Spring is upon us once again (although I wonder after the snow of a few days ago). Here is a chance for “renewing” and being thankful for the many blessings that we have in this great country. Granted, there are problems and difficulties that confront many Americans each day, but we are much better off then the great majority in this world.
One of our blessings is the freedom that we can express in our daily lives. These blessing and freedoms should not be taken for granted. It is through the dedication and sacrifice of many Americans that we continue to be free, especially those that serve us in the military.
Our military personnel are the backbone in preserving the ideals that formed this country. My son recently returned safely from a year’s deployment in Iraq. Many sons, daughters, husbands and wives did not return safely. Many gave the ultimate sacrifice and many will be maimed for life. This sacrifice affects not only the individual, but also the spouses, children, parents and friends of each of them.
Being raised in a military family, with a father who served in the Army Air Corps in World War II, and in my service in the Vietnam War, I am especially proud of what our military does for each one of us.
But we as the general public need to not only wholeheartedly support our troops, but also do what we can to support our governmental officials.
Granted, sometimes our government may not do what we feel is the right thing or we may blame them for circumstances that we may not understand, but they deserve our support and respect just the same.
We can do our part by voting responsibly, obeying our laws that are enacted for our safety and protection, being considerate of our neighbors and communities and helping those who may be unable to help themselves.
We are one big community and need to support each other in our daily struggles and adversities and share in the joys and abundance of our lives.
We all need to give that extra amount of concern and love that is so dearly needed by each one of us. God bless America and the world.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Soapbox Racing to the top
Boy wonder Daniel Hefford has some pretty big boots to fill.
The 11-year-old is a student at Bruce McLaren Intermediate, the school named after one of the world's most famous racing car drivers.
Daniel has just won the national soapbox derby and will now represent New Zealand at the All American version in the United States in July.
Plenty of people at the school have drawn parallels between Daniel and McLaren - the youngest man to win a world championship Formula One Grand Prix event.
Teachers are quick to point out that Bruce McLaren pupils also came second and fourth at the national soapbox derby finals.
"They are all following in the traditions of a great racing driver," principal David Crickmer says.
The school holds a special assembly once a year to honour McLaren, who was killed, aged 32, on June 2, 1970, while testing a Can Am car at Goodwood motor circuit in Britain.
It is closely affiliated with a trust set up in his memory and receives regular visits from one of his sisters.
Its orchestra entertained family matriarch Ruth McLaren each year in the resthome where she lived until her death several years ago.
"We're all very proud of our links with Bruce McLaren," Mr Crickmer says.
Daniel looks forward to learning more about the great driver as his year progresses.
But first he's got a race to win.
He'll be heading to the big event in Akron, Ohio, with his father and avid supporter John.
"I'm really excited and I'll be on TV and radio," Daniel says.
The Rotary club of Waitakere City, organiser of the west Auckland soapbox heats, will mint a special metal badge for Daniel to swap with other racers.
It will also be selling the badges to help raise funds to cover travel expenses.
About 350 competitors are expected to take part in the race.
Other members of the Bruce McLaren team were Chayse James (second), Sahrenah Mullin (fourth), Lily Fityus, Stephanie Reynolds, Kyle Crummer, Maiwand Saeedi and Nathan Tauelima.
The 11-year-old is a student at Bruce McLaren Intermediate, the school named after one of the world's most famous racing car drivers.
Daniel has just won the national soapbox derby and will now represent New Zealand at the All American version in the United States in July.
Plenty of people at the school have drawn parallels between Daniel and McLaren - the youngest man to win a world championship Formula One Grand Prix event.
Teachers are quick to point out that Bruce McLaren pupils also came second and fourth at the national soapbox derby finals.
"They are all following in the traditions of a great racing driver," principal David Crickmer says.
The school holds a special assembly once a year to honour McLaren, who was killed, aged 32, on June 2, 1970, while testing a Can Am car at Goodwood motor circuit in Britain.
It is closely affiliated with a trust set up in his memory and receives regular visits from one of his sisters.
Its orchestra entertained family matriarch Ruth McLaren each year in the resthome where she lived until her death several years ago.
"We're all very proud of our links with Bruce McLaren," Mr Crickmer says.
Daniel looks forward to learning more about the great driver as his year progresses.
But first he's got a race to win.
He'll be heading to the big event in Akron, Ohio, with his father and avid supporter John.
"I'm really excited and I'll be on TV and radio," Daniel says.
The Rotary club of Waitakere City, organiser of the west Auckland soapbox heats, will mint a special metal badge for Daniel to swap with other racers.
It will also be selling the badges to help raise funds to cover travel expenses.
About 350 competitors are expected to take part in the race.
Other members of the Bruce McLaren team were Chayse James (second), Sahrenah Mullin (fourth), Lily Fityus, Stephanie Reynolds, Kyle Crummer, Maiwand Saeedi and Nathan Tauelima.
Microsoft suspends Soapbox beta
Microsoft has temporarily closed the door to new users of its Soapbox video sharing site, which was opened up to public beta just last month.
The software giant claimed that putting a hold on new accounts for the next two months will help it limit the amount of copyright-protected content being uploaded to the site.
The move will also give the firm an opportunity to tweak the filtering software used to automatically find and remove illegal uploads.
Soapbox now requires users to login using their Windows Live ID before they can watch or upload videos.
Microsoft said that it will be "opening the doors again very soon with some cool new stuff to try".
Alongside Soapbox's temporary restrictions came an announcement from Microsoft that it has reached an agreement to act as a distribution channel for NBC/Universal and News Corp.
"We were thrilled to be a part of these discussions from the start, and to share our vision for delivering easy access to great content for consumers while accommodating critical copyright and intellectual property protections," said Microsoft Platform and Services president Kevin Johnson.
"This partnership proves that we can do both and serves as a great foundation for future collaboration."
As well as manually removing copyrighted clips if notified by copyright holders, Microsoft will use Audible Magic's CopySense Network Appliance digital-fingerprinting technology to automatically find and block protected content.
The software giant claimed that putting a hold on new accounts for the next two months will help it limit the amount of copyright-protected content being uploaded to the site.
The move will also give the firm an opportunity to tweak the filtering software used to automatically find and remove illegal uploads.
Soapbox now requires users to login using their Windows Live ID before they can watch or upload videos.
Microsoft said that it will be "opening the doors again very soon with some cool new stuff to try".
Alongside Soapbox's temporary restrictions came an announcement from Microsoft that it has reached an agreement to act as a distribution channel for NBC/Universal and News Corp.
"We were thrilled to be a part of these discussions from the start, and to share our vision for delivering easy access to great content for consumers while accommodating critical copyright and intellectual property protections," said Microsoft Platform and Services president Kevin Johnson.
"This partnership proves that we can do both and serves as a great foundation for future collaboration."
As well as manually removing copyrighted clips if notified by copyright holders, Microsoft will use Audible Magic's CopySense Network Appliance digital-fingerprinting technology to automatically find and block protected content.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Microsoft Puts Brakes on Soapbox Video Sharing
Microsoft has put the brakes on its Soapbox video-sharing site while it implements new technology to detect videos uploaded by users that could have copyright restrictions.Soapbox - Microsoft's answer to Google's YouTube - was opened up to a public beta last month, with all users allowed to upload videos. That privilege now only applies to registered users and the site is not accepting new registrations, said Adam Sohn, a director in Microsoft's online services group.Microsoft is trying to constrict Soapbox's growth while it gains control over its 45,000-strong video-clip library in a sensitive legal environment, Sohn said.Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against Google, filed 13 March, over copyright content on YouTube "certainly helped" Microsoft's decision to slow down Soapbox.Microsoft will use technology from Audible Magic that will filter uploaded videos and block those with content under copyright, Sohn said. The company is also creating software for copyright holders that will help more easily identify if their material is online and streamline the notification process.Microsoft - as well as Google - will remove videos under copyright if notified by the copyright holders. That process, however, often involved someone writing down URLs (uniform resource locators) and supplying them to the company, Sohn said.The tool could take the form of a password-protected portal, but the system remains under development, he said. Microsoft plans to reopen Soapbox to all users within 30 to 60 days, Sohn said.Sohn wouldn't say how many video clips have been removed so far from Soapbox, but "that it's an ongoing thing, it happens all the time”.Microsoft has reason to avoid annoying copyright holders. It has a standing deal with Fox, part of News Corp, for sports information on its MSN portal, among other content arrangements, Sohn said. In a deal announced on Thursday, Microsoft will help promote a new video-streaming website that will be launched by News Corp and NBC Universal in the third quarter.Content providers "just want us to do whatever we can to respect copyright and IP," Sohn said.
RPG Vault Soapbox - The Evolving Face of Gaming
March 29, 2007 - Diner Dash probably isn't the first name that pops into your mind when you think about game properties that have sold large number of units. Indeed, there's at least a fair chance you're completely unaware of the franchise, which is based upon controlling a former stockbroker turned restaurateur named Flo. The goal is to attain success in her new career by dealing with customers promptly and efficiently by taking their orders, preparing their various selections, serving them, collecting the money, including tips, and cleaning up to prepare for more patrons. To a hardcore fan of online worlds, RPG, first-person shooters, real-time strategy titles et al, this may seem a rather unusual concept, but there's no denying that it has proven appealing to a lot of people. According to developer and publisher PlayFirst, total sales are approaching the two million mark.
As the company's President and CEO, John Welch's tells us his primary focus includes driving its overall strategic direction as well as pushing the limits of innovative gameplay in order to continue attracting new target audiences. With a current portfolio of more than 20 titles for the PC and Mac plus various mobile and handheld devices, and with plans for other platforms said to be in the works, one of PlayFirst's objectives is to mainstream gamers no matter how or where they play. Following his recent GDC lecture entitled How Casual Games are Killing the Console (And Why That's a Good Thing), Welch shares his thoughts on how the definitions of casual and hardcore players are becoming irrelevant, and how casual releases are just one of the many factors driving a larger evolution in games as we know them today.
The question I like to think about as I play World of Warcraft on Monday night, then Diner Dash on Tuesday night is whether we have finally moved beyond labels such as "casual" and "hardcore" to describe how games and gamers are evolving? My philosophy when I started PlayFirst three years ago was (and still is) that these terms should be more about "and", not "or" - more inclusive than exclusive.
The timing is ripe for going beyond the thinking that there are only two types of gamers. We should be looking to define universal gaming for all. Now, we're all seeing the lines blur between the two different audiences, the two different types of play patterns and lifestyles. Someone who plays Halo on the Xbox is the same person downloading Oasis from PlayFirst.com. To say that a hardcore gamer isn't interested in different types of play experiences is as crazy as saying I shouldn't like bands as different as Rush and Eminem -I won't date myself by saying which Rush albums are my favorites... but I digress. Interestingly, where casual gamers have been traditionally viewed as people who occasionally play solitaire on the computer, and core gamers are the select few who are really devoted to their games, we are now seeing these roles merge. Casual audiences are behaving like core gamers - playing longer, later, faster and demanding smarter games - and core gamers are enjoying less hardcore experiences, as demonstrated by the popularity of titles like Wii Sports and Guitar Hero. Our research suggests that casual gamers are starting to do what core gamers have done for years, adopt and grow communities around their favorite content experiences. So what's the cause of this gaming mash-up, and more importantly, what does it mean for the industry at large? First, stating the obvious, games are fun... but playing the same type all the time becomes monotonous. Gamers are looking for variety, and games are becoming more pervasive in our culture, thus players are switching in and out of causal and core games. Just look at the double-digit conversion rates for casual games on XLA, or watch how traditionally core game mechanics such as economic and life sims are being simplified and brought to the broader mass market. Second, the Internet has created a whole new opportunity for people to be social, and this is also becoming true for gaming. With fully connected communities, the Internet will be the central nervous system of our homes, our lives and our entertainment, and it fosters greater consumer participation in content creation. The line is quickly blurring between people who create and those that enjoy the entertainment. These forces are bound to impact games, since they have always been just another form of entertainment. Only with the advent of consoles did they become solitary, niche activities only enjoyed by teenage boys. While this abrupt change is slowly reversing itself in the console space, it has dramatically affected computer games, evidenced by the sheer increase in volume of "mass market" game downloads every day. Now, with better Internet connections and greater use of open platforms that drive innovation, the market is turning on its head - for the better. Open platforms have already brought us such innovations as MySpace, YouTube, TiVo and Slingbox. Indeed, open platforms invite innovation, and I don't need to tell you that innovation is good for gaming. There's no denying the marked increase in computer power, connectivity and storage in the living room, and we can bank on having it connected to a 1920 x 1080 digital display. Companies like Comcast, Dish Network and DirectTV are competing to give you those platforms for free. Now, consider that casual gamers already outnumber their core counterparts. What will these numbers look like in five or 10 years? And what does this tell you about the longevity of the console? What does this mean? With more types of consumers playing games, and more consumers participating in content creation, we're already seeing Web 2.0 take hold in the gaming space, with greater personalization throughout. The timing is ripe for going beyond the thinking that there are only two types of gamers. We should be looking to define universal gaming for all. At the end of the day, it shouldn't be about the labels; it should be about the people and their experience. John WelchPresident and CEO, PlayFirst
As the company's President and CEO, John Welch's tells us his primary focus includes driving its overall strategic direction as well as pushing the limits of innovative gameplay in order to continue attracting new target audiences. With a current portfolio of more than 20 titles for the PC and Mac plus various mobile and handheld devices, and with plans for other platforms said to be in the works, one of PlayFirst's objectives is to mainstream gamers no matter how or where they play. Following his recent GDC lecture entitled How Casual Games are Killing the Console (And Why That's a Good Thing), Welch shares his thoughts on how the definitions of casual and hardcore players are becoming irrelevant, and how casual releases are just one of the many factors driving a larger evolution in games as we know them today.
The question I like to think about as I play World of Warcraft on Monday night, then Diner Dash on Tuesday night is whether we have finally moved beyond labels such as "casual" and "hardcore" to describe how games and gamers are evolving? My philosophy when I started PlayFirst three years ago was (and still is) that these terms should be more about "and", not "or" - more inclusive than exclusive.
The timing is ripe for going beyond the thinking that there are only two types of gamers. We should be looking to define universal gaming for all. Now, we're all seeing the lines blur between the two different audiences, the two different types of play patterns and lifestyles. Someone who plays Halo on the Xbox is the same person downloading Oasis from PlayFirst.com. To say that a hardcore gamer isn't interested in different types of play experiences is as crazy as saying I shouldn't like bands as different as Rush and Eminem -I won't date myself by saying which Rush albums are my favorites... but I digress. Interestingly, where casual gamers have been traditionally viewed as people who occasionally play solitaire on the computer, and core gamers are the select few who are really devoted to their games, we are now seeing these roles merge. Casual audiences are behaving like core gamers - playing longer, later, faster and demanding smarter games - and core gamers are enjoying less hardcore experiences, as demonstrated by the popularity of titles like Wii Sports and Guitar Hero. Our research suggests that casual gamers are starting to do what core gamers have done for years, adopt and grow communities around their favorite content experiences. So what's the cause of this gaming mash-up, and more importantly, what does it mean for the industry at large? First, stating the obvious, games are fun... but playing the same type all the time becomes monotonous. Gamers are looking for variety, and games are becoming more pervasive in our culture, thus players are switching in and out of causal and core games. Just look at the double-digit conversion rates for casual games on XLA, or watch how traditionally core game mechanics such as economic and life sims are being simplified and brought to the broader mass market. Second, the Internet has created a whole new opportunity for people to be social, and this is also becoming true for gaming. With fully connected communities, the Internet will be the central nervous system of our homes, our lives and our entertainment, and it fosters greater consumer participation in content creation. The line is quickly blurring between people who create and those that enjoy the entertainment. These forces are bound to impact games, since they have always been just another form of entertainment. Only with the advent of consoles did they become solitary, niche activities only enjoyed by teenage boys. While this abrupt change is slowly reversing itself in the console space, it has dramatically affected computer games, evidenced by the sheer increase in volume of "mass market" game downloads every day. Now, with better Internet connections and greater use of open platforms that drive innovation, the market is turning on its head - for the better. Open platforms have already brought us such innovations as MySpace, YouTube, TiVo and Slingbox. Indeed, open platforms invite innovation, and I don't need to tell you that innovation is good for gaming. There's no denying the marked increase in computer power, connectivity and storage in the living room, and we can bank on having it connected to a 1920 x 1080 digital display. Companies like Comcast, Dish Network and DirectTV are competing to give you those platforms for free. Now, consider that casual gamers already outnumber their core counterparts. What will these numbers look like in five or 10 years? And what does this tell you about the longevity of the console? What does this mean? With more types of consumers playing games, and more consumers participating in content creation, we're already seeing Web 2.0 take hold in the gaming space, with greater personalization throughout. The timing is ripe for going beyond the thinking that there are only two types of gamers. We should be looking to define universal gaming for all. At the end of the day, it shouldn't be about the labels; it should be about the people and their experience. John WelchPresident and CEO, PlayFirst
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