(Design, Innovate,Communicate, Entertain) Summit(R) 2009, on February 19th at the Red RockResort in Las Vegas, with comedian, actor and proud game enthusiast, Jay Mohr,returning for his fourth year to host the award ceremony. These peer-based awards recognize the outstanding products, talentedindividuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement ofthe multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry."This was an exciting year for games," said Joseph Olin, president, AIAS. "The depth of talent and creativity in this industry continues to amaze me andwe are honored to highlight some of the most impressive games of the year atthe Interactive Achievement Awards.The 2009 nominees indeed reflect astronghold of talent embodying the best and brightest in this field."Following is a partial list of finalists; the complete list of finalists isavailable at Game of the Year: Console Game of the Year:- -Fallout 3 Fallout 3Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Publisher: Bethesda SoftworksDeveloper: Bethesda Game StudiosDeveloper: Bethesda Game StudiosGrand Theft Auto IV Gears of War 2Publisher: Rockstar Games Publisher: Microsoft Game StudiosDeveloper: Rockstar North Developer: Epic Games, Inc.Left 4 Dead Grand Theft Auto IVPublisher: Valve Software Publisher: Rockstar GamesDeveloper: Valve Software Developer: Rockstar NorthLittleBigPlanet LittleBigPlanetPublisher: Sony ComputerPublisher: Sony ComputerEntertainment America Entertainment AmericaDeveloper: Media Molecule Developer: Media MoleculeMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns ofthe Patriotsthe PatriotsPublisher: Konami Digital Publisher: Konami DigitalEntertainment, Inc. Entertainment, Inc.Developer: Kojima Productions Developer: Kojima ProductionsComputer Game of the Year:Outstanding Innovation in Gaming:-Fallout 3 BraidPublisher: Bethesda Softworks Publisher: Microsoft Game StudiosDeveloper: Bethesda Game StudiosDeveloper: Number NoneLeft 4 Dead Left 4 DeadPublisher: Valve Software Publisher: Valve SoftwareDeveloper: Valve Software Developer: Valve SoftwareMass Effect LittleBigPlanetPublisher: Electronic ArtsPublisher: Sony ComputerDeveloper: BiowareEntertainment AmericaDeveloper: Media MoleculeSpore SporePublisher: Electronic ArtsPublisher: Electronic ArtsDeveloper: MaxisDeveloper: MaxisWorld of Warcraft: WrathWii Fitof the Lich KingPublisher: NintendoPublisher: Blizzard Entertainment Developer: NintendoDeveloper: Blizzard EntertainmentHandheld Game of the Year-Advance Wars: Days of RuinPublisher: NintendoDeveloper: Intelligent SystemsCastlevania: Order of EcclesiaPublisher: Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.Developer: KonamiGod of War: Chains of OlympusPublisher: Sony Computer Entertainment AmericaDeveloper: Ready at DawnPataponPublisher: Sony Computer Entertainment AmericaDeveloper: Sony Computer Entertainment InternationalProfessor Layton and the Curious VillagePublisher: NintendoDeveloper: Level 5, Inc.Since 1996, the Interactive Achievement Awards have recognized outstandinggames, individuals and development teams that have contributed to theadvancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment softwareindustry.More than 100 titles were played and evaluated by members of theAcademy's Peer Panels.These panels, one for each award category, arecomprised of the game industry's most experienced and talented men and womenwho are experts in their chosen fields.Interactive Achievement Awardrecipients are then determined by a vote of qualified Academy members, whichis secret, conducted online, and supervised and certified by Votenet(TM)Solutions, Inc.The integrity of the system, coupled with a broad-basedvoting population of AIAS members, makes the Interactive Achievement Awardsthe most credible, respected and recognized awards for interactiveentertainment software industry.SOURCEAcademy of Interactive Arts & SciencesWendy Zaas, 1-310-854-8148, or , or Debby Chen1-310-854-8168, or , both of Rogers & Cowan; GeriGordon Miller of Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, 1-818-876-0826x202, or . The 3-1 Atlanta Falcons take on the 3-1 Chicago Bears this Sunday night in a nationally televised game at the Georgia Dome. Fans of the NFL might be looking at two of the more powerful teams in the NFC, or they might be looking at a couple of teams who, for different reasons, aren’t quite ready to take their respective places as elite teams in that same NFC.Right now both franchises are serving as understudies to two teams with better records and more media ballyhoo in their separate divisions. The Bears were beneficiaries or victims (depending upon how you look at it) of the early soap opera that was arrival of former Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler.Of course that story quickly moved towards the back of the sports page as the seemingly never-ending saga of Brett Favre continued. 
Once Favre’s flirtation with the Minnesota Vikings turned into a serious romance and then became a marriage all other stories relating to teams in the NFC North became pedestrian. The Vikings so far perfect record of 5-0 combined with the Favre angle have for the moment made the Vikes the headline story.The Falcons know all too well about off-the-field stories and how they can impact a franchise. A possible minor distraction could have occurred with the release of, and eventual reinstatement this past summer of former starting quarterback Michael Vick. The Falcons though seemed to say and do all of the right things to keep their franchise grounded and focused.Presently the Falcons are in second place in the NFC South, trailing the division leading 4-0 New Orleans Saints. With the 5-0 New York Giants traveling to New Orleans to take on the undefeated Saints one of those teams will obviously have a loss on their record. The winner of the Falcons-Bears contest will be able to claim that they rightfully deserve to be mentioned among the elite teams of the NFC and quite possibly the entire NFL..
23 /PRNewswire/ Frost & Sullivan has givenVerizon Business its North American Market Leadership Award for the company'sHosted Interactive Voice Response (IVR) services, for the second time in threeyears.The research and consulting firm announced the honor on Thursday (Jan.22) at its Excellence in Information and Communication Technologies AwardsBanquet in San Antonio, Texas.Hosted IVR services are part of Verizon Business' expansive contact centerportfolio.In its report, Frost & Sullivan cites Verizon Business' leadershipin both traditional time division multiplexing (TDM) based touch-tone IVRservices and next-generation Internet Protocol (IP) IVR and speech services. The report also highlights the company's ability to integrate IVR serviceswith other call center services to enhance the benefits of a hosted solution,including reducing total cost of ownership, for Verizon Business' customers."Verizon Business has a strong track record in hosted contact centerservices," said Kunal Kakodkar, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "With adeep understanding of the dynamics of the hosted solutions marketplace, aproven record of servicing a number of Fortune 500 companies, and a dedicationto innovation and technological excellence, the company is well-placed toretain and expand the clear advantage it currently possesses over itscompetitors."This latest award follows a Frost & Sullivan award to Verizon Business in 2007for its hosted IVR services, as well as awards in both 2007 and 2008 for thecompany's overall hosted contact center portfolio.Broad Range of Contact Center SolutionsThe Hosted IVR product line, which features speech technology and touch-tonecommands to inform callers or route calls to representatives, or both,includes Enhanced Call Routing (ECR), Global ECR, Speech Services and InternetProtocol (IP) IVR.Last year the company introduced Open Hosted SpeechServices (OHSS), which allow customers to create and host their own speechapplications while they continue to rely on Verizon Business' broader speechplatform.Based on the industry standard, VoiceXML, customers retain control andownership of applications, while also having the option of running them onVerizon Business' Hosted IVR platform or porting them to another platform ofthe customer's choice."Verizon Business is continuing to develop flexible contact center solutionsthat customers can use in the TDM or IP environments or in any stage of themigration process," said James Tyrrell, vice president for global businessvoice solutions at Verizon. The analysis onbest practices that we conduct identifies companies, products, processes, andexecutives that have achieved world-class performances. This research is aninvaluable source to companies for new ideas to improve strategies andprocesses, which ultimately drive corporate growth. These achievements arerecognized with Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards.About Frost & SullivanFrost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients toaccelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovationand leadership.
The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO andthe CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models todrive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growthstrategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience inpartnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investmentcommunity from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership,please visit http:// Verizon BusinessVerizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a globalleader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertisewith the world's most connected IP network to deliver award-winningcommunications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securelyconnect today's extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers,partners, suppliers and employees enabling them to increase productivityand efficiency and help preserve the environment.Many of the world's largestbusinesses and governments including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 andthousands of government agencies and educational institutions rely on ourprofessional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate theirbusiness. Find out more at 'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches andbiographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and otherinformation are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at receive news releases by e-mail, visit the NewsCenter and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon newsreleases.SOURCEVerizon BusinessLisa Fels of Verizon Business, 1-703-886-6042, . Trying to make sure the their team doesn't have a lump of Coal in their collective stockings, the Phillies Choose cole.
Team representatives have chimed in about the rain situation who is coordinating the conference callHe joins the Blue Demons after averaging 21Over the past few years we have seen our share of prospects make the leapWe are not asking for a board seat at the momentIn 2008 GDP is forecast to rise to US5368m atmanufacturers' selling prices msp in 2007He has not shown signs of injury as he walked around practice You might see Kobe Bryant in the post as wellNet interest margin fell 42 basispoints to 3
