Best iPhone Games of 2012 | Gamezebo

Is it just me or does gaming on the iPhone keep getting better? You?d think the bar of quality would eventually cease its endless journey upward (or at least slow down), but that hasn?t been the case. We?ve been treated to a steady stream of excellent games since the App Store?s launch in 2008, and this year is no different.

It?s nothing short of amazing how much the iPhone has shaken up the industry recently. It wouldn?t be a stretch to say that it stole the thunder from dedicated gaming handhelds, not to mention introduced a whole new crowd to video games. And, if developers continue to release games as good as the ones listed below, I?ve no doubt it will continue to stir things up in the years ahead.

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#5 - Hero Academy

If you took the classic game of chess and pumped it full of powerful weaponry and diverse character factions, you?d end up with Hero Academy. It boasts a form of strategy that nearly everyone is familiar with, which goes a long way to narrow the chasm between those new to the game and those who have been playing it for a long time.

And yet, even with such a low barrier to entry, there?s more than enough depth to its turn-based, multiplayer-focused gameplay to keep you on the hook for months on end.

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#4 - Beat Sneak Bandits

Rhythm games are great. Platformers are great. But what happens when you merge the two? Beat Sneak Bandit happens, that?s what.

The game?s premise is simple enough: move the main character by tapping along to the beat of the music. But with its clever level design and sundry head-scratching puzzles, Beat Sneak Bandit is as complex as it is fun to play. I?m also pretty sure it?s scientifically impossible to not have the soundtrack stuck in your head when you finish playing.?

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#3 - Devil's Attorney

At first blush, Devil?s Attorney might seem like it?s trying to ride the coattails of Phoenix Wright?s success. But as you learn after just a few minutes with it, that couldn?t be further from the case.

Devil?s Attorney is best described as a turn-based strategy game, and one that?s overflowing with witty dialogue and absurd court cases. You play as Max, the lovable-but-unscrupulous defense attorney looking to carve out a name for himself. And while others choose to do so through sheer talent, Max opts instead to cheat, outwit, and occasionally?even lie to keep his clients off the hook. As it turns out, being a seedy lawyer can be a whole lot of fun.

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#2 - Rayman Jungle Run

Following in the footsteps of the near-perfect Rayman Origins is no easy feat, but Rayman Jungle Run managed to pull it off brilliantly. Rather than try and make a console game function on a touch-screen interface, Ubisoft pared down the mechanics and offered an experience that felt right at home on iOS (and Android). You?d be hard-pressed to find a runner that?s as fun as this one, not to mention one even half as gorgeous to look at.

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#1 Super Hexagon

Simply put, Super Hexagon is concentrated fun. There?s no story, no characters, and no entreaties to save the world or destroy an ancient evil; it?s just you, your triangle cursor, and an incoming stream of shapes that kill you upon contact. To describe it in a word, it?s ?addictive.? To describe it in four words, it?s ?addictive and obscenely hard.?

Seriously, we?re not joking around: Super Hexagon is one tough cookie. You?ll know how to play in a matter of seconds, but staying alive longer than even 30 seconds will take quite a bit of practice. And that?s a good thing, because every second spent with the game is pure delight.

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With another year come and gone, Gamezebo is looking back at the best games that 2012 had to offer. Our month-long retrospective will touch on just about every type of game you can imagine - so be sure not to miss any of it!?Check out our full collection of Best of 2012 articles, and vote for your favorite games in our?2012 Reader?s Choice awards.

Read more: Best of 2012

Source: http://www.gamezebo.com/news/2012/12/20/best-iphone-games-2012

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The effects of stress on workplace performance ? Business ...

Stressors like workload, people issues, lack of work/life balance and job insecurity can cause a dip in productivity at work, according to ComPsych?s 2012 Stress Pulse survey.

Effect of stress on daily productivity

?? 41% lose 15 to 30 minutes of productivity a day

?? 36% lose one hour or more each day

?? 23% report their productivity is not affected by stress

Effect of stress on attendance

?? 55% miss one or two days a year to stress

?? 29% miss three to six days a year

?? 16% miss more than six days a year

Effect of stress on effectiveness

?? 46% come to work one to four days per year when too stressed to be effective

?? 30% show up that way five or more days per year

?? 24% say stress does not influence their effectiveness

Effect of personal tasks on daily ?productivity

?? 41% lose less than 30 minutes a day to personal tasks

?? 40% lose 30 minutes a day

?? 19% lose more than an hour a day

Source: ComPsych Stress Pulse survey, October 2012

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Michael Phelps voted AP male athlete of year

Now that he's away from the pool, Michael Phelps can reflect ? really reflect ? on what he accomplished.

Pretty amazing stuff.

"It's kind of nuts to think about everything I've gone through," Phelps said. "I've finally had time to myself, to sit back and say, '... that really happened?' It's kind of shocking at times."

Not that his career needed a capper, but Phelps added one more honor to his staggering list of accomplishments Thursday ? The Associated Press male athlete of the year.

Phelps edged out LeBron James to win the award for the second time, not only a fitting payoff for another brilliant Olympics (four gold medals and two silvers in swimming at the London Games) but recognition for one of the greatest careers in any sport.

Phelps finished with 40 votes in balloting by U.S. editors and broadcasters, while James was next with 37. Track star Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in London, was third with 23.

Carl Lewis is the only other Olympic-related star to be named AP male athlete of the year more than once, taking the award for his track and field exploits in 1983 and '84. The only men honored more than twice are golf's Tiger Woods and cyclist Lance Armstrong (four times each), and basketball's Michael Jordan (three times).

"Obviously, it's a big accomplishment," Phelps said. "There's so many amazing male athletes all over the world and all over our country. To be able to win this is something that just sort of tops off my career."

Phelps retired at age 27 as soon as he finished his final race in London, having won more gold medals (18) and overall medals (22) than any other Olympian.

No one else is even close.

"That's what I wanted to do," Phelps said. "Now that it's over, it's something I can look back on and say, 'That was a pretty amazing ride.'"

The current ride isn't so bad either.

Set for life financially, he has turned his fierce competitive drive to golf, working on his links game with renowned coach Hank Haney as part of a television series on the Golf Channel. In fact, after being informed of winning the AP award, Phelps called in from the famed El Dorado Golf & Beach Club in Los Cabos, Mexico, where he was heading out with Haney to play a few more holes before nightfall.

"I can't really complain," Phelps quipped over the phone.

Certainly, he has no complaints about his swimming career, which helped turn a sport that most Americans only paid attention to every four years into more of a mainstream pursuit.

More kids took up swimming. More advertisers jumped on board. More viewers tuned in to watch.

While swimming is unlikely to ever match the appeal of football or baseball, it has carved out a nice little niche for itself amid all the other athletic options in the United States ? largely due to Phelps' amazing accomplishments and aw-shucks appeal.

Just the fact that he won over James shows just how much pull Phelps still has. James had an amazing year by any measure: The league MVP won his first NBA title with the Miami Heat, picking up finals MVP honors along the way, and then starred on the gold medal-winning U.S. basketball team in London.

Phelps already had won the AP award in 2008 after his eight gold medals in Beijing, which broke Mark Spitz's record. Phelps got it again with a performance that didn't quite match up to the Great Haul of China, but was amazing in its own right.

After the embarrassment of being photographed taking a hit from a marijuana pipe and questioning whether he still had the desire to go on, Phelps returned with a vengeance as the London Games approached. Never mind that he was already the winningest Olympian ever. Never mind that he could've eclipsed the record for overall medals just by swimming on the relays.

He wanted to be one of those rare athletes who went out on top.

"That's just who he is," said Bob Bowman, his longtime coach. "He just couldn't live with himself if knew he didn't go out there and give it good shot and really know he's competitive. He doesn't know anything else but to give that kind of effort and have those kind of expectations."

Phelps got off to a rocky start in London, finishing fourth in the 400-meter individual medley, blown out of the water by his friend and rival, Ryan Lochte. It was only the second time that Phelps had not at least finished in the top three of an Olympic race, the first coming way back in 2000 when he was fifth in his only event of the Sydney Games as a 15-year-old.

To everyone looking in, Lochte seemed poised to become the new Phelps ? while the real Phelps appeared all washed up.

But he wasn't going out like that.

No way.

Phelps rebounded to become the biggest star at the pool, edging Lochte in the 200 IM, contributing to a pair of relay victories, and winning his final individual race, the 100 butterfly. There were two silvers, as well, leaving Phelps with a staggering resume that will be awfully difficult for anyone to eclipse.

His 18 golds are twice as many as anyone else in Olympic history. His 22 medals are four clear of Larisa Latynina, a Soviet-era gymnast, and seven more than the next athlete on the list. Heck, if Phelps was a nation, he'd be 58th in the medal standings, just one behind India (population: 1.2 billion).

"When I'm flying all over the place, I write a lot in my journal," Phelps said. "I kind of relive all the memories, all the moments I had throughout my career. That's pretty special. I've never done that before. It's amazing when you see it all on paper."

Four months into retirement, Phelps has no desire to get back in the pool. Oh, he'll swim every now and then for relaxation, using the water to unwind rather than putting in one of his famously grueling practices. Golf is his passion at the moment, but he's also found time to cheer on his hometown NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens, and start looking around for a racehorse that he and Bowman can buy together.

Phelps hasn't turned his back on swimming, either. He's got his name attached to a line of schools that he wants to take worldwide. He's also devoting more time to his foundation, which is dedicated to teaching kids to swim and funding programs that will grow the sport even more.

He's already done so much.

"His contribution to the way the world thinks about swimming is so powerful," Bowman said. "I don't think any other athlete has transformed his sport the way he's transformed swimming."

Phelps still receives regular texts from old friends and teammates, asking when he's going to give up on this retirement thing and come back the pool as a competitor.

He scoffs at the notion, sounding more sure of himself now than he did in London.

And if there's anything we've learned: Don't doubt Michael Phelps when he sets his mind on something.

"Sure, I could come back in another four years. But why?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "I've done everything I wanted to do. There's no point in coming back."

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michael-phelps-voted-ap-male-athlete-160325550--spt.html

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Egypt: Top elections official resigns

Egyptian protester chants slogans against President Mohammed Morsi outside the presidential palace during a protest against President Mohammed Morsi, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. Egypt's opposition alliance staged rallies across the country on Tuesday to protest a contentious Islamist-backed draft constitution, after the country's Ministry of Justice ordered a probe into allegations of widespread voting irregularities during Saturday's first round of voting on the document. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Egyptian protester chants slogans against President Mohammed Morsi outside the presidential palace during a protest against President Mohammed Morsi, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. Egypt's opposition alliance staged rallies across the country on Tuesday to protest a contentious Islamist-backed draft constitution, after the country's Ministry of Justice ordered a probe into allegations of widespread voting irregularities during Saturday's first round of voting on the document. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

(AP) ? One of the top officials in charge of overseeing Egypt's vote on a contentious Islamist-backed draft constitution resigned Wednesday, citing health problems, a judicial official said, in what critics saw as another blow to the legitimacy of the process.

The resignation comes amid allegations of vote irregularities and follows boycotts of the referendum judges and others leaving the voting process with a severe shortage of monitors to oversee it.

Secretary General of the Election Committee Zaghloul el-Balshi attributed his resignation to "a sudden health crisis," according to a copy of a letter he sent to the committee that was published by several Egyptian dailies including the privately owned el-Watan.

The official confirmed the authenticity of the letter. Relatives told local Egyptian media that el-Balshi has undergone eye surgery.

"The effort I put in over the past period has caused a sudden health crisis," the letter of resignation read. "As you know, it is impossible to carry out my mission with this health condition," it added.

The judicial official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

However, critics believe the resignation was prompted by widespread irregularities.

"The violations were blatant, and he couldn't bear more, so he resigned. Don't believe what is said about his health condition," said Hossam Eissa, professor of law in Ain Shams University and a leading opposition member. "Half of the people will not recognize this constitution."

In an interview with daily al-Masry al-Youm, a senior member of the committee, Mahmoud Abu-Shousha, warned the opposition "not to exploit the sickness of the man and describe his resignation as caused by what they consider violations in the first round."

Rights groups and opposition say they filed complaints of violations including replacing judges with employees. Egypt's Justice Ministry ordered investigation into allegations.

Many of the country's judges boycotted overseeing the referendum, though the law requires that each polling station must be supervised by a judge. The boycott is a protest against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's actions which judges.

The latest branch of judiciary that decided to boycott is the administrative prosecution union. At a news conference on Wednesday, they protested what they called the "abduction" of the Supreme Constitutional Court, which Islamists have accused of conspiring against the referendum. Islamists held a sit-in for weeks to prevent members from convening.

One of the Muslim Brotherhood's allies, Gamaa Islamiya, which once waged a terror campaign against the regime but later renounced violence, said in a statement, "the Supreme Constitutional Court is now a clear enemy of the presidency and the constitution," warning the court against issuing any verdicts that would hinder the vote, else, "it will be waging an assault against the popular will."

The resulting shortage of supervisors has added to doubts about the referendum. The first round was held on Dec. 15 and the second round is scheduled for Saturday.

El-Balshi had himself threatened to boycott following deadly clashes between liberal and Islamist demonstrators earlier this month, one of several incidents that have increased the sense of crisis in Egypt since Morsi last month issued a decree giving himself wide-ranging powers.

Morsi rescinded the decree, but his move set the scene for further polarization when an Islamist-dominated constitutional drafting panel rushed through the draft opposed by liberal parties, secularists, Christians, and many Muslims skeptical of the Brotherhood.

The constitution received 56 percent of the vote in the first round of the referendum. The Brotherhood says the opposition needs to respect the voter majority. Its critics say the process was rushed, the vote was rife with irregularities, turnout was a low 32 percent, and that a constitution needs consensus, not just a simple majority, to gain legitimacy.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-19-ML-Egypt/id-4cb6a53fad86453da95238d2d0f7a248

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China Garden reopens after theater shooting

China Garden reopens after shooting

SAN ANTONIO -

China Garden by the Mayan Palace 14 movie theaters re-opened for a few hours Tuesday evening, two days after it was the scene of a shooting that left one man wounded along with the suspect.

"The employees felt that it was a must that we opened as soon as possible," said restaurant owner Adrian Martinez. "The community outreach over the last couple of days has been amazing. I personally received over a thousand e-mails, messages to our corporate website asking us how we're doing and what can they do to help."

Late Sunday evening, 19-year-old Jesus Garcia - who had worked at the restaurant as a cook before walking out on the job earlier in the day - reportedly fired several shots inside the restaurant before walking to the Mayan Palace 14 movie theaters and firing more shots and wounding 49-year-old Mario Acevedo.

Garcia was also shot four times and arrested by an off-duty sheriff's deputy that was working security at the theaters. It had originally been reported that Garcia was upset after a female co-worker ended a relationship but Martinez said that was incorrect.

"I knew there was an individual that he had an interest in but other than that it wasn't this two, three year relationship or what I heard on the news, a love triangle so to speak," said Martinez. "It wasn't anything like that."

The restaurant opened just before 5:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and planned to stay open until 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. Around 7:00 p.m., there was a constant line of customers outside waiting to get in.

"I know some people might want to forget, but I'm glad to see everybody's united and having a good time," said customer Chris Garcia.

"We can't be afraid to come out and not be able to enjoy your life and be afraid of everything," added Mona Sanchez.

"You never know the way the public's going to side with things and it's definitely been one of thankful forgiving and understanding and supporting our business," said Martinez.

Jesus Garcia remains in the Bexar county jail under $1 million bond for charges of attempted capital murder for shooting at a police officer in a patrol car and for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Martinez said the female employee was not at work on Tuesday, but has been told she is welcome to remain on staff.?

For a list of recent stories Charles Gonzalez has done, click here.

  • Copyright 2012 by KSAT.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.ksat.com/news/China-Garden-reopens-after-San-Antonio-movie-theater-shooting/-/478452/17826682/-/24w2tx/-/index.html

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Internet Marketing Search Engine Optimization SEM SEO service ...

It is key to use good SEO techniques if you run a business website. By using these techniques, a business can improve its search ranking, so that its website is ranked more highly by the major search engines. Read further and we will share some valuable tips with you.

A domain name which contains your keywords can be a real boost to your efforts. You want to make your website easy to find when people are searching for it on the web. Not everyone will arrive at your site through ads, many will come from product searches.

Strategic keyword placement within your online content gets noticed by search engines that can boost your traffic. The best use of keywords is to place them early in the text without going overboard and loading too many instances of the same words. Ideally, your keyword should be featured twice in your first paragraph. After that, the next 200 words on your page should contain as many instances of your keyword as you can, without overwhelming the page with it.

If you want your site to automatically achieve higher search engine rankings, consider joining forces with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and the Chamber of Commerce in your area. Since these usually link to your site, it helps with local search results. Having a positive rating through the renowned Better Business Bureau can boost consumer trust in your business.

It is important that links in your website and incoming links all include keyword phrases. ? as your main anchor text. That?s the way to make your anchor text seem credible and relevant to the search engines. Be sure that the internal links on your site use the right keyword links.

Podcasts are an excellent way to deliver content. You can include both audio and video content in a podcast, just be sure it is content your users care about. It is easy to enter the podcast world; you only need a tape recorder. Be sure to include a description of your podcast so the search engines can index it.

You should publish and write fresh content as much as you can. Set weekly goals and keep the promise to yourself to publish a certain amount of content. Search engines judge sites with a fresh stream of content that is posted regularly as more valuable than those that only update the content occasionally. Consistently updated content equals higher page ranks.

Search engines will lower your page rankings if you are found to be manipulating the rating system to artificially achieve top search rankings. Search engine sites, like Google and Yahoo, have blacklisted some websites and removed them from their search results for trying to manipulate rankings. Be aware of the methods you use to optimize your search engine rankings.

Have the owner of the business actively involved in posting material on the website if applicable. This will give the site a more human touch. This is the company?s voice, and people will desire to hear it.

The language meta tag is crucial to your search ranking if your site is written in a language besides English. Doing so will improve your site rankings for queries in a different language.

If you are looking to climb up the search engine ranks, then provide a plethora of content, going across many different topics, but still staying within the niche. In other words, provide relative content from different aspects of your niche. If your topic is nutrition, provide articles on healthy recipes, wellness tips, vitamins and supplements, and more. By providing a wide array of articles centered around specific subjects, you increase the likelihood that your site will appear near the top of search results.

An HTML title will yield better SEO results, if you use keywords and phrases in them. When analyzing your site, search engines place heavier emphasis on keywords that are included in title tags. Placing the strongest keywords in the title tag maximizes your results and increases site traffic.

There?s a lot to search engine optimization, but as was stated earlier in the article, it?s absolutely essential to make sure your website gets the business it deserves. Make sure to apply these techniques to your website, as soon as possible, so that you can start getting more customers and more profits.

Search Engine Optimization, SEO


_________________________________________
Here are some other Internet Marketing/SEO related sites that I would like to share with you.
Thanks for visiting Website Host Direct reviews!

md_i_ansari - Twitter
Network-marketing-education.com encyclopedia topics | Reference ...
Internet Marketing Ninjas Adds Rick DeJarnette to Its SEO team
Search Engine Optimization
Internet Marketing - Website Review & Strategy - a set on Flickr

Related posts:

  1. How Search Engine Optimization Works Can Work For You
  2. Tips On How To Make Search Engine Optimization Work For You
  3. Search Engine Optimization ? Does It Really Work?
  4. Making Search Engine Optimization Work For You
  5. Search Engine Optimization Techniques That Really Work

Source: http://www.websitehostdirect.com/how-search-engine-optimization-works-can-work-for-you-2/

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GOP Governor Vetoes Controversial Law Allowing Guns In Schools

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder rejected a bill Tuesday that would have allowed people who receive special training to carry concealed firearms into formerly gun-free zones like churches and school buildings.

Michigan's legislature passed the concealed carry measure, Senate Bill 59, last Thursday.

Gov. Snyder said in a release sent to The Huffington Post that last Friday's shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary led to a thorough review of the bill. Instead, he said he calls for a "more comprehensive review of issues relating to gun violence." He has now ordered a multi-departmental assessment of the state?s services and needs regarding at-risk children.

?This type of violence often leaves society with more questions than answers,? Snyder said in the release. ?The reasons for such appalling acts usually are numerous and complex. With that in mind, we must consider legislation like SB 59 in a holistic manner."

The legislation would have allowed those with Concealed Pistol Licenses who have taken eight hours of additional training to bring firearms into schools, day care centers, sports arenas, bars, places of worship, hospitals, dormitories and large entertainment facilities.

Private-property owners and public universities would have been given an opportunity to prohibit the weapons, but public schools would not have had that option.

?While we must vigilantly protect the rights of law-abiding firearm owners, we also must ensure the right of designated public entities to exercise their best discretion in matters of safety and security,? said Gov. Snyder in a statement sent to The Huffington Post. ?These public venues need clear legal authority to ban firearms on their premises if they see fit to do so.?

Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayvill, who sponsored the bill, told the Detroit News shortly before the veto that the governor would refuse to sign the bill because of the language regarding guns in public schools. Green said he refused to change the language to allow public schools and municipalities to still ban concealed weapons, for fear that it could be used to overturn the state's firearms preemption law that prohibits local firearms laws from trumping state laws and regulations," the Detroit News said.

In the wake of the Newton, Conn. school shooting Friday that killed 26 people, including 20 children, Snyder told the Associated Press that public safety concerns related to the legislation would ?deserve extra consideration.?

"While the bill?s goal is to help prevent needless violence, Michigan will be better served if we view it through a variety of lenses," Snyder said in the release. "A thoughtful review that examines issues such as school emergency policies, disenfranchised youth and mental health services may lead to more answers and better safeguards.?

Snyder also said a 1981 shooting that occurred at the University of Michigan while he was a law school student and resident adviser also affected his consideration of the bill.

"If you ask in context, this is something that has additional impact on me because of my personal history," he told the Detroit Free Press.

After last week's shooting, some politicians across the country have called for gun reform measures that would impose stricter regulations on the purchase and use of weapons. But supporters of the legislation said last week that it could help avoid similar incidents in the future , according to the Detroit Free Press.

?This kind of tragedy is hard to process, but if one person ? a faculty member or a parent ? could legally carry, at least it could have limited some of the mayhem,? Michigan Open Carry Inc. Media Director Rob Harris said Friday. ?This legislation has to be passed to at least have a fighting chance against the evil in this world.?

While the governor rejected Senate Bill 59, he did sign two other bills that streamline the process for handgun purchases and eliminate restrictions on interstate rifle and shotgun transactions to states contiguous to Michigan.

This is a developing story.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/michigan-concealed-carry-vetoed-rick-snyder_n_2324084.html

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All I Want for Christmas Is My Apple TV - Jeremy Allaire - Voices ...

Coming into 2012, with rumors and theories running wild, we all hoped for a new Apple TV in time for Christmas. While we did get spades of new tablets from Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung and others, all Apple had for us was an upgraded iPhone and a handful of new iPad updates and sizes. The contents of our pockets may have changed, but Apple has left our living rooms largely untouched.

Myriad issues have held back the new Apple TV, from complex dealings and integration with established broadcast cable providers, to hardware design and supply issues, to the necessary evolution of iOS SDKs ? but we won?t be kept waiting forever. There?s every reason to expect the new product to launch in 2013. When it does, we?re likely to see massive disruption of the broadcast and gaming industries, the rise of an age of TV apps, and an even stronger leadership role for Apple in software, media, communications and consumer devices.

What will the coming Apple TV look like, and what will it mean for our industry? There?s plenty of information available to guide our speculation. Let?s imagine Christmas 2013, and the new line of Apple TV products I hope to find under my tree.

Apple TV under the Christmas tree

Apple TV under the Christmas tree

What will the new Apple TV be?
The new Apple TV will be defined by three key values for consumers:

  1. The best way to consume broadcast TV and any online video. A seamless touch- and TV-based interface makes it simple to consume your existing cable and broadcast content, including video-on-demand (VOD) libraries and DVR features. Via iTunes, you also get instant access to mega-libraries and subscriptions from iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, not to mention YouTube. Naturally, you can also access any AirPlay-enabled videos on the Web, as well as TV apps updated with the new iOS 7 SDK.
  2. The ultimate game console. The new Apple TV will be a direct assault on the game console industry, with a living-room platform that should leave Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony running scared. With a single launch, Apple will extend the iOS gaming distribution ecosystem into the living room, and invent new categories of gaming through the interaction of iOS devices with Apple TV.
  3. The best way to experience all of your apps. Crucially, the new Apple TV will extend nearly every existing iOS app into being a TV app that brings the power and richness of large display surfaces to consumer computing ? a task that nearly every industry titan has attempted and failed. The combination of touch and TV will ignite a new era in dual-screen software application design and development, in which it will become hard to believe that Internet software was once based solely on PCs, phones and tablets.

Fulfilling the Apple product design fetish
Everyone wants to know what the new Apple TV will look like, what it will include inside, and how it will connect all of Apple?s existing consumer and developer offerings. As usual, product packaging and design are fundamental components of Apple?s go-to-market strategy, complemented by their unique ability to leverage their existing app, content and device ecosystem.

Apple already has an ecosystem of nearly one million apps, the world?s best library of a la carte media, and hundreds of millions of device customers. In an ideal world, Apple would like to sell the majority of these customers a new device for TV. The company also needs to find new $30 billion+/year businesses to keep up its pace of growth and value creation. The key is to introduce a product franchise that defines the consumer experience, owns the extension of the app platform into the TV, and captures as many users as possible, as quickly as possible ? while taking enormous share from an established, multi-hundred-billion dollar/year industry.

To do this, Apple needs a two-pronged strategy:

  1. A new companion device for TV that starts at $149, attaches to nearly any existing TV, and does not require customers to buy an expensive new monitor. This is crucial for quickly establishing and maintaining platform dominance quickly, and even standalone could be a $5 billion to $10 billion opportunity.
  2. A new family of ultra-thin TV monitors that bundles all of the capabilities of the companion device and includes beefed up computing power. These large-screen monitors will be a direct assault on the global TV monitor industry, a market worth hundreds of billions annually, albeit with slightly slower replacement cycles of four years versus two years for smartphones and tablets. This gives Apple that additional $30 billion+ revenue stream it needs.

Combined, these new products will radically transform the computing, media and electronics industry, and more deeply cement Apple?s role as the de facto platform for content and apps.

Let?s take a closer look at each of these products:

The new Apple TV companion
Designed with a new A7 quad-core CPU, the device will provide enough horsepower to deliver 1080p HD video and the most demanding gaming graphics; built-in front-facing sensors and camera; and enough storage for loads of games, apps, content, and recorded live TV.

The device will offer HDMI and digital audio output, a gigabit Ethernet port and built-in WiFi, as well as two Lightning ports ? one for power, another for the included ?co-ax dongle,? which will connect directly to most existing cable TV hookups to replace your existing cable set-top box. More on that later.

As we?ve come to expect from Apple, the product will be offered in a sleek and slim form factor that sits easily on top of or under any existing TV. I suspect a thin horizontal bar, such as we?ve rendered here:

Apple TV Companion

Apple TV Companion


Apple TV Companion device specs

Apple TV companion device specs

This design will put the device truly at the center of the living room, a compact porthole into the entire digital economy. Developers will be able to leverage the front-facing sensors and camera in the same way they build on existing iOS APIs; in fact, the new platform launch will likely include iOS 7 with support for new TV apps and Apple TV SDKs.

For existing iPhone and iPad users who already own a flat-screen TV, this new TV companion device will be a great bargain that also radically expands the value of their existing devices. This will also be a highly popular form factor for multi-monitor households, offices and even retail establishments.

The new ultra-thin Apple TV monitor
Likely coming in 46? and 60? models with a solid glass front and aluminum back, and stand and rear-mounting options, this ultra-thin monitor will mirror the design aesthetic of the latest iPhone and iPad.

Apple TV basic form factor

Apple TV basic form factor


Apple TV specs

Apple TV specs


Apple TV stand options

Apple TV stand options

The full capabilities of the companion device will be complemented with additional audio, video and lightning ports, storage of up to three terabytes, and, of course, gorgeous display quality (probably 4K resolution) and exceptional design for a modern environment.

How TV works on Apple TV
While Apple TV will support voice- and motion-based input for global menus and navigation, the preferred control method for basic everyday use will be either the bundled simple remote ? or, more likely ? new iOS 7 apps from Apple that let you control Apple TV with your iPhone and iPad.

Apple TV app and Apple TV

Apple TV app and Apple TV


Apple TV app closeup

Apple TV app closeup


Channel surfing with the Apple TV app

Channel surfing with the Apple TV app


Apple TV app detail and TV

Apple TV app detail and TV

With the iPhone, Apple created a simple ?phone? application on top of existing telephony carrier infrastructure, improving the consumer?s user experience and creating an additional product sales opportunity for carriers. The company will take a similar approach to existing broadcast cable TV and, in so doing, put one or two major U.S. cable operators in the same privileged position that AT&T enjoyed following the iPhone launch. Around the world, cable TV distributors will battle for national sales and marketing rights for the Apple TV.

To accomplish this, Apple has likely created a new API for interacting with the IP-based cable broadcast infrastructure that providers such as Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner Cable have been moving to for a number of years. This will enable Apple to present a consistent user experience worldwide for accessing live broadcast channels and recording content for later consumption. With program guide data, VOD metadata, and the ability to use network or local DVR APIs, the new TV app for iOS will become the simplest form we?ve ever had for watching broadcast television.

Cable companies may initially resist supporting this offering, viewing their ability to cross-promote offerings in their guide and VOD menus, and the customer relationship in general, as their provenance. This would be as misguided as the mobile carriers were who thought they could control and customize the home screens, operating systems and bundled apps of mobile phones as a strategic advantage. Smart operators will understand their role as broadband and infrastructure providers, and will continue ? for now ? to be the primary packagers of broadcast content with its lucrative tolls for subscription programming. For all of the hope that Apple would help to blow up existing cable packaging, for now, the company?s priority is to navigate and establish global partnerships with multi-system operators (MSOs) and multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to sell their new TV and TV companion devices.

With natural hooks into the iTunes a la carte content library, Apple will be able to combine premium cable subscription content with their on-demand library to offer users the broadest choice for video content.

Apple?s TV app in iOS 7 is also likely to take ownership of the core second-screen category for companion content to broadcast shows. Apple can easily provide rich, contextual meta-data about shows, characters and social chatter, while providing new APIs that broadcasters can use as a launching point into show- and channel-specific iOS apps. These apps will give broadcasters the greater brand control and direct consumer relationships they?ve wanted, with the added benefit of cross-promotion from within Apple?s own TV app. Because Apple TV users will be linked to a cable provider just as your iPhone is linked to a mobile operator, broadcasters will also gain a simple and seamless way to authenticate consumers into apps that offer their full slate of catch-up TV programming.

It also seems likely that AirPlay updates will include streaming from an Apple TV to your iPhone and iPad (e.g. the inverse of current AirPlay use-cases), allowing you to access and stream content from your Apple TV via your iPhone and iPad, including live television and DVR content ? like the original innovation from Sling. This is presuming Apple?s deals with MSOs will include wireless streaming rights, which seems to be increasingly becoming the market standard.

Viacom Nick/Nickelodeon dual screen TV App

Viacom Nick/Nickelodeon dual screen TV App


Nick app closeup

Nick app close-up

As with iPhones and iPads, the new devices will come with many preinstalled Apple and third-party apps; in this case likely including leading online video services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon VoD, and YouTube, as well as TV Everywhere apps such as HBO Go. More importantly, any developer will be able to build content and apps for Apple TV. Just as nearly every app you download for your iPhone is also available in a version that fits the iPad display, new iOS 7 Universal Apps will include code for deployment on Apple TV.

Apple continues its disruption of the gaming industry
Putting all of this together ? the new hardware, the new APIs, the new input capabilities ? adds up to nothing less than a full-frontal assault on the game console market, as Apple and iTunes become the distributor of choice for everything from casual to hardcore 3-D gaming.

While the large installed bases of industry incumbents provide some advantage, it pales in comparison to Apple?s hundreds of millions of touch-device users, millions of apps, and unparalleled catalog of a la carte media. It?s hard to imagine a scenario where Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo can win.

Apple?s iOS is already the world?s most important gaming platform in terms of new game content creation and the velocity and scale of consumer usage. With new gaming-friendly APIs for controllers and user input, complemented with local CPU, graphics and storage horsepower on the device itself, the new Apple TV is a deeply significant threat to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft in the console market. The same is true for the multibillion dollar businesses built by Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys ?R? Us, and GameStop around selling game CDs; Apple TV will be a download-only install medium, as we reach the tipping point in storage and bandwidth where it no longer makes sense to distribute games on physical media.

Some have argued that Apple and iOS aren?t for hardcore gamers ? but tell that to the teenage boys playing Assassin?s Creed and Call of Duty on their iPhones and iPads. By owning the TV run-time, Apple TV will provide amazing development opportunities for the technical and creative elite and will bring a flood of innovative content creation from major game studios. For the launch of the first iPod with video, Apple brought Disney on stage to announce the availability of ?Lost? and ?Desperate Housewives? for download, heralding the age of a la carte television. For the Apple TV launch, Apple will stand alongside the world?s top game developers to showcase the ultimate gaming platform.

To achieve this, iOS 7 will likely support APIs for interacting with and connecting to third-party game controllers via Bluetooth and possibly RF ? as well classic gaming handhelds, steering wheels, guns and any other devices that suit the needs of gameplay.

multi-user gameplay scenario (Call of Duty) with iPads and a traditional hand-held controller

Multi-user gameplay scenario (Call of Duty) with iPads and a traditional handheld controller

The use cases for gaming are mind-boggling, especially when you bring together geographically dispersed users for collaborative games like massive multiplayer online games. Imagine playing Call of Duty Massive with a gorgeous 60-inch display: &ou?re using a standard controller for first-person shooter play, a friend next to you manages ops from the iPad controller, and a few more friends watch along from their iPhones while they?re riding the bus. Another friend receives a push notification alerting them to a crisis that could use their help ? they look away from what they?re watching on TV and jump into the game from their tablet. If killing games aren?t your cup of tea, other options span ?edutainment? games, basic single-user games, and even the mundane but always enjoyable family game of Monopoly, with the board rendered with real-time updates on the TV rather than the coffee table.

Which leads us to the third and key value proposition of the new Apple TV:

It?s all about the apps
While Apple TV makes a strong case with its broadcast TV and gaming capabilities, its ultimate killer app will be, appropriately, the app ecosystem it will offer, as millions of iOS apps extend onto the television display surface. I?ve written about this more extensively elsewhere, but the basic idea is that we?re moving into a software world where more and more applications combine a touch device with a TV display surface. That?s a huge reason why consumers will cheer for Apple TV ? they?re already embedded in the Apple ecosystem, and so are all of their favorite apps and content. Bringing the familiarity and integration of these platforms together will give Apple a red carpet into the living room, and again revolutionize the world of software to offer value far beyond the consumer experiences of today.

Consider an important (and often expensive) task that we all face many times in our lives ? buying a car. How can the Apple TV platform and its broader platforms help make buying a car a better experience? Let?s use BMW ? always an innovator in the customer experience ? as an example. You find and download the BMW app from the App Store to your iPad (while in the background, the same app is installed on your iPhone). When you open the app, it detects that you have an Apple TV, and asks your permission to display views onto your TV.

BMW dual screen TV app experience

BMW dual-screen TV app experience


BMW dual screen TV app experience

BMW dual-screen TV app experience

You begin with a quick view of models, and narrow down to the latest midsize sedans, watch the marketing video on your TV, then decide to take the car configurator for a spin. As you?re taken through each area of customization, your TV updates with visual displays of your choices in that section; if you want to learn more about a feature, a quick touch invokes an HD video on your TV. As you make choices on your iPad, the car you?re building takes shape in a picture-perfect rendition on the TV screen in front of you. Once you?re done, you can have the app geolocate your nearest dealer and schedule a test drive. On arrival at the dealership, your geolocation triggers a push notification to a sales associate who greets you by name before handing you the keys to the car.

Every app in our lives will benefit from the connection of phone, tablet and TV, and for this reason Apple TV will become an essential consumer platform. The critical point to understand is that Apple TV is not just about television and games ? it?s about us all figuring out how to make the best use of the large displays in our lives.

Technically, there are still a number of key problems Apple needs to solve in iOS 7 regarding how apps discover and get user permission to AirPlay on Apple TV, but these are the kinds of user experience problems that Apple is renowned for addressing. Expect an overhaul of AirPlay protocols and user experience in iOS 7, not to mention many of the new APIs and capabilities that I?ve described above.

The new Apple TV offer for consumers and developers
We look forward to the day that Apple?s new product and developer pages look something like these:

Apple.com product marketing pages

Apple.com product marketing pages


Apple.com developer sdk pages

Apple.com developer SDK pages

This is already the direction in which things seem to be moving. For brands, media publishers and app developers, it?s never too early to reenvision their apps and consumer user experiences for Apple?s latest revolution in the way we live.

You can watch and explore all of the images and more in this New Apple TV image gallery.

Jeremy Allaire is the founder, chairman and CEO of Brightcove, a leading provider of cloud platforms for distributing media and apps, with a suite of platform APIs, SDKs and Web services aimed at Web and app developers and the businesses they help to drive.

Source: http://allthingsd.com/20121217/all-i-want-for-xmas-is-my-apple-tv/

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ETFs for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) | ETF Trends

While investors have jumped into real estate investment trusts and exchange traded funds to cash in on the attractive yields, REITs prices have edged higher, causing some to take pause from a valuation standpoint.

The MSCI U.S. REIT Index has gained an average 19% per year over the past three years, including dividends, reports Tom Lauricella for the Wall Street Journal.

?U.S. REITs look less attractive to us now than they have over the last 10 years,? Richard Levine, one of the portfolio managers of the Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, said in the article. ?As people have looked for the next source of yield they?ve found REITs, so they?ve done nicely. But that?s been pushing valuations to levels which are unattractive in some cases.?

REITs operate a range of real estate properties, such as hotels, hospitals, apartments and storage units, among others. To receive favorable taxes, REIT companies are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income to share holders, which is why REITs provide such attractive yields. [Mortgage REIT ETFs Fighting the Fed]

The asset class is typically valued in comparing prices to adjusted funds from operation, or AFFO, a type of net-income use for real estate. According to Green Street Advisors, REITs are trading at 18 times their stock prices using a three-year forward AFFO, compared to an average of 15 times since 1998.

While valuations may be a cause for concern, fund managers and analysts are not overly bearish. REITs still benefit from the low interest rate environment, little new construction and positive economic growth.

The REITs market has also benefited from the slowly recovering real estate market. Additionally, some investors have used commercial real estate as a way to hedge against inflation ? as landlords, REITs operators can just raise the rents during inflationary periods. [?Steady Diet? of Real Estate ETFs Can Help Boost Yield]

Some REIT ETFs include:

  • Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEArca: VNQ): 3.41% yield
  • SPDR Jow Jones REIT ETF (NYSEArca: RWR): 3.10% yield
  • iShares FTSE NAREIT Real Estate 50 Index Fund (NYSEArca: FTY): 3.66% yield
  • First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund (NYSEArca: FRI): 2.36% yield

For more information on real estate investment trusts, visit our REITs category.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

Source: http://www.etftrends.com/2012/12/yield-outperformance-attract-investors-to-real-estate-etfs/

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My Self-Imposed 'Holiday' From Social Media: Day 4 | Joe ...

It feels like I?ve been on my ?holiday? from social media for a couple of weeks already, but in looking at the calendar, it?s only been 4 short days since I posted the following post on my Google+, Facebook wall, Twitter stream and probably a few other places:

?Taking a much needed ?holiday? from social media and all that comes with it. Happy Holidays to all! See you next year!?

This experiment is actually going much better than I anticipated. ?I have not had a problem not posting on ? or viewing various ?social networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Posterous, Pinterest or even checking in on Foursquare. ?I?ve come to the conclusion that there probably aren?t too many people who really care where I am or what I?m up to ? and I no longer feel a need to let the entire world know.

I have saved so much time over the past 4 days that I?ve been able to do a lot more planning and writing ? both activities that I want and need to spend more time on. ?I?ve not taken time off from writing blog posts ? or from making videos ? both very important to me.

I do have to admit that I do miss reading about what everyone else is up to, but there have to be priorities and I?ve got a lot to accomplish. It seems that this holiday is greatly helping my sense of focus ? and for that I am extremely grateful.

Next time I will write about Not Throwing Social Media Under the Bus and in the future I be discussing why Virtually EVERY Business needs to be involved in social media.

Source: http://joekennedy.biz/2012/12/my-self-imposed-holiday-from-social-media-day-4/

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