Controversy

Sony Posts $3.2 Billion Loss – Sony is No Longer an Industry Leader

Sony Corp will post its third straight annual net loss for the year that ended in March after writing off tax credits. This is the latest in a string of grim headlines on the consumer electronics giant. The maker of PlayStation video games, Vaio computers and Bravia TVs has been battling to recover from a series of security breaches on its networks that negatively affected more than 100 million user accounts. The annual net loss would be Sony's second-largest ever, underscoring the decline of a company once a symbol of Japan's electronic and manufacturing excellence.

I have been skeptical about Sony for a long time. Sony has been overtaken by Apple and other companies," said Yuuki Sakurai, CEO and president of Fukoku Capital Management in Tokyo. "The management is not able to show shareholders the future of the company."

Sony has found itself outmaneuvered by Apple in portable music and various other areas of technology. Samsung Electronics has outmaneuvered Sony in flat-screen TVs and other home theater equipment. Sony has also continuously been outmaneuvered by Nintendo and Microsoft in the videogame market. Playstation 3 is the least successful console ever released by Sony.

Sony had previously forecast a net profit of 70 billion yen ($857 million) for 2010/11. Stock markets were surprised today when Sony announced a need to update investors with revised estimates ahead of its official earnings report on Thursday. Stock exchange rules in Tokyo require companies to notify investors if estimates for the business year are likely to be more than 30 percent higher or lower than their most recent forecast. Sony said it now expected to post a net loss of 260 billion yen ($3.2 billion), due to a non-cash charge of around 360 billion yen ($4.41 billion) related to Japanese tax credits.

In April, Sony shut down the PlayStation Network worldwide in order to try and repair the biggest problem in the history of the videogame industry. Sony has slowly started to restoring areas of access, but is still working with Japanese government authorities to restore access in that country. Sony said "known costs" for the hacking attacks were estimated at 14 billion yen ($171 million). Sony is targeting the end of May for fully restoring the affected networks; however, as we have already seen, Sony’s estimates cannot be considered without skepticism.

Last week, Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer aggressively responded to critics saying Sony was too slow to notify consumers once the online hacker attack had been indentified. Howard Stringer stands alongside other Sony executives such as Jack Tretton and Kaz Hirai for behaving selfishly in deceitful ways. Recently, Controversy exposed Sony’s deceitful methods of calculating sales figures in order to minimize negative publicity associated with poor sales and declining market share. While trying to avoid negative publicly from the online hacker attack, Sony allowed loyal consumers to be at high-risk of identity theft and financial theft.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with industry experts saying Sony has been overtaken by foreign competitors such as Apple, Samsung, and LG? One thing is clear; Sony no longer represents any form of symbol of Japanese excellence in the world of electronics. Corporate giants outside of Japan, such as Samsung, LG, and Apple, now characterize themselves as leaders of the electronics industry.

Platts Provides Valuable Information in Competitive Markets

In today’s economy, virtually all of the markets are very competitive. This is particularly true in the spot markets where commodities are sold. Goods such as oil and rice are the same no matter where you buy them. Consequently, you always want to buy those high-demand goods for the lowest price, because if you don’t, someone else will.

This is where a company like Platts can have a large impact on how efficiently your organization or even your government operates. Platts was founded in 1909 and started out as a company dedicated to providing "reliable market-based price information" on the oil industry. Thanks to the information provided by Platts, benchmark price assessments could be made on the oil industry. The industry oil prices barrel form of measurement owes much of its success to Platts, which currently has a website at platts.com.

Over the course of time, Platts has expanded to provide information based on natural gas, electric power, coal, petrochemical, shipping, and metals. The reason for this is because all of these industries are associated with one another in various ways. For example, if prices associated with oil and natural gas rise, you will obviously feel an impact on jet fuel prices somewhere down the line. Platts.com monitors these prices in a way that can help influence when and how you buy these commodities.

Many large corporations, industries, and even governments are influenced by these basic elements of trade and investment. Should a shipping industry stock up on bunker fuel while prices appear to be lower than usual? Or should the shipping industry wait until prices reach a lower point, taking the risk that prices will be at a higher point when the supply of bunker fuel has run low? Decisions like this can be very complex, time consuming, and expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. This is why platts.com monitors these situations in real-time, providing high-quality information at reasonable prices for subscribers.

Platts.com offers services so impressive that even the high density polyethylene price can be monitored just as easily as the stock market. I’ve learned that over 10,000 companies, organizations, universities, and governments in 150 different countries subscribe to the valuable information services provided by Platts. The reason for this is because Platts is a company with a reputation for honesty, providing information openly at all times to clients.

If your business needs to operate efficiently in a competitive spot market associated with the commodities Platts is devoted to analyzing, I believe it definitely is a wise investment to subscribe to the services offered at platts.com. This is an excellent website providing a great deal of information to existing clients. The website also clearly explains the multitude of services and resources you will have access to if you become a subscriber. If you currently subscribe to services offered by Platts, feel free to share your thoughts about the services offered based on your experience.

Mick Foley is the TNA Impact Executive!

On May 12, 2011, we learned Mick Foley is the TNA Impact management executive that has been making life difficult for Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. We also learned that Mick Foley plans on making some major changes to TNA and the way its brand is marketed. For example, Foley made it clear that the business would be re-branded as “Impact Wrestling.” However, Mick was not clear whether or not the letters TNA would be completely eliminated. 

Many people believe it would be a mistake for management executives at TNA to completely remove the letters of “TNA” that they spent eight years building as a brand. However, a lack of pay-per-view sales seems to be the motive for management executives making these changes. Hulk Hogan is a TNA executive that recently appeared on a radio show called The Law. Hogan was asked why the TNA Impact audience does not order pay-per-views. Hogan was also asked why Spike TV is not available in as many homes as competition such as the WWE, which is offered on channels such as USA and SyFy.

Hulk Hogan made the following statements regarding these topics:

“A lot of it has to do with awareness and the fact that we can get to the people. If I go into my hotel room in Chicago there are certain cable networks that are on like USA Network – there is no Spike TV. I mean a lot of it depends on who you can get to and who you can reach there is a lot more than ‘the fans aren’t buying it’ there is more to the equation and that’s a very shallow statement and that’s not a fact. The people that see it are buying it, there just aren’t enough people seeing it.”

Hulk Hogan then went on to say:

“That’s what it is – it’s creating awareness, a marketing plan we have to work with Spike TV and boost them up the ladder. I don’t know how many cable networks there are in the States if it’s 25 or 35 but in the paper it shows you who the top ten are so if we can get Spike up to that number one position the whole equation would change on how many people are buying it and change the equation and someone wouldn’t say ‘no one is buying it’ well the people that are seeing it are buying it so it’s creating that awareness to make people more aware that the product is there and that they can get it and when they walk into a hotel in Brantford that Spike is available.”

These statements made by Hulk Hogan may sound like intelligent forms of reasoning to someone listening and taking his word for what is being said. But when you do some research to investigate the statistical facts for yourself, you realize that Hulk Hogan is just making bogus excuses. The USA Network used by the WWE is in 86.2% of homes in the country – approximately 99.95 million homes.  However, the Spike TV network used by TNA is in 85.8% of homes in the country – approximately 99.49 million homes.

With that in mind, Hulk Hogan needs a much better excuse for determining the reasons why TNA pay-per-view programs are not being purchased by viewers of TNA Impact. Perhaps this is the reason why TNA is changing their brand to “Impact Wrestling.” Mick Foley has made it clear that TNA wants to place an emphasis on “wrestling.” This is different from the way the WWE places an emphasis on “entertainment.”

My family and friends enjoy the real-life wrestling point of view presented by TNA Impact far more than the entertainment point of view presented by the WWE. The way Hulk Hogan, Dixie Carter, Eric Bischoff, and Mick Foley present themselves as management executives involved in real-life legal battles with genuine personal grudges is far more enjoyable than the way WWE admits everything you see is fake.

The same can be said about Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, and Kurt Angle. The fact is, Kurt and Karen really were married and really were divorced. This is an excellent environment for a plot that TNA takes excellent advantage of! Yeah, I realize that there are soap opera style plots and storylines in TNA just as much as in WWE. However, the simple fact that TNA tries to present it with an element of realism is what makes TNA better than the competition.

This Thursday we learned that Chyna is the woman Kurt Angle has been talking about for the last several weeks. I like the way Chyna tossed Jeff Jarrett out of the ring at the end of the 25-man Battle Royal. However, Chyna was not a participant in the Battle Royal when it started. I now wonder if Jeff Jarrett will use this as an excuse to cheat Mr. Anderson – the winner of the Battle Royal – out of being the #1 contender for the TNA heavyweight championship.

I’d like to compliment Mick Foley on the “Impact” style of wrestling he bought with him Thursday night! I literally don’t remember the last time I saw a Battle Royal. This Battle Royal was action-packed and intense! Keep up the great work, Mick!

For the record, I believe there is still an excellent chance Bill Goldberg will be coming to TNA. Hulk Hogan has talked about Bill Goldberg on his Twitter account, telling everyone how Bill Goldberg would blow the roof off of TNA with his popularity. The name Bill Goldberg has even been mentioned multiple times on episodes of TNA Impact! I believe Bill Goldberg truly is an untapped wrestling resource that TNA should take advantage of.

I’d also like to let the TNA executives know I am very disappointed that Jay Lethal has not seen a contract extension with TNA. The way Jay Lethal has the ability to imitate Randy Savage and Ric Flair is absolutely incredible – truly entertaining! The whole reason why I purchased tickets for my family to attend a TNA event in Port Huron, Michigan is because my sister loves Jay Lethal! When we saw Jay Lethal imitate Ric Flair, we laughed so hard it literally brought tears to our eyes!

What are your thoughts about Mick Foley being the TNA executive? How do you feel about TNA being rebranded as Impact Wrestling? And do you think the rumors about Bill Goldberg coming to TNA are true?

Why is Sony Hiding PS3 Sales Figures?

NPD Sales results for the month of April were just released. For the second month in a row, Sony has asked the NPD not to publicly release the actual number of PS3 units sold. Sony has commented on the sales figures, saying these results show year-to-year sales of the PS3 are up 13% for the month of April, 2011 compared to April, 2010. But for the second month in a row, Sony has asked the NPD not to publicly release the exact sales figures for the PS3 console. The controversial questions is, what would Sony’s motive be for doing such a thing?

Although the year-to-year sales for the PS3 are improved by 13% for the month of April, the same apparently could not be said for the month of March. If the PS3 had produced impressive sales figures or seen a year-to-year rise in sales, Sony would have wanted to announce this publicly, as they did this month. But we will never know for sure, since Sony did not allow those numbers to be released publicly.

Now that it seems reasonable that the PS3 did not see a year-to-year improvement for the month of March, it means there was apparently a year-to-year decline for March. This seems like a logical motive for Sony to ask the NPD not to release sales figures to the public. This seems particularly true when you take into consideration that Xbox 360 sales in March saw a year-to-year improvement of 28% and sold a whopping 433,000 units! The Nintendo Wii sold an impressive 290,000 units this March.

For the month of April, both Microsoft and Nintendo allowed the NPD to release sales figures, as usual. The Xbox 360 sold 297,000 units, which was a 60% year-to-year gain compared to April of 2010. Only 172,000 Wii units were sold for April 2011, which is a large year-to-year decline in sales. For 10 of the last 11 months, the Xbox 360 has been the top-selling console, while the Wii has continuously seen declines in year-to-year sales.

Several websites online have been listing an April sales figure of 204,000 for the PS3. However, this is not based on anything that the NPD publicly released with Sony’s permission. The only reason this number of 204,000 exists is because Sony has said there was a 13% year-to-year increase in sales. We know that the PS3 sold 180,800 units in April, 2010, which would put April, 2011, at 204,304 units sold.

The controversial question many people want answered is why Sony is no longer willing to allow NPD to publicly release sales information based on exact numbers. Although a year-to-year sales increase of 13% for the PS3 is not as good as the 60% year-to-year sales increase seen by the Xbox 360, it is still something to be proud of.

As I said before, Microsoft recently announced that the Xbox 360 has been the top-selling console 10 of the last 11 months. But if you investigate and look at the sales figures during those 11 months, you see that the PS3 finished in last place each of those months, except this month! This month the PS3 was apparently able to finish in second place, outselling the Wii for the first time in years!

With that in mind, we need to ask ourselves why Sony isn’t willing to put a spotlight on their exact sales figures anymore. Some people have speculated that the recent problems experienced with the PSN outage is Sony’s motive for apparently not wanting publicity. But what about Sony’s motive for not sharing exact sales data for the month of March? Was Sony’s only motive for not wanting to release March sales figures the fact that the PS3 finished so far behind its direct competitor, the Xbox 360?

Statements made by Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, Jack Tretton, indicate that Sony uses a far more forgiving method of defining what a “sale” is than Nintendo and Microsoft. We know that Microsoft and Nintendo consider a unit sold when it has “Been shipped to a retailer or wholesaler that has made a purchase.” This doesn’t necessarily mean consumers purchased the units in stores, but it does mean retailers and wholesalers have purchased the units and have them sitting in stores waiting to be purchased by consumers.

Statements made by Sony executive, Jack Tretton, clearly show that Sony’s definition of a sale is very different. Sony considers a PS3 unit “sold” the instant it is “Produced and placed into inventory.” This means even if a retailer or wholesaler has not purchased the unit, Sony still classifies PS3 units as “sold,” even though they are collecting dust in inventory warehouses. This is a method of cheating – telling the public a unit is sold, even though it hasn’t been shipped to a retailer or wholesaler yet.

Using this form of definition to define the word “sold,” Sony can take credit for millions of units being sold in a very deceptive manner that produces inaccurate results. The best example of this situation occurred in 2006 at the E3 show, and was then proven in 2007 during an interview that Sony executive, Jack Tretton, was a part of. I will briefly describe what happened.

At the 2006 E3 show, Jack Tretton predicted that the PS3 would sell 6 million units by the spring of 2007. But when the spring of 2007 arrived, only 1.4 million consumers worldwide had purchased the PS3. In fact, the PS3 never had a chance of selling 6 million units, since Sony was only able to produce 5.5 million units in factories. In this interview, you see a chart clearly showing that the PS3 had seen disappointing sales of only 1.4 million units worldwide, yet Jack Tretton is claiming that the PS3 was only “a half million” units behind Sony’s goal of 6 million units.

When you subtract a half-million (500,000) from 6 million, you end up with 5.5 million. This is the exact number of units that Sony says had been “produced” by the spring of 2007. Not even close to 5.5 million units had been shipped to retailers and wholesalers by the spring of 2007. This obviously means that Sony’s executives were claiming that all 5.5 million units that had been produced and placed into inventory warehouses were classified as “sold,” even though 4.1 million of them were still sitting in warehouses collecting dust.

Most people believe that the reason Sony started classifying sales in this inaccurate manner is because the PS3 saw such disappointing sales when it launched. Even in Japan, the PS3 has not sold well – even being outsold by the Xbox 360 several months during the first couple years of its life. Each time the Xbox 360 saw an exclusive launch of an RPG game like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, or Tales of Vesperia, it would produce a spike in sales that resulted in the Xbox 360 outselling the PS3 in Japan that month.

This is a surprise, because foreign products like the Xbox 360 usually sell very poorly in Japan – a market that always does its best to stay away from American products. If executives at Sony Computer Entertainment would have told Sony shareholders that only 1.4 million PS3 units had been shipped to retailers due to a lack of consumer demand, it would have caused management executives to be fired. This is probably why Sony executives started reporting the number of units “sold” in a way that was synonymous with the number of units “produced.”

In fact, Ken Kutaragi, the designer of the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP was asked to step down and instead take up the roll of Honorary Chairman. This is the Japanese cultural way of getting fired, since Japanese companies have a tradition of hiring an employee for life. The PS2 and PS3 were both criticized by developers for being difficult to program. As a result, Ken Kutaragi is no longer involved with the Playstation products.

Most people don’t realize that Sony still uses this form of deception when publicly announcing sales figures such as 50 million PS3 hardware units sold worldwide. Sony can get away with this because most of the world doesn’t accurately keep track of sales the way we do in North America. But in North America, Sony can’t get away with deception like this because the NPD sales data is so accurate. According to NPD sales figures, the Xbox 360 is outselling the PS3 at a large rate.

This is very important because North America is the largest videogame market in the world. This expanding sales gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3 is the reason why popular multiplatform games such as Crysis 2, Portal 2, and many others continuously see sales figures significantly higher on Xbox 360 – a console that has sold 53 million units. If the Xbox 360 has sold 53 million units while the PS3 has sold 50 million units, it is a difference of only 6%. With a difference of only 6%, it would not be possible for Xbox 360 versions of software to continuously outsell PS3 versions by such a wide margin.

For example, Crysis 2 is a highly rated game resistant to statistical outliers. Crysis 2 recently launched on both the PS3 and Xbox 360. But we saw the Xbox 360 version outsell the PS3 version by a ratio of 1.7:1. This would not have happened if the Xbox 360 had only a 3 million unit hardware sales advantage over the PS3. Thus, we can logically conclude there is obviously a bigger gap than 3 million units between the Xbox 360 and the PS3. I believe this is why Sony no longer wants sales data from NPD and other sales organizations released to the public.

I really do recommend you take a look at that interview here. This will help you to see what I’m talking about. Thankfully, the person on CNBC interviewing Sony executive, Jack Tretton, was not fooled or deceived, as you will see in this interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFIDsTsWJHw

Please share your thoughts about why Sony is no longer allowing NPD to publicly release exact sales figures of the Playstation 3, even though the PS3 has done several impressive things this month.

Is myhosting.com Your Answer for Web Design and VPS?

In the online era we currently live in, it is very easy for entrepreneurs to start a business online. Similarly, it is very easy for small businesses and medium-sized businesses to target a much larger audience of consumers online. But in order to do so, you need to make sure your website is designed in a satisfactory way and operated efficiently. This is where an online web hosting service such as myhosting.com enters your life.

Recently, I decided to do some research on what forms of service myhosting.com offers and at what price. Based on what I learned online, I can say that myhosting.com appears to offer a high-quality service for a very competitive price. Regardless of what size your business is or what type of website you plan on designing, it seems as if myhosting.com can help you out.

I run a business called  Résumé Design Service at www.resumedesignservice.com. I personally designed that website because I possess the skills needed to do so. But there are other people that may not possess that level of skill. This is where myhosting.com appears to have a fundamental advantage over the competition.

The myhosting.com service gives you the opportunity to work with a Web Designer for a low price. This Web Designer assists in the custom design of your website in a way that helps you effectively target the market you want to reach. I was very impressed when I learned that myhosting.com even offers a form of software that helps you create a logo for your business that can be applied to your website. This is quite a bit better than my current web host, which forced me to create a logo in Microsoft Office and then transform it into a JPEG picture in order to insert the logo into the web design template.

The other area of service I think myhosting.com may be particularly useful to people is the area called VPS, which stands for Virtual Private Server. The VPS provides all of the dedicated server functions you need, but at a much lower cost. The reason the price is so much lower while still maintaining all the features such as online performance and security is because you will be tapping into a significantly greater hardware resource.

Regardless of whether you prefer to use Windows or Linux operating systems, it seems as if myhosting.com has what consumers are looking for. If you prefer to use the Windows operating system, myhosting.com offers a service known as Windows VPS. Similarly, myhosting.com realizes there are consumers strictly interested in Windows Server 2008, which is why they provide a great deal of information that is easy to understand.

From what I have learned online, I am actually tempted to switch to myhosting.com as my new web hosting service. The value is greater in several areas and it looks as if the quality of the service may be better, as well. Please feel free to share your thoughts about myhosting.com with everyone else, especially if you have experience working with myhosting.com.

Should We Keep Giving Pakistan Money? - Does America Help Fund Terrorism?

Last night I was watching CNN and I saw a detailed report on what children in Pakistan are taught in schools. The report I saw was very devastating for a variety of controversial reasons. Once you learn each of the things I’m going to talk about, we need to ask ourselves another question: Why does the United States of American continue to literally “give” money to Pakistan to “help” their nation. Perhaps if the United States of America were to stop supporting Pakistan financially, the politicians of Pakistan would be motivated to stop false teachings that motivate hatred against Americans.

First, children in Pakistan attend elementary schools where only boys are allowed to attend and learn. Young girls are forced to stay at home or attend a different school while covering themselves up. This immediately proves the bias involved in Pakistani schools. If the Pakistani men do not have the ability to control their lustful hormones, it is obviously not fair to cause female children to receive an inferior education.

Second, the Pakistani teacher taught all of the young boys that it was Americans that are responsible for the terrorist bombings in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. This teacher went on to tell the children that Americans enjoy watching the Arabs suffer. The children then told the interviewer that the TV shows they watch say that Americans try to blame Osama Bin Laden for all of these terrorist attacks in order to try and get Pakistan and the Taliban to fight each other. What is even worse is that these kids said they didn’t believe the lies from the Americans, saying that they look to Osama Bin Laden as their hero – someone that motivates them to fight against the Americans with hatred.

Third, I was absolutely stunned when I saw what sort of cartoons the Pakistani children watch. In one of the scenes shown on TV, there are American vehicles traveling along a road below a large cliff. An Arab citizen has bombs strapped to his chest and decides it is best to kill the Americans, even if he has to kill himself to do it! In other words, the children of nations such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq are taught from a young age that it is a good thing to die a martyr if it means killing Americans walking on their self-proclaimed holy land.

Fourth, children attending schools like this obviously have parents that approve of their children receiving that type of education in that type of culture. This is the fundamental reason why it is obvious that Osama Bin Laden had support in the Pakistani government. There is no way in the world that the Pakistani government was not aware of the fact that Osama Bin Laden was living in that huge building with large walls filled with barbed wire! This is the reason why President Barack Obama made the intelligent decision not to notify the Pakistani government that our counterterrorist military unit was on the way.

Fifth, if President Obama would have notified the Pakistani government that our counterterrorist military unit was on the way, the Pakistani government would have given Osama Bin Laden an early warning and told him to leave. Actions speak louder than words; if President Obama believed otherwise, he would have contacted the Pakistani government to let them know what was going on. In fact, in an interview on 60 Minutes, President Obama said he believes the Pakistani government did have connections with Osama Bin Laden. This makes sense, since the Pakistani government allows young males to be taught lies that inspire them to hate the United States of America and look to Osama Bin Laden as a hero.

Sixth, according to the Congressional Research Service, Pakistan has received over $20 billion from the United States since 2002! This literally means that Pakistani children wouldn’t be receiving the education they are today if it wasn’t for the funding provided by the United States of America. This also means that the United States of America helped fund a Pakistani government the whole time period that Osama Bin Laden lived in that country.

This makes you wonder why the United States of America continues to help Pakistan at all. The Arabs in Pakistan have made it clear they don’t want any American citizens walking on their land, not even military soldiers going in to get Osama Bin Laden. However, it isn’t surprising to see that the self-proclaimed “holy” Pakistani Arabs are willing to accept billions of dollars from the supposedly “unholy” American citizens living in the United States of America. But let’s examine why the United States may be motivated to continue offering money to Pakistan.

Security is one of the main reasons why the United States probably helps fund Pakistan. Even though Pakistan does a terrible job with terrorists, we need to realize that Pakistan is a nuclear nation. CNN said that Pakistan has approximately 100 nuclear warheads that are kept in secret locations. Why do I have a feeling that if the United States of America didn’t offer billions of dollars to Pakistan, those nuclear warheads would find their way into the hands of terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden and dictators such as Saddam Hussein?

Stupidity is another one of the main reasons why Pakistan needs financial help from the United States of America. Pakistan had the world’s most wanted criminal living close to a military installation for a very long time, which means the Pakistani government was supporting him or the Pakistani government is incredibly stupid. The Pakistani government claims they were not supporting Osama Bin Ladan, essentially admitting to their own stupidity and irresponsibility. With that in mind, it seems reasonable that very poisonous radioactive materials such as Uranium and Plutonium could be mishandled or misplaced – given to terrorists – at nuclear power locations if it wasn’t for help and/or funding from the United States of America.

Honesty is another one of the main reasons why the United States probably helps fund Pakistan. Believe it or not, there probably are quite a few Pakistani government officials that want to work with the United States of America and put an end to terrorism. Pakistani teachers telling kids lies about America always seem to forget to tell the kids they teach that Osama Bin Laden had officially declared war on the nation of Pakistan. This small hope is like a seed that the United States is trying to help grow, which is why we help fund it and try to gain as much information as possible along the way.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that whatever President Barack Obama and his staff decide to do is something I will trust as a citizen of the United States of America. From the moment he decided to run for president, Barack Obama has made it clear that he was going to be strict with Pakistan. President Obama has lived up to this promise, which is why we can now say the coward terrorist Osama Bin Laden has been killed. I feel like I can trust a man like Barack Obama who proactively brings unity to our country in a way that we haven’t seen since 9/11/2001 when we achieved unity as a reaction to terrorist attacks.

Please share your thoughts by writing a comment. I am unemployed and I have a problem with epilepsy, which makes employment difficult. Please consider making a Tip donation. If you enjoyed this article, please Follow me.

Microsoft Acquires Skype for $8.5 Billion! - How Will This Help Xbox 360?

Microsoft has acquired Skype for $8.5 billion, outbidding both Google and Facebook. Reports say that Google and Facebook were bidding between $3 billion to $4 billion. This shows that Microsoft was definitely willing to pay a premium price in order to keep those competitors at bay. Some financial investors have questioned why Microsoft would be willing to pay $8.5 billion for a company that was recently valued at less than $3 billion. This is where the element of controversy starts to reveal itself.

I believe Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is a perfect match for technology currently used in areas of software and communication. Skype has done an excellent job making sure that products such as TV sets, PSP portable game devices, PCs, and cell phones can use their technology for Internet calls and video conferencing. Windows Live Messenger and Outlook are perfect technological matches for Skype. The same can be said for the Xbox 360 game console and the Xbox Live online gaming service.

Of all the products available in the world, Microsoft’s Kinect may be the one that matches with Skype best of all. The Kinect motion-control accessory for the Xbox 360 has sold over 10 million units in a record time period – appearing in the Guinness Book of World Records for its amazing sales success. This means there are over 10 million Microsoft video cameras staring people in the face. This is the perfect environment for Skype to exist.

Microsoft may have overpaid for Skype, according to financial analysts on Wall Street, but the acquisition of Skype has helped Microsoft achieve all of its goals. Microsoft would have needed to bid at least $4.5 billion for Skype in order to acquire them. This means that for an additional $4 billion, which isn’t much to cash-rich Microsoft, they get to stop Google and Facebook from dominating this industry. Thanks to this acquisition, Microsoft now has significantly greater access to all of Skype’s 145 million subscribers in an industry that is growing across a world that is trying to lower communication costs, particularly in the area of business.

Two weeks from now we know that Xbox Live will be briefly shutting down for an update. We know that when Xbox Live receives this upgrade it will be fully compatible with PayPal in order to increase security and prevent hackers from having access to bank information. This is especially worth noting since Sony and their PSN has experienced such awful online hacking over the last month. But it’s worth noting that Skype already uses PayPal. Perhaps the reason why Xbox Live is going to gain this form of access is because we will see compatibility with Skype sooner rather than later!

Sony Targets May 31st for Full Restoration of PSN

On April 20, 2011 the Sony PSN online service went down with over 74 Million users affected in a negative way by online hackers taking advantage of Sony's weak security system. A short time after, the service went down again with another batch of over 20 Million users affected in a way that involved a breach of credit security and financial records that would allow identity theft to occur. Sony recently announced that May 31st is the date currently being targeted for the return of full functionality to the PSN. The Playstation Blog says that Sony has a goal of restoring online game play prior to May 31st.

No other problem in the history of the videogame industry has ever produced such an impact on so many millions of people – approximately 100 million people. As an industry analyst, I believe next months NPD sales figures will confirm just how angry consumers are with Sony. Senators, congressman, and other politicians in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and all across Europe have criticized Sony for their lack of responsibility and selfishness. Consumers do not appreciate it that Sony was not willing to inform users within a reasonable time period in an effort to avoid negative publicity.

The Third Xbox - Developers Now Have Development Kits! - When Will It Launch?

Electronic Arts has told reliable sources in the videogame industry something very interesting. Apparently EA is now in possession of alpha development kids for the third Xbox console from Microsoft. This development kit is apparently in some form of PC casing structure, similar to the alpha development kit released for the original Xbox. Job postings from Microsoft confirm a next-generation console is being designed; however, these job postings seem to indicate the console is quite a ways away.

This next-generation console from Microsoft will definitely be released, but we do not know exactly when this console will be released or what its name will be. Some rumors have suggested the third Xbox will be released as early as 2012 in order to compete with Nintendo’s next console, currently called the Wii 2. While other rumors have suggested that Microsoft’s next console may not see a release until 2015.

Here are my thoughts where I focus on facts in order to generate a fact-based theory.

1. We know for a fact that the Nintendo Wii 2 will be released in 2012.

2. We know for a fact that the Wii 2 will be a direct competitor of the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The hardware specifications of the Wii 2 are nearly identical to the Xbox 360 and PS3. For example, the Wii 2 has 512MB of RAM just like Xbox 360 and PS3. We also know the GPU of the Wii 2 is from ATI and nearly identical to the Xbox 360 GPU from ATI. We also know the CPU of the Wii 2 is tri-core, just like the Xbox 360 CPU.

3. We know for a fact that the Wii 2 will not be competing directly with the third Xbox and PS4 (if there is a PS4, since Sony has literally lost billions of dollars on PS3).

4. We know for a fact that NPD sales show Xbox 360 was the #1 selling console in 2010. We also know for a fact that NPD sales show Xbox 360 has been the #1 selling console every month of 2011.

5. We know for a fact that Kinect is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being such a high-selling item. Over ten million units of Kinect have been sold in a record time period.

6. We know for a fact that Xbox 360 continues to see annual sales growth. We also know that the Wii and PS3 have seen annual sales decline in 2011.

Based on these six fact-based elements, I can form a fact-based theory that says Microsoft has no motive to put an early end to the life of Xbox 360.

Now let's look at my hypothesis based on estimations of what Microsoft has done in the past. While I do not have facts to support this hypothesis, I do believe my experience in the game industry has merit to support my thoughts.

A. We know that games like Halo and Gears of War tend to be released every other year. But we also know that Gears of War 3 took three years to be developed because Microsoft and Epic wanted to develop everything correctly. This is the same type of precision and accuracy that Microsoft and Epic would want to apply when a new console is released. This is particularly true with a game like Gears of War that is known for setting new standards in graphics technology.

B. This means that if Gears of War were a launch game for the third Xbox, the soonest it would happen would be 2013—two years from 2011. But it seems like Epic and Microsoft would want to spend extra time developing graphics engines and making use of superior hardware. I think a new Gears of War game (probably a prequel named Gears of War: The Pendulum Wars) would be released in 2014. In my opinion, if Gears of War is the launch game for the next Xbox, the soonest the console would be available is 2014.

C. If Microsoft wanted to launch the third Xbox in 2013, I believe the launch game they would need to do it with is Halo. I say this because Halo: Reach was released in 2010. The developers would have the three years of development they probably would need to release a new Halo game on new hardware. Plus, Halo is a killer-app game that would guarantee all of the consoles sell out!

Based on these three thoughts, I can guarantee that the third Xbox will be released by the end of 2014. But I believe 2013 may be too soon. The third Xbox will not be meant to compete with the Wii 2. The third Xbox will be meant to compete with high-end PC technology and the PS4 (if there is a PS4). In all probability the PS3 will not be able to generate an overall profit by 2014 or 2015. PS3 will have cost Sony literally billions of dollars, which is why rumors have circulated for quite a while saying that the PS3 will be Sony's last videogame console.

...

Bill Goldberg is Part of TNA Wrestling!

Bill Goldberg is going to be a part of TNA Wrestling!

Tonight on TNA Impact we learned that Goldberg is almost certainly the one giving Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff a hard time each week as an "Executive." (Update: On May 12, 2011 we learned Mick Foley is this "executive." However, Hulk Hogan's twitter page and other reliable sources indicate Bill Goldberg will be coming to TNA Impact.)

Next week's episode of TNA Impact is going to be very exciting because we will learn more about Bill Goldberg, Ric Flair, and Kurt Angle. In a threat to Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett, Kurt Angle made it clear that next he would reveal who the woman is that would "put her hands" on Karen.

Hulk Hogan also seems to think that Ric Flair is a "potential candidate" as the one giving him so much trouble each week. However, Hogan and Bischoff seem to agree that they've been around Ric Flair long enough to know it isn't him -- although he is still a candidate as the person causing trouble. At the end of the TNA Impact show we were left with the cliffhanger that Goldberg is probably coming to TNA soon!

I'm very excited to learn that Goldberg will be a part of TNA!

However, I'm very disappointed to learn that Jay Lethal has been "fired" by Hulk Hogan! Jay Lethal is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Seeing Jay Lethal play the role of Black Machismo (imitating Macho Man Randy Savage) or seeing him imitate Ric Flair is incredibly entertaining! Let's hope either Bill Goldberg or Dixie Carter can rehire Jay Lethal.

Bill Goldberg is one of the best untapped resources in the wrestling industry right now. Hiring him will be great for ratings and great for business overall. However, I just don't see the logic in firing Jay Lethal.

Now, if TNA can just get The Ultimate Warrior and Jay Lethal, I think TNA would have no problem becoming the highest rated wrestling program on TV. Jay Lethal is currently working with Ring of Honor and is scheduled to make his debut soon.

UPDATE: On May 12 we learned Mick Foley is the "Executive" that has been giving Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff a difficult time. However, reliable sources continue to say Bill Goldberg will be brought to TNA Impact. On Twitter, Hulk Hogan was asked if he would like to bring Bill Goldberg to TNA Wrestling. Hulk Hogan replied by saying, "Bill Goldberg would blow the roof off the place." This seems to confirm many reports indicating Bill Goldberg is currently in negotiation with TNA.

Let's hope this is true! ... And let's hope Spike TV upgrades from outdated 2.0 stereo sound to 5.1 surround sound!

...

Osama Bin Laden is DEAD! - President Barack Obama Reunites America - Justice Has Been Done!

President Barack Obama has just addressed the nation, confirming that Osama Bin Laden is dead! Justice has been done! Not since September 11, 2001 has America been united in the way that we are united as a country right now. May 1, 2011 will forever be remembered as the day President Barack Obama reunited America with a triumphant victory over terrorism.

This announcement will probably go down in history as the most remembered speech President Obama ever makes. Just as everyone remembers where they were when the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001, everyone will remember where they were when they heard President Barack Obama officially confirm that Osama Bin Laden is dead!

Osama Bin Laden has been the face of terrorism for the last decade. President Obama has gone to very great lengths to work with foreign nations such as Pakistan to make sure that Osama Bin Laden was hunted down. Reasons like that are why President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Price honor. All of these excellent efforts of President Obama have paid off!

The United States has conducted a military counterterrorist operation that has killed Osama Bin Laden! President Obama authorized this military operation last week after he learned where Osama Bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad, Pakistan – about 80 miles north of Islamabad. This has been officially confirmed by President Barack Obama. President Obama also made it clear that no Americans were harmed in this counterterrorism operation that killed Osama Bin Laden.

When he took office, President Obama made it 100% clear that his #1 military priority as leader of America was to kill Osama Bin Laden. President Obama has achieved this goal because of his strong desire to do so – doing everything possible to obtain justice for the thousands of innocent people killed by Bin Laden’s Al-Qaida organization all over the world.

President Obama also made it 100% clear that the United States of America is not at war with Islam, because Osama Bin Laden was never recognized as an Islamic leader. President Obama explained that Osama Bin Ladan was a murderer of Islamic people, too. It didn’t matter to Osama Bin Laden if you were a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jewish person; the ruthless terrorist attacks of Osama Bin Laden always resulted in murder! Innocent people were always the victims of the coward named Osama Bin Laden.

Older people have already stated that not since Adolf Hitler has America hated an individual as much as Osama Bin Laden. The death of Osama Bin Laden has motivated family and friends to call each other in the middle of the night to tell them the good news! All over the United States of America people are gathering and celebrating!

The United States government currently has possession of the body of Osama Bin Laden. It has been fully confirmed that this body is Osama Bin Laden. The CIA and President Obama deserve a lot of credit for making this happen.

Over the years the Pakistani government has claimed that Osama Bin Laden was not in Pakistan. Government officials of Pakistan often tried saying that Bin Laden was hiding in Afghanistan. Over the last several months, our relations with Pakistan have been very strained. But it was President Obama’s ability to negotiate with the Pakistani government that helped make this operation possible.

Normally, the Pakistani government says they don’t want American men on their soil. But President Obama did everything possible to make sure America was able to enter Pakistan and perfectly execute this military counterterrorism operation that killed Osama Bin Laden. President Obama was personally involved in five security meetings regarding this matter, which took months to gather the information and carry out the military operation.

I want to thank President Obama for being involved in such a personal way. It was President Obama’s strong desire to eliminate Osama Bin Laden that made this military operation possible. Millions of people across the country shouted words of encouragement to President Barack Obama as he delivered this speech to the world. One of the most memorable moments of the 21st century will be President Barack Obama—winner of the Nobel Peace Prize honor—officially announcing that he authorized the counterterrorism operation that killed the most hated man in the world!

The “War Against Terror” is now officially over! Osama Bin Laden is a man that cannot be replaced. Young men from across the world would come to the Middle East just to be a part of Al-Qaida because of a sadistic form of respect they had for “the face of terror.” Osama Bin Laden cannot be replaced, which means the war against terrorism has changed forever. President Barack Obama will forever be remembered as the man who ended the war on terrorism.

On May 1, 2011 America became united once again. We are united in a way that we have not seen since September 11, 2001. America is united under the leadership of Barack Obama. Justice has been done!

Here is the video of President Barack Obama:

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2011/05/01/sot.obama.bin.laden.dead.cnn

 

Xbox 360 Sales Ranked #1 in 2011

Throughout 2011 and 2010 the Xbox 360 has been the industry leader of the videogame market. Every month of 2011, and the majority of 2010, has seen the Xbox 360 dominate the English-speaking parts of the world – even setting sales records that now appear in the Guinness Book of World Records! All throughout 2010 we saw the Xbox 360 continue to rise in popularity.

This demand for Xbox 360 products continues to accelerate each month according to sales provided by NPD and other sales groups throughout the world. For the month of March, 2011, the Xbox 360 sold an incredibly impressive 433,000 units. This new sales information was recently released, but it was not reported by several websites due to the fact that the Gears of War 3 beta is getting all of the attention from the videogame world right now. The Gears of War 3 beta is available to everyone for free, if you place a preorder at Gamestop.

Microsoft recently announced that from January to March 2011, the Xbox 360 sold an additional 2.7 million units of Xbox 360 hardware. This is over one-million more units than Microsoft sold during the previous quarter! This puts the number of Xbox 360 units sold at over 53 million units around the world. Microsoft can be proud to say that the Xbox 360 took the Xbox brand in the right direction this hardware generation. There is no doubt that Microsoft leaves this generation better off with a much larger percentage of the market than when they started – all thanks to great games and great online services.

This fiscal quarter, Microsoft saw revenue of $16.43 billion. This was an increase of 13% over the previous fiscal quarter from 2010. Microsoft’s fiscal third-quarter profits were $5.23 billion – which results in a profitable earning of $0.61 per share. In a recent statement, Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said “We delivered strong financial results despite a mixed PC environment, which demonstrates the strength and breadth of our business. Consumers are purchasing Office 2010, Xbox, and Kinect at tremendous rates, and businesses of all sizes are purchasing Microsoft platforms and applications.”

With all the excellent first-party and third-party games being released for Xbox 360 in 2011, it looks like 2011 will be the best year ever for Xbox 360. The same can be said about Xbox Live Arcade games and the hundreds of exclusive Indie games we will see online. Kinect will also be seeing the release of games that people have been looking forward to ever since Kinect was first shown.

For example, Star Wars is a game I’ve been looking forward to ever since I first saw that game on display at a trade show. Gamers will use their Kinect to simulate a Jedi duel with a light saber, which is very exciting! And then gamers will get to use the motions of their hands to simulate using the force to throw an entire group of androids against the wall!

With all of this in mind, it appears sales of Kinect and Xbox 360 are going to remain very strong throughout 2011.

Update 5/12/2011: The NPD sales results for April were just released for the month of April. Once again, the Xbox 360 is the top-selling console. The Xbox 360 sold a very impressive 297,000 units. This means that for 10 of the last 11 months, the Xbox 360 has been the top-selling console according to NPD sales figures.

Gears of War 3 Beta - Detailed Thoughts & Impressions Epic Needs to Review

Gears of War 3 is a beta that I really enjoy playing a lot, especially with my excellent home theater setup that actually influences game play. You often know when someone is coming up behind you because of which surround or stereo speaker you hear the sound of footsteps coming from. The graphics are absolutely amazing – far better than any other Gears of War game. The color palette has been enhanced, there are far more customized items, and the draw-distance allows you to see further than in previous Gears of War games. Even the weather has an impact on both graphics and game play in Gears of War 3.

At this point I’d like to share my thoughts with Epic. During the course of a beta, the developers of a game are supposed to be listening to what gamers have to say in order to fix problems that exist. I am now going to explain some of the situations I have experienced with both glitches and game play. I will also be pointing out some issues that I am impressed with that Epic needs to keep in Gears of War 3.

* The first thing I noticed about Gears of War 3 is the fact that you now need to hold down the X button for a half second in order to pick up a new weapon or extra ammunition. This is a wonderful addition to game play because it completely solves the problem of accidentally picking up the wrong item unless you are in the perfect spot. Now, a visual X shows up on the screen and a white arrow moves around it in a clockwise rotation so that you see exactly what it is you are picking up. If you don’t want it, just let go of the X button. This is a great addition to game play!

* Spots! The ability to pull the Left Trigger and then press in on the Left Thumbstick in order to put a "Spot" on an enemy that you have seen adds a tremendous amount of teamwork to Gears of War 3! This type of ability to put a mark on an enemy that is hiding out makes it so your entire team can work together to track down an enemy that is hiding. This is a form of game play that did not exist in previous Gears of War games.

Previously, if an enemy was hiding out at the end of a match, it was annoying that your team could not work together to find the enemy and isolate the enemy. If there was one enemy left and three people on your team, you just needed to grab your shotgun and hope that one of you would be able to kill the enemy since the odds favored your team. Thankfully, Gears of War 3 adds teamwork!

Now, if you or one of your team members spots the enemy, you can put a mark on the enemy. This will allow each of you to go after the enemy from a different direction. Or you can use machine guns to pin him down from a greater distance than the shotguns would allow. This is a great part of Gears of War 3 that truly does add awesome team-based game play! Epic did a great job adding this feature!

* The next thing I should mention is that I once experienced a glitch with respawning. My character spawned in the traditional spot, but I was not able to move. I was frozen in the same spot and I could see all around me, but I was unable to fire weapons or move. Apparently the only way this was able to come to an end was when someone killed my character. And the strange thing is that I believe it was one of my teammates that needed to come in and shoot me with a shotgun. This only happened once, but I sure hope Epic makes sure this doesn’t happen again.

* I’m not sure if it was a glitch, but it is very annoying the way the Gears of War 3 beta sometimes works when you try to shoot an enemy while using a heavy weapon near a ledge. Several times, I was using a heavy weapon while balancing it on a ledge when I saw someone trying to sneak up behind me. Instead of letting me shoot in the direction I wanted, the ledge behaved like a magnet and forced my heavy weapon onto it. This was not fair and it caused my character to die.

For example, when I saw someone trying to get behind me,  I pulled the large weapon off of the wall and faced the enemy that had gotten close to me. I tried shooting the enemy that was close to me (now with my back to the wall that I was previously using as a type of tripod rest for the heavy weapon). But rather than letting me shoot in front of me like I wanted, the Gears of War 3 beta instead forced my weapon back onto the ledge so that I was literally shooting 180 degrees in the wrong direction. The enemy just walked up to me and shot me in the back because there was nothing I could do. This problem definitely needs to be fixed by Epic.

* There are several close spots on a couple of maps. These close spots can cause problems because the Gears of War 3 beta currently does not always recognize what it is you want to do. In the old town and on the map where there is a loud horn, I was trying to take cover. I wanted to run forward by holding A. Instead, the game made me move over to the next side of the wall, as if I tapped the A button in order to try and seek cover there. I think Epic might want to make it so there are very few “tight spots” like that in Gears of War 3.

Whenever a map gives gamers the “opportunity” for something to go wrong, it significantly increases the odds that gamers will be complaining that something went wrong – especially when millions of matches will be played. The solution is to get rid of that part of the environment.

* Hammerburst is a weapon I enjoyed using in Gears of War 2. The Hammerburst is a weapon that I absolutely HATE using in Gears of War 3. In Gears of War 3, the Hammerburst is the weakest weapon I have ever seen in a videogame. I have literally lost count of the number of full clips I unloaded into enemies running right at me, and it didn’t kill them!

What is worse is that after I started shooting the Hammerburst, hitting the enemy the whole time, they just start running directly at me! The people being hit with the Hammerburst have the intention of taking all those shots until they get close enough to fire off ONE round with the Sawed-Off Shotgun, Gnasher Shotgun, Chainsawing you with the Lancer, or stabbing you with the Retro-Lancer. The single round from the very powerful Sawed-Off Shotgun instantly kills. I’m not saying the strength of the Sawed-Off Shotgun is a bad thing, since that weapon has a very long reload time and is risky to use. What I am saying is that when you spend five seconds unloading a full clip into someone, they should easily die! … Epic, please take the time to fix the Hammerburst weapon by making it more powerful.

To be honest, Epic really should have spotted this problem already. When you choose your default weapons, you are allowed to choose the Lancer, the Retro Lancer, or the Hammerburst in one arm. And you can place the Sawed-Off Shotgun or the Gnasher Shotgun on your back. The two shotguns make a great choice – you can’t go wrong either way. Some people will like the extra close-range power of the Sawed-Off Shotgun, while other people will like the extra range of the Gnasher Shotgun.

But the Hammerburst is a weapon that is immediately identified as an inferior weapon. The Lancer and the Retro Lancer vary in power and range, so some people might like one and other people might like the other. But the way Epic currently has the Gears of War 3 beta, only an idiot would want the Hammerburst. The menu shows a range and power rating that visually makes it 100% clear the Hammerburst is inferior to the Lancer weapons. Epic should have noticed this and done something to make it so the Hammerburst is mower powerful. Seriously, it is a shame that the Hammerburst is so weak that you can unload a whole clip into a character and they will still live!

* Sawed-Off Shotgun is a weapon that I really like. It is incredibly powerful – it easily kills in one shot at close range. In fact, there have been two times when I witnessed the Sawed-Off Shotgun simultaneously kill two characters! If someone is hiding around a corner and waiting for you, it means the instant you turn that corner you are going to get blown to pieces by that powerful weapon! I’ve found it helps to run around corners the long way in order to get a better point of view of what might be hiding, sort of like taking the outside track in a racing game.

The Sawed-Off Shotgun has awful range, though; it is not the sort of weapon that you can use in an open environment against people with long-range weapons. The Sawed-Off Shotgun takes a very long time to reload, too. But in all honesty I think this is a good thing for game play in order to make things fair. The Sawed-Off Shotgun is so powerful that if it reloaded quickly it would mean someone using it would be invincible. The way things are now, if you risk using the Sawed-Off Shotgun but miss, you better start running away immediately in order to have some time to reload the thing. Epic has things very close to perfect with the Sawed-Off Shotgun, so I recommend keeping things as they are.

* Mortar is a heavy weapon that seems to function perfectly right now. The range, power, and reload time are excellent. I recommend Epic keep things exactly as they are with this heavy duty weapon. It can take out an entire group of enemies, but you need to aim it perfectly and it usually has only about three rounds of ammo. You are also 100% vulnerable while using the Mortar, which is fair, since the Mortar is so powerful. This adds strategy to the game, too. Don’t use the Mortar to fire those heavy-duty shells unless you have someone there to cover your back.

* Retro Lancer is a weapon that adds a new element of team game play to Gears of War. The accuracy and precision is not as good as the traditional Lancer, but the Retro Lancer has extra power and kickback. You can literally feel the controller of the Xbox 360 vibrating BIGTIME with the Retro Lancer, which is awesome! Epic has done a nice job in this area and should keep things the way they are.

The Retro Lancer has a very unique form of Melee Attack, which Epic should keep the same. In the same way that holding the A button causes you to run, holding the B button will cause you to run while holding the Retro Lancer. This does a great job of simulating what it would be like to Charge against the enemy. The part of game play that is interesting is the way you need to hold down the B button for a long enough time period in order for the bar in the upper-right side of the screen to turn red. Once this happens, it means you will slaughter the enemy.

This Retro Lancer is also a great form of team combat. I’ve seen several intelligent groups of online gamers stick together while each of them held the Retro Lancer. Each of them would start holding the B button at the same time, while charging at the same enemy. This meant there wasn’t much the person being charged at could do, since three people were simultaneously charging right at him! One of the three Charging Retro Lancers almost always got him.

I like what Epic has done a lot with the Retro Lancer. The one and only area Epic might want to change is making the Retro Lancer be a little bit more mobile. If you are running with the Retro Lancer, it is common to accidentally charge into a wall. But, if Epic did make the Retro Lancer more flexible it might make the Retro Lancer too powerful. Epic needs to take this one into consideration and evaluate what people say – maybe I just needed some more practice.

* Lancer is the traditional chainsaw-equipped automatic weapon we all know and love in Gears of War. In Gears of War 3, the Lancer still has excellent range. The strength of the Lancer seems to have been slightly toned down, though. The Lancer is one of the weapons where it is not entirely uncommon to empty an entire clip into an enemy running at you, with a reward of being killed in one shot with some form of Shotgun. I believe if you empty a full clip into someone, they should die. With that in mind, I am asking Epic to please increase the power of the Lancer.

The chainsaw element of the Lancer still kills the enemy effortlessly. The chainsaw duels also have the same type of game play we saw before. The one part of the chainsaw that seems to be different is that if you decide to use the chainsaw by pressing the B button, it takes a very slight amount of time longer to start it. This means that if you are holding a Lancer waiting to peak around the corner and use the chainsaw, but your enemy is holding a pistol, you will lose the battle more often because it takes longer to start the chainsaw. This seems fair to me because the chainsaw always results in a death when you use it.

* Digger Launcher is a new weapon that many people believe is their favorite new weapon. The Digger Launcher is incredibly powerful; it can kill off an entire group of enemies at the same time. The Digger Launcher is fired in a direction where it causes what appears to be a type of earthquake that you can see coming at you. The first time you see this, you will be saying “What is that?” and then you will die. But, once you realize what the Digger Launcher attack looks like, you will realize the way to counter it is by tapping the A button to roll out of the way. Just make sure you get the heck out of the way of someone using the Digger Launcher and you should be alright. I really like what Epic has done with the Digger Launcher.

* Boltok is a pistol that definitely needs to be modified by Epic. This weapon is incredibly weak and it takes too long to reload. If a weapon like this is going to take that long to reload, it should at least be powerful enough to take out an enemy with a headshot at relatively close range. It was very disappointing the way I would hit enemies three times with the Boltok, including two headshots, and the enemies would just keep running at me. Epic, please change some things with the Boltok; it needs a faster reload time and/or more powerful ammunition.

* Gorgon is a pistol that fires multiple eight-shot rounds. This weapon can be very powerful if you fire it at close range. In Gears of War 2 this weapon seemed like if you hit the enemy with all, or at least the majority, of the rounds, you would put the enemy down or set him up to be taken out with the next shot. In Gears of War 3 it doesn’t seem to be like that. The Gorgon appears to have lost some strength, which is annoying.

The simple fact is that most gamers come from the camp of “If you empty an entire clip of ammo into an enemy while he is running at you, it means that enemy should die.” The Gorgon no longer functions in that way. You can keep shooting an enemy repeatedly while he runs at you, but the enemy will not die! Most of those rounds will miss. As soon as the enemy is close enough to you (after running at you while you were shooting them with the Gorgon), it means they will shoot you and kill you with one shot of the Sawed-Off Shotgun or the Gnasher Shotgun. This is simply NOT FAIR!

Epic, make some changes in terms of power with the Gorgon. Nobody has a problem with dying when they are hit that much! If an entire clip of ammo is emptied into your character, people expect to die! Even people that live say things like “Man that wasn’t fair to the guy shooting me all that time.”

I’d like to make something clear to Epic that they really need to focus on. On one map I grabbed the Gorgon, and then I ran behind an enemy that was scoping enemies and firing. I walked directly behind the enemy at close range – the point that I was almost touching the enemy. I shot the Gorgon, and all of the shots hit the enemy. I then shot again, and all shots appeared to hit. But the enemy did not die! Instead, the enemy switched weapons and hit me one time – killing me instantly! This is NOT FAIR! Epic, please upgrade the power to the Gorgon!

* Epic Forums: If you have suggestions that you want to make for improvements, visit the Epic website here: http://forums.epicgames.com/forumdisplay.php?f=400 

* If you don’t feel like taking the time to create a screen name for the Epic website, you can post your comments here and I will gladly share your thoughts on the Epic forum.

I will be writing an update within the next several days about the Grenades and some of the other weapons in the Gears of War 3 beta. It is difficult to find out what using the new grenades is like because people are always in such a rush to grab them on the maps. I will write an update within the next few days so that we can share thoughts with each other.

Note: I am currently unemployed and seeking work. If Epic or anyone else would like to hire me as a writer, business manager or in areas of marketing, I possess the qualifications to be hired in these areas of work.

President Obama has Trumped Donald Trump

I am very pleased to report that President Barack Obama has trumped Mr. Donald Trump. For the last several weeks we saw Donald Trump form a political following making false claims about Barack Obama. Everything from whether or not Barack Obama was really born in America to whether he possessed the status of a "natural-born citizen" was brought into question. All of this was caused by the loud mouth and selfish attitude of Donald Trump. Of course, it did help that millions of people were dumb enough to believe what Trump was saying without investigating the facts.

Normally, a hospital will not allow a birth certificate to be shown to the public. But President Obama asked the hospital he was born at in Hawaii to make an exception this time. The hospital did as President Obama asked and officially put an end to whether or not President Obama was born in America. Now that President Obama has "shown us his birth certificate" there is absolutely no doubt Barack Obama Jr. was born in America and is a natural-born citizen of the United States of America.

I also want to make something clear about the term "natural-born" citizen. Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution is the term "natural-born citizen" defined. And nowhere in our current law is there a requirement that a person be born on American soil and possess two parents that were both American citizens.

The way "birthers" claim people are required to have two American parents in order to be classified as a "natural-born" citizen is nonsense based on a document that related specifically to John McCain. This document talked about the life of John McCain and his American parents (plural) and made a specific reference to him as a "natural-born" citizen. But this document was talking about John McCain and only John McCain! This document was never labeled as a definition of what a "natural-born" citizen is! Barack Obama even helped write that document for John McCain!

Again, I want to make it 100% clear that in no part of the universally accepted law applying to all Americans (plural) is the term "natural-born citizen" defined in any way capable of preventing Barack Obama from being President of the United States of America. If that were the case, a lot of American citizens would lose eligibility to run for president. Those same people would lose the right to call themselves "natural-born" citizens, even though they were born on American soil as a child to an American parent.

I'm pointing this out because Donald Trump doesn't know when to fold. This is why millionaire Donald Trump has gone bankrupt in the past while running businesses worth billions of dollars. In a book about Donald Trump, it has been reliably reported that Donald Trump is worth approximately $150 Million right now. But when this was reported we saw that Donald Trump took the author of that book to court because he claimed that this report damaged the "brand" of the name Trump. Donald Trump "claims" to be a billionaire, but his tax records would obviously reveal that he is not anything close to being a billionaire. Thus, the revelation of tax records would show that Donald Trump is a liar.

Previously, Donald Trump had said that the only way he would be willing to reveal his personal tax information is if President Obama is willing to reveal his birth certificate. This means the ball is now in the court of Donald Trump. Will Donald Trump do as he promised? Or will Donald Trump once again make a fool of himself when America is reminded that his foot is just as big as his mouth -- proven by the fact that every once in a while Donald Trump manages to put that foot in his big mouth.

Fold Donald...You were trumped last week by me, Michael Zoran. And this week you have been trumped by President Barack Obama!

Senator Blumenthal Criticizes Sony’s Playstation Management

For more than a week, Sony’s PSN online network that works with the PS3 game console has been down because it was hacked into by pirates. Yet Sony’s management has refused to even admit that it was hackers that caused the problem. Connecticut Senator, Richard Blumenthal, carefully listened to the situation regarding millions of people that have been influenced in a negative way by Sony’s poor management. Thankfully, Senator Blumenthal recently took the time to responsibly act on behalf of millions of people across the country.

Senator Blumenthal took the time to write to the president of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Jack Tretton. In this message to Tretton, Senator Blumenthal criticizes Sony’s lack of effort to inform users of the PSN service that their personal financial information has been compromised. Problems such as identity theft, illegal purchases, and many other troubles with credit cards and debit cards can easily occur in this type of situation when people are not informed within a reasonable time period. Yet Sony’s management seems unwilling to accept accountability for all of these problems due to the fact that it would generate even more negative publicity for the PS3 – a console that has been criticized for disappointing sales ever since it launched in 2006.

On his official website, Senator Blumenthal makes the following key statements:

“A breach of such a widely used service immediately raises concerns of data privacy, identity theft, and other misuse of sensitive personal and financial data, such as names, email addresses, and credit and debit card information. When a data breach occurs, it is essential that customers be immediately notified about whether and to what extent their personal and financial information has been compromised. I am concerned that PlayStation Network users’ personal and financial information may have been inappropriately accessed by a third party. Compounding this concern is the troubling lack of notification from Sony about the nature of the data breach.”

You can read the entire letter that the very responsible Senator Richard Blumenthal writes to SCEA president Jack Tretton, here.