Controversy

Is it Possible to Pass Gall Stones Without Surgery?

About eight months ago, I was diagnosed with gall stones in my gall bladder. I was told the reason for this is probably because I take so many medications for epilepsy. I was immediately told that I needed to have the gall bladder removed. I was specifically told the sooner I had surgery, the better.

But this brought back memories from 1999 when I was originally diagnosed with epilepsy after having two grand-mal seizures. When the doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan saw the MRI, they specifically said “Here you see the tumor that is causing the seizures and it needs to be removed very quickly.” But I didn’t want to have a major surgery like that without a second opinion.

Part of the reason why I didn’t want to have that surgery without a second opinion is because the doctors told me there was a very good chance I would lose the ability to speak or lose my memory due to the fact that the surgery would be taking place on the left temporal lobe of my brain. The other reason is because I had a bad feeling that these doctors were in it only for the money. I’m not kidding, many of these doctors involved in neurology had a grin on their face the moment they thought there was an opportunity for the high-cost brain surgery.

Thankfully, when I went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I was told not to have any form of surgery. In fact, when the University of Michigan did an MRI, they said there never was any form of tumor on my brain! I was told the doctors at Henry Ford hospitals should not have given me that type of false information. I was told the image on the MRI was some form of irritation and inflammation, not a tumor – since tumors do not disappear.

But now I am in a similar position with my gall bladder. I saw a look of “profit” on the doctors faces every time I asked if I should have my gall bladder removed. The doctors never hesitated to say “You need to have your gall bladder removed because the ultrasound shows you have gall stones.” Each time I would ask if it was possible to pass the gall stones using custom-designed diets, the doctors instantly said “You can’t pass gall stones.”

The reason why I’m questioning whether or not this is true is because I know two people who claim to have passed gall stones using a custom diet. One person is a social worker who told me she saw the gall stones in an ultrasound test when she was originally diagnosed. This woman said the gall stones were constantly hurting her at all times, until she eventually completed a custom recipe designed to pass gall stones.

But when I asked this woman if she ever had an ultrasound test to verify that she had passed the stones, she said “No, I didn’t need one because I don’t feel the pain anymore.” I didn’t want to discourage her, so I didn’t bother telling her the stones could still be inside her gall bladder. I once went eight months without a gall bladder attack, but the problem still existed. Thus, I believe this woman’s claims cannot be verified.

But today a neighbor came to visit my family for the first time in years. She said that several years ago she was diagnosed with gall stones, as proven with an ultrasound test. But this neighbor told me that she completed some form of custom recipe program involving asparagus and several other ingredients. I then asked her if an ultrasound test confirmed the stones were no longer in her gall bladder. I was very pleased to hear her tell me “Yes, I had excellent insurance and I wanted to know for sure. When I got that second ultrasound, none of the gall stones were there anymore; they had all been passed.”

With that in mind, I would appreciate it if any of you could offer some help or advice in this controversial area. I know some of the recipes and diet programs out there claim they can heal you of anything, but in reality the only thing they are going to do is make your wallet smaller. I don’t want to have my gall bladder removed if there is a way to pass the gall stones manually. I have an appointment with a doctor only two days from now, so please leave a comment quickly.

If you have experience in the area of gall stones or kidney stones, please share your thoughts. I was told it is possible to pass kidney stones in a way that is incredibly painful. However, I was told by the doctors that gall bladder stones cannot be passed. I was told that “sludge” in the gall bladder can be passed, but not the true gall stones.

The most annoying thing is that doctors don’t even try to filter the gall bladder or clean out the stones, even though the technology may exist to do such a thing. Instead, the greedy doctors just want to remove your gall bladder in a quick, easy, and efficient one-day operation. After all, this is the type of low-cost and high-profit operation that helps generate a lot of money for the medical industry.

New England College of Business and Finance - Setting New Standards Online

In 1999 when I was 19 years old, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I lost the ability to drive, which was truly disappointing considering I live in a small town with no public transportation. What’s worse is that I live in a country area where nothing is within walking distance. But thanks to online education, I was able to acquire various degrees and certificates at several different colleges and universities.

At the time I was diagnosed with epilepsy, I was enrolled in two classes at a local community college and the semester was about halfway over. Even though I was previously able to drive, I often complained that it took me so long to drive to the college and then drive back home. This was time which could have been used to study. Unfortunately, I was forced to drop one class since I could not find anyone to take me and pick me back up. But, I was able to get a ride from my mother in order to complete the other class.

After that semester was over, everyone I knew made it clear to me they would not be available to take me to college classes and then do grocery shopping or wait in a parking lot while I was in school. Back in 1999, I had absolutely no options available to further my college education. I didn’t know about online education at the time. I basically was forced to sit around the house very disappointed all day (just as I often do now, since I am still unemployed).

But in 2003 when I learned about online education, it really sparked an interest in my life! I enrolled online at Lansing Community College, where I eventually earned two associate’s degrees, in addition to three Microsoft Office Specialist certificates. I completed an online program where I earned a certificate in Time Management. I then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a minor in Process Management from Franklin University – a school my sister and I graduated from and recommend you do NOT attend!

While I attended college online, I was very happy. I thought there was hope for the future. I literally was a double-time student – enrolled in up to nine classes at a time, earning a 4.0 in all of them! I saw this as a way to make up for lost time over the previous four years. I used this enthusiasm and hope as a source of fuel to study, do homework, and perform well on proctored tests.

Ever since I graduated, I have been trying to find work online. Sadly, I have not been able to do so. I can definitely confirm college improved all my skills associated with writing, math, finance, marketing, management, and entrepreneurial business. But I know that one in three degrees received by students each year is in some way related to business. In other words, business is an area with tough competition and may require a master’s degree in order to give you a competitive edge.

One of the best accredited online MBA programs I’ve seen is from the New England College of Business and Finance. I know having an online degree in finance can help you get a good job, because my sister worked at a bank where the manager of the entire bank had this type of degree. However, it really does seem like most of the jobs today list a bachelor’s degree as a requirement while saying a master’s degree is preferred.

I really like the way the New England College of Business and Finance is the first school in the United States to offer a compliance training program dedicated to ethics in the world of business. This graduate course allows you to receive a Master of Science in Business Ethics and Compliance – also known as an MBE. When you complete this program you significantly increase your opportunity for employment working as a financial consultant, compliance officer, or corporate auditor. You will be the one setting the cultural standards relating to business ethics for non-profit organizations you work with.

I also noticed the hospitality degree offered by the New England College of Business and Finance. This is essentially a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a specific focus on Hospitality Management. After doing some research, I learned this means you will be focused on gaining skills associated with hotel management, catering of food and beverages, event planning, and human resources.

I’ve known several people who worked at hotels and eventually worked their way up the ladder to impressive careers, enjoying their job the whole time. If this is an area you are interested in, it seems like this program will help you acquire all the skills needed in order to achieve your objectives. Plus, placing the emphasis of Hospitality on this bachelor’s degree can give your résumé an advantage over others in this niche market.

I can tell you that attending school online really is a great thing. You don’t need to waste money on gas, and you don’t need to waste time driving. I realize some people enjoy learning in a classroom – sometimes considering it a social activity. I also realize some people are involved in programs such as medicine and surgery where you need to see things in person. But I can tell from personal experience that the subjects associated with business are very enjoyable online.

Based on what I’ve seen online, it looks like the New England College of Business and Finance will be an excellent experience for students. If you have any thoughts or experiences to share about the New England College of Business and Finance, please do!

Where Can You Find a Reliable Doctor?

Twelve years ago, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Nobody knows better than I do how important it is to visit reliable doctors who are dependable and trustworthy. Word of mouth is a form of review that has helped me quite a bit over the course of time. But prior to talking with other disabled people in grocery stores, I did have several problems with unreliable doctors.

Fortunately, I can say medical patients seeking reliable medical help at this point in time can use online services from Vitals to help find a doctor. Vitals can be described as an online resource to help people find and connect with doctors. Vitals helps you find the doctor you need, check up on your doctor, and rate your doctor based on his or her performance. By examining what others have said about a doctor, it provides a form of word-of-mouth credibility.

In 1999 when I was initially diagnosed with epilepsy, I was seeing 12 different doctors at one point! There were several doctors I was very disappointed with. The only reason why the hospital sent me to those doctors was because of geography. In other words, I was sent to the doctors closest to home. This was unfortunate, because it was these neurologists that disappointed me the most.

When the total number of doctors I annually visited was eventually reduced to three, I was still seeing the disappointing neurologists closest to home. This particular man and his sister were both neurologists and they were only in it for the money. Very few questions were asked by these uncaring doctors, which is why very few useful observations were made by these doctors. Seeing these doctors was never helpful in any way because of their lack of passion for the industry they were involved in.

Thankfully, most doctors in most fields of medicine care about their patients and enjoy helping them. But in the world we live in, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If one of your doctors is doing a bad job, it means all other doctors will have a difficult time helping you. This is the whole reason why you are sent to see medical specialists. 

Vitals is an online medical resource I definitely know I can trust. I thought it was very interesting that so many people visit the Vitals website. The website says yesterday there were 258,499 doctors examined on the website. This motivated me to examine the neurologists from Port Huron, Michigan that I was very disappointed with.

Sure enough, Vitals showed a review of these particular doctors. The Blue Water Neurology Clinic is rated only one out of four stars – the lowest rating possible. In every way possible, I would agree with the ratings and reviews of Vitals. Here is what Vitals had to say about The Blue Water Neurology Clinic:

Ease of Appointment: 3 out of 4
Courteous Staff: 4 out of 4
Accurate Diagnosis: 1 out of 4 – the lowest rating possible
Bedside Manner: 1 out of 4 – the lowest rating possible
Spends Time With Me: 1 out of 4 –the lowest rating possible
Follow Up: 1 out of 4 – the lowest rating possible

My mother and I agree with this information from Vitals in every possible way! The office staff at the Blue Water Neurology Clinic is actually very nice, as the 4 of 4 rating shows. It is relatively easy to schedule an appointment, which is probably why there is a rating of 3 of 4. But everything associated with doctors at Blue Water Neurology Clinic shows a very poor rating of only 1 of 4. The Blue Water Neurology Clinic is rated only 1 of 4 stars by Vitals.

Twelve years ago, when I was diagnosed with epilepsy, I would have gladly used Vitals as a medical resource to help me find reliable doctors. The neurologist I currently see is further away, but has helped me very much in life. My doctor currently is rated 4 of 4 – the highest rating possible on Vitals. Based on my experience as a patient, I can say this impressive review of my current neurologist is very accurate.

Overall, I can say the Vitals website is definitely a medical resource I will use in the future! I rate Vitals a 4 of 4 – the highest rating possible. If you need to visit a doctor, I strongly suggest you use the Vitals website to examine the doctor you will be visiting. Please feel free to share your thoughts about the Vitals website.

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.

Gears of War 3 beta - Update - Week 3

Previously, I wrote a very detailed five-page article about my impressions of the Gears of War 3 beta. You can read that article by clicking here.

Now I’m going to give a further update on the Gears of War 3 beta. It appears several things have changed and/or been modified by Epic in some way. Based on my observations, I will explain everything in detail one subject at a time.

* Independent Online Servers: One of the things Epic promised from the beginning was independent servers online. Gears of War 3 is scheduled to be the first Xbox 360 game to offer this feature. During the first week the Gears of War 3 beta was available to everyone who preordered the game from Gamestop, I saw for myself that independent servers have the ability to work fine in a way that puts everyone on equal ground. Everybody is playing fairly in an environment where there is no form of host advantage. When independent servers are being used by Epic, I rate Gears of War 3 a 10 out of 10.

Unfortunately, news reports surfaced a couple weeks ago that the independent servers had gone down. From that point on, Gears of War 3 has used the same form of server setup used by other games. This is very disappointing and very frustrating because of host-server advantages. Games just aren’t as fun as they used to be with the Gears of War 3 beta, simply because all of the gamers are no longer competing on equal ground.

The best example of what I’m referring to can be described very easily by telling you about something I personally experienced. My teammates and I had filled an enemy with enough bullets to put that enemy down. But the enemy was behind an area where the bullets of my teammates could no longer reach the enemy. This meant the kill was going to be mind, since I was the only person on the team that had the ability to hit the fallen foe.

While this fallen enemy was crawling around on the floor, I had my Gnasher Shotgun armed. I used the Left Trigger to target the enemy and I used the Right Trigger to shoot the gun. I expected the enemy to die from that one shot at close range. I was surprised when the enemy did not die, so I targeted the enemy again and shot again. Once again, the enemy did not die! I repeated this process two more times, and yet the enemy would NOT die!

By the time I had hit the fallen enemy four times, he was able to tap the A-button enough times to stand up again. When the enemy got up, he just turned around and killed me with one close-range shot of his own Gnasher Shotgun. Can you say, “Not Fair?” This was the most unfair situation I have ever been involved with in any Gears of War game, and I instantly started telling people that if the final version of Gears of War 3 was going to be like that, I would be sticking with Call of Duty games. Unfair host advantages like that are why I stopped playing multiplayer in Gears of War 2.

The bottom line is that Epic needs to make sure Gears of War 3 uses independent servers. The host-advantage has too much of a negative affect on Gears of War game play. Please, Epic, make sure Gears of War 3 keeps your promise of independent servers.

* Glitches: Since the end of the first week, I have only encountered one glitch. This glitch was on May 8, 2011. Two friends and I simultaneously joined a match in progress. My two friends joined and I was watching them without any problem. But I was never able to join. I’m not even sure if my character joined at all. If my character did join, he was just standing there doing nothing. The only thing I could see was the Ghost Camera viewpoint. Epic, this needs to be fixed. The map it occurred on was The Trenches.

This was similar, but worse, than a glitch I experienced during the first week. During that week, I was in the Thrashball stadium. I was able to join the game and I could see the point of view of my character. But my character was stuck in the same spot. The only reason the match ended was because my teammate killed me with a grenade. Epic needs to fix this type of glitch.

* Grenades: In my last article, I promised that I would talk about grenades in my next article. I have kept my promise, and my analysis can be very simple. I think Epic got the grenades just right. The smoke grenades don’t do any damage; however they play a very important role in strategy. You can also use smoke grenades in the Capture the Leader mode, since a smoke grenade will cause the captured leader to be set free.

Frag grenades are just as powerful as ever. You can use them to kill multiple enemies at a time by throwing them or by tagging them to a wall or an enemy. The cool thing in Gears of War 3 is that if you are tagged by an enemy you can actually try and take that enemy out so that at least both of you die. This means if you tag an enemy with a grenade, you need to get away fast.

Ink grenades emit a very powerful gas of poisonous smoke. This can kill multiple people, including your own teammates. In fact, you can even potentially kill yourself with the ink grenade. The use of the Ink grenade is excellent and I think Epic has it right. It seems like the strength of the Ink grenade has been slightly lowered from the first week of the beta up to this point. This is probably a good thing because the ink grenade is supposed to cause people to evacuate, not necessarily die.

Incendiary grenades are a very powerful form of flame grenade. I feel very confident that these grenades have lost a lot of power from the first week compared to right now. During the first week of the beta, I lost count of the number of times I saw people dying from the incendiary grenade explosions that caused people to burn to death. Now, you need to stay in the lava flame for quite a while before you are in danger of dying; I never see people die from this anymore. Epic might want to make it so the strength is slightly increased, or possibly so the lava stays in the same spot for a long time. This would add a strategy element that makes it so you take away part of a map, since lava is there for a while.

* Gorgon Pistol: During the first week, it seemed like the Gorgon needed to be a lot more powerful. The reason for this is because the Gorgon needed to be a lot more powerful! It seems like Epic may have added some power to the Gorgon since the first week. Now it is actually possible to put an enemy down with the Gorgon, if you put an entire clip of ammo into him. But it is very common to have kills stolen from you while firing the Gorgon. You need to use a whole clip just to put an enemy down, regardless of range. By the time you reload your Gorgon pistol, someone else has already killed the enemy.

In my opinion there is absolutely no reason to waste time picking up a Gorgon pistol in Gears of War 3. Epic needs to increase the power of this pistol and make sure it has more ammunition in each clip. The simple fact is, if there is no reason to pick up a weapon, why bother picking it up? With that in mind, you need to ask the question if the Gorgon pistol really belongs in the game. It is a very cool weapon with a lot of potential, but it simply needs more ammo and more power.

* Boltok Pistol: During the first week I thought it was awful the way the Boltok was so week. I once got two headshots and a third shot to the chest on an enemy and the enemy did not die! Epic appears to have increased the power of the Boltok, but not enough. This week I fired a perfect headshot on an enemy, and it still did not kill the enemy. Although, I was once killed with a single shot to the head. This makes me wonder if the reason why that headshot did not kill the enemy is because of the host-server advantage.

My advice to Epic would be to make it so the Boltok is more powerful. It doesn’t shoot very fast, and it takes relatively long to reload. With that in mind, it is alright if the Boltok pistol is a powerful weapon, especially at close range. C’mon Epic, make it so this pistol is powerful the way it should be! If the Boltok pistol were more powerful, more people would pick up the weapon and be motivated to use shields.

* Boomshot: This weapon works exactly as it is supposed to. If you get hit with it, you die! It normally comes with only two or three rounds, so make sure you use it carefully. Epic should keep things exactly as they are with the Boomshot.

* Torque Bow: This weapon is a powerful weapon that takes a bit of practice firing. Anyone familiar with this weapon already will be fine with Gears of War 3. It takes a second or two to aim, and then if you hit the enemy they are blasted with a powerful shot. I think Epic has things just right with this weapon.

* Longshot Sniper: This weapon functions exactly as it did in previous Gears of Wars games. If you use the scope and get a headshot the enemy always dies. If you hit them in the chest it usually requires two shots to get a kill. If you miss the head, you feel guilty and accept responsibility. The Longshot sniper weapon makes it so headshots become particularly important, and it allows the graphics to look fantastic. You can literally see the teeth of the enemy with that scope! Epic should keep things exactly as they are with the Longshot sniper rifle.

* Oneshot Sniper: This new weapon has an incredibly long range – far longer than the Longshot. The other big difference is the power of the weapon. The Oneshot usually has only three rounds of ammo, but they are powerful! The Oneshot sends out a beam of light, similar to the Torque Bow so that an aware enemy knows they are being targeted. But if you can shoot someone with the Oneshot, they will be killed in one shot! In my opinion, Epic should keep things exactly as they are with the Oneshot.

* Digger Launcher: This new weapon adds a lot of new strategy to the game. The Digger Launcher usually has about three rounds of ammunition when you pick it up. But each of these three rounds is capable of killing multiple opponents with one shot – similar to a grenade. In fact, the aiming of this weapon is virtually identical to a grenade, even though you hold it as a gun.

When you shoot the Digger Launcher weapon, it sends out a big tunnel being ripped through the ground. If you are near that explosive tunnel being sent in your direction, you will die if you don’t get out of the way. You can see it coming, so you need to hop to the side in order to get away. I believe Epic has done a great job with the Digger Launcher and should keep everything as it is.

* Flame Scorcher: This weapon desperately needs more power! Of all the weapons in Gears of War 3, the one that is the least useful is this flame thrower weapon. Regardless of where this flame thrower is available for people to pick up, I never see people take the time to pick it up. I presume the reason I don’t see other people pick this weapon up is the same reason I don’t pick it up – it is absolutely worthless as a weapon!

Epic needs to make some huge changes with this particular weapon and the flames it throws. When you shoot someone with flames for three seconds while they are running at you through the flames, and then they kill you with one close-range Sawed-Off Shotgun blast, it means the game loses one full point in my book! In other words, Gears of War 3 goes from a 10 to a 9 in my book, simply because of that one huge problem! Epic, I am telling you on behalf of gamers everywhere: Make the Flame Scorcher weapon more powerful!

* Hammerburst: Last time I wrote a detailed report about how the Hammerburst rifle needs more power. I still want to make it 100% clear that the Hammerburst rifle needs more power. It is very common for people to unload an entire clip of Hammerburst ammo at enemies, and yet the enemy will not even fall! Epic, this needs to be changed for obvious reasons.

The simple fact of life in videogames is that if you shoot someone to the point where you need to reload a weapon, you expect that enemy to die! For goodness sake, if you unload an entire clip in an enemy, you at least expect the enemy to fall down! But when you unload an entire clip in an enemy while he is running directly at you, only to get blown into pieces with a single shot from his shotgun, it means gamers are motivated to play a different game. Epic, make it so the Hammerburst and Flame Scorcher weapons are more powerful!

* Conclusion: Overall, I believe Gears of War 3 has the potential to be the best game released in 2011. However, there are still some fundamental flaws that prevent this from happening. Several weapons such as the Hammerburst and Flame Scorcher desperately need more power. If the Flame Scorcher isn’t given that power, Epic should remove it from the game to avoid embarrassing themselves. Why bother picking up a weapon if it has no use or puts you at an obvious disadvantage.

I really hope Epic takes the time to read this four-page article, along with my previous five-page article. I really did take an incredible amount of time to try and help Epic. I hope my blog Followers enjoyed reading this. Please feel free to share your thoughts on my blog.

Also, if you have suggestions for Epic regarding the Gears of War 3 beta, visit this website in order to let them know what you’d like to see in the final version of Gears of War 3 or what problems you have found in the beta version: http://forums.epicgames.com/forumdisplay.php?f=400

Finally, I'd like to mention a couple really cool things Epic did with the beta of Gears of War 3. On the weekend of Easter, the characters had heads with bunnies! And last weekend the characters had oversized heads with very high-pitched voices similar to what a person sounds like if they breath helium! This was very funny!

Take a look for yourself here:

Xbox 360 Games - E3 2011 - Gears of War 3

 

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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.

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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.

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!

Where did Optimus Prime's Trailer Go When He Transformed?

Optimus Prime is one of the greatest characters of all time. Every day, I would get home from school and watch Transformers on TV. And every day I would see the Decepticons come up with a plan to defeat the Autobots. And, you guessed it, every day I would see Optimus Prime play a key role in saving our planet from being conquered by Megatron.

The Transformers come from the planet Cybertron. Every Transformer has the ability to change shape into at least one other type of vehicle, weapon, or device. This helps each transformer gain power, usefulness, and marketability.

I mention the term marketability because all of the Transformers started out at toys. The producers of the Transformers often talked about the pride they felt after being able to take existing toys and place them in an excellent story. Usually, it is the other way around – characters in a TV show being turned into toys.

Unfortunately, some of the transformers experienced fundamental flaws with the way their toys and overall design interacted with the TV show. These flaws were so basic that even little kids realized something was wrong. This often motivated both children and adults to ask questions about why certain things were happening.

The Transformers first appeared on TV in 1984. Now, in 2011 there are still several questions those children and adults still want answered. At the top of the list is the famous question, “Where does Optimus Prime’s trailer go when he transforms into a robot?”

I’m now going to list several of these puzzling questions. I’m going to try and brainstorm the situation in order to solve the problem. I’m going to analyze what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully, we will have some answers that lead to a definitive conclusion by the time I’m done with this analysis.

Now, on to the list of puzzling questions:

* Where does Optimus Prime’s trailer go when he transforms?

* Megatron is the same size as Optimus Prime when the two of them are in robot mode. Optimus Prime transforms into a huge truck. But Megatron transforms into a gun small enough to fit into the hands of his fellow Decepticons. Is this reduction in size achieved with an increase of density? If so, Megatron would be a very heavy gun! Or, does this mean Megatron’s weight decreases whenever his size decreases in order to make it easy for other Transformers to aim him?

* Soundwave is the same size as Megatron and Optimus Prime. Soundwave has the ability to transform into a tape player so small that he fits in the hands of a human being such as Spike Witwicki. This strongly suggests that the density of Soundwave has not remained the same; otherwise he would be far too heavy for Spike to lift. So the question is, “How can Soundwave become small enough and light enough to fit into the hands of a human being and be lifted effortlessly?”

The next subject is really an interesting paradox that has left me wondering quite a few times. Tell me your thoughts on these subjects:

* Megatron has the ability to decrease his size to the point that his fellow Decepticons can use him as a lightweight weapon. However, Megatron apparently does not have the ability to decrease his size or weight to the point that a human being such as Spike Witwicki can use him as a lightweight weapon.

For example, after being dropped, Megatron was on the ground as a gun. As a gun, Megatron was even larger than Spike! Megatron was also so heavy that Spike could barely move him. But it appeared there was no way for Megatron to resize himself to be small enough for Spike to fire.

What I want to know is why Megatron remains heavy when he becomes smaller. And why does Megatron’s size appear to be limited? If Soundwave can become small enough and light enough for Spike to place in his hand, why does Megatron remain heavy?

* Astrotrain was a triple-changer that transformed into both a train and a space shuttle. As a robot, Astrotrain was the size of Megatron and Optimus Prime. It seemed reasonable that Astrotrain could turn into the front of a train or even a space shuttle, since Optimus Prime turns into a huge truck. But in Transformers the movie we see that Astrotrain has turned into a space shuttle so huge that he is carrying dozens of Decepticons! How in the world could Astrotrain transform into something so large? And if Astrotrain had that ability, why didn’t he just keep on getting bigger so that he could kill off all the Autobots?

* Soundwave and Blaster both transform into tape players. It’s true the Transformers crashed on our planet over four-million years ago, but were they really that far behind us in that area of technology?

I’m now going to investigate some hypotheses and theories about why these paradoxes seem to exist. Hopefully, I will be able to come up with some answers now that the questions have been clearly asked. If you have some ideas, please feel free to write about them here.

First, we know that the trailer is a separate part of Optimus Prime. We also know that he does have the ability to walk into the trailer and use it as a form of battle station; although, we only saw this happen a very small number of times. My only theory right now has to do with the fact that the original Transformers TV show was broadcast in a 4:3 ratio. Perhaps if the show had been broadcast in a widescreen format we would have seen that trailer transformed into a battle station next to prime all along in every episode!

Second, we know that several transformers have the ability to change their size when they transform. In Transformers: The Movie, Astrotrain told Starscream that it was necessary to “Jettison some weight” or else they would never make it back to Cybertron. This seems to indicate there are limits on how far a transformer can modify its size.

Third, Soundwave was able to become so small and so lightweight that a human being could place him in his hand for the purpose of deception. Perhaps the reason why Megatron appeared unable to do so was because he never had a desire to allow a human to use him as a weapon. The fact that Spike was able to lift Megatron at all in his reduced size suggests there is a weight reduction ratio that exits when a transformer changes its size. Although Megatron’s smaller size was still heavy to Spike, Megatron probably was still lightweight to other Transformers firing him such as Starscream or Skywarp.

The one problem that isn’t answered by this has to do with the scientific way Soundwave is able to become so incredibly lightweight. We seem to have proven that a mathematical ratio of size and weight exists when a transformer changes its size. However, we sill haven’t proven the way that this occurs. You are welcome to share your thoughts on this issue.

Does the mass of the transformer decrease in some way when size and weight are changed? If so, are dimensions other than space and time involved? Perhaps Soundwave speeds his cassette tapes faster than the speed of light in a circular motion (increasing mass and gravity), contains the reaction with his powerful eject button, and transfers some weight to another dimension – similar to what some scientists believe occurs in a black hole.

But if that is the case, how would Megatron and Astrotrain do the same? Megatron’s specifications on his box say that his technology is based on anti-matter, so this may be possible. And perhaps Astrotrain’s rocket technology is based on a nuclear source of energy, which would explain why he needs to be a triple changer in the form of a train. You are welcome to share your thoughts on this issue.

Last but certainly not least is why Soundwave and Blaster would need audiocassettes over four-million years ago on the planet Cybertron. I think the main thing we need to remember is that Teletraan 1 changed most of the Transformers in at least some way in order to make them compatible with the culture that existed on our planet in 1984. In all likelihood, Soundwave and Blaster probably did not use audiocassettes on Cyberton.

Well, I hope this article has helped you find the answers to some of the questions that all of us have wondered about for a long time. If I did help you find the answers you were looking for or if you found this article fun to read, please make a donation to this website. This website is not free to run, and I do have epilepsy. Any extra income I can get is appreciated.

Sincerely,
Michael Zoran

 

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Wii 2 – New HD Console Being Unveiled by Nintendo at E3

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, usually referred to as the E3, is going to be particularly interesting this summer! Nintendo has recently let it slip (probably for publicity purposes) that they will be unveiling a new console based on high-definition technology. Reliable sources have claimed that the Wii 2 will be launched worldwide at the end of 2012.

This new Wii 2 console will be fully backwards-compatible with the existing Wii console. Backward compatibility is a feature gamers of the 21st century truly appreciate. It’s very common to hear Wii owners talk about how they love it how their Wii is backwards compatible with Nintendo’s Gamecube console. Presumably, the Wii 2 will also be backwards compatible with the Gamecube technology in the same way that the Wii is.

The Wii 2 is apparently the most powerful HD console ever created, with a design very similar to the Xbox 360. Currently the Xbox 360 has the most powerful GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and has the ability to display more polygons than any other console –500,000,000 polygons per second. The Playstation 3 console can display up to 275,000,000 polygons per second. This is the reason why Xbox 360 versions of multiplatform software released by third-party game developers often have smoother frame rates and higher resolution than their counterparts on the PS3.

Apparently, the Wii 2 will be capable of displaying games in 1920x1080p resolution on a regular basis. The Xbox 360 and PS3 already have games that run in this 1080p resolution, but they represent only a small percentage of games. In reality, it would make more sense for the Wii 2 games to be based on a native resolution of 1280x720p, which would allow a smoother frame rate and a greater amount of lighting and shading techniques to be used.

Multiplatform games released for all the consoles may see the Wii 2 versions of games use the higher native resolution of 1920x1080p. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions would be based on native resolutions of only 1280x720p. We have already seen quite a few Xbox 360 games run at resolutions of up to 40% higher than their PS3 counterparts.

For example, Soul Calibur 4 on the PS3 runs at a native resolution of 1280x720p. However, the developers realized the Xbox 360 had quite a bit of power remaining. This motivated the developers at Namco to increase the resolution of the Xbox 360 version by 40% so that it ran at a native resolution of 1365x960p. This is the type of environment we might expect the Wii 2 version to run at a native resolution of 1920x1080p.

Publishers that have seen this new console have claimed that Nintendo has already revealed to them that the Wii 2 will use a new form of controller, rather than an update to the existing Wii controller. Obviously the motion-control technology must still exist, since the Wii 2 keeps the name of Wii and is fully compatible with Wii software. This makes people wonder if Nintendo will be trying to use something similar to the very successful Kinect controller used with the Xbox 360.

What’s really interesting is that the Wii 2 controller is said to have a screen on it. This is something that hasn’t happened since Sega tried it in 1999 with the Dreamcast console. The Wii 2 takes this a step further by making it so the screen is touch-sensitive! The Wii 2 controller is also said to have some other surprises that Nintendo will show to us at this years E3. The first thought that springs into my mind is some form of 3D compatibility with the new 3DS handheld product from Nintendo.

I believe Nintendo is in an excellent position to continue their domination of the global videogame market. In 2005 Nintendo realized that only a small percentage of the market owned an HDTV, which is why Nintendo stayed away from that market. The Wii was less powerful than the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but the Wii sold far more units worldwide due to the fact that the Wii cost less money. Most people didn’t even consider the Wii as a direct competitor of the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Now, in 2011, the HD market has significantly grown, and will continue to grow by the time the Wii 2 launches in late 2012. Nintendo has always done their best to launch a console at the price of no more than $249. With that in mind, the Wii 2 will instantly be priced to compete with the various packages of Xbox 360 and PS3 when it launches in 2012. Considering that the Wii 2 will offer better graphics for a similar price, it seems reasonable that the Wii 2 really will allow Nintendo to remain leader of the videogame industry.

The Xbox 360 console currently can be purchased for as little as $199 for a new unit, but this does not include a hard drive. We do not yet know if the Wii 2 will include any form of hard drive. The Xbox 360 unit with a hard drive costs $299. You can also purchase an Xbox 360 without a hard drive with a Kinect packed in for $299. For $399 you can purchase an Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard drive and a Kinect packed in.

Playstation 3 sells for as little as $299 with a 160GB hard drive. For $349 you can buy the PS3 with a 320GB hard drive with the Move controller packed in. The Move is a motion-sensitive controller similar to what is used in the Wii. The Move has not been nearly as successful as the Kinect, so it remains to see what form of motion technology the Wii 2 is based on.

The Kinect technology is revolutionary and has very little in common with what is used in the Wii. Kinect launched during the fall of 2010 and quickly sold 10 Million units. Kinect is currently in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling item in electronics history. There is no doubt that Kinect technology will be a part of Microsoft’s plans for a long time to come in areas of gaming, computers, home entertainment, and many other areas of living.

At this point in time it really did make sense for Nintendo to release a new console. Over the last year, the Wii has been declining in sales – each month being outsold by the Xbox 360. Right now, the Wii is often the odd-man-out when multiplatform games are released by third-party game companies. For example, games will be released for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, but not for the Wii.

Even when games are released for the Wii, gamers often stay away from the Wii version because the Wii version has graphics that are far less impressive than what is seen on the PC, Xbox 360, or PS3. But with the Wii 2, gamers will want to buy the Wii 2 versions of games since they will be the best-looking console versions available. Only expensive high-end PCs will have graphics as good as the Wii 2.

This places some stress on Microsoft and Sony. Both companies are now being pressured into released consoles sooner than they wanted. Sony said from the beginning that they thought the PS3 would have a 10-year life expectancy. Microsoft never said how long they felt the Xbox 360 would be on the market, but they did say they believed this generation would last longer than any other previous generation – which it already has done.

Microsoft referred to the Kinect as a new launch for the Xbox 360. There is no doubt that the successor of the Xbox 360 will remain fully compatible with the Kinect. But we don’t know when Microsoft’s next console will arrive. Xbox 360 is selling better now than it ever has. Microsoft continues to earn net profit with the Xbox 360 and the Xbox Live gaming service.

Sony has a tough decision to make. Unless the PS3 can last 10 years, it is very likely that the PS3 will result in an overall financial net loss for Sony. It cost Sony billions of dollars to launch the PS3, and Sony continued to lose hundreds-of-millions of dollars each quarter afterward. The amount of net profit Sony has only recently started earning is very small; it won’t put a dent in the billions of dollars of loss the PS3 has cost Sony. This is why Sony needs to ask themselves if it would be better to forget about this generation in order to get an early start on the next generation or if it would be better to try and get as much as possible out of the PS3.

From a graphic point of view, it doesn’t make sense for Microsoft or Sony to launch a new console by 2012. The balance between graphic quality and the price of a console – directly related to the cost of launching that console – clearly shows that Microsoft and Sony would be better off living in a world where the Wii 2 has better graphics until about 2014. The Xbox 360 will continue to sell well and generate profit thanks to Kinect and Xbox Live. Net profit is the name of the game in business and Microsoft has achieved this goal with Xbox 360.

With that in mind, I think the soonest we will see a console from Microsoft is 2013 or 2014. Only then will graphics technology have reached far enough beyond the Xbox 360 that it makes sense for Microsoft to start a new hardware generation. Remember, the Wii 2 is a direct competitor of the Xbox 360 and the PS3; the Wii 2 does not start a “new” graphics generation the way the next Xbox would. The simple fact is, that type of graphics technology will not be available for a while.

Sony is a different story due to the lack of financial success associated with the Playstation 3. The PS3 is the least successful Playstation console that Sony has ever released. It was very arrogant of Sony to launch a console for $600. Sony had an amazing amount of momentum heading into this hardware generation. Yet all of that momentum attained from the success of the PS1 and PS2 was lost because they stumbled over their own arrogance.

This arrogance was directly related to Sony’s desire to try and turn the blu-ray disc into the format that replaced DVD. We do not know what format the Wii 2 will use. At this point in time it seems reasonable that Nintendo could include some form of blu-ray technology into the Wii 2 for a low price. However, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see Nintendo develop a proprietary disc format of their own. I doubt this will happen though, since many people believe the market failure of the Gamecube was caused by Nintendo’s decision to avoid the DVD format.

My prediction is that Nintendo will play it safe and use blu-ray technology for now. After all, Nintendo is designing the Wii 2 to be direct competitors with the Xbox 360 and the PS3, not their successors. I do believe that once Microsoft and Sony eventually release their next consoles, we will see that blu-ray becomes an outdated format. Developers in this generation have already said that blu-ray discs do not offer enough storage space.

Once the Wii 2 is released, we will see that Nintendo is once again included in the lives of console gamers that want the best graphics. Games will be released for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and Wii 2. Console gamers that want the best graphics will be purchasing the game for Wii 2.

It also will be interesting to see what type of online services Nintendo will be offering for the Wii 2. Currently in the videogame industry, it is generally agreed upon that the Xbox Live service of the Xbox 360 is a full generation ahead of what is offered by Nintendo and Sony for the Wii and PS3, respectively. But the Wii 2 isn’t meant to put Nintendo into the“next” generation. The Wii 2 is merely meant to pull Nintendo into the current high-definition generation in a way that competes directly with the Xbox 360 and PS3 on a technological level. I believe the Wii 2 will probably use the same form of online service as the Wii.

This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo will certainly be a very interesting event that all of us are looking forward to!

UPDATE: You can read more about the Wii 2 here.

Gears of War 3 is King of Graphics and Co-Op Gameplay!

Gears of War is generally considered the greatest Third-Person Shooter game series ever released. This has been proven time after time by incredibly high reviews from professional sources and incredibly high ratings from all the reliable fans in the world. Gears of War is the games series that has spent more time on top of the graphics throne than any other videogame series this generation. 

Recently a new game called Crysis 2 was released for the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 version of Crysis 2 has been called “The most graphically impressive game ever released for any console.” But Gears of War 3 definitely proves that Gears of War 3 is the new champion waiting to be crowned when it launches this September. 

One of the main reasons why Crysis 2 looks so great is because you can see so far into the distance – far further than a game like Killzone 3 on the PS3. The campaign of Crysis 2 is amazing in that aspect. The outdoor environments are filled with realistic types of lighting, shading, reflections, and lens flare that most First-Person Shooter games don’t focus much attention on. Cyrsis 2 obviously uses the newest technology available to developers in modern-day graphics engines. 

Gears of War 3 uses graphics technology based on the newest version of Epic’s Unreal Graphics Engine – the most popular graphics engine this generation. Developers programming Gears of War 3 now have access to all sorts of graphics techniques that were not previously available in videogames. Gears of War 3 is a showpiece designed to illustrate all of the amazing graphic and gaming features developers will now have access to if they use the new Unreal graphics engine technology that Epic has created. 

This is the reason why Gears of War 3 has such an incredibly high development budget and developers are taking their time to make sure everything about the game is nearly perfect. Normally, shooting games such as Call of Duty, Halo, and Gears of War are limited to two years of development time. But Gears of War 3 has been given three years of development time so developers know how to use all that new graphics technology. The thought of the skilled developers at Epic having that much time to work on Gears of War 3 really puts a smile on my face. 

Gears of War 2 used the same graphics engine as the first Gears of War game. Only minor adjustments were made to improve graphics. The reason for this is because the first game was created in about two years, while the second game was actually released with less than two years time of development. Gears of War 3 is the first Gears of War sequel that will be using technology that has been significantly updated.

Gears of War 3 almost looks like a "next-gen" type of game because it is so far ahead of Gears 1 and Gears 2 in so many ways. Gears of War 3 has an incredibly far-reaching line of sight, similar to Crysis 2. When you are playing in an environment where it is possible to see small details from a far distance, you see all of those details in Gears of War 3. 

What’s even more amazing is that weather has an affect on virtually everything. The lighting, shading, reflections and lens flare are just as good as Crysis 2, if not better. But Gears of War 3 takes this a step further by adding storms, lightning, rain, and other environmental affects that are each influenced by moving objects and weather. The reason for this is because the new Unreal Engine has so many graphics modifications and improvements, it is absolutely incredible! 

I studied the new Unreal Engine and everything new to Gears of War 3. Like I said, there are all sorts of weather tricks and graphic techniques to make fire, smoke, wind, lighting, shading, and reflections react perfectly in relation to everything else. For example, now we see Cole's Thrashball helmet has high-gloss reflections and lighting, just like a real football helmet. 

Another example would be how the women in Gears of War 3 have faces and hair with so many polygons it looks vastly superior to other games. For example, I was watching how a new female villain character in Uncharted 3 has an area of the face around the jaw area that is made up of straight lines instead of curves. Having a face that isn’t curved shows there’s not enough polygons available for the character in that graphics engine. It isn’t like that in Gears of War 3 where the female characters have nicely curved faces. 

This can also be applied to hair seen on characters, which is why it is much more noticeable when looking at a female. In Uncharted 3 the female villain looks like she has about four or five patches of texture-mapped polygon hair, similar to a low-polygon PS2 game. These patches of hair are clumped together in a triangular way that doesn’t look realistic compared to the men in Uncharted. In Gears of War 3 the females have nicely designed hair that curves and runs smoothly, even blowing in the wind while fighting during thunderstorms! 

One look at Gears of War 3 and you will see the new Unreal Engine is absolutely phenomenal. This is particularly true when used with the high-power GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 GPU is the most powerful GPU ever in a gaming console. 

The way Epic has it set up so you can customize and unlock your weapons in Gears of War 3 is awesome. The thought of having a pink lancer or an orange shotgun really brings a smile to my face for one simple reason: it is fun! This is the Gears of War equivalent to having a Star Wars collection of light sabers with various colors. 

The way Gears of War 3 has 4-player Co-Op in the Campaign mode is fantastic! There are parts of the Gears of War 3 Campaign where you will be fighting alongside all four of your teammates. There will be other times where two of you split down one road and two of you split down another road, and then meet up somewhere. And there will even be certain spots where all four of you split up on your own! 

During these co-op moments, all of you will still be talking with each other on your Xbox Live headset microphone. Even when you are split apart from your teammates, you will be telling your friends what or whom you are fighting against. Just hearing about what your friends are going through, hearing them say things like “Whoa!” and “Man that hurt!” and “I finally got that guy!” is going to add to the fun of Gears of War 3! 

Gamestop is the best place to preorder Gears of War 3. You get the ability to play a beta test of Gears 3 later this month. You will be helping to improve the game! Plus, you will also be able to earn custom forms of weapons, armor, helmets, and other stuff that can be used in the final version of the game when it is released in September! With your input and suggestions, virtually every aspect of Gears of War 3 is going to be nearly perfect! 

And just so you know, those custom forms of weapons, armor, helmets, shields, and other items are actually valuable in the real world! Believe it or not, custom items like those sell for quite a bit of money online! Gears of War 2 launched with a special Golden Lancer if you preordered the game. I’ve seen the token code that allows you to get that Golden Lancer being sold for hundreds of dollars online! 

Gears of War 3 is definitely ahead of the pack! It will definitely be the king of graphics when this year comes to an end, and it will have the best Co-Op Campaign mode any Gears of War game has ever seen. There is even a new mode where we get to play “as” the Locusts and beat up on the COG soldiers such as Marcus Fenix, Dom, Cole, Anya, and the oldest brother in the family, Clayton Carmine (seeking revenge for the death of his younger brothers). 

Gears of War 3 is definitely a winner, so preorder now while you still can! … And let’s hope the character named Clayton Carmine lives! 

Here is a video for you to see for yourself:

 

More Gears of War 3 Videos

Here is a great new video called the Horde 2.0 Briefing. The graphics are unbelievably impressive -- far beyond anything seen on a console so far. The new game play modes add unlimited replay value and significantly increase the strategy level used in the game.

More Gears of War 3 Videos

Time for Us to Fight Back Against Pirates - SOS Style! (Save Our Seafarers)

Over the last year I’ve heard quite a bit about how Somali pirates on the Indian Ocean have been hijacking boats of all sizes in order to steal things and take money from people on board. Gradually I heard more about the crimes being committed by pirates, which meant the crimes were being committed at a faster rate. Over the course of time, it seemed like the pirates were targeting larger boats to hijack. This clearly shows the confidence of the pirates was growing at a fast rate. 

The question is, “Why would these pirates suddenly feel such a high level of confidence?” The answer is that there are very few government laws or penalties to prevent pirates from committing those types of crimes. Laws of various countries have different rules and regulations for dealing with criminals such as pirates. 

I’ve learned that some of the various countries don’t even approve of law enforcement officials doing anything at all to take a hijacked boat back from the pirates. What’s worse is that there are laws in place that make it so pirates don’t face any form of legal resistance or any form of legal penalty once they attempt to hijack a vehicle. Once a pirate has been captured, the governments of foreign countries release 80% of the criminals so they can go back out on the water and commit the same crimes again! 

Earlier this year I saw that pirates had hijacked a multimillion dollar oil supertanker! This ship, called the MV Irene SL, has a crew of 25 and carried two-million barrels of oil valued at over $200 million. This huge amount of oil represented 20% of the daily crude oil import of the United States, and about 5% of daily world oil imports. 

Only during the last several days did the pirates decide to release this huge oil tanker and its passengers after 58 days of holding them hostage! Piracy in the open waters has truly become a well-planned and well-managed industry. This was proven when we learned that the pirates were using this huge oil tanker as a “mother ship” for their smaller pirate vessels! 

I thought to myself, “How in the world were low-budget pirates able to conquer this huge oil vessel so easily?” I thought it must be more difficult to hijack a huge oil vessel than a smaller boat. But that is actually not the case at all. 

The reason pirates had such an easy time hijacking the oil tanker is because the pirates were armed with weapons while the crew was not. Those huge oil tankers do not allow the crew to carry weapons on board, even when they know they are travelling through pirate-infested waters! Hopefully this policy is going to officially change now that the problem of piracy in the 21st century has become more of a real threat to vessels of any size and any value. 

Thankfully, we’ve learned that the hostages from the oil tanker were recently released in good health by the Somali pirates. Often, people are systematically tortured and even killed by pirates. And just in case you care, the oil tanker was being returned to a port, now that the pirates are finished with it. These facts were confirmed in a public statement released by the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO). You can read this statement on their website: www.intertanko.com.  

INTERTANKO makes it 100% clear in their public statement that piracy is not going to disappear any time soon. Governments are encouraged to work together to find the root cause of piracy and stop it. Unfortunately, this statement realistically points out something most all us knew all along. The fact is, it is generally accepted that the different beliefs and different laws of various countries will prevent that from happening. For now, INTERTANKO wants everyone to know that every vessel is at threat in the open waters of the Indian Ocean – an area where 40% of the world’s oil supply passes through. 

I really do recommend that you visit the website at www.intertanko.com. INTERTANKO wants people to realize governments in that part of the world do virtually nothing to stop Somali pirates, and even when the pirates are caught they are released most of the time. Only recently did India decide to crack down slightly harder by retaking a large mother ship from the pirates. The 62 pirates on board were not released; they were taken to India and await trial for their crimes. 

Let’s Fight Back! – SOS Style (Save Our Seafarers) 

Two clicks of a mouse can play the roll of two swords fighting back against pirates. With just two clicks of your mouse you can write a letter to a government official. Save Our Seafarers (SOS) is a campaign formed to help people like us grab the attention of foreign government officials overseas that would never hear us any other way. The website of http://saveourseafarers.com/ is where you visit to use your mouse as a tool of force that helps fight piracy. 

The lack of government law enforcement against piracy on the Indian Ocean proves government officials are not aware of the severe problem that exists in that part of the world. We need to bring this problem to their attention so the shipping industry and logistics of the world do not experience problems. History has already proven that piracy problems can be so severe that it causes interferences with economies and disrupts world trade. Supplies will be affected and shipping costs will rise – expenses that ultimately will be felt by consumers, since those expenses will be passed on to us at stores and oil pumps. 

Remember the famous saying: Those who are not aware of history are destined to repeat its mistakes. 

Friends, we are aware of the problems piracy has caused in the history of this world. It makes absolutely no sense for us to repeat those mistakes. We need to invest a little bit of time by becoming a part of the campaign against piracy by visiting http://saveourseafarers.com/. 

Of the 8,500 letters that have been sent to government officials, India has received the most letters so far – about 1,460. With that in mind, it probably isn’t a coincidence that India is the one government that finally decided to crack down on piracy a little bit harder. But the way India only seems to care about huge mother ships is not enough. India and the other countries need to crack down a lot more against piracy and the pirates committing the crimes. 

I encourage you to visit http://saveourseafarers.com/ so that you can use your voice to help send some chills down the spines of government officials working for foreign countries allowing innocent people to be held hostage, tortured, and killed by pirates. This website is a great tool that will help us twist the arms of those lazy nations that claim they aren’t aware a problem exists! 

I hope you enjoyed reading this article about piracy. If you did, please click on Tip Jar to make a donation to this website. I have epilepsy and try to work from home. This website is not free to run, which means donations help keep it going. Don’t worry about it if you can’t afford a donation; I will not hold you hostage or kidnap you the way a pirate with a motive would (at least not yet!). ;) 

Here is a YouTube video that talks about how piracy has affected world logistics. It shows an oil supertanker that was hijacked. The pirates demanded $25 million for this huge oil ship.

 

Are Free-to-Play Games Really Free?

Xbox 360 will be receiving quite a few games that are free to play later this year. But the question is, “Are they really free to play?” Let’s examine some of the facts in order to find the answer to that question.

The free-to-play games are based on a business model that allows the game to be played for free by anyone. All you need to do is download the game for free, and then play with others online. Xbox Live Silver members can download the games for free and play them offline at any time. But in order to play online against other players you will need to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold.

Xbox Live Gold is by far the greatest online gaming service ever created – a full generation ahead of any other online gaming service. But Xbox Live Gold is not a free service, since you do need a subscription to use it. Xbox Live Gold subscriptions can be purchased anytime for a price of $50 per year, but you can usually find better deals. For example, I recently saw a deal where for $40 you could subscribe for 12+1 (13) months. This means that for only $3 per month (or about one dime per day) you can play the greatest online gaming service ever.

Most gamers with an Xbox 360 already subscribe to Xbox Live Gold. From the point of view of these gamers, the free-to-play games are available for free since they do not require any type of additional purchase to download and play. Besides, even if you don’t subscribe to Xbox Live Gold you still could play the games offline for free with Xbox Live Silver. This means that up to this point the free-to-play games are in fact “free.”

But we all know that nothing is free. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So, what is the catch with these free-to-play games; how do they make their money? Games that are free-to-play make their money by giving you the option to purchase low-priced downloadable expansions.

For example, fully-customized items such as weapons, armor, shields, vehicles, and helmets are all available for a price. Gamers that downloaded the game for free will all have the same basic outfit or drive the same basic vehicle. But the developers and producers of the game will make a lot of money when gamers want to customize those outfits, vehicles, bases, stadiums, helmets, and other items. Many of these expansions will be available only for a limited time. This will create a fully-customized videogame world that gamers really feel a part of.

The free-to-play games are excellent because they allow you to try a game for free to see if you like it. You really can play it with all of your friends for free if you want to. You won’t have the customized stuff that they do, but at least you will still be a part of the fun. Thus, the conclusion is that free-to-play games are in fact free if you choose not to play online with other gamers or do any customization. But if you want to play with other gamers across the world and customize your gaming world, it will cost you a little bit of money.

I hope you enjoyed reading this!

Sincerely,

Michael Zoran

michaelzoran@hotmail.com

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I'm currently seeking employment in areas of Writing, Business, Marketing, and Management

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Tip Jar is something you can click on to make a donation. I have epilepsy and this website isn’t free to run. If you make a donation I would be very thankful.