butterfingers durex: March 2013

Saturday, March 9, 2013

'SimCity' launch disaster continues as gamers petition White House

Featured

Winda Benedetti , NBC News ? ? ? 16 days

After months of rumor and speculation, Sony has revealed its new game machine ? the PlayStation 4 ? as well as a new controller with a touch... Read more

Winda Benedetti , NBC News ? ? ? 14 hrs.

Imagine if a hurricane, tornado and tsunami crashed into a city, one right after another. This week has been sort of like that for the new city-building PC game "SimCity." And things only seem to be getting worse.

When "SimCity" launched on Tuesday it was supposed to be the triumphant return of the much-loved franchise ? a series of games that have inspired the urban planner in all of us since 1989. But as we reported earlier this week, the new "SimCity" game (a reboot of the series) has been plagued with problems since it arrived ? problems that continue three days later.

And now frustrated players have started circulating petitions aimed at both the game's creators ... and the White House.

The problems stem from the fact that "SimCity" requires all players ? even those who only want to play the single-player portion of the game ? to be connected to the Internet at all times. And so thousands of players have reported either long wait times to get into the online game or problems accessing the game at all, while others who have played it say they've lost their digital cities after putting significant work into them.

"SimCity's" creators at Electronic Arts and Maxis have acknowledged the problems, blaming the issues on the game's popularity overloading the servers that support it. (After all, those who have been able to play "SimCity" say that it really is quite good.)

"Server capacity is our biggest obstacle," explained Kip Katsarelis, "SimCity" senior producer, in a post to EA's forums Thursday. "We launched in North America on Tuesday and our servers filled up within a matter of hours. What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn't want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join."

But while he said additional servers have been added and will continue to be added "until we have enough to meet the demand," he also said that EA had to temporarily remove some of the game's features so more people could begin playing.

Despite the additional servers, it seems the problems persist ? this as the game has rolled out internationally. Things got so bad on Thursday that Amazon.com temporarily halted sales of the digital version of the game. As of Friday, the online retailer was again selling "SimCity" ? which now has more than 1,000 one-star reviews ? but with a warning about the online issues attached.

Meanwhile, as of Friday morning, the official SimCity Twitter account tweeted, "We are currently aware that some servers are not performing optimally and are actively working on them." And Polygon reports that EA, apparently in light of the continued problems, has halted some of the online marketing of the game. "We are requesting that you please stop actively promoting the game," reads an email obtained by the game site.

While some gamers have argued that launch-week issues should not be surprising, the response from many players has been loud and, at times, vicious with people filing comments and complaints anywhere they can ? the EA forums, Reddit and Facebook.

Many players had taken issue with the game's always-online requirement even before the "SimCity" launched ? especially since a similar requirement had proven highly problematic for "Diablo III" during its launch. But this week's ongoing "SimCity" issues have prompted angry gamers to start a petition calling for EA to remove the always-online requirement from "SimCity" and its future games.

The petition to EA already has more than 39,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, it seems EA has only added fuel to the growing fire by failing to alter its digital game returns policy. While those who bought physical copies of the game can return them within 14 days, it appears those who purchased a downloadable copy will have no such luck.

"Regarding recent confusion: In general we do not offer refunds on digital download games. Please review our policy," explained EA's digital distribution service Origin via Twitter.

And so on Friday, a second petition was filed, this one with the White House, asking the Obama administration to get involved. Forbes contributor Jason Evangelho started the petition asking for "an industry-wide return policy for video games that rely on remote servers and DRM to function properly."

"Video and computer games are growing increasingly reliant on remote servers and the implementation of Digital Rights Management (DRM) to function properly," it reads. "When these measures fail, consumers are left with an unplayable experience. In these cases, the consumer should have the right to expect a full refund, whether the game was purchased in physical or digital form."

Winda Benedetti writes about video games for NBC News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things on Twitter here @WindaBenedetti and you can follow her on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the IN-GAME FACEBOOK PAGE to discuss the day's gaming news and reviews.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/simcity-launch-disaster-continues-gamers-petition-ea-white-house-1C8769125

skier sarah burke gingrich wife cheryl burke sarah burke mega upload santorum wins iowa archer

Great Internet Marketing Tips For Great Marketers - Empower Network

Many people have had great success with internet marketing programs. By taking time to learn about affiliate marketing, you can also enjoy profits from this venture. This guide was made to help you maximize your potential in online marketing.

TIP! Wise investments promoting your business can pay off big in the world of affiliate marketing. One effective place you can spend is by purchasing ad space on websites that your potential customers frequent.

Affiliate marketers must be truthful about what they are doing. If you are endorsing a product that you are profiting from, let the audience know and don?t attempt to mislead their choices. If a customer gets the feeling that you are being dishonest describing your connection to the original retailer, they have the ability to purchase the product directly from the merchant.

Keeping track of which affiliate programs are making you the most profit is a great way to ensure you?re paid what you deserve for the time you?re spending. One thing that you will want to consider is to give your affiliates a review. By severing ties with affiliates who perform poorly, you are allowing yourself more room for high-quality partners.

TIP! These statistics are a very important tool. This is because they give you useful information, like your traffic, and the percentage of visitors who bought something.

If you are using affiliate promotion, think about making repeat customers affiliates of your product. If any of your customers buy your product or service, extend the invitation to become one of your affiliates. If your customer chooses be your affiliate, that one sale can lead to thousands of sales. This can boost revenue and improve the visibility of your product.

If the company is constantly putting out new products you should try them out! You generate more affiliate revenue by working with businesses that have a larger variety of products. Don?t waste your time or effort promoting the short-lived trendy or faddish products.

TIP! Many companies will find growth possibilities in the use of texting and texting services. This service is fairly new, but is already being employed by large numbers of affiliates.

Consider writing handwritten advertisements, then scan and put it on your site. This allows your targeted customers to see that indeed there is a very real person doing everything behind the scenes, and they will be more likely to purchase a product from you. If you do not have good handwriting, ask a friend or a family member to help you design your ad.

Remember that with online marketing lifetime commissions are very rare. Still, the rewards are very great. When a referred customer buys something at the affiliate vendor?s site, a commission goes to the person who referred them. Most affiliate companies will only pay the affiliate seller a commission if a consumer purchases within a certain amount of time. These commissions are worth hunting down if you think you can get your hands on one.

TIP! If your target audience is older this will be especially important. Sometimes something simple like making your font larger within your website can make potential customers more likely to buy your product.

Only promote products that you would personally use. Your recommendations for products reflect on you and your business. If you promote reliable products, customers will be able to trust you more. An effective way of keeping customers is by promoting other positive products.

Affiliate marketers should never be satisfied with a modicum of success but should always be hungry for more. There is never a point where you should just sit back and rest on your laurels. You can start a new blog, or a new website. Keep looking for ways to increase your earnings. As long as you keep working, you will see greater profits.

TIP! Make sure your affiliates match the type of person who visits your site. If you are a shoe retailer, you should not display ads for dish detergent.

Limit your business dealings to only fair and magnanimous companies. If they pay less than 20% commission, keep looking. High-quality affiliate companies understand that you deserve to be paid a higher commission for your efforts.

In order for your internet marketing effort to generate more revenue, punch up your review by adding media ? screenshots, videos, or anything that will show off the product. Multimedia will help more people become motivated to purchase the product you?re offering. Also, play to people?s love of technical details. Give plenty of specifics in your reviews so people can be confident about your product.

TIP! Pay for advertising and make money. Ads with targeted keywords drive business to your site more effectively.

One helpful way to generate sales is to provide user reviews and screenshots to promote your product. If you can provide potential customers with good information about your products in a variety of formats, you are much more likely to make the sale and get word-of-mouth referrals.

Only use positive language in the content you publish for the best marketing results. Even small negative phrases should be removed. g.

TIP! The first thing you must do before agreeing with an affiliate is to make sure you receive commission on all sales by the company. Make sure you get commissions for orders placed through multiple channels, including offline orders.

Offering prizes and contests on your site is a great affiliate marketing technique. This can generate a lot of extra page views and free publicity as people come to your site for the promotion.

Things that are very wanted will be a deal breaker for your success. Quality products should be your focus, but keep in mind that just because a product is popular doesn?t mean it is a quality item. Going up against giant competitors, as a small business owner, can be bad for your business. Finding a profit in a crowded marketplace may be difficult or even impossible.

TIP! California affiliate marketers who have suspended accounts as of the first part of 2011 can again place links on their websites. The legal conflicts faced by Amazon in the state have been resolved, opening up participation once again.

Listing the possible alternative uses of products you are selling as an affiliate can be great for business, whenever applicable. Your high-lipped mat can double as a tray for pet food and water, or even a dish drainer.

If you want to boost purchases of your own services or products, you should make a good website that your affiliates can use. Other affiliates may agree to work with you if you don?t hide that you use this marketing strategy. Using good SEO techniques on the website allows you to entice affiliates who may not be familiar with your product.

TIP! Do not underestimate the importance of using of social media networks in your affiliate marketing campaign. Search engines notice sites and produce results with social networking in mind.

When picking an affiliate partner, go with one that offers plenty of helpful resources to sell the product. Affiliate companies are far from stupid. They do a lot of research to find out what kind of marketing is most successful for converting customers. The preferred companies share their findings with partners, so that these associates customize their operations to boost their sales and get more income.

Utilize the information and suggestions from this article to benefit your affiliate marketing enterprise. Through these previously established tips from experienced people, you can benefit yourself and your business.

If you are truly serious about making money on the internet sooner than later, you need to check out Create Wealth From Home | Free Article Marketing Webinar | Make Money Today | Free Facebook Training and if your are NOT earning 100% Commissions, Watch this Free Video how to earn 100% Commissions

To Your Success,
Dave Wertz
Work With Me Personally

Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/dwertz/blog/great-internet-marketing-tips-for-great-marketers/

neil diamond orange crush harden nor easter nor easter veep los angeles kings

Sistine chimney installed as conclave nears

Firefighters, right, place the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather to elect the new pope, at the Vatican, Saturday, March 9, 2013. The preliminaries over, Catholic cardinals are ready to get down to the real business of choosing a pope. And even without a front-runner, there are indications they will go into the conclave Tuesday with a good idea of their top picks. The conclave date was set Friday during a vote by the College of Cardinals, who have been meeting all week to discuss the church's problems and priorities, and the qualities the successor to Pope Benedict XVI must possess. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Firefighters place the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather to elect the new pope, at the Vatican, Saturday, March 9, 2013. The preliminaries over, Catholic cardinals are ready to get down to the real business of choosing a pope. And even without a front-runner, there are indications they will go into the conclave Tuesday with a good idea of their top picks. The conclave date was set Friday during a vote by the College of Cardinals, who have been meeting all week to discuss the church's problems and priorities, and the qualities the successor to Pope Benedict XVI must possess. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A firefighter places the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather to elect the new pope, at the Vatican, Saturday, March 9, 2013. The preliminaries over, Catholic cardinals are ready to get down to the real business of choosing a pope. And even without a front-runner, there are indications they will go into the conclave Tuesday with a good idea of their top picks. The conclave date was set Friday during a vote by the College of Cardinals, who have been meeting all week to discuss the church's problems and priorities, and the qualities the successor to Pope Benedict XVI must possess. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? The Vatican sought Saturday to quash speculation that divisions among cardinals could drag out the conclave to elect the new pope, while preparations for the vote plowed ahead with firefighters installing the Sistine Chapel chimney that will tell the world when a decision has been reached.

But the specter of an inconclusive first few rounds of secret balloting remained high, with no clear front-runner heading into Tuesday's papal election and a long list of cardinals still angling to discuss the church's problems ahead of the vote.

"You don't have your mind absolutely made up" going into the conclave, U.S. Cardinal Justin Rigali, who participated in the 2005 conclave that elected Benedict XVI, told The Associated Press this week. "You have your impressions."

The Vatican spokesman, however, took pains to stress the "vast," near-unanimous decision by the 115 cardinal electors to set Tuesday as the conclave start date and noted that no conclave over the past century has dragged on for more than five days.

"I think it's a process that can be carried out in a few days without much difficulty," spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters.

While Tuesday's initial voting will likely see a broad number of candidates nominated, subsequent rounds will quickly whittle down the field to those candidates who are likely to obtain the two-thirds, or 77 votes necessary for victory, he said.

"This process of identifying the candidates who can receive the consensus and on whom cardinals can converge is a process that can move with notable speed," Lombardi said.

The Vatican was certainly going full-throttle Saturday with preparations: Inside the frescoed Sistine Chapel, workmen staple-gunned the brown felt carpeting to the false floor that has been constructed to even out the stairs and cover the jamming equipment that has been installed to prevent cellphone or eavesdropping devices from working.

The interference was working: cell phones had no reception in the chapel. Reporters allowed to visit the chapel used their phones instead to pose for photos in front of Michelangelo's "Last Judgment," the huge fresco behind the altar depicting a muscular Jesus surrounded by naked masses ascending to heaven and falling to hell.

Off in the rear left-hand corner sat the stove, a century-old cast iron oven where the voting ballot papers are burned, sending up puffs of smoke to tell the world if a pope has been elected (white smoke) or not (black).

After years of confusion, the Vatican in 2005 installed an auxiliary stove where fumigating cases are lit. The smoke from those cases joins the burned ballot smoke in a single copper pipe that snakes up the Sistine's frescoed walls, out the window and up on the roof where firemen on Saturday fitted the chimney top.

Elsewhere in the Apostolic Palace, officials on Saturday took measures to definitively end Benedict XVI's pontificate, destroying his fisherman's ring and the personal seals and stamps he used for official papers.

The act ? coupled with Benedict's public resignation and pledge of obedience to the future pope ? is designed to signal the end of his papacy so there is no doubt that a new pope is in charge. These steps were made necessary given Benedict's decision to resign rather than stay on the job until death.

The developments all point toward the momentous event soon to confront the Catholic Church: Tuesday's start of the conclave to elect a new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics who must try to solve the numerous problems facing the church.

For the sixth day, cardinals met behind closed doors Saturday, and once again discussed the work of the Holy See's offices "and how to improve it," according to Lombardi.

The Holy See's internal governance has been a constant theme in these days of discussion, an indication that the revelations of corruption, political infighting and turf battles exposed by the leaks of papal documents last year are casting a very big shadow over this conclave.

The attention the issue has received suggests the cardinals will want a good manager in a pope ? or at least a pope who would appoint a good manager as his secretary of state, the key administration job in the Vatican.

Another round of secret consultations is scheduled for Monday, the last day before the conclave.

Lombardi, meanwhile, confirmed that the bells of St. Peter's Basilica would ring once a pope has been elected, though he acknowledged that there will always be some uncertainty in the whole endeavor. In 2005, it wasn't clear if the smoke coming out of the chimney was black or white and whether or not the bells were ringing for a pope or simply because the clock had struck noon.

"This is the beauty of these events, that is to say, having a minimum of suspense," Lombardi said. "A few minutes (of uncertainty) are more interesting than if everything happened like a Swiss watch."

___

AP Religion reporter Rachel Zoll contributed.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-09-EU-Vatican-Pope/id-14dc848c8913441094f777723e29bf3a

Christopher Dorner whitney houston Salwa Amin Grammys 2013 2013 Grammy Winners abraham lincoln Chris Dorner

Friday, March 8, 2013

From the Olympic village to Somalia ? FCO women's stories - Matt ...

In the lead up to International Women?s Day on Friday, we are featuring the stories of women who work for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as guest posts across the FCO bloggers? network.

Jane Stevens and Tracey McLelland are a successful job sharing duo who are part of the communications team working on the upcoming London Conference on Somalia.

How do you follow up a stint leading the Foreign Office?s overseas communications efforts around London 2012 Olympic Games, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to highlight the best of Britain, working with our Embassies around the world?

By joining the FCO?s brand new Projects Task Force to work on Somalia.

We have worked as a job share partnership for the past two-and-a-half years, each working three days a week. The modern Foreign Office is really waking up to the possibilities of flexible working, and our previous job on the London 2012 campaign was a case in point.

Our Head of Team was a job share position, with other team members working from bases in our Embassies in Beijing, Cairo, Moscow, Pretoria and Mexico. But it worked, and worked well ?so much so that the Guardian shortlisted our communications campaign for their 2012 Public Services Awards.

There is plenty of exciting work still going on to make the most of the London 2012 legacy ? but for us, apart from the odd touch of nostalgia, 2012 is so last year!

And 2013 has brought the opportunity to join the Foreign and Commonwealth Office?s newest department and be part of a new way of working.

The Projects Task Force brings together officers from various grades, currently over 70% of us are women. Most of us have varied working patterns ? part time, unusual hours and some colleagues work remotely from other countries, as well as our jobshare.

It brings a flexible new resource to the FCO, allowing teams working on high priority policy areas or projects to bid for extra staff to help during particularly busy or critical times.

Which is how we now find ourselves leading the communications efforts around the Somalia Conference, to be co-hosted by the Governments of the UK and Somalia in London on 7 May. We have brought our communications skills with us, but learning about Africa and Somalia is a whole new world. We?re loving it so far.

We have built up a network with colleagues across Government with an interest in the conference; developed our communications strategy, researched audiences in Somalia, including learning about their preference for radio over press and the internet.

We have launched a conference website and even filmed the Somali President on his recent visit to the UK. All this happens while handing the issues back and forward between us every Monday and Thursday on our ?handover? days.

Somalia, digital engagement and video conferences with colleagues in Nairobi one day, then after some time updating and getting things in order, it?s over to the other half of the partnership for a couple of days. The other goes back to the school run, housework and ? this week ? devising costumes for World Book Day celebrations!

Work-life balance can make for an eclectic mix.

Source: http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/mattbaugh/2013/03/06/from-the-olympic-village-to-somalia-fco-womens-stories/

hot wings recipe 7 layer dip recipe chris carter superbowl 2012 kickoff time what time is the super bowl 2012 nfl mvp lana del rey snl performance

Thursday, March 7, 2013

David Sacks Says He Has No Plans To Leave Microsoft, Endorses Marissa Mayer?s Work-From-Home Ban

Yammer founder David Sacks just left the stage at the Launch conference in San Francisco, where he talked about his future at Microsoft and also weighed in on some hot tech topics including Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's new ban on working from home. As someone with a startup background (he was chief operating officer at PayPal, founded Geni.com, and is an active angel investor), you might expect that Sacks' time at Yammer, now that it has been acquired by Microsoft, to be limited. Or, as on-stage interviewer Jason Calacanis suggested, maybe Microsoft is hoping Sacks can help turn the company around and is grooming him for a bigger executive role.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qXNC5zLwov4/

travis pastrana quinton coples a.j. jenkins riley reiff david decastro aj jenkins shea mcclellin

Federal government closes DC offices as snow nears

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The federal government says its offices in the Washington, D.C., area will be closed Wednesday as the nation's capital braces for its first big snowfall of the winter.

The Office of Personnel Management says non-emergency employees of the federal government will be granted excused absences for Wednesday.

Forecasters were predicting as much as 10 inches of snow for Washington, with more predicted for the suburbs north and west of the district.

Airlines along the storm's projected path have cut hundreds of flights, most of them at Dulles and Reagan National airports in the Washington area.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-06-US-Government-Snow-Day/id-68bab1cb130e421a86f874549cf33072

lsu football lsu football Jessie Andrews bloomberg bloomberg Daily Caller Staten Island

Next Samsung Galaxy Note to feature an even bigger, 5.9-inch screen?

The next Samsung Galaxy Note might feature an even larger, 5.9-inch display, and it should be out in the second half of the year, according to an anonymous Samsung official speaking for The Korea Times.

''Samsung is working on introducing a new phablet using a 5.9-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen,?? the official said.

Interestingly, we?ve earlier heard suggestions that Samsung might make an even bolder jump to a 6.3-inch next Galaxy Note, but this new whisper writes that possibility off. The phablet will come with an octa-core processor, but is not very likely to feature Samsung's bendable displays we've been hearing so much about as Samsung is struggling with manufacturing.

The original Galaxy Note launched with what seemed a truly humongous 5.3-inch display late in 2011, and last year the Note II arrived with a 5.5-inch screen.

This however is really pushing the limits of pocketability. We have seen that there is big interest in phones like these that allow you to read easier, watch photos and movies in bigger sizes and enjoy an overall better media experience, so this seems like a logical move. Yes, and one more reason for most of us to feel like we have such small hands...

source: Korea Times

Source: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Next-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-to-feature-an-even-bigger-5.9-inch-screen_id40546

roseanne barr president green party day 26 new hunger games trailer sasquatch david choe national wear red day

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Military Suicide Prevention

0

House Committee Armed Services | Military Personnel

WITNESSES:

Lt.?Gen.?Howard B. Bromberg, deputy chief of staff G-1, Army
Jacqueline Garrick, acting director, Defense Suicide Prevention Office, Department of Defense
Lt.?Gen.?Darrell D. .. Read More

WITNESSES:

Lt.?Gen.?Howard B. Bromberg, deputy chief of staff G-1, Army
Jacqueline Garrick, acting director, Defense Suicide Prevention Office, Department of Defense
Lt.?Gen.?Darrell D. Jones, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, Air Force
Lt.?Gen.?Robert E. Milstead Jr., deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs, Marine Corps
Jerry Reed Jr., director, Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Vice Adm.?Scott R. Van Buskirk, deputy chief of naval operations for manpower personnel, training and education

2 hours, 0 minutes |

Source: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311343-1

open marriage department of justice doj dept of justice weather chicago swizz beatz mpaa

Malaysian troops have killed at least 13 fighters believed to be a part of an ar...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/philippinesnewsnet/posts/560244357333786

freddie mac kristin cavallari rough riders joy division norco rand paul detained asexual

Homeless, poor in California can get free cellphones (San Jose Mercury News)

Share With Friends:

| Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/289509420?client_source=feed&format=rss

Huell Howser Justin Bieber Smoking Weed Katherine Webb Cut for Bieber AJ McCarron Johnny Manziel ups

Russian police detain suspect over Bolshoi acid attack

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained a suspect on Tuesday over an acid attack that nearly blinded the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet.

A brief Moscow police statement gave no other details and did not say who was being questioned. Until now, the police had said they had only questioned witnesses in the case.

Life News, a Russian website with close ties to the police, quoted an unnamed source as saying the suspect had been seized in a police operation in Moscow's suburbs and was not an employee of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Sergei Filin, 42, was badly burned when a masked attacker threw sulphuric acid in his face outside his Moscow apartment as he returned home late on Jan 17.

Filin, who is having treatment in Germany to save his sight, has said he believes he knows who was behind the attack, which has highlighted bitter rivalries in the world of ballet and damaged the image of one of the world's great theatres.

(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-police-detain-suspect-over-bolshoi-acid-attack-064321938.html

joe paterno dead marist south carolina primary results betty white ed reed football schedule jo paterno dead