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Written by Master
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Friday, 21 May 2010 17:39 |
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PAC Man 30th Anniversary
Google Celebrating the PAC Man Anniversary:
Google has become famous for changing its logo for special events, but it has never converted it into a playable game before. Today, it is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man's launch in Japan with a version that lets you steer your pizza-shaped protagonist* around a maze that spells out Google's name – at least for as long as you can evade the ghosts Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde
To play, simply click the button that usually says "I'm feeling lucky" but now has the legend "Insert Coin". However, if you don't do anything, the game will start by itself.
If you click twice on "Insert Coin" then two people can play. Ms Pac-Man joins the game, with the second person controlling her movements using the WASD keys.
Marcin Wichary, Google programmer and senior user interface designer, says: "When I was growing up, my dad had the best job I could possibly imagine: he was an arcade game and pinball technician. For me, that meant summer trips through Poland's coastal cities with their seasonal arcade parlors; peeking inside cabinets to learn programming and engineering secrets; and – of course – free games!"
Although Tōru Iwatani's Pac-Man and Ms Pac-Man are now free "casual" games, they were state-of-the-art in the early 1980s, and they harvested billions of dollars in loose change. The games soon appeared on home computers, too, though a Pac-Man cartridge for an Atari 800 cost more than £30.
Ms Pac-Man was also one of the first video games to attract a female following at a time when most players were (at least reputedly) spotty boys.
Wichary says Pac-Man "seems like a natural fit for the Google homepage. They're both deceptively straightforward, carefully hiding their complexity under the hood. There's a light-hearted, human touch to both of them. And we can only hope you find using Google at least a quarter as enjoyable as eating dots and chasing ghosts. You know, without actually needing any quarters."
Incidentally, Google is not alone in celebrating Pac-Man's birthday. The Museum of Computing in Swindon is marking the milestone on Saturday when "a specially constructed maze in Swindon Town centre's Wharf Green will be the venue for a unique 'Human Pac-Man' event." Visitors to the museum will also be able to play the game on various retro machines, without the need to stock up on 50p pieces.
Charles Arthur adds: interestingly, as Apple, Google and Adobe war with each other over the importance of Adobe's Flash system, the doodle is written entirely in HTML, CSS and Javascript - Flash isn't required. That means it works on iPhones too. |
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Boost Your Career And Benefit From A Microsoft Certification Or Two Or Three! |
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Written by Fawad
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Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:58 |
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You went to college and thought you were prepared for the job market. If you are going for entry-level work, yeah, you are prepared. However, to really get ahead, you need Microsoft certification, whether it is an MCP, MCSA, MCSE or any other string of letters. Quite a few people will go for multiple certifications to broaden their experience and scope of possible job opportunities.
Some of the Microsoft certifications require you have to have at least one year of practical experience in order to pursue a certification, namely an MCSE or Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. It is important to have that experience that these certain certifications require because the training, like the MCSE training and the MCSE exams that follow, are very intense. In fact, some people will not only partake of the standard MCSE training, but also MCSE boot camps for more in-depth studies into their certification.
One standard benefit to having a Microsoft certification is that it is a great basic means of analyzing the aptitude of an employee. If you are a manager or owner in a business, you want some way to evaluate that employee’s skills. And if you are the employee, you know that your boss recognizes your abilities.
If you are on the hunt for a new job, then potential hiring managers and employers have a basis in which to assess your qualifications. Without that Microsoft certification on your resume, these employers would have no idea about your skills and most likely would consider someone else, someone with a certification, for the position you were aiming for.
If you do not have much hands-on experience in your field, but you do have the Microsoft certification to prove that you know the material, you would also have a leg up on anyone else applying for the same position that may have more hands-on experience, but no certification. For some reason, that certification, those little string of letters like MCP or MCSE, hold a lot of power.
Yet another benefit to holding a Microsoft certification or two is the money aspect of it all. Sure, you shelled out some major bucks to fund your education in those MCP courses or that MCSE training, but consider it an investment in yourself. With certification, you can bargain a higher salary and even reimbursement for your training!
Many professionals in the IT field or in a company in which you work in an IT department could benefit from Microsoft certification. Do you work as an Administrator for a network, mail or web server? Are you involved in the security of networks and the internet? Any of those positions and much more benefit with additional training and certification. Just think money! It is the biggest motivator. The more you know and can bring to a position, the more money you stand to make.
So think about going for your MCSE or MCP certification or any number of others available. More training; more knowledge; more money ... sounds like a no-brainer! Go nuts and get certified today!
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“11 Great Reasons why Smiling makes us More Successful!” |
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Written by Fawad
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Wednesday, 28 April 2010 16:05 |
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First: Our smile shows others people that we are friendly.
If a stranger approached you and gained eye contact with you and then treated you to a broad smile you will have a fairly good idea that they are being friendly and certainly mean you no harm.
By contrast we would find it far more difficult to offer trust to the stranger that wears a scowl or unfriendly face features.
Second: A smile can make people happy.
When someone treats you to a smile, even a stranger, you usually smile back. For that moment you enjoy a flash of positive communication without saying a word. As you walk through a crowed area such as a main street you can do this hundreds times in a very short period of time.
When you smile at someone who is not already smiling and they smile back you have brought a moment of happiness into their lives which, who knows, could last all day.
Third: Smiling is infectious.
When you spend a lot in the company of someone who smiles a lot you will soon discover that their smile starts to wear off on you. It is hard not to return a smile; most of us do it at a subliminal level without thinking.
Fourth: Smiling can make you popular.
Which type of people do you prefer? A person that has a tired and listless face. An expression that may reflect their inner thoughts of boredom and worry? Or, would you prefer someone who is always smiling and shows that they have an enthusiastic passion for life.
I think for the majority of us the choice would be obvious!
Fifth: Smiling can help you to make new friends
In the same way few of us would choice a miserable person for a friend. Lets face it we all want someone who is going to be bubbly and a happy and positive.
Sixth: A smile is usually returned
When someone smiles back at you it make you feel good inside. You have just made a short but very positive communication and possibly the first step in the process of getting to know or making friends with someone new.
Seventh: Smiling makes you positive and happy inside.
When you smile it is hard to feel unhappy, negative or sad in anyway. Smiling gives you enthusiasm and drive, it is also habit forming.
Eight: A smile makes you look far more attractive.
You don’t see many celebrities or media personalities that are not smiling because if you did it is fairly certain that their popularity would quickly start to drop!
Ninth: Smiling also helps make you memorable to others!
Have you noticed that smiling people are usually far more memorable than those that are not? It is fact that you are 3 time more likely to remember the person that is smiling over the one that is wearing a negative or neutral features.
Tenth: Most importantly, smiling is good for your health!!!
When you are smiling you find whatever you are doing far easier. It releases stress, worry and tension that you may have built up throughout the day. Long term, developing the smiling habit will be one of the smartest things that you can do to improve most aspects of your life.
Eleventh: The effects of smiling can last for hours
Whatever problems and challenges you have in your life, smiling temporary puts them and hold. For a while you forget the problems and become positive, and while you are in a positive state you have far more potential and power to advance and improve your life.
Lastly: Smiling is FREE!
You are never going to run short of smiles and will always have enough to go around. When you weigh up the positive points of smiling it is a no brainer decision to do far more smiling and share them with as many people as possible.
Keep smiling.
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Be Certifiable! The Basics Of MCSE And MCP |
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Written by Fawad
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Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:57 |
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It is not always who you know, but what you know. That is why obtaining Microsoft certification can be a valuable asset to your career. Of course, it does depend on what career path you want to take as to whether you want to get either MCSE training or MCP training or anything else for that matter. So what do those abbreviations MCSE and MCP stand for anyway?
MCP stands for Microsoft Certified Professional and MCSE is an abbreviation for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. What exactly does having a Microsoft certification mean anyway? We know that it looks good on a resume and opens new doors in your career. Did you know that being certifiable - in Microsoft anyway - sometimes will also boost your pay? Experience counts for a lot, but having a Microsoft certification or two does not hurt either!
So what does it take to be and MCP or MCSE? Lots of studying! The MCP courses and MCP exams are geared toward a more rounded technical professional. Candidates for MCP must pass one current certification test from Microsoft. Passing one of the exams demonstrates that the candidate has a consistent level of technical expertise.
With the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer path, there are MCSE boot camps that help prepare candidates for the MCSE exams. These MCSE boot camps are intense classes often packed into a full two week period instead of the traditional weekly MCSE training classes in preparation for the MCSE exams. This path is more involved. MCSE certification is standard in the IT field and prepares you for anything from the design of a system’s infrastructure to analyzing the company’s needs before implementing a design.
Unlike those individuals who take the MCP training to prepare for MCP exams, students of MCSE have a course of study that is more intense. Instead of one test to prepare for, they have seven tests that they are required to pass to get their Microsoft certification. Yikes! Seven! They have five main exams to take as well as two electives. The five required MCSE exams are broken down into four operating system exams and one design exam. The two electives typically deal with other issues in design and implementation not covered in the five core tests.
After learning a few basics, it is easy to see that the MCP or Microsoft Certified Professional is really just a stepping stone to bigger and greater things in the world of Microsoft certification. The individuals who go for the MCP have a leg up on those peers who have no technical experience. They will have a better grasp on technical issues and usually stay a step ahead of trends. The MCSE is more specialized and appeals to the techno geek with a penchant for design and implementation. They like knowing how stuff works. So market yourself and become certifiable!
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