Allan Deonarine

World Cup Fan (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)

This World Cup began like any other, with my hope pinned on my favorite team, Brasil. They had drawn the 'Group of Death', but I wasn't overly concerned. They should easily have the class to top the group, as they did. What was different this year, was the pre-tournament favorite, Spain. They had practically shaken off their label as chronic underachievers by wining Euro 2008 in grand style and were flying high entering the tournament.

I was pleasantly surprised that the local network carrying the games decided it was going to stream the matches live as well as make them available on demand. I feel that the content providers are finally getting the hint that people want to watch content when they want and where they want. If it's too hard or not available legally, people have to resort to illegal means with ads removed. Allow people an easy way to give you their money and they will.

Tshabalala's Goal (OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

You couldn't ask for a better way to open the World Cup, than with a spectacular goal by the host nation. There were some great goals in this World Cup, but the significance of that goal will be felt for decades. Other goals that stood out for me were Micon's touch line bender, Japan's free kicks, Forlán and van Bronckhorst's gems in the third place match. The only blemish was the utter disgraceful conduct of the F.F.F. and it's players.

Iker Casillas kisses the World Cup trophy (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Now, I could go on and talk about the soul crushing defeat that Brasil had at the hands of the Dutch, or the methodical why in which Spain went on to win it all, but instead I want to talk about my friend. She has never taken a serious interest in football, even though her other half plays in a league and often discusses the game at length. But something happened during this World Cup. She started watching the matches and became hooked. Her football I.Q. has seen an expintional growth. I could not believe my eyes at the transformation, where as before I would have to explain the rules, she is now explaining the plays to me. I'm not sure what changed, but it was amazing to be able to have spirited conversations about the matches with her. This is what I will remember from the World Cup in South Africa, more than anything.

Credit: Microsoft Corp.

This year's edition of Electronic Entertainment Expo(E3), a venue where platform holders, publishers, and developers show their wears for the coming year, had a decidedly casual feel to it. Which may seem counterintuitive, given that the people who attend E3 are a bunch of jaded games journalist who's readership are made up of the hardcore audience. But the video game industry is in the business of making money and Nintendo has shown everyone the path to making obscene amounts with the Wii capturing the huge, as yet untapped, casual market.  Now Sony and Microsoft are playing catchup with their own spin on motion control.

Sony's Move controller promises an experience similar to that on the Wii but with better precision and in HD, something that core gamers often complain about with Wii titles. 

Credit: SCEA

Microsoft, on the other hand, is ditching the controller altogether and is championing gesture based gaming with their Kinect offering. Using a combination of inferred cameras and voice recognition, Microsoft hopes this controller-less system will attract an even wider audience who still find the Wii-mote a little too daunting.

Most of the core gamers are apprehensive of this sudden shift by the industry away from their loyal fans, but in my opinion, the more people playing games, the better.  Recently a friend of mine bought a Wii and is actually playing it. This from a person who probably hasn't owned a console in years and would not describes themselves as a gamer. I cannot express the joy this brings me.

One game I'm looking forward to is Dance Central, from the folks who brought us Rock Band, it can actually teach you how to dance. I hope these new technologies will spur more innovation and allow a broader range of games and that is good for all gamers.

Twitter LogoSo, I haven't been using this blog for a while now. This mainly has to do with my obsession with twitter. I check it at least 5 times a day.  twitter is so much easier if I want to say something online. I can share links and thoughts with little to no effort. The character limit can be a little frustrating at times, but that could be seen as a benefit for someone like me, who hates writing.

I should really update this blog more, since I am paying for it. In the meantime check out my tweets and give me a follow. I'm @AllanD3.

Credit: Apple Inc.

SquareSpace is really stepping it up with their advertising lately such as sponsoring great web shows and events.  Now they have capitalized on two very hot trends: new iPhone 3GS (about to be released) and twitter.  

I really like their product otherwise I wouldn't use/pay for it.  If this gets more people to use their site, great.  I hope to see some of the things others create with this tool. 

I, for one, will be entering the contest. 

You can read more about it here. 

Check out this cool Daylight Map for the spring equinox.  

Crazy I know.