Certification - September 2008 - (Page 16)

WhAT WE LIKE Olympic Mania Forget about the World Series or Super Bowl frenzy. Billions of people around the world watched and cheered as international athletes with the widest range of abilities converged in Beijing and competed for top sporting accolades at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The conclusion of the Olympics doesn’t necessarily signal the end of Olympic mania, however. Fans can get a daily dose of “Beijing 2008” in game form on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. According to published reports, Sega has released the official video game of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, complete with an array of virtual events including aquatics, archery, cycling, soccer, judo, triathlon, wrestling, sailing and field hockey. Though the game is similar to traditional sporting events in that it requires players to exhibit skill and mastery (in this case in maneuvering the controller) to win the gold, Sega has introduced a few digital-only features. For instance, the virtual platform diving event will require the player to properly control two points, representing the diver’s head and feet, so the diver remains in sync. So go ahead and get your game on. recently, users simply added the link to their Facebook profiles, and could swap words with online friends anywhere in the world. However, with nearly half a million daily users all playing for free, the Scrabulous phenomenon wasn’t exactly sitting well with the owners of the rights to the original board game, Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. (Hasbro owns the rights in North America, and Mattel owns the rights elsewhere.) They have jointly issued cease-and-desist notices, and Hasbro recently sued the owners of Scrabulous, successfully shutting the game down. In the meantime, however, video-game maker RealNetworks Inc. has partnered with Mattel to offer an authorized online version outside the U.S. and Canada, and recently gaming company Electronic Arts Inc. partnered with Hasbro to introduce a legitimate online version in North America, as well. The problem is, the split rights mean the two authorized versions are not compatible, so Facebookers in North America can’t play with their friends abroad. Mind Games Anyone with a Facebook account has probably played, been invited to play or at least watched their friends play Scrabulous, the unauthorized online version of the popular board game, Scrabble. Until 16 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE September 2008 http://en.beijing2008.cn/ http://en.beijing2008.cn/ http://www.facebook.com/ http://www.scrabulous.com/ http://www.scrabble.com/

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Certification - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead So You Want to Be an IT Major The Title Is Information Officer… Chief Information Officer Interface Network Administration: Working From the Ground Up Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - September 2008

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