Nintendo Wii U getting two title updates in spring and summer to optimize UI speed

Nintendo's Wii U is getting two title updates in the coming months, both aimed at optimizing the sluggish speed of the console. The first of the two, launching in spring, will make software load more quickly, as well as adding Virtual Console directly to the Wii U (rather than accessed through the virtual Wii). The second, launching in summer, will get users back to the Wii U main menu more quickly. Both additions are more than welcome -- the Wii U's greatest flaw is its unbelievably slow user interface. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed the news this morning during a Nintendo Direct broadcast, where he also unveiled news about Virtual Console heading to the Wii U, and an upcoming Miiverse update giving users access via smart devices.

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Two Zelda Games, Mario, Mario Kart and Other Fan-Favorite Franchises Planned for Wii U

Nintendo Outlines Its Vision for Wii U, Including Launching Virtual Console and How Miiverse and Second-Screen Gaming Features Will Continue to Evolve

NOTE: Multimedia available here

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nintendo President Satoru Iwata unleashed Wii U news in an installment of Nintendo Direct today as he outlined Nintendo's future plans for the console. Iwata revealed how the Wii U launch lineup will be bolstered by a long list of top game franchises headed for the new console. These are games that longtime players and newcomers alike will love to play, and everyone will be experiencing them in new ways, thanks to the integrated second-screen experiences enabled by the Wii U GamePad controller. Iwata also detailed a number of enhancements designed to make the Wii U game experience more social, even if people are not playing in the same room.

"The fun of video games is not only just playing games, but also sharing experiences together with people - even though they live far away, their skill levels are different or their experience does not happen at the same time," Iwata said. "We want Wii U to be the system that brings everyone together."

To view the Nintendo Direct in its entirety, visit http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct. The many announcements included:

Game News

Two Zelda Games: Eiji Aonuma, the producer of The Legend of Zelda series, revealed two entries in the series for Wii U.
Super Mario is on His Way: The Nintendo EAD Tokyo Software Development team that created the Super Mario Galaxy games for Wii and Super Mario 3D Land for Nintendo 3DS is working on a new 3D Mario action game for Wii U. The game is scheduled to be playable at this year's E3.
Buckle Up!: Nintendo is also working on a new installment of the hit Mario Kart franchise. This game is also planned to be playable at E3.
Yarn Yoshi: The team that created Kirby's Epic Yarn is hard at work on the first console game to feature Yoshi as the main character since 1998's Yoshi's Story for Nintendo 64. Takashi Tezuka, director of Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Story, is supervising the development of the new game, which is set in a fanciful world of yarn and textiles.
Wii Fit U Communities: New features coming to Wii Fit U include letting players create user communities on Miiverse from within the game. Community members can discuss exercises, BMI or weight changes and other health topics with other players as a way to encourage one another to reach their fitness goals. Similar functionality for other games is also planned.
Pikmin 3 Photos: The upcoming Pikmin 3 game includes a feature that lets players use the Wii U GamePad as a camera to share the same perspective as Pikmin and take close-up pictures of landscapes and creatures in the game and share them in Miiverse.
The Party Continues: A new installment in the Wii Party franchise is planned to launch this summer. The game features various play styles, including one that lets both players compete head-to-head using just the GamePad.
RPG Mashup: Nintendo has begun many collaborations with outside development partners to bring the best franchises and experiences to Wii U. In one such partnership, Nintendo and Atlus are working on a collaboration that features the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei franchises. A video trailer for the game was shown in the Nintendo Direct.
A New Game from Monolith Soft: Tetsuya Takahashi and the team at Monolith Soft that worked on Xenoblade for Wii are working on a new game. A video trailer for the game was shown in the Nintendo Direct.
More on the Way: Iwata shared a new trailer for The Wonderful 101. That game and GAME & WARIO are scheduled to launch in the first half of 2013. Iwata also showed a new video for Bayonetta 2. That game and the new Super Smash Bros. installment are still on the way, but will need more development time before details can be revealed.
Virtual Console

Virtual Console for Wii U: A spring system update will add Virtual Console software to the Nintendo eShop for Wii U. The service will launch right after the spring update and will include a selection of NES and Super NES games, with Game Boy Advance games to be added in the future. The prices for NES and Super NES Virtual Console games for Wii U will be the same as they were for the Virtual Console on Wii. People who have already purchased the Wii version of a certain NES or Super NES Virtual Console game and transferred it to their Wii U console can buy the enhanced Wii U version of the same game for the reduced price of $1 for NES games and $1.50 for Super NES games.
Classic Games for 30 Cents! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the Famicom in Japan (which was known as the NES in the United States), Nintendo is making one NES or Super NES game available each month now through July at the anniversary price of just 30 cents. Each game will be available at that price for 30 days, and the first is the NES game Balloon Fight, which is now available in the Nintendo eShop for Wii U.
Social and System Enhancements

Miiverse Expands to Smartphones: Starting this spring, people will be able to browse Miiverse from their smartphones. Initially the experience will be browser-based, but Nintendo plans to create a dedicated Miiverse app in the future.
System Updates: Two major updates are on the way, one in the spring and one in the summer. The updates will introduce a wide range of functionality, such as Virtual Console capabilities and shortening the time it takes users to launch software or return to the menu screen.
Remember that Wii U features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu. Standalone versions of the trailers for The Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 2, the new game from Monolith Soft and the collaboration featuring the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei franchises can be found at http://www.youtube.com/nintendo.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U[TM] and Wii[TM] home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS[TM] and Nintendo DS[TM] families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System[TM], Nintendo has sold more than 4 billion video games and more than 637 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy[TM], Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi[TM] and Nintendo DSi XL[TM], Super NES[TM], Nintendo 64[TM], Nintendo GameCube[TM] and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario[TM], Donkey Kong[TM], Metroid[TM], Zelda[TM] and Pokémon[TM]. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.com.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Nintendo

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/23/wii-u-system-updates/

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Snooki Family Photo: Cute Guido Overload!

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Army general defers plea at hearing on sex charges

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) ? An Army general brought back from Afghanistan to face court-martial on a series of sexual misconduct charges deferred entering a plea Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, who served five combat tours, is headed to trial following a spate of highly publicized military sex scandals involving high-ranking officers that has triggered a review of ethics training across the service branches.

Sinclair had an arraignment hearing Tuesday at the Army's Fort Bragg, where he had the opportunity to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. He deferred, and the hearing continued with a defense motion to disqualify prosecutors over emails that were erroneously sent to them.

The military judge, Army Col. James Pohl, has set the trial portion of the court-martial for May 13. He did not immediately rule on the defense motion to disqualify the prosecuting attorneys.

Prosecutors at the hearing read out charges against Sinclair that included forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, violating orders and adultery.

A 27-year Army veteran, Sinclair faces life in prison if convicted on the most serious offenses. It's rare for an Army general to face court martial. There have been only two cases in recent years.

More commanders have lost their posts over sex. Of the 18 generals and admirals, from one star to four stars, fired in recent years, 10 lost their jobs because of sex-related offenses.

That tally does not include retired Army general David Petraeus, who was forced to resign as CIA director in November after he admitted to an affair with the woman who wrote the biography of his military career. The investigation of Petraeus also ensnared Marine Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, over thousands of inappropriate emails he exchanged with a Tampa, Fla., socialite.

At an evidentiary hearing for Sinclair in November, prosecutors presented testimony about his conduct with five women who were not his wife, including officers who served under his direct command. The charges involve activities when he was in Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany and at installations in the United States.

Sinclair was deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan before being relieved in May during the criminal investigation. He has been on special assignment since then at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

The female captain at the heart of the case said she carried on a 3-year sexual relationship with Sinclair, who is married with children. Adultery is a crime under military law, and the admission could end her career.

She testified at the evidentiary hearing that she repeatedly tried to break off the affair with Sinclair, who she says threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone about their frequent sexual liaisons in hotels, headquarters and war zones. The woman said she usually wanted to have sex with the general, though she said that on two occasions he exposed himself and physically forced her to perform oral sex, even as she sobbed.

The Associated Press does not publicly identify victims of alleged sexual assaults.

Two female officers who served with Sinclair also testified that they had given the general nude photos at his request.

Sinclair is also accused of possessing alcohol in a war zone and disobeying orders. Maj. Gen. James Huggins, Sinclair's superior officer in Afghanistan, testified he ordered Sinclair to cease contact with the female captain after she reported the affair. Sinclair is alleged to have willfully disobeyed that order by then calling the woman's phone.

Sinclair has not yet spoken publically about the charges against him, but at the pre-trial hearing his defense lawyers tried to paint the female captain as a liar and a scorned lover who was trying to ruin Sinclair's life and military reputation. During the hearings, they characterized her as a manipulative "back-stabber" who blamed others for her mistakes.

The general's wife, Rebecca Sinclair, stayed away from the days-long military hearing but later went public with an opinion piece in The Washington Post. In that column, she said she was not condoning her husband's infidelity, but she said that a decade of war had taken a toll on military couples and brought pressure on their marriages.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Rebecca Sinclair said her husband called her last spring to tell her about the affair and allegations, and she said they were trying to mend their relationship.

___

Follow AP writer Michael Biesecker at www.twitter.com/mbieseck

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/army-general-defers-plea-hearing-sex-charges-203152147.html

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Reflections Of Hope, Compassion, Love, Peace And Joy Artwork Of ...

An individualist; an artist and human; who lived life on his own terms, Manjit Bawa was a one of the highly-skilled artists India has ever had. Born to a small Punjabi family, Manjit was determined right from the beginning to prove his zeal, and talent in the field of art.

Having studied at fine arts at School of Art, Delhi Polytechnic, New Delhi, he was trained under the great painters such as Somnath Hore, Rakesh Mehra, Dhanaraj Bhagat, and B.C. Sanyal; but it was Albani Sen under whose guidance did Manjit Bawa develop his artistic talent. Later on, he went on to continue his studies in London where he studied Silk-Screen Printing from the London School of Printing, Warden, Essex, UK; where he also worked as an expert silk screen printer.

A figurative artist right from the beginning of his career, his various experimentations and attempts with the brush was accepted on a large scale and won him success, fame and worldwide recognition.

His creations could easily be distinguished by their colours. He was one of the first painters to break down the monotony of the dominant grays and browns. It is symbolic to say that he played with colours like the ochre of sunflowers, the green of paddy fields, the red of the sun, the blue of the mountain sky.
While he never worked on demand, but followed his heart and mind; he believed that by using minimum essentials he could extract the maximum effect of his work.

While he experimented for decades on different styles and techniques, some of his experimentation included Tantric art forms and Pahari miniature paintings. A central theme behind most of his paintings was his constant attempt at capturing Indian mythology and the Sufi school of Islam poetry in his paintings.

In fact, Manjit was a firm believer of the Sufi traditions and advocated to live in peace and harmony; which was very evident in his paintings. Even the most violent of his paintings showed some sense of peace and calmness.

He drew his earliest inspirations form the mythological stories of Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Puranas; poetry of a Punjabi poet Waris Shah, folk traditions, legends of Krishna, and readings from the Guru Granth Sahib. His paintings always have reflected pristine innocence, peace and calmness; a reflection of his memories and beliefs.

In fact, mythological figures, flute, birds and animals were constant appearances in many of his acclaimed paintings like Krishna and the Bull, Ranjha, Govardhan, After 84, Heer, etc.

Many of his paintings reflected his uncontrolled sense of humour and challenged his viewers with a dark sense of humour. One such painting that indicated this was his painting portraying Lord Krishna devouring a banana. His paintings were meditative and reflective; layered with sensuality and eroticism. However, the sensuality in his paintings would never be loud and visceral. Sensuality was usually subtle and suggestive such as through the posture or glance. He never hesitated to use figures of Kali and Shiva in his canvases; as he deemed them to be the icons of the country.

He received numerous prizes for his artwork including the Sailoz Prize, New Delhi, the National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi All India Exhibition of Prints and Drawings, Chandigarh 1st Bharat Bhawan Biennale, Bhopal.

He participated in a significant amount of solo and group shows; inclusive of the Bose Pacia Modern One Man Show, Solos in Hong Kong and in London, in Berlin with Ravinder Reddy and in Spain, Washington DC, Singapore, San Sebastian apart from most of the major cities across India.

Having suffered from a prolonged illness, Manjit Bawa passed away in 2008 after suffering from a stroke.

While he made a mark for himself with his larger than life vibrant paintings that were filled with mythology, Sufi spirituality and nature; Manjit Bawa has left behind a legacy of artwork and a unique approach to handling colour and forms no other artist has ever left behind.

About the Author:
Manjit Bawa is a known Indian painter whose paintings always reflect peace and harmony, his experiments with brush has won him success and recognition worldwide.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Reflections-Of-Hope--Compassion--Love--Peace-And-Joy-----Artwork-Of-Manjit-Bawa/4393674

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Written Communication - Small Business Branding

The care is essential so that the place of conviviality of the team is not one ' ' environment militar' ' , with rigidity and without the minimum presence of a smile or a moment of descontrao. The good relationship between leader and the team must be conquered through the exercise of a good communication, observing the ethical principles and mannering that provide satisfaction in such a way who lead how much to that they are led. Thus the problem of the research in guideline is defined: Which the importance of the communication in the leadership of teams? 2.Delimitao of the research Comes of the Latin Communicatio, of communis=comum. Action to become something common many. The communication becomes possible the relations between the people and the groups, being a factor of integration and social interaction. It is the establishment of a thought chain or message, directed of an individual to another one, with the end to inform, to persuade or to amuse. The communication mentions the exchange to it of information between people. One characterizes through the events or events that if verify in the home, the school, the company, in the church, among others. This relationship occurs between a person and another one, being able to be husband and woman, salesman and purchaser, evangelizado evangelizador and; it enters the members of a group, being the integrant ones of the home, professor and pupils, shepherd and members of a church; or still between groups in an organization, being sectors inside of a company, departments of a church, classrooms inside of a college, etc.) the Types of communication: 1) Verbal Verbal communication: that one where the word is the used way to canalize the fact; 2) Written verbal communication: that one where the fact is transmitted by alphabetical characters? numerical? alphanumeric, graphical or drawings; 3) Not verbal communication (gestures): that one where they include the mimic one, looks, positions, where if it transmits a visual fact through the human body.

Source: http://smallbusinessbranding.typepad.com/blog/2013/01/written-communication.html

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A day pulsing with history follows very old script

President Barack Obama supporters arrive on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for President Barack Obama's ceremonial swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

President Barack Obama supporters arrive on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for President Barack Obama's ceremonial swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

President Barack Obama, accompanied by his daughters Sasha and Malia, first lady Michelle Obama and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, waves as they arrive at St. John's Church in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for a church service during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Barack Obama supporters wave American flags on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, prior to the start of President Barack Obama's ceremonial swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The sun rises over Capitol Hill looking down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, as Washington prepares for the 57th Presidential Inaugural and the ceremonial swearing-in of President Barack Obama's second term. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

First lady Michelle Obama is greeted by Rev. Luis Leon at St. John's Church in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, as the first family arrived for a church service during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For once, the drumbeats of division receded and Americans of every ornery opinion gathered to witness history unfold in President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration.

Hours before Monday's pageantry, people on foot spilled out of Metro stations near the White House and streamed toward the festivities, official vehicles sealed off intersections blocks from the White House and Obama stood for a blessing in the "Church of Presidents."

The service at St. John's Episcopal Church captured the intended tone of the day: unity. Bishop Vashti McKenzie of the African Methodist Episcopal Church spoke in the blessing of "this new season of opportunity after conflicting opinions and visions and platforms clanged against each other like a resounding gong. "

A sea of people filled stretches of the National Mall from the West Front of the Capitol back to the Washington Monument and beyond, to the reflecting pool. No one expected a repeat of the unprecedented crowds of four years ago, nor quite the same adrenaline-pumping excitement. But for many thousands, it was not to be missed.

David Richardson, 45, brought his children, Camille, 5, and Miles, 8, from Atlanta to soak it all in and to show them, in Obama's achievement, that "anything is possible through hard work."

The "mostly Republican" Vicki Lyons, 51, of Lakewood, Colo., called the experience "surreal" and "like standing in the middle of history."

She didn't vote for Obama and voiced plenty of worry about the nation's future but said: "No matter who the president is, everybody needs to do this at least once."

Outside the Capitol, scene of Obama's noontime inaugural speech, people had their pictures taken with the flag-draped building in the background. It was cool with a steady breeze, but the crowd was spared the biting cold of four years earlier.

Kenya Strong, a 37-year-old financial analyst from Charlotte, N.C, brought her daughter, Ty, for the second time. Like Richardson, she said the event holds lessons for the young.

"It's really important for her to understand that her potential is endless," she said. "You have so much to live and look forward to, for yourself personally, for our country ? just to see that there's more than the here and now."

Ty Strong, now 15, toted a new camera and broader expectations than in 2009 about the kind of people she'd meet ? not just African-Americans like herself.

"There were a lot of different faces among the crowd that you don't expect to see on an everyday basis ? like more foreigners," she said. "It was nice."

At midmorning, Metro subway trains through downtown Washington were no more crowded than they would be on a typical workday ? except few were going to work. Although transit officials urged riders coming in from the suburbs not to change trains, passengers had little trouble switching at the busy Metro Center station.

Terry Alexander, a Democratic state representative from South Carolina, and his wife, Starlee Alexander, were taking a leisurely ride from their downtown hotel to Union Station. Four years ago, they had to ride a bus to the Pentagon from their Virginia hotel and walk across the 14th Street Bridge to the National Mall.

"It was crazy," he said. "This is calm. Last time, we couldn't even get down in the tunnel to get to the trains."

Obama's motorcade went into motion several hours before the speech, taking him with his family to St. John's Episcopal Church. Before the sermon, R&B performer Ledisi sang the solo "I Feel Like Goin' On."

On recent visits to the "Church of Presidents," Obama has taken to ditching the motorcade in favor of walking back to the White House through Lafayette Park.

But this was a day for a speech, a parade and the decorative rituals of power, not an idle stroll.

___

Associated Press writers Richard Lardner, Alan Fram, Darlene Superville, Ben Nuckols, David Dishneau and Donna Cassata contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-21-US-Inauguration-Scene/id-d011d50ea4ef48e8ba81b829e90a96b2

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Annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference at Chesapeake College ...

The popular Bay to Ocean Writers Conference will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2013, at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, MD. Registrations are still being accepted at www.baytoocean.com for this one-day event, which features thirty sessions and workshops for writers of all levels.

All aspects of the craft and business of writing will be addressed by best-selling authors, award-winning poets, essayists, publishers, marketing and digital media specialists, a literary agent, an attorney, a screenwriter, and others.

Robert Bidinotto

Kent Island resident and award-winning journalist Robert Bidinotto will present two sessions, one detailing the writing and publication of his best-selling debut thriller, Hunter, and a workshop on how to successfully market an electronic book (ebook) by gaining a foothold among the millions of competing titles.

Bidinotto?s tips include how to identify a target audience, carve out a distinctive niche, make a book ?discoverable,? and use Amazon?s powerful marketing tools to maximize sales. Through Amazon, he has sold 70,000 copies of Hunter to date.

Easton author John Reisinger will present a session on the art and techniques of non-fiction writing and how he uses real life as the basis of his books, including mysteries, based on real cases.

Reisinger will reveal what he?s learned about fact-based writing during the writing of three historical novels, one major biography, and three fact-based mysteries, plus how to select a topic, research it, and organize it. He?ll talk about how writing non-fiction differs from fiction based on real events, and how it has its own rules. Reisinger says, ?This type of writing requires lots of research and organization, but it?s very rewarding. Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to be believable, but truth doesn?t.?
Reisinger?s completely non-fiction book, Master Detective, is the true story of detective Ellis Parker and his controversial involvement in the investigation of the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping of 1932. Timeframe Films, producers of films for both Nova and the History Channel is currently planning a feature film-length version of this book.

Source: http://talbotspy.com/annual-bay-to-ocean-writers-conference-at-chesapeake-college-february-23/

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