http://www.ashemedia.com Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:53:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.ashemedia.com/southern-sun-warmth-clinches-the-gold-medal.html http://www.ashemedia.com/southern-sun-warmth-clinches-the-gold-medal.html#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:57:17 +0000 admin http://www.nailaintan.co.cc/southern-sun-warmth-clinches-the-gold-medal.html

Southern Sun has been chosen as South Africa’s gold medal winning hotel group by industry peers! At this year’s Ipsos Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands survey after racing ahead of Sun International and Protea Hotels, the Southern Sun Group clinched the gold in the Business-to-Business category.

The award comes eighteen months after Southern Sun embarked on a new behavioural change programme referred to as Siyakhanya, meaning “We Shine”, aimed at giving the hotel group a polished image amongst others in the hotel industry.

Neil Fraser, Director of Sales and Marketing at Southern Sun said, “We needed to ensure that our collective staff behaviour is aligned with our Southern Sun brand promise of true Southern Warmth. I believe this programme helped us to optimise the potential and capacity of every member of staff to deliver distinctive, consistent and compelling customer experiences. By engaging and involving staff in a purposeful change journey with measurable, achievable deliverables and clear accountabilities, we believe that we truly have a winning team on board.”

Fraser shared his delight after wining the award, thanking the individuals who make the hotel group a gold-medal winner, “Southern Sun deliberately focussed its entire brand strategy to ensure that we become the day-to-day, moment-of-truth, top-of-mind hotel brand in South Africa. This is a highly competitive category and this prestigious award goes to every single member of staff at Southern Sun. Together, they really made it happen, so this one’s for the team!”

Southern Sun is already recognised as the leading hotel group in South Africa offering the widest distribution of hotels in major urban centres and key leisure destinations, and will be the largest provider of accommodation during the FIFA World Cup events. “We are on a winning streak and this award reverberates internally and that we are ready to take on the world in 2010. Southern Warmth must shine through in everything we do and all we have to offer, all the time. If we keep getting this right, then that’s the lasting reward.”



About Southern Sun

Southern Sun is the leading hotel group in South Africa, providing world-class accommodation across all markets and offering the widest distribution of hotels in South Africa in major urban centres and key leisure destinations.

Southern Sun’s hotel portfolio comprises of various brands which have been segmented to meet all guests’ needs. The global collection of 81 hotels which sport 13 319 rooms and combine local favourites with some of the world’s most respected hotel brands: Southern Sun Hotels and Resorts, SunSquare, Garden Court, StayEasy by Southern Sun, Southern Sun Timeshare resorts, InterContinental Hotels and Formula 1.

The award has made Southern Sun the leading Southern African hotel group and the group is ranked amongst the top 36 hotel groups worldwide. With over 40 years of experience in servicing the local and international business and leisure traveller, Southern Sun is focused on building its portfolio of successful global brands and continues its expansion in Africa, the Indian Ocean Island and the Middle East.

Southern Sun is wholly owned by Tsogo Sun Holdings, one of South Africa’s most successful entertainment and hospitality groups. Tsogo Sun Holdings comprises Southern Sun Hotels and Tsogo Sun Gaming.

]]> http://www.ashemedia.com/southern-sun-warmth-clinches-the-gold-medal.html/feed 0 http://www.ashemedia.com/xbox-360-to-netflix.html http://www.ashemedia.com/xbox-360-to-netflix.html#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:42:38 +0000 admin http://www.nailaintan.co.cc/xbox-360-to-netflix.html

Netflix subscribers, if you’ve got an Xbox 360 and a Windows Vista PC, you don’t have to shell out $99 for Roku’s Netflix Player box to get your Watch Instantly library on your TV screen—you already have everything you need. Using the free Windows Media Center plug-in, vmcNetflix, you can turn your Xbox 360 into a Netflix Watch Instantly box.

With vmcNetflix, you can watch, browse, and queue movies to your Netflix Watch Instantly queue all from your Xbox 360 or Vista Media Center. A highlight of the list of growing features listed on the vmcNetflix site include:

* Stream WatchNow movies directly to the Media Center player.

* Download WatchNow movies to a “Watch Later” gallery.

* Support for Vista Extenders on both x86 and x64 platforms.

* Support for Netflix Instant Queue.

* Support for Episode listings.

* Search for movies by keyword.

* Browse DVD and WatchNow movies by genres.

* Sort Gallery by Title, Year, or Star Rating.

* View your queue, history, and recommendations.

* Add, remove, move movies in your queue.

* Supports DVD/Movie Parental Controls

What You’ll Need

Now that you’ve got an idea of the end product, let’s take a look at the short list of things you’ll need to turn your Xbox 360 into a Netflix player.

1. An Xbox 360

2. Windows Vista with Vista Media Center (it’s included by default in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate)

3. A Netflix subscription

4. The freeware vmcNetflix plug-in

Step 1: Set Up Your Xbox as a Media Center Extender

If you’ve already set up your Xbox 360 as a Media Center extender, you can skip this step. Unless you’re already using your Windows PC as a Media Center powerhouse and have a tuner card installed on your Windows machine, chances are you haven’t had much reason to set up your Xbox as an extender. With vmcNetflix, you’ve got a great reason.

Microsoft already provides detailed instructions for setting up your 360 as a Media Center extender, so here’s the nutshell version. Start up your Xbox 360, head to the Media blade, and select Media Center. Since you haven’t already set up an extender, your Xbox will walk you through the setup process between your Xbox and your PC. The Xbox will generate an eight-digit code to authenticate the connection between the two. Then you need to fire up Media Center on your PC, go to Tasks -> Add Extender, and fill in the blanks in the setup wizard with your eight-digit code when prompted.

Step 2: Install the vmcNetflix Plug-in

Now that your Xbox is set up as a bona fide Vista Media Center extender, you’re ready to download and install the vmcNetflix plug-in. There’s nothing to it, so just download the latest plug-in from the link and go through the installer.

Step 3: Set Up Watch Instantly on Your PC

Before you can stream Watch Instantly videos to your 360 extender, you need to make sure your PC is Watch Instantly-ready first. If you’ve already watched videos on this computer using Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature, you can skip this step. If not, forge ahead.

Your PC needs to install a plug-in or two from Netflix to help deal with the DRM and such used to stream videos. Installing them is as simple as logging into your Netflix account using Internet Explorer, clicking the Watch Instantly tab, and then playing anything. You don’t have to finish it, so just click Play on the first video you stumble across.

Netflix will prompt you to install their plug-in before the video starts, so just accept their prompts and install. When you’re finished with the simple installation, you should be watching the video you just chose. Once you’re there, you can stop the playback. Soon you’ll be watching that through your Xbox, on your TV, from the comfort of your living room.

Step 4: Set Up vmcNetflix on Your Xbox 360

vmcnetflix-installed.pngNow you need to run your Xbox 360 in Media Center extender mode. To do so, turn it on, head to your Xbox dashboard, and fire up Media Center from the list where you set it up originally. Your Xbox will find your computer and start up in Media Center mode.

Once there, scroll down to the Online Media section and then move left to select the program library. You should see an entry for vmcNetflix. Fire it up.

watch-now-login.pngSince this is the first time you’ve run vmcNetflix on your extender, you’ll need to set it up with your Netflix account. Doing so is as simple as providing the plug-in with your Netflix username and password. Do that, and you’re ready to start watching movies.

Step 5: Enjoy!

That’s all there is to it. You can now stream any Netflix Watch Instantly video directly to the TV in your living room using the Xbox 360 that’s already there. No $99 out of your pocket, no extra piece of equipment to add to your entertainment center. vmcNetflix handles everything nearly perfectly, from separate episode listings for television shows to managing and accessing your Netflix Watch Instantly queue.

The vmcNetflix plug-in has been in steady development for a few months now, but as the video above points out, the vmcNetflix plug-in can be a little slow and sometimes buggy. I hardly notice the sluggishness, though thinking about it, it does feel a little slower than normal Media Center extender operation. If you run into bugs, the vmcNetflix homepage offers tips for troubleshooting. I’ve found that restarting my 360 and or Media Center PC remedies any problems. Be sure to check back in with the vmcNetflix homepage from time to time and keep an eye on updates, since the developer is fixing problems and adding features at an impressive pace.

Also Netflix can download Watch Instantly videos and save them on your computer. This comes in very handy because saving videos means you don’t have to worry about downloads buffering, and video playback, fast-forwarding, and rewinding all work better. The downside is that saving videos is not part of the Watch Instantly terms of service.

ProVFX Visual Effects and Editing School has been written by Pranay Rupani who is a Freelance Writer

 

]]> http://www.ashemedia.com/xbox-360-to-netflix.html/feed 0 http://www.ashemedia.com/duck-nc-vacation-rentals.html http://www.ashemedia.com/duck-nc-vacation-rentals.html#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:49:48 +0000 admin http://www.nailaintan.co.cc/duck-nc-vacation-rentals.html

Duck, North Carolina is a stunning coastal destination where visitors can rest in solitude along a picturesque and quiet beachfront. For the ultimate hideaway retreat, set your vacation compass for the pristine natural beauty of Duck and enjoy everything that its soft sandy beaches have to offer from a convenient and cozy vacation home rental.

As the main attraction in the area, a view of Duck Beach is an absolute necessity for any accommodations. Wake up in your condo or house rental to the sound of the waves crashing ashore and then enjoy a peaceful breakfast on your balcony with the cool ocean breeze as a reminder of your spectacular setting. When you stay close to the water’s edge, every aspect of your day can be tailored to take advantage of the wonderful views that lie just outside your back door.

While watching the water lap against the sandy banks is the perfect way to begin and end your day, the time in between should most certainly be spent down near the waves. Set out for a day of swimming, sunbathing, shelling, jet skiing, or anything else you could possibly imagine by simply walking across the sand that sits outside your vacation rental and making your way towards your favorite sunning spot. Since Duck Beach does not offer any public parking lots at the beach, this stunning stretch of sand is made exclusively available to locals and visitors who stay along its shores.

Many individuals who head to Duck bring their families along to fill up one of the gorgeous seaside house rentals that lie along the coast. While traveling with a large group usually leads to problems such as not enough bedrooms or bathrooms, there are numerous Duck NC vacation rentals with enough space to comfortably house your entire group. When you stay in a home that can accommodate up to thirty-two individuals, getting ready for a day near the water or enjoying a few moments of peace are no longer imposing tasks since everyone has their own private space in which to get ready in or retreat to.

When you aren’t crammed into tiny accommodations, your vacation can certainly be everything you expected and more. Enjoy activities such as pool or foosball in the game room or set aside a few hours for a family movie night in the media room. Looking to catch-up on the day’s events away from the noise of the group? Retreat into the den or head into your bedroom for a few moments on the wireless internet or a glance at your private television. With a spacious vacation rental that offers numerous entertainment options inside, your evenings inside can be just as exciting as your time spent outdoors.

In addition to the little extras that can make your trip an always entertaining adventure, you also have all of the amenities you would expect from your own home at your disposal. Take advantage of the washer and dryer after a day at the sandy beach; prepare a delicious, home-cooked dinner from the supplies you picked up at the Scarborough Faire Shops; or grab a pile of the included beach towels for a waterfront picnic. No matter what kind of day you have in mind, your vacation rental is always an accommodating host.

A Duck North Carolina vacation rental makes it easy to enjoy everything you love about this seaside paradise by placing all of the comforts and luxuries of home at your fingertips. To experience the Outer Banks family retreat you always imagined but have to realize, consider a waterfront Duck vacation rental for your accommodations needs.

]]> http://www.ashemedia.com/duck-nc-vacation-rentals.html/feed 0