Amber Valetta | W Magazine September Issue 2011

Credit : Photography: Steven Klein

             

Buying Video Games

Buying Video Games for a Gaming Tot

A Quick How To

Visit any video game outlet and you’re bound to get overwhelmed by the hundreds of choices available – especially if you’re new to gaming. Interestingly, children and teens seem to know their way around these places as if they were their second home. But for the adult, the typical video store looks like some sort of color paint explosion and sooner or later, all the games start to look the same. This guide is for the adult who’s buying a game for a younger person perhaps as a birthday gift or as a bribe. Whatever the reason, you’re going to appreciate the following tips.

1.    Research this strange phenomenon before setting foot inside a video store. There’s plenty of information available about video games online, so to reduce frustration offline, fire up your web browser and do a little homework. Visit the website of the gaming outlet nearest you and then look for a link to the games section of the system that your youngster plays. Here’s a helpful chart to explain what all those strange letters mean.

Wii = Nintendo’s Wii System
EA Sports = Entertainment Arts System
PS3 = Playstation 3 System
XBOX 360 = Microsoft’s XBOX 360 System
PC = Personal Computer
PS2 = Playstation 2 System
PSP = Playstation Portable System
DS = Nintendo’s DS System

The key is to locate the system on the store’s website first. The system, it’s accessories, and all of the games that work on that system will follow. If not, you may need to use the website’s internal search engine.

2.    After locating the appropriate games section for your youngster’s machine, check out the ratings of each game and create a temporary shopping list of age appropriate material. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) gives each game a rating in an effort to inform parents what their children are playing. Here’s a handy reference to what the ratings mean:

C = Appropriate for Early childhood
E = Appropriate for Everyone
E 10+ = Appropriate for Everyone aged 10 and older
T = Appropriate for Teens
M = Appropriate for Mature Adults

3.    Within your temporary shopping list, try find a game that’s built from the latest movie release. Little people love the new animated movies put out by Disney and Pixar, and they really enjoy re-living precious moments in the movie in a video game. That’s why when these movies come out on DVD, their producers put a few games in the “Special Features section” of the CDs.

4.    If you can’t find a game that’s built from a movie that the child likes, try to find a game that centers around a popular cartoon character or one that attempts to educate.

5.    If you still can’t find one that resembles something that you’ve heard this particular person rambling on about, first give yourself a slight slap on the hand. You should pay better attention. Then point your browser to the nearest Blockbuster or Hollywood Video website. Follow the same procedure outlined in steps 1 – 3 only this time, elect to rent 5 or 6 games that look appealing. This will give your tot a chance to play some games and select one to keep forever while you return the others.

6.    If on the other hand, you did find a game in step 3 or 4, you can either check out online, or drive up to the store and buy it there.

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but the illustrations on the both video and pc game cases do a pretty good job of representing the game’s content. So if you see an illustration of fighting warriors, chances are the game will be more violent than you prefer. If on the other hand, you see an illustration that resembles what you’d see on the cover of an interesting children’s book, the game should be age appropriate

We Love Chloe Laslier by Jeff Tse

Credits: 

Photography: Jeff Tse 

Model: Chloe Laslier, Ford Europe.

Hair & Make up: Ildiko Juhasz, Utopia NYC

Computer Security
In Today's Society, Protecting Your Computer Is A Requirement

Advances in computer technology is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it affords us quick and easy access to numerous conveniences such as bank statements, favorite shopping centers, school and health records, and more. On the other hand, it can also grant the same access to those who aren't supposed to get it. Although it's a rare occurrence, hacking has become the biggest criminal nuisance in computer history.

Make no bones about it. There's nothing innocent or cute about the hacker. Today's hackers aren't the pimply-faced teen rebels that you might be thinking of. Instead, this generation of hackers are grown individuals who are more than likely earning a living by stealing the identities of innocent, law abiding individuals and then selling those identities to others who want to slip by the system. And the only protection against these seedy people is prevention.

Computer security couldn't be more important than it is today and that's why we've taken the time to introduce it to you.  You can reduce the probability of experiencing identity theft by making your computer as hacker-proof as possible. All that's needed is a little software and a lot of common sense.

1. Install an anti-virus/anti-spyware program. Anti-virus/anti-spyware software will stop malicious code from downloading and installing onto your computer while you peruse the Internet. Known as viruses, worms, or spyware, this malicious code can destroy important files and render your computer good for only one thing: sending sensitive data back to the server of an identity thief.

2. Don't store sensitive data on your computer in the first place. Should your computer get infected with a virus, worm, or piece of spyware, you can thwart the individuals responsible by not storing your personal information on your PC so that when and if your computer does send back data - it won't be anything valuable. Hackers look for things like full names, social security numbers, phone numbers, home addresses, work-related information, and credit card numbers. If these things aren't saved onto a computer, there's nothing critical to worry about other than restoring your computer to a non-virus condition.

3. Don't open files without scanning them with an anti-virus/anti-spyware program. In the past, the warning was to avoid opening files from people that you don't know. Today it's really not safe to open files from anyone (without scanning the files) because that's how viruses get spread - through files - even by mistake. So even though your co-worker may have emailed a funny video, it's no more safe to open than a video downloaded from a complete stranger. Be safe and scan each and every file you download from the Internet or receive through email regardless of where it came from.

4. Create a barrier between your computer and prying eyes. Anti-virus/anti-spyware programs are only effective after the effect. But you can prevent identity theft from occurring by installing a firewall. A firewall is software that checks all data entering and exiting a computer and it then blocks that which doesn't meet specified security criteria (user-defined rules).1

5. Don't click on website links in spam messages. In an effort to obtain personal information, some spammers will send email that asks you to click on a link. The email messages are often disguised as important messages from well-known online establishments, and they often try to scare their readers into clicking links with threats of closing an account of some sort. Sometimes the links are harmless and attempt to con the reader into volunteering personal information (credit card number), but other times the links attempt to download harmful software onto a computer.

Your best protection against computer crimes is your own knowledge. Hopefully the suggestions above will prompt you into taking appropriate action and into protecting your computer with the suggested tools. In doing so, you'll not only protect yourself, you'll prevent the spread of these malicious activities and protect others at the same time.

Photographer We Love Jeff Tse

Fashion Photographer Jeff Tse  is a highly sought in the world of fashion. Jeff have a pretty impressive portfolio and worked with the biggest Magazine and Cosmetics brands. Tse is  a fashion, beauty, skincare and haircare photographer based in Nyc.

Photographer Jeff Tse grew up in Hong Kong and New York City. As an adult, Jeff picked up the camera and quickly acquired all the skills to become a successful sports photographer publishing shots of celebrity athletes like Lance Armstrong. Seeking to create and refine imagery to be more perfect, he transitioned to beauty and fashion photography.

Many photographers are driven by something singular in their imagery. Jeff defines his work as a play of light and form. He strives to create imagery that parallels sculpture more than two-dimensional photographs. His goal is to translate subliminal aesthetic forms into imagery that is timeless and beautiful. Instead of catering to passing trends, he strives to develop an aesthetic that is universal across genres. Jeff’s work has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Allure, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Elle and Cosmopolitan, among others. His advertising clients include Pantene, Neutrogena, Vichy Cosmetics, Dior, Cover Girl, John Frieda, Nexxus and Frederic Fekkai.

Follow Jeff Tse   on Facebook 

 Forex Trading: Learning About the Market


You can never hide the fact that people need money. Money buys everything you need to live a comfortable life. You use it to purchase your everyday food, clothes to keep you warm, fuel for your car, and you use it to pay for bills.

Money is necessary in order for you to provide a comfortable life for your family. This is why you work, and this is why people put up businesses. It is true that earning money can be difficult for the average person. However, it is way better than depending on the government to provide you with food.

People have ambitions that requires hard work. Depending on welfare alone can never make your dreams come true.

If you are a regular person, who earns a decent salary but still wants to earn extra cash in order for you to afford that dream vacation you saw in a TV ad or perhaps buy that huge TV you have always wanted, you should consider investing your savings.

Investing your savings can only mean two things. Either you can make it grow, or lose it all. It may have some risks but if you do it right, you can really make a lot of money and afford those things you never thought you can ever have.

One great way to invest your money in is by investing it in the largest, most liquid financial market in the world. This kind of market is called the Forex market. In this market, you simply have to buy and sell currencies of the world with hopes of making a profit. The point of all this is that you have to buy low and sell high in order to make a profit out of your investment. Here’s a clearer explanation on what traders do in the Forex market. For example, when a trader purchases a particular currency at a cheap price, the trader will expect the value to rise. Once the value of the particular currency he or she sells rises as expected, you can sell it at a much higher price, hence, getting your investment back together with the profit.

Trading in Forex will require you to trade in pairs. Because you purchase currency, you sell another at the same time. There are a lot of currency pairs in the Forex market. However, the most commonly traded currency pairs in the Forex market are: USD/GBP, USD/JPY, USD/CHF, and GBP/USD. These four are the most popular currency pairs traded in the Forex market and where people are more likely to gain income.

Although trading in the Forex market can really give you the chance of earning a lot of money, it is also a fact that you can also lose a lot of money. This is because Forex is traded on margin. For example, with a 1 percent margin, your 1000 dollars can give you leverage of 1000 dollars. This means that your rate of return will be 100 percent of each percentage change upwards. However, your loss will also be equally great if the market conditions went against you.

This is why you have to have the proper skills and knowledge about the Forex market before you begin to trade. Also, you need to understand that when you invest in this market, make sure you can afford to lose what you invest. This is not necessarily attractive but if you want to make money, you also have to be prepared to lose money.

If you are an inexperienced Forex trader, you should consider hiring a Forex broker and analysts to guide you in your money-making venture. You can also consider opening a dummy account or taking a Forex trading course in your local business school or in online schools.

Knowing the basics in Forex trading can be very beneficial. So, try and look for some time where you can practice your trading skills and strategies in dummy accounts or attending Forex trading courses.

These are the things you should know about Forex trading and the Forex market. If you want to go and earn that money you need for whatever reasons, try investing in the Forex market. If you do it right, you can be sure that you can earn a lot of money through Forex trading.

Always remember that on whatever things you invest in, whether it would be a business or in the world’s largest financial market, you should always consider that there would always be risks involved.