citi

SimCity launch a complete disaster

Good luck trying to move into the new SimCity.

Ever since the city management game launched on Tuesday, countless gamers have found themselves battling error messages and random disconnections that prevent them from experiencing what SimCity was supposed to deliver in the first place -- fun. In response, publisher Electronic Arts says it's working around the clock to try to fix the problems and add more servers so people can play without worry.

SimCity Senior Producer Kip Katsarelis issued the following statement to frustrated builders last night, hoping to soothe their nerves:… Read more

Sony sells Tokyo building for $1.2 billion

Sony has sold off one of its most prominent buildings in Tokyo.

The company announced today that the Sony City Osaki building in Tokyo was sold off for 111.1 billion yen ($1.2 billion) to the Nippon Building Fund and a Japan-based institutional investor. The company, which currently has 5,000 employees working in the 25-story building, will lease the facility from the new owner for a period of five years.

Sony was reportedly shopping the building last month. The move is part of a broader strategy on Sony's part to offload assets and increase cash flow. Sony … Read more

When and where will Google Fiber roll out next?

If you've spent any time online, you've played the waiting game. Waiting for a site to load. Waiting for your photos to upload. Waiting for a video to download.

That's why so many of us salivated when we first heard about Google Fiber, the blazingly fast connection that promised Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have today.

It's been three months since the service launched in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan. And, yes, it's fast. Street View images load almost instantly. You can open multiple browser windows and simultaneously play … Read more

Zynga shuts down Baltimore office, consolidates in Texas, N.Y.

Zynga is shutting down its Baltimore office and consolidating its presence in Texas and New York, the company announced today.

The Baltimore closure, which affects about 1 percent of Zynga's roughly 3,000 employees, comes shortly after the company shut down the studio's CityVille 2 game.

Zynga offered the Baltimore employees a chance to transfer to other positions in the company, Zynga COO David Ko wrote in the blog post announcing the moves. About half of the approximately 30 Baltimore employees decided to stay.

Zynga will also consolidate teams in offices located in McKinney, Texas, with its downtown … Read more

Get lost in a stunning 320-gigapixel image of London

How well do you know the landmarks of London? Get up close and personal with a stunning 320-gigapixel image of the city captured atop the BT Tower.

Snapped by panorama experts 360Cities, the epic photography endeavor required the use of four Canon 7D dSLR cameras outfitted with some heavy-duty equipment.

Each camera used an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, Extender EF 2x III teleconverter, and a Rodeon VR Head ST robotic panorama head. After shooting 48,640 individual pictures over the course of three days (shortly after the 2012 Olympics), 360Cities spent the next several months assembling and stitching together the final gargantuan image.… Read more

Marketing 101: Know your audience

One of the ways to know your audience is through research. My never-ending quest as a TV marketing guy is to understand viewer behavior and how to influence that decision-making process. We study why TV viewers choose what they choose.

Recently, I traveled with members of my team to Las Vegas to ask these questions and more at our world-class CBS Television City research facility at the MGM Grand Hotel. The 9,000-square-foot space is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology, and an expert research staff. This is where we test audience response to new TV shows as well as … Read more

Sign up for SimCity beta -- if you can

Did you miss the last SimCity beta sign-up event? You're in luck, because EA and Maxis want to give you another chance to get in on the beta for the highly anticipated building game. There's a catch, though: beta builders only get to play a snapshot of game for up to 1 hour at any point between January 25 and January 28.

Amusingly, the actual process of signing up for the beta might be more difficult than playing the game itself, as the sign-up page seems to have some serious problems going on right now -- most likely because of a high influx of interested participants. … Read more

Sony eyes $1 billion building sale in Japan

Sony is trying to sell a Tokyo building in an effort to raise some cash for its ailing operation.

The Sony City Osaki building in Tokyo is on sale for between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today, citing sources with knowledge of the plans. The move follows a corporate decree passed down by CEO Kazuo Hirai to offload any nonessential assets as Sony attempts to regain its financial footing.

Sony has watched its financials slip over the last several years. In the year ended March 31, 2012, Sony lost about $5 billion as … Read more

NYC turns to pilot program for app to hail taxis

Whether people call a taxi or hail one can be a contentious matter in New York City -- because of rules set up between yellow cabs and for-hire vehicles. So, it's no surprise that a smartphone app that lets users beckon yellow cabs has been a topic of hot debate with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The commission announced Wednesday that it will vote on whether to allow such apps in a pilot program, according to the New York Times. The vote is scheduled for Thursday. Update December 13 at 10:04 a.m. PT: On … Read more