iTunes 10.0.1 Improves Ping, Target Selling iPad – Apple News

Apple has been all over the news due to the new iPods, Ping among many other topics including the iPhone and iPad as well. Today, we’re covering the iTunes 10.0.1 Update which brings some changes to the way the software interacts with Apple’s social network Ping along with TriplePoint Client Target (a TriplePoint client) officially announcing that they will soon sell the iPad in stores nationwide.

iTunes 10.0.1 Update Improves Ping

Just yesterday, Apple dropped a new update for iTunes, version 10.0.1 for both PC and Mac. This new version brings mostly behind-the-scenes bug fixes, but also changes how your music is shared with Ping, which launched just a few weeks ago with the new iPods.

Now you may Like or Post about songs directly from your iTunes Library, instead of having to go directly to Ping first and doing all the leg work from there. Before, you could only post about songs that you had directly purchased from Apple but now you can post about any song in your library as long as its labeled correctly.

Also when playing a song, the Genius Sidebar has been replaced by a new Ping Sidebar that shows Ping updates from the artist and friends. You still have the option of closing this Sidebar if you wish.

Let’s hope Ping can just keep improving from here, and continue improving upon what could be a great service.

Target To Sell iPad in October

Target has announced that the iPad will go on sale in its stores beginning Sunday, October 3rd.

At the moment, you may only purchase an iPad from Best Buy or Apple but starting one week from today, Target announced it will carry all eight models of the iPad. That means you can pick up whichever model you wish directly at your local Target store.

More retailers picking up the iPad is a win for both the retailers and consumers involved. Let us know what you think of this move in the comments section below.

Windows Phone 7 Launch Rumors & R2-D2 Droid 2 Details – Mobile Monday Madness

Welcome to this edition of Mobile Monday Madness! We wrap-up the latest mobile news so you can get on with your Monday. Today, we’re taking a look at the release date rumors circulating around Windows Phone 7, along with the final details before the launch of the special R2-D2 Edition Motorola Droid 2, which launches this Thursday.

Latest Windows Phone 7 Rumors Pit Release Date on October 21st

Two recent articles have claimed that Windows Phone 7 is set to launch on October 21st in Europe. While not official sources, they cite sources familiar with Microsoft and its plans.

Previous reports have pit October as generally when Windows Phone 7 would release, and just a few weeks ago Microsoft claimed that the software that powers WP7 was complete. So for now, it all comes down to when hardware makers can handle shipments of their supported devices.

While we’ll keep this in the rumor file for now, we’ll continue to keep you up to date on when this exciting new mobile OS can finally be had in your own hands.

R2-D2 Droid 2 Launches This Thursday

If you’ve really been itching to get your hands on a Star Wars branded phone, be ready to pay up because Verizon has announced that it will be charging a stiff $249 for the new R2-D2 Motorola Droid 2 with a new 2 year contract and after a $100 mail in rebate.

However, for that rather high price compared to other phones, you receive a Star Wars dock for it, and it all comes in a funky box designed to look like the carbonite Han gets submerged in. Included on the phone itself are Star Wars themed wallpapers, sounds, photos, widgets and a binoculars app of unknown function.

The phone is scheduled to launch this Thursday, September 30th at your local Verizon store, so have a look there. I have to ask, who’s getting one?

Birdland Offers a New Take on the Aquarium Game Genre on Facebook

Recently, Inside Social Games took a look at Birdland, a Facebook game that takes the “aquarium” ideology from games like Happy Aquarium and FishVille and replaces the fish with birds.

To start, the title is a fairly basic copy and paste of the aforementioned aquarium formula. You have a large bird cage capable of holding 6 birds to start. Inside it is a treasure chest which can be opened for free coins and the like, and you’ll be able to adopt and raise birds by purchasing them from the game’s store.

You’ll need to make sure your cage’s food dish is full by clicking on it to add feed. Your birds will automatically fly from their perch to the food, taking care of that step, while you’ll also have to keep them happy by playing with them or tickling them, among other actions.

Birds grow to maturity at different rates – your starter bird, the parrot, goes through its first growth stage in 10 minutes – at which point you can sell him/her and move onto the next. As you level, you’ll unlock access to new bird species, along with new functional items for your bird cages, like new food bowls and themed sticks. The sticks serve as perches, which is where your birds will be spending the majority of their time, so the more you have, the more active your birds will be, as they fly back and forth between them.

There are also decorations to purchase, like butterflies, plants and toys, among other objects. These too unlock as you gain levels, with experience points being gained by purchasing items, feeding, playing with and cleaning up after your birds.

As you might expect, the social features here allow you to post lost birds to your wall for friends to adopt, visit their cages and send them free gifts – pretty standard for any simulation game on Facebook.

Cityville Facebook Game

If you haven't heard of CityVille you must be living under a rock. The new Cityville Facebook Game game from the same makers as the hugely successful Farmville game (Zynga) has only been open a couple of weeks and it is already going down a storm. In fact it is so popular that it has become the fastest growing social game in the history of Facebook... outstripping FrontierVille (also by Zynga). It has in fact reached 22 MILLION players within a fortnight of release - not shabby at all! But we all know people are sheep - just going where they are told to... popular doesn't make it actually any good. So let us ignore the huge numbers of people chewing on grass and bleating to take a look at what the game itself is actually like. What's Cityville All About? The premise of CityVille is a very simple one - in fact if you have ever played the SimCity games you will have a very good understanding of CityVille. The entire concept is to build a city to the best of your ability. Sound simple? Yeah, not so much...

The Cityville Way Of Life City:

Planning is a difficult job in real life and whilst computer game versions are easier they can still be very technical. Sometimes this is absorbing, sometimes it is TOO hard. But to give CityVille it's dues they have pitched it just right - it's not easy but it is certainly entertaining and absorbing. The graphics are amazing, you can get a fully rotatable 3D graphic of any building in the game - which for a FaceBook game is an astounding feat of coding - and they look darned good as well! Gameplay The gameplay is basic but interesting - with the right balance of farming, collectibles and new stuff to keep one hooked for a long time. It is amazing how addictive it is to try get another collectible before logging off - though to find them all you need a real CityVille Facebook Guide!

There are numerous tricks to running a good city (and they are nice enough to give pop ups with Cityville game hints) - like most versions of Facebook games it is a manner of juggling collecting money, building new buildings, managing timers and organising friends who also play to help you out. In fact that social aspect is vital to CityVille (which almost every Cityville Facebook Guide agrees with) - certain buildings will have a 'solo play' tax if you haven't got friends that can help you out... so make sure that you get inviting when you do sign up! There are plenty of other bonuses for this as well. Between the Facebook interface and Zynga's toolbar you can get tons of freebies of friends who are also playing, as well as certain collectibles and collaborations that would otherwise not be possible.

The Introverted Leader

I'm an introvert. And so are many other reasonably bright, well-rounded, effective individuals. So it's not a bad thing. But I do believe that to be most effective, the introverted leader should examine what this personality style can mean in the context of leadership - and know how to leverage it successfully.

(And if you're more of an extroverted leader by nature, this is still worth paying attention to: to lead well you need to understand all types of personalities - including the introverts).

What makes a person more introverted or extroverted? In simplified terms it's about how we process our information and how we 'recharge': the extrovert will often examine his thoughts out loud to others, whereas the introvert is more likely to spend more time alone making sense of his. The extrovert will seek out others as a source of stimulation and energy, and the introvert will be pushed to the edge of exhaustion if she's unable to take refuge in her own solitude. Introverts are typically more socially reserved than extroverts, and their presence can easily be missed in a roomful of people (this is not synonymous with 'shy', however - we're not necessarily shy as much as we are 'quiet and unassuming').

So, then, can an introvert really be an effective leader? Of course she can - but in a rather different way than how we're used to thinking about leaders: most of the politicians and other leaders we see in the public eye are extroverts. This is the type of leader we're used to because they're in front of us every day. They're charismatic, outgoing, and animated. They have a commanding presence. They're the 'people people'.

But it's important for the introverted leader to refrain from trying to emulate the extrovert just because that's what others may expect. Developing stronger speaking skills and making the effort to connect with others in more dynamic ways, for instance, are important things to practice - but trying to be someone we're not is inauthentic. And nobody likes a phony.

(Finding this balance can be a fine line sometimes, but we can always check in with ourselves with this simple question: "Am I trying to be someone I'm not, or am I genuinely trying to bring out the best of who I am and who I could be?")

We all have the ability to stretch our personalities a little; to enlarge them enough to more effectively meet the world head-on, and to operate a little bit out of our comfort zones. The introvert can and should learn to present himself in more outgoing ways as the situation requires - but he should also understand that much of his effectiveness actually lies in his introversion: that his natural tendencies as an introvert also happen to be important leadership qualities.

The introvert's innate leadership qualities are in his tendency to observe carefully and evaluate accurately before engaging a situation; in his habit of formulating his thoughts and planning his message before speaking; and in his ability to quickly cultivate quality relationships.

So, yes, introverts can make great leaders - but they do need to stretch their boundaries in order to be heard in an extroverted world. And just as importantly, they need to recognize and embrace their 'gifts' rather than resent their 'shortcomings.'

Chris Hammer, Ph.D. is a certified professional coach and licensed psychologist. He offers leadership and life coaching services, as well as various coaching ebooks for people who are passionate about their personal and professional growth.

Soap Opera Dash Game Review

What can a down-on-their-luck soap opera manager do? Hire Flo and the rest of the DinerToons, and produce the best soap opera ever in Soap Opera Dash! Help Rosie and her aspiring soap star Simon make it big in this fast-paced time management game. Get scripts to the actors, do their hair, manage their wardrobe and apply their makeup. Then it's time for props, cameras and actually filming the show. Do you have what it takes to keep the actors happy and make it big in the business? 

Soap Opera Dash is the latest installment in the Dash franchise, by the people who produced some of the best-selling time management games such as the Diner Dash and Wedding Dash series. Adding on to the tried-and-true formula that made the previous Dash games bona fide hits, Soap Opera Dash adds new game concepts and mechanics and brings our favorite characters from these hit games into a new setting, taking on the job of helping Rosie film her soap opera. 

In the introduction to the game, Rosie is told by her producers that they will not go ahead with her soap opera idea. Now without a job, she walks home dejected until she bumps into aspiring actor Simon (who just happens to be her high school crush), who has also just lost his job. Thinking they might be able to get this soap opera idea to work, Rosie has a chat about it with Flo (of Diner Dash fame) and very soon Flo, Quinn and the rest of the DinerToons are all on board Rosie's project to create her soap opera and turn Simon into a star! 

Soap Opera Dash plays similar to the restaurant management games such as Diner Dash. However, instead of seating and feeding hungry customers and keeping them happy, you will have to help soap actors get ready for their shoot. And you don't want unhappy actors going all diva on you! You need to walk these actors through their paces, from giving them scripts, to doing their hair, wardrobe and makeup, to getting the props and camera ready. 

Your first task is to decide who will play which part in your soap opera. Who will play the lovers, who will be the jealous ex and who will be the evil genius? You can cast rising star Simon or any of the DinerToons such as Flo and Quinn in these roles. As the game progresses, the scenes will get more complicated and more roles will be available for you to fill. 

A typical day in filming a soap opera will have you running around like a headless chicken. Firstly, you will have an assistant preparing the scripts for the actors, who will be waiting on not-so-comfy chairs. After the actors read the scripts, they are ready for prep work. They need to be dragged to the hair section where you will give them the perfect hairdo. Then it's off to wardrobe where you'll help them into their outfits. Then it's makeup time. In the midst of all that, you will need to move the required props onto stage as well. And once you find the cameraman (who will be goofing off somewhere random on set), it's show time! And then it's time to clean up the stage, ready for the next act. 

As if all that wasn't complicated enough, there is a whole lot of other stuff you need to micro-manage while all this is happening. Like the other Dash games, each actor is color-coded, and you score more points if you can match actors with similarly-colored items and stations. Also back are the match-em games that randomly pop up. While working on an actor's hairdo for example, a small screen will pop up requiring you to select a hairstyle that matches what the actor wants. You don't have all day though, as the game is still running and everything else on the set still needs your attention. And the actors will keep getting more unhappy the longer they have to wait for you. 

A new addition is the order in which the actors have to get ready. For example, the first act might require Flo and Simon on stage. You will therefore need to get them prepped up first, otherwise you'll create a bottleneck at the filming sequence. You will have to do this no matter how efficient a different order might be, or how unhappy the other actors are. Also interesting is the actual movie set you see in the game. Different scenes are filmed throughout each level, from the hospital emergency room to the diner. The actors also do a little act, but due to the fast-paced nature of the game, watching them might cause you to lose your focus and time management rhythm, and turn the set into one chaotic mess. 

Soap Opera Dash is a deserving new addition in the Dash stable of time management games, giving the time management game genre a new spin. While it challenges you to manage a whole host of different elements to create optimum chains of tasks, you will also be entertained by the quirky characters and their acting. If you like games such as Diner Dash and similar time management games like Nanny Mania, you will love Soap Opera Dash. 

Watching Recipes On The Internet

A Southern-bred mother cooking Jap Chae with Yang Chow Fried Rice for dinner is not an unusual sight as it was 5 years ago. The Internet has changed the way we find new recipes, and it’s literally the “sky’s the limit in terms of cuisine choices”. 

During the 1960s to 1970s, it was a neighborly act to share recipes after a potluck, county fair, or church get-together as this was one of the special bonding moments among housewives. Unfortunately, with the increase in working moms and the business of everyone’s schedules, It’s definitely not the same anymore, and even cookbook publishers are starting to feel the pinch. Why buy a book when you can just download the recipe over the internet, right?

Definitely, the kind of cookbooks that have a weekly menu format is long gone, since you can enjoy a smorgasbord of dishes from East to West, North to South, every day, with every meal. Your family will even begin to get tired of fast food restaurants, since the food at home is starting to taste so much better. Imagine how much you can save by cooking Japanese, Swedish, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, and other international dishes instead of spending a bundle on a restaurant that charges exorbitant prices! 

As a parent, you can even train your family’s taste buds to accept and appreciate lemon grass chicken or California Maki with Japanese mustard, known as wasabi. With the Internet what was previously considered exotic dishes are daily meal choices. Plus, it doesn’t even matter if you have never cooked any of these dishes before since you can also watch the videos and learn how to cook duck, squid, and even tuna. 

Even young teenagers and adults are getting onboard the cooking internet train. They too become enthralled with improving their culinary skills and look forward to their online cooking lessons right from the comforts of their computer. 

Even business people with coffee shops and restaurants have a new source for recipes, and can experiment with a variety of dishes as often as they want. Once their customers know that aside from their favorite dishes, they can also try new ones on a weekly basis, the business is guaranteed to shoot through the roof. 

So, how about it? Want some Spanish Paella tonight, Filipino Adobo tomorrow, Korean Spicy Shrimp, and New Orleans barbeque over the weekend? How about checking out a cooking show with celebrity chefs going on online shows demonstrating 20 different ways to bake chocolate cakes or oatmeal cookies? The limit on the number of recipes is beyond what you can imagine, and it keeps growing every day. Indulge your passion for food and new tastes today.

Laser Eye Surgery

There are a large number of eye conditions that can be helped by laser eye surgery. Often people don't realise how this procedure could help them, but a large number of glasses wearers and those with serious eye problems can find a solution with some kind of laser eye surgery. If you have bad eyesight or a member of your family does then this article will provide the answers you have been looking for. Here you will learn exactly what laser eye surgery can do and what problems it can fix. 

To start with it is important to look at the eye diseases and problems that can be fixed with laser eye surgery. Cataracts are a particularly common eye condition that affects people as they start to get older. Cataracts isn't a painful condition but it can slowly start to affect a person's sight and if it is not treated eventually a person's sight will go completely. Laser eye surgery works very well for this condition. Cataracts occurs when the lens of the eye starts to harden and become cloudy. It is slow to progress and can take a number of years. As the lens degenerates, sight becomes blurry. During laser eye surgery the lens of the eye is replaced with an artificial one and so sight is restored instantly. It is still better to treat cataracts early on however and conditions of the eye shouldn't be left without treatment for too long. 

Another condition that can be fixed with laser eye surgery is dry age related macular degeneration (AMD). Dry AMD occurs as the cells in the eye's macular begin to break down. Wet AMD is not as common and is more serious than this. Wet AMD is caused by the eye experiencing leaking blood vessels. The leaking causes the retina to pull away from the wall of the eye slowly over time and if left without treatment can leave the person totally blind. Dry AMD can be treated with laser eye surgery and/or altering lifestyle and diet, whereas Wet AMD is usually treated with specific drugs. 

Glaucoma is another affliction of the eye that can be helped through eye surgery. In eyes where there is not enough space for fluid to flow pressure can build up in the eye. This pressure needs to be relieved as otherwise the end result (as with most eye conditions) is blindness. Any sight that has been lost as a result of this cannot be restored by surgery, but it can certainly prevent the condition from becoming any worse. If you think you may have an eye condition then you should seek medical attention immediately as some of these conditions are extremely serious and can lead to permanent damage if not caught early enough. 

Diabetics need to be particularly careful when it comes to their eye health as Diabetic Retinopathy could occur. This too affects the blood vessels in the eye in the same way that Wet AMD does. If the retina starts to come away then blindness can occur. Laser eye surgery can help in this scenario too. Less serious conditions can also be removed altogether with surgery. For example, if you are affected by blepharospasm, which is the involuntary twitching of the eye, then laser eye treatment can also help you. 

Looking after your eyes is extremely important. In the past there wasn't too much that could be done if you suffered from bad eye sight, but the advances in technology now mean that a host of conditions and diseases of the eye can be treated. Now there is no need to put up with poor eyesight even as you age. Whether it is very serious conditions such as diabetic retinopathy or less serious conditions such as blepharospasm, laser eye surgery can help.

Finding A Math Tutor

Getting A All-important Math Tutor Choosing a math tutor can be challenging due to the array of studies in math from algebra to trigonometry to calculus. All of these fields of math require certain skills which all math tutors might not exactly possess. A tutor good in calculus isn't always skilled in trigonometry. This is when searching for a tutor online really is useful. By searching for a tutor online, it's possible to make sure the tutor is qualified to explain to what they are tutoring. You may either send the tutor a note and ask about their skills within the particular math subject or you can read additional user's reviews of them in this subject. Typically there are lots of tutors available for a given city that you don't have to be picky. You can find the most effective for your math needs and boost your math grades right away. While attending college, I struggled with math. Math is usually a building subject for the reason that you learn something after which the next section normally takes the essential skills of math and puts them to test further. I can give a sample. Trigonometry uses formulas like Pythagoras' theory to find the missing side of a triangle. It uses basic algebra for the missing side. If you are particularly skilled in algabra, solving for the missing side of a triangle can be tough. This was my problem in college. I was forced to take several upper level calculus classes. So I did what the majority of people would do-I first took the introduction to calculus class. I did pass the class but just barely. This was only an issue when I moved onto the upper level classes and had no clue what I was doing. You are able to see why getting a math tutor earlier than later is really important. If you wait too long there may be an excessive amount of making up ground to do and one can feel completely lost. The most beneficial solution to my problem was obtaining a local math tutor to help me. My particular learning style was completely different from most in that I needed to merely understand the concepts to be able to do the math problems. Unlike most people who can just memorize how to do something and then perform it over and over. My math tutor luckily grasped this and was able to teach me the basic principles conceptually and once I understood that, it was like a light bulb going off in my head. I could move on to the more advanced sections that relied on the basic understanding that my math tutor had helped me understand. 

Resume Blasting - Myths about Resume Blasting

Are you looking for a job? Have you got a good CV and need advice on posting? Then you haven’t heard of resume blasting before, have you? The concept of resume blasting may not be new but the avenues of use owing to the expansion of horizons of the art of job hunting most definitely are new and innovatively painless as compared to say even a decade a go. Resume Blasting is a proven and trusted technique of old where you would send your resume to every possible headhunter and recruitment agency that would deal with the job recruitments of the industry of your preference. Now earlier this would essentially involve getting a thick red book that would have the names of such agencies and then hours of mailing and posting and this is at a time when e-mails hadn’t been invented yet. This painstaking process though tedious would yield results. Resume blasting has survived till date with a little twist brought about in its mechanisms thanks to what we have all come to call the internet. With the e-mail becoming a potent tool you just need to e-mail every headhunter in town or better yet just go to a web site like resumeboomer.com and all your resume blasting requirements will be met. 

Now one of the recurring problems with this idea is that there are myths and fads surrounding them which can often be termed as childish. The first amongst them is blasting your resume puts your resume into an obscure part of cyberspace. This is probably one of the worst myths about blasting your resume. Resume blasting, posting and distribution will not make your resume obscure but bring it into prominence. Resume blasting just doesn’t post your resume but places it in the right category thus allowing employers to see your resume when they search. Another myth about blasting your resume is that it takes a long time for solid calls from any employer. This is another one of those childish myths. If an employer needs to recruit, they will browse through these websites for resumes, at which point they will come across your CV and call you the moment their requirements are met, such calls hardly take time since there are hundreds of employers around. A common myth is that the resume blasting and resume posting websites are just cons and ask for money and do not provide services. This is as childish as childish can get, most of the sites that offer you free resume blasting in fact are the ones that waste your time. If you still don’t believe it, try resumeboomer.com. They provide you with strong services and blast your resume to 60+ websites and you are almost guaranteed of results. Resume blasting might be something you are apprehensive of, but trust us; it only helps you, so try it out, blast your resume today. Results will surely follow soon, all it takes is few clicks of that mouse and you are on your way!