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<title>Haaze.com / stonkse / Published News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
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<pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: Verizon to demo LTE-capable devices at CES]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-verizon-to-demo-lte-capable-devices-at-ces</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-verizon-to-demo-lte-capable-devices-at-ces</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-verizon-to-demo-lte-capable-devices-at-ces</guid>
<description><![CDATA[What does Verizon plan to show us in Las Vegas next month(Credit:Verizon)Verizon Wireless confirmed via its Twitter account today that it will launch new Android devices with support for its growing 4G LTE network at CES 2011. We don't know exactly which devices the carrier will showcase at its January 6 press event, but potential handsets include the Droid Incredible HD or a Verizon-branded LG Optimus 2X. It's also possible that we could see a Motorola tablet that has been getting a lot of attention lately. Moto recently began teasing a new Honeycomb-based tablet for the conference, which ought to be the same unit demonstrated by Andy Rubin at Dive Into Mobile. With a little over two weeks before the annual conference kicks off, the chance of leaked pictures and videos increases. Are you looking forward to a specific phone or tablet from Verizon What are you hoping to see unveiled at CES<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[It's time to embrace software's auto-update era]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=its-time-to-embrace-softwares-auto-update-era</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=its-time-to-embrace-softwares-auto-update-era</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=its-time-to-embrace-softwares-auto-update-era</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Driven by Google and like-minded software makers, a new era is dawning in which your software is constantly refreshed--often without any intervention on your part at all.Depending on how you see things, that could be either a scary loss of control over your own computer or a boon to convenience and security. Either way, the practice is increasingly common.I, for one, welcome it.How many times a week do you see a software update dialog box like this(Credit:Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)In the last week or so, I've manually updated Google's Chrome, Chrome Canary, and Picasa' Adobe Systems' Flash Player, Photoshop, Premiere, and AIR'Microsoft Windows 7 and Office 2008 for theMac' Apple Aperture' Mozilla'sFirefox and Thunderbird' Opera' and Evernote. Should this really be my job Automatic updates can cause compatibility problems and yield control to corporations whose agendas may differ from your own, but used judiciously, I think it's an improvement.In days of yore, software came on disks manufactured and shipped at some expense to customers. But the Internet Age has enabled not just digital distribution, but frequent distribution, and programmers are following suit with a more continual stream of smaller updates.In short, a lot of software is becoming a constant work in progress rather than a finished product. With that change, along with the spread of computing technology to so many corners of our lives, the burden of maintaining it shifts to the software maker.&quot;[With] commodities like browsers or operating systems, non-technical consumers may well be best served by automatic updates,&quot; said Sebastian Holst, chief marketing officer of PreEmptive Solutions, a company that helps customers monitor and manage their software. &quot;Many of the updates address emerging security threats rather than simply adding 'nice-to-have' feature extensions. Wouldn't it be great if we could automatically update the batteries in smoke detectors If we have to work to motivate homeowners to take that simple step to protect themselves, how realistic is it to expect consumers to conscientiously update their software&quot; Browsers lead the chargeBrowsers are a prime example of the auto-update ethos. When Google released Chrome more than two years ago, the company quietly began a program in which the browser silently updates itself automatically. The software periodically checks a server to see if an update is available, downloads it when it finds one, and installs it for use when the browser or computer is restarted.  At the time, Google said, &quot;For major version updates, when feature changes are involved, we'll explore options for providing users with more details about the changes,&quot; but so far it's maintained its silence, so to speak. Here's Google's rationale for silent, automatic updates today:The primary reason is to ensure that as many users as possible are on the most current version of the software--and therefore as secure as possible--with minimal user effort...We've found that [waiting for user permission] only is desired in certain administration cases and in enterprise scenarios. For those cases we provide auto-update control via standard administration mechanisms.Opera has followed suit. &quot;We actually do it as a silent update now. You can change that to have more control, though. But the default is silent,&quot; spokesman Thomas Ford said.And with the new version of Firefox due in 2011, Mozilla plans to make automatic updates easier. &quot;With Firefox 4 we'll be adding the capability to apply updates in the background to reduce the delay on start-up, and (thankfully) changing things so that not every update will result in a new tab being opened,&quot; said Mike Beltzner, vice president of engineering for Firefox. &quot;However we'll always provide a clear message about how the user's software has been updated, as well as a way to see what was changed.&quot;Firefox programmers want the browser to improve faster, though, and to accommodate that is considering a more aggressive auto-update embrace.&quot;I think we also need to consider whether doing releases as frequently as once a quarter requires we default to mandatory (silent) updates across major versions,&quot; said Mozilla programmer Robert O'Callahan in a mailing list message this week.&quot;Yes, we need to consider it,&quot; Beltzner replied. However, he added, &quot;I wouldn't equate mandatory with silent--there are ways of doing automatic updates that are not silent, and I find that silent ends up putting people on tilt a bit.&quot;In the browser world, I'm inclined toward automatic updates. It raises compatibility issues with plug-ins, but given how central a role browsers play in today's Net attacks, I want holes plugged as soon as possible.And in the long run, an auto-update ethos could help avoid today's bane of the Web, Internet Explorer 6, released in 2001 and now holding back efforts to build a more secure and powerful Web. Cultural adjustmentWindows Update embodies the shift in software distribution and was a significant moment in my growing appreciation for automatic updates.Microsoft has shifted to an incremental monthly &quot;Patch Tuesday&quot; update cycle that has partly replaced the earlier service pack approach of infrequent, massive overhauls. The motivation is simple: security. No longer do software makers get much of a grace period between discovery of a vulnerability and attackers exploiting it. Indeed, Microsoft sometimes releases &quot;out-of-band&quot; patches for urgent problems.Major feature updates--such as the shift from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7--are still unusual. But plenty of real improvements such as better video drivers arrive regularly, too. You&amp;39're doing it wrong: This Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 update dialog box, hidden behind other windows, perversely says I have to quit the Microsoft AutoUpdate program before updating Office.(Credit:Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET) A few years ago I had an &quot;Aha!&quot; moment with Windows Update, which I'd set to automatically download updates but wait for my permission to install. I realized that I installed every security patch Microsoft sent. There have been some problems sometimes with those patches, but despite being fairly technical I'm not the kind of person who'll be able to detect them in some sort of testing.I concluded that I'd probably be better off overall with Windows installing those updates and my checking later to see what was patched. I made the change, and I'm happy with it so far.Sure, maybe some creepy government programmer is slipping a back door into my computer, but my guess is the updates are more likely to protect than compromise me and my data.I've also become a part-time sysadmin for a mother-in-law who lives several time zones away (thank you, LogMeIn). She's not technically inclined at all, so it was a no-brainer for me to enable automatic Windows updates on her machine.Her situation made me think more carefully about silent updates. I want to be notified of updates with easy-to-find release notes detailing what changed on my computers (hint hint, Adobe AIR team). But many people lack the expertise to understand that information. In my mother-in-law's case, pop-ups and dialog boxes and tabs alerting her to changes are confusing and worrying rather than helpful.&quot;It shouldn't be, but alas, it is the user's responsibility [to update software]. We're willing to tolerate this horrible user experience simply because PCs are so useful,&quot; said Paul Kocher, president of Cryptography Research. &quot;As microprocessors become more pervasive such as in smart appliances at home, the update experience becomes even less tolerable, so finding a solution to this problem is a top priority for the PC industry. Intel understands this, as evidenced by their purchase of McAfee, so I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see some improvements eventually.&quot; CaveatsAuto update must be effective if it's to work. In three major updates to Office 2008 for the Mac in the last year, I've had to endure dialog boxes hidden inaccessibly behind other windows, mammoth downloads, and intrusive requirements to shut down all sorts of third-party software. The most perverse moment, each of the three times: the alert that I had to quit the Microsoft AutoUpdate program before I could proceed with the update.It turns out I only had to quit an invisible dialog box asking me how often I wanted to check for updates. My gut reaction, given how awful the experience is: never! But a poorly implemented automatic update shouldn't hold back the automatic update idea overall.We should each get to choose silent or verbose updates, but I've concluded that there's a role for silent updates, too.Your opinion may differ, of course, and especially in a corporate environment caution is appropriate to avoid breaking existing computer systems. And think twice before you let any old software maker issue automatic updates.&quot;Users should decide their level of trust on a supplier-by-supplier basis, not app-by-app, and grant auto-update privileges only to those with a well-earned (established) reputation for software quality and customer support,&quot; Holst said.Enabling auto update isn't such an easy choice for those with responsibility for managing dozens, hundreds, or thousands of computers, though.&quot;Corporate IT admins make every possible attempt to block auto-updating software because it often breaks other software the users need,&quot; said Jennifer Bayuk of the Stevens Institute of Technology. &quot;Corporate admins do a lot of what is called 'sociability testing' to ensure thatdiverse software can operate in harmony on a single machine, and auto-updating software defeats the integrity of their desktop deployment strategy.&quot; Web, Chrome OS, and phonesPerhaps the most ambitious embodiment of the auto-update era is Google's Chrome OS. It's a browser-based affair, running Web applications rather than anything on the Linux operating system hidden under the covers. Like Chrome, it's got two common plug-ins built in--a PDF reader and Adobe's Flash Player--so Chrome OS can take over responsibility for updating them, too.With Chrome OS, Google will send updates automatically. It shouldn't be the user's responsibility to keep the software up to date, Google argues.With Chrome OS and Web applications, the lines blur between Web applications and native applications. The auto-update era is already well-established at Web sites. Sometimes companies such as Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, and Google give users a chance to opt in to new versions of their sites, but many more changes happen behind the scenes without the user's say-so, and the old versions eventually are phased out.Web applications on Chrome OS can take a variety of forms ranging from glorified bookmarks to apps that work without a Net connection to browser extensions that give the browser new abilities. All these mechanisms, though, can be updated automatically.Google also is headed this direction with Android. Newer versions of its mobile operating system let people grant applications permission to automatically update themselves. It didn't take me long to enable it for most applications.Chrome OS, smartphones, Net-connected TVs, satellite navigation systems, and automobile firmware illustrate how software is moving beyond the relatively narrow domain of personal computers. Multiply today's update woes by these new electronics, then factor in the limited user interfaces many of these new devices, and the idea that users bear responsibility for keeping software up to date becomes increasingly untenable.I see plenty of possible concerns with the auto-update era--incompatibilities, mistrust of corporations, new malware conduits, and intrusive user monitoring. But in my mind, the overall benefits outweigh the risks. I look forward to a world in which software is fluidly and constantly improved. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The e-readers of CES 2010: Where are they now]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-e-readers-of-ces-2010-where-are-they-now</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-e-readers-of-ces-2010-where-are-they-now</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 11 Dec 2010 08:15:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-e-readers-of-ces-2010-where-are-they-now</guid>
<description><![CDATA[That was then, this is now.(Credit:David Carnoy/CNET)Prior to each year's Consumer Electronics Show, we like to write previews of what buzz-worthy products might appear at the show and what trends you might expect to hear about. We'll do that, we promise. But before we do, let's take a look back and see what we left behind.Last year, as expected, the e-reader was front and center at CES, the hot new category if there ever was one. It had its own little pavilion on the show floor and we spent some time snapping photographs of all the new wares companies were proudly showcasing.Quite the assortment, they looked pretty high tech when we ran this slideshow a year ago. But take a stroll today through these images and the impression you get may be a little different. This is a rogue cast of characters, a motley crew. A lucky few managed to survive and have fared well enough. Some limped their way into the marketplace but have never really made it out of the starting blocks. And several simply vanished into thin air, vaporized by theiPad and the price cuts to the Nook and Kindle.It's a mostly sad tale. Have a look.The e-readers of CES 2010: Where are they now (photos) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple releasing iOS 4.2 today]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-releasing-ios-4-2-today</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-releasing-ios-4-2-today</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-releasing-ios-4-2-today</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Apple)Apple is launching iOS 4.2 today.The company announced that its latest operating system update foriPhone,iPod Touch, andiPad users will be available today, though the software was not yet available for download at 7:00 a.m. PT on Apple's site or directly through iTunes. MacStories and MacWorld are reporting that iOS 4.2 will debut by 10:00 a.m. PT. The eagerly awaited update will bring to the iPad new features that already hit the iPhone and iPod Touch through last summer's iOS 4.0 release. iPad users will now be able to multitask by switching from one app to another, organize apps via folders, and more easily jump from one e-mail inbox to another. Owners of Apple's popular tablet will also be able to join Game Center, Apple's social-gaming service that lets people play games online with their friends. &quot;iOS 4.2 makes the iPad a completely new product, just in time for the holiday season,&quot; Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. &quot;Once again, the iPad with iOS 4.2 will define the target that other tablets will aspire to, but very few, if any, will ever be able to hit.&quot; iOS 4.2 is also bringing new features to all three of Apple's mobile devices. People who've been asking for the ability to print now have their wish. The new AirPrint feature will print content directly from the mobile device to any AirPrint-enabled printer on a local network. That list initially includes the ePrint enabled printers from Hewlett-Packard, such as the HP Photosmart, HP LaserJet Pro, and HP Officejet, though Apple has said that iOS 4.2 mobile devices will be able to send data to any printer as long as it's connected through a Mac or PC. People can print documents, Web pages, photos, and other files. Apple is also touting the fact that no drivers, software, or cables are required to print via AirPrint. The new AirPlay will wirelessly stream music, videos, and photos from an iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad to the Apple TV box. Music can also be streamed directly to AirPlay-enabled speakers or to any stereo using AirPort Express. Those worried about losing their devices can use the Find My iPhone feature, which also works for the iPad and iPod Touch. Freely available as a download through the App Store, this tool lets people find a missing device by locating it on a map and having it flash a message or play a sound. People can also remotely lock or erase data from their lost device. This type of feature was previously available only to subscribers of Apple's $99-per-year MobileMe service. The actual launch date of iOS 4.2 was the subject of much speculation over the past couple of weeks. MacStories and other sources had claimed the update was set to debut on November 12. But the release might have been waylaid by a reported Wi-Fi bug that was rumored to have affected the iPad's ability to maintain a wireless connection. Apple pushed out a new Gold Master version for developers on November 12 and then another one this past Thursday. iOS 4.2 will be available for the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4' the iPod Touch 2G, 3G, and 4G' and the iPad. Updating any of these devices with iOS 4.2 first requires iTunes 10.1, which Apple released November 12. Updated 8:40 a.m. PT with further details and background.     <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Hands-on with AirPlay and Apple TV]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-airplay-and-apple-tv</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-airplay-and-apple-tv</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:10:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-airplay-and-apple-tv</guid>
<description><![CDATA[With AirPlay, you can &amp;quot'push&amp;quot' music directly from your iPhone to an Apple TV.We've criticized the new Apple TV for its lack of streaming-media services, but we've always held out hope that AirPlay would bring the additional functionality we wanted. Today, Apple released the new 4.2 iOS update and an Apple TV update, which enables AirPlay functionality. We've had some time to play with it, and though it doesn't fully deliver on its promise yet, it's on its way to being one of the best features of the Apple TV.What is AirPlay and how it works The idea behind AirPlay is &quot;pushing&quot; content from an iOS device to your Apple TV, so you can watch on the big screen. It's designed to work with music, photos, and videos, although the video functionality is limited for now.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Nlyte picks up $12 million for greener data centers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nlyte-picks-up-12-million-for-greener-data-centers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nlyte-picks-up-12-million-for-greener-data-centers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nlyte-picks-up-12-million-for-greener-data-centers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Nlyte Software has closed a $12 million third round of funding.The Menlo Park, Calif. company makes data center management tools that can lower power consumption by 20 percent, the company said, citing analysis by Gartner Research. It can also extend data center life by up to 75 percent. Nlyte&amp;'s software and web-based tools are aimed at helping companies better manage data center assets, find under-used assets and automate processes that get the best energy savings.Greening data centers has become an increasingly large focus area for big companies trying to green their operations &amp;8212' the centers are huge energy-suckers thanks to space, cooling and power requirements. Facebook recently came under fire for a data center in Oregon that will be powered by coal, and subsequently launched a green campaign and announced plans for a greener data center in North Carolina. Yahoo also debuted a chicken coop-inspired data center that it said would use 45 percent less energy and 95 percent less water than most data centers.Nlyte has added partnerships with companies like HP and VMware over the last year. The financing round was led by NGEN Partners. Participating investors include Balderton Capital, Ruffer LLP and Montalcino Holdings.[Image via Flickr/The Planet]Next Story: Enterprise software provider Novell bought by Attachmate for $2.2B Previous Story: VentureBeat&amp;'s picks for the 10 best video games of the holiday seasonPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: data centers, green data centersCompanies: balderton capital, Facebook, HP, Montalcino Holdings, NGEN Partners, nlyte Software, Ruffer LLP, VMWare, Yahoo          Tags: data centers, green data centersCompanies: balderton capital, Facebook, HP, Montalcino Holdings, NGEN Partners, nlyte Software, Ruffer LLP, VMWare, YahooIris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you  pronounce her last name).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[An old video game fad returns Celebrities want to cash in on Facebook games]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=an-old-video-game-fad-returns-celebrities-want-to-cash-in-on-facebook-games</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=an-old-video-game-fad-returns-celebrities-want-to-cash-in-on-facebook-games</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=an-old-video-game-fad-returns-celebrities-want-to-cash-in-on-facebook-games</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Zynga teamed up with recording artist Dr. Dre today to debut his new music video in its Facebook game Mafia Wars. And Facebook game publisher 6waves and TV production firm Endemol USA teamed up to produce a game around basketball icon Kobe Bryant.These kinds of deals are old hat for video game publishers. In fact, they&amp;'re so old hat that many game companies have moved beyond celebrity endorsements to produced higher-quality fare based on original stories and characters.But now some natural evolutionary forces are pushing the celebrities into social games. The celebrities want to cash in on the hip nature of Facebook, which can put them in much closer touch with their fans than previous video games have done. And the Facebook game companies want to differentiate themselves with brand or celebrity names that consumers can recognize. If it works, there will be piles of money in it for the game companies and the celebrities alike. It means the ante is getting higher for social game companies' if they want their games to be popular, they may have to hook up with a celebrity or brand as well to succeed. And that means higher production costs, which is an inevitability in any entertainment technology business.The emergence of celebrities and brands in social games is coming on strong. Electronic Arts has introduced its big sports game brands, Madden NFL football and FIFA soccer, in its recent Facebook games. And Disney is sure to bring its brands into the newest games from Playdom and Tapulous, which Disney acquired. Actress Kirstie Alley made a cameo appearance in RockYou&amp;'s Zoo World game on Facebook.The celebrity phase remains a big part of video games. But fans have a love-hate relationship with these kinds of games. They love getting closer to their favorites stars. But they hate shallow games that are horribly boring to play. Bad celebrity video games are such a clich that game critics have built &amp;''worst ever&amp;'' lists around them. One of the worst ever was Journey, a 1983 video game built around the popular rock band.It&amp;'s funny but I couldn&amp;'t find a list of the &amp;''best ever&amp;'' celebrity video games. Let&amp;'s hope that social games have better luck. The celebrity games could actually do better because their fans aren&amp;'t so hardcore and are focused more on the social element of the games than the game play itself. You could probably say the trend will hit its peak when either Britney Spears or Paris Hilton create their own Facebook games. But for now, celebrity fan pages are doing quite well on Facebook, with millions of fans signing up for pages such as the Family Guy fan page.Zynga&amp;'s approach is more conservative because it is injecting a celebrity, Dr. Dre, into the already-successful Mafia Wars. Five-time Grammy winner Dr. Dre will debut his new Kush music video, featuring music stars Snoop Dogg and Akon. The video is the beginning of a marketing blitz around the early 2011 release of Dr. Dre&amp;'s next album, Detox, which is his first in more than a decade. His tough demeanor fits well with Mafia Wars, which is the world&amp;'s most popular crime game.You can also buy Dr. Dre-related limited edition virtual goods within a &amp;''Hustlin&amp;' wit Dre&amp;'' portion of the game. Players can listen to a stream of Kush music while playing the game. The virtual goods include Dr. Dre-inspired headphones, a vintage car, and weapons. Players can also watch an exclusive Dr. Dre video message available only within Mafia Wars. They can enter a contest to win a signed copy of the CD and the Beats By Dr. Dre headphones. Players can purchase the song via an iTunes link within the game.Earlier this year, Zynga partnered with rapper Snoop Dogg to blow up a 4-ton armored truck in the Nevada desert to celebrate the game reaching 10 million visitors in two weeks. Overall, Zynga has more than 200 million monthly active users and Mafia Wars has more than 19 million playing on both the iPhone and Facebook.Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant will be the focus of a social game from Endemol USA, an entertainment production company, and social game publisher 6waves. Bryant himself will play a role in the creative development of the game, which the parties aren&amp;'t describing yet.Endemol will secure sponsors and brand integrations for the project and co-produce the game as well. 6waves will c0-produce the game and market it to its huge base of 75 million monthly active users. 6wave&amp;'s games include Ravenwood Fair (created with LOLApps), Mall World, Resort World, Simply Hospital and My Fishbowl.The game will give players the chance to win Kobe-autographed memorabilia or tickets to attend a Lakers game. The social game could also involve integrations with Kobea4a4s Endemol-produced online video series, Dream Makers.[photo credits: dr dre, kobe, snoop]Next Story: Entrepreneur Corner: Domain hijackers and ugly start-up realities Previous Story: Bioplastics startup Ecospan pitches DEMO on bubble wrap, not more bubble rapPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Beats by Dr. Dre, social gamesCompanies: 6waves, Endemol USA, ZyngaPeople: Dr. Dre, Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dogg          Tags: Beats by Dr. Dre, social gamesCompanies: 6waves, Endemol USA, ZyngaPeople: Dr. Dre, Kobe Bryant, Snoop DoggDean 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.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[Just Dance 2 breaks the music game curse with 5M units sold]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=just-dance-2-breaks-the-music-game-curse-with-5m-units-sold</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=just-dance-2-breaks-the-music-game-curse-with-5m-units-sold</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=just-dance-2-breaks-the-music-game-curse-with-5m-units-sold</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Music games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band once lit up the charts of video game sales. But then they plunged into an abyss as gamers got tired of the stale content. Fortunately for Ubisoft, gamers only tired of the games that were duds, not all music games.Today, Ubisoft is announcing that it has sold more than 5 million copies of Just Dance 2 for the Wii. That&amp;'s a huge success, making it one of the top three game franchises of any kind for 2010. And it comes off an earlier announcement that Ubisoft&amp;'s Michael Jackson The Experience game for the Wii sold 2 million copies in just six weeks. From the point of view of French publisher Ubisoft, music games are back, said Adam Novickas, director of marketing at Ubisoft, in an interview.It shows that game genres don&amp;'t die. They go through cycles of innovation where original titles delight users, and then periods of stagnation when users get frustrated with the lack of variety.Just Dance 2 was released in October. Combined with its predecessor Just Dance and Just Dance Kids, the franchise has sold more than 10 million units since its debut in November 2009. It&amp;'s also the third-bestselling third-party Wii title in the console&amp;'s history. The Michael Jackson dance game came out on Nov. 23 and its Xbox 360 Kinect and Sony PlayStation Move versions will come out this spring.Overall, Just Dance 2 generated an estimated $200 million in retail sales, while Michael Jackson The Experience generated sales of $80 million. The numbers are based on sales to end customers.The solid performance of Ubisoft&amp;'s titles contrasts with weakness in the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises. Viacom was so sour on Rock Band that it allowed developer Harmonix to buy the property back for a song. Going into the holidays, music games were down 50 percent from year ago sales, according to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter.In Just Dance 2, up to four players can try to mirror the dance choreography featured on the game screen. The game has more than 40 tracks, with more available for downloading such as Katy Perry&amp;'s hit Firework.Next Story: Verizon one-ups AT&amp;038'T, turns your iPhone into a WiFi hotspot Previous Story: Meet the new iPhone, same as the old iPhonePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Guitar Hero, Just Dance, Just Dance 2, Michael Jackson The Experience, music games, Rock BandCompanies: Harmonix, Ubisoft, ViacomPeople: Adam Novickas, Michael Pachter          Tags: Guitar Hero, Just Dance, Just Dance 2, Michael Jackson The Experience, music games, Rock BandCompanies: Harmonix, Ubisoft, ViacomPeople: Adam Novickas, Michael PachterDean 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.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[Picplza4a4s new features arena4a4t a business model a4 yet]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=picplzâÂ€Â™s-new-features-arenâÂ€Â™t-a-business-model-âÂ€¦-yet</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=picplzâÂ€Â™s-new-features-arenâÂ€Â™t-a-business-model-âÂ€¦-yet</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>stonkse</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=picplzâÂ€Â™s-new-features-arenâÂ€Â™t-a-business-model-âÂ€¦-yet</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If youa4a4ve been wondering how someone can turn a mobile photo application into a real company, well, the answer became a little clearer today with some new features from Picplz.The company has announced an application programming interface (API) that will allow developers to build apps using Picplz photos. The company released a slideshow app, an embeddable widget for photos, and a photo feed that requires a login as examples of the kind of potential the API provides. Yes, pretty much every social networking startup releases an API, but Picplz seems to have beaten its competitors to this particular milestone. (Instagram shut down an unofficial API and said it plans to build an official one.)(Update: Well, Picplz was ahead of Instagram by a few hours anyway.)As my headline suggests, it doesna4a4t look like todaya4a4s announcement will  make the San Francisco startup any money right away. But the news points to how Picplz can be more than just another mobile app.Picplz has made another change, too: It now lets users share their photos through a Creative Commons license. This may seem like a minor addition, but it could help users feel more comfortable making Picplz the main repository for all their images. Not only will they be able to share those photos on a range of other social sites, but they can also set the terms by which those photos are republished by others. (Many of the images on VentureBeat come from Creative Commons-licensed photos that we find on Flickr.)Finally, Picplz announced a dashboard that allows businesses like Madison Square Garden and the LA Lakers to track the number of views, likes, and comments they receive on each image. This seems like something Picplz might be able to charge for, but co-founder Dalton Caldwell told me ita4a4s free for now:We developed this as a direct response for what our early brand partners asked for.  I am not sure whether this is the beginning of a monetization option for brands, or just another interesting reason for people to adopt picplz.I think we would need to add quite a bit more functionality before it would be something a brand would be willing to pay for.  At any rate, we will get a better idea once it gets more adoption.Caldwell previously led music service Imeem, and he gave a memorable talk last year where he laid out all the reasons why he wouldna4a4t want to create another music startup &amp;8212' basically, the financial side just doesna4a4t add up. So ita4a4s probably safe to assume that he chose his new industry with a little more care. Todaya4a4s news shows a vision that goes beyond the app, one that turns Picplz into a resource for developers, publishers, and brands.But to be a successful platform, Picplz will probably need to be a successful consumer app too. And Instagram seems to be providing some formidable competition on that front.Picplz recently raised a $5 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz. (Andreessen invested in an earlier version of Instagram, but he said he will take a more passive role now.)Next Story: Mobile cyber threats are getting worse Previous Story: Keith Olbermann may be joining Current TVPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: mobile photo-sharing, mobile photosCompanies: PicPlzPeople: Dalton Caldwell          Tags: mobile photo-sharing, mobile photosCompanies: PicPlzPeople: Dalton CaldwellAnthony 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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