Can Google Really Crack The Game Console Market? | TechCrunch

Look, we?ve all heard the rumors that Google is toiling away on a smartwatch, and the company has said the Nexus Q isn?t completely dead, so part of that recent report from the Wall Street Journal doesn?t completely out of the blue. That said, Google is reportedly also working on an Android-powered game console in response to murmurs of a similar Apple gaming push in the works.

Pretty ballsy, if you ask me.

We can?t know for sure how good Google?s intuition is when it comes to Apple?s gaming ambitions, but the folks in Cupertino are clearly looking at gaming with some level of interest ? iOS 7 includes improved support for game controllers, and was at one point rumored to be working on its own controller hardware.

As the past few weeks have illustrated nicely though, there?s plenty of jostling among established gaming companies as they attempt to lay claim to our living rooms, and yet Google apparently wants to throw itself headlong into the fray. In light of this potential hardware push, Google Play game services doesn?t just look like a shot across Apple Game Center?s bow ? it?s a way for developers to create Android games with that incorporate some of the features that console gamers have all but taken for granted at this point.

If this information pans out and Google does release an Android-powered console at some point in the near future, the company?s problem isn?t just the pressure it faces from entrenched players like Sony, Microsoft, and even Apple. The past year has seen plenty of upstart hardware companies attempting to shoehorn Android into tiny little packages with tiny price tags, and with varying levels of success.

One of those ambitious little doodads garnered more attention than the rest ? it?s damned near impossible to think the words ?Android game console? and not follow up with ?Ouya.? Hell, Amir Efrati?s WSJ report points out that Google has been paying particularly close attention to the Kickstarted startup, which guided its namesake device to a retail launch earlier this week after spending the past few months shipping pre-release versions to backers and developers. The Ouya temporarily sold out on Amazon, and it?s still backordered on Best Buy?s website ? not too shabby, considering its unabashedly geeky pedigree.

At this point it?s tough to say whether that?s a result of extreme demand for the $99 console or just limited supplies, but either way it seem as though a decent chunk of people have been waiting for this. That said, the company is awfully cagey on what it specifically hopes to get out of this retail push. During a recent chat CEO Julie Uhrmann wouldn?t disclose how many units would need to be sold at retail for her to consider the Ouya successful ? she instead responded with platitudes about how she wanted Ouya to be available to everyone to wanted one.

Uhrmann also said that she didn?t want anyone on the team even thinking of Ouya 2.0 until this current model has established a foothold in the market. It?s a curious thing to hear from the head of company that will probably live and die based on the strength of its annual hardware refreshes. The incentive is there to keep iterating and iterating and iterating until the Ouya succeeds ? is Google (or whatever hardware partners it may tap) prepared to do the same?

And all that said, early reactions of the Ouya have been a mixed bag. I?ve been fiddling with an Ouya myself for the past few days, and though a full review is forthcoming, my first impressions can essentially be summed up with a single syllable: meh. And the Ouya is just one example ? now there are GameSticks and Gamepops and MOJOs, to say nothing of a whole host of Shenzhen specials. Sony and Microsoft have the top-end well accounted for, and the race to the bottom for Android gaming in the living room has already begun.

So, when it comes down to it, can Google really crack the game console market? It?s possible, sure. Google may just be able to use its resources and developer clout to carve out a niche in a stupendously crowded gaming environment. It?s also worth noting that video game history is littered with the carcasses of dead, ill-conceived consoles, consoles that had great controllers, great games, and even net connectivity ahead of their time. The lesson to be learned from those dusty heaps of plastic is that (sadly) innovation is no guarantee of success, so Google is going to have to be terribly, terribly clever if it wants to have any lasting impact in our living rooms.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/30/can-google-really-crack-the-game-console-market/

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Andrew Wiggins On Path to No. 1 Pick in 2014 NBA Draft

In roughly one year, soon-to-be NBA commissioner Adam Silver will step up to the podium and announce Andrew Wiggins, a forward from Kansas, as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Go to the bank and take out all of your money. Then, bet on Wiggins going No. 1.

Where will Wiggins be drafted in 2014?

Where will Wiggins be drafted in 2014?

• No. 1 Overall Pick

• Top 5 Selection

• Lottery or Later

• Undrafted...

• He'll Stay at Kansas

Total votes: 248

Wiggins is one of the best high school prospects of all time, and there?s no question that he?s going to make a big impact with the Jayhawks next season. The Huntington Prep product from Ontario has dominated every single high school player who has tried to slow him down. He?s a remarkable talent and could be the next LeBron James.

While Wiggins has yet to even play a game of collegiate basketball, everyone is drooling all over him?and for good reason. Wiggins is a 6'8" forward who can play three positions, score from nearly anywhere on the court, dunk over any opponent and put his team on his back each and every night.

Kansas may not have the best recruiting class in the nation?that title goes to Kentucky?but Bill Self got himself the top prospect in the country. Wiggins will likely only stay in college for one year and then enter the draft, but it?s going to be one special year for the Jayhawks basketball program.

The Jayhawks should take care of all of the teams in the Big 12 and head into the NCAA tournament as favorites, with Wiggins leading the way. He will definitely be in the conversation for National Player of the Year and could take home a national championship as well.

Kansas has only had one No. 1 overall pick in the program?s history?Danny Manning back in 1988. Wiggins is bound to be the second Jayhawk to go first and also the second Canadian-born player as well, as pointed out by Michael Lee of The Washington Post:

This year?s draft wasn?t filled with as much talent as there is expected to be next year, and most of the hype surrounds the incoming freshman class. As Chad Ford of ESPN writes (subscription required), Wiggins is one of seven potential freshman lottery picks for 2014, which would tie the record set in 2008.

While Nerlens Noel, Anthony Bennett and Alex Len were all talented prospects, among others, the 2013 draft class was very weak. Alex Kennedy of USA Today made a suggestion as to what Wiggins should have done last Thursday night?hinting that Wiggins is much more talented than anyone who just got drafted:

Wiggins is a very unique player, as he doesn?t really acknowledge the attention he gets. As Eric Prisbell of USA Today writes, Wiggins wasn?t even aware that basically everyone in the country was watching him and that many coaches were recruiting him to go to a variety of top schools.

It?s expected that Wiggins will be able to handle the pressure. Sure, he?s going to an enormous basketball school and fans will be packed into Allen Fieldhouse to watch his every move, but he's done a good job of being a model player thus far. He admires Kevin Durant because of how he acts on and off the floor, per Prisbell. If he responds to his stardom in a similar fashion, Wiggins will be fine at Kansas.

We already know what he?s capable of doing on the court, and he will quickly prove to scouts that he?s worthy of the No. 1 pick. Ford writes that he hasn?t come across a scout or general manager who doesn?t think Wiggins is the top prospect for the 2014 draft. That speaks to how talented the forward truly is.

Wiggins will be a star at Kansas and will be the first overall selection in the 2014 NBA draft. It may seem crazy to say that this early, and while Wiggins has zero experience in college, he deserves all of the hype. He?s earned it.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1689497-andrew-wiggins-on-path-to-no-1-pick-in-2014-nba-draft

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Obama: S. Africa shows how people can change world

U.S. President Back Obama U.S. peers out from Section B, prison cell No. 5, on Robben Island, South Africa, Sunday, June 30, 2013. This was former South African president Nelson Mandela's cell, where spent 18 years of his 27-year prison term on the island locked up by the former apartheid government. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

U.S. President Back Obama U.S. peers out from Section B, prison cell No. 5, on Robben Island, South Africa, Sunday, June 30, 2013. This was former South African president Nelson Mandela's cell, where spent 18 years of his 27-year prison term on the island locked up by the former apartheid government. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

U.S. President Back Obama walks from Section B, prison cell No. 5, on Robben Island, South Africa, Sunday, June 30, 2013. This was former South African president Nelson Mandela's cell, where spent 18-years of his 27-year prison term on the island locked up by the former apartheid government. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

From left, first lady Michelle Obama, Sasha Obama, Ahmed Kathrada former prisoner with Nelson Mandela guiding the tour, U.S. President Back Obama, Marian Robinson and Leslie Robinson, look out over the courtyard of the prison on Robben Island, South Africa, Sunday, June 30, 2013. Former South African president Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his 27-year prison term on the island locked up by the former apartheid government. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

U.S. President Back Obama U.S. looks around Section B, prison cell No. 5, on Robben Island, South Africa, Sunday, June 30, 2013. This was Former South African president Nelson Mandela's cell, where he spent 18-years of his 27-year prison term on the island locked up by the former apartheid government. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

U.S. President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle Obama tour Robben Island, South Africa, Sunday, June 30, 2013. Robben Island is an historic Apartheid-era prison that held black political prisoners, including former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) ? President Barack Obama challenged young Africans to rise to the challenge of shoring up progress on the continent that rests on a "fragile foundation," summoning them to fulfill the legacy of South Africa's beloved former leader Nelson Mandela.

In his own effort to carve out a piece of that legacy, Obama announced a new U.S.-led initiative to double access to electric power across Africa, vowing to help bring "light where there is currently darkness."

"Nelson Mandela showed us that one man's courage can move the world," Obama said during an evening speech Sunday at the University of Cape Town.

Obama's remarks capped an emotional day that included a visit to the Robben Island prison where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero has been in hospital for most of this month and is said to be in critical condition.

In deeply personal remarks, the U.S. president spoke of standing in Mandela's cramped prison cell with his two young daughters, Malia and Sasha.

"Seeing them stand within the walls that once surrounded Nelson Mandela, I knew this was an experience they would never forget," he said. "I knew they now appreciated a little bit more that Madiba and other had made for freedom," Obama added, referring to Mandela by his clan name.

Obama address came nearly 50 years after Robert F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ripple of Hope" speech at the same university, an address that Obama aides said helped inspire the president's remarks. Kennedy's speech, delivered soon after Mandela was sentenced to prison, called on young people to launch a fight against injustice, creating ripples of hope that would "build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

Laying out his own vision for development on the continent where his father was born, Obama said the U.S. seeks "a partnership that empowers Africans to access greater opportunity in their own lives." He dismissed the notion that the U.S. sought to meddle in Africa's affairs, saying his country would benefit from the continent's ability to manage its own affairs ? economically, politically and militarily.

"Ultimately I believe Africans should make up their own minds about what serves African interests," he said. "We trust your judgment, the judgment of ordinary people. We believe that when you control your destiny ? if you got a handle on your governments ? then governments will promote freedom and opportunity, because that will serve you."

The White House says Obama's electricity initiative, dubbed "Power Africa," symbolizes the type of cross-continent ventures the president seeks. Backed by $7 billion in U.S. investment, the power program will focus on expanding access to electricity in six African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania.

Private companies ? including General Electric and Symbion Power ? will make an additional $9 billion in commitments. However, those contributions fall well short of the $300 billion the International Energy Agency says would be required to achieve universal electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

The funds are aimed at expanding the reach of power grids and developing geothermal, hydro, wind and solar power.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-30-Obama/id-1a35bdb9e5cb48a3ae5434bd0f31d3bf

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Philly rapper ordered to take etiquette classes

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A judge has ordered rapper Meek Mill to attend etiquette classes and notify his probation officer before he takes any trips outside of the commonwealth.

Common Pleas Court Judge Genece Brinkley on Friday told the rapper, whose real name is Robert Williams, he must complete the classes before Aug. 4, The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://bit.ly/15REv46) reported.

The orders came at a probation violation hearing for Williams, who is on probation for a 2008 gun and drug conviction for which he was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison. He served eight months in jail and began five years of probation in the fall of 2009.

Assistant District Attorney Noel Ann DeSantis said Williams' statements on Twitter and other social media had been followed by threats to his probation officer from some of his fans.

Williams told the judge at the contentious hearing that detailing his travel plans was difficult because many of his business activities are arranged on short notice.

"I have my own record label with seven artists. ... I do radio. I do interviews," he said.

The judge said Williams needed etiquette classes to refine his use of social media and to help him explain the nature of his business to the court, adding that the etiquette classes were "more important than any concerts he might have."

Brinkley in December barred the rapper from touring for a month after finding that he violated probation restrictions. Williams' attorney argued at the time that the restrictions were preventing his client from earning a living, and said Williams didn't need to check in with his probation officer because his fans frequently take pictures of him when he's touring.

Williams' "Dreams & Nightmares" album debuted in October and he appeared in Jay-Z's Made In America festival earlier this year.

___

Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/philly-rapper-ordered-etiquette-classes-182741368.html

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