Miscellaneous – Baker Brothers PR

Some Ghost Writing

TV ratings mean little

Ever since ratings for movies came out, people have wondered about changing the rating system. What is currently rated PG or PG-13 may have been R 20 to 30 years ago, and todayʼs R rating would have kept many movies out of the theater.

TV rating systems, however, have changed little in the same amount of time, even with the rapidly changing movie rating system. Changing TV ratings would be somewhat moot at this point, especially with the advent of satellite and higher availability of cable programming.

Consider some of the average cable and satellite television programs available today. Reality trash TV such as “Jersey Shore,” “Teen Mom” and “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” clearly may not be appropriate for younger audiences, but the same channels that produce these shows frequently have shows featuring live births and other acts of nature. These shows may feature a warning or caveat at the beginning of the program, but outside of the brief information on the screen, very little else is said about the programʼs content.

Granted, some of the premium programming channels still maintain a more strict rating system, but these premium channels are completely optional. The optional aspect of the premium channels means the production companies have considerably more leeway in creating programs for different audiences. If premium channel wishes to market to adults, they may do so freely.

Changing the current system of TV ratings seems almost moot in the face of what is in current production and airing. As long as families can tune into shows such as “South Park” and “Family Guy” and be warned ahead of time of the content, changing TV ratings will do no more good than the Parental Advisory labels of the 1990ʼs.

IPTV too new to know how accepted it will become

First cable replaced the antenna. Now, with the availability of high speed internet reaching virtually everywhere, IPTV is replacing cable. Or is it?

In a nutshell, IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television. Much the same way you get Internet service to your home, IPTV would bring television to your home. Before you rush out and immediately sign up for it, consider a few things first.

Cable companies are mostly well-established and do offer local programming. It was only recently, within the last five to seven years, that satellite TV began to offer local programming. Currently, there is not a direct answer concerning local programming with IPTV.

IPTV runs essentially the same way as your Internet line, although into your TV and not the computer. All ISPʼs experience some loss of service and lag time, so there is a chance you will miss an important show you wanted to see or record because of packet loss.

Cable companies and satellite TV companies offer digital recorders for customers, normally at no charge. The IPTV companies may require you to purchase set up boxes for each TV and the necessary cabling and connections. As an upfront cost, this may deter many from signing up.

IPTV may offer bundled packages of TV, internet and phone, but cable companies have bundled for some time. Many cable companies bundled packages feature a considerable discount for a triple package along with the convenience of a single bill each month. IPTV seems more and more to be attempting to reinvent the wheel.

Of course, the main question about IPTV still remains. “Is it currently available in my location, or are there plans to get it in my location soon?” More than likely the answer to each question is “No,” meaning you will have to stay with your current cable or satellite TV provider at least for the time being.

There are too many unanswerable questions for IPTV to say how pervasive it will be just yet.

A look at whatʼs coming in gaming

September is a slow month for game releases. With the older gaming systems fast getting past their prime, expect new platforms to be released very soon. Of course, with the holidays fast approaching, there will be plenty of new games in time for Christmas. Here are a few games to check out until then.

The popular Call of Duty series has a new collection just out. Fans of this first person shooter will enjoy the changes in the game. Also released is Dogfight 1942, a flight simulator for the Xbox platform that will feature 20 new planes. For the side-scrolling hack and slasher, Mark of the Ninja is also out. Each of these games are on the Xbox platform exclusively.

Several games for the PC make their debuts this week. MMORPG fans may want to try Knights Age. Fans of the Sims may find Sims 3 Supernatural something new and different. Trine 2: Goblin Menace is a platform game expansion for the Trine 2 game. Six new levels and new skills come with this new expansion pack.

The popular PS3 system has two releases over the next two weeks, but sports fans rejoice. NHL 13 hits the market on the 11th, along with the next generation of the Tekken series Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Madden 13 is already on the market, but basketball gamers can expect NBA 13 very soon.

Rumors swirl of the latest incarnation of the Playstation, the Vita, to be released in Thailand soon. This is only a rumor. Expect Microsoft and Nintendo to follow suit very quickly if Sony does release a new gaming system. Enjoy your gaming until then.

Some Ghost Writing

Ever wonder how those impossible pictures on the Internet are created? A spider the size of a house, a shark bigger than a military helicopter. A check on Snopes reveals itʼs a faked picture, but how? In a word: Photoshop

In the graphic arts and design world, people will debate the relative merits of PageMaker, InDesign, QuarkXpress and Illustrator. But there is one program that everyone agrees is a must-have for any artist who uses a computer. There is no disagreement that one software program dominates and rules everything else in that category.

Photoshop is king, queen, emperor and the entire royal court.

Adobe, the same company that makes so many other great products, debuted Photoshop in 1990. It quickly grabbed a market share and has never let go of it. Imposters and knockoffs have come and gone.

Jeremy Shuback is a Photoshop expert and takes people through a course that teaches them the Photoshop fundamentals and some tricks that are not explained in the voluminous instruction manuals.

68 “lectures” of no more than 12 minutes and most under five minutes walk you through the three major legs of Photoshop CS6 and the basics.

The three legs are:

Layers. This is step one in how those amazing pictures are made.

Selections. This is step two in turning a picture of your cat, or even Tard the Grumpy Cat into a Tokoyo-destroying monster that spits radioactive hairballs.

Color Correction. Less related to monster creation, this helps you adjust the color in pictures to make Aunt Lulabell have a real skin tone and not look like sheʼs either suffering from liver failure (yellow skin) or had a run-in with Tardʼs radioactive hairballs (red skin). Unless of course her liver is crashing or she stayed out in the sun too long.

Shuback doesnʼt go into the truly mind-boggling options and abilities Photoshop offers. The vast majority of users never need that stuff. Those who do, once they learn the basics, can self-teach themselves the rest of the program.

At a cost of $40, an order delivers more than 4 hours of information in easy to understand language and tutorials showing real-time image manipulation. The best thing about it is you can watch the same segment over and over until you get it down.

For information visit http://ude.my/c0v5g

Some Ghost Writing

Interest in IPO Village picking up speed

With recent Wall Street Initial Public Offering (IPO) blunders like Facebook, more and more companies are looking to take their IPO direct to the public. As the leader in the crowdfunding IPO business, IPOVillage.com has seen interest soar.

We have signed two IPO deals with businesses, both of which found us through the IPOVillage.com website. Because of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, weʼre not able to announce what these companies are right now. An announcement will be made as soon as we can.

Two more companies are in negotiations with us now to handle their IPO. Again, as soon as weʼre allowed to, an announcement will be made.

This is exciting stuff.

LOOKING BETTER ALL THE TIME

Going direct to the public, sidestepping the costly and complicated Wall Street process, just makes good fiscal sense.

A traditional Wall Street-type IPO could cost a company as much as 10 percent of the total IPO income. Thatʼs money the company will never see. Thatʼs income the company has lost. Thatʼs capital which could have been used to buy more equipment, re-invest in the company and otherwise improve the business.

But, itʼs gone forever.

Instead of handing over commissions, discounts and premiums to a bunch of institutional investment bankers and lawyers, IPOVillage puts maximum money into the company.

2O13 IPOs SOARING

The way things are going, 2013 will be a banner year for crowdfunding IPOs and IPOVillage.com .

Many, many more companies have expressed interest having IPOVillage handle their upcoming IPOs. The website gets an increasing number of hits every weekly from companies interested in going public. Weʼre sending out information packages regularly.

Interest is heaviest from consumer product businesses and tech companies with a strong customer affinity and customer base. For these companies, IPOVillage makes sense. These businesses are built on loyal customers. Those customers, who built the company into what it is today, deserve to share in the success of the business.

BUSINESSES REWARD LOYAL CUSTOMERS

By sending the IPO direct to the public, the business gives its loyal customers the chance to buy stock at the true IPO price. By going through IPOVillage.com , the buyers do not have to deal with brokers, stock advisers and analysts.

This crowdfunding means everyone saves money. Crowdfunding means everyone has a chance to share in the true profits.

Crowdfunding IPOs, as handled by IPOVillage.com, treats a businessʼ customers with respect, integrity and genuinely shows how much those customers are appreciated.

NONE TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL

Thereʼs no size limit for a company to go through IPOVillage.

Global companies with thousands of employees across the planet can benefit from directto-the-public IPOs. But just like the business world that is mostly made of small companies, small companies are the majority of businesses approaching IPOVillage. Small businesses donʼt have the resources giant global corporations have. Because of this, if they take the traditional IPO route, they have to hire even more people to help navigate the process. That translates to even more money out of their pockets. Thatʼs lost money.

The 2013 IPOs are on track to set a record.

If your business is looking for a way to raise capital for expansion and improvement and youʼd like to reward your loyal customers, consider releasing stock through crowdfunding IPO. As an industry leader, IPOVillage.com has built its business by helping small and medium customers. Let us show you how 2013 can be the year your business soars.

Writing of all Sorts

The recent Facebook initial public offering (IPO) saw the company generate about $104 billion, but that doesnʼt tell the behind-the-scenes story.

Straight off the top, Facebook paid out $176,000,000 to the investment banks which handled what is now being considered one of the most botched IPOs in history. Morgan Stanley led the investment bankers and has pocketed the biggest share of the $176m.

Thatʼs 1.1 percent of the total value of the stock as it went public. It does not reflect the now much-lower value of the stock.

A trio of reporters for Bloombergʼs online edition said the 1.1 percent is less than the investment banks usually charge. Bloomberg reported 3.6 percent is the usual take the investment banks get for handling an IPO. Facebook negotiated a 2/3s off deal because of the size of the IPO and the hype surrounding it.

At the regular 3.6 percent, Facebook would have paid out nearly $400 million. That is a serious amount of money no matter how big a company is. While that money may not as mean much to a company the size of Facebook, 3.6 percent can represent the difference between success and failure for small companies going public.

Fees can even be higher for smaller companies which are not expected to generate such massive income. More fees to the investment banks means less money goes back into the IPO company which is looking for capital.

“Thatʼs just not right,” said Howard Orloff, the “mayor” of IPO Village. IPO Village is a company that brings IPO offerings direct to the public without going to through middlemen like investment banks. IPO Village does not collect or charge underwriter fees, which means an IPO company gets to keep far more of the money generated by the stock sale.

“Small companies go public because they are looking for a capital boost to invest back in the company. The company owners have a vision for the future and need backers to make that happen. They need all the money they can get from their IPO,” Mr. Orloff said. “At IPO Village, we believe the company should have a much more direct hand in how its IPO goes through and the company should keep as much of the IPO income as possible.”

A MARKET DRIVEN DEAL

An investment bank-driven IPO first sells stock to a pre-selected group of investors, usually other banks and fund managers. They may even get to buy the stock at a discount. These companies then sell the stock to the public at a profit. By the time the public gets involved, the stock has traded hand several times going up in price each time.

Add to this the IPO price is artificial. Using a complex series of formulas, the investment bank determines the price of the stock. By the time the open markets gets to have a say, the price could be just about anything. In the case of Facebook, the stock was well over-priced according to the public.

Unlike the traditional IPO as run through an investment bank, IPO Village brings the stock direct to the public first.

“We let the public determine the value of the stock. If the public thinks the stock is worth $10 a share, the IPO is $10 a share. Since the stock will eventually wind up in the hands of the general public, those should be the investors who determine the value of the company,” Mr. Orloff said.

This open-market capitalism-driven IPO lets the company owners know exactly what their business is worth, he added.

Going back to the Facebook IPO, the it appears the overpriced stock is a direct result of Morgan Stanley either not understanding market forces or the bankʼs operators simply ignored market forces in pursuit of more profit for themselves at the expense of public investors. Given Morgan Stanleyʼs profit margins and decades of success in the financial markets, itʼs hard to believe the bankers did not fully understand the Facebook business model.

“When a company takes its stock direct to the public, they cut out a middleman who is only interested in himself. The company can present its case direct to the public and get a fair deal for its stock. The company has to be considered on its own merits,” Mr. Orloff said. “Investors can make their own decision based on company information that has not been manipulated by investment banks that are guaranteed a profit no matter what happens.”