Sony unveils Move, its PS3 motion controller

 

Sony unveils Move, its PS3 motion controller

SAN FRANCISCO–Sony on Wednesday unveiled Move, its motion-sensitive controller.

A small device that looks like a microphone–but with something on top of it that looks like a ping pong ball with an LED inside–Move is Sony’s bid to gain control over the motion controller wars that are currently led by Nintendo, with its Wii controller, and which many think will be dominated by Microsoft and its Project Natal controller system.

To Sony, releasing the Move is an obvious move for the PlayStation, given it believes it started the motion controller era with its Eye Toy. Sony held its press conference during the Game Developers Conference here.

Now, the Move, which will be available this fall in a starter kit that begins at under $100 for a Move, a PlayStation eye camera and a game, is its attempt to jump ahead of Microsoft’s Natal and to begin winning over Wii users.

“We like to think that the migration path between Wii households and PlayStation households is a natural path,” said Peter Dille, Sony’s senior vice president for marketing and PlayStation.

Shuehei Yoshida, Sony’s president for worldwide studios, said Move will “demonstrate that the motion controller for PS3 will be the solution for both casual and hard-core gamers alike” and that the types of games Sony can create with it are “amazingly diverse.”

Among the types of games Move will work with include those that involve swords, bows and arrows, guns, punching and much more. The idea is that Move will provide players with a realistic and precise feeling of holding whatever kind of thing the game calls for, be it a sword or a gun.

Sony first talked about its new motion controller at E3 last year but didn’t have a name or any kind of timing. Now, by unveiling the device’s name it can begin what Dille said will be the company’s biggest video game marketing effort of the year.

Full article:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10467340-52.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

Want a Better Listener? Protect Those Ears

Want a Better Listener? Protect Those Ears – NYTimes.com

For football fans, the indelible image of last month’s Super Bowl might have been quarterback Drew Brees’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass that put the New Orleans Saints ahead for good. But for audiologists around the nation, the highlight came after the game — when Mr. Brees, in a shower of confetti, held aloft his 1-year-old son, Baylen.

The boy was wearing what looked like the headphones worn by his father’s coaches on the sideline, but they were actually low-cost, low-tech earmuffs meant to protect his hearing from the stadium’s roar…[Want a Better Listener? Protect Those Ears - NYTimes.com]

 

10 Fantastic Places for Finding Designers Online

 

10 Fantastic Places for Finding Designers Online

FOUND THIS ON MASHABLE TODAY.
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
  

Unless you are a creative agency, most small businesses don’t have the luxury of having an in-house designer. There are literally thousands of freelance designers and design agencies out there that can fill various niches and services, but finding someone in your price range – and if locale is important, in your area – can be difficult.  

Fortunately, there are some great online resources that can take the sting out of searching for a designer. Here are some of my favorites:  


1. Sortfolio


Sortfolio Image  

Sortfolio is the latest project from 37Signals, the team behind Basecamp(Basecamp), Campfire and Backpack. Sortfolio is really great for companies or individuals looking for a designer because you can browse by price-range (as in, how much do these designers charge on average per project?) and location. You can also get a good look at their portfolio before connecting directly with the designer on their own site.  

Sortfoilio has the added benefit of having strong ties to the design and development communities.  


2. Authentic Jobs


Authentic Jobs Image  

Job boards are a dime a dozen and sometimes posting for a potential hire doesn’t end with any good leads. Authentic Jobs is unique in that it targets the web developer and web design community and is frequented by those most active in pushing the barriers in that community.  

Created by respected designer and author Cameron Moll and with listing partners like Veer and SimpleBits, if you’re looking for a job posting to get in front of the right people, this should be a stop on your list.  


3. Elance


Elance Image  

Elance is a highly active, organized and efficient community that you can use to find contractors online. You can search for designers by skill set, location and browse Elance’s various groups (members must pass a skill test before entering).  

The nice thing about Elance is that you can see the feedback and ratings that a provider or freelancer has received from others. This can help provide a clearer picture about a designer before going forward with an interview.  


4. Guru


Guru Image  

Like Elance, Guru is a large marketplace that connects freelancers to potential clients. You can view work samples, see completed projects, read feedback from other clients and search by rate, skill level and location.  


5. FreelanceSwitch’s Directory


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FreelanceSwitch is an online community dedicated to freelancing, with a strong focus on creative freelancers like web designers and developers. The FreelanceSwitch Directory can be used to browse for freelancers and see samples of their work.  

From there you can contact the designers directly through their own websites.  


6. SitePoint Marketplace


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SitePoint has a very active community for buyers and sellers. You can browse through pre-made templates, find designers offering their services and also post a listing.  


7. Behance


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The Behance Network is a place to discover and peruse the portfolios from tons of great designers and artists. You can see their portfolio and concepts, and also find out if they are available for work. Behance is a great resource for finding high-level talent.  


8. Carbonmade(Carbonmade)


Carbonmade Image  

Carbonmade is a portfolio service for designers and it is also a great way to locate talent. More than 195,000 designers use the service to post their projects, portfolios images and resumes. You can also see who is available for freelance work and search by design medium and skill set.  


9. AIGA


AIGA Image  

AIGA is the professional association for design and their website (as well as the sites for local chapters) has a directory of AIGA designers, as well as AIGA member portfolios, which are hosted by Behance.  


10. Krop


Krop Image  

Krop is both a job posting and job search tool for creatives. Designers can also offer up their own portfolios. Potential employers can pay to have access to searching that database or you can post a job offer on Krop’s board.  

Tecmo Bowl Throwback

It’s on like Donkey Kong.  Or in this case…like Tecmo Bowl.

Just writing this piece is bringing back memories of the hours on hours of playing Tecmo Bowl as a kid.  The Walter Payton high five in the endzone.  Hiding your controller under a pillow so your friend can’t see what play you are picking.  It was competition at it’s best.

Tecmo Bowl Throwback Officially Announced, Detailed

Tecmo today finally confirmed the existence of Tecmo Bowl Throwback, the upcoming remake of the SNES football title, Tecmo Super Bowl, set for release this spring.

The Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network game will include online multiplayer, customizable teams and rosters, and online leaderboards, as well as preseason, season and Pro Bowl modes. Fans of the SNES version will be pleased to know that you’ll be able to play Throwback in either the newfangled, next-gen-ish style or in the classic 2D presentation. In other words, prepare yourself for major childhood flashbacks.

Overall, it sounds like a winning formula for a tasty retro-remake treat. Don’t you agree?

Tecmo Bowl Throwback Officially Announced, Detailed

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/702936/Tecmo-Bowl-Throwback-Officially-Announced-Detailed.html

Missing your baby

I’ve missed quite a few things in my life. The feeling creates a yearning like no other. But the last four days has been the hardest to date.

Being away from home for four days on business is norm for me. However, doing that with a three month old at home has been brutal for me. There’s nothing like spending parts of your day with your child and when that is removed momentarily, it kills ya.

It’s not like I can text message or call Amaya, so I found myself constantly reviewing photos on my phone. I sit anxiously at the airport for my return flight home so I can spend the evening with Amaya and Nisha. I can’t wait to see my two loves.

Afterall, it’s the little things that matter most…

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Happy 3 Month Birthday Amaya

Happy 3 Month Birthday Amaya! Love you baby.

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Downtown L.A. food truck lot schedule announced

For my fellow Downtown L.A. peeps…

Last week, Matt Geller, vice president of the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Assn., told us he’ll be opening up a mobile food truck lot in Little Tokyo at 216 S. Alameda St. The project is on schedule, and the mobile food court will open Thursday for lunch service.

Readers of our last post expressed hopes that there would be more than the three to four trucks per service Geller had planned, but their preliminary posted schedule shows that the lot is currently sticking to those numbers. Here’s the lineup at present:

Thursday, 11 a.m.

  • Kabob N’ Roll
  • Tasty Meat
  • Vesuvio

Friday, 11 a.m.

  • India Jones
  • Komodo
  • Slice Truck

Friday, 5 p.m.

  • Flying Pig
  • Fresser’s
  • Grilled Cheese Truck
  • Sweets Truck

Saturday, 5 p.m.

  • Barbie’s Q
  • Frysmith

Km0oaync

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2010/02/preliminary-schedule-for-downtown-la-food-truck-lot-announced.html

Amaya February Update

Quick update on Amaya and parenthood…
 

The last few weeks was filled with baby group gatherings and friends visiting Amaya.  She adores the attention and is quite active with all of her visitors.  Nisha also started work again so that was a huge drastic shift in parenthood but we settled in after a few days.  Both sets of grandparents have provided amazing support.
    

She’s sleeping thru the night for about 7 hours straight.   Woohoo!  We feel it’s primarily due to this new blanket we bought called the Miracle Blanket.  We were skeptical at first but this thing is pretty amazing.  So far it works and Amaya sleep quite peacefully….and so do her parents.  Amaya is making all kinds of sounds and usually her and I will pretend to have our own conversation in our unique dialect.  At points, it goes on for minutes.  I could only imagine what is going thru her head.

    
Rolling over is going to be Amaya’s next big achievement.  While on her playmat, she tries really, really hard but is caught up with her own arm.  Now she’s spinning on the floor like a breakdancer since that arm stops the actual roll over process.  But any day now she will make the full turn.  She personally gets so frustrated at not being able to do when she gets so, so, sooo close.  We give her that extra nudge once in awhile to boost her confidence.

   
She is smiling on que.  She is recognizing our voices when we enter a room.  Her personality is getting bigger and bigger.  I must agree that they grow too fast.  Here are a few recent pictures but there is an entire collection on the Amaya page in the Month Two album.
    

Three Musketeers

         

The Baby Group: Amaya, Sanaya, Ishaan, Sajan

Being goofy on the playmat.

       

Ready for the SuperBowl

     

Two Month Birthday

     

Another play group: Sofia, Naveen & Amaya

    

The superstar.

   

Look, no hands!

    

Amaya & Ishaan

  

Ishaan & Amaya

 

Amaya & Sajan

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Personal Branding & Business

Was digging up some work related research and came across this captivating video.  It gets you pumped up!

Great speech to get you motivated by Gary
 

 
More about Gary: http://garyvaynerchuk.com/

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The Causemopolitan – Using Your Birthday For Good

An amazing individual, Sloane Berrent, recently interviewed me about past fundraising efforts.  Below is the interview.  You must follow Sloane and her incredible activities.  She generous, funny, ambitious and is constantly moving forward.  Read her bio on her blog, The Causemopolitan.  Also, check out the piece on her recent cross-country Birthday Fundraising Campaign that was extremely successful.  I’m honored to have Sloane in my circle of friends.
 

Dev Dugal’s Birthday Wish

Posted by Sloane Berrent in Events, Giving Back on January 22, 2010 | no responses

Dev is an amazing guy that I got to know in Los Angeles through a mastermind group that I was part of. The group continues to be some of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial people I have ever known and a terrific support group. Dev works in the restaurant/hospitality industry and so is in the amazing position of having a space that he can donate for fundraisers and to help nonprofits. The birthday campaign he talks about below doesn’t do his philanthropy justice and I’d like to thank Dev for all he does to help causes – not just on his birthday but throughout the year.

And now, the Dev Dugal interview on his birthday fundraiser:

1) Tell me about your birthday and fundraising campaign. When was your brithday? Was it a milestone? What was your inspiration? What nonprofit did you partner with? Did you tell them in advance? What was your fundraising goal (if you had one) and did you reach it?

I’ve been working with non-profits for quite some time. I realized over time which fundraising events work and which ones don’t produce. I realized that instead of bringing down the life of the party by jumping on the mic and professing the goodness of the non-profit, the structure needed to be tweaked. What has worked for me in the past is to charge people in advance or at the door and collect in advance. Spread the message about the organization thru the mediums used to invite and provide subtle reminders via auto-run presentation/DVD loop to the guests. Also a status update after the event was also fruitful.

Most people want to do good. The spectrum ranges from getting involved to simply cutting out a check. I decided I would structure my fundraising efforts around the latter and if they got more involved, it was gravy.

I’ve done about 4 events on my birthday throughout the years and they have all been fruitful. It’s a good reason to get people out when they have many choices and in the end, the non-profits win with increased exposure as well as fundraising. The organization I partnered with the most is Manav Sadhna. I had personal goals of $5,000 that I didn’t share and we reached it twice. It’s always a win-win situation.

2) Did you use online tools? Did you have a birthday party in person? What was your way to connect with people and tell them about this?

I primarily used social media to spread the word and collected general invite guest list via evite with a direct link to paypal.

3) What have you done for past birthdays?

All the events have been at bars in Southern California. My relationships allow me to generate donors for product like alcohol or deals with the bar operators for drink specials for my guests. It always works out and everyone has a great time. My motto is keep it simple with the least amount of overhead for the maximum amount of output in terms of fundraising and exposure.
4) Would you do a fundraiser for your birthday again? Was it easier or harder than you thought it would be?

I enjoy it and of course I would do it again!

5) What was the best part? Did you connect with someone you had lost contact with? Any one story you’d like to share?

The best part is when it all comes together. Even better is when I know that the non-profit is in a better position that before the event. It’s not all about the money, but it is the fact that individuals know that my events are structured this way and they keep coming back for more.

6) What advice would you give to someone else who wanted to throw a fundraiser but didn’t know where to start?

It’s a no brainer! Don’t over think it and just imagine what types of events you are not bored at and organize it the same way. Get 10 of your closest friends to commit to get 10 of their friends to commit. Have friends take ownership in the event with you as if it is their own. Create invitation on their behalf so they can also distribute to their network as if they are hosting. It works every time and before you know it, you have a solid guest list of 200+.

Related posts:
Denise Wakeman’s Birthday Campaign
Beth Kanter’s Birthday Wish
Story of a Kiva Borrower in Bosnia

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