Filed under: News

Ray Maguire sat down with Edge magazine and talked about the upcoming surge of PS3 console sales this holiday season. Maguire treats this surge like fact — we all expect it to happen. He’s so confident the PS3 will sell this holiday that he believes in the UK, sales of the PS3 will double. That means 1 million PS3’s will have been moved off the shelf since launch.

In addition to the sales of the console itself, Maguire believes that games will no longer be an issue this holiday season: “we’re in the period of crossover now, where people will start to develop on PS3 as the lead [platform] if they’re multiformat … because of the Cell chip and because it’s got a hard disc in every device, the way of generating games - if you start with PS3 - is you can create the optimal, ultimate game. And then you can knock out functionality to put it onto other platforms.” Ouch! Well, since we have yet to see those claims bleed over into actual games yet, maybe something like Devil May Cry 4 will cause that statement to become fact. Who knows.

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The Keypad Credit Card works differently from your standard credit card as it comes with an integrated keypad, requiring you to enter a secret password that provides a temporary one-time use passcode that is meant to authorize a transaction. Sounds like a whole lot of hassle - after all, should someone gain knowledge of your Keypad Credit Card’s PIN number, chances are that person will go off on a shopping spree almost immediately. Biometric solutions are the way to go, and it cannot come any sooner.

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Filed under: Editor’s Picks, Celebrities, Top Lists, Slideshows

Blogging under the Influence is the New D.U.I. (Dialing under the Influence):

What Happened: When Courtney Love posted her New Year’s resolutions on her blog she provided a window into her surreal world that combines wacky Buddhist prayers with politics (”chant for Hilary to win”), her struggle with Hollywood’s most seductive addiction (”no more surgery for any reason other than medical until i really need it in my ’60s”), some tough parenting choices (”sell the pony, get a horse”) and social habits ( “stop hanging out in nightclubs with 19-year-olds.”). Love decided (presumably the next morning) that the list was too private to share with the world and took it down, but not before New York Daily News gossip columnists Rush & Molloy got a hold of it, and now it’s one for the ages.

Career Impact: Negative, since Love’s career has evolved from rock star and celebrity widow into high profile mess.

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Filed under: Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Interviews, India, Entrepreneurs, Smartphones, Small business

Back in the 1990s, Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) cofounders — Larry Page and Sergey Brin — played to their own drummer. Instead of taking gobs of venture capital, the dynamic duo did it on the cheap by themselves. For example, they built a sophisticated server platform using old PCs and free Linux software. And, when cash was low, they used their trusty credit cards.

You could say that Google built a business using old-fashioned bootstrapping.

And if Larry and Sergey can make it work, why not you?

Looking for some insight, tips and hints on just this, I spoke to a variety of entrepreneurs on the topic.

Anders Heie, cofounder of KaDonk:

“We found a law firm that was willing to help us out on a line of credit, to be paid back once we became profitable or raised more than $1 million. This allowed us to get incorporated, and work out several legal kinks in the startup process.

“We also hired a sales representative in India. Not only are wages more favorable there, but all the major companies around the world are represented in India. Again, pooling our own money, we opened up a position in India, and in September of 2007 we hired a great guy. We have the luxury of having many Indian contacts, so the process was relatively simple.

Chase Norlin, founder and CEO Pixsy:

1) Find a developer and get started. Too many entrepreneurs put together plans and strategies for raising funding but never do the actual work. Find someone to build your product and get going. If you can’t pay them, pay them in equity.

2) Work on your product for a while, get users, get customers, and get traction, before you go out to raise money. Ultimately, all that matters is progress and traction, so go make some!

3) Once you’re up and running and have a business running, don’t get carried away with your optimism. Specifically, don’t spend like there’s always going to be a money source. Instead, spend like it’s your last dollar and over time you’ll be rewarded.

Greg Gianforte, founder and CEO, RightNow Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW). He started the business from his desk in Bozeman, Montana and did not raise external funding until he snagged 400 customers.

“When you’re bootstrapping, you’re forced to deal with customers and to fulfill their needs from Day One. If you have a lot of external funding, on the other hand, you can be fooled into thinking you’ve already created an actual business just because you’re paying salaries and rent. But you haven’t. You only have a business when you have paying customers. Bootstrappers know this instinctively, and never lose that customer focus.

“Bootstrappers also initiate the critical sales learning process sooner, not later. Selling is the hardest job of all. You have to learn how to be absolutely great at selling your product or service, and then teach others how to be absolutely great at selling it too.

“Finally, bootstrappers are forced into unconventional thinking. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. Without a big cushion of cash, bootstrappers are constantly forced to solve problems creatively. This results in innovative, outside-the-box approaches to everything from product design and manufacturing to marketing and sales.”

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Family Films, Games and Game Movies

Well, it might not be the best idea for a video game movie I’ve heard lately, but I will say this: at least it’s better than Joust. Variety reports that The Animation Picture Co. has optioned the rights to an animated big-screen version of the Vivendi platform game, Spyro the Dragon. The best-selling game (from a franchise that has earned over $50 million dollars over the years) centered on a winged purple dragon that suffered from the usual hassles of any platform game protagonist — collecting gems, evil sorcerers; you know, just another day at the office. A director has not been chosen yet, but Steve and Dan Altiere (Dr. Doolittle 4) have already been hired to write a script. The story will be based on the recently re-launched Legend of Spyro trilogy.

The first installment was released back in 1998 and has spawned numerous sequels. Some extra fun facts for game aficionados out there: Stewart Copeland of The Police fame was responsible for the first game’s soundtrack and Gary Oldman provided voice talent for The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning back in ‘06 (what did we ever do without Wikipedia?). I remember playing Spyro a few times and the most I can remember is this: collect coin, jump, fly, collect egg, double jump — not exactly the makings of a tale of epic sacrifice. I can only assume that this will be a kid’s movie, considering who is already involved. Plus, it’s not like we are dealing with battles and high body counts; he is just a little purple dragon after all. APC have just finished (inexplicably, I might add) a Garfield movie with creator Jim Davies (Garfield Gets Real) and have already lined up another one (Garfield’s Fun Fest) before heading off to start production on Spyro.

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Filed under: Cellphones

It’s been out in Europe for a good few months already, but the Neonode N2 has now finally landed into the FCC’s all-important hands, which would seem to suggest that a US release isn’t all that far off. From the looks of the tests reports, however, the touchscreen-based handset doesn’t seem to have picked up any of those much-desired 3G capabilities in its trip across the Atlantic, although we suspect it’ll still find its share of fans. For those not up to speed on it, the N2 boasts a 2-inch touchscreen that fills up most of the front of the handset, along with a 2 megapixel camera, a miniSD card slot, and quad-band GSM / GPRS capabilities (no WiFi though). Hit up the gallery below for a few more pics courtesy of the FCC, and keep it locked here for any word of a release.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Deals and Bargains

Really? Two PS3 controllers for only $29? What a deal!

Wait … but they look like these monstrosities. Sure, you could take advantage of this deal, but what will your friends say when they come over to your home? Remember this: most of you have spent $600 on a machine that was built to look sexy. Let’s not ruin it with some cheap looking peripherals, okay?

For the cheap and foolish: Available in red. And blue.

[Via CAG]

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TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty

This week was full of hot celeb looks that we are dying to steal for ourselves. Just in case you missed any, we put the best all together for you in a new weekly video! From Reese Witherspoon’s red dress to Carrie Underwood’s must-have purse, we’ve got the scoop on what made the stars sizzle — and shopping links to buy it for less. Watch our “Who Looked Hot This Week” video and don’t forget to come back next week to see what stars made our hot list. Click here to watch the video!

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Filed under: Audio/Video

It’s hard not to look cool while walking along carrying a guitar or even just a guitar case. Lugging around a keyboard, though … far less studly (despite some noble attempts in the ’80s).

For this reason, keyboard-maker Infinite Response recently unveiled the new VAX 77 keyboard. It weighs just 25 pounds and folds in half, zipping into a shoulder bag, which means you can realistically carry it from one music gig to the next without accidentally sending it through any windows. But, that’s not really the main selling point here.

IR is tauting the feel of this keyboard, which is said to replicate the feel of a grand piano more so than any other electric keyboard on the market. Its keys are weighted and hung like the ivories on a grand, and are said to respond like a natural piano as well, meaning you can get soft notes by pushing down a key partly, or louder by slamming it down.

Despite having a few grand-piano-esque features, the VAX unfortunately comes in 11 keys short of a grand piano’s 88 keys. So, while it may be perfect for quick getaways, the VAX 77 is perhaps not the perfect thing for a concerto.

The VAX 77 is currently in the finishing stages of development and is said to be available by year’s end in a range of bitchin’ colors for an undisclosed price. You can get more information (and maybe even get on the pre-sale list) at the VAX 77 official page.

From BoingBoing Gadgets

Related Links:

• The Coolest New Gadgets from Japan
• Touchless Keyboard for the Disabled
• Own a Mac Laptop Dipped in Gold

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For those who are interested, Opera Mini 4 beta 3 is now available to provide a whole new dimension in mobile Web browsing. It will be able to integrate with Opera Link, enabling you to store all your bookmarks on a mobile device, Mac, computer, or even game console in a synchronized and up-to-date manner. For more on the Opera Mini 4 beta 3 changelog, head on after the jump.

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