3. My pen pal- Terry Calors

New Message (636030): hello from u.k,, IRELAND收件匣X

Dear Jackson Hsu.
You've received a new message (scroll down to read it).
.
The message is the following:------------------------------

Good day friend
My Name is Terry Calors.
Am 36yrs old young man from United Kingdom Ireland
I saw your profile i hope forward to contact you to be my friend.
God has made this world a better place to love each other and as well be kind and friendly to each other. so i hope forward to contact you and be your close and kind friend.
Once again i will love to be your close and kind friend.
If you accept me to be your friend please kindly reply me with your email address my alternative email address. (terrycalors@yahoo.com)
So that we can always contact each other with our email address. please do not reply me to my penpal id search. kindly reply me to my alternative email address.(terrycalors@yahoo.com)
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Please kindly reply me to my below email address(terrycalors@yahoo.com)

Thanks from Terry Calors.

Jackson replied to Terry on May 27 as follows

Hello from Taiwan

Hello Terry, I am glad to receive your message all the way from U. K, Ireland. What brings you to the pen pal world? I am here to make friends with people from all over the world. You are right that God had made this world a place for us to be friendly and kind to each other. So, world peace !! haha However, the swine flu seems to be getting more and more serious here in Taiwan. We have 9 cases so far. Are you guys ok there in Ireland? I have seen pictures of Ireland..it's very beautiful. Do you live in a big city or in the countryside? I live in Taipei city here in Taiwan. It's the capital, so it's a very busy city. I wish I could live in the countryside when I retired ^^ Let's keep in touch. Jackson


New Message (636030):hello Jackson,, IRELAND收件匣X from Terry on June 3.


Dear friend---Jackson

I will be more grateful because I am so happy reading your response reply to my penpalworld friendly mail.
Terry calors is my name. I Am a single young man 36yrs old .I work with Nigeria National Petroleum Coperation (N.N.P.C) as a group accountant

I Am the first child of my parents and my only sister lives with her husband in Mexico

I'd love to visit Taiwan someday because I have never been to Asia and I'd also like to visit China and Japan. How's your daily life in Taiwan. As a group accountant, I am extremely busy everyday. How about you?


Hoping to hearing from you soon.
Yours Terry Calors,

2. My penpal- Amber

New Message (706528): Hi


Dear Jackson Hsu.
You've received a new message (scroll down to read it).

------------------------------
Hi there Jackson, my name is Amber. I can't honestly say that I know all that much about Taiwan, which proably sounds pretty bad. :) I would love to learn more about your country and culture. I look forward to hearing from you soon! By the way my email is amberhailybesoil@yahoo.com


Jackson sent the email to Amber on 5/21/2009

hi Amber收件匣X

Hello Amber, How are you doing? I saw the news here in Taiwan that the swine flu is spreading in the U.S.A . Be careful and take good care of yourself. There are 3 cases here in Taiwan now. Everyone is getting more and more panic. Please take good care of yourself. Let's keep in touch. Jackson


Amber replied to Jackson on 5/22/2009
Amber Parson

Hi Jackson.I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. Yes the swine flu is spreading here, lucky for me its not around where I live. I hate to hear that it is in Taiwan as well, it is a horrible illness.I hope to hear from you soon.Take care and be safe,Amber

1. My Pen Pal-Jeani

2009/5/18 New Message (689199): HI收件匣X

Dear Jackson Hsu.
You've received a new message (scroll down to read it).

The message is the following:------------------------------
Hi, Its Jeani,How are You? I do not know anything about Taiwan and would love to know. Tell me a bit more about yourself. I live in South Australia where there is alot of vineyards and produce wine. have you ever been to Australia. I am currently studying to become a nurse. How long have you been a game designer, it sounds like a fun job. Look forward to hearing from you.
------------------------------

Message sent by Jackson to Jeani on 5/18/2009
Subject:Message:I am glad to hear from you so soon.

Hi Jeani, I am glad to hear from you so soon. It sounds like you live in a very beautiful place..just imagine the vineyards and the smell of red wine. If it's possible, I'd like to see a picture of the vineyard. :) The place I live is very much different from you, I guess. I live in a very busy city. I am from BanCiao in Taipei county. Taipei couty is very close to Taipei city. Taipei city is the capital of Taiwan, so it's very crowded and busy. We have motorcycles everywhere in Taipei~~ You need to be a good driver to survive in this city. I have been a game designer since I was 20 and I am 35 now. I work in a company that designs a product that looks like Wii. Do you play wii? Please tell me more about South Australia if you can. I will send you pictures of Taiwan if you'd like to see. I think you must be a very patient person, that's why you 'd like to become a nurse right? :) Let's keep in touch.



2009/5/21 New Message (689199): Hi

Dear Jackson Hsu.
You've received a new message (scroll down to read it).

You can reply to this member by logging into your account at PenPal World and click on "Find Pen Pals". Next click on "Search with user ID" and enter this number 689199.
The message is the following:------------------------------

Hi,It was good to hear from you. Where you live sounds like another world to where i live, well i spose it is ha ha. I don't think i would survive in a city like that, i am more a country girl and like space and quite. Still it would be exciting to see it. I have not played Wee, i do not play computer games to be honest. I am either too busy studying and in my free time i either get outside and do something or I like to watch movies. I have friends who play it though and they would love your job, they are addicted to computer games. I dont know how you attatch pictures here, but i would love to see your home city. So what do you do in your free time, have you travelled around your country much? If i can i will send you pic's of Australia. I do not live on a vineyard, i know nothing about making wine, just how to drink it ha ha. We live in the hills though about fourty min drive away. Would love to keep in contact, talk soon.Jeani
------------------------------

Online News

News article from : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8077369.stm

Microsoft has unveiled its new control system for the Xbox 360 console, at E3 in Los Angeles.

Project Natal is a fully hands-free control system that will use face recognition and motion sensors to allow users to play games.

Film director Steven Spielberg, attending the launch, said it was "a window into what the future holds".

Although still in the early stages, Microsoft has sent prototypes to all the main game developers.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Spielberg said he had always stated that "the main barrier stopping people getting into video games was the complexity of a games controller," and that Natal was "a whole new world".

"There is technology now that recognises not just your thumb, it recognises your entire person. The technology knows who you are," he said.

Mr Spielberg drew an analogy with the film industry, saying it was evolutionary step for games.

"It's like the square screen we saw all of our movies on in the early 1950s. Then The Robe came out in Cinemascope. And then came CinRam and Imax followed. That's what [Natal] is.

“ I think the technology looks very interesting but its success depends on the content and how easy it is to use ”
Piers Harding-Rolls, analyst

During the demonstration, British developer Peter Molyneux showed how Natal could not only recognise faces, it could recognise facial expressions to determine what mood a player was in and react accordingly.

Mr Spielberg said this offered new opportunities for game development

"The video games industry has not allowed us the opportunity to cry, because we were too busy putting our adrenalin rush into the controller, or wherever we swing our arm with a Wii controller to get a result," he said.

"Because of that, there is no room for a video game to break your heart. We now have a little more room to be a little more emotional with Natal technology than we did before."

Speaking to the BBC, Piers Harding-Rolls, senior analyst with Screen Digest, said the success of Natal depended on a number of different factors.

"I think the technology looks very interesting but its success depends on the content and how easy it is to use," he said.

"The other aspect is cost and how they will get it out to the user base," he said.

"That said, I think Microsoft would like to get it out sooner, rather than later.

"Sales of the Xbox 360 hit their peak in 2008 and are now expected to decline, in terms of console sales, so you would expect them to get it out as soon as possible to rekindle interest in the platform."

Leak

The details of Project Natal had already leaked out a few weeks ago when the US patent office released documents, filed by Microsoft, of a "motion sensor that makes use of face recognition software and biometrics".

At the time, most experts believed that Microsoft was patenting concepts, rather than an actual application, and would focus on a motion detector similar to the Nintendo's Wii controller.

Speaking to the BBC, Shane Kim, Microsoft's Cooperate Vice-President of Xbox Strategy and Development, said it was worried the story was going to break before the official launch.

"Most of the information was out there, but no one was able to put the full story together," he said.

Games bonanza

Project Natal was not the only big announcement from Microsoft.

“ It will let people achieve skate supremacy in the comfort of their own living rooms ”
Tony Hawk

The company unveiled 10 new games for the Xbox 360, including Beatles Rock Band, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Tony Hawk Ride and Final Fantasy XIII.

Tony Hawk Ride comes with its own skateboard controller, similar to the Wii Balance board, although this is the first time such a device has been available for the Xbox 360.

Tony Hawks, who was at the launch to promote his game, said it was something he had wanted for some time.

"I always wanted to do a game with a skateboard controller but the technology wasn't there until now," he said.

"It will allow anyone to grind rails and catch big airs; even if you have never been on a skateboard, it will let people achieve skate supremacy in the comfort of their own living rooms."

And in a follow up to the news that Microsoft had signed a deal with Sky to show content via Xbox Live, Microsoft said it had entered a joint agreement with Facebook and Twitter to create what Mr Kim called "full integration" between three of the largest social networking sites on the planet.

"For us, it's a very big priority to make Xbox Live the next generation of social networking," he said.

Both Nintendo and Sony consoles stream video content using the BBC iPlayer.

Mr Kim played down allegations that Microsoft had opted to team up with Sky purely to differentiate itself from its competitors.

"Our partnership with Sky is about bringing great video and entertainment to our UK customers. That was our focus," he said.

Story from BBC NEWS:


My thoughts on the news:

As a game designer, I was very amazed when I saw the news. Now we have wii, but in the future we might be able to play video games without using a controller. This is very amazing. This is truely a great idea.
I can play video games using my full body without holding anything in my hands
This is going to be so much fun.

However, it must be very expensive when this technology first comes out. Right now, it is only showing a concept at the E3 in Los Angelous. It is not fully out in the market yet. It's still hard to say wether this will be successful or not.
Also, the game contents must be interesting and use-friendly. This is very important to attract the users. This technology needs to use webcames to capture users' movement and this is a very advanced technology. This is the most difficult part. It's difficult to capture multiple movements when there are a lot of people. It's hard for the webcam to tell who is who. This is what we are working on to improve in the video game industry. Hopefully, this concept can become real in the future.

What I'd like to do in the next 10 years

I have many plans for the coming 10 years, but I don't know if I have enough time to make them all come true or not.

First of all, I'd like to make more money, get married, and have children in the next 10 years. One of my dream is to retire at the age of 45 if possible and travel all over the world with my wife. There are so many places in the world I have not been and I must see them in this life. However, in order to make the dream come true, I need to make and save a lot of money in the next 10 years. I have many business plans on my mind, but I need time and good partners to help me. However, it's always not easy to find good business partners. . Also, I hope to have some time to study for a degree in Phd. I think I will work and study at the same time if I really need to get my Phd. I believe my life will be very busy in the next 10 years.

My Travel Plan- Vancouver , Canada

I'd love to visit Vancouver because I have some friends there. They always ask me to go there to visit them. I am too busy working and studying. I have no time. I hope I can go there in Septemer. This is my vacation plan. Actually, my friends help me plan it.


My friends live in Vancouver, Burnaby. So, the first day when I arrive, they say they will take me to a lake , Deer Lake to walk around. It's very near their house.

Here are some pictures of Deer Lake. My friends sent me.

We can go boat paddling on Deer Lake , too.

Then the next day, we might go hiking at a very beautiful place. It's called the Stewarmus Chief. It will take us 2.5 hours to climb up and 2.5 hours to come down the mountain. It is worth the trip beacuse my friend said it's amazing and very beautiful up there. Here are some pictures of the chief took by my friends

This is the top of the Chief

The next day, my friends say they will take me to the biggest park in Vancouver. It is the Stanley park. They said every tourist comes to Vancouver will visit this park.

This is a picture inside the Stanley park. My friends said the air is very fresh, so we can go walking and take pictures there. There are many trees , too, just like the picture.


















If I can stay in Vancouver longer, my friends said they will take me to the famous Rocky mountain and Banff National park. There's a very beautiful lake. It's name is Louise Lake. My friends said it is so beaituful. It is like a very beautiful painting in front of you.


Below are some pictures of Louise Lake.











Louise Lake picture 2
















We will also visit the Banff national park. We will go visit the famous icefield.
I bet I will be super exicited when I am there.

Here is a picture of the ice field.





















I hope my manger can approve my long vacation, so I can stay in Canada longer and have a lot of fun with my friends.