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You might have heard the term tossed around by your daughter and her friends, but what is a dress up game? Is it the kind of game you remember from your childhood with outdated clothes and your mother's shoes? It can be, but in today's online world, dress up games are much more than actually playing dress up in the play room - it's a huge online phenomenon.

Dress Up Games
When you think about dress up games, your best reference would be the paper dolls of your youth. Those dolls had an attractive base, or girl, dressed in underwear or a swimsuit, and you dressed her in various outfits provided in the same set. If you were truly adventurous, you might make additional clothing by tracing the doll through white paper and creating your own designs.

Today, those paper dolls have moved online. Your daughter can sit at the computer and pull up one of hundreds of dress up game websites. On each site she'll find dozens, if not hundreds, of games similar to the paper dolls you knew so well. Each game usually centers around a particular theme, perhaps Prom or Celebrities. Then she will simply select clothing items from the multitude available to dress her online base.

Modern Day Paper Dolls
The best thing about the online dress up games is the ability to update the games and websites frequently. Your paper version was limited to what came in the set. Your daughter's modern paper dolls are limited only to what the designers fell like creating on a particular day.

Some dress up games are highly specialized and have only a few clothing options, while others have a more broad categorization and can accommodate thousands of looks. The accessories alone are dazzling.

Using Dress Up Games
So what are the dolls used for, you wonder? In the same fashion as your own dolls, the games are simply fun for girls who enjoy fashion and playing dress up. Of course, with the internet being what it is, there are additional uses for the dolls as well.

Avatars - There are so many social websites available that creating a doll specifically for a certain website or forum is easy. Your daughter might simply create a doll that she really likes, save her to the computer as an image file, and then upload the doll to her profile the same way she would a picture of herself. This is actually one of the safest ways to show an image on any profile.

Story Illustrations - Girls who enjoy playing dress up are most likely creative at heart, so they might use the dolls as a basis for a story. Perhaps a young designer creates a mermaid according to her specifications. Then she can print out the mermaid or save and import her into a word processing program. Then the mermaid creates the perfect illustration and inspiration for the story.

Lisa Park is a 23 year old author and a blogger. She loves to surf the net, watch movies and listen to music. Regina Spektor is one of her favorite pianists. Playing dress up games is also one of her favorites. To find out more about her just drop by her site

AP - Army Capt. Christopher Loftis took in the scene: Iraqi soldiers raiding the home of a suspected insurgent wanted for participating in deadly attacks against U.S. and Iraqi troops.

Congratulations on buying that new PSP. You bought some great games with your new PSP and to play them, all you need do is slip a cartridge in the slot and your good to go. Sweet, isn't life great. Hey, how about playing some of your favorite songs or watching one of your music videos on your new favorite toy. Oh! Oh! The store didn't have a cartridge for that! Now what? Don't panic, just follow the step-by-step instructions below and life will be sweet again.

To download music to your PSP you will need to follow these steps.

*Note* Please jump ahead to step #4 if you already have Music - MP3 files located on your computer.

Definitions

CD Ripper Software - Software that extracts (rips) music/mp3 files from your CD and puts them in another file on your computer's hard drive.

PSP Video Converter - Converts your personal computers (PC) video/movie format files into Sony's PSP video/movie format so that you can view them on your PSP.

USB Cable - Cable used to connect peripheral equipment such as camera's, external hard drives and PSP's to your computer's USB port.

1) Put your music CD (the one with the songs you want converted) into your PC's CD drive. Start-up your CD Ripper software or PSP Video Converter.

2) Choose the songs you want to extract to your PSP and select "Extract & Encode". This will convert the selected songs PSP format and transfer them to a file on your PC's hard drive.

*Note* If you have music and/or video files already on your computer's hard drive then all you need to do is select "ADD" from your PSP Video Converter or CD Ripper software.

3) Using the USB Cable, connect your PSP to your computer.

4) Turn on your PSP and select "USB Connection" on your PSP. Your computer will automatically detect the new USB device connected to it and designate a new drive letter, usually E:, but not always. You can check in "My Computer" to be sure.

5) Create a new Folder (name it Music or Videos) under the E: drive or whatever letter your PSP was designated. This new folder will actually be your PSP.

6) It's time to start downloading your music and/or video files from your computer to your PSP.

7) That's all there is to it. After you have downloaded all of your favorite video's and music, disconnect the USB cable and you're good to go.

http://www.moviesmusicgamesandmore.com/games.html

I live in Largo, Florida where I work for the states largest Power Company. I currently have two websites, one being http://www.moviesmusicgamesandmore.com/ and I also have a Squidoo lens: http://www.squidoo.com/game-download-sites-review I also enjoy writing articles on different subjects.

E! Online - Are Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes trying to give Donald Trump a run for his New York City real estate money?

I'm sure there must be tons of people out there who own a Nintendo Wii. I myself own one and have thoroughly enjoyed it over the past few months. Nintendo has been extremely successful in marketing this gaming console to a very niche market which the playstations and the xboxes could not reach out to. So the credit definitely goes to the product planning department at Nintendo. But what about the technology behind this awesome gadget which makes it the most popular gaming console in recent times?

The technology behind the success of the Nintendo Wii definitely lies in its controller. It is simple, easy to hold and maneuver - and most of all, doesn't have those insane number of buttons to push just to kick your opponent's face. Yes it is graphically inferior to the PS3 and the Xbox but that's exactly what it is supposed to be - simple and fun!

Wii Remote

Like I mentioned above, this is definitely the piece which makes the Nintendo Wii so unique. The Wii Remote essentially comprises of a 3D MEMS sensor which is used to communicate with the console to provide information regarding the position and acceleration of the Wii Remote. A lot of effort was put in to move away from traditional 2D MEMS sensors to a 3D MEMS sensor and make it cheap and lightweight. The innovation started right at the wafer level according to the product manager at Analog Electronics.

Bluetooth

Yes, in case you didn't know the Wii Remote communicated with the console using bluetooth. Information such as the position, acceleration and what buttons are being pressed is transmitted via bluetooth to the Nintendo Wii's controller. Considering the fact that the distance between the user and the console is typically less than a couple of meters, bluetooth is the best cost effective option for this communication between the Wii Remote and the Wii Console.

Nunchuck

Non Wii users might not be familiar with this word. The nunchuck is basically a second controller and compliments the Wii Remote. It has to be plugged in to the Wii Remote and does not work as a standalone. It has its own accelerometer and features and analog joystick and two buttons. What is its pupose? Well when you're playing boxing you need two hands right? So you hold the Wii Remote in one hand and the Nunchuck in the other. Simply brilliant!

Infrared Bar

Ah yes, this is the bar that you position on top or bottom of your TV. Contrary to popular belief, this bar does not have any kind of sensors and all it does is emit infrared waves. The infrared receivers on the Wii Remote receive this and transmit the position of the Wii Remote relative to the TV screen back to the console. Basically the distance and angle is calculated and triangulated which is conveyed back to the console. As simple as that.

WiFi

Last but not least, we look at the WiFi system enabled on the Wii Console. Well this was added mainly for the purpose of multi player compatibility but you could also play some flash games on certain webservers using the WiFi in the Nintendo Wii. Lately there have also been a wave of Nintendo Wii WiFi routers been launched in the market.

There you go, that's what makes a Nintendo Wii rock! Time for my bowling game - in my living room... tata!

Author: Rajsubramanian Ramakrishnan

Source: http://www.newgadgetsguru.com

The author is a blogger who has an all new blog called New Gadgets Guru which contains the latest news and reviews of gadgets and technologies from around the world. For more information please visit:

http://www.newgadgetsguru.com

Time.com - Scientists are carefully measuring the geological activity in the national park because it contains the caldera of an enormous, ancient and still active volcano

As if having websites opening quickly, and downloading files at a high speed wasn't enough, there is another reason to get a good broadband connection; games.

Specifically, online games which you play in real-time against other people located around the world, playing at the same time as you. Games like World of Warcraft have revolutionised the world of online gaming, featuring a massive virtual 'universe' consisting of many realms where players from all over the world can log in to chat, exchange items and spells, and battle computer controlled (or NPC) monsters.

Because the games themselves are so massive, and the graphics are high-resolution, it stands to reason that you need a good fast speed on your internet to be able to play. These games can also take up much of your computer's RAM, so a high-spec machine is recommended for the full gaming experience. The games are available to buy online, and download from a secure site, so a high-speed connection comes in handy here too.

Typically, online games were of an RPG format - you control a character, take on quests and solve puzzles, all the while battling monsters and gaining experience points so you can raise your levels and get bigger weapons. Not everyone is into RPGs however, which is why software companies are now branching out into the world of sport.

A company in the Netherlands is testing a new racing game which will operate along the same lines as Warcraft, but with race cars. Gamers will buy the game, sign up to a server and be able to compete in races alongside other racers from all over the world - potentially even professionals such as Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. It's a dream come true for any fans of Formula One, being able to race their heroes from the comfort of their sofa.

And that's not all; the company plans to use satellite technology to feature actual races which are being run, in real-time. You could be taking part in the races you formerly had to make do with watching on the TV. The software will be so advanced that if your virtual car collided with one driven by a real racer, your car would be written off and the game would be over. Artificial intelligence takes over a little at this point; obviously the real racers cannot see the players racing them in the game, so AI takes over and steers the virtual model of the real car away to avoid Massa driving right through your car.

All in all, it makes for a very realistic experience and the software, if proved successful, is planned to be used on other sporting games such as skateboarding, snowboarding and biking.

Playing an online game requires a fast broadband connection. Try a broadband speed test to see if your connection is up to the challenge; if not, compare broadband packages online to find a faster deal.

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