Tag Archives: Generation

Microsoft Xbox: the New Generation of Game Systems

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Entertainment is an integral part of our lives. In fact, there are various forms of entertainment that existed during the pre-colonial era, such as watching opera and musical theater plays. Betting is also an active recreation during the colonial times. It is designed to provide pleasure to individuals of varying age groups and areas of interest.

However, with the rapid development of technology nowadays, entertainment is not just about watching operas and musical plays. Entertainment in the 21st century is now dependent on the development of technology—animated and digital films, television programs, and video game consoles.

Video game console means entertainment for the younger members of our society. Because of the animated game characters and graphics similar to real-life characters, video game consoles became one of the hottest items in the electronic market. Since its existence in 1972 (when Magnavox released its 1st home video game console, which is the Magnavox Odyssey) until the continuous release of its new generation game systems, video game consoles are now what we call the “entertainment of the 21st century and beyond”.

Because of the popularity of these video game consoles to the gaming public, particularly to the young generation, different technology firms released different game consoles that cater to the needs of the gaming public. It paved the way to the birth of the sixth generation of video game consoles, which the Xbox belongs to.

Xbox’s producer, which is no other than the Bill Gates’ Microsoft Corporation, said that Xbox game console takes you away beyond the ordinary entertainment. It redefines the way you play the game of your choice. Aside from games, you have access to music and movies through this high-technology game console system. Thus, it lets you share good times with your friends and even lets you compete with other gamers around the world.

Xbox was Microsoft’s first independent business enterprise in the video game console industry, after the development of the tools for MSX (the standardized home computer architecture of Microsoft in the 1980s) and the operating system for Windows. It was launched on different dates: November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Europe.

The development of Xbox was initially facilitated by a small team formed by Microsoft, which included the famous high energy physicist and game developer Seamus Blackley. The rumors of the release of a Microsoft-developed video game console first spread at the end of 1999 following interviews of Microsoft big boss Bill Gates, saying that the company is developing a gaming and at the same time a multimedia device that is essential in the convergence of digital entertainment era. And the company confirmed such rumors through a press release on the “Xbox project” on March 10, 2000.

As previously mentioned, the first launch of Xbox was in North America on November 15, 2001. On its first launch, most of Xbox’s launch titles became one of the best-selling games at the end of 2001. Some of the successful launch titles of Xbox were the Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequel, Halo 2 (which became the most played game in the Xbox Live), NFL Fever 2002, Dead or Alive 3, and Project Gotham Racing.

Xbox’s design was based on the fact that there must be a game system that will take advantage of the slowdown of saturated PC gaming market and at the same time integrate a built-in Ethernet adapter. It was the first video game console to integrate a hard disk drive into its system, which is used mainly to store game data compressed in a ZIP archive and content download from Xbox Live. Thus, it eliminated the need for a separate memory card, which is popularized by Sony’s Playstation. Most of the Xbox games make use of the console’s hard drive as the disk cache for quicker game loading time. There are also games that support “Custom soundtracks”, which allows the user to rip music from standard audio CDs and add it to the soundtrack of the game.

With the Xbox as one of the modern video game consoles ever produced, it provides unusual entertainment for gamers; especially those who are looking for a gaming experience that will make them crave for it.
Yes, Microsoft’s Xbox did it—one of the game systems that you will love once you get your hand on it.

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Networking – the Backbone of Generation Z

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Networking, in the recent past, has become a word synonymous with the cyber world. In simple terms, networking may be defined as interconnection of computing devices in order to share data. A group of computers interconnected by communication channels facilitate sharing of information, the prime determinant of life itself.

Networks are built with a combination of computer hardware and software. Network Interface Cards (NICs), Bridges, Hubs, Switches, and Routers are some of the basic hardware components used to interconnect the key elements of the computer network. Interlinked with the proper communication paths, networks link to other networks and also contain sub networks. The network layer is the platform on which networks are classified. The functionality of the same is based on basic reference models such as the five-layer Internet Protocol Suite (IP). (A protocol is the communication language used by computing devices.)

Computer networks may be classified based on the type of networks, design, mode of connection, and topology. The types of networks are Personal Area Network (PAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Campus Area Network (CAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), and Global Area Network (GAN). Client-server and peer-to-peer are the two types of high-level network design. It is based on the relationship within the elements in a network. Networks can be classified based on the technology, i.e., the computer hardware employed to enable interlinking devices in the network. For instance, Optical fiber, Ethernet, Wireless LAN, HomePNA, or Power line communication are some of the hardware components that are used. Depending on the topology (layout of connected devices), networks are also distinguished such as Bus, Star, Ring, Mesh, Star-bus, Tree or Hierarchical topology networks, etc.

As a proactive tool, network management helps to design, deploy, and maintain processes. Serving as a powerful tool in the telecommunications market, networking is the reason behind the paradigm shift evident in today’s advanced technology offerings. From cables and routers that link devices, to executing commands based on defined set of rules, transmitting of data has been in the process. The fine infrastructure in networking accelerates the development of cutting-edge solutions.

Networking, in the techno-savvy world makes more sense in relating to the masses than the communication methods of the bygone era. The major advantages of network are speed in connectivity and communication, sharing of resources at a secure and reliable level, enhancement of application performance and balancing, and most of all flexibility to access and connect with people. Networking occupies a prominent place in the information superhighway. On a career perspective, according to the Wall Street Journal (2006), 94% of successful job seekers claimed that networking was the reason for making a huge difference in their careers.

On a lighter vein, it may be worth quoting Guy Almes, a pioneer in the development of Internet. He states thus: “There are three kinds of death in this world.  There’s heart death, there’s brain death, and there’s being off the network.”