Chip Ganassi makes American motor sports history

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

NASCAR and Indy team owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates became the first team owners in history to sweep the three top races in American motor sports. In February, NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray took the checkered flag at the Daytona 500 followed by Scottish driver Dario Franchitti's win in the Indy open wheel series at the Indianapolis 500 in May. Jamie McMurray helped make it a clean sweep when over the weekend he again took the top spot (and his second win of the season) by winning the Brickyard 400, also held at the Indianapolis Motor speedway.

Pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya led the majority of Sunday's race, but in a late pit stop, he and his crew chief Brian Pattie conservatively changed four tires while teammate and rival McMurray changed only two. As a result, the Colombian born driver fell back in the field, and eventually crashed out of the race. This marks the second time Montoya has dominated this race only to fall short at the end.

U.S. Orders for Dell Streak Overflow Even Without a Price

Though the Dell Streak took its inaugural bows on Telefonica's O2 network in the United Kingdom early last month, U.S. consumers are still waiting to get their hands on the hybrid tablet-smartphone. Despite a large volume of pre-orders on the company's web site, Dell has yet to announce pricing or provide a firm U.S. launch date.

The reason for the delay is that the Streak is the most successful pre-sale device that the computer maker has ever offered, according to Dell blogger Lionel Menchaca. "There are many pieces that need to fall into place to release a product like this, and the reality is that we need more time to work out some things," Menchaca wrote Monday.

Definitely a Need

Once Dell launches the device in the United States, the main question will be to what extent it impacts Apple's iPad sales, given that the Streak will offer similar features but be small enough to carry just about anywhere. IDC Research Manager Francisco Jeronimo expects to see the iPad and the Dell Streak successful in two different market segments.

The iPad will be the choice for people with "a clear preference for a bigger screen" who primarily wish to use their devices at home, Jeronimo said. However, another segment of users will be attracted to a smaller go-anywhere device that sports a screen large enough to view web pages in their natural form -- something they are unable to do on a smartphone.

"For these users, the Dell Streak will be a much more attractive proposition," Jeronimo said. "There's definitely a need on the market for a mobile device that falls midway between a netbook and a smartphone."

Unlike the iPad, the Streak will be able to place and receive calls as well as offer support for Adobe Flash 10.1 multimedia...
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Review: Great iPad Games Are Worth the Search

Apple's iPad has only been around since April, but since its release I've drawn two conclusions:

-It's a great machine for playing games.

-Game developers haven't come close to exploiting its potential.

Oh, there's plenty for sale in the iPad version of the App Store. But most of the games -- I'd say 90 percent, and even then I fear I'm being too charitable -- are derivative, one-dimensional bores. Most of the free ones aren't even worth the space on your hard drive or the time it takes to download them.

The chaotic App Store doesn't do much to distinguish good software from bad, unless you count the wisdom-of-the-masses provided by its best-seller lists. And, unlike the iPhone App Store, the iPad version doesn't sort games into categories, so you're out of luck if you want to whittle down the list to say, sports or strategy games.

But there are some gems to be found. My favorites can be divided into three groups:

-High-definition versions of iPhone hits:

One of 2009's finest games was Tiger Style's "Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor," a haunting adventure set in an abandoned mansion. My only complaint was that the iPhone's small screen cramped its gorgeous graphics -- which really come to life in the new "Spider: Bryce Manor HD." Even if you played "Spider" last year, the iPad version is worth a second purchase.

Indeed, the developers of some of the most popular iPhone apps have upgraded them into essential iPad games. You can start an impressive iPad library with Popcap's "Plants vs. Zombies HD," Chillingo's "Angry Birds HD," Gameprom's "Pinball HD," Illusion Labs' "Labyrinth 2 HD" and Firemint's "Flight Control HD."

One more recommendation, although it comes from computers rather than the iPhone: Hemisphere Games' "Osmos HD," in which you play a blob that absorbs other blobs. It's utterly hypnotic.

-Board games:

Even...
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