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<title>Haaze.com / hongchen / Published News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[iPad 2 battery life results (or, where is my video loop feature!)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-battery-life-results-or-where-is-my-video-loop-feature</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-battery-life-results-or-where-is-my-video-loop-feature</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-battery-life-results-or-where-is-my-video-loop-feature</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The real reason these battery results took so long to get.(Credit:Eric Franklin/CNET)Testingtablets can sometimes be a time-consuming endeavor, especially when a tablet like theiPad 2 can last for well over 10 hours on one charge while running video. To make matters worse, the iPad 2 has no loop option for video. This means that when running a movie like &quot;Toy Story 3&quot; to drain the battery, every 1 hour and 40 minutes, I am required to be standing in front of this thing to restart the movie.I have to basically plan my entire day around testing: when I take lunch, bathroom visits, meetings, Starcraft II matches, etc. It also means I have to be at work for more than 12 hours on the days the iPad is battery-tested. Being able to loop the video until the battery dies would be the obvious, desired solution, but unfortunately, there is no way (that I know of) to loop iTunes-downloaded video on the iPad. There are a few apps out there that claim to loop video, but I had little luck with them. Sure, one was able to loop video recorded by the iPad 2, but again, not with video downloaded from iTunes. Below you'll find new results for video battery life of the iPad 2 and gaming battery life on all three tablets featured here. Also, if you're privy to a workaround that allows iTunes downloaded video to loop on the iPad 2, do not hesitate to pass it along. You'll save me from some very long workdays.Tablet nameVideo battery life (in hours)Gaming battery life (in hours)Web site load time (in seconds' lower is better)Maximum brightness (in cd/m2)Default brightness (in cd/m2)Contrast ratioApple iPad 211.98.35432176939:1Apple iPad12.68.36388161881:1Motorola Xoom9.37.263121311,200:1How we test tabletsIn the CNET Labs, we currently run three different tests to evaluate the performance of non-Windows tablets. Battery lifeWe evaluated battery life in two ways. First, by continually running a movie file on the tablet until its battery died and also by running a game on the tablet until the battery died.We set each tablet to Airplane mode and adjusted its respective brightnesses to 150 candelas per square meter (cd/M2), or as close to that number as is possible. With movies, for the iPad, we run the iPad version of &quot;Toy Story 3.&quot; For Android tablets, a 720p version of &quot;Toy Story 3&quot; was run. The reason we chose 720p for Android was that not every tablet can run 1080p video just yet, and we wanted to make sure we tested Android tablets under the same methodology.On the iPad, we ran the movie through itsiPod app' for Android, we used the movie player mVideoPlayer, as it provides a much needed repeat video function that not all native Android movie players include. For gaming, we used Dungeon Defenders First Wave. We started the game, kept the default visual settings, walked our character over near the fireplace, and let it sit idle until the battery died.  We understand that this is different from actually playing and interacting with a game. While playing a game, the processor and memory would be accessed more frequently, likely increasing its power draw. However, the impetus for this test was our desire to determine what kind of difference gaming graphics would have on battery life versus watching a movie.  Site-loading speedWe used GiantBomb.com as our Web site of choice, as it doesn't use Flash or have many dynamic elements. Each tablet was connected to the same closed network with no other devices on it, with the router about 5 feet away. The test began the moment we pressed Enter, with the end of the test signified by the disappearance of the browser's blue progress bar. We measured speed in seconds, with a lower number indicating faster performance.  We used the latest version of iOS for the iPad, and the Xoom is, of course, using Honeycomb, with all other Android tablets using Android OS 2.2. Contrast ratio and brightnessWe also tested the maximum brightness, default brightness, and contrast ratio for each tablet. We conducted these tests using the Minolta CA-210 display color analyzer. With each screen at full luminosity, we placed the sensor in the middle of the screen. We used a completely white screen to test the brightness and a completely black screen to test the black level. We then divided the maximum brightness by the maximum black level to get the contrast ratio. ConclusionThe iPad 2 battery lasted only a little less than the iPad, but their duration was equal in the gaming battery test. Both iPads lasted longer than the Xoom in gaming, which is likely to translate to users being able to game on their iPads longer than on their Xooms, but not too much longer. Look for more tablet tests later this week.  The following products are available: On Sale Now: $599.00 - $919.96  View the latest prices for Apple iPad (64GB)  On Sale Now: $599.00 - $849.99  View the latest prices for Apple iPad 2 (32GB, WiFi, black)         Eric Franklin     Full Profile E-mail Eric Franklin   E-mail Eric Franklin If you have a question or comment for Eric Franklin, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.   Submit your question or comment here: 0 of 1500 characters       Eric Franklin refused to update his bio, saying, &quot;No one actually reads these things anyway, do they Well, do they Why are you not answering me Oh, you've left the room. Curses!&quot; E-mail Eric.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: Cisco, GE, Xerox share stage Friday at CES 2011 (live blog)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-cisco-ge-xerox-share-stage-friday-at-ces-2011-live-blog</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-cisco-ge-xerox-share-stage-friday-at-ces-2011-live-blog</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:10:36 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-cisco-ge-xerox-share-stage-friday-at-ces-2011-live-blog</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Three companies that have been around the block a few times--Cisco, GE, and Xerox--will share the stage tomorrow morning atCES, and we'll be there for live coverage of their talks. The CEOs of the three companies--Cisco's John Chambers, GE's Jeffrey Immelt, and Xerox's Ursula Burns--will participate in a panel discussion on innovation, in what the Consumer Electronics Association called a &quot;first-of-its-kind&quot; approach to a CES keynote speech. We'll be around to provide live coverage and analysis of their talk, and all you have to do is sign up below to receive an e-mail reminder for the event, which will start bright and early at 9 a.m. PT Friday from the Hilton Theater in Las Vegas.Cisco/GE/Xerox CES 2011 live blog<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[WikiLeaks.info rebuts malware warnings]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wikileaks-info-rebuts-malware-warnings</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wikileaks-info-rebuts-malware-warnings</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wikileaks-info-rebuts-malware-warnings</guid>
<description><![CDATA[WikiLeaks.info, a site assisting WikiLeaks' effort to share U.S. war information and diplomatic cables, is rebutting online security organizations' warnings that its Web site could be dangerous to visit.WikiLeaks.info provides a list of sites that mirror the original WikiLeaks content, and in recent days the main WikiLeaks.org Web site has redirected visitors to the WikiLeaks.info mirror page. WikiLeaks.info has grown in importance because of others' moves two weeks ago that made it difficult to reach WikiLeaks.org and led its operators to resurface at WikiLeaks.ch, a Swiss domain.Spamhaus, a nonprofit volunteer organization that seeks to curtail spam, phishing, botnets for network attacks, and malware, issued a &quot;malware warning&quot; yesterday for WikiLeaks.info.WikiLeaks.info &quot;is hosted in a very dangerous 'neighborhood,' Webalta's 92.241.160.0/19 IP address space, a 'blackhat' network which Spamhaus believes caters primarily to, or is under the control of, Russian cybercriminals,&quot; Spamhaus said. &quot;Our concern is that any Wikileaks archive posted on a site that is hosted in Webalta space might be infected with malware. Since the main wikileaks.org website now transparently redirects visitors to mirror.wikileaks.info and thus directly into Webalta's controlled IP address space, there is substantial risk that any malware infection would spread widely.&quot;WikiLeaks.info strenuously objected to the warning today.&quot;We find it very disturbing that Spamhaus labels a site as dangerous without even checking if there is any malware on it. We monitor the wikileaks.info site and we can guarantee that there is no malware on it,&quot; the WikiLeaks.info site said.WikiLeaks.info is only &quot;very loosely&quot; affiliated with the official WikiLeaks effort, a WikiLeaks.info representative told CNET. &quot;In, fact we were caught [by] surprise on last Saturday as we all of a sudden had 1 million hits per day on our Web site. The switch&quot;--when WikiLeaks began redirecting visitors to the official WikiLeaks.org site to WikiLeaks.info--&quot;was not discussed with us.&quot;Spamhaus' services for tracking dangerous domains are widely used globally, so the warning carries significant weight. And although Spamhaus said it &quot;takes no political stand on the WikiLeaks affair,&quot; its actions pose a further difficulty for those allied with WikiLeaks' cause.WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange was arrested last week in the U.K. for possible extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sex crimes. Assange denies the alleged crimes. A British judge ruled he could go free on bail yesterday, but prosecutors are appealing that decision. The prosecutors' challenge is expected to be heard tomorrow, according to Reuters.More directly related to WikiLeaks' mission is the possibility of prosecution in the United States for violation of the Espionage Act.Spamhaus also warned that WikiLeaks.info is relying on Heihachi.net, &quot;a provider run 'by criminals for criminals,'&quot; for Domain Name Service (DNS) needs. DNS is a technology that converts the Web addresses people type into the numeric Internet addresses computers actually use to communicate.Here again, WikiLeaks.info objected.&quot;We do not know who else is hosted with Heihachi Ltd and it is none of our business. They provide reliable hosting to us. That's it,&quot; WikiLeaks.info said on its Web site.WikiLeaks is concerned about its reputation. &quot;That's why we contacted Spamhaus to find out if they could remove us from the list,&quot; the WikiLeaks.info representative told CNET. Spamhaus hasn't responded, according to the WikiLeaks.info Web site.WikiLeaks.info selected its services to avoid further problems with interrupted Net service, the site said. &quot;WikiLeaks has been pulled from big hosters like Amazon. That's why we are using a 'bulletproof' hoster that does not just kick a site when it gets a letter from government or a big company,&quot; the site said.Spamhaus is not alone in its concern. On Sunday, security company Trend Micro also warned of the Heihachi.net connection.&quot;Heihachi Ltd. is known as a bulletproof, blackhat-hosting provider in Russia that is a safe haven for criminals and fraudsters. It hosts a long list of criminally related domains. Among these domains are banking fraud domains, carders' (criminals who trade stolen credit card information) websites, malware sites, and phishing sites. No matter what your political view is, this is rather disturbing,&quot; Trend Micro senior threat researcher Feike Hacquebord said. &quot;We assess the wikileaks.info domain as highly risky and we do not recommend visiting this site as long as it is hosted by Heihachi.&quot;Updated 7:17 a.m. PTwith comments from WikiLeaks.info.A view of the WikiLeaks.info site today.(Credit:Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Black Friday sees online spending rise]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=black-friday-sees-online-spending-rise</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=black-friday-sees-online-spending-rise</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=black-friday-sees-online-spending-rise</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Online spending on Black Friday increased nearly 16 percent compared with last year, with social networking sites gaining momentum as a source for shopping tips and mobile devices playing an increasingly important role.According to numbers from Coremetrics, which culled data from the sites of more than 500 U.S. retailers, including Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and Petco, online sales were up 15.9 percent, with the average order value rising about $20, from $170.19 to $190.80.The researcher said that though the percentage of shoppers arriving at retail sites from social networking sites was still relatively small, the phenomenon was gaining momentum, with--not surprisingly--Facebook at the fore. The company said shoppers were using sites like Facebook to find out about deals and inventory levels. It also said the slice of shoppers arriving at sites via mobile devices jumped 26.7 percent year-over-year.&quot;We're watching online retail, and increasingly social media and mobile, become the growth engines for retailers everywhere, as consumers embrace online shopping not only for its ease and convenience, but as a primary means of researching goods and services,&quot; John Squire, the company's chief strategy officer, said in a statement.Coremetrics pointed to another trend as well, saying &quot;surgical shopping&quot; seemed to be widespread, with people checking out 18 percent fewer products on sites than they did a year ago--an indication that they target a specific product rather than browsing.And health and beauty, and department-store sites saw encouraging figures. Shoppers spent 17.7 percent more time in virtual department stores, and health and beauty retailers reported a 73.1 percent increase in first-time buyers year over year, and a 53.4 percent increase in the number of visits in which shoppers actually clicked away with a purchase.Still, online shopping has yet to conquer the cash register. According to the Associated Press, online deals account for between 8 percent and 10 percent of holiday spending.Update, 2:50 p.m. PDT:Researcher ShopperTrak said Black Friday sales figures for brick-and-mortar stores barely registered an increase over last year, rising a mere 0.3 percent. The company said, however, that the message was mixed because figures for the first two weeks of November were unexpectedly strong--a rise of about 6 percent year over year. &quot;Additionally, a percentage of retailers concentrated on pushing folks to their Websites with various online-only sales, which most likely influenced Black Friday performance as well,&quot; ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin said in a statement.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Emergency Text 911]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=emergency-text-911</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=emergency-text-911</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:10:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=emergency-text-911</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Federal Communications Commission wants to bring the 911 emergency service into the 21st century with new technologies such as text messaging and automatic alerts.In a speech Tuesday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said it &quot;is time to bring 911 into the Digital Age.&quot; He said this was important, as more and more people in the United States use cell phones. Text messaging, in particular, is an important feature to add to 911 call centers, he said. About 70 percent of 911 calls already come from mobile phones, he said. And as more people text instead of talk on their phones, it makes sense to add texting capabilities to the 911 emergency service. Texting is also particularly helpful for people who have disabilities. The chairman also noted during his speech that there are also times when talking on the phone to a 911 operator could put the caller and others in more danger. A good example of this was the Virginia Tech campus shooting in 2007. Students tried to text police by sending 911 text messages, but they were unable to reach help. Other elements that the FCC would like to see added to 911 service include allowing video and photos to be sent to call centers. This could help first responders get a better feel for what is happening on the ground at an emergency. Next-generation 911 service would expand the multimedia capability of the call centers.The FCC is also proposing the use of automatic alerts that would allow cameras, environmental sensors, personal medical devices, and other gadgets to notify 911 call centers without any human intervention. This could help first responders get to a chemical spill or highway accident much faster. Chairman Genachowski plans to introduce a proceeding in December to seek comment from the public on improving 911 services with new technologies.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Scale Computing raises $17M to sell storage one terabyte at a time]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=scale-computing-raises-17m-to-sell-storage-one-terabyte-at-a-time</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=scale-computing-raises-17m-to-sell-storage-one-terabyte-at-a-time</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=scale-computing-raises-17m-to-sell-storage-one-terabyte-at-a-time</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Scale Computing, a provider of small-scale computer storage databases, announced today that it has raised $17 million in its third round of funding to triple its staff over the next three years.Scale Computing sells servers loaded with the company&amp;'s custom storage software for small businesses that don&amp;'t necessarily need the petabytes of storage that massive companies need. The company offers 3TB nodes for $12,000, 6TB nodes that cost $15,000, and 12TB nodes that cost $21,000. The technology is designed to be plug and play, allowing businesses to plug in additional storage nodes without having to bring down their services or migrate data.The Indianapolis, Ind.-based company&amp;'s funding comes at a particularly strange time, since cloud-based storage solutions are beginning to dominate the small- to mid-sized business space. Cloud computing products are typically much cheaper than building and maintaining databases in-house. They also charge per gigabyte of storage, so companies don&amp;'t end up paying for any wasted space.There are some concerns with storing information on the public cloud a4&quot; particularly in regards to security. Most major companies have strict security standards that can&amp;'t be fulfilled with public cloud storage services. That&amp;'s not to say cloud storage providers like Rackspace aren&amp;'t able to keep the data secure. It just means that the companies&amp;' compliance requirements are often too high to effectively use the service.There arealso some performance concerns, because the information still has to be streamed through the internet from cloud storage servers onto a local device. That can lead to some lag, and the lost time can pile up after a while. Devices plugged into a local network are always going to be faster than having to stream information through a broadband connection. But as cloud computing becomes more advanced in the form of compression techniques and faster broadbandinfrastructure, those concerns are quickly disappearing.Scale Computing&amp;'s most recent round of fundraising was led by Scale Venture Partners and Northgate Capital. Existing investors, which include Benchmark Capital, also participated in this round. Rob Theis, managing director of Scale Venture Partners, will join the company&amp;'s board of directors as part of the deal.Scale Computing has secured more than 200 companies as customers and shipped 1,000 of its storage nodes. Scale Computing has raised a total of $31 million including the most recent round of fundraising.Next Story: Svpply bags $500K for minimalist social shopping Previous Story: Stewart Buttefield built Flickr into a mass market tool. Can he be a success in online gamesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: cloud computing, cloud storage, storageCompanies: Amazon, Benchmark Capital, Northgate Capital, Rackspace, Scale Computing, Scale Venture Partners          Tags: cloud computing, cloud storage, storageCompanies: Amazon, Benchmark Capital, Northgate Capital, Rackspace, Scale Computing, Scale Venture PartnersMatthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francsico, Calif. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron.VentureBeat 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[The great white iPhone 4 hunt to end soon]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-great-white-iphone-4-hunt-to-end-soon</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-great-white-iphone-4-hunt-to-end-soon</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-great-white-iphone-4-hunt-to-end-soon</guid>
<description><![CDATA[For  the dedicated (and crazy) few waiting for a white iPhone 4, relief may  be on the way. The elusive device has found its way to AT&amp;amp'Ta4a4s online  system, according to the mobile site Boy Genius Report, a sign that Apple may be gearing up to launch it within the next few months.The news coincides with a report from last week about the white iPhone 4 appearing in Best Buya4a4s employee toolkit, which revealed that it was scheduled to be in stock on February 27.Now it appears that the white iPhone 4 will likely be available in March, which would fall in line with Applea4a4s announced delay of the phone until Spring 2011. The device was delayed several times since the initial launch of the iPhone 4 in June 2010, and it was later revealed that a possible hardware flaw with the white case and the iPhonea4a4s camera was the culprit.The camera issue, along with the iPhone 4a4a4s widely publicized antenna problem and potential trouble with sliding cases and its glass back, is a sign that Apple will have to come up with a radical new redesign for the iPhone 5. Apple just recently delivered the iPhone 4 to Verizon with only minor antenna changes for its CDMA network.Next Story: How to pitch to tech journalists Previous Story: Foursquare grew 3400% in 2010PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: iPhone, iPhone 4, smartphonesCompanies: Apple, AT&amp;amp'T, Best Buy          Tags: iPhone, iPhone 4, smartphonesCompanies: Apple, AT&amp;amp'T, Best BuyDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra. 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[Spoon wants to scoop up gamers with a new cloud gaming service]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spoon-wants-to-scoop-up-gamers-with-a-new-cloud-gaming-service</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spoon-wants-to-scoop-up-gamers-with-a-new-cloud-gaming-service</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spoon-wants-to-scoop-up-gamers-with-a-new-cloud-gaming-service</guid>
<description><![CDATA[OnLive, Otoy and Gaikai have made a big splash with their cloud gaming services. But Spoon, a Seattle-based rival, has its own take on how to conveniently deliver online games to users as they demand them. And after almost five years of work, the company is launching its Spoon Cloud Gaming service today.Announced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the service offers a lot of benefits similar to OnLive&amp;'s, where users can play games they haven&amp;'t downloaded to their computers. Today, Spoon is launching with more than 200 games on its web site &amp;8212' all for free. The list includes casual games such as Jewel Quest and Farm Frenzy to classics such as Pac-Man. If it works, then video game fans will have a new and inexpensive way to instantly enjoy online games without waiting a long time or paying a lot of money. And publishers will have a new distribution system that can deliver games to gamers in a fast and convenient way.To play the games, you have to download a small browser plugin. After that, you can click on a game and download another small plugin. On fast connections, those download take seconds. The company&amp;'s goal is to make the world&amp;'s apps and games instantly playable, anywhere. In fact, beyond games, Spoon also has thousands of apps available.a4AThis is an important moment for Spoon and the cloud gaming industry,&amp;'' said Kenji Obata (pictured), founder and chief executive of Spoon. &amp;''Spoona4a4s unique virtualization technology introduces new ways for people to play and market games online. For the first time consumers can enjoy the benefits of cloud gaming, without the normal trade-off in performance.a4The trade-off in performance is what you get when you play Flash games online. You don&amp;'t have to download much with Flash, but the games look more like cheap cartoons than high-end works of art. OnLive solves the trade-off problem by taking advantage of a fast-internet connection and combining it with server-based gaming and compression. That is, OnLive stores and executes games in powerful servers in data centers. Then it compresses that data as small as possible and sends it to your computer at blazing speeds. You see cool high-end graphics on your machine that look as if they were stored and executed on your own computer.Spoon&amp;'s approach is a little less radical. It downloads the games to your desktop or laptop and runs them locally. This hybrid processing model strips out a lot of the high-end server costs that OnLive pays, and it also gets rid of the need for very fast bandwidth. Once launched from the web, Spoon games behave like installed games and can even run offline for disconnected play. Spoon also behaves like server-based games do in one respect. It automatically syncs the stage of your game across all of your Spoon registered devices, allowing you to play an up-to-date saved game from any PC.Spoon games can also be incorporated into web sites, blogs and social networks using Spoon Feeds. Those are short HTML (hypertext markup language &amp;8212' the lingua franca of the web) snippets that embed games into web pages. Consumers can test and purchase games using Spoon&amp;'s fully integrated digital rights management and payment processing system. No console or extra hardware beyond a desktop computer is required.Spoon has gotten titles from a bunch of publishers, including Namco Networks, Alawar Entertainment, iWin, and 1C. I played Alawar&amp;'s Aztec Tribe game and it took me about a minute or two to get the game up and running, after registering first. I played the game on my laptop and learned how to build my little civilization. Then the game expired and it asked me if I wanted to pay $7 to buy it.In most downloadable games, particularly those with good graphics, you often have to wait a long time. That tests the patience of many gamers who want instant gratification. But Spoon is fast enough to hang on to a player who might otherwise quit a big download. At the same time, it capitalizes on the resource that people already have &amp;8212' the computing power in their desktop computer &amp;8212' to reduce the need to have extremely powerful servers. By doing so, it preserves the responsiveness and offline capabilities of a game, even though it is nominally operating as a cloud game.Spoon says publishers and developers will like this because Spoon enables them to distribute their games on the internet cloud for free. The gaming industry can thus deliver games on demand. Spoon clearly needs a somewhat decent computer on your end, and the games that are available on it now are not extremely demanding. So it remains to be seen if Spoon can grow up to be competition for the likes of OnLive, Gaikai or Otoy, which are focusing on high-end games. But it&amp;'s a new player with a new take on the industry.For gamers, it&amp;'s convenient to try games with no installation (or minimal installation). Spoon&amp;'s DRM and payment system makes it easy to turn demos into purchases. For developers and publishers, Spoon becomes a new way to get games to spread in a viral way. It&amp;'s essentially a new marketing tool.The company was founded in 2006 and has 20 employees. It has not raised outside funding. Obata got the idea as a doctoral student in theoretical computer science at the University of California at Berkeley. He was developing application virtualization technology and thought it would work with games. I first met him at the Casual Connect game conference in Seattle last year and the system was working fine then. But the company now has much more support from the game industry. It could use bigger names, but 200 games is pretty good for a new system launch. Spoon isn&amp;'t yet available on the Mac.Next Story: How Facebook will be committing a4Acommercidea4 on July 1st Previous Story: RIM&amp;'s BlackBerry PlayBook coming April 10PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: cloud gaming service, games on demandCompanies: Gaikai, OnLive, Otoy, SpoonPeople: Kenji Obata          Tags: cloud gaming service, games on demandCompanies: Gaikai, OnLive, Otoy, SpoonPeople: Kenji ObataDean 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[Angry Birds&' Vesterbacka: Tablets are killing console games (video)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=angry-birdsrsquo-vesterbacka-tablets-are-killing-console-games-video</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=angry-birdsrsquo-vesterbacka-tablets-are-killing-console-games-video</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=angry-birdsrsquo-vesterbacka-tablets-are-killing-console-games-video</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Frequent VentureBeat readers already know that Peter Vesterbacka, who leads business development at the company behind mobile gaming hit Angry Birds, thinks that mobile games are killing consoles. But now you can listen to his remarks yourself.Vesterbacka spoke at a mobile gaming panel that I moderated on Sunday at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin. His company,Rovio, has become the big success story in mobile gaming, with more than 100 downloads of Angry Birds and a recent $42 million round of funding from Accel Partners. Vesterbacka said this success reflects a larger trend:I think the center of gravity [in gaming] has really shifted so it&amp;'s now clearly mobile. That&amp;'s where most of the innovation, most of the growth is. Consoles are really a dying breed, I think. And a good example &amp;8212' again, you can&amp;'t do one of these without mentioning Apple and the iPad. You see the lines outside the store here a4 They launched that a  year ago, or less than a year ago, now you have the iPad 2, then 3, then 4, and so on. a4 The thing is, it&amp;'s very competitive. And then you have all of the other tablets, all of that.I think that tablets are killing the consoles. That&amp;'s where games will be played. a4 We will see probably four generations of tablets before there is a new console, if ever there is a new console.Tero Ojanpera, who leads services and developer experience at Nokia, was also on the panel, and he kicked off the discussion by talking about what Nokia&amp;'s partnership with Microsoft means for developers. You can see an edited version of the discussion in the two videos below. (Vesterbacka&amp;'s comments on consoles begin about at about the 10 minute point in part one.)Calling all mobile executives: This April 25-26, VentureBeat is hosting its inaugural VentureBeat Mobile Summit,  where we&amp;'ll debate the five key business and policy challenges facing  the mobile industry today. Participants will develop concrete,  actionable solutions that will shape the future of the mobile industry.  The invitation-only event, located at the scenic and relaxing Cavallo Point Resort in Sausalito, Calif., is limited to the top 180 mobile executives, investors and policymakers. Request an invitation.Next Story: Heyzap lets users &amp;''check-in&amp;'' to Android games Previous Story: EA&amp;'s Dragon Age Legends Facebook game unlocks features on console versionPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Angry Birds, mobile games, Mobile gamingCompanies: nokia, RovioPeople: Peter Vesterbacka, Tero Ojanpera          Tags: Angry Birds, mobile games, Mobile gamingCompanies: nokia, RovioPeople: Peter Vesterbacka, Tero OjanperaAnthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter. 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[Smule pursues its dream of beautiful iPad music with Magic Fiddle]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=smule-pursues-its-dream-of-beautiful-ipad-music-with-magic-fiddle</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=smule-pursues-its-dream-of-beautiful-ipad-music-with-magic-fiddle</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=smule-pursues-its-dream-of-beautiful-ipad-music-with-magic-fiddle</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Music startup Smule continues to follow an unpredictable path in its release of iPhone and iPad music apps. Its latest, the Magic Fiddle (iTunes link), seems to be the most &amp;''serious&amp;'' and genuinely musical.As the name implies, the Magic Fiddle transplants the fiddle onto the iPad. No previous musical skills are required. The app allows users to play along with songs using the Songbook and to develop their skills by following along with an 8-chapter storybook. And like any Smule app, there&amp;'s a social feature, where you can share your performances with other users.Professional musicians can apparently get some use of it too &amp;8212' specifically, you can see the Lawrence String Quartet playing in the video below (which I particularly like because it doesn&amp;'t look like they&amp;'ve completely mastered the app).Smule&amp;'s apps seem to fall into two main camps. In the one camp you have the company&amp;'s first big hit, Ocarina, which was based on a real-world instrument, and its first iPad-only app was the Magic Piano. In the other camp, you have licensed apps that aim more at novelty, including a singing app that tied into the Glee TV show and a Auto-tuning app in partnership with rapper T-Pain.The Magic Fiddle seems to fall into the former category. Asked how the Magic Fiddle builds on previous Smule apps, co-founder and chief technology officer Ge Wang responded:We think this is probably the most expressive game instrument thingymabob that we&amp;'ve ever built.  Like Ocarina, this is an app designed to be visual as well as aural.  We think Magic Fiddle really encourages people to experience the nostalgia of learning the violin in a fun way.  To this end, the StoryBook is something we&amp;'ve never done before, which is a fun, interactive step-by-step learning tool to teach anyone how to play the Magic Fiddle. Through the StoryBook, we&amp;'ve built an instrument with a &amp;''voice&amp;'' that teaches you how to play it.  We call it the Smule Method of learning the fiddle / violin.Smule has raised a total of $13.7 million in venture funding. The app costs $2.99.Previous Story: Tesla shows open road to more losses in Q3PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: iPad, Magic FiddleCompanies: SmulePeople: Ge Wang          Tags: iPad, Magic FiddleCompanies: SmulePeople: Ge WangAnthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.VentureBeat 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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