Every year there’s a hot product that everyone wants for Christmas. Nobody can really predict ahead of time what it will be until it suddenly comes out of nowhere and everyone is “a buzz” over it. I typically don’t get wrapped up in all the fuss, but I have to admit – this year’s front runner has caught my eye.

Microsoft’s answer to the Wii is the Kinect for Xbox 360 where YOU are the controller. The company predicts that over 5 million units will be sold by the end of this year – and while I’ve never been into computer or console games – one of those units will be under our tree this year.

I had no clue Kinect was even in the works until this past Sunday during my rounds of NFL Football. The commercials on Sunday afternoon  and evening where everywhere. Since my Steelers weren’t playing until last night on Monday Night Football, I spent some time Sunday researching and reading up on this phenomenal technology product. (And like my Steelers – I love my technology!)

Microsoft’s Kinect has a motor, a depth sensors, and RGB camera that makes an additional controller (a physical input device) practically obsolete. When you combine the sensors and camera, all that’s needed is motion-based gesturing for play and navigation. Kinect brings full body play into the mix and it responds remarkable to how you move. If you have to kick, then kick. If you have to jump, then jump.

Reading about it is one thing, but actually trying it is another story. It’s freakish in the way it picks up your every move and it takes a bit of getting used to, but find yourself drawn to how easy it is to interact with. Speaking of interacting – Kinect will also respond to a list of voice commands that are remarkable accurate even in a noisy retail floor. (Which should bode well for a family room with two noisy kids.) Both motion and voice commands are simple to learn and rather intuitive.

It also does live video calls. (Talk about a REALLY big video phone!) Got a friend or family member who’s also got Kinect? Bring them up on the screen and talk live face to face.

From what I’ve read and what I’ve heard from the guys who demoed Kinetic for me, it’s not for the serious gamer – yet. At this point, Kinect is more “family oriented” in its debut of games which would be great for a family like ours, but for Halo fan’s – there’s currently nothing for you at this point.

Want an idea of what Kinect for Xbox 360 can do and how it’s going to bring our family together for more fun? Check out this video below, and you might agree that it needs to be under your tree this Christmas.

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There are several things that make me proud to be a member of YTB and ZamZuu. I mentioned Flags4Vets just before Convention. The company has also been a part of Feed the Future in years past, which provide toys, computers, musical instruments, and other gifts to children. We also can’t forget Passport To Giving which provides a steady stream of income for non-profit organizations who no longer have to beg for money.

This fall YTB and ZamZuu will expand its community service to help even more people in the form of security services for the average person. We know all too well about nut cases who poke and prowl the internet for your personal information and end up posting it publicly for everyone to see. While the information age we now live in can be a huge benefit – there is a segment of society who is suffering for whatever reason – and in their own dysfunctional way, they believe that victimizing others will make their pain go away.

While these people may or may not take responsibility for their own wellbeing and happiness – there IS something YOU can do to protect yourself and your family from this ugly segment of society.

That’s why we have a special interest in what ZamZuu will roll out as a new premier identity theft recovery product called the Entrust America ID Recovery Plan. In the event of an identity theft, the covered member is assigned a certified “Rush ID Recovery Specialists” from Entrust America who performs all the recovery and restoration work on behalf of you, the victim.

Most other plans on the market today merely offer assistance and expense reimbursement, and the victims are forced to do their own recovery. Don’t be fooled by slick marketing tactics, partial solutions and fine print exceptions that protect them, not you.

Last year, as many as 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.

We know how nasty and foul these perpetrators can be – but there is a way for you to remain in control and have peace of mind. Entrust your identity to local, regional, and national police associations and law enforcement (who also use THIS product) with Entrust America who fully recovers the victim’s identity, repairs the damage done, pursues the perpetrator, and takes legal action on your behalf.

The second product ZamZuu will launch is something we believe every parent needs in this day and age. Personally, I have no problem with people coming after me – but when it comes to my family that’s an area that’s so far out of bounds I can’t even put it into words. (And you know me – I have a way with words.)

KidZafe by Zamzuu helps you protect your kids from predators, bullies and sexting and helps you protect their privacy and reputation on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and on the mobile phone.

I could go on for days writing about this – but the mind doesn’t see in words – it sees in pictures – and I want you to get the full impact of what’s at stake here as a parent and what you can do to protect those you love. The video embedded below is powerful – especially if you’re a parent of young children. What I really like about this product is that it doesn’t force you to hide or lock up your children from the scum that may be after them – but it will warn and help you protect them. It puts you back in control of the information they now have at their fingertips.

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Each year the family swaps holidays with each set of Grandparents. This year we’ll spend Thanksgiving with Ronda’s side of the family and Christmas with my side of the family. Next year we’ll switch holidays. It’s something we’ve always done, long before the kids ever came along and it works for both us, and our families.

With Thanksgiving comes the annual start of the Christmas shopping season and Black Friday. It’s a day I’ve tried to avoid like the plague. I hate crowded malls, the parking nightmare, and hoards of people. While the girls don’t seem to mind the experience, shopping at one set of Grandparents on Black Friday just to transfer it to another set of Grandparents for Christmas does raise the problem of attempting to smuggle it back home in the car so the kids don’t see what we’ve bought. Then there’s the added problem of transporting the presents to and from Grandmothers house for the Christmas holiday. (Can you imagine the shipping charges or airline baggage fees associated with all those presents under the tree?? Yikes!)

I’m happy to report that most of these problems have been resolved this year thanks to shopYTB.

I’ve always been a big fan of shopping online and have been doing it for years. This year, because of what YTB has created for both ourselves, family and friends, we can all eliminate the nightmare of shopping the traditional way this holiday season – along with the added bonus of getting cash back when it’s all said and done. So far, it’s looking as if the shopYTB concept is the start of a new tradition in our family during the holiday season.

What got the ball rolling was my wife and mother who have been planning just what presents to get for the kids this year for Christmas. Mom had found the perfect doll house for Brittany and wanted Ronda to see it. While the two discussed the item over the phone, Ronda went to the internet to look it up online.

Not only were we able to find the item online, but also found one of the better prices through WalMart.com.

As an added bonus for everyone involved – Ronda can access the WalMart.com web site through the shopYTB portal, purchase the doll house, and have this large item transferred (site to store) to the WalMart near my parents for my mother to pick up free of charge. It also keeps the item out of Brittany’s prying eyes and hands here at home and she has no idea it will be sitting under the tree this Christmas.

We’re also finding other items from stores that offer free shipping, which eliminates the need to even hit the crowded stores and malls this Christmas season. In addition, I’ve had the unpleasant experience of hitting several of the same stores because one store was completely out of stock. I’m seeing more and more products offered exclusively online that are not found in stores – expanding the offering with more products to choose from.

While I’m also aware of the extended hours each store operates during the Holiday Season, it still doesn’t beat the 24/7 hours available from the comfort of our own home. Just after the kids went to bed last night, we ordered new bathroom decor for the kids bathroom that they’ve picked out. (A new beach and surf theme, fresh off their cruise experience.)

This year, not only is shopping for Christmas going to be far less of a hassle, but it will be nice to actually receive a check with cash back for doing it this way come the beginning of the year. Each purchase saves money in an assortment of ways.

If you’re like me, it one heck of a deal – and avoids all the hassle of the Christmas shopping season.

Just one more reason and example that makes YTB a great value for me and my entire family!

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I’ve been surfing around the last few days and about all I can say is “yuck”.

So rather than get caught up in the childish bantering, the market collapse, sad Annual Reports, and more job losses, we’re going to shift gears (maybe from here on out?) and focus on something positive. Personally, I just don’t like participating in doom and gloom, which has escalated into even more absurdity. It’s not only unproductive, and when negativity is all you focus on, what do you get more of?

More negativity.

So for now, we’re going to focus on something positive. Something meaningful. Something important.

My new iPhone!

Oh COME ON! It’s important to me, and this IS my blog, and I had no idea how useful this phone REALLY was until I got myself one a week ago. The screen on my old phone blanked out on me, and with the hundreds of contacts I had saved on it, and because I had saved the settings to silent due to the Directors meeting last week, I had no idea who called or even if they called. With my phone being my left arm, (laptop being my right) it was time for a new phone.

I’ve had team members who have raved about the iPhone for some time, and while I’ve always wanted one (actually wrote about how slick Google integrates with it), until I had a chance to see it and get first hand experience with a number of the applications, features, and benefits I truly had no idea. The only problem I have with the iPhone right now are my kids who can’t keep their hands off it wanting to play games. They’re rather upset that their father doesn’t have any games loaded and while I told them that it’s not a toy, my wife had the nerve to brake out in uncontrolled laughter. (What’s up with that?)

The iPhone 3G combines three products in one – a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device. It features 3G, built-in GPS, push email, calendar, and contacts. (You can also talk to people!)

Technology also has a way of making life easier, saving both time, money and space. I remember buying books on tape, which graduated to books on CD, and now I can download thousands of audiobooks on iTunes within a matter of minutes with a digital format that takes up very little space. I’m also thrilled with literally THOUSANDS of niche iTunes Podcasts that I can subscribe to and are downloaded automatically to the phone before I head out for the day. While I did listen to the radio a couple weeks ago during the Super Bowl, I rarely listen to the radio, opting for biographies, motivational, or personal developement CD’s instead. Now with the ability to listen via my iPhone for both books and broadcasts that empower me and nurish my mind instead of bombarding it with negativity and useless chatter, I’m more focused and prepared to take on the day.

Another area I just LOVE is the 3G feature for internet and GPS. This combination built right into the phone is absolutely amazing to me. If you throw in a couple of iPhone applications, that give you instant access to traffic delays, flight delays, and where to find the lowest gas price in your area you’ve got yourself some kind of power in your hand. While the Flight Track Pro is used for clients with air while I’m out and about, I can also access the Atlanta Traffic Cams right from my phone either before I head out or while I’m trying to decide the best route to take home. Another very cool application is Cheap Gas, which takes your current GPS location and not only posts the gas prices of surrounding stations, but when you find one you like, and not sure about the best route to take to get there just hit the “map” feature for turn by turn directions.

Of course the same can be done while you’re out and about using Google Mobile App that I wrote about some time ago. It’s been quite some time since I’ve toyed with voice recognition software, and I have to admit, either Google did their homework, or technology has finally caught up with this type of application making it virtually error free. There’s no training involved like the old days, and results come back surprisingly fast even if it hits the servers and comes back with results. Another application I really like is “Say Who” that accesses the names from you contact list, which is a real time saver when you have as many contacts as I do. Just say the name, it pulls it up and dials the number automatically. No more setup, and no more voice training which now opens up my entire list of contacts, not just the most used or the only the ones I’ve manually trained and programed.

I also love the voice mail features. In the past, people would leave a voice mail, and when I saved it for later because I couldn’t write down the dates or itinerary when I went to access it again, I’d have to scroll through several other saved voice mails in order to get to the one I wanted. It was frustrating and time consuming to say the least.

GONE! Now I can access any voice mail in any order, with a slick GUI interface that provides a name, date and time stamp, and I even have the ability to stop mid stream and call a client or friend back right from the voice mail area to clarify or reply with a quick answer. When done, simply delete.

One area that I know gets a lot of use from others, that I haven’t gotten the hang of just yet is typing on such a small screen. Put a full featured keyboard in front of me and I’ll type for hours, but this tiny keyboard does take some getting use to. I’ve never been one for texting and don’t intend to start now, but I can do like to respond to e-mail on the fly. I can also “Tweet” and update Facebook with many other Social Networking sites on the go. Yes, there are several applications for Social Networking and while I haven’t decide which one works best, (basically because I don’t use them that much) I do like the feature and ability to post on the fly.

Lastly, the browser used was a big surprise to me. I couldn’t imagine being able to read posts like this on such a small screen, but found out that while it is smaller, it’s surprisingly easy to read. It is different navigating around, and you certainly don’t have the space to read without scrolling, but I was surprised at the clarity and ease of use of the built in browser. I wouldn’t recommend it be your only connection to the internet, but it certainly does the job in a pinch when you need to access something on the go.

Bottom line for me is that this phone absolutely ROCKS! The ease of use, stable platform, and incredibly useful and intuitive applications make the phone the best toy, errr, “tool” I’ve seen in a long, long time. The features, benefits and usefulness are amazing and provide real time savers, increased productivity and service to those I associate with.

I give it two thumbs up!

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Hope Ya’ll had a great weekend. (For you Pittsburgher’s like me, replace “Yunz Guys” with “Ya’ll”) We had family in town since the middle of last week, and while I did do some “work”, some things, like internet activity, took a back seat. (Which would include this blog.)

I started to think about what to post today and honestly didn’t have anything prepared. There are a couple of key people I like to read for inspiration, and many of them you can find to the right as part of my “favorite authors”, but there is one who isn’t on my list who I’ve known via the Internet and message boards who I’ve admired for years. As a success, I have attempted to model in my journey in my own home based business.

I stumbled into one of his articles late last night and can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see someone like Tony with the same belief I have concerning working at home with kids.

To some, this may seem odd, and some who’ve never experienced this may think that people would find this “unprofessional”. Like Tony, I’ve never seen or heard a single person in all the years I’ve been home with my kids that anyone has ever been “put off” by my kids who may interrupt, make extra noise, or need something during a call.

As a matter of fact, I get more compliments and most everyone with children desire what I have more than anything else.

So I’m going to step aside for today and let Tony take it from here with a copy and paste from Articlebase.

How to Succeed in a Home Business Even if you Have Kids

Author: Tony Rush

You’ve seen the ad in the magazines and online. I call her the Perfect Work-At-Home Person. She’s a beautiful lady with perfect makeup and hairstyle. She’s sitting at her computer in her home office and her two-year old is quietly playing with her toys on the floor.

Or perhaps it’s a picture of a man who’s lounged by the pool laughing and talking on his cordless phone while his children are floating around in the pool.

Let’s pause for a reality check.

As I type this, I’m holding an 18-month old who has barged into my office and demanded his favorite past-time: to sit on my lap while listening to iTunes. (Right now, we’re listening to “How Long” by The Eagles and he’s desperately trying to climb onto the keyboard to get my iPhone.)

In fact, less than an hour ago, I had a phone call from a potential business partner who had to hold for a moment as I made sure that my oldest son had his phone charged and knew to be careful crossing the street to go to his friend’s house.

Of course, I could close the door. I could ask my wife to watch him for a bit while I take care of some business.

And sometimes I do that. But, usually, I’m doing business or taking calls throughout the day while I’m enjoying being with my family.

Welcome to the Home Office of the 21st Century Family: Where family is the top priority and we don’t feel the need to pretend that our home office is a picture from a magazine.

It wasn’t always this way, though. I remember not too long ago, if the phone rang, I was shrieking at everyone to be quiet because I was “working”. Or I spent huge swaths of time with the door to my office closed because I was “working”.

What a drag. What’s the point in working at home if you have to pretend you’re in a corporate environment? Or where everyone around you is stressed out because they feel like they’re walking on eggshells.

I suspect that most home-business entrepreneurs are living the same way and doing it for the same reason: fear.

They’re afraid that if someone hears a child in the background, it means they’re not “professional”. But the truth is that most of the people you talk to would love to be able to work from home and be with their loved ones every day. And this is especially true if you’re in a business where showing people how to get out of the corporate environment is what you do.

The truth is that working at home and being connected with your family is cool today. Today’s best “power lunch” is when you’re making money while slicing a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich for your kids. And the best suits to wear when doing business is a swimsuit.

Just this week, I was on the phone with a potential business partner and my son, Pate, came in to get a hug and a kiss before going to bed. I asked my prospect to hang on, laid the phone on the desk and spent the next 45 seconds tickling my son, telling him how much I love him and that I’d see him in the morning.

When I picked up the phone, I said, “There was a time I would have apologized for that but that’s actually the whole reason why I do what I do.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone and my prospect said, “That’s the kind of life I want. How do I get started?”

And of course, when the situation requires, you can always close your door. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. It’s all about choice.

So, the message is simple: don’t be too quick to assume that working at home requires you to be “slick” or “professional”.

I earn a multiple six-figure income from home and I’ve been able to do that while enjoying my family; not hiding them. Don’t expect that I’ll always answer the phone if you call my office.

And if I do, you might just hear the sounds of The Eagles or a Nintendo Wii in the background.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/how-to-succeed-in-a-home-business-even-if-you-have-kids-297523.html

About the Author:
Here is Easton’s contribution to the article: aaaaaaazzzzzzzzzz3g9]

For more information on Tony Rush, visit http://www.tonyrush.com

Couldn’t have said it better myself Tony.

Thank you.

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