If there was any doubt in anyone?s mind that Grand Theft Auto V was shaping up to be the bestselling game this generation, only take a look at the amount of views the game?s first gameplay trailer has garnered on YouTube in two days, and you?ll become solid in thought about the its sales potential and mass appeal.
Two days ago the first gameplay trailer for Grand Theft Auto V was released by developer Rockstar, and as of writing, the views on YouTube stand at 10,985,709 and climbing. It?ll hit 11 million by the time you read this, a feat we haven?t seen accomplished in a long time, if ever.
Elsewhere, UK?s?GfK Chart-Track director Dorian Bloch has said that the game??has the potential to reach the week one summit? and possibly break opening week sales records in the UK.
The record is currently being held by Black Ops, which sold 2 million units in its first week on sale in the UK and a recorded??58m worth of sales on its first day.
With GTA 5 looking to be the current generation?s swansong, I fully expect gamers, by the tens of millions, to buy the game. And with the install base of PS3 and Xbox 360 being the largest they?ve ever been, Rockstar?s open world epic won?t disappoint.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the United States and China must build greater trust and he argued that Chinese economic reforms such as freeing its exchange rate and moving to a consumption-led economy were in both nations' interest.
Biden also said that the United States was determined to intensify its cooperation with China to rein in North Korea's nuclear programs, as he spoke at the formal opening session of this week's annual U.S.-Chinese Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Vicki Allen)
[unable to retrieve full-text content]People with collectivist mindsets tend to value the relationships between items more than the particular items themselves. Those with individualistic mindsets seem to do just the opposite.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Today's smartphones allow for increased opportunities for activities traditionally defined as sedentary behaviors, such as surfing the internet, emailing and playing video games. However, researchers have linked high cell phone use to poor fitness in college students.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks mostly edged lower on Wednesday, stalling after a four-day climb as attention turned to the afternoon release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting.
The minutes from the June 18-19 meeting of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee will be released at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Investors will scrutinize the minutes for any hints on the central bank's plan to wind down its massive monetary stimulus.
"It's all about the tapering and how much tapering there is and when that starts," said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.
"Right now, the whisper is that this may start in September or in the fall, so I think that's the real debate now, whether they start this fall or wait until next year."
Firms that deal directly with the Fed see the stimulus reductions beginning in September, according to a Reuters poll.
Family Dollar Stores Inc shot up 6.2 percent to $67.89. The stock was the S&P 500's top performer after the discount chain posted quarterly earnings. The company's shares were trading at a seven-month high.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 22.40 points, or 0.15 percent, at 15,277.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 1.80 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,650.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 7.03 points, or 0.20 percent, at 3,511.29.
Shares of Cisco Systems Inc rose nearly 1 percent to $25.41 and helped the Nasdaq hang on to a slim gain.
The S&P 500 <.spx> has risen 2.2 percent over the past five sessions, pushing the benchmark index to just about 1 percent below its May 21 all-time closing high of 1,669.16. Those gains came largely on waning fears about imminent reductions to the Fed's $85 billion a month in bond purchases.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spooked investors last month when he said the economy's expansion was strong enough for the central bank to start slowing the pace of its bond purchases later this year.
Bernanke will speak at 4:10 p.m. (4.10 p.m. EDT) before the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Like the FOMC minutes, his comments will be eyed for clues about the Fed's stimulus plans.
Thomson Reuters data through Wednesday morning showed that analysts expect S&P 500 companies' earnings to grow 2.6 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, while revenue is forecast to increase 1.5 percent from a year ago.
Financial shares were weakest, with PNC Financial Services dropping 2.6 percent to $74.30 and Wells Fargo & Co falling 1.9 percent to $41.88.
Nabors Industries Ltd fell 5.6 percent to $15.10 and was the S&P 500's worst performer after the owner of the world's largest land-drilling rig fleet warned on Tuesday that its second-quarter operating profit would fall short of market expectations.
Fastenal Co declined 2.1 percent to $46.12 after the industrial and construction supply company posted second-quarter earnings that matched Wall Street's expectations.
After the closing bell, earnings are expected from fast-food restaurant operator Yum Brands Inc . The stock was down 0.7 percent at $72.16 in midday trading.
(Reporting by Alison Griswold; Editing by Jan Paschal)
I am obsessed with black doors right now. All white interiors with black doors. I firmly believe in the design concept of contrast. Contrast makes rooms look bigger, and defines spaces. Contrast gives your eyes a place to land and gives your brain a que to pay attention. Here is some great inspiration that I?ve collected ? so you can visualize the idea:
I have 3 sets of ?mini? french doors (like the ones below) slated for the house ? One from master into master bedroom. One from kitchen into pantry, and one from the hall into the reading nook. I?m pretty sure all of these are going to be black. Though I might consider painting a brighter ?fun? color for the pantry doors. Like a turquoise.
I also have 2 sets of black french doors planned for the family room (going out to the back deck). In essence something like this:
So what do you think about black doors? yea. ney? Or ?Love it, just not in my house??
Global study stresses importance of public Internet accessPublic release date: 11-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Peter Kelley kellep@uw.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington
Millions of people in low-income countries still depend on public computer and Internet access venues despite the global proliferation of mobile phones and home computers. However, interest in providing such public access has waned in recent years, especially among development agencies, as new technologies become available.
But a five-year, eight-country study recently concluded by the Technology & Social Change Group at the University of Washington Information School has found that community access to computer and Internet technology remains a crucial resource for connecting people to the information and skills they need in an increasingly digital world.
"Our study finds that many people in low- and middle-income countries, including the underemployed, women, rural residents and other who are often marginalized, derive great benefits in such areas as education, employment and health when they use computers and the Internet at public access venues," said Araba Sey, Information School research assistant professor and lead investigator of the study.
The Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies surveyed 5,000 computer users at libraries, telecenters and cybercafs and 2,000 nonusers at home to learn about patterns of public access use.
The researchers also surveyed 1,250 operators of public access venues and conducted seven in-depth case studies to examine issues that have generated controversy. The study was conducted in eight low- and middle-income countries on three continents: Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Lithuania, Philippines and South Africa.
The researchers' findings include:
Public access venues were the only source of the Internet for one-third of users surveyed, and provided the first-ever computer contact for more than half of those users a number that rose among lower socioeconomic groups and female populations.
More than half said their use of computers would decrease if public access venues were no longer available, and about half cited a lack of computer access as their main reason for using public venues.
Forty percent of users surveyed said public access venues had been crucial to their development of computer skills, and half said the same of learning Internet skills.
The study's final report also makes recommendations for government and donor organizations as well as libraries and telecenter practitioners. Their suggestions include:
Support the wide availability of public Internet access venues and incorporate them into national initiatives involving digital resources and services for health, education, governance and other areas.
Use existing infrastructure such as libraries when considering investments in public Internet access.
Embrace games, as they help build technology skills.
Value the role of social networking and communications, which have become critical venues for accessing important resources.
Embrace the use of mobile phones, which the study found do not pose a threat to the relevance of public access.
Chris Coward, director of the Technology & Social Change Group, said the motivation of the study was "to provide governments and the international development community, which have expended tremendous amounts to support the availability of computers and Internet, with empirical evidence about what types of impacts have resulted from these investments."
The researchers have made all the data from this study publicly available for others to use on the project website, http://www.globalimpactstudy.org.
###
The Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies was funded by Canada' s International Development Research Centre and a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
For more information or interviews, contact Coward at 206-437-4592 or ccoward@uw.edu; or Sey at 206-685-3724 or arabasey@uw.edu.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Global study stresses importance of public Internet accessPublic release date: 11-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Peter Kelley kellep@uw.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington
Millions of people in low-income countries still depend on public computer and Internet access venues despite the global proliferation of mobile phones and home computers. However, interest in providing such public access has waned in recent years, especially among development agencies, as new technologies become available.
But a five-year, eight-country study recently concluded by the Technology & Social Change Group at the University of Washington Information School has found that community access to computer and Internet technology remains a crucial resource for connecting people to the information and skills they need in an increasingly digital world.
"Our study finds that many people in low- and middle-income countries, including the underemployed, women, rural residents and other who are often marginalized, derive great benefits in such areas as education, employment and health when they use computers and the Internet at public access venues," said Araba Sey, Information School research assistant professor and lead investigator of the study.
The Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies surveyed 5,000 computer users at libraries, telecenters and cybercafs and 2,000 nonusers at home to learn about patterns of public access use.
The researchers also surveyed 1,250 operators of public access venues and conducted seven in-depth case studies to examine issues that have generated controversy. The study was conducted in eight low- and middle-income countries on three continents: Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Lithuania, Philippines and South Africa.
The researchers' findings include:
Public access venues were the only source of the Internet for one-third of users surveyed, and provided the first-ever computer contact for more than half of those users a number that rose among lower socioeconomic groups and female populations.
More than half said their use of computers would decrease if public access venues were no longer available, and about half cited a lack of computer access as their main reason for using public venues.
Forty percent of users surveyed said public access venues had been crucial to their development of computer skills, and half said the same of learning Internet skills.
The study's final report also makes recommendations for government and donor organizations as well as libraries and telecenter practitioners. Their suggestions include:
Support the wide availability of public Internet access venues and incorporate them into national initiatives involving digital resources and services for health, education, governance and other areas.
Use existing infrastructure such as libraries when considering investments in public Internet access.
Embrace games, as they help build technology skills.
Value the role of social networking and communications, which have become critical venues for accessing important resources.
Embrace the use of mobile phones, which the study found do not pose a threat to the relevance of public access.
Chris Coward, director of the Technology & Social Change Group, said the motivation of the study was "to provide governments and the international development community, which have expended tremendous amounts to support the availability of computers and Internet, with empirical evidence about what types of impacts have resulted from these investments."
The researchers have made all the data from this study publicly available for others to use on the project website, http://www.globalimpactstudy.org.
###
The Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies was funded by Canada' s International Development Research Centre and a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
For more information or interviews, contact Coward at 206-437-4592 or ccoward@uw.edu; or Sey at 206-685-3724 or arabasey@uw.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 11-Jul-2013
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