For quite a while, I was nothing more than a social network hater. To me, social networks seemed like a ploy for those with so-called “notoriety” to massage their egos just a little bit more and provided no real benefit to anyone. After signing up for almost each social network in existence, I can state now that I was dead wrong.

Whether it’s Twitter, FriendFeed or even Flickr, I’m extremely surprised by how much value each provides. And although I can’t talk for everyone who uses these services, I honestly believe that each is unique and useful enough to justify your time.

Here’s why:

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source The Digital Home

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Even though Microsoft’s self-imposed deadline on the Yahoo deal has passed, the company quietly leaked a report to the Wall Street Journal this week that said it was willing to pay $32-$33 per share for Yahoo. That was then followed by an update to the story claiming a final decision by Microsoft’s board has not been made.

Regardless, the very fact that Microsoft is even pleasing the thought of increasing its bid is both foolhardy and extremely flawed. Why would it want to pay more for a company that’s actually worth less?

According to the letter it originally sent to Yahoo when it first made its bid for the company, Microsoft claimed that it was offering Yahoo a 62 percent premium and as a sign of goodwill, would make the offer with both cash and the company’s stock.

A 62 percent premium? Are you kidding me? At the time, Yahoo’s stock price was barely breathing and floundering at about $19 per share. Since then, the price has gone artificially high and now Microsoft feels enjoy it should pay more to entice shareholders to its side.

I’ve some news for Microsoft — Yahoo is worth no more than $25 per share.

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source The Digital Home

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Don starts out the show discussing the Wii, Mario Kart, interviews his girlfriend and much more. After that, he sits down with Opera’s VP of sales to discuss that company’s future and rants about video game violence.

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EPISODE 13

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source The Digital Home

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Why is everyone making such a massive deal about this $200 iPhone report from Fortune? Evidently, the same folks who are praising AT&T and Apple didn’t read the report and are naive enough to believe that this is ever going to happen. There’s no chance that the next iteration of the iPhone, presumably featuring 3G, will sport such a low price tag.

According to Fortune, “When the 3G iPhone is introduced this summer, AT&T, the exclusive U.S. iPhone sales partner with Apple, will cut the price by as much as $200, according to a person familiar with the strategy.”

That price cut will put the two versions of the iPhone — an 8GB model and a 16GB model — at $199 and $299, respectively.

Fortune said that a person close to the dealings believes the subsidy will only apply to AT&T stores and if anyone purchases the 3G iPhone in an Apple store, they’ll be forced to pay full price. According to the report, all cash lost on the subsidy would be recouped on the service charges after a few months.

Fortune and its hotshot source is kidding, right?

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source The Digital Home

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Now that GTA IV has hit store shelves, it’s time for the world’s anti-video game fanatics to crawl out from under their rocks and tell us all how this game and so many others ruin our kids and turn them into Jack the Ripper wannabes. Of course, all those self-righteous zealots won’t tell you the truth — nothing they state is rooted in reality.

Stop beating up video games

(Credit: Rockstar Games)

Earlier this day, a colleague of mine at CNET wrote a well-written article that discusses how critics have already attacked GTA IV without even playing it yet.

Much of the discussion centered around foolhardy demagogues who have yet to actually play the game, but somehow know that it will lead to child violence: “We’ve seen a number of clips of the game,” stated Yee spokesperson Adam Keigwin. “From the clips alone, and based on GTA and Rockstar’s history, (Yee) thought it very appropriate to issue a statement urging parents not to purchase the game for their children.”

Huh?

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source The Digital Home

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In yet another vexing move by the ill-fated Blockbuster execs, the company announced today that it would be going retail and start selling video game consoles, games and accessories in all of its corporate locations. Some have said that this is a good move for the company and could jump start sales. I think it’s crazy.

Who are you exactly?

(Credit: Blockbuster)

What is Blockbuster, exactly? Is it a rental chain? Is it a retailer? Is it both? It certainly looks like the company wants to be all things to all people, but not only is that plan foolhardy, it flies in the face of reason.

Whatever happened to the concept of a corporate identity? You know, that old idea you were probably taught in business school where your professor told you about the need for companies to find and solidify core competencies and stick to those. And once you found that, it was your job to be very special in that space and maintain a lead in the industry through price leadership or differentiation. Whatever happened to that idea? Did Blockbuster execs skip that class?

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source The Digital Home

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When Mario Kart Wii was delivered to my doorstep, I wasn’t sure what my reaction would be to the latest in the popular franchise. Would I love it? Would I hate it? Would it be just another title that couldn’t live up to the hype? After playing it for about four hours yesterday, I can say with full certainty that Mario Kart Wii is one of the ideal games I have played in quite some time.

Mario Kart Wii

(Credit: Nintendo)

Now I’m sure you’re wondering how I have the ability to make such a statement after playing the game for four hours and I can understand that viewpoint. But until you actually play the game and have the opportunity to use the Wii Wheel and interact with this game, you won’t truly understand.

And let’s also not forget that the true beauty of Mario Kart Wii isn’t necessarily found in the amount of time you play, but in the quality of your experience. And so far, after playing through 20 tracks, I have the ability to say that Mario Kart Wii is easily the most fun game I’ve ever played on the Wii and certainly is up there with other titles as one of the most pleasing games of all-time.

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source The Digital Home

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When Mario Kart Wii was delivered to my doorstep, I wasn’t sure what my reaction would be to the latest in the popular franchise. Would I love it? Would I hate it? Would it be just another title that couldn’t live up to the hype? After playing it for about four hours yesterday, I have the ability to say with full certainty that Mario Kart Wii is one of the best games I have played in quite some time.

Mario Kart Wii

(Credit: Nintendo)

Now I’m sure you’re wondering how I have the ability to make such a statement after playing the game for four hours and I can understand that viewpoint. But until you actually play the game and have the chance to use the Wii Wheel and interact with this game, you won’t truly comprehend.

And let’s also not forget that the true beauty of Mario Kart Wii isn’t necessarily found in the amount of time you play, but in the quality of your experience. And so far, after playing through 20 tracks, I can say that Mario Kart Wii is easily the most fun game I’ve ever played on the Wii and certainly is up there with other titles as one of the most amusing games of all-time.

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source The Digital Home

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Once again, Nintendo released a quarterly earnings report that not only solidifies the company as a major player going into the next generation, but shows that it’s certainly onto something with both the Wii and the DS. But according to that same report, not everything is perfect with the company’s handheld system.

According to Nintendo, it’s only forecasting 9 percent growth going forward as sales of the DS continue to slide and expectations of higher sales continue to dwindle. Nintendo contends that DS sales could fall to 28 million units from 30.3 million units sold.

Mario is coming in a big way to the DS.

(Credit: Nintendo)

And while some market analysts are disappointed with the news of the DS slowing and the company itself not growing as fast as they would like, they fail to fully understand the nature of the beast they’re trying to gauge.

If analysts were worried about the Wii, I would probably concur. But why would anyone be worried about Nintendo’s plans for the DS? Will it sell fewer units this year? Maybe. But if nothing else, I think that we’ll soon find that Nintendo has something up its sleeve that will jump-start sales and send those same, misguided analysts into a frenzy.

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source The Digital Home

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Don Reisinger chats it up in the first segment with Andy Ihnatko about the future of technology and whether or not lawmakers ruin the industry. After that, he sits down with Microsoft’s Chris Flores to discuss Vista and follows that up with your weekly rant.

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EPISODE 12

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source The Digital Home

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