New iOS Device for the holidays? Download these games first!

Congratulations on your new iPhone or iPad! The first few days with a new iOS device can be daunting if you’re new to Apple’s walled garden. There are literally hundreds of thousands of apps available, and when it comes to gaming, there are a great many that aren’t worth your time, your hard drive space, or your $0.99. Wading through all those games can be tough, especially when user reviews are unreliable.Fortunately, instead of letting you spend the holidays doing a bunch of research on which games are great and which aren’t, we’ve made a handy list for you. These are the games you should download first. These are games that are the most fun, maximize your hardware, and are the best the platform has to offer.

Walking Dead: The Game (Free, all episodes for $14.99)

It’s not a stretch to say that Telltale Games’ Walking Dead: The Game might be the best game of the year, on any platform. It took top honors at Spike TV’s Video Game Awards 2012 as the best game of the year for its versions on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It’s gory and full of adult content, but it’s also one of the best-written video game stories out there, period.

Based on Robert Kirkman’s comic series of the same name (and not the AMC TV show), The Walking Dead is an adventure game, so the focus is often on talking with other survivors, making moral decisions, and keeping your frazzled group from tearing itself apart. But there are also plenty of zombie outbreak moments, too. In all, The Walking Dead is an action-packed, brilliant and emotional game, and you should absolutely play it on any device.

Infinity Blade II ($6.99)

ChAIR and Epic Games’ sword-dueling action-adventure game is still a standard on the iOS platform in terms of graphics and gameplay. The second entry in the franchise upped the game of the original Infinity Blade significantly, increasing the amount of story included in the game and regularly receives content updates to give you plenty more bad guys to beat, and in more interesting ways.

Infinity Blade II supports a multiplayer mode that lets players join together in battles to earn rewards as a group, and there have also been lots of weapons, levels and bad guys added to the game since its launch. Infinity Blade II is worth the investment and will impress you with the power of your iOS hardware.

Angry Birds Star Wars ($0.99)

Angry Birds Star Wars takes the familiar tropes of Angry Birds – flinging birds to break stuff and pop pigs – and expands them in great new ways to make what’s probably the best game in the series so far. The great thing about Angry Birds Star Wars is that, first, it continues to play on the new rules and physics added with Angry Birds Space, so it includes gravity wells and space combat.

The addition of Star Wars-influenced material includes levels based on the planets Tatooine, Hoth, Dagobah, and the Death Star. The birds brandish new weapons and abilities like  lightsabers, blasters, the Force, tractor beams and more, all of which greatly change the formula of the game and make it feel very fresh. It’s also rather satisfying to see the cast of birds dressed up like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2D2, and C3PO. Plus, if you like Star Wars, it can be pretty funny, too.

Grand Theft Auto 3 ($0.99)

This controversial classic game has made the jump from the Playstation 2 to your iPhone or iPad. Grand Theft Auto 3 is another fairly adult-themed game, what with the ability to pick up ladies of the night and shoot down police helicopters, but it’s also a smart satire and a fun open world to explore, exploit, and blow up.

There are a myriad of missions and other things to do in Grand Theft Auto 3, which means you get hours of gameplay for one dollar. Rockstar Games has done a pretty great drop of porting the game to iOS devices, as well, making the controls feel solid even on a touchscreen interface. You can also check out the newer Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ($4.99) or less affordable Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars ($9.99) if you hunger for more indiscriminate video game carnage and complex missions.

Letterpress – Word Game (Free)

No crop of iOS games would be complete without an asynchronous multiplayer word game thrown into the mix, and Letterpess is a great one. It’s a newer addition to the iOS market, and is a bit more like Boggle than Scrabble, like most games in the category. Each game starts with a random grid of tiles, each with a letter on them. The goal is to tap those tiles to make words, and each time you make a word with tiles, they change to your color. Then your opponent takes a turn, makes a word, and turns tiles to their color – like some of your tiles. You win if you can manage to color all the tiles by making words out of them, and have the most tiles with your color at the end.

You can play as many games at a time as you want in Letterpress, and you can take as much time for your turns as you like. The cool thing about the game is that it’s less about making good words (although that certainly helps) as it is about using letters strategically and at the right moments to win.

Read More..

Mattel and Hasbro said to be ‘terrified’ as more kids seek high-tech Christmas gifts

Back in the old days, American kids only wanted a Barbie doll or a G.I. Joe action figure for Christmas and all was right with the world. But times have changed, and today American children are looking to get more high-tech Christmas gift such as tablets, the Financial Times reports. In fact, today’s children are so interested in tablets and smartphones that major toy manufacturers Hasbro and Mattel are said to be worried sick about their futures.
[More from BGR: Sprint salesman refuses to sell iPhone to customer, says his ‘fingers are too fat’ to use it]
“The top two guys, Mattel and Hasbro, they are terrified,” Sean McGowan, managing director of equity research at Needham & Company, told the Financial Times. “They should be terrified, but the official party line is they’re not terrified.”
[More from BGR: First photos of BlackBerry 10 ‘N-Series’ QWERTY smartphone leak]
These anxieties are compounded by the fact that Mattel’s top-selling product this year isn’t any kind of traditional toy, but a plastic cellphone case. And as the Financial Times notes, tablets aren’t just something that children use every now and then out of boredom, since “the amount of time children are spending with technology devices has skyrocketed” because they can “watch free content online and play free video games for hours on end.”

Read More..

Critics pan "charmless" Spice Girls musical

They came, they saw, but sadly Britain's music critics largely failed to enjoy Tuesday night's revival of girl power at the world premiere of the Spice Girls' musical "Viva Forever!"
Reviewers panned a production loosely based on the band's meteoric rise to fame in the 1990s, complaining that its "charmless" script failed even as a basic invention for folding nostalgic pop hits into a West End stage show.
Independent newspaper critic Paul Taylor said the show "only achieves the kind of deliriously silly and joyous lift-off" at its encore and blamed scriptwriter Jennifer Saunders.
"Not only does her script rarely give you that necessary gleeful sense of expectancy about where the songs are going to be shoe-horned in, but it's embarrassingly derivative of 'Mamma Mia!' and looks way past its sell-by date in its utterly surprise-free satiric swipe at X Factor."
"Viva Forever!" was the brainchild of producer Judy Craymer, whose Mamma Mia! musical based on the hits of ABBA has earned nearly $2 billion worldwide and spawned a hit movie starring Meryl Streep.
She teamed up with British comedian Saunders of "Absolutely Fabulous" fame to create a story about the central character, Viva, a sprightly teenager who, along with her friends, gets into the final stages of a TV singing contest closely resembling Britain's "The X Factor".
To boost flagging audience figures - a nod to "The X Factor"s real-life ratings woes in Britain this season - their mentor springs a surprise and throws out three members of the band to leave Viva on her own.
What follows is part morality tale examining what is more important - friends, family or fame - and part satire on reality television, including a callous producer bearing an uncanny resemblance to X-Factor's Simon Cowell.
EMPOWERMENT
Both the Mirror and the Daily Mail delivered damning criticism of a production, which the Mirror's Alun Palmer said particularly failed to deliver on the grand message that formed a key part of every Spice Girl's identity: "girl power".
"There is more female empowerment at a Taliban finishing school than in this show," Palmer wrote.
The Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm, who together stormed the charts in the 1990s and put girl power on the map were all on hand at the Piccadilly Theatre for the London premiere.
British tabloids made a good deal of noise out of the fact that Beckham arrived after her ex-bandmates and sat with her soccer star husband David and three sons, who clapped along to the music during the final medley.
Now all young mothers in their late 30s and early 40s, The Spice Girls are still affectionately known by their nicknames they adopted in the band - Posh (Beckham), Scary (Brown), Baby (Bunton), Sporty (Chisholm) and Ginger (Halliwell).
They were hailed as modern-day feminists by some and dismissed as vacuous pop princesses by others, but their success is beyond doubt. They sold 55 million records, had nine British No. 1 singles and three back-to-back Christmas No. 1s.
Unabashed fan Poppy Cosyns, was one of the few critics to gush enthusiastically about the show in her review for the Sun.
"As a true fan, I was worried that the jukebox musical formula might not work with their songs but Jennifer Saunders has done a great job with the script and the show flows really well," she wrote.
The band broke up around 12 years ago, their bickering eagerly chronicled by Britain's celebrity-obsessed tabloids.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the bust-ups and hissy fits, the group has been united in its backing of the new musical, and underlining the Spice Girls' lasting popularity, they played a major part in the closing ceremony at the London Olympics.
The Guardian's Alexis Petridis compared it favorably only to the "baleful shadow" of Ben Elton's Queen-themed "We Will Rock You" musical.
"It would be nice if, metaphorically speaking, it pinched Prince Charles's bum a few more times," he wrote. "Still, it zips along cheerily enough, and compared with We Will Rock You, it's a work of untrammeled genius."
Despite its flaws, Petridis said the show's success will lie in the hands of the legions of fans who propelled the Spice Girls to the top of the charts in the first place.
"Faint praise perhaps, but never mind: judging by the crowds of thirty-something ladies leaving the theatre singing 'Stop and Say You'll Be There', Viva Forever! is critic-proof."

Read More..

Taylor Swift reclaims top spot on Billboard 200

Country-pop star Taylor Swift reclaimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday with her hit album "Red," keeping three new entries from the No.1 position.
"Red" landed back at No. 1 for the fourth time after selling 167,000 copies last week according to Nielsen SoundScan, ousting Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire," which fell to No. 7 this week.
New entries this week include rapper Wiz Khalifa's sophomore record "O.N.I.F.C.," which debuted at No. 2 after selling 141,00 copies. Pop star Ke$ha's new album "Warrior" landed at No. 6 with sales of 85,000 while country band Florida Georgia Line's debut album "Here's To the Good Times" came in at No. 10.
Ahead of the holidays, festive albums featured heavily in the top 10, with Rod Stewart's "Merry Christmas, Baby" at No. 3, Michael Buble's "Christmas" at No. 5 and Blake Shelton's "Cheers, It's Christmas" at No. 8.
Bruno Mars' latest single "Locked Out of Heaven" topped the Billboard Digital Songs chart for the first time with 197,000 copies sold, coming in ahead of Rihanna's "Diamonds" at No. 2 and will.i.am and Britney Spears' "Scream & Shout" at No. 3.

Read More..

Britney Spears, Taylor Swift are top-earning women in music

 Pop star Britney Spears edged past Taylor Swift to claim the title of top-earning woman in music after bringing in an estimated $58 million from her album, endorsements and a perfume in the past year, Forbes said on Wednesday.
Country-pop singer Swift, 22, was a close second with an estimated $57 million paycheck thanks to her tour - which made more than $1 million each night - a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, her own line of fragrances and her new album "Red."
R&B star Rihanna, 24, earned an estimated $53 million to put her at No. 3, two places up from last year, followed by Lady Gaga, 26, who slipped from No. 1 in 2011 to fourth place with $52 million.
Katy Perry, 28, the only musician other than Michael Jackson to produce five No. 1 hit singles from one album, rounded out the top five with about $45 million in earnings.
"I think people love the comeback story - Britney never really finished her run as a superstar," Steve Stoute, marketing expert and author of "The Tanning of America" told Forbes.
Spears, 31, who was No. 10 last year, earned most of her money from her latest album "Femme Fatale" and her tour, according to Forbes, which compiled the list with estimated earnings from May 2011 to May 2012.
In September, Spears became a judge on the reality TV singing show "The X Factor," reportedly for $15 million.
Despite their huge incomes, only eight of the top women music earners were among the 25 best-paid musicians, which Forbes attributes in part to career breaks to have children.
Madonna made the list in ninth place with an estimated $30 million in earnings, which did not include profits from her latest tour because it was outside the time period considered for the ranking.
Forbes compiled the list after estimating pretax income based on record sales, touring information merchandise sales and interviews with concert promoters, lawyers and managers.

Read More..

Mick Jagger love letters fetch $300,000 at auction

A collection of love letters written by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to American singer Marsha Hunt, believed to be the inspiration for the band's hit single "Brown Sugar", sold at Sotheby's on Wednesday for 187,250 pounds ($301,000).
The 10 letters, dating from the summer of 1969, had been expected to fetch 70-100,000 pounds, according to the auctioneer.
"The passage of time has given these letters a place in our cultural history," Hunt said after the London sale.
"1969 saw the ebbing of a crucial, revolutionary era, highly influenced by such artists as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, James Brown and Bob Dylan.
"Their inner thoughts should not be the property of only their families, but the public at large, to reveal who these influential artists were - not as commercial images, but their private selves."
Hunt, with whom Jagger had his first child, Karis, told Britain's Guardian newspaper last month that she was selling the letters, written in July and August 1969, because she had been unable to pay her bills.
"I'm broke," Hunt, who lives in France, told the newspaper.
Jagger wrote them to Hunt while filming the Tony Richardson movie "Ned Kelly" in Australia.
They showed a sensitive side of the then-young singer, who wrote about the poetry of Emily Dickinson, meeting author Christopher Isherwood and an unrealized multimedia project.
Jagger's relationship with Hunt, who is African-American, was kept under wraps until 1972.
Hunt has said she was the inspiration for Brown Sugar, which Jagger wrote while in Australia.
The rock star also cites in the letters the disintegration of his relationship with singer Marianne Faithfull, whom he was also dating at the time, and the death of Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones.
There has been a surge in interest in the rock band this year, as Jagger and his three surviving bandmates celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stones with a series of concerts, a photo book and a greatest hits album.

Read More..

Music, comedy strike defiant tone at Sandy concert

Musicians were so intent upon helping victims of Superstorm Sandy that they didn't seem to want their benefit concert in New York to end.
The final notes of Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" closed the star-studded show at 1:19 a.m. Thursday, nearly six hours after Bruce Springsteen set a roaring tone with "Land of Hope and Dreams."
In between, the Madison Square Garden stage hosted a mini-Nirvana reunion with Paul McCartney playing the part of Kurt Cobain, a duet between Coldplay's Chris Martin and former R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Kanye West wearing a leather skirt and enough British music royalty to fill an old rocker's home.
The sold-out show was televised live, streamed online, played on the radio and shown in theaters all over the world. Producers said up to 2 billion people were able to experience it live. The audience's stamina may have depended on their time zone.
"I know you really wanted One Direction," Martin, speaking onstage at 12:15 a.m., said of the popular British boy band. "But it's way past their bedtime. That's why you get one-quarter of Coldplay." Stipe joined him for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion."
The participants, many natives of the area and others who know it well, struck a defiant tone in asking for help to rebuild sections of the New York metropolitan area devastated by the late-October storm.
"When are you going to learn," comic and New Jersey native Jon Stewart said. "You can throw anything at us — terrorists, hurricanes. You can take away our giant sodas. It doesn't matter. We're coming back stronger every time."
Jersey shore hero Springsteen addressed the rebuilding process in introducing his song "My City of Ruins," noting it was written about the decline of Asbury Park, N.J., before that city's renaissance over the past decade. What made the Jersey shore special was its inclusiveness, a place where people of all incomes and backgrounds could find a place, he said.
"I pray that that characteristic remains along the Jersey shore because that's what makes it special," Springsteen said.
He mixed a verse of Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl" into the song before calling New Jersey neighbor Jon Bon Jovi to join him in a rousing "Born to Run." Springsteen later returned the favor by joining Bon Jovi on "Who Says You Can't Go Home."
Adam Sandler hearkened back to his "Saturday Night Live" days with a ribald rewrite of the oft-sung "Hallelujah" that composer Leonard Cohen never would have dreamed. The rewritten chorus says, "Sandy, screw ya, we'll get through ya, because we're New Yawkers."
Sandler wore a New York Jets T-shirt and mined Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg, the New York Knicks, Times Square porn and Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez for laugh lines.
The music lineup was heavily weighted toward classic rock, which has the type of fans able to afford a show for which ticket prices ranged from $150 to $2,500. Even with those prices, people with tickets have been offering them for more on broker sites such as StubHub, an attempt at profiteering that producers fumed was "despicable."
"This has got to be the largest collection of old English musicians ever assembled in Madison Square Garden," Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger said. "If it rains in London, you've got to come and help us."
In fighting trim for a series of 50th anniversary concerts in the New York area, the Stones ripped through "You've Got Me Rockin" and "Jumping Jack Flash" before beating a quick retreat — perhaps not to upstage their own upcoming Pay-Per-View show. Actor Steve Buscemi later made light of that, saying producers made room for him by cutting the Stones short. "I said, 'if they play more than two songs, I'm out of here.'"
Jagger wasn't in New York City for Sandy, but he said in an interview before the concert that his apartment was flooded with 2 feet of water.
The Who weaved Sandy into their set, showing pictures of storm devastation on video screens during "Pinball Wizard." Pete Townshend made a quick revision to the lyrics of "Baba O'Riley," changing "teenage wasteland" to "Sandy wasteland." The Who and West didn't follow the Stones' lead, and played lengthy sets that disrupted the show's momentum.
Keys, a New York native, asked the audience to hold their cell phones high for her song, "No One," triggering a sea of light that is the modern version of an earlier generation's holding cigarette lighters in the air. "We love you," Keys said, "and we'll make it through this."
Keys' "Empire State of Mind" is this century's most indelible song about her hometown. Billy Joel performed one of the last century's favorites, "New York State of Mind." Joel's "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" sounded prescient, with new Sandy-fueled lyrics smoothly fitting in. He was also the only artist to mark the season, working in a little of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
Liverpool's McCartney has strong New York ties, including a Manhattan office, Hamptons summer home and a third wife, Nancy Shevell, who spent a decade on the board of the agency that oversees New York's public transit system. Backed by Diana Krall, McCartney performed "My Valentine," a song he had written for Shevell.
Otherwise, McCartney kept things lively. His James Bond theme "Live and Let Die" set off a light show and he opened his set with the Beatles' screamer "Helter Skelter." His big surprise was inviting Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear — all ex of Nirvana — to jam on a punky new song.
An energetic West worked up a sweat in a hoodie, black leather pants and a black skirt. He told the audience that he had friends displaced by Sandy who were staying at his house, before getting the crowd swaying with a version of "Gold Digger." He ended his set by shouting, "I need you right now!" tossing his microphone and stalking off stage.
Eric Clapton switched from acoustic to electric guitar and sang "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" and "Crossroads." New York was a backdrop for Clapton's personal tragedy, when his young son died after falling out of a window.
Roger Waters played a set of Pink Floyd's spacey rock, joined by Eddie Vedder for "Comfortably Numb." Waters stuck to the music and left the fundraising to others.
"Can't chat," he said, "because we only have 30 minutes."
The sold-out "12-12-12" concert was being shown on 37 television stations in the United States and more than 200 others worldwide. It was to be streamed on 30 websites, including YouTube and Yahoo. The theaters showing it included 27 in the New York region.
Proceeds from the show will be distributed through the Robin Hood Foundation. More than $30 million was raised through ticket sales alone.
The powerful storm left parts of New York City underwater and left millions of people in several states without heat or electricity for weeks. It's blamed for at least 140 deaths, including 104 in New York and New Jersey, and it destroyed or damaged 305,000 housing units in New York alone.
Many of the artists told personal stories of friends or family affected by the storm, like Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi.
"I had to hold back the tears really," he said about visiting the devastation in New Jersey. "My mom's house (in Point Pleasant, N.J.) got trashed. They had to evacuate her. She's living with me until we fix it up."
E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt said backstage that musicians are often quick to help when they can.

Read More..

End-of-the-Year Checklist for Divorcing Women

Most women wait until after the holidays to move forward with their divorces --and that’s completely understandable. Many don’t want to disrupt family traditions for their children. Some welcome the distraction offered by the hustle and bustle of the season. And, of course, others want to avoid the discussions that inevitably seem to arise whenever and wherever relatives gather.
Interestingly, though, January is the month when most divorces are filed. Obviously, turning the page towards a New Year inspires a fresh start –and that’s completely understandable, too. If you’re headed in that direction, it makes sense to spend a little time this month planning ahead. You can do so discreetly, and then know that you’ll truly be ready to start the New Year on the right foot.
To help get you begin, here are a few things you can do now to help make the divorce process smoother in 2012:
1. Start collecting financial documents. Watch the mail for year-end statements from banks, credit card companies, etc.  As we outline in our Divorce Financial Checklist, preparing for divorce requires gathering all the relevant documents related to your bank and brokerage accounts, credit cards, mortgages, etc. Once you have collected them, make copies, and take them to a trusted friend/family member, or use a safe deposit box that your husband can’t access.
2. Check your credit report. While you’re gathering your financial records, keep a careful eye on your credit card statements, and if you haven’t already done so, request a copy of your credit report. Once you have the report, monitor your score carefully so you’ll be the first to know if any unusual activity occurs.  (For example, is your husband using your joint credit cards to buy his girlfriend gifts this holiday season?)  See my post, How To Protect Your Credit Score During Your Divorce, for more tips
3. Research divorce professionals in your area. If you want to ensure the best possible outcome for your divorce, take the time to build a qualified divorce team. I recommend you start with these three players: a matrimonial/family law attorney, a divorce financial planner and a therapist/counselor. Spend some time this month researching divorce professionals and create a short list of candidates for each position. Schedule interviews with each top contender in January, and rest easy knowing that by February 2012, you’ll be benefiting from the expert guidance of a top-notch divorce team.
4. Open new accounts in your name. Moving forward as a single woman in 2012 will require that you have a bank account and credit cards in your name. Lay the groundwork now.  Don’t use the bank where you currently have your joint accounts. Go to a different bank and open both a savings and a checking account in your name. You’ll need your own credit card, too, so you should start that process now, as well. New federal regulations are making it harder than ever for women with little or no income to establish credit on their own. You can do it. But, plan accordingly and know that securing credit is going to be more complicated than just filling out an application or making a single phone call.
5. Remain vigilant. Is your husband using the good cheer of the holidays as cover while he dissipates family assets? Be attentive, and if you are concerned at all about financial shenanigans by your husband, you may want to think twice about filing a joint return with him for 2011.
Some women who are considering divorce let the holidays get them down. Don’t be one of them. Use this opportunity to start planning ahead, and you’ll be able to start the New Year confident that you are on the way to a more stable and secure financial future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey A. Landers, CDFA™ is a Divorce Financial Strategist™ and the founder of Bedrock Divorce Advisors, LLC (http://www.BedrockDivorce.com), a divorce financial strategy firm that exclusively works with women, who are going through, or might be going through, a financially complicated divorce. He also advises women business owners on what steps they can take now to “divorce-proof” their business in the event of a future divorce. He can be reached at Landers@BedrockDivorce.com.
All articles/blog posts are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute legal advice. If you require legal advice, retain a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author, who is not an attorney.

Read More..

It's Not Too Late: Year-End Tax Moves

Once you’ve reached the last month of the tax year, your options are limited to minimize your income taxes. But there are a few things that could still be done, so don’t give up hope.
For example, you could double up your real estate taxes by prepaying next year’s tax during December. Doing this with, for example, a $3,000 per year real estate tax bill could result in a reduction of tax for the year of $750 if you’re in the 25% bracket. Keep in mind though, that you’ll have forked out this money long before it is actually due in most cases, and for the next year you won’t have this deduction available if you used it in this year.
The same could be done with your charitable contributions - there’s no reason that you can’t make additional contributions to your favorite charities at the end of this year instead of waiting until next year.
You could also send your final estimated state income tax payment due in January of next year during December and claim that payment on this year’s itemized deductions as well.
Prepaying your January mortgage payment will credit that mortgage interest to this year as well, further increasing your itemized deductions.
Other itemized deductions could be “stacked” in one year, such as medical expenses (subject to the 7.5% floor) and miscellaneous deductions (subject to the 2% floor).
It’s important to keep in mind that the moves that you make this year might reduce your tax now - but you might have an adverse impact on next year’s income tax by doing so. It will pay to run the calculations based on what you know about this year’s tax and next year’s tax to make sure that it is in your best interest to do this.
Here’s how it might play out: if you prepaid your next year’s real estate tax during this year, it might reduce your deductions below the Standard Deduction - which could be a good thing. In doing this, you would get to use the Standard Deduction to increase your tax deductions on next year’s return when you specifically reduced your deductions for that year by prepaying the deductible real estate tax in during this year. In this fashion you might be making the most of the standard deduction and your itemized deductions year after year - one year using the “stacked” deductions, the next using the standard deduction.
These prepayment options could have a negative affect if you are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Prepaying your state tax, mortgage interest and some medical expenses might trigger or cause an increase in AMT. One tactic that you might consider is selling a taxable investment that has an inherent loss; this is especially useful if you’ve sold another investment at some point in the tax year that has resulted in a taxable gain. Losses can be used to offset those capital gains dollar for dollar, and an additional $3,000 in capital losses can be used to reduce your ordinary income as well.
You can also make up for underpayment of estimated tax by taking a withdrawal from an IRA (especially if you’re over age 59½) and having tax withheld from the withdrawal. This can also be accomplished by having more tax withheld from your paycheck if you’re still working, by filing a new W4. Another significant move you can make includes the Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) - allowing you to bypass recognizing that income, including your RMD. This can only be done if you’re at least age 70½ and subject to Required Minimum Distributions. The charity receives a contribution, and you get to lower your year-end balance in your account, therefore reducing your RMD for next year.  For more details on this, you should check out the IRA Owner's Manual.
You can also delay your first RMD (if you reached age 70½ this year) until as late as April 1 of next year, although that will mean you have to take two RMDs next year. But in some circumstances that may be the better option.
You can also make a deductible contribution to your IRA, if you qualify - but you don’t have to do that before the end of the year, you have until April 15 to do that.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of year-end tax moves, just several of the more prominent ones. Hopefully you’ll find what you need here to help with your year-end tax plans.

Read More..

Autotask Opens Office in Munich, Germany

Autotask Corporation, the world’s leading provider of hosted IT business management software, today announced the opening of new corporate offices in Munich, Germany. The new home of Autotask GmbH underscores the company’s strong presence in the European marketplace and strategic business decision to localize its product for key geographies throughout the world.

Munich, Germany (PRWEB) December 17, 2012
Autotask Corporation, the world’s leading provider of hosted IT business management software, today announced the opening of new corporate offices in Munich, Germany. The new home of Autotask GmbH underscores the company’s strong presence in the European marketplace and strategic business decision to localize its product for key geographies throughout the world. (Autotask Corporation Announces Major Global Expansion. (press release) September 20, 2011.)
“Since the introduction of Autotask Pro software in German earlier this year, the demand from the IT services sector has been quite remarkable,” said Mark Banfield, Managing Director, International, Autotask. “Establishing an office in Munich not only demonstrates our ongoing commitment to serving the needs of our growing clientele, it enables us to do so quickly and with acute attention to detail.”  
The company’s Munich office will host a variety of professionals including implementation and client support, sales, and sales engineering. Autotask plans to hire additional personnel in the first quarter of 2013 to ensure the success of its rapidly expanding user base.
Autotask Pro is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business management platform designed and optimized for Value Added Resellers (VARs), Managed Services Providers (MSPs), Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and other technology solutions providers. Autotask integrates a broad range of critical systems including customer relationship management (CRM), service desk, technician scheduling, project management, billing and reporting, and provides real-time service delivery intelligence to help business owners understand the factors that affect their operations and their profitability.
Fanni Szabo, Autotask Regional Sales Manager – Team Leader, Germany stated, “The increasing demand from IT solution providers for comprehensive business applications that provide clear insight into their business and real-time analytics is driving the adoption of Autotask across Europe. Our presence in Germany allows us to more fully engage with our clients, better understand their requirements, and makes it easier for them to service the thousands of businesses they support.”
Autotask GmbH is located at Elisabethstrasse 91, Munich, Germany 80797. Those interested in learning more about Autotask products and services are encouraged to visit http://www.autotask.com/de or call +49 (0) 89 5908 2376.
About Autotask

Autotask Corporation provides the world's leading hosted IT business management software to streamline and optimize business processes for technology solution providers. The software integrates a broad range of critical business systems, including customer relationship management (CRM), service desk, tech scheduling, project management, billing and reporting, and provides real-time service delivery intelligence to help users understand the factors that drive their business and their profitability.
Autotask is accessible from virtually any computing or mobile device connected to the Internet and features a world-class API that seamlessly integrates with the other systems and tools that providers rely on to run their businesses.

Read More..