The Future Of Video Games

How will games (and gamers) be different a decade from now?

The numbers are startling: According to video-game tracking site VG Chartz, Nintendo has sold an astonishing 20.9 million Wii game consoles worldwide, while Microsoft has sold 16.9 million Xbox 360s and Sony has managed to move just 9.8 million PlayStation 3s (PS3).

Yet before the PS3 launched in November 2006, many respectable gaming pundits were convinced Sony would retain its decade-long domination of console gaming. Sure, the PS3 was expensive, but it was loaded with features, like high-definition DVD playback and a hyper-fast 3.2 gigahertz processor.

Nintendo's Wii, on the other hand, was so pathetically underpowered that it couldn't even display high-definition graphics. Sure, it had an innovative, motion-sensitive controller, but to a lot of people, that just sounded gimmicky. Before its worldwide launch in November 2006, lots of smart people thought the Wii would be a niche product, appealing primarily to young children.

Boy, were they wrong.

The smartest game makers are also "thinking outside the screen." In 10 years, mashing buttons to control on-screen avatars will no longer be enough. Gamers will insist on being able to "feel" a game, or to "move" realistically within it. We already have force-feedback steering wheels, guitar-shaped controllers and pressure-sensitive dance pads. In the future, expect much more.

Video game graphics will continue to grow richer and more detailed. But don't expect that photo realism alone will be enough to sell a game. Sony's face-flop with the PS3 proves gamers aren't obsessed with hyper-realistic graphics to the extent that game designers are.

Most gamers don't require characters that look exactly like actors in a movie, and don't care how realistically blood splatters; they want to play great games. Chess isn't any more or less fun in high definition; it's the game that counts.

PC games are going to grow in importance, especially for older, more educated gamers. After being widely dismissed as dead (or irrelevant at best) only five years ago, PC role-playing games have made a tremendous comeback.

Stage6 to Shut Down on February 28

Today i get this letter from stage6 website.


"I'm Tom (aka Spinner), a Stage6 user and an employee of DivX, Inc., the company behind the service. I'm writing this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on February 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and you'll be able to view and download videos until Thursday.

I know this news will come as a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I'd like to take a few moments to explain the reasons behind our decision.

We created Stage6 with the mission of empowering content creators and viewers to discover a new kind of video experience. Stage6 began as an experiment, and we always knew there was a chance that it might not succeed.

In many ways, though, the service did succeed, beyond even our own initial expectations. Stage6 became very popular very quickly. We helped gain exposure for some talented filmmakers who brought great videos to the attention of an engaged community. We helped prove that it's possible to distribute true high definition video on the Internet. And we helped broaden the Internet video experience by offering content that is compatible with DVD players, mobile devices and other products beyond the PC.

So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the short answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it's really as simple as that.

Now, why didn't we think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you may ask? That's a good question. When we first created Stage6, there was a clear need for a service that would offer a true high-quality video experience online because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren't providing that to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.

As Stage6 grew quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites delivering high-quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a part of the larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn't continue to run Stage6 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to enjoy high-quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that we were kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, which is a fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it out into a private company or shut it down.

I won't (and can't, really) go into too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we tried really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own private entity or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two scenarios was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and cease operation of the service.

So that's where we are today. After February 28, Stage6 will cease to exist as an online destination. But the larger DivX universe will continue to thrive. Every day new DivX Certified devices arrive on the market making it easy to move video beyond the PC. Products powered by DivX Connected, our new initiative that lets users stream video, photos, music and Internet services from the PC to the TV, are hitting retail outlets. We remain committed to empowering content creators to deliver high-quality video to a wide audience, and we'll continue to offer services that will make it easy to find videos online in the DivX format.

It's been a wild ride, and none of it would have been possible without the support of our users. Thank you for making Stage6 everything that it was.

--Tom"

It is sad that Stage6 will be shut down at February 28. The movie download lovers are very upset that they get high quality videos from this website. We hope there will be soon a website like stage6 that provides same features.

To Promote Your Site And Increase Traffic In Ten Ways

Increased web site traffic would mean more potential sales and an expanded customer base. Here are ten useful ways to increase the volume of traffic of your site:

1. Get Your Own Domain Name.

People will never forget catchy domain names. Getting your own domain name will provide familiarity and recall. Be sure to choose a short and easy to remember domain name that is appropriate to your business.

2. Upload New, Original and Useful Content.

Blatant ads such as banners and pop-ups only irritate visitors. Give them information they can't find anywhere else, and give it to them for free. Always think benefits when posting a new article or feature. Thinking of ways to get your visitor what they want will establish respect and more importantly trust.

3. Submit Your Site to Search Engines.

Search engines bring more than 75% of traffic to most web sites. Search engine submissions means serious work. This involves search engine positioning and Meta tag placements. It doesn’t end there because you need to test this with a number of search engine tools. This process involves constant monitoring of website competitors, and continuous
editing of pages.

4. Pay For Top Spots.

The best way to get website traffic without trying too hard would be through paid advertisements. These advertisements would be posted on prime locations or banners of websites. Popular websites like leading newspapers and search engines would provide immediate recognition and visibility to their customers. Of course this entails some substantial
advertising budget, but it is a good recourse for those who could afford it.


5. Form an Online Community.

An online community can be a message board, email groups, discussion list, and even a chat forum. Actively participate in these on-line groups by posting answers to other people’s questions and post appropriate information. Be visible and include your signature at the end of your postings. Maximize these special interest groups because people in online
communities get involved easily and are ready to communicate with others.

6. Start Your Own Mailing List.

It is the best way to keep in touch with your prospects and your customers. This is the best way to build the credibility needed to close a sale to your target market.

7. Start an E-Zine for Your Website.

An E-zine is an extension of your site, but this will highlight new information and features of your site. People will be reminded of your website as they read each issue. If they find they issue interesting or worth sharing, they can easily and instantly pass this on to the people within their network.

8. Submit Articles.

Write your own article and submit it to e-zines, websites and magazines that accept article submissions. Be sure to include your business and contact information and website address in the resource box.

9. Exchange Ads.

Create ads that will promote your business and website. Submit this to e-zines or other websites in exchange for free ad space in your own electronic publication. Your presence to other site or publications is very important in getting the increased traffic that you want. This is usually
facilitated with either simple links or flashy banners.

10. Update Your Website.

Your website should always be up and running. It is to your advantage if you maintain your website with new articles and updated features. Maintain a clean layout and check for broken links, images and pages. If they always find what they want and need, they will surely be coming back each time. Additionally, search engine spiders love a site with
changing content!

WYSIWYG Web Builder v5.0.4

WYSIWYG Web Builder features:
• No HTML knowledge needed!
• Drag and drop objects from the toolbox on the page anywhere you like!
• Site Management. Easily add, edit, clone and structure your web pages from a single file.
• Customizable menus, toolbars, keyboard accelerators, dockable windows, tabs, autohide windows.
• Form layout object to create forms, including actions, hidden fields etc.
• Supports Form fields: Editbox, TextArea, Checkbox, Radiobutton, Combobox and Button.
• Form Wizard to create form in 4 steps. Select from a dozen ready-to-use forms.
• Rich text support: text object can contain different fonts, colors, links and sizes.
• Custom HTML object to insert your own HTML or Javascripts.
• ActiveX, JAVA, Flash, Windows Media player, Quicktime, Real Audio and other Plug-In support.
• Publish your entire web site, a single page or a group of pages (to local drive or a web server) .
• Built-in Photo Gallery maker, with lots of cool features like picture frames!
• Built-in Banner maker.
• Rollover images.
• Bulleted Lists: Circle, Disc, Square, Numeric (1, 2, 3), Alpha (a, b, c) , Roman (I, II, III) and custom images.
• Image maps.
• Customize scrollbar colors for Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• Navigation bars.
• Tab Menus.
• Slide Menus.
• Ready-to-use Javascripts.
• Template support. Already more than 100 templates available!
• Insert Symbols (special characters).
• Slide Show component .
• Support for third-party add-ons, using the Web Builder Component Developers Kit.
• Import existing HTML pages.
• Hyperlink Style Sheet, to customize the colors/formatting of hyperlinks.
• Built-in Popup support.
• Show optional rulers and ruler guides.
• Page transitions in Page Properties.
• Inline Frame component (IFRAME).
• Go menu: easily create a drop-down navigation menus.
• Menubar: powerful menu script that can mimic complex menus found in popular GUI applications.
• Shape object (Rectangle, Round rect, Ellipse, Diamond, Hexagon, Octagon, Parallelogram, Triangle,
Trapezoid, Arrows, Flag, Flower, Heart, Signs, Stars, Talk Bubbles and much more!).
• Embedded OLE component.
• Master page object. This allows you to re-use objects from other pages (master page concept).
• Layer Object for advanced layout possibilities.
• Find/Replace for text objects.
• Validation tools for form components: EditBox, Combobox and TextArea.
• Rotation for shapes and images.
• Properties Inspector for quick object manipulation.
• Ability to group/ungroup objects.
• Image tools: Contrast, Brightness, Hue/Saturation, Flip, Rotate, Resample, Crop and Stencils.
• Image effects: GrayScale, Negative, Sepia, Blur, Soften, Sharpen, Noise, Emboss and more!
• Drawing tools: Line, Line + Arrows, Scribble, Polygon, Curve and Closed Curve.
• Photo gallery border styles/ photo frames.
• Images, shapes and form controls have a new Events Page, to easily add actions to object events!
• The PayPal eCommerce Tools are the quickest and easiest way to add eCommerce to your web site!
• RSS Feed object with podcast option.
• Blog with built-in RSS feed option.
• Google compatible sitemap generator
• and much much more.

To get more info, visit site

http://www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com/index.html

The Invisible Web:Uncovering Information Sources Search Engines Can't See

Book Description
Enormous expanses of the Internet are unreachable with standard Web search engines. This book provides the key to finding these hidden resources by identifying how to uncover and use invisible Web resources. Mapping the invisible Web, when and how to use it, assessing the validity of the information, and the future of Web searching are topics covered in detail. Only 16 percent of Net-based information can be located using a general search engine. The other 84 percent is what is referred to as the invisible Web-made up of information stored in databases. Unlike pages on the visible Web, information in databases is generally inaccessible to the software spiders and crawlers that compile search engine indexes. As Web technology improves, more and more information is being stored in databases that feed into dynamically generated Web pages. The tips provided in this resource will ensure that those databases are exposed and Net-based research will be conducted in the most thorough and effective manner.

Book Info
(CyberAge Books) Provides the key to finding hidden resources in Web search engines. Mapping the invisible Web, when and how to use it, assessing the validity of the information, and the future of Web searching are topics covered in detail

# 430 pages
# Publisher: Cyberage Books; 1 edition (September 2001)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 091096551X
# ISBN-13: 978-0910965514

55 Ways to Have Fun With Google

55 Ways to Have Fun with Google (Official Site)
You probably use Google everyday, but do you know... the Google Snake Game? Googledromes? Memecodes? Googlesport? The Google Calculator? Googlepark and Google Weddings? Google hacking, fighting and rhyming? In this book, you’ll find Google-related games, cartoons, oddities, tips, stories and everything else that’s fun. Reading it, you won’t be the same searcher as before! (From the author of Google Blogoscoped.)