This Is War!

Microsoft Buys Skype!

Here is an article on the subject:

If you were Microsoft, how would you spend $8.5 billion to acquire another company? Apparently, the house that Gates built figures a VoIP outfit like Skype makes sense, as the two companies announced the acquisition on Tuesday morning.

Skype has announced that they will be acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion in cash, with an agreement approved by the board of directors from both companies. Skype has been through two owners in the last few years after being acquired by eBay in 2005 and then by investment group Silver Lake less than two years ago. Could the third time be the charm?

"Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a joint press release. "Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world."

"Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers," explained Skype CEO Tony Bates. "Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype's plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate.”

Bates will come along for the ride as president of the new Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer as part of a new business division. The new unit’s immediate plans include support for Microsoft’s Xbox and Kinect as well as Windows Phone and other Windows services, including Lync, Outlook and Xbox Live. Microsoft has stated they “will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms” as well.

Skype has had a wild ride since being founded in 2003, and has taken a considerable amount of heat in recent months for its latest Mac client. Despite bringing parity with the Windows version, the user interface and design has been widely panned by users, with the company promising to address the issues over time.

Sorry!

I'm sorry for not posting in so long. We have been so busy!

Anyway,

On Monday, Mom and Dad went on vacation to the Biltmore for their 20th anniversary. We had Casey Burton come over and watch us, and we had a blast!

Today and Tomorrow, I will be going with Erik Woodard and Joshua Horn up to New Market, VA to shoot some footage for a project they are working on.

To view Joshua Horn's post on our last trip, click Here.

Stand Strong!

Stephen B.

Weighing the Evidence Trailer

Civil War Quiz Bowl

Last Saturday, our friends, the Allens, hosted a Civil War Quiz Bowl at their house. It was a great way to see God's providential hand during this time of history. There was also food, music, and a great time of fellowship with friends. Here are some pictures of the event:

Joshua Allen, with his 3rd place prize

Mr. Allen, Me, Allie, and Katelyn

Kristen, Allie, and I helped out with the slides

Apple Fanboy's Dream Car

http://hacknmod.com/hack/the-apple-fan-boys-dream-car/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+hacknmod/qjUG+(Hack+N+Mod)&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

FOX Rejects “John 3:16” Super Bowl Ad

I received this article and thought it very interesting:

As FOX Network puts the finishing touches on its advertisement lineup for the February 6th Super Bowl — arguably as popular a part of the evening as the game itself — one thing is certain: just about any thing will be permissible in the way of sex, sleaze, and crude humor. Apparently, however, one type of ad will not be permitted: those promoting positive values and faith in God.

Following last year’s media furor over a Focus on the Family-sponsored pro-life spot during the Super Bowl featuring Christian football phenomenon Tim Tebow (left) and his mother, FOX has put the kibosh on wholesome advocacy ads with the potential of offending any viewer with an opposing viewpoint.

Specifically, the network has rejected a 30-second spot from the Christian apologetics group Fixed Point Foundation advertising its website, lookup316.com. The goal of the site, as its main page communicates, is to offer a “message of hope” base on the well-known New Testament scripture John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The ad itself features a group of men and women viewing a televised football game in a living room. As the crowd cheers a play on the field, the camera focuses in on a player with the Scripture reference “John 3:16” written over the black under his eyes. When one of the group asks his buddy what the phrase means, someone reaches for a cell phone and says, “I’ll look it up,” as the ad fades to the website Lookup3:16.com, and the phrase, “A Message of Hope.”

Larry Taunton, executive director of Fixed Point, explained his group’s reasoning in producing the ad for the big game. “If I had 30 seconds to say anything I wanted to an audience of millions, what would I say?” He wrote on the organization’s site. “I put this question to my friends. As we considered the question thoughtfully, we concluded that we would want to deliver a message of hope.”

Taunton emphasized that the spot “advertises no products, asks for no money, promotes no political platform and doesn’t even mention the sponsoring organization. It has a simple, yet direct message: Hope . . . ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.’”

But after Fixed Point had worked for months to shoot the spot and raise the millions needed to air it, FOX pulled the plug, explaining in a prepared statement: “As a matter of company policy, Fox Broadcasting Company does not accept advertising from religious organizations for the purpose of advancing particular beliefs or practices. The Fixed Point Foundation was provided with our guidelines prior to their submission of storyboards for our review. Upon examination, the advertising submitted clearly delivers a religious message and as a result has been rejected.”

Taunton commented on FOX’s decision, noting that “it seems one can advertise just about anything else. Few movie trailers are deemed too violent or beer commercials too sexual for primetime. But religious messages, particularly Christian ones, well, that’s just too controversial.”

While the Alabama-based group won’t be able to air the ad nationally, it is planning to run it locally on Birmingham’s Alabama’s FOX affiliate, during the time the network reserves for local advertising. “We believe that Super Bowl XLV is an opportunity to encourage football fans to look up John 3:16,” Fixed Point said on its website. “After all, John 3:16 is part of the culture of football,” referring to the number of football players, such as Tim Tebow, who have taken to wearing the scripture reference on their eye black, as well as the longtime tradition of fans in the seats holding large signs bearing the phrase “John 3:16.”

Said Taunton, “We want to generate a conversation about what this verse means and does it offer authentic hope — which I think it does.”

From - The New American

Oops!

I said in my post on the Mac App Store that I had not figured out a way to uninstall it. I received a piece of information from Jordan Pirch which I thought would be helpful. Here is the link he sent me:

http://lifehacker.com/5730473/you-can-uninstall-the-mac-app-store-but-its-not-supported

Thanks Jordan!

Victory

Abigail Constance Breagy

My Sister, Abigail Constance Breagy, was born on January 12th, 2011, weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces, 20 inches long. Sorry for not posting sooner. Here are some pictures!

The Mac App Store

The Mac App Store is here! It came out on January 6th, 2011. Here's a quick review on it.

On opening day, I was surprised where Apple put it on their Home Page (see the image below).

Anyway, to get the Mac App Store, you'll have to do a Software Update.

Once all that's done, a box pops up telling you you need to restart your computer. When you do that, you'll see the Mac App Store icon in your Dock to the right of the Finder icon. When you open the App Store, you'll see five headings up top: Featured, Top Charts, Categories, Purchases, and Updates.

Featured is where you'll find the "New and Noteworthy", "What's Hot", and "Staff Favorites".

Top Charts is where you can see "Top Paid", "Top Free", and "Top Grossing".

Categories is where you can see all the different categories of apps. For example, Photography, Games, Productivity, and so on and so forth.

Purchases is where you can see all your purchases. If you log in to the app store with your iTunes account on another computer, you can download them there as well.

Updates is exactly what you'd think it would be for. Showing you if any of your downloaded apps need an update.

When you download an app, the App Store will ask you for your iTunes username and password. When you do this, a transparent icon of the file you want to download will fly up and right into your dock.

Each app has a progress bar that tells you how much of the download is completed, which is really nice.

For those who want to uninstall the Mac App Store, Apple's not much help with that. As far as I know, there is no way to uninstall the App Store from your computer. You can however remove it from your dock just by dragging it off.

Anyway, just a short review on the Mac App Store. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!

Thanks!

Stephen B.

The All New Mac App Store

Ladies and gentlemen...the Mac App Store is almost here! It is going to be released on January 6, 2011, so says Apple.

Apple also claims that the Mac App Store is going to be just like your "App Store" for the iPad, iPod, or iPhone, except this App Store is for your Mac. "Great Apps on your Mac, Right on your Mac". When you download an app, the app automatically popsright in your dock with a progress bar on where it is in the download process. It also automatically checks for updates on each app that you get from the store. "Update one app at a time or all of them at once, and you’ll always have the latest versions", claims Apple.

The Bottom Line

Is the Mac App Store really worth-it? I think so. It does seem like Apple is going more towards iOS with all of their products. Do you think it's worth-it? Comment below!

I'll have a review of the Mac App Store when it comes out.

To read more, check out Apple's page here.

Dominion Productions: Teaser Trailer 2

Here is the second teaser trailer for our documentary:

Weighing the Evidence Teaser Trailer #2 from Dominion Production Films on Vimeo.