Extend Your PS2 Lens Life Using USB Extreme

Sony's Playstation 2, despite the release of its younger brother the PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, is still the world's best selling console at 140 million units sold (mid '08). This undoubtedly means people are still willing to shell-out cash to experience the fun and excitement of PS2 games even though the PS3 has already been released. Of course this can be partly due to the fact that the PS3 and Xbox 360 sell for a few hundred dollars more. Point is though, being a 8 years old (the PS2 was released year 2000 in Japan), this predecessor to Sony's original "little gray box" is still a juggernaut in the console gaming world. That said, its safe to say that a lot of people are and will still be playing PS2 (and PS one) titles years from now and undoubtedly will bring problems of hardware failure due to overuse. Which brings me to the topic of my review- USB Extreme.

USB Extreme is an ingenious product that takes away the hassles and frustration of lens breakdown on the slim PS2. The USB Extreme software comes as a bootable disc that is played on the PS2 and works in conjunction with free downloadable software. It lets gamers who still enjoyu and are still attached to their PS2s play games off an external hard drive through USB connection instead of using the traditional game discs. The external hard drive is formatted using a utility on the downloaded USB Extreme software and with a DVD ROM and a PC, games are uploaded or installed on the USB HDD.

The USB Extreme which by the way is a derivative of USB Advance (for the original fat PS2), is a perfect way for PS2 owners to protect the laser of their consoles from regular wear and tear. Replacement lasers for the PS2 are hard to come by and cost quite a bit of money, so replacing them every two years can really put a dent on a gamer's entertainment budget. It also comes with advantages such as faster load times (it eliminates the need to boot from CDs) and saves you a lot of space. Imagine how many games you can store on a 200 gig hard drive. Having all the games on a hard drive can also save you the trouble of lugging-around a sackful of games on disks during travel. All you have to bring is the console, the USB Extreme disc and your USB hard drive.

The USB Extreme is the perfect product for die-hard PS2 fans like me who still find enough thrills with old PS2 titles and have no plans of upgrading to the next generation consoles any time soon.

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Why Hasn't Customer Service Improved Despite the Profusion of Databases and Technology?

Let's not get confused here.

Databases and technology are tools that we can use in our businesses. There has been a lot of emphasis on Customer Relationship Management recently which is very much about using this technology. But what has this got to do with customer service? Absolutely nothing. Not unless the people running that business are motivated and passionate enough to use that information in the right way.

I see fabulous examples of customer service from all over the world. And the amazing thing is that, in most cases, it comes from businesses that have no technology. Little shops and restaurants, taxi drivers, libraries, one person businesses. They have found a way to dazzle and delight their customers that has nothing whatsoever to do with technology.
And yet the larger businesses put so much emphasis on technology. "Let's profile our customers. Let's monitor their spending patterns. Let's change the layout of our shop so that they spend more. Let's give them reward points."

This is not customer service. This is a misguided attempt to increase sales without understanding that customer service is about dealing with people. We buy from people we like. We want to fall in love with the businesses that we buy from. And love doesn't come from databases.

My research into literally hundreds of businesses has identified a number of key elements that I believe combine to create a great service experience. They are like pieces of a jigsaw; the more that you can assemble the clearer the picture becomes. But let me tell you about just three of them. The three that I think are the most important.

The first is communication. How do we communicate with our customers? And I don't mean email or letter or telephone. What I mean is, do we really make an effort to get on side with our customer? Do we look at things from our customers point of view? Do we understand all the things that our customer is feeling, seeing, hearing, tasting and smelling? Do we communicate in ways that our customer understands? And do we listen? Really listen?

The second is systems. I don't mean computer or technology systems. Just simple systems. How do we do things? How we treat our customers? Think about all the businesses that you have ever worked in. Did any one of them ever say to you on your very first day, "This is how we treat our customers here"? More likely they probably said, "This is how you take the money. This is how you chase up payments. This is how you operate the computer". Most employees do what they think is expected of them.

The third element is leadership. There is a direct correlation between strength of leadership and the amount of extra effort that people put into serving customers. Great leaders understand their internal customers - their employees. They understand what motivates them, what inspires them, what pleasure they can get from giving great service.
Great leaders also understand what huge benefits customer loyalty brings. The very best customer service businesses don't need to advertise. They don't lose customers and they get huge numbers of referrals.

Business leaders in the UK need to wake up to the fact that the best technology will not replace simple human understanding. The greatest database will not replace some basic customer service training. I worry that UK leaders are simply too reserved and too conservative to ever fully grasp this issue. We dismiss as "too American" anything that appears to break the rules. "Have a nice day" might not be for us. But understanding how to make our customers smile would be a huge step forward.

Derek Williams is creator of The WOW! Awards an International Professional Speaker and Chief Executive for the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe.

For more information about Derek Williams visit http://www.MrWow.co.uk For The WOW! Awards (including access to a FREE customer service newsletter) visit http://www.TheWowAwards.com

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Playing Card Games Online

While playing at home with your friends, card games have enabled social situations in every walk of life. But did you realize that you can actually play socially and interactively with other people the same card games online?. You can find traditional card games online that allow for multiplayer activity and playing at the same time as well as find new variations of your old favorites.

You'll find poker, blackjack, 21 and other varieties of popular poker games online, at a variety of gaming sites. Not only can you play the game for points, but you can also jump into a casino type atmosphere and actual play with poker chips, and money. Be sure before you start within an online casino site poker game that you check with your state laws, several states have outlawed online gambling casinos, and you don't want to be on the other side of the law.

You'll also be able to play cribbage online with all of your friends from around the world. Not only do you get to bring your friends online with you, but also you can make new friends and play against new players from just about every walk of life. As simple as opening the site and seeing your board, choosing a username, and initializing a game allows you to play cribbage off and on as long as you like.

If your hearts or spades player, you'll be amazed at the opportunities these online games can give you for meeting new people and playing full length games. You may also find canasta, and other online card games with the same abilities as many traditional online gaming systems and all with the prospect of meeting worldwide friends.

One of the nice things about being able to play card games online is the opportunity to learn. Not only can you learn the basics of the game, but if you watch closely you'll also learn a lot of strategies. Bridge, considered one of the toughest games to play is also offered online. From beginners and novices, to advanced players, Bridge offers opportunities for everyone to learn different strategies and gain experience to play in real life.

Playing online card games is a great way to socialize and play a game that you enjoy. The ability to play with players around the world, within your own nation, and even within your own community, allows you to meet new people and gain new friends. Not only can it be a relaxing pastime, it can also be a social time, the online games available today are not just to while the time away, but to also socially interact from the comfort of your own home and still play the traditional card games you enjoy.

Ed Tupniak
For more information on online gaming, visit The Game Crypt

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Make World of Warcraft Gold - How To Flip Items In The Auction House

In this article I'm going to explain a great technique on how to make world of warcraft gold. I'm going to focus on using the auction house to see huge gains in gold. The Auction House is one of the most profitable ways you can earn gold and has personally made me enough money to buy my epic mount - I hope you find the same success I've seen.

The Power of the Auction House: "Buy Low Sell High"

For those of you that aren't familiar with how to make gold through the auction house, its when you buy items that are below market value to later sell at a higher price for profit - "buy low, sell high." I know its sort of an old saying but this is something gamers rarely do in the Auction House, I'm going to cover a few things to keep in mind when flipping items.

Try and predict what's going to be hot in the future - talk to other gamers, analyze trends, read notes of a new instance that'll open up and try and look for what items will be needed for that instance.

Download the auctioneer addon. This tool will help you to scan the auction house for prices that are lower than market value. The key though is this - for about a week, scan the prices in the auction house a few times a day. This will give you a good feel for what a good and bad price is for an item. You'll then have the knowledge to buy an item for a bargain.

When searching and buying items, be patient! Don't buy an item when you know you can find a better price - don't settle for anything less than a bargain. As stated, the auctioneer addon will help you search for items that are below market value - you can even specify how much gold you can make from the sale.

Once you actually buy an item for a great price, start listing it back and set a buy out price. I say this because most players want to buy items immediately. Set the buy out price slightly lower than your competition. The key is to let it sit for about 24 hours so that your item gets enough exposure. Once you sell it and make a profit, take the capital and reinvest in buying more items to eventually sell.

Important Things to Note:

Although the auction is one of most popular and effective ways to make world of warcraft gold, there are some drawbacks. It can get pretty time consuming searching, buying, and selling in the market. A few friends of mine spend 90% of their gaming time in the auction house and the other 10% playing the other parts of the game they actually enjoy. There are more efficient solutions out there. Professional gamers in China tap into these time efficient methods which has shown them huge gains in gold. These tactics have been revealed in gold making guides.

Do you want more gold but don't want to sacrifice endless hours to get it? Click here to read another important tip and to see our unbiased reviews of the top wow gold making guides.

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