Windows Phone Live Tiles Could’ve Been So Much More

I’ve recently acquired a Nokia Lumia 920 review unit and as an Android enthusiast, I would have never made this switch but there’s no way I’d turn down the opportunity to play with some new toys.

While I can make a full comprehensive-review of the hardware and operating system, I’ll mainly be looking at Windows Phone 8 (Not Windows Mobile, mind you) and its implication for gamification design.

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GSummit SF 2013 Speaker List Now Available – Early Bird Discount Ending Tomorrow

Last month, the legendary Jesse Schell was added to the GSummit speaker roster and as of today, the full GSummit speaker list is now available for viewing. The full list may be available now but there are some more surprises and secrets that will be revealed in the next three months as we count down to GSummit SF this April 16 – 18.

This GSummit speaker list is proving to be very strong and features thought leaders from newly-attending companies such as Autodesk, Mckinsey, and Gametize to talk about how gamification is changing loyalty, consulting, and in other regions of the world.

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millitary training

Military Simulation Game Training Improves Gaming Skills, Not Soldier Capabilities

It’s not very surprising that the military has been using video games as a form of training. This form of gamification is very serious, enough so that in 2008 the U.S. Army invested “$50 million over five years on games and gaming systems designed to prepare soldiers for combat.” This investment is so big, it has its own title: the Project Executive Office – Simulation Training and Instrumentation, or PEO – STI, and the Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Homeland Defense are involved as well. These games are basically complex simulations, which have been in use since possibly the 1920’s.

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