Today was our last day in Dallas before our vacation to Destin, Florida. You know, a day to get everything packed and ready for the fun in the sun to come. But today was one of those days that you could make a really funny movie out of or just break down in angst and defeat.

When you have kids, you know there will be great moments, your sons first soccer goal, your daughters first dance recital, etc... There are also those days that seem to never end. This was one of those days.

It all started a few days ago when my daughter was sick, then magically on Wednesday of this week I get sick, 104 degree fever, the works. So I am still not 100% today... more on that later.

The kids were playing in the backyard when my oldest son Gavin comes screaming into the house like a banshee. We asked him what happened and we immediately notice a large number of bites glowing red on his arms and legs. I look out at his play fort and see yellow jackets flying in formation as if celebrating their kill. Let's just say they will no longer be patroling this airway.

So we immediately go with the ice/benadryl combo and pray that he is not allergic. After about 30 minutes everything is looking good until he says... "I am having trouble breathing". So we hop in my car and off to the ER we go. This is roughly 1:00 PM by now. We arrive at the ER and an hour and a half later we get the all clear. So he is good to go. So we head out for some celebratory ice cream and medicine pickup.

Back on the home front there is still packing to do but I am still not feeling 100%, in fact I am starting to feel worse. So around 5:30 I do a web check in thinking it will save me time. I don't get the call that they have a room for me until 9:00 PM. So after another hour and a half I am the one that ends up with a shot today, not the one who got stung 8 times. Go figure.

So now it is closer to 10:45 PM and I finally make it home to continue packing the car. I go to get something out of the van and the auto sliding door won't open. Then I open the front door and the lights flicker then go out. The battery is dead. Someone left the keys in the ignition when he took the van earlier. So now I not only get to pack the car, but jump the car as well.

So this is around 11:45 PM. I am in the garage setting up the jumper cables, the van no problem. Then I get to my car and I realize that I have not jumped off of my car before. It is a C-230 and needless to say I was not quite sure how I was going to pull it off after popping the hood. I had to remove the battery cover, filter, etc... to get to the area I needed to do the jump. So car is now jumped and it is past midnight. 

We are wrapping the final items for the trip and I am shutting down around 1:30 AM. When my son comes downstairs covered in vomit and commences to use our facilities. Then I get the welcome surprise in his bed that he left. And oh what a surprise it was. It reminds me of Stand By Me when everyone has a blueberry pie explosion... Yeah needless to say I got the lucky task of changing out the sheets. How did Cherlyn get out of that one? Well she has been taking care of sick people for the last week.

While I was changing the sheets and trying my hardest to get rid of the smell I go to open his window and set off the house alarm and wake up our light sleeping infant son. Now 4 out of the 5 family members are awake and my princess is just sleeping right through it all. Lucky girl.

So it is 2:32 in the morning, their is still vomit in the air and the looming 5:45 wake up call to catch our flight isn't getting further away. This is a great start to our vacation, did I mention that rain is forecasted for the next 7 days there as well stopping on the day we are to leave :).

Like I said, this is either a day that you can just laugh about or makes you just want to roll over. What time does Starbucks open again???

 

 

 

Today at E3 Microsoft previewed the upcoming fall Xbox Live update. And what changes there will be.

The interface is obviously moving towards more of a Mac/Vista look and feel. Gamercards are still around as will your gamerscore, but my first question is what will happen to all of those 1000's of Microsoft points I spent on Themes and Gamerpics???

Next they are going the Wii route by introducing avatars that can potentially be included in upcoming game titles as well as more community feel by viewing your friends avatars vs. a list and the ability to collaborate with up to 8 friends in a community space that allows for full collaboration.

I am not sure how I feel about the avatar introduction. I was really onboard with the concept of gamerscore, but I DO NOT want my Xbox experience to be like the Mii experiene on the Wii. I am about the games and not about building an avatar or having that avatar appear in my games. Yes let's have Halo with Avatars... Please no. If I wanted that I would join Habbo or any of the other Avatar based reality systems.

More news to come, but again I am concerned about how the money I have spent to date migrates to the new plaform. I guess we will wait an see.

 Screen capture of the new Xbox Live interface for the Fall of 08

 

Why 270? What does it mean? Why is it the title of this post?

This number is very meaningful to me. Well at least today it is. You see 270 represents the number of days between the last shutout in our office hockey competitions. The last time it happened, October 19th, 2007 it was a very shocking event as I would put the % of games that end in a shutout at less than 1%.

Now today it has happened again. Rob Howard and I beat the team of Scott Dockendorf and Kevin Cunningham 3-0 to record the second such Telligenti shutout in the past 2 years.

It was a valiant effort but on this day.... again.... the unthinkable has happened.

Oh and for Scott... It's called a "deke".... ;)

It is done!!! I finally got my iPhone 3G around noon today but not without some adventure and waiting in the process. I would love to hear anyone elses stories around waiting for the phone today.

I stopped in at a local mall this morning to see if I could "pop" in and pick up the 3G. Needless to say the line there was 700+ people long. So plan B was to go to an AT&T store close to my office.

The line being only 20 people I thought this would be my ticket to getting my 3G. After about 30 minutes of the line not moving very much I started to second guess my decision. One interesting tidbit is that I ran into a guy that I went to high school with that I had not seen in over 15+ years! It is a small world considering I did not grow up in Dallas.

As the line dwindled down and it was unknown exactly when the phones would run out it became clear that it was going to be very close based on the AT&T reps updates. When there were four people left in front of me they announced that they only had 4 phones left total! There were at least another twenty people behind me. I thought wouldn't it be great if they ran out right in front of me.

So as their was one person to go they came to me and said that one of the people did not meet the criteria, i.e. primary account owner... so there was one black 8 GB left so I took it immediately! I was eligible for the upgrade so the cost was minimal and the wait at the AT&T store was roughly an hour and a half.

As far as the phone it is better than I had hoped. The feel of the phone is a bit more natural than v1. The back has a slight curve to it and their is a difference in terms of the feel of the screen. I am also going to start downloading apps to my hearts content! One of my early complaints is that this version does not fit in the standard dock.

My restore from a v1 iPhone went very smoothly once I was actually able to get the activation completed. It took about 15 attempts to connect to the Apple servers to get the phone setup. I backed up my v1 one last time, popped the SIM with the SIM removal tool that now comes with the phone and once connected ran the restore from he "previous phone" option to import all of my settings from my v1.

All in all it was a very seemless transition. I have to say I love the active sync with Exchange! No more duplicate effort on deleting items from my phone and inbox. My calendar and contacts will not stay in sync so no more daily sync routine.

I have been on the 3G network before with a BlackJack so the added speed will be nice. The only downside so far is battery life seems to be significantly less than the v1.  will have to adjust some of the defaults to try and preserve juice while traveling.

All in all I am very happy with the upgrade and it was definitely worth the wait!!!

Here is a shot of my newly opened iPhone 3G

 

Are you going to get the iPhone 3G? If so why? Are you a current iPhone user or have you held out waiting for a faster network?

I am very interested in the study of Consumer Behavior. Especially around brands that transcend their categories and become engrained in our culture. Apple's products definitely have redefined how we interact with music with the iPod and for many of us and I am very interested in how the iPhone is/has redifined our expecations around what a mobile device/phone should be.  

I have been very happy with my iPhone over the past year or however long it has been. All I know is that I am eligible for the upgrade with my carrier and I am ready for the 3G. I have lived with the quirks of not being able to push contacts, calendar and e-mail with Exchange. I have undergone the daily sync routine to try and keep my ever expanding calendar at bay. And I have suffered through the subpar camera experience. 

I have enjoyed the various hacks and it has even survived a few dives into my infant sons bathtub. So now it is time to upgrade and I will be one of those people in line early on Friday the 11th just so I can upgrade to the 3G.

Is it a necessity? No. Will it make life easier? Maybe a little bit. Could I wait and just get the 2.0 software release to get Active Sync? Sure. Will I wait beyond this weekend to pick up the phone? No.

This is where I have to give Apple credit for their marketing and design of their products. There is not another brand that comes to mind that has positioned itself in such a way that with each new release of a product it warrants an almost immediate upgrade. Think about how many iPods total that you own or have bought in the past few years alone.  

This is not necessarily because the functionality is superior, it is has to do with the simple and elegant products that demand your attention and ultimately get it because it is.... well cool. The hipster factor is high on their products and they cater to those that appreciate sleek, modern designs while keeping in mind that style over substance only works if you are a supermodel. For the rest of us you have to deliver the core functionality of todays integrated offerings and for the most part their products deliver both style and substance.  

So was this post necessary? No. Will there be another iPhone post in the future? I am sure. Will I pick up the 3G? Absolutely.  

One of my hobbies is reviewing emerging trends around marketing and social media (Doesn't that sound like fun?!?)  One such trend is Dark Marketing. No, this is not Darth Vader marketing his favorite life-support system or vacation spot... Hoth anyone??? This approach caught my attention as it is fascinating to me the lengths that certain brands will go to gain traction with potential influencers.

Dark Marketing (Defined in Wired recently) is discreetly sponsored online and real world entertainment intended to reach hipster audiences that would ordinarily shun corporate shilling.

This style of marketing is more "covert" in its approach. And with current and pending regulation around how products such as tobacco, alcohol and even fast food is presented to target markets this style of marketing is being deployed with more regularity than ever before. 

The ultimate end goal is to reach an influencing audience without necessarily directly engaging the brand with the prospective targets. Instead the brands are almost non-existent but they are funding events through creating a sense of elite "insider" or "personal" events. During the events brand team representatives would engage with crowds by loudly ordering the products and then casually engaging in conversation about the products. Or a softer approach of casually conversing about a product or using a product that leads to a pitch in a very casual social setting.

Companies like Sony, Ford and McDonalds are actively deploying Dark Marketing campaigns. Sony recently executed operation "fake tourist" where they planted users of one of their camera products in a prime location and asked them to engage with people to take their picture which would lead to a pseudo-pitch around the product.

McDonalds is not a company that you would normally associate with a Dark Marketing campaign. Normally it is here is our food, here are the toys for your kids and by the way we have a great dollar menu... (great, now I am hungry)... is now sponsoring an alternate-reality game called The Last Ring and it is nearly devoid of golden arches. This is an interesting approach as this ties McDonald's sponsorship of the Olympics into a hip virtual-reality crossover between Lost and The Blair Witch project in an attempt to reach global youth in a very viral manner.

One thing remains very clear. The time of shotgun marketing has passed and the user is king when it comes to messaging. But one inherent truth still remains that people are social beings and their will almost always be someone who will have influence within a group. The only thing that has changed is that their defenses have gotten better and marketers have to adapt with innovative strategies that the end user ultimately wants to hear.

I recently took a trip to London for business to discuss Community Server strategy with members of the Eidos Interactive team as well as our friends at Electronic Arts (Europe) at their new offices in Guildford. Aside from getting a sneak peek at some of the great upcoming titles one in particular was very interesting!

I have mentioned Spore before but as the launch of the game gets closer more is revealed. To recap the games premise, you nurture and guide your creature through five stages of evolution: Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilization, and Space. One of the most amazing elements of the game is the creature creator which allows for endless customization options that can then be uploaded into the game.

While onsite at EA this was the tool that we were able to spend some time with. You have 228 drag-and-drop components to choose from that allow for a variety of unique creations. You have the ability to see your creations as an infant, rotate them 360 degrees, preview animations and movements and create a multitude of different creatures.

Now the creature creator has been released I highly recommend either playing with the trial or purchasing the creature creator to get a feel for the game. Also your creations can then be uploaded into the game upon release. From everything that I have seen so far this looks like it is going to be a great game. I am not a big PC gamer but Spore will definitely be on my list to pick up when it is released later this year.

One of my all time favorite games was the original Ninja Gaiden on the NES. I still remember the opening cut scenes... that was all about the story that you needed to know... you knew it was time to start slashing away. 

When I first heard the news about Ninja Gaiden II I was immediately hooked. When the trailers and screenshots and youtube videos around the gameplay were released my excitement grew. Even my Halo 3 character has the Hyabusa armor. So when the title finally released and I picked up my copy I was ready to be visually stunned and purposefully frustrated at the same time.

What I mean is that this franchise more than any other that I have played is one of the most difficult. To date it has been designed for the hardcore gamers. Case in point Ninja Gaiden Black on the original Xbox. Enough said. Seriously though with the Xbox 360 exclusive of Ninja Gaiden II there are now 4 difficulty levels to choose from. So those new to the series will get hooked on acolyte and then get frustrated.

Overview: You are Ryu Hayabusa, the worlds most deadly ninja and you are on a quest to stop the evil spider clan from unleashing otherworldly terror upon the earth. You are armed to the teeth with some of the deadliest weapons this side of the Dark Sector Glaive. While the story is nice the real focus is on the twitch gaming.

Twitch gaming is basically a style of gaming that relies mainly on your ability to read and react. Half a second can mean the difference between life and the painfully annoying, blood splattered "Game Over" screen that you will undoubtedly see many times on your journey. This game is easily has the best visuals that I have seen on a 360 title to date and the sheer fluidity of the movement is breathtaking.

Gameplay: This is not your standard hack & slash type of gameplay. On the Acolyte setting you can more than likely lumber through the game mashing buttons galore but as you progress through the other difficulties the game punishes you if you not concise about what you want to do when you want to do it. There are 10 levels in all. Each with it's own unique location and enemies. The further you progress the more difficult your opponents become. My first recommendation is to set your saves to manual vs. auto as this will come in very handy if you get to a boss fight and find yourself lacking in health supplies.

The game incorporates a number of different types of techniques to navigate the environment such as the reverse wind, shadowless footsteps and the flying swallow techniques. Each provides their own unique offering that assist you in crossing distant chasms, dodging enemies or reaching an area in search of items or crystal skulls. Yes insert Indiana Jones reference here...

The ability to execute Ultimate techniques is one of my favorite aspects of the game. You can quickly dismember, disembowel, or dispatch an opponent if you can time the moves correctly and charge your Ultimate technique. This leads to a stunning animation of you utterly demolishing your opponent. NOTE: This game does feature a lot of blood and gore as you are using blade weapons and it becomes very evident by the amount of body parts that are left at a battle site. This serves two purposes as this can actually assist you in keeping your bearings as you already know where you have been.

The only slight complaints involve the camera and the boss battles. The camera has changed this time around. You are now in full control of the camera. The only issue is you are fighting enemies in a full 360 degree style of combat and the camera can quickly get out of place. The RT becomes quite handy as that is what allows you to recenter the camera.

Regarding the boss battles I feel that some of their attacks are "cheap" meaning you can be doing everything in your power and they can take all of your health in one attack. This to me goes beyond a difficult battle to one that cheapens the experience just a bit. If I am doing everything in my power to better my opponent I expect the Boss Battle to be reflective of this. This is one of the areas that I give the edge to Devil May Cry 4 which is the one game on 360 that will draw the most comparisons to Ninja Gaiden II. On the battle with Alexei I had to continue 20+ times before I took him down on the Warrior setting.

Weapons: The game incorporates a number of different types of weapons along with spells called Ninpo that you will leverage to dispatch hordes of enemies. From a melee standpoint you have the ever present Dragon Sword, Lunar Staff, Falcon's Talons, Dual Katana, Kusari-Gama, Tonfa, Vigoorian Flail and my personal favorite the Eclipse Scythe. With each weapon you have the ability to level up which allows you to perform even longer combos. Ancillary weapons include shurikens, incendiary shurikens, bow and arrow and an underwater spear gun.

Selecting the right weapon is definitely the key to success. As each weapon is ideal for different situations. I recommend leveling up at least the dragon sword to level 3 on your first playthrough and then level up the Eclipse Scythe which you receive after the battle with the second arch fiend Volf.

I also recommend trying to save your health herbs for the boss battles as the worst feeling is finally making it to a boss battle and then realizing that you have no backup plan on how to proceed. Also, try not to use all of your health items on the middle boss fight. Try to set up a save location and get through the battle as quickly as you can.

Online: There is not an online mode available but you can view Leaderboards of friends progress which is always fun.

Achievements: From an achievement standpoint you can collect anywhere between 400-700 points on your first play through which will take roughly 15 hours of gameplay give or take a few hours. You will get a 100 points just learning the various techniques then as you progress through the game you will receive achievements for completing certain levels, defeating certain enemies and for clearing the "test of valor" areas that are available.

One of my favorite achievements so far has been the indomitable spirit achievement which is given when you continue 100 times. Other achievements are tied to in-game side quests like finding crystal skulls. I have to say though winning achievements in this game are more meaningful to me than other games. The Vanquished Alexei achievement for 15 points meant more to me than finishing (1000 points) other retail titles.

Pros:

• Stunning Gameplay
• Visually the best 360 game to date
• The fluid combat sequences
• Outstanding frame rates and animation sequences
• The weapon assortment and ability to change in mid attack
• Reaching a save point pushes you to the furthest of your abilities at times
• Tailisman of Rebirth is literally a lifesaver
• Option to manually save multiple save files
• Ultimate Techniques  

Cons:

• "Cheap" Boss Battles
• Camera Issues at times

Rating:

This is one of the best games that I have played on the 360 to date. It is challenging, visually stunning and a lot of fun. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to take on a challenge of playing it on the higher difficulty setting. I give it a 9.0 out of 10 as it is that good.



 

While recently traveling to LA I picked up a copy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Translation by Thomas Cleary... Shambhala Dragon Editions). This has always been one of my favorite strategy/business books as it is amazing to me how applicable 6th century BC teachings outlining success in battle are to current day business and corporate culture.

What I really admire is that success even then was defined by more than winning. Winning is key in today's corporate culture but many people differ on their thoughts and approaches to achieving victory. It was very interesting to revisit the importance of the human element specifically the human psyche and how vital "fullness" is to success on the battlefield and the boardroom.

Some of the other interesting concepts are as follows:

One of the principles outlined was the importance of "fullness". Fullness is when leadership and subordinates are of like mind and operate together. Emptiness is the presence of rifts and dissatisfaction within the team. If this exists it is difficult to achieve the overall objective. It is important to empower your team so that "fullness" may be realized.

Regarding leadership "Leaders plan in the beginning when they do things" and "Leaders consider problems and prevent them". This speaks to the importance of planning and having a clear understanding of more than just what is directly in front of you.  

In terms of defining leadership Sun Tzu stated that Leadership is a matter of intelligence (plan and know) , trustworthiness , humaneness (Compassion), courage (Seize opportunities to make certain of victory), and sternness (establish discipline).

Make yourself invincible, and then watch for vulnerability in their opponents. This really speaks to the importance of knowing yourself, strengths and weaknesses. Thus recognize areas where you are weak and make them strong.

The success of military operations was dependent on the harmony of the people. This is directly applicable to business today as those in harmony will contribute naturally, without being exhorted to do so.

And finally it is the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached individual who wins. Not those seeking vengeance or ambitious seekers of fortune.

"So a military force has no constant formation, water has no constant shape: the ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is called genius."

If you have not read it I would recommend it. It is a quick read and it is interesting to see how little has actually changed in terms of what is required to be successful in any competitive situation.

If you would have asked me 10 years about how many kids I would have or what kind of dad I would be I would have looked at you like you were from another planet. Fast forward 10 years and 3 kids later and I would not want to be anything else than my kids dad.

Gavin (5), Audrey (3), Grant (6 months) and my beautiful wife Cherlyn are the reason I get up every morning. Well that and my daughter likes to wake me up at 5:30 in the morning. Outside of trying to be a good role model and teaching them the ways of the world I occasionally have to perform a "Dad" duty.

Last night was one of those times. Being a medic in my time in the Army you would think that I would not have any issues with anything to do with a health related issue. I have given IV's, numerous injections, etc... so last night my son Gavin had a loose tooth.

Being the trooper that he was he wanted me to pull it. No problem right? Step 1 reach in mouth, Step 2 grip tooth, Step 3 forcefully extract, Step 4 bask in the toothless glory of his new smile. Except somewhere between Step 2 and Step 3 I ran into a slight issue.

The tooth was definitely ready to go from the initial look and feel. I asked how he felt, he tensed but was ready. Then the first pull.... no tooth in my hand... a bit of blood and some screaming ensued. Tried again no go. So this right of passage is becoming an episode of Friday the 13th. Now as a dad there is nothing worse than seeing one of your children in pain so what do you want to do? Remove the source of pain right?

So now it was about distracting and calming. So I used the "let's dry your mouth" as an opportunity to pull it while he was calm. A few wipes, a quick snap and the tooth was out. Back to my army reference. The site of blood does not bother me, but something about seeing the blood of one of your own definitely took me back a step or two. That and physically removing a piece of bone from your little ones mouth.

Well here was the finished result... mission accomplished :)

Yesterday marked the passing of the 40,0000 gamerscore plateau. It took 151 days to go from 30,000K to 40,000K with an average gain of 66 points per day. So I thought I would take a moment and archive some fun facts from this latest points quest.

1) Consecutive Days Played Streak - 22
2) Retail Titles Completed - 13
3) World Gamerscore Ranking - 2958
4) Achievements Gained since the beginning - 1394 (Avg. 28 points per achievement)
5) Largest single day achievement gain this cycle - 25
6) Most points in a day in this cycle - 1000
7) Completion Percentage (0 score games removed) - 51%
8) Total Games Retail (83)/Arcade (42) Owned - 125

Here is a breakdown of the games played between 30,000 & 40,000:

1) Bionicle Heroes
2) Surf's Up
3) Jumper: Griffin's Story
4) Rainbow Six Vegas 2
5) Feeding Frenzy
6) Rocky & Bullwinkle
7) College Hoops 2K8
8) Iron Man
9) Ikaruga
10) Kameo
11) Burnout Paradise
12) NCAA March Madness 08
13) MLB 2K7
14) Undertow
15) Brain Challenge
16) Dark Sector
17) College Hoops 2K7
18) Avatar: TLE: TBE
19) Army of Two
20) Mass Effect
21) Lost Via Domus
22) Scene It? LCA
23) TheSimpsons
24) Medal of Honor Airborne
25) Halo 3
26) Fuzion Frenzy 2
27) Marvel Ultimate Alliance
28) Guitar Hero 3
29) NCAA Football 08
30) All Pro-Football 2K8

 

While I was traveling to Detroit for business we had a new phone system installed at the office. This is a very slick system, soft dialing, queues, etc...What I didn't know was another plan was unfolding around the phone system.

There was a phone box on my desk and a few of my co-workers/culprits (John Balod, Deryl Dorsett) kept asking me about my new "wireless" phone so we made it back to my office and I opened the box to find a new "phone system" alright. The system consists of two Green Giant cans of corn connected by a long string complete with hand drawn instruction manual and a "long distance" add-on.... extra long pieces of string.

This was pretty funny, but it actually works as well! I may keep my new phone system vs. the high-tech system that everyone else is deploying :)

It is now official to discuss that Electronic Arts Skate franchise will release 2 new titles.

Skate It for the Wii leveraging the Wii fitboard will arrive late in 2008 and the highly anticipated Skate 2 for the 360 will hit stores in 2009.

In mid April I was in Vancouver meeting with various EA teams at their Blackbox Studio including members of the Skate team. I had the opportunity to play an early build of Skate 2 on the 360 and it was phenominal. More details to come once made public by EA.

Otherwise, Vancouver was great. In fact some of the best coffee that I have had in a long time was at Caffe Artigiano.

One of my good friends recently posted his game library as part of his blog. So following that lead here is my collection of Xbox 360 Retail titles. I also have 40+ Arcade titles that may be listed later.

Retail Titles (Game Reviews I have written are highlighted below)

• All Pro Football 2K8
• Army of Two
• Assassin's Creed
• BioShock
• Blazing Angels
• Blue Dragon
• Burnout Paradise
• Call of Duty 3
• Call of Duty 4
• Cars
• College Hoops 2K6
• College Hoops 2K7
• College Hoops 2K8
• Command & Conquer 3
• Crackdown
• Dark Sector
• Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
• EA Sports Fight Night 3
• Earth Defense Force 2017
• F.E.A.R.
• FIFA 06 RTFWC
• FIFA 07
  
• FIFA Street 3
• Forza 2 Motorsport
  
• Fuzion Frenzy 2
• Gears of War
• Guitar Hero II
• Guitar Hero III
• Halo 3
• Iron Man
• Kameo
• King Kong
• LEGO Star Wars II
• LEGO Star Wars: TCS
• LOST PLANET
• Lost Via Domus
• Madden 07
• Madden NFL 06
• Madden NFL 07
• Madden NFL 08
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance
• Mass Effect
• MLB 2K7
• Medal of Honor Airborne
• NBA 2K6
• NBA 2K7
• NBA Live 06
• NBA Live 07
• NBA Live 08
• NBA Street Homecourt
• NCAA Football 07
• NCAA Football 08
• NCAA March Madness 07
• NCAA March Madness 08
• Need for Speed Carbon
• Need for Speed Most Wanted
• Need for Speed Pro Street
• NHL 07
• NHL 08
• NHL 2K6
• NHL 2K7
• NHL 2K8
• Open Season
• Overlord
• Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End
• Quake 4
  
• Rainbow Six Vegas
• Rainbow Six Vegas 2
• Scene It? LCA
• skate
• Sonic The Hedgehog
  
• Spider-Man 3
• Spider-Man: Friend or Foe
• Splinter Cell: Double Agent
• The Godfather
• The Orange Box
• The Simpsons Game
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
• Viva Pinata

I mentioned previously that Telligent was one of the few companies selected as Best Place to Work in DFW by the Dallas Business Journal.

Last week was the official luncheon and awards ceremony to find out exactly where we placed in our category and overall. So, Rob, Jason, Scott & I went to represent the team. It was an interesting event as I definitely did not expect the turnout that was on hand. There was easily over 1000 people in attendance and each of the winners received a short introduction and a few tidbits about some of the interesting offerings that keep their employees happy.

In our category of small business we finished in the top 10 and Telligent finished 11th overall out of a record 270 companies that qualified for the award.

Telligent was also one of 12 companies featured in the recently published "Best Places to Work" supplement.