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"Professional Gaming"

Think video games are just a waste of time? Pro gamers - who're suddenly making thousands each year, traveling the world, scoring lucrative sponsorship deals, garnering increasing headlines and turning their hobby into a full-time career - would beg to differ. This week on Players Only, we take a closer look at the impact and future of cyberathletics. Also explored: Tips for stepping up your game, how you can get paid to play and whether interactive entertainment will soon be considered an Olympic sport...........

"GPS Buying Guide"

### GPS Buying guide###

If we had a nickel for every time we've gotten lost on the back roads of some semi-rural state, we'd have enough money for a few beers. But if we had a good GPS with us every time, we'd never have gotten lost in the first place, saving hours of aggravation, not to mention gas money.

Portable GPS devices offer an excellent and easily self-installed solution, ranging in price from about $150 to $1200 USD. Models specific to activities like hiking, geocaching, biking, boating, and running are also available, and a handful of smartphones have built-in GPS hardware, with service for around $10 USD a month on top of voice and data plans.

Garmin and Magellan currently dominate the GPS market; behind them are TomTom and a host of smaller companies like Pharos and DeLorme. Broader outfits like Harman Kardon and Sony also make solid systems with some useful extras.

FOUR WHEELS

For $200 USD and under, you can expect a 3.5-inch touchscreen, preloaded 2D and 3D maps, windshield mounts, and voice-guided turn-by-turn directions. They tend to be small enough to slip easily into a pocket or purse. Spending $250 to $500 USD gets you extras like Bluetooth and text-to-speech capabilities (the device reads out street and highway names), as well as AV playback and a 4 or 4.3-inch screen.

Beyond that, high-end models have 4.8-inch to 5.2-inch screens and conveniences like FM transmitters. Most recent models can either accept an external receiver or have one built-in for real-time traffic and other local data, though you'll usually have to pay extra for that service.

The TomTom ONE 3rd Edition ($199.95 USD) adds a Map Share feature that lets you customize your maps on the go, and you can use the company's desktop software to share updates with other TomTom users. You can hook up an optional RDS-TMC receiver ($129.95 USD) to it for real-time traffic reports, which are sent to the GPS for automatic re-routing.

The Garmin nuvi 205 ($213.32 USD, available this spring) differentiates itself with a microSD slot for loading maps of different countries. It's slightly slimmer than the TomTom ONE, and its internal rechargeable battery lasts up to 4 hours, making it fairly versatile. Like the TomTom ONE, it lets you customize points of interest, though it lacks a sharing feature. Built-in hardware supports optional enhanced MSN Direct services ($129.95 USD one-time payment or $49.95/year) like real-time traffic, weather, gas prices, and other handy local info. A 4.3-inch widescreen version ($266.66 USD) is also available.

In the midrange, the Magellan Maestro 4250 ($499 USD) offers a 4.3-inch touchscreen, voice command support (though not for entering addresses), and built-in Bluetooth for using the device as a hands-free speakerphone. Other highlights include text-to-speech and a split-screen interface that lets you see current and next turns, as well as real-time traffic support with a free 3-month subscription to Navteq's traffic service.

"Goodbye, Mr. Gates"

Goodbye, Mr. Gates

All good things must come to an end, and in the case of Bill Gates' career at Microsoft, it's coming to an end today.

Friday, June 27th is Gates final day on the job as an employee of Microsoft, the company he's been with for 33 years. It's been a career full of much turmoil and more than a few industry-shaking quakes, but an immensely important one. If nothing else, Gates personally proved that business savvy was just as crucial as technical smarts in the high-tech war that continues to rage today. Gates was (and remains) a master of both.

In an era when many tech CEOs have no idea what their company really does, Gates has long been a hands-on anomaly. Back in the '70s, he personally reviewed every line of code that Microsoft engineers wrote. If he didn't like what he saw, he rewrote it on the spot. As DOS and Windows grew to mammoth proportions, such oversight became impossible, but Gates continued to weigh in on all matters great and small that faced the company. Getting comments back from Gates on a product submitted for his approval has long been one of Microsofties' most terrifying moments. Why? Because it might look something like this (from 2003). In an age when managers massage employees with nothing but "you can do it!" encouragement for fear of being sued, seeing straight talk like Gates' scathing memo, which could have driven weaker-willed employees to leap from the roof, is a bracing surprise. You may not like Microsoft or what its products have become of late, but give Gates the man the props he deserves.

What happens now? Gates heads off with wife Melinda to focus on his mega-zillion-dollar endowed charity, the Gates Foundation, while Microsoft looks toward an era of getting on without him. The 52-year-old Gates will reportedly check in once a week (specifically to aid in the company's battle vs. Google) and will remain a non-executive Chairman, but it's up to CEO Steve Ballmer and Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie to keep the ship afloat. Craig Mundie also steps in to fill Gates' other role as "product master planner and technology strategist," as it was felt that Gates' shoes were too big for just one man to fill. But even then, as CNN notes, Gates can never truly be replaced.

Lastly I leave you with this: Remember that iconic photo of Microsoft's original team, back when 11 (well, 12, actually) employees worked for the company? The group reformed for a follow-up shot earlier this month. Check it out here for a little bit of teary nostaligia. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Good luck out there Bill. Do some good

World's first revolving tower set for Dubai

"World's first revolving tower set for Dubai - images"

Each floor of the 80-storey skyscraper will spin around a central core
These are the designs for the world’s first revolving skyscraper, the latest eccentric proposal for the Dubai skyline.

The 80-storey Rotating Tower, brainchild of Florence-based architect David Fisher, would offer residents an ever-shifting view of the Persian Gulf as the floors spin round a central core.

A few superior penthouses would be fitted with voice activation technology, allowing inhabitants to control movement. Other floors would be choreographed to create a constantly-changing silhouette.

Wind turbines, installed between every floor, would power the building.

Despite admitting he has never built a skyscraper before, Fisher claims his designs will revolutionise construction of tall buildings.

He outlined his proposal at a press conference in New York yesterday.

We are eagerly awaiting when the project is going to be kicked off. Designer's idea of generating power for the building with wind is outstanding idea. Best of luck to the architect.

" Saudis build desert city from scratch"

City of 2 million people to be built by 2020 in wave of major development projects to transform kingdom's economy .

Saudi Arabia is planning to build an entire city the size of Washington DC in the Arabian desert.

King Abdullah Economic City, sited 100km north of Jeddah, aims to house 2 million people by 2020 and create over a million jobs. It will also include one of the world's largest ports.

Developer on the scheme is Emaar, The Economic City. Its chief executive, Fahd al-Rasheed, told the BBC: “This is on a scale unheard of before in the world.”

The 388km2 new city is just one of six major construction schemes planned across the kingdom over the next 15 years, aiming to effect an economic and social transformation for when the oil runs out.

Saudi Arabia is still pumping out £510m of oil a day at present, but that cannot last forever. King Abdullah wants to diversify the economy into areas such as aluminium, steel, fertiliser and petrochemicals, countering the Gulf kingdom's growing unemployment.

Plans are also afoot to improve the education and skills levels of Saudi Arabians and reduce the kingdom's dependence on foreign workers.

"3 Tips for Healthy Internet Use "

"3 Tips for Healthy Internet Use"

I recently wrote a piece examining why so many of us have become so dependent upon cell phones , along with some suggestions for developing a healthier relationship to what is, without question, a very useful technology.

Many readers suggested that we have a similar discussion about Internet use, so I wanted to share with you what I have learned from my experience.

I am a firm believer that the Internet has revolutionized our world for the better. But, as someone whose work is online, I am perhaps the ultimate test case for how the Internet impacts daily life, and I know that this tool can be abused.

Much has already been written on how the Internet can fuel sexual addiction and encourage users to spend an unhealthy amount of time engaged in online games, but let's take a look at how the Internet affects us in a more general way.

The Over Informed User

Internet's great power, in my opinion, is to deliver information from a larger number of diverse sources than ever before. However, it is possible to be over informed.

Especially when it comes to breaking news, I can easily spend an hour reading every possible take on the event or losing myself in endless video clips. I do get different viewpoints but after a few minutes I am just as likely to be mindlessly viewing the same information over and over in a compulsive way.

**Healthy Information Tip

Ask yourself how much time you can give to a particular search before it begins to negatively impact your day. If I have an hour to spend online consuming content about a topic that interests me, I will go for it. But if it means that I am missing out on productive work, exercise, or family time, then I need to reprioritize.

The Insecure User

How many times a day do you check your email? If you are like me, you probably can't even count because it is a more or less constant activity. I think this is about insecurity. It is true that I appreciate when colleagues promptly respond to emails but there is something almost creepy about getting a response instantly; it is as if the other person is waiting at their keyboard in desperation.

I try to remind myself that most people who really want to do business with me or be in a relationship with me can wait an hour for an email response. If I am desperate to respond immediately, I may be insecure, and that is not only unhealthy for me but also unappealing as a quality.

**Healthy and Secure Tip

Much like using cell phones in a healthy way, experiment with limiting your email use on certain days. Sundays make sense as most businesses are closed and, excepting a few professions, even the busiest of us are not expected to respond on Sunday. This is especially important for those of us who now use Blackberrys, iPhones, and similar devices. Don't miss out on the life around you while you are staring at your email.

The Isolated

In one sense the Internet has helped millions of people escape isolation, especially those who live in remote locations or who need help with a problem that may be too embarrassing to address in person.

However, the Internet can also trick us into believing that online relationships are a replacement for face-to-face interaction. While I read, enjoy, and appreciate the conversations that happen on this blog, for example, I don't pretend that they are the same as physical communication. For better or worse, many of the things said here would not be said if we were sitting together.

**Connection Tip

If one of your relationships has become mostly about email or messaging, try to reestablish physical contact. (This does not mean meeting strangers who may be dangerous!) I think the relationship will benefit from some face time.It may be counterintuitive to discuss moderating Internet use while writing for Yahoo!. However, I believe Yahoo! and other Internet companies know that healthy use of this revolutionary technology is just good business

"GM To Raise Prices On 2009 Models"

General Motors Corp. told dealers Monday it plans to raise prices on 2009 models by an average of 3.5% despite a tough market that is forcing the automaker to cut production and discount its 2008 models