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Scripting News: Heat-seeking missiles.
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:04 PM PST
| Scripting News: Heat-seeking missiles. Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:00 AM PST As someone who enjoys walking in New York, as many NYers do, I thought to take a walk relatively early yesterday. It was crisp, in the low 30s. Not windy. And it's Christmas Eve so I figured the sidewalks would be pretty empty. They were. However, that didn't mean that people talking on phones or reading/sending texts were paying any more attention than usual. If anything, they took license to occupy even more of the sidewalk. They can be pretty difficult to avoid. I think this is because we have an inner mechanism that draws us to other people. Or maybe it's my personal energy. I'm walking toward someone whose eyes are looking into their device. I move a little to the left, they move to their right. Okay, let's try it the other way. No luck, they match my move. I end up stopping a foot in front of them as they walk into me. I don't want anyone to say that I walked into them. They're usually not pissed. I guess they're accustomed to finding themselves in this position? I'm old fashioned. When I want to check for messages on one of my many devices (doesn't matter which, they're all synched), I generally pull off to the side and stop. In winter, I have to take off my gloves. And I'm just not fast or agile enough (fat fingers, fuzzy vision) to do this while walking. I'm also afraid that I'll end up walking into a city bus, which might have a rude effect on my future existence. :-)  A story I've told many times. I lived in Florida for a few months in 2005. I wanted to try living on the beach, and I had family in the area, so this made sense as a place to try out. In this part of Florida, you can drive on the beach, which goes for miles, between inlets on the intercoastal waterway. This stretch of beach was about 10 miles long, and except for a town in the middle of it, mostly empty. One morning I decided to take my swim via car. I drive a couple of miles south, on a stretch of beach that was totally empty. I laid out the towel, read for a while, then went for my swim. When I came back, there was another car parked right next to mine. The people were gone, so I couldn't ask them why they chose that spot, when there were so many other places to stop that were totally secluded.
Yes I am old fashioned. I still think it's hilarious to see a person walking down the street talking to no one. Hands waving wildly. I try to imagine my grandfather, who died long before this became a common sight, trying to figure it out. "David, vat ist dis?" he might have asked. When you get the idea that things will always be the way they are now, remember that not long ago people thought there was something special about printed magazines. Remember that and then go look at a magazine rack. Someday, not too many years from now, you'll mention the idea of a printed magazine, and a young person will have no idea what you're talking about. | You are subscribed to email updates from Dave Winer
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SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 24, 2012
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:36 PM PST
| SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 24, 2012 Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:00 PM PST Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Where’s Santa Claus? The 2012 Santa Tracker List, From NORAD To Google, From The Web To Apps It’s Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is on his annual trip... Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.  |
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A Social Media Gift of Little Miracles
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:33 PM PST
| A Social Media Gift of Little Miracles Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:32 AM PST
 "We'll be known as the helpful store. The friendly store. The store with a heart. The store that places public service ahead of profit. The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before."
Nope, it's not a new social commerce strategy. It was an innovative sales program launched in 1947 by Macy's Department Store. In the classic film, Miracle On 34th Street, Mr. Macy took chance on a different way to conduct business. Customers would not be coerced into buying what they did not want; however, the real courage was if another store had a better or less expensive product Macy's would refer them there. Fast forward 65 years into the future and we struggle with similar issues of how to provide value for our customers. Technology has given us an amazing, let's call it a gift, that provides a new way to for us to build relationships and nurture with our customers. Pull off the pretty red bow and you'll find digital platforms with funny names like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Google+, LinkedIn and Pinterest. It's a world where to succeed we have to go beyond a one-off sale to opportunities where three entities: company, employee and custome can create the brand experience .. together. That takes courage too. Unlike the impact of Macy's initiative, social media impact reaches beyond just one customer. For the first time, the entire enterprise has skin in the game. The digital relationships that the people who are the heart of your brand can set off a unique chain reaction. - Continuous listening -> learning -> understanding -> results in trust -> leads to loyalty -> leads to the cash register bells ringing. And every time a cash register bell rings a marketer gets a bonus or gets to keep her job (!) .. oops wrong film.
Corner grocery store digital relationships that are build not only with you and your customers, but among your customers and your employees could never have been imagined when Kris Kringle entered Macy's Santa Land in 1947. However, even as we approach 2013, for many organizations open conversations still seem like a Miracle on (insert organization name here) or like the ghost of Xmas future (oops wrong movie again.) The plan sounds idiotic and impossible... consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before. As we begin 2013, technology developments spin even faster taking digital business into areas that were impossible in '47 or '57 or even '2012. Imagine a digital destination where you can include your review of the product, service or customer care that influences your or your friends' buying decisions. Imagine a digital destination where you can talk to a brand employee who doesn't respond with a scripted answer. IImagine a digital destination that allows for product and service customization. Imagine a digital destination where you can start a conversation with a real person about what matters to you regarding a product or service. Imagine a digital destination where you can actually help change the direction of a product or service before it's even launched. Imagine multiple digital devices, moblie, tablet, computer, television not "or" but "and" ... and one day even your glasses! Imagine a digital destination where you can chat with people about their experiences and learn from each other .. in real time during your shopping experience. The result is smarter purchases. Imagine an authenitc conversation, in real time, with your favorite actor, politician, author or reporter who responds to your comments. Imagine an authentic conversation with your senior managmenet or an admired corporate executive where ideas are transparently exchanged. Imagine an organization that works in partnership with its customers and employees to create a brand experience that is relevant, innovative and imaginative across multiple divices. Imagine an organization that cares not simply about for for its customers. The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before. What a funny world we live in. It's interesting to compare a 1940's film, where finding solutions to customers' problems was perceived as unique, to 2012 where finding solutions to customers' problems is considered ingenious. The techniques may have changed. New buzz words may be added to the mix. Bells and whistles may be a little louder. However, after all is said and done, the premise remains the same: -Listen -Understand -Add value -Do what it takes to go the extra mile to delight your customer I believe that as we learn how to use social media it will change how we conduct business .. leading to creating an environment where people truly matter. And that my friends, is as couragous and innovative as Mr. Macy's Miracle on 34th Street. The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before. Sidebar: A Classic Diva Marketing post based on an article written for American Marketing Association Marketing News. Max and I wish you a year of little miracles, joy and all things wonderful and bright. 
| | Catching Up With You Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:39 PM PST Dear Diva Marketing (Blog) and Community, It's amazing how days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months. Life gets in the way of life and before you know it the best of intentions slip through the proverbial cracks. In this case the best of intentions, are of course, to write and share learnings about marketing and social media with you. And so, I must apologize for the long lag in posting. Here's why ..  I've often said that social media gives back more than it takes and this part of my story is another testimonial to that belief. After 15-years of solopreneurship I was offered an exciting opportunity to join an organization that is focused on digital innovation. No, I'm not an on-air talent (at least not at the moment!). The work is to support almost 100 media properties and the enterprise at-large to more effectively incorporate the social web and leverage the social graphic. Not only exciting but the people are smart; and I'm able to maintain Diva Marketing, as well as, my other social properties LInkedIn Pinterest Twitter Google+ YouTube Diva Talks - BlogTalkRadio. Of course, all opinions are 100% mine and do not necessarily reflect that of anyone else, including my employer or even Max. I appreciate your understanding and ask for your patience as I adjust to the rythm of a full time corporate gig and ensuring that there is great content on Diva Marketing. | You are subscribed to email updates from Diva Marketing (Blog)
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The 5 Best Board Games of 2012
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:18 PM PST
| The 5 Best Board Games of 2012 Posted: 25 Dec 2012 12:00 PM PST | | I Played A Drinking Game Against A Computer Posted: 25 Dec 2012 10:00 AM PST Earlier this year I read about Anna Anthropy's game, Drink, and I immediately became fascinated. Get this: in Drink, you play a drinking game against a computer opponent. Yes, a computer opponent. It sounds kind of absurd, to try out out-drink a computer, I know. But, if nothing else, it's a conceptually interesting game—here is Anthropy talking about it on her blog: More »     | | What Did You Get For Christmas? Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:00 AM PST | | A Christmas Morning Memory to Make Us Feel Really Old Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:00 AM PST | | My Favorite Thing About Far Cry 3 Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:00 AM PST | | The 10 Best Games for Android Smartphones Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:01 AM PST | | The Best Games for Your New Tablet or Smartphone Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST | | Merry Christmas, Everyone! Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:00 AM PST | | The Year in Kotaku East Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:00 AM PST It's been a long year! Can you believe it? Time has flown by. Let's take this opportunity to look back at 2012, Kotaku East style. More »     | | This "Sex Invaders" Art Show Isn't Quite As Naughty As It Sounds Posted: 24 Dec 2012 06:00 PM PST | | Video Games Join a Century-Long Tradition of Blaming Media Violence, Says the ACLU Posted: 24 Dec 2012 05:00 PM PST | | One Assassin's Creed III Debate To Rule Them All Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:00 PM PST | | According To These Confessions, Some People Are Still Ashamed To Like Video Games. In 2012. Twenty Twelve, People. Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST | | War Z Creator Says His Game's Trademark Wasn't Suspended Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:00 PM PST Over the past few days, I've received tons of tips and e-mails about the trademark for controversial zombie game The War Z, which seems to have been suspended in November after a claim from Paramount, the studio behind World War Z. More »     | | Fruit Cake: The Snacktaku Review Posted: 24 Dec 2012 01:30 PM PST | You are subscribed to email updates from Kotaku
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Midday Open Thread - Best Music of 2012
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:12 PM PST
| Midday Open Thread - Best Music of 2012 Posted: 25 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST So my goal this year was to do a best music open thread without mentioning Gagnam Style Parodies, Call Me Maybe, or Taylor Swift. Perhaps the Mayans were right after all. :D I do like CityPaper's list, and particularly its criterion for inclusion: We do this every year: Critics and other music dorks give me top 10 lists. I pop them into a spreadsheet and assign points to each album based on things like where a voter ranked it and where I rank the voter as a human. ... Eventually, a master list is printed out and given to our least reliable intern for safekeeping. A couple weeks later, we track the kid down ...and ask him or her to recite it from memory.
Included in the CityPaper List is this delightful band, Hot Chip, which somehow convinced Terence Stamp to do a rap interlude. The Mayans should call me. Maybe. What music released in 2012 made your ears listen? Open thread below... | | Merry Pugmas! Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:30 AM PST The Pug and I wish you Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year! I can at least say that it's going to be a far better 2013 than it otherwise would have been. A 2013 without Mitt Romney and with Obamacare is one to look forward to. Also, one kid will be graduating from college and another one is getting married next year, so there are many blessings here in the Pug House. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me, reading my random rants about Internet life, Twitter, and wingnuts every day. This is a terrific community and I count myself privileged to be a part of it. For a little bit cheerier view of Christmas, here is my daughter's version: | | Merry Christmas from the Driftglass/Blue Gal Household Posted: 25 Dec 2012 10:30 AM PST Everyone here at Casa DG/BG wishes everyone at Crooks and Liars a very happy holiday season. We've had to amend our Christmas decorating a bit since we adopted a kitten from our county shelter earlier this fall. Barack Hussein the Kenyan Usurper is going to have a terrific Christmas -- he thinks everything is a toy, especially wrapping paper. Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone! | | Merry Christmas from Philly, Yo! Posted: 25 Dec 2012 10:00 AM PST Merry Christmas from Suburban Guerrilla Central in the land of Rocky, Phillies, Eagles and TSOP, where I have not one, but three little trees clustered together. I like to imagine that they're ice-covered trees in a forest. (I'm a Christmas dork.) Thanks to all our contributors, readers and commenters! You help make Crooks and Liars the wonderful community it is. | | Hey! Unto You A Child Is Born! Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:00 AM PST But as far as I'm concerned, Mary is always going to look a lot like Imogene Herdman - sort of nervous and bewildered, but ready to clobber anyone who laid a hand on her baby. And the Wise Men are always going to be Leroy and his brothers, bearing ham. When we came out of the church that night it was cold and clear, with crunchy snow underfoot and bright, bright stars overhead. And I thought about the Angel of the Lord - Gladys, with her skinny legs and her dirty sneakers sticking out from under her robe, yelling at all of us everywhere: 'Hey! Unto you a child is born!' "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" - Barbara Robinson Here is how this book begins: "The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. They lied and stole and smoked cigars (even the girls) and talked dirty and hit little kids and cussed their teachers and took the name of the Lord in vain and set fire to Fred Shoemaker's old broken-down toolhouse." These truly nasty kids bully their way into the lead roles in a church Christmas pageant to get free hot chocolate and cookies, but by the end of the book, their unexpected Christmas spirit has us in tears. What can I say? I'm such a sucker for a redemption story. Whether it's Scrooge, the Herdmans, George Bailey, the Grinch, little Susan Walker - or me, I just can't resist the story of someone who once was blind, but now they see. This is what I wish for all of you this Christmas: To see, to fly above the despair. To understand why Christmas resonates throughout the world, even in places where they don't especially care (or even believe) that Jesus was born in a stable. Christmas is that Spirit which transforms and you don't have to be a Christian to let it work its magic. It might have been a different day designated by so many of the human race as the time to transcend our pain and fear, to reach out to each other in a way we don't allow ourselves to do the other 364 days of the year, but this seems to be the one. So let's celebrate it. Some people manage to tap into that Spirit the rest of the year, while the rest of us keep our hearts "safe" behind concrete and razor wire. Silly, really - because a heart not used regularly shrivels up, becomes hard and small. (Like the Grinch.) Even a broken heart is better than one that's never used. That Spirit is in all of us. Think of the very worst person you know (yes, worse than the Herdmans - or Dick Cheney), and even they have that Spirit inside. It's up to them whether they'll ever let it out, but it's there. Every other day of the year, I focus on what's wrong with the world. Today, I'm writing about the thing that's so very, very right - the human impulse to shine a light in darkness. To help, to shelter people in need. To love. We all have lives that are far from perfect. Sometimes we go through hard times that seem to never end, and people (and politicians) we trusted let us down, again and again. And yet. And yet, there's hope. Every single year, Ebenezer Scrooge opens his heart. Every year, George Bailey gets a glimmer of understanding about what a very large part is played in very small ways, and Clarence gets his wings. A wounded little girl who didn't dare let herself believe in Santa Claus learns faith isn't rational, and Linus helps us see the spiritual yearning at the real heart of Christmas. We're here. We're alive. Love each other, if you dare. Be brave with your hearts. Merry, merry Christmas. Hey! Unto you a child is born! | | Welcome, Welcome, Christmas Day Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more?" -------The Grinch Dahoo dorais fahoo dores
Welcome, Christmas, come this way
dahoo dorai, fahoo dores
Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day
Welcome, welcome fahoo ramus
Welcome, welcome dahoo damus
Christmas Day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Fahoo fores, dahoo dores
Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome, all Whos far and near. | | Christmas In The Trenches Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST
John McCutcheon's moving tale of the Christmas Truce of 1914. A fictional version of the story of the legendary Christmas Truce of 1914, written by Aaron Shepherd: Christmas Day, 1914 My dear sister Janet,
It is 2:00 in the morning and most of our men are asleep in their dugouts—yet I could not sleep myself before writing to you of the wonderful events of Christmas Eve. In truth, what happened seems almost like a fairy tale, and if I hadn't been through it myself, I would scarce believe it. Just imagine: While you and the family sang carols before the fire there in London, I did the same with enemy soldiers here on the battlefields of France! As I wrote before, there has been little serious fighting of late. The first battles of the war left so many dead that both sides have held back until replacements could come from home. So we have mostly stayed in our trenches and waited. But what a terrible waiting it has been! Knowing that any moment an artillery shell might land and explode beside us in the trench, killing or maiming several men. And in daylight not daring to lift our heads above ground, for fear of a sniper's bullet. And the rain—it has fallen almost daily. Of course, it collects right in our trenches, where we must bail it out with pots and pans. And with the rain has come mud—a good foot or more deep. It splatters and cakes everything, and constantly sucks at our boots. One new recruit got his feet stuck in it, and then his hands too when he tried to get out—just like in that American story of the tar baby! Through all this, we couldn't help feeling curious about the German soldiers across the way. After all, they faced the same dangers we did, and slogged about in the same muck. What's more, their first trench was only 50 yards from ours. Between us lay No Man's Land, bordered on both sides by barbed wire—yet they were close enough we sometimes heard their voices. Of course, we hated them when they killed our friends. But other times, we joked about them and almost felt we had something in common. And now it seems they felt the same. Just yesterday morning—Christmas Eve Day—we had our first good freeze. Cold as we were, we welcomed it, because at least the mud froze solid. Everything was tinged white with frost, while a bright sun shone over all. Perfect Christmas weather. During the day, there was little shelling or rifle fire from either side. And as darkness fell on our Christmas Eve, the shooting stopped entirely. Our first complete silence in months! We hoped it might promise a peaceful holiday, but we didn't count on it. We'd been told the Germans might attack and try to catch us off guard. I went to the dugout to rest, and lying on my cot, I must have drifted asleep. All at once my friend John was shaking me awake, saying, "Come and see! See what the Germans are doing!" I grabbed my rifle, stumbled out into the trench, and stuck my head cautiously above the sandbags. I never hope to see a stranger and more lovely sight. Clusters of tiny lights were shining all along the German line, left and right as far as the eye could see. "What is it?" I asked in bewilderment, and John answered, "Christmas trees!" And so it was. The Germans had placed Christmas trees in front of their trenches, lit by candle or lantern like beacons of good will. And then we heard their voices raised in song. Stille nacht, heilige nacht . . . . This carol may not yet be familiar to us in Britain, but John knew it and translated: "Silent night, holy night." I've never heard one lovelier—or more meaningful, in that quiet, clear night, its dark softened by a first-quarter moon.
When the song finished, the men in our trenches applauded. Yes, British soldiers applauding Germans! Then one of our own men started singing, and we all joined in. The first Nowell, the angel did say . . . . In truth, we sounded not nearly as good as the Germans, with their fine harmonies. But they responded with enthusiastic applause of their own and then began another.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum . . . . Then we replied.
O come all ye faithful . . . . But this time they joined in, singing the same words in Latin.
Adeste fideles . . . . British and German harmonizing across No Man's Land! I would have thought nothing could be more amazing—but what came next was more so. "English, come over!" we heard one of them shout. "You no shoot, we no shoot." There in the trenches, we looked at each other in bewilderment. Then one of us shouted jokingly, "You come over here." To our astonishment, we saw two figures rise from the trench, climb over their barbed wire, and advance unprotected across No Man's Land. One of them called, "Send officer to talk." I saw one of our men lift his rifle to the ready, and no doubt others did the same—but our captain called out, "Hold your fire." Then he climbed out and went to meet the Germans halfway. We heard them talking, and a few minutes later, the captain came back with a German cigar in his mouth! "We've agreed there will be no shooting before midnight tomorrow," he announced. "But sentries are to remain on duty, and the rest of you, stay alert." Across the way, we could make out groups of two or three men starting out of trenches and coming toward us. Then some of us were climbing out too, and in minutes more, there we were in No Man's Land, over a hundred soldiers and officers of each side, shaking hands with men we'd been trying to kill just hours earlier! Before long a bonfire was built, and around it we mingled—British khaki and German grey. I must say, the Germans were the better dressed, with fresh uniforms for the holiday. Only a couple of our men knew German, but more of the Germans knew English. I asked one of them why that was.
"Because many have worked in England!" he said. "Before all this, I was a waiter at the Hotel Cecil. Perhaps I waited on your table!" "Perhaps you did!" I said, laughing. He told me he had a girlfriend in London and that the war had interrupted their plans for marriage. I told him, "Don't worry. We'll have you beat by Easter, then you can come back and marry the girl." He laughed at that. Then he asked if I'd send her a postcard he'd give me later, and I promised I would. Another German had been a porter at Victoria Station. He showed me a picture of his family back in Munich. His eldest sister was so lovely, I said I should like to meet her someday. He beamed and said he would like that very much and gave me his family's address. Even those who could not converse could still exchange gifts—our cigarettes for their cigars, our tea for their coffee, our corned beef for their sausage. Badges and buttons from uniforms changed owners, and one of our lads walked off with the infamous spiked helmet! I myself traded a jackknife for a leather equipment belt—a fine souvenir to show when I get home. Newspapers too changed hands, and the Germans howled with laughter at ours. They assured us that France was finished and Russia nearly beaten too. We told them that was nonsense, and one of them said, "Well, you believe your newspapers and we'll believe ours." Clearly they are lied to—yet after meeting these men, I wonder how truthful our own newspapers have been. These are not the "savage barbarians" we've read so much about. They are men with homes and families, hopes and fears, principles and, yes, love of country. In other words, men like ourselves. Why are we led to believe otherwise? As it grew late, a few more songs were traded around the fire, and then all joined in for—I am not lying to you—"Auld Lang Syne." Then we parted with promises to meet again tomorrow, and even some talk of a football match. I was just starting back to the trenches when an older German clutched my arm. "My God," he said, "why cannot we have peace and all go home?" I told him gently, "That you must ask your emperor." He looked at me then, searchingly. "Perhaps, my friend. But also we must ask our hearts." And so, dear sister, tell me, has there ever been such a Christmas Eve in all history? And what does it all mean, this impossible befriending of enemies? For the fighting here, of course, it means regrettably little. Decent fellows those soldiers may be, but they follow orders and we do the same. Besides, we are here to stop their army and send it home, and never could we shirk that duty. Still, one cannot help imagine what would happen if the spirit shown here were caught by the nations of the world. Of course, disputes must always arise. But what if our leaders were to offer well wishes in place of warnings?
Songs in place of slurs? Presents in place of reprisals? Would not all war end at once? All nations say they want peace. Yet on this Christmas morning, I wonder if we want it quite enough. Your loving brother,
Tom
 | | Mike's Blog Round Up Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST I think they should have Christmas every four years. Good enough for the Olympics, good enough for Christmas. Give us some time to recover and train. This business of having it every year is madness, just madness. Teamster Nation: What a union THUGGS ("Those Helpful Union Guys and Gals") do for a sick 5-year-old. Prune Juice Media: Obama cuts down on inaugural balls. Deficit crisis averted. Vox Verax: The Fiscal Cliff is as much a threat as the Mayan Apocalypse. Fablog: Can't get enough Christmas? Wanna bet? Bonus: There's a ton of calories out there today, Go enjoy them if you want. Round-up by Bill Wolfrum of William K. Wolfrum Chronicles. Send tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com. | | Open Thread: An Advent Adventure Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:30 PM PST I know many of us are not believers. But there's something about this piece that transcends labels, just as A.A. often does, and since some of us are alone and dealing with overwhelming problems this holiday season, it might help. I miss the stories Anne Lamott used to write for Salon, because they got me through some of the roughest times of my life. (How can you not love someone who refers to herself as a "cursing Christian"?) Anyway, reminded by several other bloggers who also posted this, an excerpt from one of my favorite columns. I hope it gets to someone who needs it: So I called my Jesuit friend, Tom, who is a hopeless alcoholic of the worst sort, sober now for 22 years, someone who sometimes gets fat and wants to hang himself, so I trust him. I said, "Tell me a story about Advent. Tell me about people getting well." He thought for a while. Then he said, "OK." In 1976, when he first got sober, he was living in the People's Republic of Berkeley, going to the very hip AA meetings there, where there were no fluorescent lights and not too much clapping -- or that yahoo-cowboy-hat-in-the-air enthusiasm that you get in L.A., according to sober friends. And everything was more or less all right in early sobriety, except that he felt utterly insane all the time, filled with hostility and fear and self-contempt.
But I mean, other than that everything was OK. Then he got transferred to Los Angeles in the winter, and he did not know a soul. "It was a nightmare," he says. "I was afraid to go into entire areas of L.A., because the only places I knew were the bars. So I called the cardinal and asked him for the name of anyone he knew in town who was in AA. And he told me to call this guy Terry." Terry, as it turned out, had been sober for five years at that point, so Tom thought he was God. They made arrangements to go to a meeting that night in the back of the Episcopal Cathedral, right in the heart of downtown L.A. It was Terry's favorite meeting, full of low-bottom drunks and junkies -- people from nearby halfway houses, bikers, jazz musicians. "Plus it's a men's stag meeting," says Tom. "So already I've got issues. "There I am on my first date with this new friend Terry, who turns out to not be real chatty. He's clumsy and ill at ease, an introvert with no social skills, but the cardinal has heard that he's also good with newly sober people. He asks me how I am, and after a long moment, I say, 'I'm just scared,' and he nods and says gently, 'That's right.' "I don't know a thing about him, I don't what sort of things he thinks about or who he votes for, but he takes me to this meeting near skid row,where all these awful looking alkies are hanging out in the yard, waiting for a meeting to start. I'm tense, I'm just staring. It's a whole bunch of strangers, all of them clearly very damaged -- working their way back slowly, but not yet real attractive. The people back in Berkeley AA all seem like David Niven in comparison, and I'm thinking, Who are these people? Why am I here? "All my scanners are out. It's all I can do not to bolt. "Ten minutes before the meeting began, Terry directed me to a long flight of stairs heading up to a windowless, airless room. I started walking up the stairs, with my jaws clenched, muttering to myself tensely just like the guy in front of me, this guy my own age who was stumbling and numb and maybe not yet quite on his first day of sobriety. "The only things getting me up the stairs are Terry, behind me, pushing me forward every so often, and this conviction I have that this is as bad as it's ever going to be -- that if I can get through this, I can get through anything. Well. All of a sudden, the man in front of me soils himself. I guess his sphincter just relaxes. Shit runs down onto his shoes, but he keeps walking. He doesn't seem to notice. "However, I do. I clapped a hand over my mouth and nose, and my eyes bugged out but I couldn't get out of line because of the crush behind me. And so, holding my breath, I walk into the windowless, airless room. "Now, this meeting has a greeter, which is a person who stands at the door saying hello. And this one is a biker with a shaved head, a huge gut and a Volga boatman mustache. He gets one whiff of the man with shit on his shoes and throws up all over everything. "You've seen the Edvard Munch painting of the guy on the bridge screaming, right? That's me. That's what I look like. But Terry enters the room right behind me. And there's total pandemonium, no one knows what to do.The man who had soiled himself stumbles forward and plops down in a chair. A fan blows the terrible smells of shit and vomit around the windowless room,and people start smoking just to fill in the spaces in the air. Finally Terry reaches out to the greeter, who had thrown up. He puts his hand on the man's shoulder. "Wow," he says. "Looks like you got caught by surprise." And they both laugh. Right? Terry asks a couple of guys to go with him down the hall to the men's room, and help this guy get cleaned up. There are towels there, and kitty litter, to absorb various effluvia, because this is a meeting where people show up routinely in pretty bad shape. So while they're helping the greeter get cleaned up, other people start cleaning up the meeting room. Then Terry approaches the other man. "My friend," he says gently, "it looks like you have trouble here." The man just nods. "We're going to give you a hand," says Terry. "So three men from the recovery house next door help him to his feet, walk him to the halfway house and put him in the shower. They wash his clothes and shoes and give him their things to wear while he waits. They give him coffee and dinner, and they give him respect. I talked to these other men later, and even though they had very little sobriety, they did not cast this other guy off for not being well enough to be there. Somehow this broken guy was treated like one of them, because they could see that he was one of them. No one was pretending he wasn't covered with shit, but there was a real sense of kinship. And that is what we mean when we talk about grace. "Back at the meeting at the Episcopal Cathedral, I was just totally amazed by what I had seen. And I had a little shred of hope. I couldn't have put it into words, but until that meeting, I had thought that I would recover with men and women like myself; which is to say, overeducated, fun to be with and housebroken. And that this would happen quickly and efficiently. But I was wrong. So I'll tell you what the promise of Advent is: It is that God has set up a tent among us and will help us work together on our stuff. And this will only happen over time. "For you, Crabby Miss, and for me; together, over time."
Open Thread below... | | C&L's Late Night Music Club With The Pogues Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:00 PM PST Title: Fairytale Of New York Tonight's the night! What's your all time favorite holiday song? | You are subscribed to email updates from Crooks and Liars
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Merry Christmas from MAKE!
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:07 PM PST
| Merry Christmas from MAKE! Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:44 AM PST Thanks to all of our MAKE contributors and readers. You all made this a banner year with many milestones...  | | Ten Tips for New Raspberry Pi Owners Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST  Merry Christmas, makers! We're guessing a lot of you found Raspberry Pis under the tree this morning and are eager to start hacking around with it. Getting Started with Raspberry Pi, which I co-authored with Shawn Wallace will be shipping very soon and is available for pre-order now. In the [...] Read the full article on MAKE  | | Where’s Wall-E? Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:02 PM PST | You are subscribed to email updates from MAKE
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Some ways Jews are different from Christians
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:07 PM PST
| Some ways Jews are different from Christians Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:57 AM PST For the holidays, here are some differences between Judaism and Christianity. But first, here are some caveats: -
I know there are many different branches of Christianity, and there are different types of Judaism as well. I’m generalizing. -
It will amuse my Jewish friends that I have the chutzpah to write about Judaism since I am at best an agnostic, and am non-observant except occasionally to support my wife, who is an observant Modern Orthodox Jew. Jews are a people You are a Jew if your mother was a Jew. Even if you despise all Jewish beliefs, you are a Jew, just as you would be an Italian even if you rejected every aspect of Italian culture. (Even the cooking? What are you, crazy?) This is one good reason we generally have not evangelized our religion. You can’t convert to Italian. Exceptions can be made, however. So, if you go to a rabbi and say you want to convert to Judaism, he will send you away. On your third try, he’ll probably agree to start you on some instruction. If you do convert, the fiddle is that we assume your soul must have been at Mt. Sinai back at the revelation, so you were really a member of the people all along. Note that this means that Judaism is not a religion based solely on belief. You are a Jew even if you lack Jewish beliefs — you’re probably not a particularly good Jew (as I am not), but you’re a Jew. This is way different from Christians who believe that you come to their religion by deeply accepting a set of propositions. There is no Jewish fundamentalism I’m taking fundamentalism as an adherence to the literal meaning of a religion’s basic text. Keeping in mind that I’m generalizing (and I’m now going to stop inserting that caveat), Jews believe something like the following: God gave the Jews a sacred text. That text has been preserved letter by letter throughout the ages through some careful information-transmission techniques. But, that text cannot be simply read and understood, because reading a text requires human participation, and participation is always based on one’s history and situation. There is no possibility of reading without interpreting, and thus there is no possibility of fundamentalism. Put differently, God intended this text — what Christians call “The Old Testament” — to last through the ages. The ages are historical. Therefore, the text has to be capable of being reinterpreted within each age. What made sense to people wandering through the desert 5,000 years ago doesn’t make sense now if taken exactly as written. For example, treating your slaves exceptionally well made sense then, but not having slaves makes sense now. Having multiple wives made sense then. Re-re-defining marriage so that it can be between two men or two women makes sense now (at least according to many Jews — this is still a controversial issue). But we are not free to interpret the text any old way we want. The interpreting of the text requires many years of scholarship. Interpretations must also be done in close conversation with the history of interpretation by the revered tradition of scholars. You must cite your sources. And not to avoid plagiarism. You have to be in dialogue with those sources, using a critical methodology that has evolved over the millennia. This mix of fidelity to a text and an ability to re-interpret it for modern times while in conversation with the continuing tradition of interpretation is what has kept Judaism alive for 5,000 years. (At least according to my interpretation :) This enables most Jews to favor harmonizing the divine text and science. That’s why few Jews are Creationists, and many are scientists. Judaism is not a matter of faith The caricature of religion put forth by atheist ranters such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins is entirely wrong about Judaism. They portray religion simply as a belief in impossible things, belief against all evidence. Now, there are elements of faith in Judaism, if only the beliefs that the Torah was given by God to Moses, and that it is a guide suitable throughout all of human history. But Jews also believe that God gave us minds and hearts so that we can progress in our understanding, and we need to apply His gifts to our understanding of the text he gave us. Jews also believe that if forced to make a choice, it’s better for Jews to act in accordance with the Law than to believe in God, although it’s of course best to act well and to believe. Rabbis have no special relationship with God Rabbis are teachers and scholars. That’s it. You don’t need a rabbi in order to pray. You do need a minion, though: ten Jewish men. Judaism is a community-based religion. Arguments about the Torah are not signs of failure but of health We do not think there is one right interpretation of the Torah even within any one time or community. An interpretation that does not acknowledge the wisdom of contradictory interpretations will gather little respect. This is why Jews are argumentative. It’s always why we make such good lawyers. (My wife adds that Jewish thought has vacillated over time, sometimes stressing the power of differences, and sometimes aiming for a consolidation of interpretations.) Judaism is not a universal religion God revealed Himself to the Jews at Mt. Sinai and gave us our divine text. In that text are seven universal principles that apply to all children of Noah (= everyone). But then there are the many, many practices and rituals required only of Jews. For example, non-Jews don’t have to keep kosher or keep the Sabbath. You’re free to, of course, but there’s no reason to, unless your religion tells you to. (Jews were chosen to carry out a special burden of practice; that is what “the chosen people” means. At least as I understand it.) About the status of other religions, there is unresolved discussion. There are inferences, for example, that God revealed Himself differently to different peoples (cf. Amos 9.7). What it comes down to is: There’s no reason for others to follow our Laws (excepting those seven biggies from Noah), and it’s not our business what others believe. The golden rule is not enough People looking for a universal religious core sometimes cite an anecdote about Rabbi Hillel, who lived during the time of Jesus. Once there was a gentile who came before Shammai [a friend with whom Rabbi Hillel often disagreed], and said to him: “Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot. Shammai pushed him aside with the measuring stick he was holding. The same fellow came before Hillel, and Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it.” This is close to the Christian’s golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But there are two differences. The first is often noted by those citing Hillel: The Jewish version is cast in terms of what you should not do, rather than in terms of what you should do. But the other difference is I think more important. Rabbi Hillel does not conclude with this rule. Rather, he continues by telling Jews to study the Torah. My understanding of this is that humans are not wise enough to be able to conduct themselves according to one general rule. We need the details of the divine text, we need a community, and we need a tradition of wise but divergent interpretations with which we can engage. Life is more complex than that, and humans are too small and weak. Of course Christians also don’t think the story begins and ends with the Golden Rule. Yet it seems to me that Judaism favors complexity in a way that few religions do. But about this we could have a good argument! Merry Christmas to all my Christian friends! | You are subscribed to email updates from Joho the Blog
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5 Steps To An Excellent Interview
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST
| 5 Steps To An Excellent Interview Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:45 PM PST  As an interview preparation expert and career coach I leverage my skills and experience as a recruiter, human resource professional, and Student of Life to guide clients in their interview preparation.
I have a day job as a corporate recruiter and I conducted around 3,000 phone interviews for a number of different and diverse companies in 2010. Each day, I witness job seekers make serious errors in how they market their skills and present themselves as individuals during phone interviews–errors which knock them out of the recruitment process! Sadly for them, with proper preparation these errors could have been easily avoided. This is good news for you! I attribute the short comings I see in job seekers as a Corporate Recruiter to a fundamental misunderstanding of: the value of a phone interview; hiring manager expectations in increasingly crowded talent pools; and the skills needed to identify and market individual, unique skills and experience. That's where I can help. I help my clients understand what a Phone Interview truly is and how valuable it could be if approached correctly. After spending well over 700 hours (and counting) conducting phone interviews, it is clear: A huge gap exist between the effort candidates put into preparing for their Phone Interview in relation to the career goal being sought–a job! Interview preparation isn't difficult and, with the right tools, doesn't have to take too much time. My unique position as a Recruiter, interacting with both candidates and hiring managers, has positioned me as a leader in the area of interview preparation. From my experience and observation, I have developed the REACH method of preparation for phone and face-to-face interviews. REACH is the key to closing the gap between you and the job you want! REACH is so simple and easy to follow and it takes very little time to work through the five steps: - Research the Position
- Evaluate Your Skills
- Align with the Position
- Channel the Positive
- Hone Your Pitch
That's it! No need to worry about where to start or what you'll be asked during your interview. Just start using REACH to prepare for your interview and you'll be covered. Use the links below to hop over to the Intravance Blog and read on to better understand how simple it is for you to REACH for a better interview. Explore REACH: Research the Position,
Evaluate Your Skills,
Align with the Position,
Channel the Positive,
and Hone Your Pitch Photo Credit: Shutterstock The post 5 Steps To An Excellent Interview appeared first on CAREEREALISM. | | People Who Work Sitting Down Make More Money Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:00 PM PST  Dear J.T. & Dale: I am trying to help my brother. He quit his job about three years ago because of back pain. He was close to being fired, and instead he just quit. He was told he could not file for unemployment insurance because he’d quit. He’s been trying to get disability ever since, and is still waiting for another appeal. He will be homeless within three months, age 50, and he doesn’t know where to go for help. What can he do? — Sophia
J.T.: I’m so sorry to hear about your brother’s situation. The sad reality is had he waited to get fired or laid off, he could’ve gotten unemployment. Also, had he stayed and applied for disability before quitting, he might have had a better outcome. I am so very sorry I don’t have any good news for you. DALE: This is one of those cases where bad news is better than no news. Rather than continuing to wait for yet another appeal, I hope you’ll urge him to just decide help is NOT coming. He has to figure out what work he can do and get moving forward. J.T.: Without knowing your brother’s skill sets, it’s hard to get specific about jobs he could pursue, but if he has good clerical or computer skills, he could apply via job sites such as Elance.com and Guru.com, where some companies hire contractors who work at home. DALE: If your brother isn’t qualified to do computer work, maybe he could do sales. He might have to start in telemarketing or collections, but the important thing is he quits waiting and STARTS. He may discover a prosperous new career. You might pass along a line from Ogden Nash: “People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.” © 2012 by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Feel free to send questions to J.T. and Dale at adv...@jtanddale.com or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Photo Credit: Shutterstock The post People Who Work Sitting Down Make More Money appeared first on CAREEREALISM. | | 4 Ways Young Professionals Can Stand Out in a Crowded Job Market Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:30 PM PST  I've had the privilege of chatting with a lot of students and recent grads (young professionals) on my book tour, and one of the questions I often get asked is: “How can I make myself stand out when a lot of other applicants have more education and professional experience?” I always start by saying "breathe." Then, I usually recommend the following:
1. Request informational interviews with leaders in your target companies BEFORE they post jobs you want to apply for. Fortunately for you, it's much easier to be granted an informational interview when you play the "I'm a recent graduate" card. During your informational interview, make sure to ask questions that show you really understand the company, its culture, and you are clear on how you can provide the kind of results they're looking for. This will give you an inside connection when a job does emerge. 2. Position yourself as an emerging leader in your field by creating a content-rich blog and strong social media presence. Connect with leaders in your field by citing their work and interviewing them in your posts. As relationships develop, make yourself irresistibly attractive by asking them how you can help them. And when they most likely ask you the same question, don't be afraid to let them know who and what you are looking to connect to. 3. Hone in on your two to three greatest strengths and link them to the primary responsibilities and accountabilities of your prospective position. (Watch the tendency to have lengthy answers to questions about weaknesses. Remember, it's your strengths you want to emphasize and have a prospective employer walk away remembering!) 4. And most importantly, show you’re a sponge. In your networking, cover letters/resumes, and interviews, display your commitment to absorbing new information quickly, your desire to learn and grow in your role, and always be able to cite examples of how you have done this in the past. Photo Credit: Shutterstock The post 4 Ways Young Professionals Can Stand Out in a Crowded Job Market appeared first on CAREEREALISM. | You are subscribed to email updates from CAREEREALISM
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The Night Before Christmas, Social Media Edition
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:51 AM PST
| The Night Before Christmas, Social Media Edition Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:44 AM PST 
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the office Not a status was pending; no clicking of mouses. The tweets were posted by the interns with care, In hopes that friend requests and follows soon would be there.
The digital marketers were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of dollar signs danced in their heads. And as I finished downloading a new Angry Birds app, I began to drift asleep asking, "Why is it called poke and not tap?" When phone notifications buzzed with such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to Windows Vista I signed in like a flash, "This takes too long to load, should've bought a Mac." My PC wallpaper pictured a Kinkaid, new-fallen snow, Giving the lustre of mid-day – "Computer's too slow!" When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer. With a concerned feeling of confusion and sickness, I knew in a moment it must be a virus. No virus, malware or computer crash came, I guess I'm still a PC – "This computer is so lame!" “Now Twitter! Now, FourSquare! Now, Facebook and LinkedIn! To, Pinterest! To, Instagram! To Google Plus and Log in! To the top of the first page on Google's search bar! SEO! SEO! Does it work at all! AAARR!” Keywords are chosen with care by our SEO guy. Blog writing for stuffed animals? It works but nobody knows why. So up the Google rankings the urls flew, Like a sleigh full of Toys, and Santa Claus too. And from massive tweeting, and emails from Tech Crunch, Zuckerberg says, "Facebook hits 1 billion – thanks a bunch!" Social media moves on towards the next generation. Who knows? It might be part of a formal education. An online marketing company never does sleep, Especially when posting, pinning or sending a tweet. So until the next Panda or Penguin Update, “Happy Christmas to all, and never post late!” | | Merry Christmas from All the Writers on Soshable Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:10 PM PST 
We hope you are having a holly jolly Christmas and in case you didn't see, all of the writer's here at Soshable wish you a very Merry Christmas. We have appreciated all of your comments and sharing and being the loyal readers that you are we are sure that Santa has put you all on the "Nice" list. Enjoy today with family and friends and share in this special day together with knowing that we too share it along with you. No matter how you celebrate the Holiday Season, we wish you nothing but happiness and as we spend today with our families, please know that we are thinking of you. Happy Holidays! [we wish you a Merry Christmas image via wordslikesilver] |
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Fantastic Four #45, December 1965: "Among Us Hide ... the Inhumans!"
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST
| Fantastic Four #45, December 1965: "Among Us Hide ... the Inhumans!" Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:56 PM PST It was December 1965 when I first got my hot little hands on this copy of Fantastic Four #45 -- you can probably tell from the condition it's in. With these stress marks and creases it's not super valuable any more, but the colors are bright, the paper is white, and it's still worth a lot more than 12 cents. This issue featured the first appearance of one of my favorite obscure Marvel characters: Lockjaw, the giant bulldog with antennae.  Click to enlarge | You are subscribed to email updates from Little Green Footballs
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Star Wars Merry Christmas Calamity
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:23 AM PST
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'Phantasy Star Online 2' calienta su lanzamiento japonés para PS Vita y PC con dos nuevos vídeos
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:16 AM PST
| 'Phantasy Star Online 2' calienta su lanzamiento japonés para PS Vita y PC con dos nuevos vídeos Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:49 AM PST 
La veterana franquicia de SEGA ‘Phantasy Star’ se prepara para su estreno japonés. ‘Phantasy Star Online 2’ llegará a PS Vita y PC el 28 de febrero. Con motivo del Jump Festa se han liberado un par de vídeos nuevos. Echemos un vistazo. Por un lado tenemos la intro del juego, que muestra una épica batalla con el dinamismo al que nos tienen acostumbrados los nipones y que no oculta ciertos paralelismos con la saga ‘Monster Hunter’. ‘Phantasy Star Online 2’ será un título exclusivamente online al que se podrá jugar sin pagar (al menos en Japón) pero con restricciones. Como suele ser habitual los micropagos picarán los bolsillos para enriquecer la experiencia. Todo dependerá de lo restringida que se presente la opción free to play. Vamos con el trailer del gameplay. Según lo que acabamos de ver habrá partidas compartidas entre los jugadores de Vita y PC. Podríamos pensar que habría estado bien hacer lo propio con una versión para PS3 pero ya es un logro que el desarrollo del juego se haya ampliado a Vita. ‘Phantasy Star Online 2’ es un título para un público muy determinado. Seguimos pues esperando ese vende consolas que ayude a despegar en ventas a la, por otro lado, excelente portátil de Sony. Aunque bien pensado, sí que esta aglutina ya un puñado de buenos títulos Por mi parte sigo eligiendo las estupendas versiones de Vita de los juegos que esta comparte con PS3. Sé que no a todo el mundo le gusta eso, pero servidor lo está flipando ahora mismo con el ‘Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed’. Vamos, que a pesar de (o gracias a) la peculiaridad de estos títulos, si que hay un buen catálogo donde elegir. ¿Cuestión de gustos?    | | Hoy llega a los cines de España '¡Rompe Ralph!', el mayor homenaje a los videojuegos desde el séptimo arte Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:01 AM PST 
En Vidaextra somos cinéfilos (que se lo digan a nuestro querido Villalobos), aunque nuestra pasión sean los videojuegos. Pero cuando se juntan ambas cosas es difícil resistirse a hablar de lo primero pese a que aquí tratemos lo segundo. La excusa de ahora se llama la película ‘¡Rompe Ralph!’. Distribuida por la compañía Disney, y dirigida por Rich Moore, director que ha trabajado en poco más de 70 capítulos de la divertidísima serie ‘Futurama’, nos llega ahora, por fin, a España, la película animada de ‘¡Rompe Ralph!’ (conocida en los Estados Unidos como ‘Wreck-it Ralph’), y con una historia que se sale de lo habitual. Ralph es el malo maloso de un exitoso videojuego llamado ‘Fix-it Felix’, pero está cansado de su rol y desea ser un héroe. De ahí que abandone ‘Fix-it Felix’ y vaya en busca de otro papel para ser el bueno y ganarse el cariño de la gente. Algo que no será nada fácil. Por el camino se topará con un montón de iconos de los videojuegos, tanto del bando de los malos (Bowser), como de los buenos (Sonic). En definitiva, una película que cualquier fan de los videojuegos no debería perderse de antemano. No sabemos si conseguirá estar a la altura, aunque a nuestros compañeros de ZonaFandom les ha encantado. Y lo mejor de todo es que hay secuela en camino. En Blog de Cine | Estrenos de cine | 25 de diciembre | Los miserables contra los videojuegos
En ZonaFandom | ‘Rompe Ralph’ puro amor a la cultura gamer    | | Octavo día de ofertas en Xbox Live, ahora con títulos de Kinect y algún juego más arcade, como 'Hydro Thunder Hurricane' Posted: 25 Dec 2012 04:31 AM PST 
‘Hydro Thunder Hurricane’ es uno de los títulos más infravalorados de Xbox Live Arcade. Un arcade con lanchas motoras de lo más divertido que ya recomendamos en nuestro análisis de hace dos años. Es, precisamente, uno de los grandes beneficiados de las ofertas de hoy en Xbox Live, puesto que ve cómo su precio se reduce un 67%, algo no tan habitual viniendo de Microsoft. Que ya sabemos que por aquí abundan más los descuentos del 33% y 50%. Cuando hablamos de porcentajes mayores parece que son coto exclusivo de Steam, cuando no debería ser así. Sorprendentemente no será la única oferta potente del día, ya que veremos dos más con descuentos del 75%. Por un lado la curiosa propuesta de ‘Rock of Ages’, y por otro el ‘Leedmees’ de Kinect. Ambos pasando a costar durante el día de hoy tan solo 200 MS, lo que al cambio son 2,5 euros. Los demás ya sí que estarán al 50%. Os dejamos con la lista enlazando, ya de paso, a su ficha en Xbox Live. Para que resulte más cómodo. Nota: 400 MS (5 euros), 200 MS (2,5 euros), 80 MS (1 euro) Vía | MajorNelson    | | En Europa seguimos sin él en consolas, pero en EEUU 'Retro City Rampage' ya forma parte de Playstation Plus en PS3/Vita Posted: 25 Dec 2012 04:01 AM PST 
Tendría que habernos llegado en octubre, y no solamente con la versión para PC. Pero seguimos igual en Europa. ‘Retro City Rampage’ tan solo lo tenemos disponible para PC desde distintos servicios. Ni rastro de PS3 y PS Vita, y mucho menos de WiiWare y Xbox Live Arcade, irónicamente las más perjudicadas pese a que hace tiempo parecía que iban a ser las primeras afortunadas, sobre todo la consola de Nintendo. Al final se han invertido los factores. Aunque se esperan para primeros de 2013. El caso es que, como decimos, las versiones para PS3 y PS Vita de ‘Retro City Rampage’ tan solo han salido en los Estados Unidos, y desde allí precisamente nos llega ahora la noticia de que forma parte temporalmente de las ventajas de ser miembro de Playstation Plus, puesto que es gratis por poco tiempo. Y si nos llevamos una versión, nos llevamos la otra también, gracias a su característica Cross-Buy: descargamos el ‘Retro City Rampage’ de PS3 y nos llevamos el de PS Vita, y viceversa. La pena es que en Europa no lo hayamos olido todavía. Pero, quién sabe… Igual cuando nos llegue nos veamos beneficiados también por esta promoción. Si ha caído ahora allí, ¿por qué no aquí igual? Vía | Playstation.Blog    | | A falta de noticias sobre la tercera entrega, bueno es un tráiler de 'Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX' Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:15 AM PST 
‘Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX’ prepara su llegada a Japón con un nuevo tráiler que podéis ver justo a continuación. La reedición incluirá los juegos ‘Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix’, ‘Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories’ y las cinemáticas de ‘Kingdom Hears 358/2 Days’. Nunca sabemos muy bien a qué atenernos con Square Enix, pero por el momento los fans de Sora y compañía tendrán que rasgarse los ojos o recurrir a la importación para acceder a ‘Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX’. Por el momento no hay detalles sobre su posible llegada a occidente. Podemos mirar más allá y ver en esta reedición HD para PS3 una forma de acercar a nuevos usuarios a una saga que pronto podría contar con su ansiada tercera entrega, pero los sueños, sueños son, y aún tienen que salir a la palestra los directivos nipones de Square Enix para confirmarlo. Lo que sí está claro es que sin el fin del mundo de por medio, esa tercera entrega acabará llegando tarde o temprano, y no aprovechar esta ocasión sería bastante descabellado. En VidaExtra | El inesperado ‘Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX’ ya cuenta con un primer tráiler animado [TGS 2012]    | | Tráiler español de 'One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2'. ¡Rumbo al Nuevo Mundo! Posted: 25 Dec 2012 02:37 AM PST 
Habiendo vendido poco más de un millón de unidades por todo el mundo, es normal que ‘One Piece: Pirate Warriors’ vaya a contar próximamente con su correspondiente secuela con un ‘2’ a la derecha. ‘One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2’ nos llegará a Europa en verano de 2013, y para PS3, y volverá a enfrentar a Los Piratas del Sombrero de Paja contra cientos de miles de enemigos. En esta ocasión dentro del Nuevo Mundo, con nuevos escenarios como el de Skypiea, al igual que personajes, como Enel, dios de dicha tierra sagrada. Tampoco faltarán caras tan conocidas como Luffy, Sanji o Zoro, entre muchos otros a los que sin lugar a dudas los fans le sacarán mayor partido, como casi siempre. Os dejamos con su tráiler, recordando, ya de paso, que su desarrollo vuelve a recaer en Tecmo Koei y Omega Force, tal y como pasó en el primer ‘One Piece: Pirate Warriors’. Si os van los títulos en plan ‘Dynasty Warriors’ (prolífica saga desarrollada por Omega Force) y os apasiona ‘One Piece’, aquí tenéis otro indispensable. Y es que las matemáticas no fallan. Recordad: verano de 2013 en PS3.    | You are subscribed to email updates from Vidaextra
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NRA arms Santa’s elves
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:09 AM PST
| NRA arms Santa’s elves Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:08 PM PST WASHINGTON, D.C., December 24, 2012 — National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre today announced that the NRA had trained a cadre of armed elves to ride with Santa Claus on his trip around the world tonight.  “The only thing that stops a naughty guy with a gun is a nice guy with a gun,” Mr. LaPierre said during a hastily called press conference, held in apparent response to the firestorm over his proposal to place armed guards in every American school. “Let this be a lesson to principals and politicians in this country: Santa Claus is setting an example not only by arming his sleigh but also by having the courage to create the only international data base of naughty people.”
In addition to carrying a bag of gifts for children around the world, Mr. Claus’ elves will pack heat: namely Bushmaster AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, each equipped with high-capacity magazines and more than a thousand rounds of hollow-point ammunition. Mr. Claus himself is reportedly carrying a Smith & Weston 9mm semiautomatic pistol under his beard should he be met with resistance leaving his sleigh and entering chimneys and living rooms. His spokeswoman, Mrs. Claus, also confirmed that to accomodate the extra load of armed guards and weaponry, North Pole Corp. added a tenth reindeer to its sleigh, named Blitzkrieg. “As America's preeminent trainer of law enforcement and security personnel for the past 50 years, the National Rifle Association is ready, willing and uniquely qualified to help win the war on Christmas,” Mr. LaPierre said. “We did it for the nation's defense industries and military installations during World War II, and we'll do it for Santa Claus today. Our culture — that is, our evil Hollywood media — have done Mr. Claus a disservice by portraying him as merely jolly and nice in movies, cartoons, and now videogames. That is an invitation to every insane killer that his journey would be their safest opportunity to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk. Well, let me tell you: His elves may look small and they may spend the rest of the year making toys, but tonight, they’re prepared for the worst.” Mr. LaPierre continued: “Think about it. We care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. American airports, office buildings, power plants, courthouses, even sports stadiums are all protected by armed security. We care about the President, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents. Yet when it comes to the most beloved, innocent and vulnerable character in our culture, we leave him utterly defenseless, and the monsters and predators of this world know it and will exploit it. That must change now! Now Santa Claus is armed, thanks to the NRA. We believe in Santa Claus. And Santa Claus believes in the NRA!” Mr. LaPierre also announced that as part of the NRA’s new North Pole alliance, Santa Claus agreed to place realistic toy guns under every Christmas tree around the world. “We are proud to take part in training the next generation of shooters,” Mr. LaPierre said. At his press conference, Mr. LaPierre refused to take questions from the press. Unanswered were questions regarding what will befall the well-armed Mr. Claus when he travels to most civilized countries in the world, which, unlike the United States, have laws regulating the possession of guns and ammunition. This could lead to the prospect of Mr. Claus being arrested and jailed as he and Christmas come to Australia, Japan, and other nations with strict and successful gun controls. “let the death of xmas lie on the conscience of #guncontrolnuts,” said one NRA supporter on Twitter in a discussion following the announcements. Also in the discussion on Twitter, CNN host Piers Morgan criticized Mr. Claus for his new stand in favor of guns and against gun control and invited him to appear on his prime-time show. “Come on, America,” Mr. Morgan tweeted. “Ban Santa Claus and enforce background checks on his elves. Do it now.” This led to further calls to deport Mr. Morgan, to which one Briton tweeted in response: “Nobody in Britain wants Piers Morgan to be deported. We’d much rather he was strangled in his bed by Santa.” * Sadly, the LaPierre quotes are adapted from his own speech. * Earlier: FTC fines Santa Claus. | You are subscribed to email updates from BuzzMachine
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Rod Stewart Sings Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:08 AM PST
| Rod Stewart Sings Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:22 AM PST  Rod Stewart performed the Christmas classic, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on the Today Show. The song is one of the Christmas songs on Stewart's new album, Merry Christmas, Baby. Take a look: Photo: Verve Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  | | 65,000 Christmas Light Display Upsets Neighbors Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST A California woman paid tribute to her late husband with a huge Christmas light display that used over 65,000 holiday lights. Her neighbors were not amused. They want the over-the-top display removed. The display cost $50,000 and took a month to install. Take a look: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  | | Actor Jack Klugman Dies at Age 90 Posted: 24 Dec 2012 05:45 PM PST Actor Jack Klugman had died at age 90. Klugman is best known for his roles as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple and as Dr. R. Quincy, M.E., a crime solving medical examiner, on Quincy M.E. Klugman was two Emmys for his Oscar Madison role. Klugman appeared in nearly 100 movies and tv shows. You can see the full list here on IMDB. Take a look: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  | | Report: Acer to Launch $99 Tablet in 2013 Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:00 PM PST  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Acer is planning to launch a $99 7-inch tablet in 2013. The Journal says the Iconia B1 tablet will offer specs similar to the first Kindle fire and Nook tablet. The Android-powered tablet will run a 1.2GHz processor. If Acer does launch a $99 tablet it would put more downward pressure on the price of 7-inch tablets, which have been falling ever since Amazon launched the Kindle Fire. An exception to the lower price trend is Apple's iPad mini, which costs much more than rival 7-inch and 8-inch tablets with its $329 price tag. Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  | | Tunisia to Auction Ousted Leader Ben Ali's Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:00 AM PST Al Arabiya reports that Tunisia is auctioning off the property of former dictator Ben Ali. Some of the items at the auction include luxury cars, designer clothing, furniture and jewelry. CNN reports that some Tunisians are checking out the former leader's possessions to gasp as the extravagant items. The Tunisians government hopes to raise about $13 million from the auction. Take a look: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  | | Il Volo Sings Silent Night on Today Show Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:00 AM PST  The Italian band Il Volo sang "Silent Night" to Hoda Ktob and Kathie Lee Gifford on the Today Show. The song is from Il Volo's five-song album entitled, Christmas Favorites, which is sold on Amazon.com. Take a look: Photo: Rentor / Geffen Records Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  | You are subscribed to email updates from ShoppingBlog.com
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Tips for capturing holiday light memories with your iPhone camera
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:07 AM PST
| Tips for capturing holiday light memories with your iPhone camera Posted: 25 Dec 2012 10:30 AM PST  The iPhone has a great little digital camera built into it. If you're thinking about getting those last photos of the neighborhood and indoor holiday lights before they all come down, here are a few hints to make sure you get a memorable picture. Let's start with exterior lights. The iPhone isn't a terrific low light camera, but it can still take some stunning shots. The first thing to remember is that you don't want to wait until it is completely dark. If you do, all you'll see in your photo are the lights and some small areas of the house that are illuminated by them. The best time to take your outdoor holiday light photos is just after sunset. Dusk photos will work just fine. You'll have about 20-30 minutes of twilight sky to make your photos keepers. You'll see some sky texturing that way, and the house and holiday lights will both be very visible. If you have a newer iPhone with iOS 6, try the built-in panorama mode, but be sure to hold the phone really steady. Remember, the lower the illumination, the more steady you have to be. Check the gallery below for an example of a panorama shot. Indoor lights are easier to photograph with your iPhone. To add some interest to the photos, place some objects like candles in the foreground to focus on, which will put the holiday lights in soft focus in the background. Of course, people are good foreground subjects -- be sure to focus on them, and let the tree and lights be in soft focus in the background. Avoid using the iPhone's flash if you can. It creates very harsh lighting that changes the mood of the photo, and there's always a potential of causing 'red-eye' problems. Those devilish eyes can be removed with iPhoto for iOS, but it's better to not have the problem in the first place. Tips for capturing holiday light memories with your iPhone camera originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 25 Dec 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments | | TUAW's Christmas 2012 iPhone 5 case roundup and giveaway Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST  Ho, ho, ho! For all of you who just got an iPhone 5 for Christmas, it's time to read about some of the new cases that have appeared on the market in the past few months. Some lucky readers will get a chance to win one of those cases to protect their new phones. We did an earlier roundup of iPhone 5 cases at the beginning of November, and the new cases have literally been piling up like snowdrifts around the TUAW Labs office. So what better time to do a giveaway than after a bunch of readers have found new iPhone 5 boxes sitting under the tree? Crimson Aluminum Frame Case for the iPhone 5  The iPhone 5 is a beautiful phone, and many owners want protection without hiding the sleek design of their phone behind layers of plastic. Crimson Case introduced the Aluminum Frame Case for iPhone 5 (US$39.95 - $69.95) that protects and showcases your iPhone without adding a lot of weight. At less than 20 grams, the Aluminum Frame Case comes in a rainbow of colors: black, silver, red, purple, pink, orange, polished gold, white, chrome, and 24K gold plate. Unlike some other iPhone 5 cases I've tested, the Aluminum Frame Case provides complete access to all of the ports on the phone without a lot of bulk. The frame uses aircraft-grade aluminum and elastomer corner guards for great shock protection. A hex driver, two extra screws, a screen protector and a microfiber cleaning cloth are included. Karas Kustoms Alloy 5 Case  Another of the beautiful aluminum frame type cases for the iPhone 5 comes from Karas Kustoms with the Alloy 5 case ($55). The company uses aluminum with an anodized finish in blue, gold, green, gray, orange, pink, red, violet, silver or black, with your choice of white or black Delrin end caps to protect your iPhone 5. There are also special copper and brass (both $105 each) editions for that special steampunk look. The hardware is designed to let iPhone 5 owners stand their phones up on their sides, perfect for taking photos or video. An installation hex driver is included, along with a spare pair of hex screws. X-Doria Engage Bamboo, Venue, and Shield Cases I have to admit that I like X-Doria's cases. They're well made, stylish, and yet still affordable. With the iPhone 5, we have three cases that really show X-Doria's design skills.  First up is the unique Engage Bamboo ($34.99), which uses laser-etched bamboo to protect the back of your iPhone while providing side protection with a polycarbonate shell. The bamboo gives the Engage Bamboo a nice natural look, and the case is a piece of cake to put on and take off.  Next is the Venue ($34.99), made of two materials designed to absorb shocks and provide a nice 3-D grip pattern that makes the phone easy to hold. The Venue I tested was made of a shiny black polycarbonate with a gray chevron pattern in the same rubberized material that is used inside the case. The Venue comes in black and gray, black and light blue, white and gray, gray and orange (above), green and blue, and red and white. The Venue is a relatively simple case design, but it certainly adds both visual impact and protection to your phone.  For the ultimate in protection, the Shield ($39.99) is a bargain. Using a triple layer design, the Shield wraps your iPhone 5 in an impact resistant body with a hard shell outside and a shatter-resistant front shield. Doors and covers shield all of the ports and switches on your device. The Shield adds a bit of thickness to your iPhone 5, but if you're looking for true protection this is the case for you. It comes in black and dark blue, dark blue and light blue, white and gray, black and yellow, and gray and orange (above) designs. Hats off to X-Doria for making good looking and protective iPhone 5 cases that don't cost an arm and a leg! A+ Case Superleggera Pro and Collatio Taiwanese case manufacturer A+ Case is a rather new addition to our list of accessory makers, but they've gotten off to a fairly good start with the Superleggera Pro and Collatio cases.  The Superleggera Pro is another protective case for iPhone 5, featuring a silicone insert for shock protection and a beautifully-finished polycarbonate hard case on the outside. Silicone plugs and covers keep your ports and switches protected while in the case. Unfortunately, we don't have pricing for the A+ cases or information on availability, but if you're able to get your hands on a Superleggera Pro somewhere, you'll love it. The Collatio is described as a "simple yet decent handmade authentic leather case." It's a foldable wallet case with slots for three credit or ID cards, as well as a money slot. The outside finish of the Collatio is nice; it exudes a solid, warm feel that's not overly ostentatious. The construction of the leather piece that holds the iPhone 5 in place is a little rough, but it does its job well. ZooGue Social Case for iPhone 5  It's no secret that I'm a fan of ZooGue's products, and the Social Case for iPhone 5 ($9.99) really makes me want to cheer. Instead of charging $30 for a piece of plastic, ZooGue charges ten bucks for a simple protective case made of a silicone-like material. The Social Case has ridges on the sides to make your phone more "grippable," and while protecting your iPhone 5, it doesn't really detract from the thinness or light weight. The cases come in black, gray, white, red, dark blue, light blue, pink, purple, lime green, and army green. At this price, you could buy a few and switch them off depending on your mood. By the way, that $9.99 price tag includes free shipping. Gumdrop Cases Drop Tech Series for iPhone 5  Gumdrop's Drop Tech Series case ($44.95) is like a set of tires for a four-wheel drive vehicle; rugged, able to put up with a lot of abuse, and with some good tread. Yes, this case does have a tread pattern on the back, which not only provides a lot of protection but makes the Drop Tech very grippable. Your iPhone 5 is first encased in a polycarbonate shell frame, then surrounded by the silicone case. It comes in three different primary finishes: black and black, black and red, and army green (seen above). If your tastes run a bit more towards pastel finishes, take a look at the Drop Tech Designer Series cases (also $44.95), which come in blue and pink, yellow and blue, orange and blue, and purple and pink. Loop Attachment Mummy i5 Cases  Chicago-based Loop Attachment's Mummy Cases are now available for the iPhone 5 ($25). I'm a big fan of these cases, which use silicone for protection in a "mummy-wrapped" design that lets some of the design features of your iPhone 5 peek through. They come in a variety of colors -- everything from basic black and white, graphite (gray), magenta, neon blue, powder blue, neon green, bright orange, purple and red. As with the ZooGue Social Cases, Loop Attachment's Mummy Cases are meant to protect while being fun and colorful. The company succeeds with a low-cost case that's attractive, lightweight, and eminently collectible. Sena Case Ultraslim Classic and Walletslim for iPhone 5  Last, but certainly not least, are two cases made by luxury case manufacturer Sena. All of Sena's cases are beautifully made of premium leather, and the quality shows through in every stitch. The first case I looked at is the Ultraslim Classic ($29.99), which is an extremely slender pouch-type sleeve that adds almost no bulk to your iPhone 5. It comes in a variety of colors -- black, tan, red, light blue, dark blue, green, orange, brown, white, pink and purple. All of the Ultraslim Classic cases have a velvet lining to cushion your iPhone 5 and are absolutely classy.  On the more practical side is Sena's Walletslim Case ($44.95), which combines a designer wallet with three pockets with a form-fitting leather iPhone case. It's perfect for carrying your phone and a few credit or ID cards in style. The Walletslim comes in smooth leather in black, red, brown and orange, and in crocodile leather in black and red. Giveaway Now it's your turn to enter to win one of 17 different cases from TUAW and the manufacturers discussed in this review. Keep in mind, these cases are all for the iPhone 5, so if you don't have one (or don't know someone who does), don't enter! Here are the rules for the giveaway: - Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
- To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.
- The entry must be made before December 28, 2012 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Eighteen winner will be selected and will receive an iPhone 5 case (value of case varies, please see descriptions above)
- Click Here for complete Official Rules.
Loading... TUAW's Christmas 2012 iPhone 5 case roundup and giveaway originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments | | What Apple gear do you buy a reindeer for Christmas? Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST  Maybe we're tipplin' the 'nog a bit too much here at TUAW Central, but we thought you'd enjoy joining in our poll on the best Apple-themed presents for Rangifer tarandus volans. These animals are responsible for an awful lot of hard work, distributing presents, defying physics (something with a lot of "quantum" appears to be involved in collapsing gift waves simultaneously), waiting on rooftops as a big fat man makes his way down ventilation ducts and other rooftop access points, and racking up frequent flyer miles. While most of the coverage today seems to focus on the big fellow, our hearts go out to the overlooked heroes of the Christmas distribution process: the reindeer. What would you buy Rudolph and his pals in gratitude for their service? View Poll What Apple gear do you buy a reindeer for Christmas? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 24 Dec 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments | | Kickstarted-funded POP charging station lives on after Apple rule change Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:00 PM PST  Here's a nice turn of events that must have plenty of Kickstarter backers feeling the holiday cheer. Following an abrupt about-face by Apple, the POP power station portable charger for iOS devices has been un-canceled by its creator, who is now heading full-steam-ahead into production of the product. GigaOM reports that backers of the portable battery, which sports a combination of retractable Lightning and 30-pin cables if desired, have received an email from project founder Jamie Siminoff announcing the good news. Siminoff had decided to issue them full refunds after Apple wouldn't approve his creation, saying its guidelines forbid both connector types from being used on a single charging accessory. Following the media coverage the story spawned, however, Apple changed its rules. Siminoff initially decided not to continue development of the POP device when he learned about Apple's change of heart on the matter, but luckily for backers he appears to have had a change of heart of his own. The POP project raised US$130,170 of its original $50,000 goal. [Via AppleInsider] Kickstarted-funded POP charging station lives on after Apple rule change originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments | | Devjuice: TraductoPro offers human-powered localization and translation Posted: 24 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST  TraductoPro offers an app-based translation bureau for developers struggling to internationalize their applications. With it, you can translate Xcode projects and app metadata as well as press releases and other documents. Importantly, your app does not already need to be set up to use localization macros. The TraductoPro application will scan your Xcode project and import all Objective-C strings it finds. You review the strings, select the ones to be subject to localization and then update your project to automatically insert macros. For example, if you start with the following code:  After macro insertion, you end up with:  From there, you select from the available languages, add them to your cart and check out. You can choose from Standard (native speaker), Professional (professional translator) and Enterprise services (professional translator plus proofing by a separate translator).  The app alone, which offers Xcode project import and localization macro insertion, costs US$50. Pricing is provided dynamically by the server, and starts at $0.10 a word, and the minimum project cost starts at $10. Based on the volume of the job and the level of service, the price goes up from there. Most jobs turn around in about four to 12 hours. Turnaround for Enterprise service is slightly higher as two translators are involved. The translations you purchase for each project remain associated with your account. If you issue future updates, you're quoted only on the incremental changes you've have made. You need not re-translate the entire project. Be aware, however, that translations are not shared between projects. Your "Done" button translation will be charged for each project you submit. When your translation has completed, you receive an update by email. Return to the app and you click Export to sync those changes back to the .lproj and .strings files in the project. TraductoPro also enables you to purchase document translation (for press releases, email marketing and other general use situations) and App Store metadata-specific translations (including keywords and descriptions). These translation tasks price out at the same $0.10 per word and offer the same levels of translator selection.  You can download a copy of TraductoPro directly from the vendor or purchase via the Mac App Store. Be aware that the App Store version does not offer in-app translation orders, which can be a pain, for but it's being offered right now for a rather sweet special ($20 for Christmas, normally $100). If you'd rather pick up the more convenient dev-supplied version, TUAW readers can apply the discount code TUAW to match that $20 price during Christmas. Devjuice: TraductoPro offers human-powered localization and translation originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 24 Dec 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments | | Daily Update for December 24, 2012 Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST | | "Something Ventured" documentary to feature Jobs, others Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:00 PM PST  At last year's SXSW, the documentary "Something Ventured: Risk, Reward, and the Original Venture Capitalists" gave audiences an inside look at the early days of investing in various entrepreneurs including Steve Jobs. Now, as AllThingsD reports, the film will debut for the rest of the us in January on various public television networks across the country. Aside from Apple's beginnings, the documentary features the origin stories of companies including Intel, Cisco and Atari. If you're interested in checking it out, you can head over to the documentary's local TV listings and find when the program is scheduled to hit your area. "Something Ventured" documentary to feature Jobs, others originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 24 Dec 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments | | China to crackdown on trademarks following "iPad" issue Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:00 AM PST  Trademarks in China are a notoriously shady business, but according to Reuters, that's something the country is trying to change. Chinese authorities will begin reviewing trademark laws in hopes to prevent so-called "malicious" registrations, or attempts to glean money from established brands. Apple recently had to deal with a similar issue in the country relating to the iPad name and eventually paid a whopping $60 million to Proview. Cupertino levied a lawsuit against the company for rights to the name, but a Chinese court rejected the claim based on the fact that Proview had owned the iPad name in China since 2000. After Apple's legal attack fell short, Proview went on the offensive and eventually scored the $60 million judgement which allowed Apple to openly sell the iPad in the country. Apple's iPad issues don't exactly fall under the umbrella of "malicious" registrations, given that Proview owned the name well in advance of Apple's tablet hitting the market, but it's a plus that China will begin keeping a closer eye on the trademark scene as a whole. China to crackdown on trademarks following "iPad" issue originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Germain’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2013
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:05 AM PST
| Germain’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2013 Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:00 PM PST 
Anyone who considers the number thirteen unlucky obviously hasn’t looked at the upcoming film schedule. 2013 looks like a movie lovers dream with a huge bevy of different sci-fi films for us to enjoy, major superhero films, sequels we didn’t think we see, classic novels being adapted, prequels to great movies, true stories told and so much more. Yes, 2013 is looking promising and with 2012 just about over, I’m proud to present my top ten anticipated films of 2013. First up, some honorable mentions: Gravity, 42, Man of Steel, Fast and Furious 6, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Rush, Saving Mr. Banks, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Anchorman: The Legend Continues. 
10. Monsters University Monsters University has been described to me as the Pixar version of Revenge of the Nerds. If that isn’t exciting enough, it’s a new franchise return for the animation company and those turned out exceedingly well. Expectations couldn’t be higher for the prequel return of Mike and Sulley. Release date June 21. Watch the trailer here. 
9. Pain and Gain Without question or competition, my favorite Michael Bay movie is the original Bad Boys. A simple, small budget action comedy featuring two charismatic actors with great chemistry getting into all kinds of trouble in Miami. Which is exactly what Pain and Gain seems like it’s going to be. If Transformers 4 was out this year, it probably wouldn’t make this list. But Bay’s return to “low budget” does. Release date: April 26. Watch the trailer here. 
8. This is the End There are few things I enjoy more than self-reference. And in the realm of self-reference, famous people playing themselves as asshole versions of themselves is right near the top of the list. So, obviously, I’m super excited for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s directing debuts featuring almost every popular comedic actor in Hollywood, as themselves, at the end of the world. Release date June 14. Watch a teaser here. 
7. Her Two words (or one name): Spike Jonze. And really, that’s enough. The amazing director now has written his first feature about a man (Joaquin Phoenix) who creates a computer that he subsequently falls in love with. With a supporting cast including Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde and Rooney Mara, this one could be very special. Release date TBA. 
6. Kick-Ass 2 The first Kick-Ass was one of my favorite movies of 2010. Brutal, hilarious, exciting, it combined everything we love about movies into a smart, awesome shell. Amazingly, even with the film not doing so well, we’re getting the sequel, which is almost more brutal, hilarious and exciting, if we’re to believe what happens in the comic book. The original cast returns, new actors have been added and expectations are high. Release date June 28. 
5. Elysium The sophomore film from the director of District 9 brings with it a lofty set of expectations, especially after a sizzle reel blew the roof off the San Diego Comic-Con. Matt Damon becomes a cyborg to infiltrate a space utopia run by Jodie Foster. I can’t wait. Release date August 9. 
4. Ender’s Game My favorite book of all-time gets adapted with a cast including my favorite actor of all time? Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming. Ender’s Game finally makes its big screen debut after years and years of difficulty and, if done well, has the potential to spawn a new franchise. Seeing a young man trained to save humanity in a zero-gravity battle room could be the most exciting thing we see all year. Release date November 1. 
3. Star Trek Into Darkness J.J. Abrams’ first Star Trek is exactly what blockbuster filmmaking should be. With this sequel, the team will try and be exactly what every blockbuster sequel should be. Better, darker and more intriguing than that last one. That obviously have that third part down so now if we can just get the first one we’re in for a real treat. Release date May 17. Watch the trailer here. 
2. Pacific Rim Guillermo Del Toro, one of our favorite directors, directs his dream movie about a race of huge alien monsters who come to Earth and we defend ourselves with huge robots. It’s a fanboy fantasy come to life from one of the most passionate directors around. If he pulls it off, it could be a blockbuster on a James Cameron level. Release date July 12. Watch the trailer here. 
1. The World’s End A surprising choice? Maybe. But here’s why The World’s End is my most anticipated film of 2013. Until he falters, any Edgar Wright film will have a spot on these lists. Plus, if you remember back to number 8, I love self-reference. The World’s End is the third part in an unofficial trilogy that includes Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, probably the best two recent examples of films that do self-reference right. They do that by peppering in movie jokes with a really great story filled with interesting, relatable characters. Combine those two things with an incredible cast that returns Nick Frost and co-writer Simon Pegg along with Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Rosamund Pike and you’ve got the movie that not only am I most excited to see in 2013, it has the potential to be among its best. Release date October 25.  | | The /Filmcast: Bonus Ep. – Django Unchained Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:30 PM PST 
Dave, Devindra, and Adam tackle Quentin Tarantino’s latest historical epic, Django Unchained. You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993.
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 | | ‘Django Unchained’: See Tarantino Direct Via B-Roll Footage, Hear Frank Ocean’s Deleted Song and Director Commentary on the Soundtrack, See One Last Trailer Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:00 PM PST 
Seeing a slave blast away a bunch of white slavers for money might not seem like your ideal family Christmas movie, but Quentin Tarantino is gonna show it to you anyway. Django Unchained opens next week and it’s a brutal, violent and tense tale of a slave (Jamie Foxx) who teams up with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to save the woman he loves (Kerry Washington) from an sly slave owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Only from the mind of Tarantino could something so devilish sound so delightful. Once you see the film, odds are you’ll be wondering about the mood on set for such an intense, polarizing film. Well, look no further. Twelve minutes of behind the scenes B-roll has popped online that shows the making of the film including the master, Tarantino himself, directing his cast. (Update from Russ: After Germain filed this, a final trailer dropped for the film, and the song that Frank Ocean cut for the film, but which Tarantino couldn’t find a place for, went online. There’s also a full stream of the soundtrack with song introductions from Tarantino. I’ve added all these below at the end of Germain’s original post.)
Thanks to @JHubanks on Twitter for the heads up. As usual, if you want to go into Django Unchained clean, there are some likely some spoilers here, but nothing too crazy. Here’s the last trailer for the film before tomorrow’s opening: And here’s the track Frank Ocean did for the film, called ‘Wise Man.’ It’s great stuff, and pretty damn attention-getting in its own right. Not that Tarantino has ever shied away from music with a big personality, but I can’t quite imagine where he would have used this in the film. (The director explained cutting the song with “There just wasn’t a scene for it … I didn’t want to cheapen his effort.”) Ocean tweeted the online drop, and you can listen to an embed below: django was ill without it. tmblr.co/ZRdVAyZys7Qh — frank ocean (@frank_ocean) December 23, 2012
And here’s a stream of the full soundtrack album, with introductions from Quentin Tarantino. It’s one long embed, running over an hour. Sorry we can’t give you individual tracks, but it’s a great listen if you’ve got the time. And then, just to round things out, here’s a mash-up of Django Unchained and Blazing Saddles. This one was more or less begging to be cut, and this edit does a good job with the materials.  | | LOL: The Worst Movies Of 2012 Review Themselves Posted: 24 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST 
Many fans consider 2012 to be one of the best years for film in a long time. We’ve had great popcorn movies, huge epics, mind-melting indies and new films from some of the best filmmakers around. But every year has some stinkers and as good as 2012 has been, it’s probably been equally as bad too. The team at NextMovie compiled four minutes of some of the worst movies of the year reviewing themselves. Which movies did they pick and what does each one say for itself? You’ll have to click below to find out. Thanks to the team at Film.com and Next Movie for the video. I think my favorite line is Ed Burns in Man on a Ledge. Too funny. Did you agree with all the choices? Which line is the most damming? For the full list, check out the tags below.  | | Cool Stuff: Wayne Dorrington’s ‘Back to the Future’ Poster Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:00 PM PST 
In 2011, illustrator Wayne Dorrington hit the pop culture conscious with his Star Wars Iconoscopes. Reimaging the original trilogy as almost a hieroglyphic, his pieces went viral and announced him an artist to keep an eye on. He’s just started a brand new series of posters based on great films of the 1980s and what better film to start off with than Back to the Future? After the jump, check out the full image and Dorrington’s description. It’s extremely cool. You can read more about this piece, and see some close up shots, over on Dorrington’s blog. 
Here’s what the artist said about it: This is the start of a new series of poster illustrations, this time centring around the great movies of the 1980s. I’m actually old enough to have been a teenager in the 80s, so I remember in 1985 going to see this amazing new movie at the cinema called “Back to the Future”. I remember that everyone went NUTS over it, and even watching it today it still holds up. In this poster, Ive picked out some classic elements to the story, and arranged them in a way that hopefully visually explains the central themes of the movie – I also added in some more subtle ideas, like the way that the lightning and the flaming tyre tracks go together to form the outline of the Flux Capacitor, key to Doc Brown’s Time-Travelling DeLorean. This Illustration is a different style to the previous movie posters, moving into a more limiting ‘icon’ styled approach. It was a real challenge, but I really enjoyed it – I’ll definitely be carrying on the series with another classic movie soon.
 | | How Kevin Smith Almost Directed Ben Affleck in a Disney Movie and Why ‘Fletch Won’ Never Happened Posted: 24 Dec 2012 09:30 AM PST 
Over the holidays, it’s easy to lose track of what’s going on on Twitter. Many of us are too busy sitting around with our families, eating big meals or maybe going to the movies. If you fall into that category, you probably missed Kevin Smith‘s tell-all tweet marathon revealing an interesting story of how Ben Affleck asked him to direct a non-Miramax movie, why Fletch Won never happened, and more. But don’t worry. We’ve got it all embedded for you after the jump. Here’s Kevin Smith’s story from his Twitter, embedded in order. Via @dispair83 “what ever happened to you doing a FLETCH movie” For 5 years, I tried to make it with Jason Lee as the young Irwin Fletcher. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
I adapted an insanely-faithful-to-the-book FLETCH WON script, which tells the story of a young Fletch’s first big story at the newspaper. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
But Harvey didn’t get Jason Lee at all. I’d say “Jason Lee IS Fletch” and he’d say “Lee doesn’t have an audience.” Even when he was on EARL. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
And it all came to a head in 2003, while I was in post-production on JERSEY GIRL – when Ben had been offered the lead in a movie at Disney. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
So Ben asks if I wanna direct this movie in which he’s gonna be the lead. Exciting: I’d never directed someone else’s feature script before. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
I read the script and it was fun – but making it with my friend would make it more so, I figured. So with Ben’s encouragement, I say “Okay.” — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
This is back when Harvey was running Miramax, which was then owned by Disney. So I figured it’d be no big deal: s’all in the family anyway. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
But this was also when the split between Harvey and Disney was brewing – which would come to a head with Fahrenheit 911 a few years later. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
So when I tell Harvey “I’m gonna direct a movie for Ben over at Disney” it went over like I’d said “Y’know who rocks? Bob Shaye & New Line.” — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
I had an overall deal w/ Miramax in which they got a first look/crack at anything I wrote and directed. This was directing only, so no prob. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
But the thought of a pair of Miramaxkateers working for Michael Eisner didn’t sit well. I was told to sit tight while they talked to Disney. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
Harvey told Disney it’d be a co-prod, since he had an overall deal with me. Disney declined so I was then instructed to turn the gig down. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
I told him my deal allowed me to direct for somebody else. There were lots of guilt-ridden “family” & “us” & “them” terms thrown at me. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
I was 100% Miramax in those days. I was in the coolest gang in town and I’d die for my colors. But I wasn’t LEAVING; just working with Ben. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
So while I’m trying to point out that my deal allowed for me to direct for others, Harvey hits me with a verbal right hook out of nowhere… — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
Harvey says “Fine: drop that Disney movie and I’ll let you make your FLETCH.” I was ready to hug him when he added “With BEN as Fletch.” — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
“What about Jason Lee?” I asked. Harvey said that was never going to happen. If I wanted to make FLETCH WON, I had to get Ben to be Fletch. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
I argued that Ben was still gonna wanna do the flick at Disney, so I was told to convey a message: Miramax would match Ben’s Disney offer. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
So for about two weeks in 2003, we almost rushed my FLETCH WON flick into production with bloated, studio-like salaries. All to beat Disney. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
Harvey’s play was kinda brilliant: he knew the only thing that’d give pause about working elsewhere was working with a friend back home. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
Ben read and liked the script. And the money was as big as what he was gonna get for the Disney movie. So suddenly, FLETCH WON was possible. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
An office was opened. Preliminary scouting began. And when shit needs to suddenly happen fast in the movie biz, that costs MONEY, son! Lots! — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
But mercifully, before a $50 million version of FLETCH WON could happen, Ben passed. He said he didn’t feel right about flat-leaving Disney. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
I didn’t go with Ben to Disney. Ben was cool about it: he said he’d never understand my loyalty thing to Harvey but he still respected it. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
See, Harvey knew he had me regardless. Being Miramax MEANT something to me – a code I lived by. We were a gang of NY. It was Us vs All Them. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
And ironically, I’d never make another movie for Miramax. Harvey & Bob split from Disney a few years later, creating The Weinstein Company. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
The next flick I made was CLERKS II. And while I love that film, it never felt right having a Weinstein Company logo at the head of it. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
See, that’s why it’s easy for me to leave the movie biz now: When that era of Miramax died, a big piece of my passion for film died with it. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
So now I’m mostly a podcaster. And Ben’s a director who may win Best Picture this year… If Harvey doesn’t make it a three-peat. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
FLETCH wound up at Warner Brothers years later. My only regret is a flick never got made before Fletch creator Greg McDonald passed away. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
That Disney movie – the one that caused so much contention and friction? The studio pulled the plug on it mere weeks away from production. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
So Ben didn’t wind up doing the movie anyway – which was called GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST. It was made years later… starring Jen Garner. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
Ah, Hollywood… After nearly 20 yrs buried balls-deep inside you, I’ve learned only this: You’re as easy and as complicated as high school. — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 23, 2012
- Page 2: Preacher, DJ Caruso, Black Swan, Harvey Weinstein, The Hangover 2, Natalie Portman, Lost, Michael Bay, Sex and the City 3
- Kevin Smith Wants to Bring Back Ben Affleck and Matt Damon For ‘Hit Somebody’
- Interview: Harold Faltermeyer, Creator of Soundtrack Themes to Fletch, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, and Kevin Smith’s Cop Out
- Jason Lee Joins Kevin Smith’s A Couple of Dicks
- Elizabeth Banks is F*cking Seth Rogen
- The Weinstein Co Pass on Kevin Smith’s Red State
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Gamification In Viral Movie Campaigns
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:43 AM PST
| Gamification In Viral Movie Campaigns Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:00 AM PST As a former film student, I'm always interested in the movie business, especially when it comes to marketing. So when I spotted an article about a possible new viral movie campaign that was discovered, I went looking for other examples. The past year has seen an increase in viral movie campaigns that include an element of gamification. 
Of course, the concept of a viral movie campaign isn't new. Remember The Blair Witch Project? People believing it was an actual documentary, is the perfect example of the creation of buzz around a movie. However, adding a gamification element to the campaign is a trend that has been getting more and more attention in the past year. What is gamification?
Well, it is defined by Wikipedia the following way: Gamification is the use of game-thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts in order to engage users and solve problems. Gamification is used in applications and processes to improve user engagement, ROI, data quality, timeliness, and learning.
Just the movie experience isn’t enough anymore for the viewer of our generation. We want to be engaged with the story, feel like we are part of it and can partake in the movie itself. So how are movie marketers attempting to do this? Let’s take a look at a few movie campaigns that included an element of gamification. DSRW Project
Earlier this month a website called DSRW (Deep Space Radio Wave) Project was discovered. The apparent mission of this project, started by a non-profit research organization, is to "capture deep space radio waves and analyze them for patterns and messages". The findings of the research were published on this website, and viewers were asked to help decode and interpret them, and maybe look for clues that can answer the age old question: are we alone in the universe? Sounds interesting, right? 
When examining the website more closely, a Warner Brothers Copyright logo can be found in the lower left corner. Ah! Proof that the website is part of a viral movie campaign. Which one, you ask? Well, Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel seems to be the answer, which will be released at some point next year. Creating an element of mystery around the release of a film, and encouraging people to check out what the website is about, will engage the viewer and create buzz for the movie. The Hunger Games
The marketing team responsible for The Hunger Games knew how to reach the (mainly) teenaged fans of the franchise. The younger generations like virtual and digital worlds they can immerse themselves in, and what better way to engage them than to create a virtual world, calles the Inaugural Capitol Tour, in which they can participate in a digital version of The Hunger Games? See more of the virtual experience here. 
The Dark Knight Rises
When the first parts of the digital movie campaign for The Dark Knight Rises appeared in May this year, fans were given an exclusive view into the reports of the “anonymous vigilante” (a.k.a. Batman) case Gotham City’s police department was investigating. Users were given the opportunity to start an investigation of their own. Police officers, which were the users in this case, were asked to sent photos containing graffiti to an email address of the police department. Locations where Batman had previously been spotted were listed, and each sent photo of these locations unlocked a frame on a second website. Eventually, when the entire game was played out, the trailer of The Dark Knight Rises was uncovered. 
My opinion
Letting fans participate in movie campaigns will let them feel engaged with the movie, the story, and the cast, and will most definitely lead to fans being more enthusiastic about the release. Adding an element of mystery, for example in the campaign of Superman: Man of Steel, will get people curious, and encourage them to actively help make sense of the campaign. Your opinion
What do you think of adding a gamification element to movie campaigns? Will it give an extra incentive to users to help get the movie more buzz? Follow & Share
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About the author
Marion aan 't Goor is a Social Media Consultant at Share Force One. You can connect with Marion via Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The post Gamification In Viral Movie Campaigns appeared first on VIRALBLOG.COM.     |
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“Jewel In The Night”, The First Christmas Carol From Space
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:40 AM PST
| “Jewel In The Night”, The First Christmas Carol From Space Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:40 AM PST  The first ever musical recording in space (that we know of anyway) was performed just a few days ago on the International Space Station by Col. Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station. The song, which is already climbing up Reddit’s r/Music page, is an original Christmas Carol called Jewel in the Night. Based on the commander’s Facebook and Twitter pages, he and his crew are celebrating Christmas in every way possible while they’re away from their families. They even have a Christmas tree on the ceiling, thanks to what the commander calls “the beauty of a weightless Christmas.”
Col. Hadfield is married, with three adult children, one of whom sent us his Christmas Carol. The song is interesting, as it depicts Christmas from a birds’ eye perspective, from space. The International Space Station crew is spending Christmas as far away from Earth as possible, and while I try to stick with the classics, no situation is more suited to an original melody. Here’s the SoundCloud file: It’s crazy to think that someday, probably soon, when space travel has become a consumer industry, that this could be the Christmas Carol of outer space. I mean, we made it through the Mayan Apocalypse (and the Black Friday Apocalypse), so in my book we’re good to go for at least a few more centuries. In other words, get used to Jewel in the Night. One day, it too will be a classic with Oh Holy Night and Jingle Bells. Lyrics So bright, Jewel in the night.
There in my window below.
So bright, dark as the night.
With all of our cities aglow. It’s long been our way
To honor this day
And offer good will to man. And know, where eever we go,
It’s come round to Christmas again. So far, shines every star.
They’re without limit to see.
So grand, far away land
Beckoning, calling to thee And let it be shown
Where ever we go
In all of the wonders above, With all that we bring
There’s no finer thing
Than this message, this province of love. A love for the families
That gather below.
Love for the stranger
That you’ll never know. For those who aren’t with you
Who wander above. So bright, jewel in the night.
There lies the cradle we knew.
Home of all that we love
And all of our memories, too. It shall be our way
To wander away
And take with us all that we know.
And never cease this message of peace
From Bethlehem so long ago. It shall be our way, to wander away,
And take with us all that we know.
And never cease, this message of peace,
From Bethlehem so long ago. | | Making The $35 Raspberry Pi Mini Computer: Quickly And Carefully Does It Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST  It’s a safe bet that a fair few children of geeky moms and dads will be finding a rectangular-shaped parcel under their holiday tree tomorrow. And when they rip off the shiny wrapping those lucky kids will find an oh-so-tasty Raspberry Pi inside: a $35 mini computer that can play Blueray-quality video and has more graphical power than a Nintendo Wii — although none of that will be immediately obvious. The Pi is a learning tool not a plug-and-play toy. The first thing the kids are likely to notice after they winkle their Pi out of its antistatic packet is that it looks a bit weird. If they’ve grown up surrounded by slick, shiny consumer gadgets like iPhones and iPads they may never have handled an uncovered circuit board before. Reclaiming electronics from the sealed box approach is all part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s plan to get kids learning to code – curiosity being an essential component of learning and creativity. So in the spirit of stripping away a few more layers, I’ve been asking the Foundation what the secret is to making a $35 mini computer. The basic receipt is this: having extremely skilful cooks who can craft batch after batch of Raspberry Pis as quickly as possible, and with as few duds as possible. Many Raspberry Pis are made in the UK, in Sony’s Pencoed factory in Wales which landed a multi-million pound contract to manufacture Pis for one of the Foundation’s Pi licensees, Premier Farnell, back in the fall. Premier Farnell also has two locations in China which produce Pi but the majority of its production (70 percent) is in Pencoed, and in January the factory will account for its entire Pi output. (The Foundation can’t disclose exactly how much of the Pi pie each of its licensees accounts for.) Sony’s Pencoed factory makes an average of 4,000 Model B Pi‘s every day — or one every 7.5 seconds. Which is hard to imagine when you consider the intricacies involved in churning out thousands of double sided PCBs (printed component boards) with surface mount components on both sides and plated through hole components on the top — with blobs of molten solder being laid down in just the right spots, and the correct components stamped on them at a rate of 5.5 parts per second. And doing it all on a very tight budget. Boards are made in panels of six Pis which go through four “key processes”: mounting the bottom surface components, mounting the top surface components, mounting the plated through hole components; and then testing and packing. Pi on a budget Of course, making a Pi is nowhere near as complex as making a modern smartphone, but the balancing act here is keeping the price down without eroding the distributor’s business model. The most costly components in the Pi are the Processor and Memory core silicon, closely followed by the connectors. With a $35 price tag (and just $25 for the forthcoming Model A Pi) components have to be bought at the right price but also the right quality — since manufacturing defects also have to be minimised and squeezed out of the production process till they’re barely ever there. It’s no good slowing production either: demand for Pi is so high they have to be able to make thousands per day. “To achieve the low price whilst still yielding a sustainable business model requires skillful manufacturing optimisation and parts procurement,” says Pi hardware designer and Foundation trustee Pete Lomas (no relation!). “The production line has to run efficiently and deliver a very low failure rate. Component vendors must be selected for both quality and price and any potential changes passed through a detailed selection procedure. It is little use saving 40 cents on the components if the failure rate of finished Raspberry Pi rises. Equally every defect is aggressively pursued to understand it's root cause and eliminate it.” “Test failures” do still exist of course, but Lomas says that “to our knowledge” fewer than 100 boards have been returned by users as defective — meaning less than 0.1 percent of boards have slipped through the quality-control net. “Of these, some had physical (transit) damage and others had no fault found, so the actual figure is somewhat lower again,” he adds. Selling like hot cakes In terms of keeping up with demand, Lomas admits the Foundation was initially caught on the hop — having drastically underestimated people’s appetite for Pi — which resulted in shipping delays in the early months. “We were caught out by a massive increase in interest in the Pi in the very early days,” he says. “Whilst we were setting up for a modest production run of 20,000 units the expressions of interest overtook us by a factor of 10. At that point we decided to engage with our partners Premier Farnell and RS. “Even with their significant resources, the logistics of getting components for a hundred thousands of Pis and getting them built was a challenge.” Unlike an electronics giant like Apple or Samsung, the not-for-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation and its suppliers were not in a position to stockpile components prior to launch to scale up for the unexpected surge in demand. (And let’s face it, even Apple can’t always keep up with demand.) Another delaying factor is long lead-times on some of the Pi components, says Lomas. “[Our partners] didn't have the opportunity to stockpile before launch (unlike, say, Apple), so things were always going to be tricky. Scalability also depends on the components and the lead-time on some parts, especially the processors, is significant and still can present issues a year in to manufacture.” The Foundation is expecting to sell about a million Pis in its first year of operation — a far cry from the original 20,000 production run it budgeted for. Baked in the U.K. The Raspberry Pi was born in the U.K., so it’s only natural the Foundation wanted Pi to be made in the UK too. Sony’s Pencoed factory was chosen because it ticked a variety of boxes, says Lomas — not least, being open to visits from children to see Pi making in progress. “Making Raspberry Pi in the UK is a desire that we had on day one. The Foundation's aim is to encourage children to develop an interest in programming, electronics and related engineering subjects. Having the manufacturing of Pi in a place that we could provide opportunities for 'show and tell' was also important and the overall philosophy of the Sony management and staff has been a significant enabler for this,” he tells TechCrunch. “Sony Pencoed was chosen because both their world-class technical capability and their enthusiasm for the Raspberry Pi project overall. We also should not forget that they offered our licensees a viable cost model on a par with the 'all in cost' of Far East manufacture. Equally from a technical point of view, the management and resolution of any design related production issues or optimisations is much easier when they are only a few hours away.” The factory now has more than 22 staff dedicated to Pi production. The overall lead time from first contact with the factory to hitting “volume production” was around 14 weeks — giving an indication of how long it took Sony to devise the Pi production line. Now there’s a “rolling production forecast” between Premier Farnell and Sony which allows for “a degree of production flexibility” with around a month’s notice, says Lomas. “The only process that Sony did not already have in their production process was Package on Package. Within the introduction programme they researched the process in depth, selected and installed the equipment and ran trials to validate the process before introducing it to the Pi line,” he adds.
Another helping of Pi Asked whether Sony’s factory could scale up to greater production capacity in the future, Lomas says there is “significant extra capacity” that could be brought on stream. “Ultimately it is the licensee's decision where to place additional capacity, but overall the Sony experience has been excellent,” he adds. There has been no let up in demand for Pi, according to Lomas, but the Foundation believes its existing Pi factories have enough capacity to keep up with demand. “We hope that in the next few months we will reach equilibrium where manufacturing is balanced (as much as it ever can be) with demand. We have options to increase capacity with our existing manufacturers and so additional factories would in all probability not be required.” For more on Pi production, Lomas has written an excellent, blow by blow account of the various stages and processes of Sony’s Pencoed Pi production line — such as the reels of surface mount components used to keep production ticking along, how Pi boards are baked (yes really) in giant ovens to make sure all the components are properly adhered, and the perils of “lava accidents.” The Foundation has also put together a video montage showing some of the Pi production stages: | | Gift Guide: Dyson DC44 Animal Wireless Vacuum Cleaner Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:00 PM PST  Short Version The DC44 from Dyson is truly an Animal. It’s as good as it gets in the land of vacuum cleaners, with a wireless base, multiple lightweight attachments, and a sleek design. Sure, it’s on the expensive end of the spectrum, but when storing and using your vacuum cleaner is this easy, you realize it’s well worth it. Plus, it does a damn good job of keeping the house clean. Long Version Features: - Dual-power mode
- Cordless
- 5 lbs
- Motorized cleaner head
- .09 gallon bin capacity
- Includes combination tools, crevice tools in the box
Info:
The DC44 is… … the best vacuum I’ve ever used. Setting aside the fact that it’s cordless, light, and sleek, the DC44 actually works better than any other vacuum I’ve come into contact with. My apartment is noticeably cleaner after using it, and the act of vacuuming is noticeably easier when it’s with the Animal. I never once have to go over the same surface twice, and getting the white shag rug or the white upholstered headboard clean with the extra tools is quick and painless. On top of that, the Animal is cordless, which means no more tripping over or wrangling wires, and it Dyson’s patented mobility technology, relying on a centralized sphere to help maneuver into tough corners and crevices. It’s incredibly light, and does its job so quickly that it’s tough to get tired before you’re finished. This, of course, depends on the size of your home, but in either case it’s likely an upgrade from almost any other product in the weight department. One slight downside may be battery power. According to Dyson, the Animal only provides 20 minutes of continuous use in regular mode. I found that to be very modest. I used an initially fully-charged Animal on three separate occasions, all for longer than ten minutes each, and only had to charge it after that third time. The Animal comes with dual power modes, meaning you can use it for 20 minutes regularly or for “8 minutes on Boost mode.” Boost mode is intended to pull up the really tough stuff, which it does well, but it does drain power much faster. I got about 13 minutes out of Boost mode. (Editors’ Note: I mixed up products in the video above, and accidentally said the Animal has a six-hour battery life. My mistake. My apologies.) Buy the DC44 for… … both the clean freak and the slob. A vacuum isn’t the sexiest gift, but this is just about the sexiest vacuum in the world, and the only I’d deem acceptable as a Christmas gift. However, if you so choose to give the gift of cordless clean, don’t bother worrying about that recipient’s disposition toward a clean home. My girlfriend requires a spic and span living environment, whereas I’m far more laid back in that department. Of course, she enjoys a quick lap around the apartment with the Animal, cordless and free. But I was surprised to find that I didn’t mind vacuuming at all with the DC44. It’s even quiet enough to leave on the news or the music. Because… … some of the best gifts are the things we need, not the toys we want: a coffee maker, a new washing machine, luggage, or a vacuum cleaner. If you’ve seen a loved one struggle with their out-dated vacuum cleaner, the Dyson DC44 is a truly thoughtful gift. It will pay off in the long-run, when daily cleanings prove to be much more efficient. But it’s also shiny and new, and a fun thing to open up on Christmas morning.
| | Gift Guide: 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:05 PM PST  Short Version You waited this long, you might as well go big: Apple’s smaller 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is a very worthy sequel to the 15-inch variety released this past summer, and while it will still strain the average buyer’s budget, it definitely won’t inspire any buyer’s remorse. Long Version Features: - 1,280 x 800 (best for Retina), 232 ppi display
- Dual Thunderbolt ports
- Just 3.57 lbs and 0.75 inches thick
Info: The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is… … Apple’s second notebook with a HiDPI display that qualifies for its ‘Retina’ moniker, and the one that is the most portable with a smaller physical footprint than the 13-inch MacBook Air, and significant weight savings over the 15-inch Retina MBP. All of which it accomplishes while still boasting the same 7-hour battery life as the 13-inch non-Retina variant. Buy the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro for… … yourself. This is a pricy machine at $1,699 (or $1,999 for the configuration with 256GB of flash storage, plus configurable options), so it’s unlikely that anyone else will be buying this for you, unless you’ve been very good this year. Also, since you’re reading this on or after Christmas Eve day, you could spring for this if you completely forgot or couldn’t get to someone on your list who’s incredibly important. They’ll forget how inconsiderate you were the first time the desktop swims into view on the Mac’s amazing display. Because… … you could go for the 15-inch model for only $600 more, which also introduces a dedicated graphics card into the mix, but you likely don’t need to. In practice, I’ve used both interchangeably and only very occasionally noticed the difference: when editing video and outputting to dual high-resolution displays, for instance. Otherwise, the weight and size savings you’ll get with the 13-inch are worth any minor performance trade-offs. But if you’re after a computer that can come with you to any shoot and handle photo editing duties in eye-popping style (thanks to Adobe’s recent Retina-supporting Photoshop update), this is definitely the machine to get.
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it’s there (photo by coolhandluke)
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:38 AM PST
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SiliconBeat
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:36 AM PST
| Bravo’s “Start-Ups” – A post-mortem Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:43 PM PST In case you missed it – and plenty of people seem to have – Bravo’s loudly hyped, widely eviscerated Start-Ups: Silicon Valley ended with a whimper last week. After a debut episode last month that netted a reported 700,000 viewers, the “Jersey Shore Meets the Social Network” mashup saw its audience plunge by 25 percent, according to the New York Times. And as my colleague Chuck Barney noted after last week’s finale, Bravo “basically threw in the towel, moving the show out of prime time and essentially burning it off with back-to-back episodes.” I reached out to a couple of cast members, as well as to executive producer Randi Zuckerberg, to ask if they had any thoughts on the whole experience. They’re keeping mum, which of course could have something to do with the fact that it’s Christmas Eve. (UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Kim Taylor, who offered a thoughtful and spirited defense of the show that I’ll point to shortly at www.mercurynews.com/wiretap.) But Derek Andersen, who runs a network of tech entrepreneurs and “wantrapreneurs” called Startup Grind, wasn’t shy about offering a post-mortem when I asked. “The biggest problem with “Startups” is that it’s just bad television,” he said. “Forget the fact that there aren’t enough tanning beds in Silicon Valley to support the cast: The show is totally uninteresting to watch.” Of course, he added, that didn’t stop plenty of locals from doing so, if only out of curiosity or to look for familiar faces. Andersen was hardly the show’s only critic in the valley, but he points up the biggest challenge facing Zuckerberg and anybody else hoping to pull off a similar show. Folks scoffed that most real entrepreneurs spend their time, in Andersen’s words, “cranking night after night trying to launch products – not attending cocktail parties.” I myself have noted how little resemblance the show’s well-coiffed cast bore to the startup CEOs I meet with, who look ready to collapse from exhaustion. The problem, of course, is that a show about people sitting around coding all night long is inherently boring. Unless, maybe, you get Aaron Sorkin to write the script. One final point about the show’s final episode: Bravo’s website makes a big deal out of claiming that Dwight Crow – the toga-sporting, shot-swilling and arguably most insufferable member of the cast – had sold his startup, Carsabi, to Facebook. Cast member Kim Taylor is likewise agog on-camera after Crow smugly shares his good fortune. The funny thing is, when Carsabi in September blogged that Crow and co-founder Christopher Berner were joining the social networking giant, they made it clear Facebook wasn’t buying the car-shopping service. In fact, Berner said he and Crow were looking for someone to buy their site.  The very hunky Dwight Crow – courtesy of Bravo It’s certainly not uncommon in Silicon Valley for a company to acqui-hire a small startup for the talent and fold the product. But I’m not totally clear that’s what happened in this case. I’m only harping on it because Bravo seems to be trying to paint Carsabi as a huge success; after all, to most folks, getting bought by Facebook would appear to be hitting the jackpot. Conspiracy theorists also might note that Randi Zuckerberg is a former Facebook honcho. Oh yeah, and her brother runs the company. Crow himself, on the last episode, says only that Facebook has offered to “let us run certain things,” which he describes as “something big.” I sent a note to Facebook’s PR folks seeking clarification as to just what Crow’s role will be there and whether the social network indeed bought Carsabi (which was backed by Y Combinator) or just hired Crow and Berner away. The company, like many, typically doesn’t comment on small M&A deals, but I’ll let you know if I hear back. |
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Book: Ender’s Game
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:34 AM PST
| Book: Ender’s Game Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:05 PM PST My post The Best Science Fiction Books of All Time from a few weeks ago got 100+ comments with some amazing suggestions. I’d read a bunch of them, but I discovered a lot of new things to read. One that appeared over and over again that I hadn’t yet read was Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I gobbled it down last night and this morning while trying to shake the holiday cold that decided to inhabit my body. Awesome. It exceeded my expectations. As I got into it, I saw threads of lots of other writers, including Asimov and Heinlein, woven through the book. But Card took the story and made it his own, combining it with a classical coming of age story that reminded me of plenty that I read when I was a kid. He wasn’t bashful about mixing young with old, kind with brutal, human with non-human, with a dash of politician in the mix. If you’ve read Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games Trilogy you can see where a lot of her ideas came from. I calibrate scifi with the date published. Ender’s Game was published in 1985 so the PC was already out in the world. Card did a good job with the computer tech, although there was still too much paper communication for critical things. His computer gaming / war simulation stuff was fascinating and well done, in a way that was very accessible to a reader of any age. And his space travel – like most science fiction – was fine, but still a fantasy for the human race in 2012. I just downloaded Speaker for the Dead and expect I’ll get to it in a couple of days after I read Vernor Vinge’s Rainbows End , another often recommended book that for some reason has slipped through my fingers so far.  | You are subscribed to email updates from Feld Thoughts
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Unlocking a market with a big discount for first customer ?
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:31 AM PST
| Unlocking a market with a big discount for first customer ? Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:01 AM PST As you want to open a new market the first potential customer asks for a high discount claiming you can use him as a reference. Once he becomes a customer then leads will flow in. However this first customer has no impact on decision making on the other potential customers in this market. In fact he is just looking to get more discount. he doesn’t care about being the reference customer that will unlock the market.
Moreover once you have granted a large discount in a new market it will be hard to give less to new leads. Even for a first customer in a new market your discounts need to stay inline with your home market. How do you approach a new market ? 
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Christmas Eve AWS outage stings Netflix but not Amazon Prime (Barb Darrow/GigaOM)
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:30 AM PST
| Christmas Eve AWS outage stings Netflix but not Amazon Prime (Barb Darrow/GigaOM) Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:45 AM PST | | All the World's a Game, and Business Is a Player (Nick Wingfield/New York Times) Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:35 AM PST   Nick Wingfield / New York Times:
All the World's a Game, and Business Is a Player — Congratulations. Reading the first paragraph of this article has earned you a badge. — If this made-up award makes you feel good about yourself, then you are on your way to understanding gamification, a business trend — some would say fad …
| | Seven Questions for Google Enterprise Chief Amit Singh (Arik Hesseldahl/AllThingsD) Posted: 25 Dec 2012 04:40 AM PST  Arik Hesseldahl / AllThingsD:
Seven Questions for Google Enterprise Chief Amit Singh — It's been a big year for many things related to the Enterprise business at Google. For one thing, it launched both Google Drive and its cloud computing platform. — Then there's Google Apps, the suite of Web-based office applications … | | Little Sign of a Predicted E-Book Price War (David Streitfeld/New York Times) Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:25 AM PST  David Streitfeld / New York Times:
Little Sign of a Predicted E-Book Price War — Right about now, just as millions of e-readers and tablets are being slipped under Christmas trees, there was supposed to be a ferocious price war over e-books. — Last spring, the Justice Department sued five major publishers and Apple on e-book price-fixing charges. | | Argentina Ranks First in Worldwide Desktop Social Networking Engagement at Nearly 10 Hours per Visitor Each Month (comScore, Inc.) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:55 PM PST | | Revealed: NSA targeting domestic computer systems in secret test (Declan McCullagh/CNET) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 09:25 PM PST | | Samsung hits back at Ericsson with its own request for U.S. import ban over wireless patents (Florian Mueller/FOSS Patents) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:10 PM PST | | PayPal Bans BitTorrent Friendly Hosting Provider PRQ (Enigmax/TorrentFreak) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 06:45 PM PST | | Netflix is down: AWS outage takes down service on some devices (Janko Roettgers/GigaOM) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:50 PM PST | | Original Droid RAZR and RAZR MAXX receiving Jelly Bean OTA update (Andrew Martonik/Android Central) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:30 PM PST | | Exclusive: Hailo Raising $30M at $140M Valuation for Epic NYC E-Taxi Throwdown With Uber (Liz Gannes/AllThingsD) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:50 PM PST | | China considering broad law to require real-name registration for its 500m+ Internet users (Josh Ong/The Next Web) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:05 PM PST | | Wells Fargo Web site troubles persist, U.S. OCC issues cyber alert (Rick Rothacker/Reuters) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 01:10 PM PST | | Coding Christmas: Codecademy lets you code your own holiday card (Ki Mae Heussner/GigaOM) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:15 PM PST | | Full QWERTY BlackBerry N-Series shows off for the camera (Adam Zeis/CrackBerry) Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:55 AM PST  Adam Zeis / CrackBerry:
Full QWERTY BlackBerry N-Series shows off for the camera — While we've seen more than our fair share of photos of the full-touch BlackBerry Z10, the full QWERTY N-Series model has eluded the camera for quite some time. We've seen some photos here and there, but today we have a great shot that show off the device in full glory. | You are subscribed to email updates from Techmeme
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Most Influential People, Companies and Cities of 2012 [Infographic]
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:28 AM PST
| Most Influential People, Companies and Cities of 2012 [Infographic] Posted: 25 Dec 2012 04:00 AM PST Klout, a service that ranks social network account holders for their influence, released a list of the most influential people, companies, products and cities of 2012. The results jibe with the most search-for terms of the year. The iPhone was the big winner in products. And Facebook, the single most searched term of the year, was the most influential company. Barack Obama, TIME’s man of the year, was the most influential person — but was closely followed by Justin Bieber. Perhaps thanks to Mr. Obama, Chicago was the most influential city on the Internet. Check the full list for some surprises. 
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.  | | 10 Fun Holiday Videos For Your Christmas Morning Entertainment Posted: 25 Dec 2012 02:00 AM PST  Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas, everyone! If you're looking for a little bit o' Christmas entertainment to keep you busy after all the presents have been unwrapped we've got just the thing. We've compiled a list of 10 fun holiday videos that are all but guaranteed to get you in the Xmas spirit. Enjoy!
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.  | | How Social Networks Can Give Competitors a Window Into Your Business Posted: 24 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST  According to a pair of McKinsey consultants, companies aren’t adequately aware of all the ways their competitors can use social networks and related tools to gather information about them. Here are a few sources of insider information you may not have considered.
Even a seemingly personal Facebook post or tweet about an employee’s travel plans can reveal to competitors which professional conference or event s/he may be attending. LinkedIn doesn’t get as much heat for privacy issues as Facebook, but it’s a goldmine for would-be corporate spies. For instance, it may be tempting to put up a detailed description of the work you do for your company. But too much detail may give competitors an idea of developing projects. A sudden surge of LinkedIn contacts who all work on a similar topic or in the same geographical area can also tip the company’s hand. For instance, say a tech company executive responsible for sales in Latin America suddenly adds several connections in Country X. There’s a good bet the company is about to make a deal there, and it could even be launching a presence there for the first time. Competitors can also use topic clouds to scour staffers’ social media communiques for themes using tools such as Wordle. They can learn how much your company pays through Glassdoor, a crowd-sourced salary information site. They can get a hint of how happy your consumers are by learning what the average wait time is on customer service phone numbers using Gethuman. Sometimes information can be gleaned simply from the geolocation tags on employees’ shared content. The best advice? Educate employees on information pathways. Showing employees what you already know about them is likely to make the case more, ahem, persuasively than just asking them nicely to be careful. And use social tools yourself to keep tabs on your competitors: If you can’t beat them, join them. New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.  | | If You Don’t Post Your Babies’ Pictures on Facebook, Someone Else Will Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:25 AM PST When my twin boys were first born, I took a hiatus from Facebook. My partner went as far as posting a status update –an overly cheerful announcement that the boys were born at 10:03 a.m. –and left it at that. Most of the responding comments were those of congratulations, but there were a few that exposed the truth of what was happening –like “Oh… God, isn’t that kind of early?” “Are they okay?” or “How’s mom?” 
While some friends probably thought they got their dates wrong, others knew I wasn’t due for another three months. The boys were born at twenty-seven weeks and five days. It might sound unnecessary to say five days instead of rounding up to another week, but when infants are born that early, every day in utero matters. We narrowly made it past the twenty-six week mark, which is the point at which a birth is potentially viable. The boys would need to stay in the NICU for three months to continue their development. In the first month, it was uncertain that they would survive. In those days, after vigorous scrubbing, we’d be given permission to touch their hands or tummies through little doors in their incubators. We watched as they developed nipples and lost the dark fur covering their bodies. We also learned before ever holding our son, Reese, that he had experienced some sort of trauma in the womb. The first ultrasound showed one concentric bright light that indicates a cyst. In the weeks that followed, more and more cysts were uncovered in various parts of his brain. The neurologists told us as much as they could: Reese would probably have some form of cerebral palsy and possibly other expressions of brain damage. While we were going through all of this behind the NICU doors, people on the outside would gently nudge, “When are we gonna see some pictures!” and I could only say, “Not yet.” Eventually, my dad leaked a picture to a family member and that family member shared it on Facebook. When I discovered it, along with all the cheerful “How cute!” comments under my child's sick, emaciated face, I was so angry. It seemed like a white washing of what was the most heartbreaking and terrifying time in my life. I felt like our story had been stolen from me.  Conversely, the moment the boys were in good health, my partner and I created profiles for them on Facebook. We posted videos of late-night hysteria. Everything was playful. We never posted about the various medical problems we still faced, like the extreme projectile vomiting that made it hard to get anything to stay in their tummies, or the financial stress that comes with having twins in the hospital for three months.
I think we needed the one-dimensional format of Facebook at that time in order to feel like the hard times were behind us. We could boil down the experience to all the nuggets of goodness, and then just ignore everything that was missing from that picture. Whenever I troll our early parenthood on my timeline, it seems really fake to me, but I’m also grateful we had a way to feel normal—even if appearing normal required extreme editing. On the boys’ first birthday, I posted a “note” about what their day of birth was really like, in all its graphic detail and bare emotion. The response from my friends was an outpouring of earnest compassion, gratitude, and support. 
Facebook gave me a way to put myself in context for people. Maybe, if it had been something other than motherhood, I wouldn’t feel the need to explain it to everyone. But, because having children is so universal, people constantly made assumptions about my experience. Every time I chose to nod my head instead of going into the details, I felt like I was burying my soul. Two years after that first note, I continue to actively share our experience on Facebook through pictures, updates, and links to my blog. It's become a form of storytelling for me, and at the end of the day, that story becomes our life. I decided to take down the boys' profiles out of some vague concerns about protecting their identities, but just as we have in real life, the twins and I have all kind of morphed into one entity now. In writing out little updates or sharing links to my blog, I’m often reminded of the tap codes prisoners of war would use to get through the years of isolation. Much like the tap codes, but unlike the telephone, Facebook has allowed me to say it all how I want to say it, in brevity or levity, without the input of a live conversation. It may seem impersonal to send a message through a wall, and get one back from someone on the other side, but it means everything to be heard. Editor’s Note: You are reading the first entry in our User Experience series, in which our writers explore how social media sites affect their daily lives. No self-proclaimed gurus, no marketing speak, and no technical jargon allowed–just real people talking about the internet. Rachel Pedroso spent most of her twenties as a flight attendant, reader, writer, trouble-maker, and occasional runner. Then in one season she fell in love, started playing house, and got pregnant with twins. Today she spends her days trying to inject as much gratitude and thoughtfulness into parenting twins as she can remember to. Rachel likes mustard greens, the internet, and radical self-disclosure. You can read more of her writing on her blog. New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.  | You are subscribed to email updates from SocialTimes
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Tweeting Bird Bike Light & Horn
Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:22 AM PST
| Tweeting Bird Bike Light & Horn Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:30 AM PST  So you do like to spend your time cycling, as it is not only a healthy way to exercise, being low impact and all, it also works out that lung power and heart of yours. If you want to dress up your bicycle, there are many different kinds of accessories to choose from, but there is always a more fun way of doing things, and the $24.99 Tweeting Bird Bike Light & Horn does seem to be one unorthodox manner to equip your two wheeler with a horn to warn other pedestrians and road users that you actually exist.
Experience the joy of riding your bicycle outdoors, and regardless of whether it is a mountain trail or on a road, the path in front of you will be adequately illuminated thanks to this cute looking faux feathered friend. Surely kids around the neighborhood would be able to identify with you whenever they see you riding your bicycle, considering the rather unique attachment. Sporting 9 bright LEDs that light your way, this cordless, water resistant device features a steady and flashing light function, alongside a loud twitter warning horn. The handlebar mounting system makes it easy for the bird to slide on and off, and it can double up as a mobile flashlight, now how about that? Just make sure you have a trio of fresh AAA batteries as a replacement when the current batch is depleted. [ Tweeting Bird Bike Light & Horn copyright by Coolest Gadgets ] | | Edifier e1100 Predator speaker system Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST  Any computer user who loves using their desktop machine to wind down after a particularly hard day at work (be it from gaming or watching movies) would definitely know of the value of a speaker system, and with so many different kinds of speaker systems around, just which one would you settle for? Well, you might want to check out the Edifier e1100 Predator speaker system for something that is slightly off the beaten path. For starters, the Edifier e1100 Predator will come with a downward firing 5-inch subwoofer and a couple of desktop satellite speakers, where each of them will have a 2-inch front firing full-range driver and 2-inch passive radiator. Needless to say, the name of this might be Predator, but it seems to be all Alien to us instead, judging by the xenomorph-inspired chassis.
Thanks to the Edifier e1100 Predator’s angled satellites, they are said to enhance sound projection, with their passive radiators throwing in dynamic range. The subwoofer works great in delivering deep, even bass that is adjustable to individual tastes. You can hook up the e1100 Predator to any audio device using the 3.5mm auxiliary input, and it does seem as though the Edifier e1100 Predator is the ideal companion for gaming rigs, in an office, or just functioning as a home entertainment system. You can pick up the Edifier e1100 Predator for $79.99 a pop.
[ Edifier e1100 Predator speaker system copyright by Coolest Gadgets ] | | LG Magic Remote announced Posted: 25 Dec 2012 04:30 AM PST  LG Electronics has just announced that they will be releasing an all-new Magic Remote for its range of Cinema 3D Smart TVs before CES 2013 kicks off in Las Vegas in a fortnight’s time. This redesigned device will adopt the enhanced language recognition capabilities which make executing commands a cinch, in a natural, interactive and conversational experience. Not only that, this all new design will also continue to employ a quartet of control options for your convenience – where they are voice, gesture, point, and wheel, and LG is touting this to be the most complete universal remote.
Havis Kwon, President and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company, said, "LG is committed to providing innovative home entertainment solutions and the Magic Remote is a key pillar of the CINEMA 3D Smart TV user experience. Building on an already impressive feature set, the latest version boasts accurate lan-guage recognition and its gesture, wheel and point control options makes the Magic Remote stand out amongst its competition as a truly intuitive device." The LG Magic Remote will come with sophisticated voice control technology that makes issuing a verbal command to the TV not only simple but effective as well. With new Natural Language Recognition software, sending out voice commands are as easy as making regular speech, where you can talk in a more conversational manner. There is no more need to pause momentarily between the command and the title, for instance, you can just say "Show me Gangnam Style video" and the new Magic Remote will get to work right away (no idea on whether this is because Gangnam Style is a secret keyword, due to it being South Korean and all). The LG Magic Remote will arrive in a couple of highly functional models, where one will ship with LG's premium Cinema 3D Smart TVs, while the other will come with their standard Cinema 3D Smart TV models. Anyone looking forward to performing some "magic"?
[ LG Magic Remote announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ] | | Martian Watch offers Bluetooth voice command at your disposal Posted: 25 Dec 2012 04:15 AM PST  Many years ago, when the mobile phone was something large and unwieldy, there was this future-forward comic known as Dick Tracy, and he had this new kind of watch which doubled up as a mobile phone. Certainly the stuff of dreams, but as we plunge headlong into the 21st century, we realize that a watch cum mobile phone is not exactly the most fun or practical device to own, and a smartphone would be far more useful. After all, the smartphone’s form factor works in its favor, not to mention that it is a simple matter to have a clock program running on it. Today, we shall take a closer look at the yet unreleased Martian Watch that offers Bluetooth voice command capability.
Since timing is everything in this day and age, the Martian Watch (no, despite its name, it does not hail from the red planet) is a Bluetooth enabled timepiece that offers voice command capability, and is touted to be the first of its kind in the world. Basically, all you need to do is speak to your timepiece, and it will listen to what you have to say while carrying out the different instructions from your wrist to the smartphone itself. The Martian Watch is expected to debut at CES later next month (which is just a couple of weeks away actually), where the Martian Watch will be demonstrated on the CES showfloor, offering a truly unique hands-free experience to the consumer. You are able to communicate without having to touch your smartphone, as you access the phone's plethora of voice commands, where among them include placing and receiving calls, sending voice-to-text messages, listening and responding to text messages, setting calendar notifications and reminders, controlling music, and searching the web. I would say that this is also safer, as no one would know you are sporting one of the newer handsets since all of it can be achieved without having to remove your smartphone from the pocket or purse. There is no word on pricing just yet, but we do expect the Martian Watch to be released to the masses shortly after it debuts at CES.
[ Martian Watch offers Bluetooth voice command at your disposal copyright by Coolest Gadgets ] | You are subscribed to email updates from Coolest Gadgets
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