Symbolism Behind the Chess Pieces

You should basically know what the different types of Chess pieces are. They have generally become a well-known part of culture and anyone should be able to look at a Chessboard and recognize it for what it is. The King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, and Pawn are all highly symbolized pieces which each have a special set of rules, moves, and uses. What many people do not realize, however, even if they have experience with the game, is exactly why those pieces are called the names they are. These Chess pieces did not originate as Kings, Queens, and the like, but simply found their most popular form in them.

The Chess pieces, when the game was originally conceived in India, were all based on war elements. Infantry and calvary, elephants and chariots were all represented by pieces much like Pawns, Knights, Bishops, and Rooks. These pieces played out the game, trying to gain dominance over the other player's army. As the game spread to Eastern Asia, the pieces changed somewhat but still kept a military theme. The most importance piece at this stage, instead of being called the King, was usually referred to as the General. Even when the game eventually moved to Europe, the game did not catch on until the pieces were redesigned with a court-like theme instead of the popular military one.

Pawns kept the idea of the infantry and grew to represent the peasants from a court. They were considered expendable pieces, as the entire game was built around protecting the court. During the phase of Medieval Chess, however, these pieces were given a little more substance, and each particular Pawn was generally given a name relating to a certain commoner's occupation. Some Pawns were considered to be city guards, farmers, merchants, doctors, and innkeepers. While these special ranks did not denote anything special upon the Pawns, it attempted to give a little more story to the game of Chess and make things a little more diverse.

The Rook was originally symbolizing of a chariot and the word itself sounds remarkably familiar to the Persian word for "chariot." These Persian war chariots were often heavily armored with fortified stone work, giving the Chess piece the image of a mobile building. The design eventually reshaped itself into a turret and the modern Rook was born. Knights are usually represented by horses and are rather straightforward in their history and appearance. They never have had drastic meaning changes or appearance.

Bishops seem to generate from the Staunton Chess set. They are given a tall hat, much like a Bishop's mitre. This form, however, also pays homage to the original form of the Bishop, with the traditional deep groove also symbolizing the tusks of the elephant that the piece initially represented. The Queen, however, has had the most transformation over time. Originally only being allowed to move one space diagonally and to make a jump like a Knight only once in a game, by 1600, the piece was given the powers it is granted today. Additionally, the King was changed from a General to keep with the modern court theme. Just as with a General leading a war, a country is powerless without its King, making it be the most important piece of a Chess game.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for board games, chess boards, and dungeons and dragons miniatures. You will find all these things and more if you visit used board games and chess piece history.

AP - Colombia's military found and airlifted to freedom on Sunday a 62-year-old lawmaker who had escaped eight years of rebel captivity and fled deep into the jungle with the head of the guerrilla unit that held him.

Wii Games Rental

Renting Wii games has some advantages over renting other console games. If you were lucky enough to even get your hands on a Wii, your about to be a little bit lucky again.

If you've done any looking around at the different options for renting Wii games online, you've probably heard some of the pros and cons already. Likely the biggest complaint with most online game rental companies, is from customers who can't get the games they really want. The newest games to hit the market are usually just too popular for the game rental companies to keep up with.

But, if you dig a little further, you'll find that those customers having a hard time getting the newest games are almost all Xbox, and Xbox 360 customers. They just have bigger customer base, and are much harder for the companies to keep up with. The availability problem with the Wii, is not for the games, but for the Wii console itself. So, if your lucky enough to have a Wii, then you really shouldn't have a problem getting the games you want.

What this means, is that you should be able to rent all the newest, and most popular Wii games, for a very modest monthly fee. Renting games as a Wii player should actually live up to the hype the game rental companies have been promising all along. Unlike our Xbox brethren, renting Wii games should be a lot more fun. But hey, Wii gamers already knew gaming is more about fun all along ;)

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Wii Games Rental

AP - An Arkansas television anchorwoman died Saturday, several days after she didn't answer her wake-up call and was found beaten in her home, hospital officials said.

The Nintendo DS Games - Bringing Live Entertainment Options

The user enjoys playing the games that are made so exciting and enjoyable. It is incorporated with microphone and other features such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) standards. Nintendo DS games is the choice of every game lover. It is because of the ease, smart looks and high sophistication. This is primarily why it has won the applauds of worldwide users as it offers seamless solutions of gaming.

Nintendo DS Games is an advanced gaming console that has given a jolt to the gaming world. It is meant for every genre of users. Multiple players can play on this device. The user-friendly features of the gadget are simply great. The exciting graphic and animation of the device is the most interesting feature. The console comes with ultra-bright games, wireless communication and 3D graphics. The screen of the device is also touch sensitive and users find it an excellent means to access icons in order to open gaming files. This Nintendo is incorporated with a microphone that supports IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) standards. This feature being very innovative helps users to chat with many other users.

The Nintendo DS Games are supported with unique and informative content. It adds to the user-friendliness of the games. It is for them that users easily understand every gaming action. Thus, one can easily transit from one game level to another. These games are also given attractive title and this helps the users to easily find out the game while searching for them in the internet.

It has 148.7 x 84.7 x 28.9 mm dimensions and weighs only 275 gms. The TFT LCD screen has the ability to display the games at a resolution of 256 x 192 pixels. There are two processors fitted in the gadget. One is the ARM946E-S that is the main Central Processing Unit and the other is the ARM7TDMI that functions as the co-processor. The storage capacity of the gadget is 256 KB.

The users of the device can enjoy exciting and adventurous games for the brilliant battery performance. The durable Li-Ion battery allow users to play games for long hours and it can be recharged anytime. There are also other attractive features of Nintendo DS that the user can make use of. This includes alarm clock, saving options for anniversary dates, birthdays and other important dates. A particular game can be enjoyed by multiple users in a Nintendo DS.

Nintendo DS Games and Online Games

AP - It was the cradle of Jennifer Hudson's greatest triumphs. It's now the scene of her darkest hour.

Better Communication Skills For Technology Professionals

Introduction
Better communication skills; not a term usually associated with technology types. Perhaps you've heard the story about the man who asked the engineer what time it was, and the engineer told him how to build a watch?

Exaggeration?
Perhaps, but there is many a true story about firms meeting with clients, and the client asks the IT guy if the system will work. The IT guy's response goes something like this: "It certainly should. We did all our design reviews, held code walk thrus, tested it in system test, user acceptance test, load test. Yeah, we're feeling pretty good at this point."
The right answer, of course, is "yes, we guarantee it".

To be fair, it's not easy for tech pros these days. Many of their business counterparts are relatively tech savvy. They don't know if the VP of Marketing that they are talking to has detailed knowledge of web technology, or if they don't know their browser from their Bowzer (that's for you Sha Na Na fans).

Tips for Tech Pros
Technology professionals who don't want to be treated like mushrooms, who want direct involvement with clients and the chance to participate in decision making, need to develop better communication skills. It's not too hard if they focus on four key behaviors:

• Adapt to your audience. Figure out where they start from on the technical knowledge scale. You don't want to lose them, and you don't want to talk down to them. If you're not sure, ask. They'll usually give you a straight answer.
• Listen for intent. If the client wants a high availability customer database solution, and the customer billing info is on a separate database, then they probably need high availability for that other database as well.
• Be tolerant and value differences. It's ok if the lawyer can't turn on his laptop. You probably don't want to be his opposing counsel in front of a judge.
• Don't try to impress. The tech knowledgeable members of the audience won't be, and the tech averse already are.

Managers and Leaders
You stand to gain credibility with clients and partners when you can bring your tech pros along to answer questions and gain a stronger understanding of the business. Of course you can suffer if they commit crimes of miscommunication. Here's what you need to do:

• Decide which members of your staff just don't have business communication in their DNA. Be honest with those people, and define their roles accordingly. You don't have to keep them in the dark like mushrooms, just make sure you know who's around before you let them into the daylight.
• Highlight the strong communicators in your technology teams. Give them access to clients and other business leaders. Make it clear that they are demonstrating role model behavior.
• Invite business experts (internal, external, client) to share their knowledge and feedback with your technical teams. You'll get a better sense of who "get's it", and your staff will appreciate your efforts on their behalf.
• Take every opportunity to reinforce for technology professionals the reasons why they are asked to do what they do. Help them keep perspective. Encourage questions, and provide individual feedback about more than their technical skills.

The organization that isn't changing is probably dying. For more information about managing change and developing leaders, please visit http://www.thomasjodea.com

Tom O'Dea has more than 20 years of senior leadership experience in companies ranging from startups to multi billion dollar corporations.

AP - The Sunday afternoon calm was broken by shouts from the small, mission-style house, watched over by a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Text Based Role Playing Games

The world of online gaming is huge and growing by the day. There are many reasons people are drawn to playing these massive multi-player online games. But one of the main reasons in my opinion, is the online communities it creates. There are literally 1000's of people playing a single game at anytime of the day. While playing these games you gain "friends" from all over the world, but in most cases you only know them by their game name.

There are many different types of role playing games online to choose from. Most people know the big ones out there (World of Warcraft, EverQuest..etc), but some of the least know online RPG's or the Text Based Role Playing Games. These games offer some captivating game play, without any animation or controls.

That's right there are no game graphics, you just type in or click on your commands or actions. The best part about these Text Based Role Playing Games is the online communities that they develop. Text based games tend to have much lower member numbers. Which helps make the communities tighter in these text based games. In these games it is not uncommon to know all most all the players in the game. This really adds to the game play, when you are playing with the same people every day.

There are quite a few text based role playing games out there. Some of my favorites are MafiaLife.com, Avalon and Legendary Tales. One of the best things about these games is that they are completely free to play, as are most all text based games. They mostly stay up and running threw advertisements and donations. The developers of these games are generally, Individuals and their online communities with a good imagination and a lot of time on their hands. These guys create some great text based role playing games, that are a blast to play and build really strong online communities.

For more information on text based roleplaying games and other gaming articles and reviews visit us at... Gaming Sites Reviews

AP - "Saturday Night Live" just won't be the same without Amy Poehler - who delivered a baby boy hours before the "Baby Mama" star was to appear on the NBC show.

Testing Video Games For Cash

Playing video games for a living is a dream come true for some. Playing video games for a living and getting paid for it, is not just a dream, but a reality. Imagine testing video games for cash. Take two minutes to just sit aside and think about it. If you play video games now, just for fun, why not get paid for it?

Video game testing is a very large, and growing, industry and should NOT be passed up by anyone. Many things are included when becoming a video game tester. Not only do you get to test video games, but you get to do things other people would never be able, or allowed, to do. Wanna know what exactly I am talking about? Well listen up. When joining the industry you get to take part in some video game beta testing. Don't understand me? Well, that means the game is done, but it still needs to tweak out some things. So companies will pay you to do that. Do you know anyone who can play a video game before it is released into the world........I didn't think so. That is an advantage of testing video games.

Another advantage is getting free copies of games before anyone does. Have you blown away all your money trying to buy the newest and coolest games on the market? Well, like I said, it's not necessary. You can just get them, FREE. That's the amazing part. You can also take advantage of learning a load of cheat codes and "bugs" before the game is released. I wouldn't pass up on an opportunity like this if I were you. Does this all sound to good to be true? Well it isn't. Many people have been completely satisfied with this kind of job. Do your parents want you to get a real job? If so, call them over to the computer right now and make them read this article. Hopefully they will start agreeing that the video game industry isn't just for goofing off and being lazy, it's for young teens (or even adults) to make a living that will be fun and enjoyable to them. Earning money while working at a hard job is the thing of the past. Making money from home is the way to go.

Think about making almost $200 dollars a day. I know that number is very big, but it is possible. Anything is possible. You can test computer games, or even console games. Don't like the Xbox 360? Well choose the PC. Don't like the PC? Well choose the PS3. Not fond of the PS3? Go with the Wii. It's all up to you.

Testing video games has been around for a while now and, with the industry skyrocketing in growth, it is the way of the future. With over $50 billion dollars in sales last year alone (2007), don't expect those numbers to drop. It will only continue on growing and growing and give Video Game Testers more work to do. But making that kind of money, who can complain? Don't hesitate on becoming a video game tester. You will NOT regret it. I PROMISE!

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AP - It was the cradle of Jennifer Hudson's greatest triumphs. It's now the scene of her darkest hour.

Water For Gas - An Overview of HHO Technology

HHO is better known as oxyhydrogen, using two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen, the same ratio found in water. As a gas, it is highly combustible and has been used for several applications. The most common production method for HHO technology is water electrolysis, wherein electricity is used to separate the water molecules. This method has been used for well over 100 years and is still in practice today.

One of the most well known uses of HHO technology is the limelight. In this application, a flame produced by oxyhydrogen is directed to lime (calcium oxide) to produce bright light, often used for theaters and stages through the 19th century . The advent of electric lighting quickly made limelight an outdated method for producing vibrant, incandescent light.

The welding industry has benefited from HHO technology for decades, thanks to the oxyhydrogen torch. Here we see hydrogen burned with oxygen to produce an intense flame, hot enough to work on glass, metal, and assorted plastics. One advantage of HHO technology found here is the distance between the torch's tip and the flame itself, which is often large enough to keep the tip relatively cool to the touch.

Today's main interest in HHO technology is for use in the automotive industry. With gas prices at an all-time high, many people are looking for ways to make their vehicle more fuel efficient. The average gasoline engine is very inefficient, utilizing only about 20% of the power created in the combustion chamber. The remaining majority becomes carbon deposits or it burned off as heat. The use of HHO technology in vehicles involves creating oxyhydrogen and getting it into the intake manifold, where it eventually reaches the combustion chamber. Having oxyhydrogen in the combustions chamber helps the engine burn gasoline more efficiently, which increases fuel economy as well as improving performance.

Detractors argue that the resources exerted to create the oxyhydrogen in automotive applications are greater than the results, technically making it less efficient than a standard combustion engine. While the jury is still out on all the pros and cons, the use of HHO technology is here to stay for quite some time and continues to gain momentum.

HHO technology will save you tons of money on gas, and your car will have cleaner emissions. Click here to learn how you can implement it on your vehicle.

AP - Not only has a 56-year-old Ohio woman given birth to triplets, but they're her own granddaughters.

Retirement Computer Games - Casual Gaming For Us!

Believe it or not, one of the hottest markets for video games is not teens or young men, its us retirees!

Who would have thought that active adults would be participants in the video game revolution...? One of the growth areas in video gaming is what they call casual games, i.e. PC-based games that we non-gamers can pick up in just minutes and play with the simplest equipment.

The emphasis in casual gaming is on fun, rather than realistic, graphics. As opposed to violence, casual games are family friendly. Some are old favorites like Pac Man and poker. Games previously played with pencil and paper like Soduku are online now, and there are plenty of new strategy and mystery games geared towards us.

Broadband internet makes it possible to have a great gaming experience online. You can buy a game online for about $20. Often you can try before you buy. You can also visit the portals such as Yahoo Games, pogo.com, MSN Games and WildTangent for a wide variety of casual games. Look for new things to come from breakthrough sights like iWin.com, and MostFun.com.

If youd like to combine a little exercise with your gaming, invest in a Nintendo Wii. Youll need a console but can get a nice little workout from Nintendos sports games. Its a great activity for groups of friends and family get-togethers. Next thing you know theyll be putting skateboard parks in retirement communities. After all, were young at heart!

CLICK HERE for free tips on how you can maximize your retirement

AfterIRetire.com is a popular resource for retirees and those planning for retirement.

AP - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fallen ill due to his heavy workload, a close associate told the Iranian state news agency late Saturday.

Top Age of Conan Players Help Others in Leveling

The first day Age of Conan officially goes live, marks the start of the power leveling race to level 80. Both MMORPG newbies and hard-core veterans start from equal grounds regardless of their prior experience. Traditionally, this leveling route varies depending on each player's preference. There are two schools of thoughts; one is based on grinding monsters and another favors questing. Each method presents different advantages and disadvantages. From level 1 to 80, these players experiment and try to create the best Age of Conan guide that offers the most efficient leveling strategy.

Grinding strategy may be a viable method of leveling. Traditional click and slash MMORPGs allow players to click a button and auto-target monsters to their death. Age of Conan offers more involvement in the action-based combat system by having no targeting functions. Players get to control the direction of weapon swings and watchout for their characters' and the monster's positioning so as to complete each swing within range to do damage to the monsters. The same goes for ranged and caster type characters, they must actively watch and follow the target's movements. Repeatingly killing monsters normally sounds boring and dull but the combat system in AoC makes it easier to grind from 1 to 80. Thus, offering top players to create grinding based AoC guides that tell others which mobs to kill and how to find them.

On the other hand, leveling by questing may seem to be the more appropriate choice for new MMORPGs. However, it does have some drawbacks. Coming up with original and meaningful quests, and storyline is not easy to achieve. Most of the quests in other MMORPGs we have seen so far, lacks creativity. Quests with killing X numbers of Y monsters are common in every game as well as picking item Z and delivering it to the NPC at another town. Age of Conan promises us deep immersion, interactive quests and an involving storyline which offers a variety of quests for both solo and group players. This presents another interesting solution for an AoC game guide that focuses primarily on questing from 1 to 80.

The developer has estimated a total of nine days to hit the level cap, nevertheless players will look for and have always been able to discover more efficient ways to reach the goal faster. With trial and error, the time to reach level 80 will be shortened as players eventually hit the optimized balance for both grinding and questing. Once it has been achieved, these leveling secrets are published in the form of leveling strategy guides that everybody can follow. Within the first few months, you will see an abundant selection of free and commercial Age of Conan strategy guides in the market. However, the best AoC guide must offer a balanced mix of both the grinding and questing aspects of leveling as player's personal preference differs.

The author is an experienced strategy guide writer for online games. His Age of Conan guide can be found only at Killerguides. Killerguides.com provides unofficial Age of Conan strategy guides and offers other selections ranging from general strategy guides to more advanced gold making and class strategy guides.

AP - Zeppelins, the giant floating airships used to carry passengers and drop bombs until the 1930s, haven't been seen in American skies for more than 70 years.

Game Cheats

Game cheats players of any video game often encounter difficulties whenever they are playing. These difficulties is due to something such as bugs left in the game by the creators of the game, bonuses that are place in the game for the benefit of the gamers or maybe because the player is just stuck because he or she don,t know what to do to counter the powers his character,s enemies. Either of the three reasons mentioned, gamers are prone to resort to the application of games cheat into the game in order to get out of the level, unlock hidden items, or conquer the bugs.

When you buy a game, you expect that you will be satisfied with the action you just did. Satisfaction means that you are having fun while playing the game with or without any friends around, never being frustrated when you are into play because you cannot get past into the level you are in, and having enough time for other important activities other than gaming. To achieve the highest form of satisfaction a gamer use these games cheat or hints or walk through that will enable them to encounter any kind of hardships in the game.

You really cannot blame those people who are fond of using these games cheat, hints, walk through to their play. And you cannot also say that they are cheating unless they are applying the worst kind of video game cheating. Yes, that,s right video games cheat falls into two categories, the acceptable and the no-acceptable. The acceptable type of games cheat are those mix of buttons that you are applying in a game to gain additional lives, weapons or characters. On the other hand games cheat that are not acceptable is when a player make use of external devices that they attach into the platform to change the games setting onto that particular player,s advantage. For example, in the popular game of Counter Strike when you apply those devices you can see your rivals behind walls and you can aim at them automatically.

I,m a fan of the former kind of games cheat. I like to apply those combos so that I will still have the time to spare for my families and friends that are not inclined in video gaming. It saves my time and it proves to be helpful. I am also enjoying every part of the game that has made me satisfied with the purchase I make.

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AP - Scrambling to win the West, Democrat Barack Obama mocked John McCain on Saturday for aggressively trying to distance himself from President Bush. McCain touted his Western ties and warned that Obama is a tax-and-spend threat to the nation.

Old Video Games

Over the last three decades, video games have evolved as one of the best forms of entertainment and have grown immensely in popularity. Video games serve as one of the best means for spending time with loved ones or simply having fun with friends. The modern trend of video game popularity was not always visible. Conventional designs for video games were sluggish and unattractive and had more of a scientific value rather than entertainment value. Initial designs for video games focused on creating a video display using interactive visuals complemented by in game responses and feedback as the game continued.

Recent video games incorporate quality 3D animation and graphic detail, with excellent game play. Old video games on the other hand, had comparatively poor graphics and relied more on game play for success in the market.

The genre of old video games corresponds to games that used 8-bit and 16-bit microchips. Most of the old video games were introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Video games such as Mario, Super Mario, Contra, Street Fighter, Packman series and so on were extremely popular in these years. Some are even played today due to their brilliant game play and excellent story line.

Old video games are generally played on game consoles from Sega, Atari and other game consoles. Some can be played on arcade machines and on computers. These video games are played today, using emulation software on computers. Emulation is however attracts a fair bit of controversy as the software used for emulation may be illegally copied.

Old video games can be availed of online on a plethora of websites offering the same for download. The file size for these video games is usually small and can be downloaded for free. Some rare video games may however require prior payment for download. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and MSN can be used to obtain links and sites offering downloads of old video games. Old video games can also be acquired from select vendors at different parts of the country.

Video Games provides detailed information on Video Games, Video Game Rentals, Video Game Cheats, Online Video Games and more. Video Games is affiliated with Video Poker Software.

E! Online - The FBI has joined the search for Jennifer Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, who has been missing since yesterday's shooting deaths of her brother, Jason Hudson, 29, and mother, Darnell Donerson, 57.

Why is Wii Fit System So Popular?

Wii Fit is a new video game developed by Nintendo for the Wii console. It includes 40 types of training activities, and comes bundled with the Wii Balance Board. It is the first game to make use of the Wii Balance Board as a unique platform peripheral that can measure a user's weight and center of gravity.

It is useful for working every muscle in the body including: abs, arms, back, chest, legs, gluteus maximus, and more through exercises and games: Yoga & Breathing Exercises, Muscle Strength & Toning Exercises, Flexibility Exercises, Balance Exercises, and Stress Reduction Exercises. Its best activities are the aerobic and balance games.

In fact, this game has become a favorite family activity at house. It is simple to use, and simply the most fun way to keep you, your family and friends fit. Also, Wii Fit along with the balance board takes this a step further as it is even more interactive, requiring more physical input. Keeping fit is indeed an ongoing process. It helps set fitness goals, track progress and work with a virtual trainer to do activities and exercises every day. It can weigh you in at any time, and let you know where you fall on the body mass index scale as well as giving you your weight in pounds.

The Balance Board has one drawback. Jumping seems like the natural thing to do in some of the activities, but unfortunately, it doesn't want you to jump on it. Meanwhile, the biggest problem would be the inability to set up a sequence of activities that you could run through one after the other. Wii Fit allows a player to keep track of activities outside of the game, which are then added on to the player's activity log, but not included in the daily exercise time. It gives you all these different yoga poses and exercises, but it never gives you any sort of big-picture overview of how to design a workout routine for yourself.

Even though Wii Fit isn't perfect, the feedback you get from the Balance Board makes it easily the best "exercise-game" yet. It should be great for anyone and what's good is Nintendo actually thinks about the people playing their games. This game is an excellent way to introduce a little physical activity into your daily routine -- if you can manage to find a copy. It works because it shows you everyday how much you weigh, how much time you have invested, and how well you are doing on your exercises. As for the training activities, both balance and aerobic workouts do a great job of masking the science behind them and these are probably Wii Fit's greatest strength.

To find Nintendo Wii top games, please visit http://www.videogamesmonster.com.

AP - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fallen ill due to his heavy workload, a close associate told the Iranian state news agency late Saturday.

Mac Casinos

Ever wonder where the Mac casinos are at? A lot of people who do not use PC's are just as eager to play online games and are often looking for Mac casinos and game rooms. The good news is there are more of these popping up now than ever before.

It is no secret that until now people searching for the best Mac casinos were out of luck. Virtually all gaming rooms were PC systems. It has taken a few years but finally Apple users can now play online too.

As is often the case with Apple users, the buck does not stop with Mac casinos but goes on with a huge array of information and tips for those using Apple computers. You can find a great deal of information on Mac casino reviews as well as other great destination. You can also discover the most current information on the new no download systems that are becoming so popular. These systems allow you to play without actually having to download the game or associated software.

Apple users will also be interested in knowing about the newer Mac casinos that use Flash or Java. Of course, there are still plenty of HTML Mac casinos as well.

Some of the exciting games that you can find for the Apple user include Texas Holdem, No Limit Texas Holdem, slot machines of all types, Blackjack games, Keno, Bingo, Omaha, Roulette, Pai Gow, and many more. In fact, you might hard-pressed to not find the game that you are looking for.

Of importance to many users is the fact that more online sports books are also becoming Mac casino systems. This allows those who are interested in wagering on sports to get into the action without having to buy a PC in order to do so. You can find the sites for these Apple systems by doing a simple search. Do not be surprised if you find a lot of options to choose from. In fact, the hardest part might be deciding on which Mac casinos are best suited for you.

While Mac casinos are becoming more numerous, it is still important to read up on them. You can find all kinds of reviews available and these reviews will often help lead you to the sites that are the best in both performance and graphics.

To mention it again because it is important, keep in mind the no download games that are available. These are usually Flash games and they have some incredible graphics. But because they are not downloaded they are a better option for many people, especially those who may be playing at work.

You will also be happy to know that many Mac casinos now offer free downloads of goodies that are designed especially for Apples. Many of these free goodie bags are promotional in nature and have nothing to do with the games, but they are nice to get anyway.

Want to learn more about Mac casinos? Visit http://www.casinosviplounge.com and learn about the massive explosion of choices you now have when it comes to finding and enjoying Mac casinos.

You will also be happy to know that many Mac casinos now offer free downloads of goodies that are designed especially for Apples. Many of these free goodie bags are promotional in nature and have nothing to do with the games. Mac online casinos are fun and it's easy to learn. Play and win now at best online casinos in the world

AP - Terrorist strikes on four American cities. Russia rolling into Eastern Europe. Israel hit by a nuclear bomb. Gay marriage in every state. The end of the Boy Scouts.

Solar Power: Advantages and Disadvantages

There are many advantages of solar energy. Just consider the advantages of solar energy over that of oil:

Solar energy is a renewable resource. Although we cannot utilize the power of the sun at night or on stormy, cloudy days, etc., we can count on the sun being there the next day, ready to give us more energy and light. As long as we have the sun, we can have solar energy (and on the day that we no longer have the sun, you can believe that we will no longer have ourselves, either).

Oil, on the other hand, is not renewable. Once it is gone, it is gone. Yes, we may find another source to tap, but that source may run out, as well.

Solar cells are totally silent. They can extract energy from the sun without making a peep. Now imagine the noise that the giant machines used to drill for and pump oil make!

Solar energy is non-polluting. Of all advantages of solar energy over that of oil, this is, perhaps, the most important. The burning of oil releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and carcinogens into the air.

Solar cells require very little maintenance (they have no moving parts that will need to be fixed), and they last a long time.

Although solar panels or solar lights, etc., may be expensive to buy at the onset, you can save money in the long run. After all, you do not have to pay for energy from the sun. On the other hand, all of us are aware of the rising cost of oil.

Solar powered lights and other solar powered products are also very easy to install. You do not even need to worry about wires.

As you can see, there are many advantages of solar energy. The advantages of solar energy range from benefiting your pocketbook to benefiting the environment. There are actually only a few features of solar energy that can be considered disadvantages.

Here are the disadvantages of solar energy:

Solar cells/panels, etc. can be very expensive.

Solar power cannot be created at night.

As you can see the advantages of solar energy create a much longer list that the disadvantages, and the disadvantages are things that can be improved as technology improves.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, the enviornment, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on solar power, please visit Solar Home.

AP - It's been eight years since the re-count of the 2000 Florida election, but Jim Dobyns is still living with chads. One waited for him when he went to clean the top of the microwave. He found another by the coffee table. And when he was petting his cat recently he plucked one of the manila-colored flakes from its fur.

How to Fix Scratched PS2 Games

Even though the PS3 is quickly becoming popular, many of us have decided to stick to the PS2. There are more games, cheaper products, and more options for purchase. Heck, you can even download ps2 games on the internet. Of course, these games are going to get a lot of use (because they're awesome!) and eventually you are going to want to know how to fix scratched ps2 games. This article will help.

Is it scratched or just dirty?

Sometimes the problem with our game is not a scratch. Really, the ps2 will read a lot of games with shallow scratches but it really has a problem with caked-on gook. Try cleaning the disc before you attempt to fix the scratch (or you might do work harm than is necessary).

It's scratched! How do you fix it?

It's actually really easy to fix scratched PS2 games. This is what you need.

• Baking Soda Toothpaste
• a Lint-free cloth (an eyeglasses cloth is perfect)

Before you start you should know that it is not a good idea to wipe your disc in circles. Unlike old LPs (where you had to follow the groove), PS2 Games should be rubbed from the center straight to the outside edge. Wiping in circles does more damage and you want to avoid that.

5 Simple steps to fix scratched ps2 games

• Put a little warm water on the disc.
• apply a little toothpaste to your cloth
• rub (as directed) over the scratched area and around it. If you have a lot of scratches then you should do the whole disc. 10-15 swipes from inside to out should do the trick.
• rinse the toothpaste off
• allow the disc to air dry

See? It's not hard to fix scratched PS2 Games at all. There is one problem to this method though; You can do it too often. Realize that you are grinding down the plastic surface around the crack to make the ps2 think it's shallow. If you do it too often then you will have no plastic buffer left and the foil data layer will get destroyed. For serious problems (or repeated damage) your best bet is to resurface the disc.

Fixing scratched games (for any system) can be time-consuming and sometimes causes more damage in the long run. Visit the Electronic Toy Room for advice on quick and easy ways to fix scratched ps2 games properly! http://electronictoyroom.wordpress.com/

AP - Zeppelins, the giant floating airships used to carry passengers and drop bombs until the 1930s, haven't been seen in American skies for more than 70 years.

Guitar Hero 4 - Here We Go Again!

Guitar Hero is not about song lists, or storyline - it's about the gameplay. You can customise characters however and there is a huge amount of licensed items in the game which does stand out.

Guitar Hero is simply one of the most addictive and charming games of the year. It is just a fad, but the real guitar is an art, almost a way of life. Guitar Hero is a brand we all know and love, well established and now in its third main iteration. In fact is there anything that could make this air guitar lovers dream any better than it already is?

Guitar Hero is a terrific game, one that musical fans should not be without. If there is even a little rocker in you, you will want this game. It is entertainment only, not for showing off, although some people has forgotten that. There are people who don't have a social life, who just sits inside playing this game and putting their sessions up on YouTube. Guitar Hero is an entity of evil. It degrades the value of music.

Guitar hero is cool. I have never played but seen it being played and people were having fun. Guitar Hero is the gift of a great game and the gift of music. It is the gift of rocking your walls clean off your house. Guitar Hero is back - and in the finest tradition of rock flick Spinal Tap, everything in the game has been turned up to eleven.

Guitar Hero is easily as compelling as your more standard games types, like a good first-person shooter or platformer, and fast becomes the sort of game that pops into your head all the time. It's scary when you find yourself doing the hand motions as certain tracks pop up during a working day. Guitar hero is ripping off rockband SO hard. Is this even legal? Guitar Hero is his hobby, and he is a kid.

Guitar Hero is not a pathetic digital fair trade of guitar playing, it's a Fun Game. It is probably my favorite game of all time, so this is extremely exciting news for me. I'm very curious how they are going to implement everything. Guitar Hero is a game that's fun solo, but also another great party piece. If you want to feel like you're in Spinal Tap in front of friends.

Finally, a winner emerged (by only 8,000 points!) and his buddies stormed the stage and hoisted him onto their shoulders. With the final score nearing 300,000 points, we were all pretty quickly humbled. Finally, Battle is the ultimate head-on competition. Like Pro Face-Off, you play at the same time, but with Battle, as you play well, you earn power-ups that you can use to disrupt, sabotage, and frustrate your opponent.

Games that feature caricatures of celebrity artists, such as Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, include the ability to unlock those artists as playable characters. Guitar Hero World Tour will introduce the ability for players to create their own characters. Game play begins as soon as you see the arrows come toward you on the screen. There is a control line where, when the arrows meet it, you press the corresponding colored button on the neck of the guitar controller. Gameplay is affected by the amount you snort, with a moderate amount giving you extra energy and inspiration, while too much will cause you to lose control, and possibly OD.

GameSpot released an April Fools article in 2006 announcing "cowbell Hero" as a successor to the first game. Games that feature caricatures of celebrity artists, such as Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith include the ability to unlock those artists as playable characters.

Gamers lucky enough to have a Nintendo Wii have to miss out on the "Rock Band" experience as it is not available for the Wii. Neither of the games are available for play on regular Xbox or Nintendo GameCube. Game Stooge sounds like the spoiled brat who cries to his mommy every time he doesn't get his way.

Players will be able to affect their character's poise, clothing, tattoos, makeup, and age. Selected characters from previous Guitar Hero games will also be available as starting templates for creating a rocker. Players use the Guitar Grip, which mimics a guitar fret board, and the Guitar Hero pick-stylus on the touch screen to strum their favourite tunes and create their rock 'n' roll legacy in career mode. Fans can also join together to play co-op mode using a local wireless connection, or battle each other in a Guitar Duel using new Battle Items unique to Nintendo DS. Players also can autograph a virtual fan's T-shirt using the stylus and the touch screen or use the wireless capabilities of the DS to play in cooperative or competition modes.

http://www.gh4.co.uk

AP - It was the cradle of Jennifer Hudson's greatest triumphs. It's now the scene of her darkest hour.

Broadband Internet Services and Their Benefits

Are you tired of the slow download speeds of a dial up internet?

In todays world, you would probably want a high-speed internet to improve your way of life and your business. This is possible by using a broadband internet connection.

With the broadband internets popularity growing, it becomes more and more affordable and available for everyone. You would probably want to switch into a faster and reliable internet connection to catch up with the demands of present living.

Fast and reliable internet access is not the only advantage in getting broadband internet connection. There are many more benefits from this technology.

Here are a few examples of broadband internet benefits:

With broadband internet, you can download or upload files and software faster than a dial up has to offer. With broadband connection, you can also send large files like movie clips to your friends, family or your clients who wants a video presentation of your product.

If you are a student in need of a research, you no longer have to go to your local library for it. The internet itself is a library. With broadband internet connection, you can research faster and you can research more websites. With dial up, this can take a while; even waiting for a single webpage to load is often slow with dial up.

This technology changes the way you play multiplayer games. With the recent boom of the massively multiplayer online role-playing games, you can play RPG games with other people from all over the world and at the same time lets you talk to them. You can play either online game through your PC or gaming consoles. Some examples of these are the Playstation2 or Xbox.

One of the best benefits a broadband internet connection offer is you can easily view web cams with faster refresh rates around the world.

This means, if your family or friends have web cams you no longer have to just email them, but also chat either through voice or text and view them in real time. The best thing about this, it is free.

Broadband internet can enable you to watch streaming videos in the internet such as, internet TV, watch your favorite music videos and other online short films. In dial ups, this is possible but often results in choppy video.

Buying and downloading music is easier. With broadband internet connection, you can buy music singles or albums much cheaper than your local music store. All you have to do is visit a website that sells music downloads and you can directly download the music file, fast.

With broadband internet connection, you can now use your computer as your personal phone. With VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol, you can call you family and friends with little or no long distance calls.

You can also use VoIP for video conference meetings, fax, and other features free that traditional phones charge expensive fees for these features.

The internet can also be a radio station, you can now tune in to internet radio faster and without interference. With dial up, you can also play the internet radio but often encounters problem like choppiness due to low speed internet.

There are so much more uses for broadband internet connection, whether you use it at home or work the possibilities are vast. More innovations to benefit with this technology are being developed. Organizing your life and work is easier with broadband internet connection.

Since there are so many types of broadband internet services in the market today, it is up to you to choose which package that will suit you best. Research and compare broadband internet providers.

Bob Hett has extensively covered the Internet Service Provider industry as an analyst and has researched the various companies for factors based on price, reliability, support and overall quality. Learn more at Broadband Internet Service

AP - It was the cradle of Jennifer Hudson's greatest triumphs. It's now the scene of her darkest hour.