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<title>Haaze.com / rewinbugtalk / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Photoshop Touch SDK drives 3 Adobe iPad apps]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=photoshop-touch-sdk-drives-3-adobe-ipad-apps</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=photoshop-touch-sdk-drives-3-adobe-ipad-apps</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=photoshop-touch-sdk-drives-3-adobe-ipad-apps</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A tour of the three iPad/Photoshop connected apps mode possible by the new Adobe Photoshop Touch SDK.Adobe iPad apps drive Photoshop (photos)Adobe's traditional user base of creatives are some of the most computationally resource-intensive folk I can think of (along with hard-core gamers and scientists). So how does a company like Adobe jump on thetablet money train without having to develop a host of new applications Let others do it for them. And voila: the Photoshop Touch software developer's kit, which will make it possible to create an ecosystem of tablet-based products capable of driving Photoshop. Along with the SDK, Adobe's delivering threeiPad apps designed to use it: Color Lava, Eazel, and Nav. Also announced today&amp;149' Adobe Creative Suite 5.5&amp;149' Adobe's new subscription model&amp;149' Adobe wakes to mobile world, Web standardsIt's a great idea: Since a tablet is too underpowered to do &quot;real&quot; work, why not make it the interface to a computer that does the heavy lifting Of course, it's not a new concept--just a thin client reborn for the 21st century, or alternatively, turning your PC into a cloud. It will enable app development for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS platforms, in addition toMac OS and Windows systems.  Plus, since the apps only work with Photoshop CS5 (with a free update patch to 12.04), it may serve as an inspiration for all those laggardly CS4 upgraders to cough up the bucks. Or subscribe. By default, the SDK communicates via iTunes and Bonjour, if you don't have either, you can configure it to operate via a peer-to-peer network. In my mind, the three apps aren't terribly useful, except as illustrations of a few types of ways the SDK interacts with Photoshop. So I was really surprised when I saw that Adobe was charging for them. (For a step-by-step discussion of how the apps operate, click through the slide show.) My favorite, Adobe Color Lava ($2.99), allows you to mix colors like paints and generate five-color palettes' the individual colors can be sent to the current color chip in Photoshop, or entire palettes can be uploaded to the Swatch palette. It's fun and clever, but the lack of color matching on the iPad or iPad colorspace simulator in Photoshop makes it frustrating. You've agonized over the perfect mix of colors only to find it they look different on the PC.Adobe's charging $4.99 for Eazel, a painting app whose main claim to fame seems to be that the colors run--not in any physically accurate way, or even in an artistically attractive way. They just run on curves and intersections. The paint &quot;dries&quot; over time, changing how the colors run together, but you can't tell how dry it is. Besides, one of the advantages of digital over the real world is that you usually don't have to wait for physical effects to occur. And as an example of the SDK it's weak. All you can do is transmit the image to Photoshop, which uprezzes it but doesn't improve the rendering of the paint. If you're really into painting, spend the ten bucks on Brushes.Finally, I have mixed thoughts about the $1.99 Adobe Nav. This app turns the iPad into a tool palette, where you can create a custom subset of Photoshop's tool palette. In action, selecting a tool selects it in Photoshop. There's also a view that lets you scroll through and select all the photos currently open in Photoshop. I found it awkward to use as a dedicated control panel. Yes, it means you can use Photoshop in full-screen mode without losing access to the tool icons, as if it were a dumb second monitor. But you can't save parameter information along with the tools (such as 300px by 400px rectangular selection), so you end up going two-handed to the keyboard anyway. if you're really proficient with Photoshop, shortcut keys are a faster and more fluid way to work.  If you're not as well-versed in Photoshop, you're better off using the on-screen tools. Since it caches thumbnails of all the photos you've got open, Nav serves as a relatively easy way to get images onto an iPad' it can handle up to 200 at once. But it doesn't stash them in Photos, and if you reconnect to Photoshop and they're not open, it syncs them away. When you double tap on an image it displays really basic metadata--size, color space and bit depth. All it did was make me wish the SDK could drive Bridge or Lightroom as well as Photoshop. Related links&amp;149' Adobe coaxing Photoshop power to iPad&amp;149' Adobe announces angst-laden iPad software effort&amp;149' Adobe Photoshop for tablets looms nearerIn some ways, the apps illustrate potential limitations of the SDK because of constraints of the platforms it embraces. For instance, they can't pass information to each other, such as passing a palette from Lava into Eazel. That's a platform issue. (Caveat: I haven't seen the SDK documentation, my comments are based on observation.) Even more disappointing, none of these apps are nearly as interesting as the standalone apps that Adobe's been working on and uncommittedly previewing or that third-party developers have been creating for Lightroom, or other standalone painting apps.That said, I do see the potential possibilities of the SDK, for operations such as tethered shooting, remotely activating scripts to run batch processes, or say, an app that allows you to perform rough edits on a proxy version with a client that can output an edit list for later full-on (or script-based) retouching. Once the whole color management thing is figured out, of course. Those are apps I'd say are worth paying for.The apps should be available now via the App Store' the Photoshop Touch SDK is free to any licensed user of CS5, downloadable from www.adobe.com/devnet/photoshop. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft's Webmatrix site builder tool exits beta]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-webmatrix-site-builder-tool-exits-beta</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-webmatrix-site-builder-tool-exits-beta</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-webmatrix-site-builder-tool-exits-beta</guid>
<description><![CDATA[After three rounds of betas, Microsoft tomorrow is releasing a finalized version of its Webmatrix Web development software. The software, which was first introduced in July, gives users tools to create and manage Web sites while staying compatible with Microsoft's Visual Studio and SQL Server products. The company expects a fully-baked version of the software to make it more attractive to first-time users. &quot;The majority of the users are going to be new to this. That's one of the explicit goals here,&quot; Brian Goldfarb, the director of developer platform marketing at Microsoft, told CNET in an interview earlier this week. &quot;We're trying to make Web development, and the Microsoft technology stack more approachable by a wider audience than we have in the past.&quot; Goldfarb said most of the changes that have taken place between Beta 3 and this new version were based on user feedback. &quot;One of the most important things you can do in a product like this is the small things--the fit and finish, the usability. It's not the features, it's the polish,&quot; he said. &quot;It really makes the product approachable, enjoyable, and that was a big investment from the previous beta to now.&quot;As far as Webmatrix's place among Microsoft's more high-end Web development and publishing tools, Goldfarb explained that the free software has been designed as a stepping stone of sorts. &quot;We have an incredibly powerful professional tooling offering with Visual Studio that ranges from a free set of tools with Express all the way to team development solutions with our Team Systems product,&quot; he said. &quot;The beauty of what we've done with Webmatrix is, when--and if--you're ready, all of the great features and technology inside of Visual Studio will work to customize the same site you were working on before. You just point it at it and keep going.&quot;But there is a larger goal to make Webmatrix a part of Microsoft's business--not by taking kickbacks or cuts from some of the service providers that get their own plug-ins, or links from within the software, Goldfarb explained, but by bringing more people onto Microsoft's Web platform.&quot;Our explicit goal is to attract new customers to Microsoft technology and make them successful using it. And from there, as we increase usage of frameworks, as we increase usage databases, Windows Server and or Azure, we have the engines of which to make this a successful business strategy,&quot; Goldfarb said. &quot;But from a Webmatrix perspective, this is all about enabling more and more people to build great Web sites with simple tools to create, customize, and publish to the Web.&quot;Along with the Webmatrix release, Microsoft is putting out an update to its ASP.NET MVC framework, which adds support for its Razor code syntax as well as things like independency injection and output caching--both things Goldfarb said users had been &quot;begging&quot; for. &quot;We'll also provide support for the nice built in Web server and database solution that come with Webmatrix to lower the installation cost of Visual Studio too,&quot; Goldfarb said.Those who already have the latest beta of the software installed will get a notification to grab the update when it's released. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[eBay buys mobile-app developer Critical Path]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ebay-buys-mobile-app-developer-critical-path</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ebay-buys-mobile-app-developer-critical-path</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ebay-buys-mobile-app-developer-critical-path</guid>
<description><![CDATA[eBay said yesterday that it has bought Critical Path Software, a mobile-app developer that had already been working with the auction site for the past couple of years.Helping to design several eBay mobile apps, Portland, Ore.-based Critical Path has partnered with eBay's mobile group to create eBay for the iPhone and eBay Classifieds. Critical Path and eBay also teamed up to develop StubHub, a ticket-buying app, and Shopping.com, a shopping comparison app.The acquisition is part of eBay's move to focus even further on the growing mobile market. The auction site has also been busy scooping up other businesses this year. In June, eBay bought RedLaser, developer of aniPhone app that scans bar codes to compare products and prices. And earlier this month, it picked up Milo, a shopping service that tries to tie in online and offline shopping.&quot;We're very serious about innovating in mobile commerce, and this acquisition underscores our commitment to bringing the very best and brightest in the field to eBay,&quot; Mark Carges, chief technology officer and senior vice president of global products for eBay Marketplaces, said in a statement. &quot;Integrating the Critical Path Software team into eBay will be a big win for mobile shoppers around the world.&quot;The purchase price and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Best of day 1 of LA Auto Show]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=best-of-day-1-of-la-auto-show</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=best-of-day-1-of-la-auto-show</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Nov 2010 08:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=best-of-day-1-of-la-auto-show</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Honda Fit EV was one of several electric vehicles shown on day one at the LA Auto Show yesterday.(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)LOS ANGELES--For anyone who worries that the auto industry isn't putting its energy behind electric vehicles, it may be time to relax.If one thing was clear after the first day of the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show yesterday, it was that EVs and other green vehicles may finally be ready for prime time. With Chevrolet's Volt winning Green Car of the Year this morning, and Honda and Toyota both showing off big EV plays yesterday, it's clear that the industry is no longer afraid of green vehicles.To be sure, most of the EVs on display here are a year or more away from being in consumers' clutches, but with models being shown from companies like Mitsubishi, Saab, Volvo, as well as Toyota, Honda, Chevy, Nissan, and others, there finally seems like a bright future for thecars.Of course, although there were plenty of EVs on hand here, there were many more vehicles with internal combustion engines on display. And the crowds were equally hungry for news from Porsche, Chevrolet (its new Camaro convertible was a big hit), Ford (with a slew of Focus variations), and others.Stay tuned for full coverage of day two of the show.The latest and greatest at the LA Auto Show (photos) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Get hacked and spill the beans, anonymously]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=get-hacked-and-spill-the-beans-anonymously</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=get-hacked-and-spill-the-beans-anonymously</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=get-hacked-and-spill-the-beans-anonymously</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A new Web site could help turn security breach guesswork into science. Database breaches, social engineering attacks, and hacking incidents happen at companies every day, but very few end up being reported publicly. That's because organizations fear--and rightly so--damage to their reputation, public humiliation, and loss of customer confidence.  But this silent victim syndrome means that others can't learn from the missteps of victims and that the industry as a whole doesn't have a good grasp on the scope of the problem.  In a first-of-its-kind effort, Verizon Business is launching a public Web site for reporting security incidents that could crack open the self-defeating secrecy of data breaches. &quot;This will benefit the overall community,&quot; Alexander Hutton, a principal of research and intelligence at Verizon Business, told CNET in an interview. &quot;The valid data helps us all learn from mistakes.&quot; Verizon is officially launching today its Veris information-sharing site where network or security professionals can provide detailed information about an incident and get back a report that illustrates via charts, graphs, and other information how the reported incident compares with others. The Web site generates a report after information has been submitted that makes a comparison between the incident reported and others.(Credit:Verizon Business)The site's multiple-page questionnaire dives into the details of incidents and particulars about the company, such as which industry it's part of, the size of the business, and how many security staffers it has, so comparisons can be made to similar organizations. The online form also asks respondents how long it took to discover and contain the incident, how it could have been prevented, and how much time, resources, and money were lost due to the breach. &quot;There is a lot of survey data out there [about estimated costs], but it's not like you can go in and get actual figures,&quot; Hutton said. &quot;We're hoping to get specific information by doing this.&quot;  Once the data is submitted, the site generates a downloadable report on the fly--in a demonstration the report was 19 pages in length--that classifies the type of incident, analyzes the details, and shows how it stacks up to other incidents in Verizon's incident database compiled over the last five years. That database, which consists of information that Verizon has gleaned from its managed service of customer networks, has about 900 million records and includes information from the U.S. Secret Service that was added this summer.  The individualized report that participants walk away with is a key piece of the project, providing an incentive to entice organizations to do something they ordinarily are loathe to do: disclose information about security problems. The report is designed to help participants better understand what happened to them and to figure out how to prevent future problems. It undoubtedly will be a useful tool for security professionals who usually have some explaining to do to C-level executives after an incident.  Veris, which stands for Verizon Enterprise Risk and Incident Sharing, is focused on collecting data and offering participants analysis and is not really set up at this point to spit out analysis and statistics to the public, according to Hutton. Asked if that option would ever be available, he declined to say.  It's also unclear how the data will be used to flesh out the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (PDF), which is published annually and is highly regarded. Hutton said the data will be kept separate from the annual report and could be included as a supplement to it, but also said that the data collected on the public-facing Veris site will help broaden the types of information gathered beyond the Verizon customer base. For instance, there are likely to be more small companies represented in the Veris site data and more information on different types of incidents like laptop theft that Verizon customers tend not to contact Verizon about.  The site's openness does have its drawbacks, too. The fact that anyone can use the Veris site to report an incident, even potentially fudging or fabricating data, means it may not be considered as trustworthy as the insight Verizon gets from its own customers.  There is another site that offers the public statistics on data breaches, the Open Security Foundation's DataLossDB. Anyone can post information there on incidents that they read about on news sites and other places, so it's generally limited to what's been publicly disclosed.  &quot;I don't see this as a competing pursuit,&quot; Hutton said of the Veris site. &quot;Our goal is to give those who have suffered an incident analytics and the ability to build their own data breach report.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Finally, broadband satellite with real speed]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=finally-broadband-satellite-with-real-speed</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=finally-broadband-satellite-with-real-speed</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=finally-broadband-satellite-with-real-speed</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Satellite broadband service has long been the choice of last resort for many consumers. It's slow, expensive, and capacity is limited.But in the first half of 2012, that could change. Hughes Network Systems, one of the largest satellite broadband service providers in the world, will launch the Jupiter satellite, which will offer more than 100 gigabits per second of capacity. This is more than 10 times the capacity the company currently offers on its existing satellite, launched in 2008.The new satellite means that Hughes and its wholesale customers, which will resell the service in Canada and the U.S., will now be able to address between 1.5 million and 2 million consumer broadband customers offering average download speeds of 5Mbps. High-end services could go up to as much as 20Mbps, according to Arunas Slekys, vice president of corporate marketing for Hughes.While these speeds are not earth-shatteringly fast compared with cable modem services and fiber services from the phone companies, they are a huge improvement over what satellite is able to offer today. Hughes' top tier of service currently offers 2Mbps downloads with 300Kbps uploads for $120 a month. Compare this with Comcast, which is selling a 12Mbps/2Mbps service for $43 a month, without a bundle service discount. The price is actually cheaper if subscribers also sign up for TV and home phone service.Even though satellite broadband will still not compete head to head with cable in terms of performance, it easily meets the Federal Communication Commission's minimum requirement for a broadband service: download speeds of 4Mbps and uploads of 1Mbps. These speeds also make it competitive with DSL or 4G wireless services.AT&amp;T and Verizon Communications, which still service more than half their customer base with traditional DSL technology, offer average download speeds around 3Mbps. Clearwire, which is building a 4G wireless service using WiMax, is selling residential wireless broadband service with average download speeds around 6Mbps.The new satellite broadband speeds are good news for people who have traditionally had few options when it comes to broadband. Still, even though the speeds have improved, the pricing compared with DSL or even 4G wireless services, must come down for it to truly compete.  &quot;The speed and capacity improvements with the new satellite are impressive,&quot; said Vince Vittore, a principal analyst with Yankee Group. &quot;But I can't see a way for the pricing to be competitive. Hughes would have to figure out a way to significantly reduce the cost of the service. So I see it remaining a niche service for some time.&quot;Hughes' Slekys wasn't able to provide specific information about the pricing of the new service. But he said that Hughes would be competitive with other available services. He said the increased capacity of the new satellite means Hughes can serve more customers, thus reducing its per subscriber cost.Today, Hughes offers broadband service via the Spaceway3 satellite it launched in 2008. This satellite has a capacity of 10 gigabits per second and can potentially serve up to around 700,000 subscribers. Jupiter, the next-generation satellite that will be launched in 2012, will offer 10 times that capacity. Slekys explained that launching the new Jupiter satellite is roughly a $400 million investment, similar the cost of launching the previous satellite.&quot;When you do the math, it's conceivable that we can offer high-speed broadband service at competitive prices,&quot; he said. &quot;We're not there yet, but you can see how it's on the horizon. And we think we will be able to reach a more mainstream customer base.&quot;Hughes serves about 350,000 broadband customers on the current satellite that has capacity for up to 700,000 subscribers. At the end of the third quarter of 2010 (PDF), Hughes reported it served a total of 558,000 satellite broadband subscribers. Roughly, 208,000 subscribers are still served by satellites it leases capacity from, including ones operated by SES, Intelsat, and others. But as the contracts expire, the company moves subscribers over to its own satellite. By the end of 2015, the company expects to have more than 930,000 subscribers.The company expects some of the subscriber gains to come from simply having a more appealing broadband product with faster speed downloads and uploads. Currently, the company's service appeals mostly to people who are unable to get any other broadband access.Who needs it Today, about 90 percent of the U.S. population has access to either cable modem or DSL broadband service. This means that 10 percent of the population does not have access to any broadband. While these areas are often sparsely populated rural areas, there are also communities that are relatively close to major metropolitan areas that still have no access to broadband. Some of these areas include communities in the tech-centric San Francisco Bay Area and areas north of San Francisco in Mendocino County.These are the parts of the country currently served by satellite. And the faster speeds, at any price, will likely feel like a godsend to those already in desperate need of faster broadband. &quot;The service from the new satellite will be a significant improvement over what people have today,&quot; Vittore said. More than speed, Vittore said that the satellite will offer more capacity to individual subscribers. Today, most satellite broadband services are capped so that users can only consume a certain amount of data per month or even sometimes per day. When users exceed the limit, their service is throttled or slowed down to dial-up speeds. With more capacity from the satellite providing the new service, Hughes can greatly increase the caps or even lift them for some customers. &quot;This is especially important as people consume more video online,&quot; Vittore added. &quot;Video is a huge consumption hog.&quot;In addition to serving its current customer base, Hughes also received $58.7 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 administered by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service. This award is part of the government's initiative to bring broadband to every American in the hopes of stimulating job growth and economic recovery. Hughes is expected to use this funding to bring service to more consumers in places where broadband is currently not available. But rural and underserved consumers aren't the only ones that Hughes plans to address with its new service. The company is also looking to target the enterprise and government markets.&quot;Our birds [satellites] are already delivering service to businesses and government agencies,&quot; Slekys said. &quot;We can provide redundancy for them, and we're also seeing a lot of emergency and first responders wanting our service.&quot;The faster speeds and higher network capacity means that Hughes can more aggressively compete for these customers. But cost, speed, and capacity aren't the only limitations facing satellite broadband services, such as those offered by Hughes. Latency on satellite broadband is a huge problem, given that the satellite dish providing access to the Internet must communicate with a satellite in a geostationary orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth's equator. This is more of an issue for services such as voice over IP or interactive gaming. While software can help reduce some of the latency, engineers cannot change how quickly signals travel from earth to the satellite and back.Another consideration is that because the dish must communicate with the satellite, it has to be placed in clear view of the southern sky in the U.S. to receive the broadband signal. And as many satellite TV customers have experienced, weather can also affect reception of satellite broadband service. Outages are likely to occur during heavy rainstorms or other severe weather such as snow storms. The upstart cost of satellite broadband is also pricey. Consumers must buy and install the equipment. Some estimates suggest it cost as much as $1,000 to get satellite broadband up and running. And because the dish that is used to deliver satellite broadband is different than the satellite delivering satellite TV, consumers who already subscribe to satellite TV service will get no break if they subscribe to satellite broadband.All told, even the speedier satellite broadband that Hughes plans to launch in 2012 won't be a good fit for every consumer. But for those with no other options, it will be welcome update.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Quirkat to develop games for the Middle East market]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=quirkat-to-develop-games-for-the-middle-east-market</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=quirkat-to-develop-games-for-the-middle-east-market</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=quirkat-to-develop-games-for-the-middle-east-market</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Middle East has been pretty much off the map when it comes to making video games. But a small Dubai-based start-up called Quirkat would like to change that.The company&amp;'s very existence is a nod to the globalization of the video game business. In a time when web technologies enable start-ups to create, publish and distribute their games anywhere, it&amp;'s a lot easier to create games anywhere in the world. So it&amp;'s only fitting that an Arab game company should make games for hundreds of millions of people in the Middle East, or people who are interested in games set in the region.The name &amp;''Quirkat&amp;'' has deep origins as the name of the ancient Middle Eastern game of strategy that may have spawned the game that we know as checkers.&amp;''It traveled around the world from the Middle East into the West and now we&amp;'re trying to make the same thing electronically centuries later,&amp;'' said Mahmoud Ali Khasawneh (pictured below, left), co-founder and chief executive, in an interview at the recent Game Developers Conference, where he spoke on Middle Eastern games at the Localization Summit and attended a gathering of a couple of dozen Middle East game developers.While the company&amp;'s headquarters is in Dubai, its game studio is in Amman, Jordan, and it has a couple of artists in Beirut.He started the company with Candide Kirk (who is half Jordanian, pictured right) in 2004. Khaswaneh was leading the program to get the Jordanian government online and was frustrated with the lack of Arabic language content in the region.He and Kirk wanted to create the first Arabic-focused video game development studio that would produce local content. They can take games and &amp;''Arabize&amp;'' them with local content or make original games for the region.In 2007, they got a big break by being able to co-produce a $5 million game with U.S.-based Breakaway Games. For that two-year effort, they beefed up the team to 40 contractors and co-produced a game called Arabian Lords (pictured top and bottom). That was a disk-based PC strategy game that allows players to become merchant lords during the time of the rise of Islam. The player starts with one palace and expands to rule an entire city during the 7th through the 13th centuries.&amp;''It was tough to learn how to make games, but we had a lucky break,&amp;'' Kirk said.Kirk said that shadowing the Breakaway team during the production of the game was invaluable. The game sold about 20,000 copies on the PC. That wasn&amp;'t much, but it was the No. 1 game in the region at the time, and Khasawneh said it helped the company get on the path toward its goal of being the No. 1 brand for Arab gamers.&amp;''Breakaway saw that we could do it, and so then on the second game we were able to take on more responsibility,&amp;'' Khasawneh said.That game got canceled when the world financial crisis hit in late 2008. But they split on good terms, and Quirkat sped off into its mission of making original games. It created casual game portal Fuzztak for online gaming in Arabic, English and French.It has also been working on PC games, Flash games for the web, the iPhone, and Android. It has made four games for Sony&amp;'s PlayStation Portable and it is a licensed PlayStation 3 developer (focused on the lighter online PlayStation Network games). Consoles dominate the Middle Eastern market compared to the PC, and the PS 3 is by far the most dominant console because Sony moved into the market first. High piracy rates have hurt the PC.Historically, the Middle East&amp;'s mobile phone market has been about 80 percent Nokia Symbian. Now it is shifting to more BlackBerry and iPhone mobile users, who are still getting accustomed to downloading apps to mobile phones. There is some competition now. There are probably some 20 game studios in the Middle East, including a number in Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. And there are lots of smaller developer shops across the region as well.One of the limitations is compliance with Islamic law. The company doesn&amp;'t touch on religion or politics for its game topics. Topics such as sex, gambling, alcohol and nudity are banned, and the portrayal of Arabs as the bad guys in games such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is frowned upon. (Call of Duty games aren&amp;'t banned per se and are actually popular.) And within the 22-country region, the standards vary, with strict content standards in Saudi Arabia and looser ones in Egypt and Jordan.Even with those restrictions in place, that leaves a lot of fun stuff to do, from card games to sports to mythical role-playing games.&amp;''The top ten games in the Middle East will likely mirror the top games in the U.S.,&amp;'' he said. &amp;''Soccer is huge.&amp;''Knowledge of the region is also an advantage, since Quirkat can alert game developers to inaccuracies or sensitivities related to local culture.Quirkat has done some casual games and Facebook titles as well. Roughly 15 percent of Facebook&amp;'s audience originates in the Middle East, and there are 75 million people on the internet in the region, Khasawneh said.The company has 10 employees and got funding last year. That funding took about six years to raise, but it eventually came from Accelerator Technology Holdings, a fund that focuses on the Middle East.&amp;''We have to raise the value and profile of our company so that it becomes sexier,&amp;'' Kaswaneh said.One way it does that is to work on well-known games via outsourcing, and another is to make sure that its art style is distinctive and identifiably Arabic. Kaswaneh said the company is focused on trying to make a PlayStation Network game in the coming year to show what his company can do. (The Xbox 360 doesn&amp;'t have much of a base in the Middle East). Kirk says the game will likely focus on casual sports.Jordan&amp;'s universities produce technically savvy graduates for the company to hire, but it usually has to train them in how to make video games. Kirk said that employees have skill, but not experience in dealing with things such as crunch time (finishing a game) or cancellations, which are common.Because of the focus on Arabic art, the company puts more resources into the artwork and the artists needed to make it. While some engines such as Gamebryo are too expensive, Quirkat can make games with less expensive game-making technologies such as the Unity 3D engine.So far, all of the revolutions in countries such as Egypt, Libya and Tunisia haven&amp;'t led to a disruption in the market yet. The Persian Gulf countries tend to be the more stable ones for game sales.Next Story: 9 emerging minitrends to watch Previous Story: Plaxo gives up on social networking, refocuses on address booksPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Arabian Lords, pc, Playstation 3, PlayStation Network, Playstation Portable, Unity 3DCompanies: QuirkatPeople: Candide Kirk, Mahmoud Khasawneh          Tags: Arabian Lords, pc, Playstation 3, PlayStation Network, Playstation Portable, Unity 3DCompanies: QuirkatPeople: Candide Kirk, Mahmoud KhasawnehDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[How Email Apps Will Help You Learn To Love Your Inbox&nbsp'Again]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-email-apps-will-help-you-learn-to-love-your-inboxnbspagain</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-email-apps-will-help-you-learn-to-love-your-inboxnbspagain</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-email-apps-will-help-you-learn-to-love-your-inboxnbspagain</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Email has taken over our lives, and most of us hate it. But a new generation of email apps are changing how we interact with the inbox, and on Mondaya4sFacebook might even join the party. The inbox of the future is going to look a lot more like Facebook than the one you&amp;'re using todaya4&quot;but it&amp;'s also going to do a lot more. Thanks to these apps, you&amp;'ll learn to love your email again.Here are four ways your inbox is changing, with some of the services that are making it better:1. Rich Desktop of AppsNew APIs are making it easier for companies to transform your inbox from an ordinary list of messages to a rich desktop of apps thata4sact on the fertile information in your email. These apps make your life easier by letting your inbox do more. For the most part, these apps take advantage of the biggest trend in email innovation today: Gmail. Gmail is already eating into Outlook&amp;'s dominance as the number one mail client in the world. But Facebook might also join the fray, and we all know they can develop an app ecosystem. Either way, app developers win, and you win.Take a look at some of today&amp;'s email apps to see what the next generation inbox looks like:Boomerang: Lets you control when you send and receive emails via a button it installs in Gmail.Sanebox: Automatically filters and labels your important and unimportant mail in Gmail.Rapportive: Displays social data for your contacts in the Gmail sidebar.Priority Inbox in Gmail:a4sAutomatically identifies and separates your important email from the rest.a4s(Email innovation isn&amp;'t just for startups.)Google Voice via Google Talk: Allows you to make phone calls from Gmail.2. Better Notifications DisplayOne of the worst pollutants of your inbox isa4sBacn: the email notifications from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other services. But the problem with these messages isn&amp;'t the contenta4&quot;if it were, you would turn all notifications off (and some people do). The problem is that some of these are helpful (e.g., a Google Calendar reminder), but they overshadow emails from actual human beings you need to respond to.Here&amp;'s where your inbox can learn from Facebook. One solution: a mail client that handles these transactional emails better.a4sDon&amp;'t put them in my inbox, but instead throw them in a sidebar with an icon and display the number of new notifications. I couldn&amp;'t find any apps solving this problem today, but I&amp;'m sure they are around the corner.3. A UNIX-like ShellThanks to one group of apps, your email is becoming a UNIX-like shell to run commands and interact with services via the compose window.a4sYou don&amp;'t have to visit the apps&amp;' websites to use their services. a4sYou can now get things automatically done just by sending an email. Will Facebook let us do this Let&amp;'s wait and see.These startups are riding two major trends. First,a4sthanks to email delivery services likea4sSendGrid, these companies don&amp;'t have to manage their own mail servers to receive incoming commands.a4sAlso, the increasing proliferation of smartphones today gives us email wherever we go. Once a company launches an email-as-an-interface service,a4svoil! They already have a mobile app.A few apps to keep your eye on:FollowUp.cc:a4sAttach a reminder to an email by putting FollowUp.cc in the Cc or Bcc field. The service will ping you via email when your reminder is due and give you the chance to one-click Snooze the email.Hashable: Post meaningful connections to Twitter, make introductions, and track your social capital by Cc&amp;'ing or Bcc&amp;'ing their service.TripIt:a4sJust forward your flight confirmation emails to TripIt, and TripIt will build your itinerary and manage your travel plans.4. Convenient Publishing and Editing Your inbox is the world&amp;'s most underrated text editor. Format text, add colors, change fonts, attach photos and videos in your compose window. Thanks to smartphones, email is the text editor that&amp;'s always with you. (This article you&amp;'re reading was composed and formatted in Gmail.)Posterous, which makes blogging easier by letting you post from your inbox, was one of the first apps to recognize the power of email as a text editor.This is where your inbox will surpass Facebook for your professional life. Soon you&amp;'ll be able to edit spreadsheets, make presentations and access your other work documents from your inbox.a4sIn other words, you&amp;'ll get more things done with the interface you already use all day and are familiar with.Loving your Inbox AgainOur inbox is over-worked and under-appreciated. It&amp;'s central to most of our communication with the world and where we keep track of contacts and tasks.a4sSmartphones lessen our separation anxiety with our inbox, letting us take our email wherever we go (even when you gotta go to the bathroom). CEOs and grandmothers worldwide send emails. It&amp;'s about time we stopped fighting it and learned to love it.With email apps like these, our inbox is becominga4sour hub of personal productivity, much like Facebook is already the platform for social interaction. Whether or not Facebook can impress enough to replace your current mail client is the zillion-dollar question. Either way, our inbox is coming back and apps that help us filter and manage all the incoming messages are the only thing that will keep us sane.Editor&amp;'s note: Ajay Kulkarni (@acoustik) is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sensobi, a service that lets you manage your personal relationships from your inbox and smartphone (currently in private beta). Sign up for their beta invite waiting list at http://www.sensobi.com/.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Comcasta4a4s Social Video Discovery Engine Tunerfish Gets A UI Makeover, Releases New Version Of iPhone&nbsp'App]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=comcastrsquos-social-video-discovery-engine-tunerfish-gets-a-ui-makeover-releases-new-version-of-iphonenbspapp</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=comcastrsquos-social-video-discovery-engine-tunerfish-gets-a-ui-makeover-releases-new-version-of-iphonenbspapp</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=comcastrsquos-social-video-discovery-engine-tunerfish-gets-a-ui-makeover-releases-new-version-of-iphonenbspapp</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A few months ago, we got a glimpse of Tunerfish, Comcast&amp;'s attempt at social video discovery, at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York. Incubated by the Plaxo team, Tunerfish made its real world debut in June' featuring a deal with HBO. And in August, Tunerfish released its first iPhone app, allowing users to interact with TV shows on the go. Today, the service is adding a number of new features, and releasing an updated version of its iPhone app and a new logo.Tunerfish allows people to share with a single click what they are watching, on their social network(s) of choice in real time. Much like Twitter does for tweets, Tunerfish also displays which TV shows are trending among your friends (in the last hour, 24 hours, etc.), which gives users a way to discover shows they are not yet familiar with. The site also encourages people to check-in to shows on both its web-based app and iPhone app, much like you would in Foursquare or Gowalla.The UI of Tunerfish has been updated to provider a sleeker, more user-friendly interface, making it easier to share, to comment, and to start or join a conversation. Previously, the only way to sign up for Tunerfish was via your Facebook or Twitter account but now you can register and sign-in via the conventional email/password combination. Tunerfish&amp;'s iPhone app has been updated with pull-to-refresh updates and an option to share the awards you earn from the service with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. So how is Tunerfish doing five months out TV check-ins via Tunerfish in October were up 500% compared with July. But the site has only seen 60,000 check-ins in October, compared to the millions of check-ins per month that GetGlue, a competitor, is currently seeing per month. But Tunerfish&amp;'s John McCrea says that &amp;''with any new social app, it is the month-over-month growth that one wants to see.&amp;''CrunchBase InformationComcastInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Living grass as a low-impact, indoor advertising medium - Springwise]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=living-grass-as-a-low-impact-indoor-advertising-medium---springwise</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=living-grass-as-a-low-impact-indoor-advertising-medium---springwise</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=living-grass-as-a-low-impact-indoor-advertising-medium---springwise</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Natural media agency Curb has already appeared on our virtual pages numerous times before for its glow-in-the-dark bacteria, sea tagging, snow tagging and other low-impact advertising efforts. The latest from the eco-minds at the UK-based firm Soil-less urban greenery as an advertising tool for use indoors as well as out.Curb''s DesignGrass is completely natural grass created solely for indoor environments. It can be designed in any shape, pattern, image, brand or word and installed on indoor surfaces such as walls and ceilings' once installed, the grass never requires any watering or trimming. Already in use by brands including Electrolux and Siemens, DesignGrass is ideal for creating green spaces in commercial or residential buildings. It''s even hypoallergenic and a natural sound-proofer. FlexiGrass, meanwhile, is a soil-less living carpet made from natural grass, herbs, flowers and plants that can be used to cover anything or create green spaces in locations where normal grass and greenery cannot take hold. Designed for both indoor and outdoor use, FlexiGrass needs only minor maintenance and trimming' it can be moulded, shaped, coloured and even textured in any way required. Within the realm of hospitality and events, the rigid and durable product has already been used to temporarily grass the ballrooms of famous London hotels, Curb says.Curb has long been using regular grass in its outdoor advertising campaigns, but these latest innovations open up a world of opportunity indoors. Eco-minded brands: Start thinking green for your next marketing campaign!Website: www.curbmedia.comContact: info@curbmedia.com<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Foursquare Now Lets Businesses &8216'Oust&' Fake Mayors (Sorry,&nbsp'@Arrington)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=foursquare-now-lets-businesses-8216oustrsquo-fake-mayors-sorrynbsparrington</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=foursquare-now-lets-businesses-8216oustrsquo-fake-mayors-sorrynbsparrington</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rewinbugtalk</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=foursquare-now-lets-businesses-8216oustrsquo-fake-mayors-sorrynbsparrington</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This election day, there&amp;'s going to be more of a political shakeup than most pundits are predicting: Foursquare has enabled a new feature that is going to put faux mayorships to an end.  We&amp;'ve confirmed with the hot location startup that it&amp;'s given verified businesses the ability to oust Mayors if they believe that their check-ins are fraudulent a4&quot; once a business gives the cheater the boot, then the next-in-line instantly is awarded the Mayorship.My boss a4&quot;a4swho has been using his fake check-ins to lead a double life of infiltrating board meetings and lingerie stores a4&quot;a4sis understandably distraught.Since foursquare launched, the game has always had to deal with some degree of &amp;''cheating&amp;'' a4&quot;a4speople like to check-in at places where they haven&amp;'t actually been.  For the most part this is completely benign, but the more persistent cheaters have managed to attain the coveted &amp;8216'Mayor&amp;' spot at venues that they rarely visit, which results in frustrated users who are playing the game by the rules.But now these fake mayorships are starting to impact more than egos a4&quot;a4sbusinesses are increasingly givinga4sspecial promotions to their Mayors, granting their most dedicated customers deals. But if nobody can earn those rewards, it obviously defeats the point. It wasa4sinevitablea4sthat Foursquare would have to address the issue eventually.A Foursquare spokesperson says that the new feature is currently in early stages, and that it will probably be tweaked in the future:Yesterday we gave verified business owners the ability to oust a Mayor if they have reason to believe the Mayorship was not gained through legitimate check-ins.  If a Mayor is flagged by a business owner, they&amp;'ll be removed from office immediately and the next user in line will take over as Mayor.We&amp;'re still in the very early stages of experimenting with this feature and will most likely be tweaking it based on feedback from business owners.Foursquare started to crack down on these fake check-ins back in April when it began to take the user&amp;'s physical location into account (before then users could check-in from a hundred miles away). This is the next logical step, though I&amp;'m sure it won&amp;'t be long before we hear about users who were wrongfully ousted from their reign.CrunchBase InformationFoursquareInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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