Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Free Crosswords - Fun Activities for Kids and Adults!

Crossword puzzles are a healthful activity for all ages! They help to keep the mind alert and active, improve thinking skills, memory skills, math skills, expand vocabulary, spelling and more! They can be, educational, fun games for kids and adults.




There's no need to pay money for playing crossword puzzles online. Free crosswords puzzles can be viewed online and downloaded for print, all for free! You can find various puzzle categories: crosswords for kids, easy crosswords, Sunday crosswords, daily crosswords, math crosswords and more!

PUZZLE CATEGORIES:

Crosswords for kids, can consist of puzzles suitable for children of different ages. Some puzzles may be more difficult than others. Depending on the age of the child, adult supervision or guidance may be needed to solve these puzzles. There can be a variety of topics included in this category. For instance, topics may include colors, pets, small crafts, fun kids events and more. Kids can learn solving crosswords puzzles. They can play them with family, friends or by themselves. Crossword puzzles for print can be played anytime!

Play them after school, after a ball game, take them traveling, use them at parties and more!

Easy crosswords can consist of puzzles, fairly, easy for adults or kids. Most of these puzzles will be short or concise with simple and direct clues. There are variety of topics to play.

A daily crossword puzzle can be found in the newspaper or online. Be sure to read the rules carefully when playing this puzzle. The word "daily"may not always mean its printed daily, but instead have a day of the week, Monday through Saturday, located inside its clues. A daily crossword puzzle, may ask a question. Solving this puzzle, correctly, will provide you with the answer.

Math crossword puzzles are fun for all ages! They consist of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division functions. A simple statement is given and it's up to you to figure and solve an equation to find the correct answer. To benefit the most from math puzzles, use your thinking skills by solving on paper first, without the help of a calculator. Although, some prefer to use a calculator for assistance, when needed.

Most Sunday crosswords are found in the newspaper, but there are different types of these puzzles, too. Be sure to read the description before playing. Some of these puzzles contain the word "Sunday" located somewhere within the puzzle. If you can't find the word "Sunday" in the puzzle, then one or more of your answers are incorrect. There could be a variety of topics, suitable for kids and adults to play.

Printable crossword puzzles can be downloaded for print. They're convenient to use. Use them at parties, events, or group gatherings. Use them as teaching tools at: classes, workshops or demonstrations. Use them at home or take them on the go! Play with family, friends, or alone. Print them out and solve them at your leisure. They're convenient, educational, fun and FREE! There are numerous topics online for printable crossword puzzles!

A crossword helper is an online tool used to help solve puzzles. It may, even, contain crossword answers to clues. Use it to check your answers, make corrections, for spelling, for hints or for other assistance, if needed. For maximum benefits, first try solving puzzles without the use of a crossword helper. Use it only when needed. A crossword helper can allow you to view your answers online, as they appear in the puzzle, or download your answers to print.

Gaming Rapidly Becoming Integrated Into the Human Mind and Body - The Future is Here

Most folks that have been gamers for a long time remember the good old days using console games, cartridge games, computer games, and now online gaming. And every step of the way the technology has increased and gotten better. I doubt there are many people who would disagree with me when I tell them that in the future there will be no gaming control devices, and that the participants and gamers will use their mind and body to control their avatar within the game.




Better yet much of it will be augmented reality mixed with Virtual Reality. The lines between what is real and what is the game will be blurred. The future gaming experience will be much like the human life experience, and it would be wise not to mix them up for those who are playing for hours on end. If you are a doubter of what I'm saying, then I'd like to enlighten you as to this future, and where I see things going.

There was an interesting article recently in LiveScience Online News titled; Microsoft Sees Human Body as an Antenna" written by Leslie Meredith, TechNewsDaily Senior Writer. The piece showed up on Yahoo News on May 21, 2011. The article stated;

"Microsoft has discovered a home automation system that could eliminate costly rewiring and outsmart even the smartest appliances and the team has shown that the human body is a natural antenna. It reliably picks up the electromagnetic signals that emanate from all electrical systems and appliances in the home. These ambient signals can be used to create an affordable home automation system that controls household electronics with a pat on the wall or even a simple hand gesture."

Yes, now you can see that this reality is happening before your eyes. All of these technologies will be here the next 5 to 10 years. And that's less time between today and the first original games of the past. After all, electronic games have been around for almost 30 years now. And they're getting better and better each year.

Not only are the games getting better but also the simulators which are used by the military, aviation industry, and the training of people operating heavy equipment, trucks, ships, and just about anything that's quite expensive to operate.

Your body is the antenna, your mind is the controller, and you have the wheel. I hope you make the most of it and enjoy your time in virtual reality gaming of the future. Please consider all this and think on it.

3 Things You Ought To Know When Buying The Best Gaming HDTV

Are you into gaming? Who would not be fascinated with PSP, PS3, Xbox360 and other games today? Indeed, more and more people are hooked in PC games whether it is a flight simulator or a strategic game. It is because it gives pleasure and enjoyment to gamers.




State of the art games like these provide entertainment to families who play games together. Games also develop one's reflexes and enhance creative thinking. Games are also known to improve language, math skills, problem solving and cognitive skills.

Game playing truly has its share of advantages. On the other hand, there are times when instead of being entertained, people fired up and get frustrated and annoyed if controls are not working, television or monitors are too small and the gadgets are slowing the phase of the game. Do not let these dilemmas happen to you.

If you want to experience pleasure, real excitement and enjoyment buy the necessary gadgets and gaming devices. Consider having an HDTV to bring your game into a whole new level.

HDTV or high-definition television provides unprecedented clarity, unequaled sharpness, high definition sounds and of course it provides wider screen picture which most gamers are dreaming about. HDTV does not only provide high quality sounds and picture but it also will allow you to watch television in higher resolution. HDTV has a digital broadcasting system which is compatible to all broadcasting networks today. A number of home televisions today can sometimes provide poor quality picture because most of the units before have an analog broadcasting system.

Buying an HDTV sometimes can be very overwhelming. You may find yourself having difficulty to choose the best HDTV that will suit your gaming standards and preference. Do not be frustrated. Following are the things you should look out for when opting to buy HDTV.

1. Understanding the HDTV features
Game mode is an essential combination of all features on a unit. It makes playing games an exciting experience. When selecting HDTV, look for these following features:

Input lag: this is the response time of the controller to the screen which is very important to every game. The shorter the response time the better.

Refresh rate: this is the number of times per second the screen updates.

Resolution: the higher the resolution is, the clearer the picture gets.

Contrast: this is the level of granularity which deals with the light and color variance. The higher the contrast ratio is the better.

3D Feature: 3D is gaining popularity today. People have seen 3D movies and since then people are in to it. The same goes in gaming. If you want an ultimate gaming experience, look for this magnificent HDTV feature.

2. Decide whether LED/LCD or Plasma
LED/LCD provides sharper edge making the images sharper, clearer and brighter. It is best for still images but plasma react much to quicker to moving pictures making motion smoother.

3. Size
Size must be appropriate to your space. HDTV is useless if it is too big or too small to your room area. You may ask for the viewing distance range chart to help you choose the appropriate size of HDTV.

Truly, games are fun and exciting. They provide entertainment to kids and families. It offers a number of great benefits too. Games are designed to entertain. It should not be a means to get frustrated. Buy gaming accessories like HDTV. It is recommended for gaming and watching television programs. Consider the things mentioned above when buying HDTV, surely you will find the best one that will suite your needs. Good luck!

China Overtaking US Gaming Market

For several years, the United States has been the dominant force in the gaming industry, a truly lucrative market earning billions of dollars in profits each year. In 2009 total video game revenues reached $77 billion, rivaling that of Hollywood with global revenues reaching $85 billion during the same period. But with current trends in the gaming market, the US will eventually relinquish its hold of the top spot to China by the year 2014 according to new research conducted by industry expert Digi-Capital.




The main growth area in the gaming market has shifted from the console or personal computer based options and is strongly moving towards online and mobile platforms. This is attributed to the explosive popularity of smartphones as well as other mobile devices. This includes internet-ready gadgets like tablets which users find more convenient to use than traditional consoles. China, whose gaming market is focused online, is now on the road to dominate the global market

The Rise of Social and Mobile Games

The report from Digi-Capital predicts the gaming console market to stagnate is growth and revenues in the coming years and will eventually be replaced by online games and social networks. The popularity of online games in social networks has been tremendous. Video game developers such as Zynga are earning billions in revenues from integrated ads and the micro-currency systems which was very effective in making more people play more games by charging very small amounts for game play and other accessories.

Mobile and online games are expected to grow with an 18% CAGR, earning revenues of up to $44 billion or 50% of the total $87 billion that the video games market is expected to reach. Online and mobile game developing companies in the US and Japan are acquiring additional investments to further this growth, a sharp contrast to the stagnated growth of gaming console publishers which require millions of units in sales just to break even.

China Gearing Up to Be Top Gaming Market

Chinese companies are always looking for two types of investments. One is investing in foreign companies which they will use as business platforms so that they can leverage their domestic strength and achieve international growth. Another type is investing in foreign technologies and intellectual properties which they in turn will leverage to dominate the enormous Chinese domestic market. This trend is what's happening now in the gaming market.

The Chinese games market is currently at 12% of the world's total as of today but is expected to take on 50% of total revenues by the year 2014 with its current growth rate. This will be in contrast with the US share during this same period which is expected to decrease from 26% to 22%. China is now powering up with huge influx of capital investments with companies such as Tencent moving beyond the local sphere and grabbing a major hold in the US video game market with the recent acquisition of Riot Games.

Tencent is already peaking at 20 million online users at the same time - a figure bigger than the population of many countries - and is expecting these numbers to grow in the coming periods. Aside from Tencent, other Chinese companies such as ChanYou.com, Giant, NetEase and Shanda are experiencing billion-dollar growths - all of which are expanding rapidly and growing beyond the confines of their home markets.

Host Online Games With VPS

Game industry evolution

Globalization of the Internet is still not finished and there are countries that are still evolving in the technical section that is communications and technologies. However during this evolution the new improvements in the already functional communications have led to increase of speed and traffic and in the same time lowering the price. This has led to more expansion on the already growing market to become not only business oriented but also games & fun for example. The fact is this evolution in technology had major effect on the gaming industry, and besides the great online gaming with the casual games and some flash player games, the part where this technology has put together performance and affordability for public is what truly concerns us in this article. The best example of this more and more spreading technology are the game servers with the games like Call of Duty, Need for Speed, Medal of Honor and so forth




How it works

But how does all of this function? Well this all started with new games that showed great potential with their multiplayer and competitor genre for which the players literally screamed and where saying make it possible. This was all possible long time ago, but now this luxury can afford anyone with the game installed and a broadband connection, because besides the necessity of the very expensive high speed internet connection, the only place you could have done this is on a dedicated server which meant a lot of money... In connection speed terms, nowadays, this would be at least about 1Mbps for a guest to be able to play this game on a server with minimum requirements, but the standard for full experience is higher. Frequently the problem isn't with the guests that want to play the game. The problem mostly lies with the game servers, either in their configuration or the (UN) available resources. When it comes to configuration, this problem can be solved through fitting Control panel that has the options that can simplify the configuration of the servers to a basic knowledge level. But this is only just the beginning, there is many other things that need to be done like administration of the server and its maintenance. All of this can be taken of your shoulders but of course for additional price as clearly nothing is free. If you have trouble with these technical things then the VPS support team is the real deal for you in the combination of helpful we tools you have all you need.

Game Server and Virtual Server

However if you have experience with this type of managing, especially if you have a team of gamers/techies then all you have to do is rent/buy the server. Buying the server is kind of totally unprofitable, except if you have long term plans with it, but with today's prices of monthly charges for a different packages of VPS this is the perfect deal for any gamer. The next step would be installation of a purchased game on the VPS and setting it up, but to enjoy the game (and this will be heard from any gamer) the resolution and the level of details are the things that count the most. Without those two things there isn't any 'real' game enjoyment, but let's say you are playing on a 1920x1080 resolution, all high details (even though the resolution of nowadays graphics cards go much higher), the feeling of playing a game with no side effects of screen slowing down (low fps), is something not everyone can have on their PC's and that's where the VPS comes into play. Standard configuration of VPs plan must have a 2 core processor which is enough for any game on nowadays market, but the level of reliability and hardware performance can be a bit spicy for a single gamer, however a team that wants to play this game that splits the costs is the ideal solution for this giving you the opportunity the select the best configuration that you need and still don't feel the price at all. VPS are affordable when we are talking about business but in this case even games & fun payout in a way. Also important to note is how fast the ping times and the broadband is with VPS hosting companies. Speed is critical in gaming purposes and VPS provides the speed needed to facilitate the games. On VPS, the major difference of a shared virtual hosting is that you have root access and you also control your own background processes. This means that if someone else runs an application with a bug or virus, your will not be infected with their virus. If someone else runs a bad script or applications that lock or interfere with the gaming environment, your games will not be bothered with their problems. The level of security and reliability of the VPS is shown in its full glory on the example of game servers.

This is a system that has been expanding more and more and has proven very useful and affordable. This is a way if you want to play a game with some else then you neighbors, who are probably great fans of such games, but need more challenge that can't be found in your city but only on the WWW. A little organization and small amount of cash and you have provided yourself something that some people can only dream of because they don't even know of such things and the simplicity of making it happen.