Sony announces 'Next Generation Portable' handheld

In a move that shocked precisely no one, Sony confirmed months of speculation by officially unveiling their next handheld video game system at a press event in Tokyo on Thursday.

Codenamed "NGP" for Next Generation Portable, the system packs a load of impressive technology, including two analog sticks, a 5-inch OLED touchscreen (for reference, an iPhone's screen is 3.5 inches), a second touch pad on the back of the device, and a new flash-card media format.

Sony announced that the system will be released before the end of 2011, though no word on whether that's a worldwide date or just for Japan. No pricing details were released.

To better compete with longtime rival Nintendo's soon-to-be-released 3DS system and Apple's formidable iOS devices, the NGP will also feature 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, front and rear cameras, an electronic compass, and six-axis motion-sensing capability. Yikes. Five to one it will also cut through this tin can!

Sony revealed a few other NGP functions, such as a location-based application that lets users find nearby players and a user-interface that ties social-networking features to every game. The system has a new rounded form factor as well (Sony calls it the 'Super Oval Design') and is physically a bit larger than the current PSP-3000 model.

A slew of first-party NGP games were announced -- including new titles in the Hot Shots Golf, LittleBigPlanet, WipeOut, Killzone, Resistance and (gasp!) Uncharted franchises -- as well as games from publishers like Capcom, Sega, Tecmo, Konami, and Activision, who will be bringing blockbuster franchise Call of Duty to the system.

Much of Sony's presser focused on the NGP's varied control schemes. In addition to standard game fare like a D-pad and shoulder and face buttons, the system is the first of its kind to include dual analog sticks -- a feature widely requested by PSP fans. Motion-sensing control via the built-in gyroscopes was also on display, but perhaps most impressive is the dual touch interface. The touch pad on the back of the device is positioned directly underneath the main touchscreen, which allows for innovative 'pinch' control by using the two simultaneously.

The device is a serious step up from Sony's last handheld release, the underwhelming PSP Go, which did little to help Sony gain ground on Nintendo's league-leading DS line. However, DS sales have slipped in recent months in anticipation of the 3DS, which produces 3D visuals without the need of special glasses.

While Sony failed to announce a PSP-capable phone (as many had expected), the company did find time to unveil the Playstation Suite, a cross-platform service that will make Playstation games available on Android phones and tablets.

info Yahoo

Stainless Steel Equipment

For those who just have a house, maybe this time you are planning about what items will you buy to fill your home. Start from furniture for the bedroom, wardrobe, living room, kitchen sets, electronics until tools & equipments. You have to buy those things carefully and choose the items that have a good quality, although sometimes the price is slightly more expensive, but you will get a good quality stuff, and usually more durable than just ordinary goods. And one of the items with good quality, usually made of stainless steel.

We have had a lot of market goods made of stainless steel. Ranging from cooking sets, tableware, garden ornaments, decorations, and so forth. As an example of stainless steel items are Blomus Cooking sets, which are cheese slicer, bread box until egg lifter. Those products, of course, made with quality stainless steel material, so in addition to good quality, you also will get a charming design and fit to combined with other items in your home.

There is also a decoration stuff from Blomus equipment, like candlesticks, picture frames, and also Blomus polished stainless steel bird feeder & bird bath. All goods are offered with special discounts and attractive design. So for those of you who have a new home or who want to renovate your house, the stuff of stainless steel could become a good option.

Gold Investment, Gain Your Profit

Today more and more people are interested in the investment business, because in addition as a saving asset, investment can also generate more money for you. There are so many areas of interest for people to invest, ranging from property, shares, until the most popular investment now, is gold. Why do people consider that gold would be their best investment? One of the reason is because of its availability is very limited, so it will make the price remained stable and even tended to rise.

An example of this gold investment is gold bullion. Gold bullion is one way of gold investment which offer you the bullion coins. Of course this is not just ordinary gold coin, but gold coins are specially designed with the engraved symbol of a country on it. In addition to the value of gold itself, a unique design on this coin also increase their selling price.

For some investor, buy bullion is an investment at a time can be used as a private collection too. Because, of course, the value in the future will more valuable. In fact, its value could reach more than 300% in 7 years. As an illustration to you, if you buy gold bullion coins in the 70s for $ 25,000, then the current value could reach $ 525,000 now. It is extraordinary isn't it?

So what are you waiting for, begin your investment now. The sooner you start investing, the sooner you enjoy the results. Remember, investment doesn't that you just save your money for 3-6 months, but it can be in annual period, in other words as long-term savings. So choose your type of investment now, whether it is property, shares or gold.

Happy investing ..!

Holiday to Dago, Bandung

The most fun stuff to do on the weekends is having a vacation. Yep, this time I was with my friends had our holiday to the city of Bandung in West Java, Indonesia. Our purpose is simple only, which is a culinary tour (as usual) and also shopping, because here too there are many factory outlets (FO). We set off on Saturday by car. Unfortunately, some of my friends could not participate due to personal reasons, beside we needed a replacement driver for this far trip. Well, the show must go on, so we set off in the morning, even though I was a little bit hesitant with my friend's car owner, because he has not been too smooth to drive a car specially for long distances. Fortunately, with careful driving, we were all safely arrived in Bandung.

You know, this holiday is really unique, because none of us who understand the ins and outs of this city. We only relied on my friend's GPS to find a location. The first location that we aim at is a place to eat in the street the Riau. Here we found a small restaurant that serves Iga Bakar Special, which has the slogan 'best number 2 in the world'. This slogan is unique, because usually a slogan always want to be the number 1. Apparently it is true, the taste of its baked ribs 'just right' to be the number 2 in the world. But with the price offered, the restaurant is arguably a bit expensive. Because five of us with a standard ordering menu, spent more than Rp. 250.000,- ($ 27.7).

Iga Bakar Special with Soup

After filling our stomach, we went straight to the parking lot to shop. Since it's difficult to find a parking in the FO, so we parked our car inside the BIP. After that we explored every FO near by. One by one starting from the cheap until the price is rather expensive. Fortuitously, I have some shirts that fit me in a FO named Heritage. The prices in this place is also not too expensive, and they have very unique design with waterfalls as high as approximately 5 feet are in this FO. Feeling a little tired, I ended up waiting for my friend who was shopping while enjoying the durian ice cream. It was very tasty and the price is also not too expensive, only Rp. 7000,- ($ 0.77).

Because it was late, so we need to find a hotel for overnight. Here we found a hotel called Karmila with the rental price for a standard room (twin beds) of Rp. 340 000, - ($ 37.7), per night. After a shower and rested for a while we soon find a place for dinner. Apparently at Dago Plaza lot of street singers who are singing in a unique way. They use a variety of costumes, ranging from cartoon characters, princesses, until the ghost costume. Because the dining area on the Plaza pretty full so we searched elsewhere and found a restaurant that serves Sate as their main menu. The Food in this restaurant also pretty tasty, specially with the Lamb Sate and the price is quite cheap, but I do not remember the name of the restaurant.

Lamb Sate

Our adventures continue with the hiring of a public transportation toward Cihampelas. Unfortunately, we arrived here too late, many shops had closed. So we only got to go to some shops were still open, unfortunately we didn't find any clothes that fit for us. So we decided to go back to the hotel and rest. Tomorrow morning after checking out, we walked slowly to around Gedung Sate area, looking at existing street market, and also stopped at an outlet that has been open since 7:30 am. We also shop again a few shirts and pants and do not forget to enjoy the fresh 'ice candles' that are sold in front of this FO. After all done, we went home, to avoid congestion.

4 Signs Your Bedroom Needs a Make-under

The bedroom is supposed to be where you relax, unwind, and get a good night's sleep. But with today's multitasking lives, your bedroom could be collecting more clutter than hours of beauty rest. Here's how to determine if your space needs simplifying — plus solutions to nix the clutter.


1. Problem: Your TV rules the bedroom.
Solution: As severe as it may sound, a television doesn't belong in a well-ordered bedroom. It brings with it remote controls, DVDs, cords, and other mess-producing items that counter the main purposes of the room. Bedrooms should be a cozy space for decompressing, like this serene master bedroom by designer Ginger Barber.

2. Problem: Your closet door won't shut.
Solution: It's time to start editing. Expert organizer Julie Morgenstern recommends first starting on paper. Ask yourself, "What are my favorite clothes?" When considering what to toss, refer to your list. If you're still afraid to get rid of items, ask yourself these questions: "Do I love it? Is it flattering? Is it the image I want to project?" If it's a "yes" to all three, then it's a keeper. Donate the castoffs to a favorite charity.

3. Problem: Your nightstand is piled sky-high with books.
Solution: You've been meaning to read those magazines and last week's paper, but you've just been too tired at night to crack one open. The answer? Since you can only read one thing at a time, that's the number of publications that should be in your bedroom. Keep the rest organized in your library or living room with a magazine rack or bookshelf.

4. Problem: Your smartphone is your alarm.
Solution: If you're checking e-mail before you doze off, you'll be fretting about the next day's meetings instead of drifting off to sleep with sweet dreams. In addition, the light emitted from these devices can also contribute to keeping you awake at night. Banish phones and laptops to a home office, and soon you'll be snoozing soundly.

Do you think your home could use a makeunder?

info Yahoo

CityVille is Facebook record-breaker: biggest ever

Hang up your straw hat: city planning is the new farming. Or it is on Facebook, anyway.

Launched just a couple of months ago, Facebook smash CityVille is not just the biggest game on the social networking platform, it's the biggest Facebook game ever.

CityVille averaged over 84 million monthly users this past weekend, which means it's bigger than previous record-holder and Zynga stablemate FarmVille ever was: the latter's high-water mark was 83.76 million users, a number it recorded last March.

Though the games are superficially similar, sharing a common crop-tending mechanic, CityVille's fields and barns are a literal and figurative background to its central theme: building a bustling city full of residents, businesses, and civic structures. It's a faster-paced game than FarmVille, and, if anything, it's even more aggressive in encouraging players to build in-game connections with real-life friends -- a factor that's bound to be helping its meteoric rise.

And boom town CityVille is looking set to grow even bigger. It continues to post gains of about two million players per day, according to blog InsideSocialGames, and fueled by the burgeoning popularity of Facebook in the U.S. and overseas the game could eventually top 125 million monthly players.

CityVille's success is good news for the game's developer, Zynga, which had been seeing a downturn in its total userbase over the latter part of last year. Almost all Zynga's Facebook titles have posted gains over the last month, including FarmVille, though at less than 60 million monthly players, it's a mere shadow of its former self.

Perhaps most impressively of all, the seven most-played games on Facebook are currently all Zynga games.

info Yahoo