World's largest Ferris wheel to roll into Las Vegas

A new development project on the Las Vegas strip that includes the world's largest Ferris wheel has been given the go-ahead.

The $500 million project, named "Project Linq," will link center-strip resorts Imperial Palace and Flamingo Vegas and is expected to take around 18 months to complete.

As part of the project, a new 550-foot (167.6-meter) high observation wheel carrying 28 cabins with 40 people in each will be constructed, in an attempt to broaden the attraction of Las Vegas further than existing casinos.

If it measures up as planned, it will top the world's existing tallest Ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer, by just nine feet (2.7 meters).

Also on offer will be restaurants, shops and entertainment venues, reports the Las Vegas Sun.

As part of the project, both the Imperial Palace and O'Sheas will be "re-skinned," getting new facades which the company behind the project, Caesar's Entertainment, says will help to revitalize the area of the famous Strip.

Las Vegas is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the US, attracting nearly 30 million visitors every year, according to Forbes -- second only to New York's Times Square.

Facebook's New Chat List

After receiving flak for reorganizing users’ chat lists, social networking giant Facebook did it again: reorganizing the list and placing friends they interact with most at the top of the list.

Friends whose profiles the user interacts with most are listed at the top of the list, while others are placed in a list of “more online friends" below.

The changes were implemented Thursday morning in response to user feedback from a redesign of chat in July, tech site Mashable quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying.

Mashable noted about 28,000 people had “liked" a Facebook Page entitled “I hate the new Facebook sidebar chat" – the first time Facebook had recently reorganized the chat list.

The latest redesigned chat now stretches from the top of the browser to the bottom instead of being contained to its previous pop-up box.

It showed only a selection of friends instead of everyone who was online.

Before July, all online friends appeared in the same bar in alphabetical order.

Mashable quoted the Facebook spokesperson as saying this most recent change is not a test.

Highest-ranked iPhone and Android gaming apps

Games such as Doodle Jump, Angry Birds, and Fruit Ninja have seen extraordinary success in both the Apple App Store for iPhone and the Google Android Market.

Despite the average selling price of games declining by 28 percent during the year (dropping from $2.01 in June 2010 to $1.44 in June 2010), revenue generated by some of the most popular freemium games has increased tenfold in the Apple App Store for iPhone, said app market analyst Distimo in a report released on July 27.

Seventy-two percent of all downloads generated by the top 300 overall paid apps within the Apple App Store for iPhone are games.

In June, Hanging With Friends and Angry Birds topped the highest ranked free and paid games in the Apple App Store for iPhone while Live Holdem Poker Pro and Robo Defense were at the top of the free and paid apps chart in the Google Android Market.

Highest ranked free games in the Apple App Store for iPhone, US, June 2011:

1. Hanging With Friends Free by Zynga - Puzzle, World
2. Oldschool Blocks by BrushGames.com - Action, Arcade
3. Turtle Fly by j2sighte - Action, Kids
4. Bunny Shooter Free Game by Best, Cool & Fun Games - Action, Adventure
5. Shape Shift by Backflip Studios - Arcade, Puzzle

Highest ranked paid games in the Apple App Store for iPhone, US, June 2011:

1. Angry Birds by Clickgamer.com - Action, Arcade - $0.99
2. Tiny Wings by Andreas Illiger - Action, Arcade - $0.99
3. Angry Birds Rio by Rovio Mobile Ltd. - Arcade, Puzzle - $0.99
4. Fruit Ninja by Halfbrick Studios - Action, Arcade - $0.99
5. Hanging With Friends by Zynga - Puzzle, World - $0.99 - $1.99

Highest ranked free applications in the Google Android Market, US, June 2011:

1. Live Holdem Poker Pro by Dragonplay - Cards & Casino, Live Wallpaper, Widgets
2. Bubble Blast 2 by Magma Mobile - Brain & Puzzle
3. Angry Birds by Rovio Mobile Ltd. - Arcade & Action
4. Blast Monkeys by Yobonja - Arcade & Action
5. Angry Birds Rio by Rovio Mobile Ltd. - Arcade & Action

Highest ranked paid applications in the Google Android Market, US, June 2011:

1. Robo Defense by Lupis Labs Software - Arcade & Action - $2.99
2. Fruit Ninja by Halfbrick Studios - Arcade & Action - $1.26
3. Doodle Jump by GameHouse - Arcade & Action - $0.99
4. X Construction by CrossConstruct - Brain & Puzzle - $1.44
5. ZENONIA® 2 by GAMEVIL Inc. - Arcade & Action - $0.99

DC SHOES: MENS MATCH WC SKATE SHOES

Product Information

• SUPER SUEDE
• TPU eyelet
• Elastic Gore tongue holder
• Rubber wrap cup sole
• Foam padded tongue and collar
• Imported

Blackberry Playbook available in PHL starting Aug. 6

Blackberry phones have already gone head to head with Apple Iphones, but now Research In Motion (RIM) has announced on Friday that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet — its contender to the popular Apple Ipad — will finally be available in the Philippines starting the 6th August 2011.

The BlackBerry’s first tablet computer will come in three Wi-Fi models, featuring 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of memory storage, and will be available nation-wide from authorized retail stores and mobile operators with a 12-month warranty. Sorry, folks, no 3-G support; but that’s what Blackberry cell phones are there for.

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an incredibly powerful and feature-rich tablet that is ideal for both business and personal use," said Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director at Research In Motion, in a press release posted on the RIM website.

“You really need to hold the BlackBerry PlayBook in your hand to fully appreciate how much it stands out in terms of power and portability, and so we encourage customers to visit a retail store and try it out for themselves," added Wade.

The PlayBook weighs less than a half a kilogram (425g) and is less than half an inch thick, sporting a 7-inch WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen (1024 x 600). It supports Bluetooth 2.1, Adobe Flash, true multitasking, high definition (HD) multimedia, advanced security features, and out-of-the-box enterprise support.

BlackBerry PlayBook specifications include a 1 GHz dual-core processor; dual HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear); 1 GB RAM memory; GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer); stereo speakers and stereo microphones.

Prices are P23,990 for 16GB PlayBook, P28,990 for the 32GB version, and P33,990 for the 64GB version. — TJD, GMA News

Apple unleashes Lion, updates MacBook Air

Apple on Wednesday unleashed its new Lion operating system, running it on updated, more powerful versions of its MacBook Air ultra-thin laptop.
A slew of Apple product releases came as the California company's stock rose on the back of record high net profit and revenue in the quarter ending June 25.

Lion is the latest version of the Macintosh computer operating system and boasts more than 250 added features including handling multi-touch controls.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces the OSX Lion operating system at the company's headquarters …

Sales of Macintosh computers dramatically outpaced the overall market in the recently-ended quarter and Lion is expected to further ramp up interest in Apple products.

Lion will be pre-installed on new Macintosh computers and is available for download as an update from the Mac App Store for $30.

"Lion is the best version of OS X yet, and we're thrilled that users around the world can download it starting today," said Apple senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing Philip Schiller.

Updated MacBook Air laptops feature speedier Intel processors, backlit keyboards, and quicker data ports.

MacBook Air models range in price from $999 to $1,599 depending on processor speeds, memory and other features.

Apple also introduced a Thunderbolt Display that serves as a docking station and a high-quality desktop screen for a Mac notebook computer. Thunderbolt Display will be priced at $999 when it hits the market some time in the coming two months, according to Apple.