Saturday, June 30, 2012

Iconic Atari turns 40, tries to stay relevant

FILE- In this June 5, 1984, file photo, a woman in Chicago demonstrates Atari's new game, Mind Link, which utilizes a headband that picks up electrical impulse from the movement of the forehead and transmits them to a receiver attached to a video game or home computer console. (AP Photo/Charlie Knoblock)

FILE- In this June 5, 1984, file photo, a woman in Chicago demonstrates Atari's new game, Mind Link, which utilizes a headband that picks up electrical impulse from the movement of the forehead and transmits them to a receiver attached to a video game or home computer console. (AP Photo/Charlie Knoblock)

(AP) ? A scruffy, young Steve Jobs worked at Atari before he founded Apple. "Pong," one of the world's first video games, was born there, as was "Centipede," a classic from the era of quarter-guzzling arcade machines. "Call of Duty" creator Activision was started by four of Atari's former game developers.

The iconic video game company turns 40 years old this week, much slimmer these days as it tries to stay relevant in the age of "Angry Birds" and "Words With Friends."

But Atari's influence on today's video games is pervasive.

Although it wasn't the first company to make video games, Atari was the first to make a lasting impression on an entire generation. At arcades ? or at video game bars such as Barcade in the trendy Williamsburg section of Brooklyn ? nostalgic patrons still gather around such Atari classics as "Asteroids," ''Joust" and "Centipede."

The Atari 2600, launched in 1977, was the first video game console in millions of homes, long before the Nintendo Entertainment System (1985), Sony's PlayStation (1994) and Microsoft's Xbox (2001).

Today's younger iPhone gamers might not remember how "Pong," that simple, two-dimensional riff on Ping-Pong, swept across living rooms and arcades in the 1970s. But they might recognize elements of it in easy-to-learn, hard-to-master games based on simple physics ? among them, "Angry Birds."

"For tens of millions of Gen X-ers, or kids who grew up in America in the '70s and '80s, Atari is a cultural icon, an intrinsic part of childhood," says Scott Steinberg, tech analyst and author of "The Modern Parent's Guide to Kids and Video Games."

"Pong," he adds, was in some ways the very first social video game, one designed to play in bars, at home or at an arcade, while spectators crowded around to watch the action.

Launched in 1972 from Atari's Silicon Valley headquarters, "Pong" featured a basic black-and-white screen (that's black and white only, no shades of gray here), divided by a dotted line. Short white lines on either side stood in for paddles. Two players controlled them and tried to get a moving dot ? the ball ? past their opponent.

With "Pong," Atari introduced video games to the masses just as Apple and Microsoft ushered in the personal computer era by bringing computers to people's desktops in the 1980s.

"It makes me think that I am getting really old," says Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari. "I'm 69, which means I was 29 when I founded Atari. It seems really young in retrospect."

It doesn't take much effort these days to see 20-something entrepreneurs in technology. Mark Zuckerberg was just 19 when he started Facebook in his Harvard dorm room. But back in the early '70s, Bushnell said, "no one in their 20s started companies. In some ways it paved the way for Apple, Microsoft and those guys."

Bushnell said Atari succeeded early on because it nurtured ideas from its engineers and computer programmers.

"We dominated not because of our manufacturing and marketing prowess but because of creativity," Bushnell says. "The lasting legacy: That creativity is a real weapon. And in some ways Apple has shown that as well."

Jobs was just 19 when Atari hired him as a technician, making $5 an hour. He worked the night shift because many of his co-workers didn't get along with him and didn't appreciate his refusal to wear deodorant, according to Walter Isaacson's recent biography of the late Apple chief executive.

He wasn't there for long ? he left the company in 1974 to travel to India and co-founded Apple two years later, in 1976.

Dona Bailey, one of the creators of "Centipede," recalls a notebook that Atari had with maybe 30 ideas for games in it.

"Most of them were laser games," says Bailey, who was the only female programmer in Atari's arcade division when she was hired in 1980 and when she left in 1982. "I wasn't really interested in war, or lasering anything, or violence."

The only ideas in the notebook that didn't have to do with "lasering things or frying things" were two sentences about a multi-segmented insect that walks out on the screen and winds its way down the screen toward the player, she says. There was implicit shooting, as the player at the bottom had to destroy the insect before getting hit by it, but "it didn't seem that bad to shoot a bug."

Thus, "Centipede" was born.

Atari, Steinberg says, pioneered a lot of the concepts that are popular in gaming today: Games should be for both men and women, and they should be social by allowing many people to compete with each other.

Atari "defined games as not just a product but a social movement," Steinberg says.

But there is a generational divide. For kids born in the '80s and later, Atari elicits a respectful nod as a retro video game icon at best ? and a clueless shrug at worst.

"It may rise again, but it remains to be seen whether Atari's place is among retail giants (such as) Activision and Electronic Arts," Steinberg says, "Or in a future that is defined by its own past."

Activision, which now makes such hit games as "Call of Duty" and "Diablo III," was founded in 1979 by four disgruntled Atari game designers who wanted more recognition for their work.

As Activision's future rose, Atari's faltered. Having cemented video games as a form of mass entertainment, Atari was sold to Warner Communications Inc. in 1976 and began to pile up big losses.

Warner, now part of Time Warner Inc., discontinued the Atari 2600 and fired Bushnell, says Stephen Jacobs, professor of interactive games and media at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y.

Meanwhile, several companies tried to capitalize on Atari's success, but flooded the market with terrible products. It was a gold rush, with little gold to be had.

Atari contributed to that decline in quality with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," still considered one of the worst video games ever made ? and that's being generous.

"They tried to push something out in six weeks," Jacobs says. "They pushed out a million units of a horrible game that they were sure was just going to be the bomb. And it ended up tanking Atari."

That was the Christmas of 1982. What followed is now referred to as the "great video game crash of 1983." People stopped buying video games.

Companies began collapsing and Atari was soon sold to a man named Jack Tremiel. Over the next decade, Atari made computers, a game console called Jaguar and a handheld game machine called the Lynx. None were hits.

Atari was then passed to the toy company Hasbro, then to Infogrames Entertainment, a French company that owns it today.

Recognizing the promise of mobile devices and its best-known titles, Atari today makes such phone games as "Centipede: Origins" and "Breakout Boost," a take on the game Steve Jobs worked on back in the day.

"The legacy is that Atari is essentially where it all began," says Jim Wilson, the company's current CEO.

So is Atari living off its legacy?

"To a certain point almost all entertainment companies are doing a bunch of living on their legacy. That's why we have 'sequel-itis' in triple-A games, movies, books," Jacobs says. "Why invest in new things when you can beat the old things to death and still make money out of them?"

___

Follow Barbara Ortutay on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BarbaraOrtutay

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-06-29-Atari%20at%2040/id-e687b02de4024f5dbbf8e3a07f35e40b

kurt busch nba dunk contest 2012 act of valor woody guthrie benson henderson 2012 dunk contest edgar vs henderson

MovieCityNews: Review: To Rome with Love: Warning: Minor spoilers contained herein. But really, it doesn?t matter. Like many of... http://t.co/6AeifEWr

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://twitter.com/MovieCityNews/statuses/218931406464749568

big ten tournament 2012 dennis quaid bruce weber fired notorious big biggie smalls lyrics azores emmylou harris

CGCON: At Kinect Accelerator Demo Day: animation, rehabilitation and more | Microsoft Pri0 | The Seattle Times - Redforward http://t.co/CzV6ZsDh

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://twitter.com/CGCON/statuses/218860567400693760

lotto numbers susan powell megamillions winners university of louisville louisville ky final four lotto winners

Friday, June 29, 2012

Iron Horse Mountain Bike - What You Should Know Before Buying ...

By dougfoot, on June 28th, 2012

Iron Horse is an American bicycle company based in Islandia, New York. The company was established in the year 1987 and since then it has been successful in introducing some iconic bicycles in the market. Iron Horse provides us with wide variety of bicycle ranging from mountain bikes to racing bikes.

However, the company specializes in manufacturing freeride, downhill and other mountain bikes. In case you are looking for this mountain bike but are confused with the wide range of options that are available to you, here are a few popular models of Iron Horse mountain bikes, to help you get started with your search.

Iron Horse Maverick Pro DS Men?s XC Recreational Dual-Suspension Mountain Bike:

Features:

- Aluminum frame
- Durable
- Highly functional.
- Dual-suspension platform
- Efficient pedaling system.
- Replaceable derailleur hanger
- Manitou Trace fork with 100mm of travel,
- Shimano Alivio rapid-fire shifters,
- Hayes MX2 mechanical disc brakes with a 6-inch rotor
- Alloy platform pedals
- WTB Speed V Sport SE saddle

Iron Horse Warrior 3.0 Men?s Trail Mountain Bike:

Features:
- Lightweight,
- Sleek, and sturdy,
- Double-butted tubing
- 3D dropouts
- Zero Stack headtube.
- Shimano Deore rapid-fire shifters
- Marzocchi MZ Comp fork with 100mm of travel
- Shimano Deore mechanical disc brakes
- Alloy platform pedals
- WTB Pure V Sport saddle.

Iron Horse Warrior DS Trail Men?s Dual-Suspension Mountain Bike:

Features:

- 5-inch travel frame design
- Marzocchi MZ III fork
- SRAM SX.4 trigger shifters
- X-Fusion Glyde R shock
- WTB Speed V Sport SE saddle
- Hayes MX2 mechanical disc brakes with 6-inch rotors
- Alloy platform pedals
- IRC Mythos XC 2.1-inch tires.

So, when you go looking for these bicycles for yourself in the market make sure that you check the models mentioned above. These bikes have earned good reviews from their owners and are therefore, definitely worth your consideration.

Source: http://www.crazytrike.com/2012/06/28/iron-horse-mountain-bike-what-you-should-know-before-buying-them-to-avoid-any-careless-mistakes/

gabrielle giffords juliette lewis chelsea handler mitch daniels shirataki noodles john kerry prince fielder

ChainDrive's Retail Analytics gives you a clear understanding of your

No retail business can be successful without having a manager who fully understands the intricacies of ?its workings. Being able to look at information that will help you understand how various aspects of your business work and how changes might affect performance is absolutely vital to proper retail management. Doing this will take more than mulling over spreadsheets and documents, though ? you?ll need powerful tools at your side to fully understand the complexities of retail. ChainDrive offers customers a comprehensive software package that includes a Retail Analytics component with all of the flexible tools and views you need to gain complete insight into your business.

The software?s built-in ?business intelligence? lets you look at historical data on sales and other practices, as well as present views and comparative views. This will allow you to see when and how things changed in your business for better or for worse. Beyond that, the software lets you identify a myriad of performance indicators that can then be tracked at regular intervals. Doing so will help you monitor how any changes you have made are affecting various aspects of business, including sales per day, customers per day, workforce hours, and much more.

With the software?s ability to show you information in any number of fashions, from graphs to pivots and drill-down lists, you and your employees will be able to find a way of looking at data that is most meaningful to you. Real-time data access means that all information you are viewing is completely up-to-date and in line with the most recent changes made to your business and the most recent transactions completed.

ChainDrive?s Retail Analytics software is sure to help you understand your business better, so try it out today!

Source: http://chaindrive.com/blog/retail-management-software/retail-analytics/chaindrives-retail-analytics-gives-you-a-clear-understanding-of-your-business/06/28/2012

last house on the left last house on the left rich forever mixtape blow the unit bob weston bill obrien

Florida Road Trip: Family Party, Body Slammin' Dolphins, Killer - Yes

DSC_0621
Even with the crowds, Lolo and I couldn't resist spending one morning on the beach while the girls were in camp. So, we picked up some cheap beach chairs and some way-too-expensive suntan lotion, and enjoyed an hour of just sitting on the beach, with no interruptions. ?It was heaven.

DSC_0620

DSC_0623

_______________

Later that evening, Lolo hosted a party at her house for all our St. Pete area family...

DSC_0629
...there was iPad app fun,

DSC_0633
yummy food,

DSC_0637
reminiscing about the good old days with cousins,

DSC_0647

DSC_0650
and making new memories with cousins,

DSC_0655

DSC_0656
and enjoying a new puppy in the family... Hi Luffy!

DSC_0657
and lots more fun in the yard. ?We all had a great evening.

_______________________

DSC_0345
The next day was the girls' last day at camp, so we arrived early so they could walk around the aquarium and see the things they didn't have time to see during camp.

DSC_0358
Like the hurricane simulator.

DSC_0361

DSC_0658

DSC_0379
And the gift shop, of course. :)

DSC_0396
And we watched the dolphins get a shower, which they loved.

DSC_0398

DSC_0400

DSC_0427

DSC_0665

DSC_0433
We also went to the underwater viewing area to watch Panama and baby Hope play together.

DSC_0514
Grumpy :)

DSC_0524
Back up on top to watch more dolphin fun.

DSC_0528
This little girl was getting her picture made with Winter. ?But Panama didn't like being left out of the shot.

DSC_0529

DSC_0530

DSC_0547
We noticed that Panama loved to flop herself up on this platform, even when there were no trainers around. ?We wondered why...

DSC_0570
...but then, after watching baby Hope body slam poor old Panama a few times,

DSC_0571

DSC_0574

DSC_0575

DSC_0568
...it started to make more sense. ?Annoying little kid.

DSC_0678
Here's CMA's CEO announcing some new residents at CMA...

DSC_0578

DSC_0688
It's Rufus from Dolphin Tale!

DSC_0689

DSC_0690
She seemed to enjoy all the attention.

DSC_0692
Rufus was actually played by two pelicans, Lucy and Ricky, and they will be permanent residents now at CMA.

DSC_0693
Rufus was one of the kids' favorite characters from the movie, so they were thrilled to come out of camp that day and see that he (they) had arrived.

DSC_0694

___________________________

After camp, Lolo took us by a local petshop on the way home to show us these prairie dogs for sale that she had been fascinated with watching.

DSC_0705
Before we walked in, I made it clear that we were not leaving the store with any prairie dogs, and we were just here to look.

DSC_0699
So of course, the girls went right for the free hamsters,

DSC_0701

DSC_0702

DSC_0708
and the bunnies,

DSC_0718
and the snakes, and begged for those instead.

Not happening.

So they went back to watching the prairie dogs...

DSC_0595

DSC_0599

DSC_0612
Even I had to admit, they were awfully cute and extremely fun to watch...

DSC_0622

DSC_0648
But then the real fun started when Grumpy leaned over and said, if you want one, it can stay at my house (he lives part time across the street from us on the farm), and the kids can come over and take care of it. He liked watching the prairie dogs, too.

Of course, the kids didn't have to think twice about that idea - yes!! ?The prairie dogs were very sweet, and let us pet them and hold them...

DSC_0650 2

DSC_0661
...that is, until we picked one out to take home.

That's when they began plotting their defense.
DSC_0713

I do have pictures of the some of the violence that ensued, but as this is a G-rated blog, I think I won't subject you to them. ?But it ended with blood literally gushing from the fingers of three different people - the pet store clerk, who first tried to take the chosen one out of the display case, and then Grumpy and BeachPea, who tried to catch the little demon critter when she escaped from the take-home cage and took off through the pet store. ?These innocent little creatures have teeth like vice grips and don't let go once they chomp on. ?No kidding, there was finger blood all over the store.

The perpetrator was finally caught and put back in the take home cage, but on the way out the door to take BeachPea to get cleaned up at the nextdoor CVS (pet store wouldn't let us use their bathroom), I asked Grumpy not to make any purchases until I could further investigate the damage.

Upon washing off the blood, we could see the damage was definitely bad enough for both me and a tearful BeachPea to say with no regrets that a prairie dog was not the pet for us. ?We cleaned up and returned to announce our decision. ?I found CarriBear curled up in a ball and wide eyed on the floor by the snake cages. ?I thought my little animal lover was upset that we had decided not to bring one home, and started to explain, when she burst out with I am NOT getting in the car with that thing! ?I assured her that we were not bringing the vampire prairie dog home, upon which she smiled with relief and asked one more time for a pet snake.

Needless to say, we left the pet store with no pets, and a greater appreciation for leaving wild animals out in the wild.

(Now all this being said, some people do say prairie dogs make wonderful and loving pets. ?And the prairie dog babies that are in pet stores are probably ones that would have been put to death after being captured in the wild (due to overpopulation), so at least they are getting a second chance at life, albeit a domestic one. ?But we have enough to deal with at this point in life without worrying about bloody fingers during the adjustment period, so we decided to pass for now. ?Maybe when things quiet down a little later in life, we'll feel differently. ?Maybe.)

___________________________

After the prairie dog drama, we changed pace a little and took the girls shopping to look for flower girl dresses for my cousin's upcoming wedding (which is on our favorite beach! ?Eee, I can't wait!!)

DSC_0690 2

DSC_0722
Awww, my sweet angels.

DSC_0693 2

DSC_0702 2

DSC_0707

DSC_0729

DSC_0761
Of course, Butterfly's favorite part was checking out the accessories :)

DSC_0763

______________________

Back at Lolo's, after a long and eventful day, we took one last shot of the girls with their camp tees and CMA souvenirs.
DSC_0731
We had a wonderful two week road trip in Florida, and felt so blessed to have such generous and amazing family to share it with. ?Now it's home to sleep for the next two weeks :)

Thanks for coming along with me!

(and thanks to Lolo for sharing some of these pictures with me!)

Source: http://bumpinalongtheroadlesstraveled.blogspot.com/2012/06/florida-road-trip-family-party-body.html

peeps nhl playoffs masters 2012 masters the borgias shroud of turin warren sapp