Filed under: e-Distribution Games

In addition to a massive Store update, SCEA has temporarily reduced the price of three PSN downloadable titles. Now available for $4.99:

• Everyday Shooter, Jon Mak’s synesthesia masterpiece is our pick. If you only have enough money for one download, make it this one.
• Calling All Cars, David Jaffe’s gift to the PS3 world, is another great choice … only if you have four controllers and three other friends. As a multiplayer game, it’s madness, but single player gamers need not apply.
• fl0w, the is-it-art-or-game creation by thatgamecompany is an interesting experience that’s for those with far more daring tastes in games. It might not have enough gameplay to keep you coming back.
• PixelJunk Racers is a collection of mini racing games. Often misunderstood, these are supposed to harken back to the era of 2D racing games … something we’ve long gone from.

These prices are valid until November 29th.
[Via CAG]

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I’m always meeting people who have jumped into freelance or small business life without really understanding their own skills matrix. As rewarding as it is starting your own business, there are some negatives as well. It’s great that you’re a PHP expert, or can design like the best of them, but do you really want to run your own business?

Here’s some myths of running your own business, and the reality I have found from these;

I can spend all day doing what I want to do, and turning down the rest.
Sure - if your dream is wanting to spend copious amounts of hours wrestling with your accounting package, endless meetings with clients, planning your cash flow and dealing with debtors, then I guess that myth holds true. The rest of us though will find we get very little actual time to do what our hearts would prefer.

Running my own business means I can work how and when I want.
Within reason, this is true, however you’ll also find, especially in the early days, you’ll end up working when your clients want you to, and never actually getting that weekly game of Golf in. When you realise that billable hours equals income, you tend to work more than you do now, not less.

I’ll get paid more than my current job.
This is a big one - normally the way business works, is that the majority of it ends up being in goodwill or intangible benefits that you won’t receive until you are in the position to sell it - do you plan to have an exit strategy? Once you’ve taken the costs of taxation, superannuation, equipment, office lease, etc, will you be much better off on a short term basis? Not likely.

As soon as I can afford to take on staff, I can sit back.
Not true at all. As soon as you start having other mouths to feed, you not only have to double your efforts, you have the added pressure of knowing you are supporting their families through your own vision. If you take a wrong turn, you could end up having to fire someone. The added pressures of actually managing others, and ensuring you can pay them, turns many off taking on staff.

If you are anything like me, you also think your way is the best way, so letting go and allowing others to take ownership of workloads is a hard thing to do.

It’s certainly not all doom and gloom though (I don’t regret any moment of the path I have taken) - you’ll quickly find being in charge of your own destiny is an exciting place to be, and worthwhile in the lessons you learn and the challenges you overcome. It’s just important to not only be talented at what you do, but also have the motivation to overlook the negatives and embrace the challenges of creating your own future.

Don’t go into your own business all starry eyed, without understanding the pitfalls, especially in the short term. Learn as much as you can before taking the leap, find others who have gone before you to act as mentors, and above all, have a realistic expectation of where your own skills lay.

There’s no rule that says you can’t start small by working part time, and then taking the leap to full time when you feel you’re prepared for the above. Keep your goals in sight, and don’t forget to have fun!

This article provided by sitepoint.com.

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Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Trailers and Clips

By the power of J.J. Abrams, I give you the following nuggets of fanboy info:

• The brand spanking new Cloverfield trailer is now online! Only some dude (or dudette) recorded it on their cell during a sneak preview of Beowulf and you can hardly see the thing, it’s crazy blurry. But what you do see is the title … and, as previously reported, it’s … Cloverfield! Can I get a f*ck you J.J. Abrams for that one! Months dude, months. And you decide to say, “F*ck it, let’s just leave it as Cloverfield.” Then again, that’s the title most people associate the film with, so I don’t blame them (marketing-wise) for not changing it up too much. But … still. Anyway, I’d personally stay away from watching the cruddy YouTube pirated trailer if I were you (not worth it, trust me), as a new clearer version will most likely hit the net within 24 hours. Will the film live up to all the hype? Sure it will … just look at Snakes on a Plane. Or not. [via Filmstalker]
• Screenwriter Justin Marks (aka the guy they brought in to f*ck up He-Man) was interviewed recently in the new issue of Toy Fare, and he had plenty to say about his take on the new, updated, re-imagining, blah blah of everyone’s favorite 80s blonde-haired surfer warrior on steroids. Here’s a sample of the interview (which can be read in full over on IESB): Marks says, “He-Man is sword-and-sandals meets science fiction. If you avoid it and just try to make it sword and sandals, then it becomes a boring movie. If you just try to make it science fiction, it’s going to be really kitschy and weird, and it’s not going to be true to He-Man. You have to make it both. So we have to come up with specific ideas, grounded, that would spawn a world that was people carrying around swords, and yet, guys like Tri-Klops running around with his spinning visor and this sort of nano-technological way about him. What is the sorcery that can create stuff like that?” God bless my man, and good luck!

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Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile just issued a press release in response to Vodafone’s efforts to unravel the iPhone exclusive offering in Germany. In the statement, T-Mobile claims that they will appeal the ruling (they have two weeks to do so) and will continue selling the iPhone unabated. T-Mobile defends the locking strategy as good for consumers who receive preferential data rates and access to T-Mobile hotspots as a result. In addition, T-Mobile says that it will likely claim damages against Vodafone for the mess they’re causing. Perhaps T-Mob hasn’t noticed all the free press they (and Apple) are receiving?

Update: Reuters confirms that T-Mobile will sell the iPhone in Germany unlocked — that will be the first unlocked iPhone officially available. The catch: it’s €999! That’s $1,478 at the current exchange rate for a phone which cost €399 (with contract) just a few minutes ago. Hackers and unlockers, your services are still required.

[Via Pocket-lint]

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

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Aluratek has released a new line of digital photo frames that work great even with Mac OS X 10.4, bringing a high resolution TFT true color LCD display to your living room encased by a wooden frame and integrated speakers. Not only do you get to view your favorite photos on this, you can also listen to MP3 and WMA files, view videos as well as presentations. These digital photo frames even boast connectivity options with digital cameras, USB flash drives, memory cards and a direct computer connection. The three digital photo frames in question are the $180 10.5″ ADMPF110 and 210, the $200 11″ ADMPF311F, the $230 12″ ADMPF312F, and the $300 15″ ADMPF315F.

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

We knew it was just a matter of time before something like this happened, particularly with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed headed to the Wii next Spring, but it’s good to see a lightsaber attachment come early. Available to order now through Play.com, this third-party accessory sports a power up / down effect to get your saber a-glowin’ (and dimmed back down), 22 ultra-bright LEDs and an on / off switch for good measure. The adornment relies on a trio of AA cells to stay lit, and while it isn’t slated to ship until later this month, you can commence searching for an extra £14.99 ($31) right away.

[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]

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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: Cell Phones

Operators at the Black Hawk County Consolidated Communications Center in Iowa are starting to freak out, as a cell phone has been repeatedly calling in to the center’s 911 emergency help line. Almost 400 times last week the phone called in, with no one on the other side. Attempts to call the phone back have been fruitless.

After some investigating they found that the phone number had been deactivated and is not currently associated with any cell phone carrier. Cell phones, even after being disconnected, can still place emergency calls, as required by law.

Investigators haven’t thrown in the towel yet, but they are throwing up their hands. “We are pretty helpless,” said Judy Flores, a supervisor at the center. We’re just wondering if this is another mother passing off her old cell phone on her gadget-obsessed child.

From CNN

Related links:

• Cell Phones in Subways, Not for 911
• Cell Providers Face Fines for Not Living Up to 911 Requirements
• Toddler Dials 911 From Cell Phone 287 Times

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Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Google (GOOG), eBay (EBAY), Wal-Mart (WMT), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Caterpillar (CAT), Best Buy (BBY), Campbell Soup (CPB), MasterCard Inc’A’ (MA), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM)

Before the bell: Futures indicating a lower start as oil rises

Notable calls this morning:

• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was upgraded by Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.
• Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was upgraded by UBS to Neutral from Sell.
• Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) was upgraded by J.P. Morgan to Overweight from Neutral.

Jerry York, Wilbur Ross and Thomas Stallkamp, three top investors in the automotive industry see 2008 as a slower year. One is even predicting a possible slump of 9.4% in U.S. sales, to levels not seen in 15 years. As for GM (NYSE: GM), senior fortune writer believes it, and not Ford (NYSE: F) is winning the turnaround race.

eBay Inc.’s (NASDAQ: EBAY) online payment service PayPal is set to release PayPal Secure Card on Tuesday, a software utility that conveniently allows its customers to make payments on Web sites that don’t accept PayPal directly. This may pose another hurdle into the growth of Google Checkout, Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) own payment service introduced last year. PayPal partnered with MasterCard (NYSE: MA) for the service.

Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) is reporting earnings today, 71 cents per share expected.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) will be hit with another ad campaign criticizing the company during the holiday shopping season, according to the Wall Street Journal. The campaign from WakeUpWalMart.com, which is funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, will focus on safety it seems.

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Filed under: PlayStation Network, News

While fanboys on both the Sony and Microsoft sides of the fence may bicker and argue about their consoles’ respective online services, the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, it seems Microsoft themselves have a different take on the whole “which is better” argument.

Robbie Bach went on record to not only say that Xbox Live offers superior service (a notion that even many Sony fans attest to, though the PSN being free is a definite plus), but that there is actually no competition in the online service market for consoles. “It’s fair to say that Xbox Live is clearly head and shoulders above anything anyone else has tried to do. We don’t have competition.” He goes on to say what Sony offers shouldn’t even be called a service. Those who play Call of Duty 4 and Warhawk online may beg to differ, but that’s neither here nor there. What do you guys think? Is what Sony offers to PS3 owners a service and something that Microsoft should take more seriously or not?

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