Mozy is one of the most popular cloud backup services around, with more than one million users storing around 70 petabytes of data. Its popularity apparently put it on the acquisition radar of VMware -- which has now made Mozy part of its virtualization empire.
VMware's official blog post makes it clear that the company wasn't so much interested in Mozy as a consumer offering. Rather, it's the inner workings of Mozy which piqued VMware's curiosity. CTO Steve Herrod says, "Over the past 5 years, Mozy has built one of the best examples of a globally distributed, large-scale cloud offering." He adds that the move will allow VMware to "further ramp our own cloud-related learning and accelerate new IP, scale, and capabilities" of its existing offerings.
Existing Mozy customers don't need to worry, of course. VMware has pledged to continue running Mozy's service without interruption.
New display technology in a ultra-slim form factor, the LG Optimus Black brings a high level of style to Android. But is it the phone for you?
The LG Optimus Black is the latest offering from LG Electronics, bringing a stylish form factor, the new "Nova" display technology, and some unique features on top of Android 2.2. If you're looking for the latest dual-core gigabyte of RAM monster phone, you're looking in the wrong place, but not all of us are looking for that. One quick inspection of the phone will tell you -- LG wasn't trying to win a specifications race here, they have other models to fill that hole. Instead, it feels as is they were focused on design, and try to bring a new level of elegance to the Android platform.
The real question -- did they succeed? That's a loaded question, as we all have differences of opinion when it comes to what looks and feels high-end. Hit the break, and see what I think of the Optimus Black, and decide if it's something you will need a little alone time with and form your own opinion.
Working in a supermarket restocking shelves and cleaning after customers is certainly not the most glamourous job, but running your own shop has to be pretty cool. If you like the sound of it, there's a game that mixes both ideas in a simple and fast paced recipe for your iPhone or iPad.
Supermarket Mania 2 [iTunes Link] by G5 Entertainment is the sequel to the time management game that puts you in the feet of a supermarket manager Nikki. You are in full control of all the shop upgrades, but customer loyalty and success comes at a price. The secret to running an excellent supermarket lies on stocking your shelves, offer freshly-made products and keep everything clean and tidy. Unfortunately, you'll be in charge of that too.
The game mechanics are very simple. From the moment the supermarket opens its doors, you'll have to push around a trolley restocking counters and shelves with the most popular products. Needless to say that if customers can't find some fish, they will walk away and shop somewhere else. Once your cart is empty, you'll need to go back to the warehouse, collect more items, and continue restocking.
As you progress through the game and your supermarket offers a wider range of products, you'll start making freshly ground coffee, bake pizzas, milkshakes and juices to delight your visitors. In this case, you'll need to pick up some fruit and take it to the food processor, or ground some coffee to brew some cups. This element brings some complexity to the mix, as you'll need to multitask restocking and operating every machine.
As you would expect, every customer has its own characteristics, which range from product preference, shopping speed and average waiting time. Some special visitors will require extra attention, like a chid who always gets lost and can't find mom, or an annoying girl who brings her scooter in the shop. On top of that, you'll need to deal with the odd burglar and some competitor who trashes the place in every visit.
The game is structured into levels that increase in complexity and introduce new concepts to the game. While the gameplay elements are the same throughout, the fact that you are presented with new products, customers, stores, upgrades and power-ups, keep you entertained without the feeling of doing the same thing over and over again, which in fact, you are doing.
Although you cannot jump levels if you find the first ones too easy, you always have the chance to unlock special events and get more cash within the level, making it suitable for a wide range of players, from children to adults. The moment you upgrade your supermarket to the maximum, you'll probably be about to end the stage.
The customer is always right, until Lady Gaga comes to your supermarket and everyone starts taking pictures with their phones and you have to give her a hollywood star treatment
Despite its appearance from the screenshots, Supermarket Mania is a time management game in the fashion of Sally's Spa, Diner Dash or even Star Wars: Cantina. Those looking for a simulation/strategy sort of gameplay like Hot Springs Story will have to keep looking. The game runs through pre-built levels and there's no level editor or freestyle mode.
I felt Supermarket Mania was in many ways similar to Virtual City and I reckon they share a lot of common code because the game mechanics and presentation are pretty similar. Having said this, if you liked the first one, you are going to like this one too, but in the age of FarmVille and social gaming, there could be an extra social element to it. If you can't stand fermium titles, Supermarket Mania 2 packs all the goodies in one single price without needing virtual currency to unlock more.
Overall, Supermarket Mania 2 is a worthy second part with a good combination of strategy and fast decision making that will please you as long as you like restocking shelves.
To say that experts generally don't agree about whether cellphone radiation can fry your brain is an understatement of massiveproportions, but amazingly enough, the World Health Organization has come to a pseudo-conclusion. A group of 31 scientists from 14 countries working in the org's International Agency for Research on Cancer says that -- based on a survey of the literature -- those electromagnetic fields are as likely to be potentially carcinogenic as 266 other worrisome substances, including DDT pesticide and the exhaust from your automobile. Mind you, the WHO isn't saying that cellphones cause cancer, as today's decision is merely the latest call for more research, but the fact that respected scientists even claim that a correlation should be considered will probably be enough to stir the pot.
As far as Tetris goes, most variations look quite similar. You're usually looking at a "wall" of bricks directly from the front. Torus takes that notion and throws it away; as you might have guessed from the name (or screenshot), this Tetris clone is played on a ring-like 3D surface.
You rotate the ring itself with the arrow keys, while a Tetris-like piece slowly (excruciatingly slowly, in fact) descends from the top. As soon as you make a solid line, it disappears.
Not all pieces are Tetris-like; some of them wouldn't really work with a regular Tetris game but are a good fit for Torus' 3D format.
Torus is ideal for playing at the office, because it has absolutely no soundtrack. The game is dead-quiet. It's also very very slow (slow enough for me to mention it twice in one post) so you can safely look away for a moment and then keep playing. Also, as soon as the game loses focus, it automatically pauses.
Bottom line: It's an impressive demo of the power of HTML5; if it were a bit faster, it would have some serious addictive potential.
Renault has a new chief operating officer. Carlos Tavares, formerly the Chief Executive Officer for Nissan Americas, will now fill the void left by former Renault COO Patrick Pelata. Pelata left the French automaker amid a botched spy scandal investigation that saw a rash of Renault executives lose their positions. Taveres has a long history with Renault, having served with the company for 24 years before being assigned to the U.S. with Nissan Americas in 2003. His move back to Renault has been rumored for some time and the company hopes that its new executive can help point sales in a better direction.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Tavares' old role will be handled by many hands. Colin Dodge will serve as chairman of the Americas in addition to retaining his title as Executive Vice President, Chief Performance Officer and Chairman of Nissan operations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India. Dodge will be joined by Bill Krueger, who will now take up the mantle of Vice Chairman.
Krueger previously served as the Head of Manufacturing, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management for Nissan. TheDetroitBureau.com reports that Krueger will move farther up the chain should he be able to prove himself in his new role. Click past the break for a look at the full press release.
We got a hint of Sling's desire to let users catch their video streams directly on TV without a box during CES 2010, and now there's video of the company showing off its SlingPlayer for Connected Devices app on Google TV. We caught a a preview at CES earlier this year, but interested Slingbox owners (SOLO and PRO-HD boxes only, just like the mobile apps) can sign up for the upcoming beta at the link below. We're wondering if this app could be based on Flash, which could allow for easy porting to other embedded TV platforms with Adobe Flash & Air support like Samsung's Smart Hub. Also not lost in the moment is the ability for the Google TV to show some potential, since it desperately needs for the list of things it actually can do well to garner more attention than the list of things it's blocked from doing.
SlingBox has announced that the SlingPlayer for connected devices beta will soon be coming to Google TV. that means users with a SlingBox Solo or Pro-HD will soon be able to use Google TV to watch programming from their SlingBox on any Google TV with an Internet connection, in addition to using the mobile version of SlingPlayer on their smartphones.
This is a great way to get more content on Google TV, which has seen content providers block access until they figure out how to license for it. Word is, the SlingPlayer for connected devices is more of a stand alone WebApp than a native Android application, and will be working it's way to other devices eventually. This also means you won't have to wait for Google to get Honeycomb and the Android Market onto your Google TV unit to try it out. If you want to try to get in on the action, hit the source link to sign up for the beta. We have a video demo of the app in action after the break.
I hate it when I'm investigating a spooky mystery, or walking around the woods at night, and don't have any sweet tunes to go along with me. Actually, I don't, because that scenario never exists, and this product is moronic. More »
Okay, see that snaking line coming in from the right on the screenshot? That's you. And see those large round circles? Those are supposedly grapefruits, only they won't sit still - they keep moving up and down and cutting across your path. And if you touch one, you die!
That's what you have to deal with in Line Grapefruit. But that's not all - you're also on a time limit. In fact, you have a very limited amount of time to make it through the "path" (for lack of a better word). You need to snake your way through the winding trail without touching anything. The good news is that a grapefruit only kills you if it touches the end of the line - once you've made it past the grapefruit, nothing happens if it crosses the path you've made.
This is not an easy game, but it's quite unique - I can't recall seeing another game quite like it.
I haven't hit the track much in 2010, but knowing that the 4th Annual Motocross Ride for the Cure Event was coming, I dusted off the KTM, dropped it off at Malcolm Motorsports for some fine tuning, hit Milestone Motocross Track for a handful of warm ups and I was ready to enjoy the funnest event of the year hosted by motocross enthusiast herself, Laurie Carey, who is constantly raising the bar for fundraising, support, education and interaction for Breast Cancer Awareness!
The morning started off amazing, perfect day to moto! The sky's were bright blue and littered with dark fluffy rain clouds! Dropping rain in perfect track watering patterns, the day was in full swing and the pits were packed! Tons of Factory support lined up for the event, they even had a never ending Freestyle show in the works! Mike Metzger, the God Father of FMX was doing his thing and dozens of other talented riders busting out tricks for the fans.
I pretty much settled into a pack rat of MXGirls, WMA Pro Rider Elizabeth Bash, Race Techs Michelle Marshall, and Mission Motorsports Brooklyn McClendon. We had a blast mixing it up on the main and vet tracks, sporting our decorated "Ride for the Cure" Bra's and having a blast spinning laps, saving boobies!
In the end I was amazed at the growth this event has accumulated over the years, by far the most impressive outcome I've seen. I'm looking forward to next year's event, but more importantly, it's touching to see all the work Laurie Carey puts into the Support and Awareness of Breast Cancer.
I love the Internet. Hell, I'm lost without it. And between me and every Internet interaction is my trusty router. My gatekeeper. And the only thing better than a router that connects is a router that backs up. So check out the D-Link DIR-685 Xtreme N Storage Gigabit Router today for $85. Not only does it let you plug in up to two 2.5" hard drives for backup, it also sports a 3.2" LCD screen, just in case you needed another reason to look at your lovely portal to the web. -MB More »
