Game Jam to Create Free Videogames
One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit organization with the goal of providing children in developing nations with laptop computers, is holding the first Game Jam, starting Friday. The three-day event will be hosted by Olin College in Needham, Massachusetts.
One hundred game developers, educators, authors, musicians, artists and writers from across the United States will work round-the-clock to create open source games for education in the span of a weekend. All games created will be released under an open license and featured in the Experimental Gameplay Workshop in San Francisco, with the winning team taking home an XO laptop and free passes to the 2008 Game Developer’s Conference. For more information and applications go to http://hackronym.com/olpc/gamejam.
A Click to Fight Breast Cancer
At the Breast Cancer website. a click is all that’s needed to help fight the disease. The organization has a goal of donating at least one free mammogram screening a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their website and click on “donating a mammogram” for free — the pink window in the middle.
The mouse click doesn’t cost the visitor anything. The site’s corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammograms in exchange for advertising. Here’s the site: www.TheBreastCancerSite.com. Spread the news around to help women in need.
Beware While on the Road
It seems that despite the rising rates of violent crime in the United States, some police officers there have time on their hands. According to “Tech Digest,” Sam Peterson II, piggybacked on a Sparta, Michigan cafe’s wireless network to check his e-mail. The Police Chief of Sparta, Michigan, spotted Peterson and felt that a law was being broken, even though the cafe’s Wi-Fi network is free and unsecured.
Eventually, under a plea bargain, Peterson was forced to pay a $400 fine and perform 40 hours of community service for stealing Wi-Fi. A law, which is meant to protect the public from computer hackers, was updated in 2000 to cover Wi-Fi access. The law, called “Unauthorized Use of Computer Access,” basically says that accessing a computer system without authorization is illegal. The law allows as punishment, up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Warner Home Breaks the 100K Sold Mark
Warner Home Video (WHV) becomes the first studio to surpass sales of 100,000 copies of a high definition title with Martin Scorsese’s 2006 Academy Award Best Picture winner, “The Departed.” With the No. 1 and 2 highest selling titles on high definition formats — “The Departed” and “Superman Returns” — as well as three other titles in the Top 10, “Batman Begins,” “Happy Feet” and “Goodfellas,” Warner Home Video continues to be the market share leader in high definition disc sales.
Capturing more than 30-percent market share of DVD sales in the high definition market, Warner Home Video has sold more high definition product and released more titles than any other studio. Warner supports both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, allowing consumers to watch the studio’s award-winning entertainment on any high definition home viewing device or player they choose.
Warner Home Video HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, as well as vibrant contrast and color and crisp sound. The new formats also provide a higher level of interactivity, with instant access to extra features via a seamless menu-bar where viewers can enjoy features without leaving or interrupting the film.
Ali Al-Mashat Is GPN Chairman
Dr. Ali Al-Mashat, former founding CEO of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT), has become chairman of Green Packet Networks (GPN), a broadband wireless technology provider and Next Generation mobile solutions developer. The appointment is expected to strengthen the new company’s Middle Eastern presence and promote widespread penetration of GPN’s Self Organizing Network (SON) wireless products, by drawing on Al-Mashat’s extensive experience in pioneering the early satellite revolution.
GPN launched its Bahrain-based operations in February 2007. GPN Bahrain is a joint venture between Green Packet Berhad, a Malaysian-based technology company and Saudi Economic and Development Co. (SEDCO).
Samsung Introduces Its Saudi Website
Samsung Electronics has launched a new website dedicated to the Saudi market. “The user-friendly site is more than just a trendy means of showcasing Samsung products and highlighting the company’s regional activities,” said Inamullah Butt, Samsung’s marketing manager. “It is more than an Arabized version of the company’s original site. We are enhancing technical and marketing support services in the local users’ language.”
Accessed through Samsung’s local domain, www.samsung.com.sa, the site is part of Samsung’s drive to reinforce ties with its consumers across the Kingdom. It offers access around the clock for product information, available retail outlets, sales partners and service centers and product updates.
Technical support can be accessed by e-mail. Through the website, users can request a service, or report any technical problem they have with Samsung products. The complaint then will go directly to the product manager in charge of that category who will contact the customer to offer helpful tips or to set a date for service. In the near future, live online technical support, English version, B2C online purchase facility, promotions information, online contests and information on upcoming products will be featured.
To celebrate the new website, Samsung has announced its ‘Click & Win’ competition where local users who register at the website during the next three months will get the chance to win one of three Samsung high definition LCD (HDTV) televisions.
New HP Regional Channel Chief
HP has appointed new channel leaders, as part of the recent split of its Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region, formerly referred to as ISE. Due to the significance and size of ISE, HP decided to divide the region into two entities: CEE and MEMA. CEE will cover Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS, while MEMA will cover the Middle Eastern countries, the African continent including South Africa, as well as Greece and Turkey.
The ISE split into two sub-regions will be strengthened by the creation of two teams which will lead HP’s growth and leadership in their respective sub-regions.
Within the Solution Partners Organization (SPO) group, for the MEMA sub-region, Tom Yeates will take on the role of SPO director. Yeates joined the company in 1993. He has held various Enterprise Business Unit management and sales roles. Most recently, he led the SPO ESS sales organization in EMEA, where he successfully implemented the specialist sales model, which delivered consistent year on year growth.
