Archive for December 6th, 2007
Filed under: Deals and Bargains
 amazon.com is having a sale on PS3 games, with many previous Deals of the Day making a return. Here are some highlights:
- Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion ($19.99)
- F.E.A.R. ($44.99)
- Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights ($44.99)
- Lair ($39.99)
- Sega Rally Revo ($39.99)
- Stranglehold ($44.99)
- The Bigs ($24.99)
- The Darkness ($34.99)
- The Eye of Judgment ($54.99)
- Time Crisis 4 ($69.99)
- Splinter Cell: Double Agent ($34.99)
Obviously, Eye of Judgment is the best deal on the list, as it includes the Eye peripheral. However, both Oblivion and The Bigs are both great games as well — and they’re at last-gen prices. Those waiting for Time Crisis 4 may not find a better deal than this one for a while (yes, the game really is that expensive!). Maybe these will end up as a few stocking stuffers?
[Via CAG]
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Posted by: in Hollywood news
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Casting, Scripts, Newsstand
 I dunno… There may be something to this “secret” thing. Just yesterday I wished that Henry Rollins would make the movie rounds again, and I wake up today to find out that he is. However, this is probably more a case of good timing, since I imagine this whole deal was made before my wish. Anyhow, The Hollywood Reporter has listed the cast that are a part of an upcoming action thriller currently called the Untitled Gehenna Project. It’s strange, diverse, and kind of irresistible — Cuba Gooding Jr., Taryn Manning, Ron Perlman, Henry Rollins, Valerie Cruz (The Dresden Files), and Ray Winstone have joined a cast that includes Jason London (the Dazed one, not the mallrat), Franky G (Saw), Zack Ward (Transformers), Stephanie Jacobson (Razor), Bill Moseley (Repo! The Genetic Opera), Sarah Ann Morris (Las Vegas), and Brandon Fobbs (The Wire).
The only thing more surprising than that group of actors is what they get to do. It seems that the film is about a group of elite soldiers who are on a covert mission “to retrieve a missing scientist from an undergound lab.” Cruz sends them on the mission, and Perlman is the scientist — so far, so believable. But get this — the group consists of Gooding, London, G, Ward, and Manning. Yes, Taryn Manning is an elite soldier. While this strange collection of tough guys/girl are on their mission, they happen upon a priestly Rollins, “who tells them that an ‘ancient evil’ has been released, causing their greatest fears to come to life.” (Team him up with Cheech’s tough priest in Machete and they’d be an unstoppable force of religious power.) Rounding things out is Winstone, who is the ed-head of the group, and Moseley and Morris, who are part of the research team.
Keith Kjornes wrote the script, and it’s going to be directed by Jason Connery, who just happens to be 007 Sean’s son. The script sounds like any strange thriller, but man, this cast is weird enough that it could be completely enjoyable, in that pulp sort of way.
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In my first post, I asked for comments from readers about topics they would be keen to see me cover. A number of people responded with some fantastic questions, with a handful at least asking along the lines of marketing, and how I went from sitting at an empty desk, to getting the first few months work in the door.
Well, for starters, I cheated. I had worked in the web industry for a number of years, so I already had quite a few contacts, and one of the first things I did was get in touch with other freelancers, particularly developers (remember, I started as a designer) and offered to help them out with any overflow work they couldn’t handle.
I ended up with a handful of clients that way, and some immediate work, however what I found was also interesting. I expected to do the work behind the veil of their business names, however I actually found that these colleagues trusted me enough to deal directly with the clients, and just provide a small kickback to the freelancer. Sweet! Not only did they send me work, they trusted I would do a good job, and I therefore made sure I did.
The key point here is to make contacts, yet be careful to not step on any toes - I certainly wouldn’t approach clients from previous employers, not friends clients, without their agreement.
Secondly, I also approached a few charity groups, who I knew needed a website, and offered to do their site for very close to free (well, half rate, which at the time, felt like free), in exchange for them referring me to their colleagues, but only if they liked the end result. The point here was not to undercut competitors, but rather show that I support the charities causes, however I needed some payment, which was a mixture of cash and contacts with other organisations and businesses.
The trick here is to make sure that the recipient understood the value - I wrote a proposal with the full amount I would normally expect, and then showed the discount in black and white, so they could literally see what I was giving away. I made sure they understood that this was a very limited offer, and that afterwards, my normal rates would apply. I only had to approach two or three organizations, before I had enough work on my plate from both their own organizations, as well as other businesses in their networks.
To be honest, I hate telemarketing, and cold calling gives me cold sweats. I avoided any of the heavy selling techniques by making sure I asked for an introduction with both of the scenarios above. I only wanted to speak with people who were already pre-qualified, either by my freelancer contacts or by the organizations who had been happy with the projects we’d done for them.
The most important three points of this entire process were;
- I did great work, and exceeded client expectations.
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I made sure the client appreciated that my work was great.
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I asked them bluntly, if they knew anyone who could use my services.
It’s true - if you produce excellent project outcomes, you can ask the client for a referral. The person they introduce you to has probably already had your initial client speak highly of you to them, and they’ve expressed interest in utilising your services. There’s no need for hard sales tactics in this situation, you simply need to walk the prospect through options, and above all provide the service that you would be pleased to talk about.
It seems quite simple, but it really works. I spent about $50 on a few bottles of wine to my favourite clients that first year, and that was my entire marketing budget. There’s no harm in leaving the big spending advertising campaigns to your competitors.
This article provided by sitepoint.com.
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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)
 Yesterday, I attended the Kelsey Group’s Interactive Local Media/SES Local conference. Based on the turnout, there are many companies trying to get a piece of the online local marketplace, which is still in the early phases. But the Internet giants like Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) are gunning for dominance.
So, what are venture capital investors looking for?
Well, there was a great forum on the topic. The panelists included: Nick Veronis, managing director at Veronis Suhler Stevenson; Kara Nortman, vice president of M&A at IAC; and Mark Gorenberg, a partner at the VC firm Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.
“For entrepreneurs looking at local,” said Veronis, “this is great timing. The market is hot and the valuations are robust.”
He is bullish on so-called mobile phone coupons. “We are seeing much higher conversions with mobile coupons,” said Veronis. “It’s also convenient. So, coupons may skip the desktop.”
But, according to Nortman, this doesn’t mean that traditional valuation metrics no longer apply. “When we look at acquisitions of online properties,” she said, “we look at cash flows. The cash flows may come in year 2 or 3 - but there needs to be a case that online users can be translated into cash.”
Interestingly enough, this week IAC announced that it has invested in a Web 2.0 social networking site, MerchantCircle. “We like that the company has a viral model and a strong user base of over 300,000 merchants.”
Also, if you want to check out other recent early stage fundings, visit DealProfiles.com.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements .
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Filed under: Cellphones
Cellphones with built-in fingerprint scanners aren’t exactly revolutionary, but a recent patent application filed by Nokia could foreshadow mobile displays that recognize and react to biometric inputs. More specifically, the technology would see a touch-sensitive user interface that could allow / deny access or morph depending on what user swiped their finger. Moreover, a mysterious “visual display cursor” is also referenced, which would seemingly allow the device to bring important applications / lists / etc. to the screen’s forefront depending on the preferences saved for each fingerprint. As always, it’s a mystery as to when something like this will actually go mainstream, but we certainly dig the sound of it — even when written in totally incomprehensible patent app lingo.
[Via CellPassion]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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The Jabra BT3030 Bluetooth Stereo Headset will definitely have you stand out in a crowd thanks to its special dog tag design. Features include universal connection, a personalized equalizer, exchangeable headphones, a couple of wearing styles to choose from as well as a dash of customization where you will be able to swap the dog tag frame and lanyard to a design of your choice. You get 200 hours of standby time with each charge, and it is connected to your Bluetooth-enabled handset via Bluetooth 2.0. The BT3030 comes with half a dozen buttons that allow you to control your media player as well as answer your phone. These controls feature a blue backlight, making it easily accessible even in the dark. You can pick one up from Amazon for $72.
Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones
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Filed under: Features, Gaming
There’s only a select few titles that are really worth obsessing over for nearly half a year, but apparently, Rock Band is indeed a member of that upper echelon. After months of drooling over images of the game’s accompanying hardware assortment, the star-studded title has finally landed on store shelves, and according to Electronic Arts, copies haven’t been hanging around for long. In a report posted yesterday, EA noted that it moved “hundreds of thousands” of boxes over the Thanksgiving weekend, and judging by most every review we’ve seen, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. ‘Course, with so much critical hardware packed in, it’s not terribly surprising to hear that some early adopters found a few flaws, but it seems that EA has fessed up to the issues and is offering VIP treatment (read: immediate replacements) to those with jacked up axes.
Now that you’ve had some time to work out those vocal cords, brush up on your drum rolls and mosh in your own living room, inquiring minds are dying to know how you would have done things differently. We’ve already given you a shot to vouch for your rhythm game of choice, but haters and posse members alike can feel free to step up to the proverbial microphone and voice your wishes. Would you have thrown in a Telecaster rather than a Strat? How about embedding an accelerometer in the microphone in order to accumulate kudos for mindless twirling? Totally bummed by the omission of a wildly flamboyant mic stand a la Steven Tyler? Whatever your beef, don’t hold back on this one — your All Access pass to remixing Rock Band has (un)officially been granted.
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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, Google
While slightly less creepy than the idea of GPS-equipped school uniforms, the latest mandate by Montclair State University in New Jersey is bound to ruffle the feathers of some students. The new rule stipulates that studentsmust own and carry school-distributed cell phones with GPS.
The idea behind the mandate is that the phones are designed with student safety in mind. If, for example, someone is following a student, or threatening them, then a beacon on the cell phone can be set to go off for a predetermined period of time. If, at the end of that period, the student has not disabled the alarm, then campus security can use Google Maps to locate the student (thanks to the required-cell-phone’s on-board GPS) and inform the local authorities. The service is even available when off-campus, whether the student is merely somewhere in town, or home for the holidays.
The phones are all automatically registered with the campus alert system as well, notifying students via text message of any situations that may arise, be they canceled classes due to weather, power outages, or, God forbid, a shooting like the one at Virginia Tech.
Not all of the features on the phones designed by Rave Wireless and Sprint are aimed at tracking students, however. The phones also can be loaded up with podcasts of lectures, notes, and even digital flash card study aides. Of course, the phones also acts as, well, phones, allowing student to place calls and send text messages,
So far, all calls into the police department to respond to student GPS beacons have been false alarms, but a staff of security still monitors the signals 24/7 just in case the system ever proves necessary.
From AP on AOL Video
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Filed under: Recipes, Cocktails, Happy Hour, Christmas
 Since this month is Cookie A Day month here at Slashfood, and today also happens to be National Cookie Day, I think it’s appropriate for today’s Happy Hour post to be about a cookie you can have in liquid form.
It’s the Christmas Cookie Cocktail, courtesy of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. As you can imagine, it includes chocolate in some form (in this case, chocolate sauce drizzled in the glass), but it also has Peppermint Schnapps, vodka, and Bailey’s. This is one cookie that’s definitely not for the kids (though maybe they can have the candy cane you’re supposed to put in it).
Continue reading Tuesday Happy Hour: Christmas Cookie Cocktail
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Posted by: in Bollywood news
Madhuri Dixit’s much awaited movie ‘Aaja Nachle’ raised severe protests in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, alleging the lyrics of a song in the movie were humiliating to Dalits
Protest in New Delhi
Activists of a Dalit outfit, Indian Justice Party staged a demonstration against the on its releasing day in Delhi. Party president Udit Raj threatened […]
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