal the tracks, showing the cover art to the right. Above, slightly right of center, you can see the new queue, which you can rearrange and add any time.

I highly recommend watching the optional tutorial video after you've installed the program and before you use it. You'll be able to figure out basic operations without it, but, as with previous versions, some of the more detailed controls aren't all that obvious. It's nice to have the visual guide before you dig in.

-- Mark Meszoros | Entertainment@News-Herald.com | @nhfeatures

My wife and I saw Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" on the first day of the film's release. It was breathtaking.

I recommend it for anyone who appreciates U.S. history, and a momentous night of movie-going. Not only does the film bring to life one of the most important historical events - the passing of the 13th amendment to abolish slavery - it's appearance as a whole on the big screen is stunning, thanks to the magic and direction of Spielberg.

For middle-school teachers and above, I would suggest requesting viewings of "Lincoln" be added to your curriculum. Students would learn just as much, perhaps more, by watching the film as they would cracking open a textbook.

"Lincoln" would surely generate wonderful classroom conversations because - let's face it - adding Hollywood to the mix makes talking about history that much more fun and interesting.

Danielle Day-Lewis' portrayal of our 16th president is spot-on, and expect Oscar buzz for the actor to begin, if it hasn't already. He's so good, you'll think you were at the White House in 1865. Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field bring their A games in supporting roles.

The only warning: Be prepared for a long engagement. At 150 minutes, you'll need to keep your attention throughout, especially to see how the world of politics was played out in the 1800s. You'll see it wasn't much different than today, that being grown men lobbying for their point of view, and in many cases not taking no for an answer.

Simply put, "Lincoln" is riveting from every angle, and can't-miss.

- Mark Podolski | @mpodo

The last installment in the "Twilight" series had another strong weekend at the box office — as did "Skyfall" and "Lincoln." Actually, "Rise of the Guardians" fared pretty well (at least, it seems that way, after the mediocre review I read). What movie did you see this holiday weekend?

From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," $43.1 million ($97.4 million international). (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros: 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2,' although still painful for non Twi-hards, has welcome sense of humor)
2. "Skyfall," $36 million ($41.3 million international). (Review by Meszoros: New Bond film 'Skyfall' almost lives up to all that buzz)
3. "Lincoln," $25 million. (Review by Meszoros: 'Lincoln,' powered by Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal, engrossingly brings to life crucial bit of presidential history)
4. "Rise of the Guardians," $24 million ($10 million international). (Review by The AP's Todd McCarthy: Animated 'Rise of the Guardians' overly busy, should appeal to kids)
5. "Life of Pi," $22 million ($17.5 million international) (Review by The AP's David Germain: Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi' is inspiring 3-D art)
6. "Wreck-It Ralph," $16.8 million ($2.1 million international). (Review by The AP's Justin Lowe: Animated 'Wreck-It Ralph' has fun celebrating video games old and new)
7. "Red Dawn," $14.6 million. (Review by Meszoros: 'Red Dawn' remake falters, despite solid effort by star Chris Hemsworth)
8. "Flight," $8.6 million ($723,000 international). (Review by Meszoros: 'Flight' directed right into the ground by Robert Zemeckis)
9. "Silver Linings Playbook," $4.6 million ($1.6 million international). (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire: Charming 'Silver Linings Playbook' has great performances from Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence)
10. "Argo," $3.9 million ($6 million international). (Review by Meszoros: With stellar espionage drama 'Argo,' Ben Affleck does it again as director)

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

No surprise here: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" came in first at the weekend box office. It raked in $100 million more than "Skyfall," which came in second. Pretty impressive numbers. How long will it stay on top?

From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," $141.3 million ($199.6 million international). (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros: 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2,' although still painful for non Twi-hards, has welcome sense of humor)
2. "Skyfall," $41.5 million ($49.6 million international). (Review by Meszoros: New Bond film 'Skyfall' almost lives up to all that buzz)
3. "Lincoln," $21 million. (Review by Meszoros: 'Lincoln,' powered by Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal, engrossingly brings to life crucial bit of presidential history)
4. "Wreck-It Ralph," $18.3 million ($4.8 million international). (Review by The AP's Justin Lowe: Animated 'Wreck-It Ralph' has fun celebrating video games old and new)
5. "Flight," $8.6 million ($1 million international). (Review by Meszoros: 'Flight' directed right into the ground by Robert Zemeckis)
6. "Argo," $4.1 million ($8.7 million international). (Review by Meszoros: With stellar espionage drama 'Argo,' Ben Affleck does it again as director)
7. "Taken 2," $2.1 million ($2 million international). (Review by Meszoros: Liam Neeson helps make 'Taken 2' another guilty pleasure)
8. "Pitch Perfect," $1.3 million ($4.1 million international). (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire: Anna Kendrick helps make 'Pitch Perfect' infectiously catchy)
9. "Here Comes the Boom," $1.2 million ($2.5 million international).
10 (tie). "Cloud Atlas," $900,000 ($5 million international). (Review by Meszoros: 'Cloud Atlas' ambitious, mostly satisfying epic with strong work from Tom Hanks, Halle Berry)
10 (tie). "Hotel Transylvania," $900,000 ($7.8 million international). (Review by The AP's Michael Rechtshaffen: 'Hotel Transylvania' is frighteningly unfunny stuff)
10 (tie). "The Sessions," $900,000.

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

The latest James Bond film easily took first place at the weekend box office. It will be interesting to see how it performs next week when "Lincoln" opens nationwide.

From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Skyfall," $87.8 million. (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros: New Bond film 'Skyfall' almost lives up to all that buzz)
2. "Wreck-It Ralph," $33.1 million. (Review by The AP's Justin Lowe: Animated 'Wreck-It Ralph' has fun celebrating video games old and new)
3. "Flight," $15.1 million. (Review by Meszoros: 'Flight' directed right into the ground by Robert Zemeckis)
4. "Argo," $6.7 million. (Review by Meszoros: With stellar espionage drama 'Argo,' Ben Affleck does it again as director)
5. "Taken 2," $4 million. (Review by Meszoros: Liam Neeson helps make 'Taken 2' another guilty pleasure)
6. "Here Comes the Boom," $2.6 million
7. "Cloud Atlas," $2.53 million. (Review by Meszoros: 'Cloud Atlas' ambitious, mostly satisfying epic with strong work from Tom Hanks, Halle Berry)
8. "Pitch Perfect," $2.5 million. (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire: Anna Kendrick helps make 'Pitch Perfect' infectiously catchy)
9. "The Man with the Iron Fists," $2.49 million.
10. "Hotel Transylvania," $2.4 million. (Review by The AP's Michael Rechtshaffen: 'Hotel Transylvania' is frighteningly unfunny stuff)

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

If you're like me and starving for a big-screen fix since last summer's "The Dark Knight Rises," I'm confident the short wait is over.

Three films in November have more than piqued my interest. Let's do some prep work:

SKYFALL

Release date: Friday

Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench

The skinny: Craig returns as 007 for the first time in four years, which seems longer since it would be wise to forget the 2008 sequel to Craig's fabulous "Casino Royale," that being the dreadful "Quantam of Solace." I'm confident with that chapter behind the producers of James Bond, "Skyfall" will take moviegoers back to the ways of the original, which gave us a clever story, a cool origin (can you say Q and Bond's Walther PPK gun in this one?), tons of action, plenty of wit and a bit of humor. Plus, Bond fans couldn't have asked for a better villain than Bardem.

LINCOLN

Release date: Sept. 16


Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field

The skinny: No, there won't be vampires after Honest Abe in this one, and thank goodness. With Steven Spielberg running the show, it's safe to say this story is in good hands. Adding Day-Lewis to the mix playing the part of the 16th president all but guarantees this adaptation of Abraham Lincoln is a keeper. "Skyfall" will likely be the box-office leader for weeks, but "Lincoln" might have the staying power equivalent to last year's "The King's Speech." Glad to see Spielberg is concentrating on the pivotal moments of Lincoln's life, rather than a complete biopic. Oscar buzz is already beginning. We shall see.

HITCOCK

Release date: Nov. 23

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Scarlett Johansson, Helen Mirren

The skinny: This film hasn't been garnering much buzz - the first trailer was released just a few weeks ago - but looks interesting nonetheless, even if Hopkins' makeup as the famous horror director Alfred Hitchcock comes up short, at least from shots in the trailer. Similar to "Lincoln," this film won't chronicle the director's entire life, but rather on the filming of Hitchcock's most famous film, "Psycho." Johansson plays Janet Leigh, so expect a look back at the iconic shower death scene.

- Mark Podolski | @mpodo

 

During a weekend with relatively good numbers, with "Wreck-It Ralph" easily claimed the No. 1 spot at the box office.
 
From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Wreck-It Ralph," $49.1 million. (Review by The AP's Justin Lowe: Animated 'Wreck-It Ralph' has fun celebrating video games old and new)
2. "Flight," $25 million. (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros: 'Flight' directed right into the ground by Robert Zemeckis)
3. "Argo," $10.2 million. (Review by Meszoros: With stellar espionage drama 'Argo,' Ben Affleck does it again as director)
4. "The Man With the Iron Fists," $10.2 million.
5. "Taken 2," $6 million. (Review by Meszoros: Liam Neeson helps make 'Taken 2' another guilty pleasure)
6. "Cloud Atlas," $5.3 million. (Review by Meszoros: 'Cloud Atlas' ambitious, mostly satisfying epic with strong work from Tom Hanks, Halle Berry)
7. "Hotel Transylvania," $4.5 million. (Review by The AP's Michael Rechtshaffen: 'Hotel Transylvania' is frighteningly unfunny stuff)
8. "Paranormal Activity 4," $4.3 million. (Review by Lowe: Movie review: 'Paranormal Activity 4' doesn't scare up fresh haunts)
9. "Here Comes the Boom," $3.6 million.
10. "Silent Hill: Revelation," $3.3 million.

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

Sunny Beverly Hills can be cold, according to the promo for the third season of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

I enjoy the ladies of Beverly Hills (let's be honest: I'll watch anything Bravo produces with the phrase "Real Housewives" attached to it), but I didn't realize how much I was looking forward to the series returning until this promo came out a few weeks ago:



Love it! (Anyone else surprised that Kim is going to be back? I thought she would be done with this. I also wasn't sure if Taylor would return, but I guess you'll do what you gotta do if you need to make money.)

Set your DVRs: Season 3 premieres at 9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

This makes about as much sense as the movies. I have a feeling I know at least one of my co-workers is going to appreciate this.

Learn about infographics software.

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl