Wii Points is a payment system that Nintendo uses for its Wii console through the Wii Shop Channel. Consumers can purchase points by an online credit-card transaction or by purchasing a Wii Points card at retail. These points may then be redeemed on downloadable games and other content in the Wii Shop.A 2000 Wii Points Card
On December 8, 2006 Nintendo Europe confirmed that Star Points, which people collect when they buy Nintendo games in Europe will soon be able to be used to buy Wii Points, although the conversion rate is not yet known. It was announced on January 9, 2007 in a Nintendo Europe press release that Wii Points will be available for purchase in "smaller increments" than the currently available 2,000 Wii Points card.[1] As of September 2007, this is yet to be implemented.
On March 29, 2007, Nintendo released the Wii Points Card in Singapore.
Monday, September 24, 2007
More info about Wii Points
Gamers gear up for Halo 3 launch
Halo 3, one of the most anticipated and heavily marketed video games in history, goes on sale at midnight in North America.
More than 10,000 shops across the US will open at midnight to sell the title which is Microsoft's key weapon in the console wars with Sony and Nintendo.
More than 15m copies of the first two titles in the series have been sold.
Microsoft is hoping day one sales of the game will top £70m, making it the biggest-ever entertainment launch.
Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said the success Halo 3 was an essential element in the competitive console market.
He said: "Halo 3 is the biggest franchise for Xbox. The game is going to drive a lot of Xbox 360 sales and Xbox Live subscriptions this Christmas."
Boost sales
Microsoft needs Halo 3 to boost sales of the Xbox 360; despite investing billions of dollars into the Xbox project it has yet to see any meaningful profitable return
"It's far too early to say what the financial return will be for our investment," Mr Kim told the BBC News website.
Microsoft hopes to make a profit on its Xbox in this financial year.
"If we can't make a profit in the year Halo 3 comes out, then when will we?" said Mr Kim.
More than a million people have pre-ordered the game but that is not preventing thousands of gamers from queuing outside shops to get their hands on the title as soon as possible.
Concluding part
Halo 3 is the concluding part of a science fiction trilogy which tells the story of a super soldier, called Master Chief, who is leading the fight to save humanity from an alien collective, called the Covenant.
The game has become a major entertainment franchise in recent years - with spin-off games, clothing, novels and action figures all available.
The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is working with Halo's makers, Bungie studios, on a series of Halo-related interactive episodes.
He has also agreed to produce a movie based on the Halo series, which is currently on hold following financial wrangles over the cost of the film.
The hopes and hype for Halo 3
Web reviews of the game have begun to emerge with most posting very high scores.
Game site Eurogamer wrote: "Hype machine aside... what we find in Halo 3 is quite simply this - the best game yet in one of the best FPS (first person shooter) franchises of the era."
All three of the leading games consoles rely on exclusive franchises to drive sales. PlayStation 3 has titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2, while Nintendo has Metroid Prime 3 and Zelda.
Microsoft has spent a reported $10m (£5m) on promoting the game, with a series of costly TV adverts, as well as signing deals with food and drink firms in the US.
Most pressure
The game goes on sale in Europe on September 26, with a UK launch on Tuesday night at the Imax cinema in London.
For Bungie, the game's release is the culmination of three years work.
Brian Jarrard, Bungie's director of franchise and community affairs, said the company had not felt under pressure from Microsoft, which owns the studio.
"We feel the most pressure ourselves. It's always been about driving ourselves to do great work. For the most part we don't feel the pressure from Microsoft executives breathing down our necks.
"The fan's expectations are incredibly high. We gave them a bitter sweet ending at the end of Halo 2 and we're pretty confident they will be happy with Halo 3 and that it was worth the wait."
'$100 laptop' to sell to public
| By Jonathan Fildes Science and technology reporter, BBC News |
Computer enthusiasts in the developed world will soon be able to get their hands on the so-called "$100 laptop".
The organisation behind the project has launched the "give one, get one" scheme that will allow US residents to purchase two laptops for $399 (£198).
One laptop will be sent to the buyer whilst a child in the developing world will receive the second machine
The G1G1 scheme, as it is known, will offer the laptops for just two weeks, starting on the 12 November.
The offer to the general public comes after the project's founder admitted that concrete orders from the governments of developing nations had not always followed verbal agreements
Nicholas Negroponte told the New York Times: "I have to some degree underestimated the difference between shaking the hand of a head of state and having a cheque written.
"And yes, it has been a disappointment."
Walter Bender, head of software development at One Laptop per Child (OLPC), told the BBC News website: "From day one there's been a lot of interest expressed in having some way of people in the developed world participate in the programme."
Price hike
The XO laptop has been developed to be used by children and is as low cost, durable and simple to use as possible.
It packs several innovations including a sunlight readable display so that it can be used outside. It has no moving parts, can be powered by solar, foot-pump or pull-string powered chargers and is housed in a waterproof case.
The machine's price has recently increased from $176 (£88) to $188 (£93) although the eventual aim is to sell the machines for $100 (£50).
Governments can buy the green and white machines in lots of 250,000.
In July, hardware suppliers were given the green light to ramp-up production of all of the components needed to build the low-cost machines.
The decision suggested that the organisation had met or surpassed the three million orders it need to make production viable.
The names of the governments that have purchased the first lots of machines have not been released.
Developing whirl
But, according to OLPC, there has also been huge interest in the XO laptop from individuals in the developed world.
"I don't know how many times people have added an entry in our wiki saying 'how do I get one?' or 'I'd gladly pay one for a child if I could get one'," said Mr Bender.
The organisation has previously hinted that they were considering selling the laptop on a give one get one basis, but not this early. 
In January this year, Michalis Bletsas, chief connectivity officer for the project, told the BBC news website that OLPC was hoping to sell the laptop to the public "next year".
Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of OLPC, has also previously said: "Many commercial schemes have been considered and proposed that may surface in 2008 or beyond, one of which is 'buy 2 and get 1'."
According to Mr Bender, OLPC see several advantages to offering laptops to the developed world.
"There's going to be a lot more people able to contribute content, software development and support," said Mr Bender.
But primarily, he said, it was a way of extending the laptop project to countries that cannot afford to participate.
"We see it as a way of kick-starting the programme in the least developed countries."
Early adopter
The first countries to receive the donated laptops will be Cambodia, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Haiti.
Other least developed countries (LDC), as defined by the UN, will be able to bid to join the scheme.
The laptops will go on sale for two weeks through the xogiving.org website.
They will only be available for two weeks to ensure OLPC can meet demand and so that machines are not diverted away from countries that have already placed orders.
Although the exact number of laptops available through the G1G1 scheme has not been revealed, Mr Bender said that the "first 25,000" people that purchase one should receive it before the end of the year.
Others will receive their machines in the first quarter of 2008.
Mr Bender said that if it proves successful, the organisation would consider extending the scheme.
"Our motivation is helping kids learn and giving them an opportunity to participate in the laptop programme so whatever will advance that cause we will do," he said.
"This is something we are going to try and if it looks like it is an effective tool we will do more of it."Sunday, September 23, 2007
Yahoo to buy e-mail software maker Zimbra
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Yahoo Inc. is buying e-mail service Zimbra Inc. for $350 million in an all-cash deal that may open a new revenue channel for the slumping Internet icon.
The acquisition announced Monday represents Yahoo's second significant expenditure this month as co-founder Jerry Yang spearheads an effort to breathe new life into the Sunnyvale-based company.
Two weeks ago, Yahoo disclosed plans to buy an Internet direct marketing network, BlueLithium, for $300 million. That purchase marks another step in Yahoo's attempt to sell more advertising on other Web sites besides its own, hoping to boost its sagging profits.
With the Zimbra purchase, Yahoo appears poised to branch in a new direction that may intensify the company's already fierce competition with rivals Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc.
San Mateo-based Zimbra specializes in selling e-mail software and hosting services to businesses, universities and Internet service providers.
That's something Microsoft has been doing for years with its Exchange platform. Google entered the market earlier this year when it began offering e-mail accounts to businesses as part of a software bundle that costs $50 per user annually.
"My guess is that this deal is partly a response to Google," said e-mail analyst David Ferris.
Zimbra's customers include one of the nation's largest Internet service providers, Comcast Corp., as well as several well-known companies, including H&R Block Inc. and Raytheon Corp., and prominent schools like UCLA and Georgia Tech. For the most part, though, Ferris said Zimbra has had trouble getting companies to buy its hosted e-mail service.
Privately held Zimbra doesn't disclose its revenue. Ferris estimated Zimbra's annual revenue range between $10 million and $20 million, figures that indicate Yahoo is paying a steep price.
Founded in 2003, Zimbra employs more than 100 workers. Its chief executive and co-founder, Satish Dharmaraj, plans to remain with Yahoo after the deal closes in the fourth quarter. The fate of Zimbra's brand hasn't been determined.
Besides providing Yahoo with a springboard for selling e-mail services to companies and universities, Zimbra also could provide tools to add more bells and whistles to the free, Web-based e-mail service that Yahoo has been peddling to consumers for the past decade.
After buying a startup called Oddpost in 2004, Yahoo drew upon some of the technology that it picked up in the deal to upgrade its free e-mail service.
"Zimbra's tremendous talent and innovative technology will help to extend our core mail offerings, further strengthening our strong leadership position in this space," said Yang, who took over as Yahoo's CEO three months ago after Chairman Terry Semel relinquished the job amid deepening investor discontent.
Yahoo's free e-mail service recently has been losing traffic, according to the research firm comScore Media Metrix. In August, Microsoft's Live Hotmail service attracted 255.3 million visitors worldwide to eclipse Yahoo's e-mail traffic of 254.9 million, which represented a 1 percent decrease from the same time last year, Media Metrix said.
Google's Gmail ranked a distant third at 82.9 million worldwide visitors, up 64 percent from last year. Google opened its e-mail service to all comers seven months ago.
Yahoo shares rose 22 cents to close at $24.95, then dipped by a penny in extended trading after the Zimbra deal was announced. The company's stock price has plunged by 36 percent since the end of 2005.Iceland phasing out fossil fuels for clean energy
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (CNN) -- Iceland may be best known for world-famous musical export Bjork but there's a new star quickly gaining this island nation worldwide acclaim -- clean energy.
For more than 50 years Iceland has been decreasing its dependence on fossil fuels by tapping the natural power all around this rainy, windswept rock of fire.
Waterfalls, volcanoes, geysers and hot springs provide Icelanders with abundant electricity and hot water.
Virtually all of the country's electricity and heating comes from domestic renewable energy sources -- hydroelectric power and geothermal springs.
It's pollution-free and cheap.
Yet these energy pioneers are still dependent on imported oil to operate their vehicles and thriving fishing industry.
Iceland's geographic isolation in the North Atlantic makes it expensive to ship in gasoline -- it costs almost $8 a gallon (around $2 a liter).
Iceland ranks 53rd in the world in greenhouse gas emissions per capita, according to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center -- the primary climate-change data and information analysis center of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Retired University of Iceland Professor Bragi Arnason has come up with a solution: Use hydrogen to power transportation. Hydrogen is produced with water and electricity, and Iceland has lots of both.
"Iceland is the ideal country to create the world's first hydrogen economy," Arnason explains. His big idea has earned him the nickname "Professor Hydrogen."
Arnason has caught the attention of General Motors, Toyota and DaimlerChrysler, who are using the island-nation as a test market for their hydrogen fuel cell prototypes.
One car getting put through its paces is the Mercedes Benz A-class F-cell -- an electric car powered by a DaimlerChrysler fuel cell. Fuel cells generate electricity by converting hydrogen and oxygen into water. And fuel cell technology is clean -- the only by-product is water. 
"It's just like a normal car," says Asdis Kritinsdottir, project manager for Reykjavik Energy. Except the only pollution coming out of the exhaust pipe is water vapor. It can go about 100 miles on a full tank. When it runs out of fuel the electric battery kicks in, giving the driver another 18 miles -- hopefully enough time to get to a refueling station. Filling the tank is similar to today's cars -- attach a hose to the car's fueling port, hit "start" on the pump and stand back. The process takes about five to six minutes. 
In 2003, Reykjavik opened a hydrogen fueling station to test three hydrogen fuel cell buses. The station was integrated into an existing gasoline and diesel station. The hydrogen gas is produced by electrolysis -- sending a current through water to split it into hydrogen and oxygen. The public buses could run all day before needing refueling.
The bus project lasted three years and cost around $10 million.
October 23-24 at 9 p.m. ET on CNN
The city will need five refueling stations in addition to the one the city already has to support its busy ring road, according to Arnason. The entire nation could get by on 15 refueling stations -- a minimum requirement.
Within the year, 30-40 hydrogen fuel-cell cars will hit Reykjavik streets. Local energy company employees will do most of the test-driving but three cars will be made available to The Hertz Corp., giving Icelanders a chance to get behind the wheel. 
"I need a car," says Petra Svenisdottir, an intern at Reykjavik Energy. Svenisdottir, 28, commutes to work from her home in Hafnarfjorour to Reykjavik. The journey takes her about 15 minutes if she can beat traffic. "If I didn't have a car I would have to take two or three buses and wait at each bus stop to arrive at work more than an hour later, cold and wet!"
Don't Miss
Most Icelanders drive cars, says Arnason. Around 300,000 people live in a place about the size of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Transportation is limited to cars, buses and boats. "Everyone has a car here," Arnason says. And it's very typical for an Icelandic family to own two cars. Arnason drives a small SUV.
Fuel cell cars are expected to go on sale to the public in 2010. Carmakers have promised Arnason they will keep costs down and the government has said it will offer citizens tax breaks.
He figures it will take an additional 4 percent of power to produce the hydrogen Iceland would need to meet its transportation requirements.
Once Iceland's vehicles are converted over to hydrogen, the fishing fleet will follow. It won't be easy because of current technological limits and the high cost of storing large amounts of hydrogen, but Arnason feels confident it can happen. He predicts Iceland will be fossil fuel free by 2050.
"We are a very small country but we have all the same infrastructure of big nations,"Digital TV increases its UK reach
 A billboard with a digital countdown has been erected in Whitehaven |
It marks a 13% increase since 2006 - the biggest year-on-year increase yet.
The figures were released by media watchdog Ofcom in the run-up to digital switchover, which begins in Whitehaven, Cumbria, in October.
Chief executive Ed Richards said the figures were "extremely encouraging" with less than a month before Whitehaven's analogue switch-off.
In the second quarter of this year (April to June), nearly two million Freeview boxes were sold.
Digital terrestrial is now the most commonly used platform on main TV sets, available in more than 9.1 million homes.
Satellite - both pay monthly and free-to-view - follows closely behind, with a presence in 9 million homes.
Sky now has nearly 8.1 million subscribers, with 77,000 new customers in the second quarter of 2007.
The total number of homes with cable television also continued to rise, with more than 3.4 million subscribers at the end of June.
There are about 35 million secondary sets in the UK i.e. outside the main living room. More than 10 million of these have also been converted to digital.
Analogue TV is expected to be redundant across the UK by 2012.Fight cyberbullies, schools told
 Bullying has evolved, ministers say |
More than a third of 12 to 15-year-olds have faced some kind of cyberbullying, according to a government study.
Ministers are also launching an awareness campaign on the social networking sites used by many pupils.
Schools have been told they can confiscate mobile phones and how to get hurtful material pulled from websites.
'Happy slapping'
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said cyber bullying was "insidious" and had grown with technology and changes in society.
Schools needed to get to grips with newer forms of bullying, he said.
Examples cited include threats, intimidation, harassment or "cyber-stalking", unauthorised publication of private information or images, impersonation and so-called "happy slapping".
Mr Balls also called for action against anti-gay bullying -calling for schools to promote a "culture of respect" and saying that "homophobic insults should be viewed as seriously as racism".
Ed Balls said: "The vast majority of schools are safe environments to learn in. However, we know that behaviour, particularly bullying, is a key concern for parents and bullying of any kind is unacceptable.
"Cyberbullying is a particularly insidious type of bullying as it can follow young people wherever they go and the anonymity that it seemingly affords to the perpetrator can make it even more stressful for the victim.
"One message that I want to get across to young people is that bystanders can inadvertently become perpetrators - simply by passing on videos or images, they are playing a part in bullying.
"We now have an advanced approach to cyber bullying, thanks in no small part to the co-operation with the industry, teaching unions and charities."
The guide being sent out to schools in England says cyberbullying can be an extension of face-to-face bullying, "with technology providing the bully with another route to harass their target".
But it says it differs in that it invades home and personal space and the perpetrator can use the cloak of anonymity.
Among the new guidance are tips for drawing up anti-bullying policies to cover cyber bullying, how to have offensive or malicious material removed from websites, and advice on confiscating equipment used in bullying, such as mobile phones.
Offensive weapons call
The new measures were developed in consultation with anti-bullying experts, mobile phone companies and websites including Bebo, MySpace and YouTube.
Teaching unions say children are not the only victims of cyberbullying and that school staff are increasingly falling victim to it.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers' union, said teachers would be pleased that ministers had recognised the problem.
"Mobile phones capture videos and pictures of teachers at work," she said.
"The often distorted images are transferred to the phones of other pupils within the class, across the school or uploaded on to the internet. E-mails are used to abuse, harass and insult.
"Misuse of internet sites can destroy teachers' confidence and professional reputation and provide yet another vehicle for false allegations against staff."
The union is calling for pupils' mobile phones to be classed as potentially offensive weapons and for them to be banned during school sessions.
Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said: "Sadly, bullying is a negative feature of any society and will only be countered by strong action against bullies and a bullying culture.
"We would encourage all partners in the world of education to play a part in stamping out wanton actions that negatively affect the lives of others.
"Many schools harness the student voice, through student councils and other means, to counter bullying in the most effective way, because students are closer to the lives of their peers."
The ATL teachers' union also backed the need for action against homophobic bullying - saying that it remained a "pervasive" problem in schools.
A survey for the union found that 70% of teachers had heard children in their schools using homophobic language.