Category Archives: Gaming PCs
Digital Electronics and Renewable Energy Go Hand In Hand
Digital Electronics and Renewable Energy Go Hand In Hand
Someone once said “It takes money to make money,” and that is mostly true. Today, we might add, “It takes energy to make money,” with reference to all the wondrous digital electronics we use every day to conduct business and create things. Problem is that it can take quite a lot of energy to run all the computers, peripherals, big screen display and multimedia installations in our homes and offices. And a bunch more to keep all those cell phones, digital cameras, GPS systems, iPods and handheld gaming systems charged and ready to go. So while the cost of energy keeps rising, and more and more people realize that climate changes, pollution and diminishing oil reserves demand a move towards renewable energy sources, we consume more and more with all of our beloved electronics.
Does that mean that the very progress that brought us the wonderful world of digital electronics is also digging us into a deeper and deeper hole of energy dependence and spiraling monetary and environmental costs? It doesn’t have to be that way. Business and the environment do not have to be at odds. There is, in fact, a green electronics movement that seeks to make our beloved electronics more energy efficient and environmentally friendlier. The movement covers the entire spectrum from huge international conglomerates pledging to recycle, reuse and conserve, all the way to electronics being more energy-efficient and either bio-degradable or easier to recycle, thus reducing what is now called “e-waste” from millions of tons of landfill to reused and recycled resources.
Saving energy and recycling makes perfect sense, and it’s no surprise that there are now companies devoting themselves to green electronics and energy sustainability. After all, it’s good PR and makes economic sense. But it goes farther than that. There are now even companies that sell both digital electronics AND renewable energy products. It’s easy to see how a firm belief in renewable energy, conservation and sound energy policies may drive an environmentally conscious business owner to sell items like solar and wind energy products as well as digital electronics made by companies that have realized that business and society are interdependent and thus embraced green technology.
What is “green technology?” It can be products certified for low emissions, products certified to be more energy-efficient (like the Energy Star pledge and standard), or products using solar chargers or other energy saving technologies. It can also mean support of companies that are actively “going green” by increasing recyclable content, removing environmentally harmful substances, using renewable energy in the production cycle, and supporting environmental conservation causes and projects.
Why would companies go green? Because it’s not only the right thing to do, but also because it’s an increasing competitive advantage to be seen as a green company that cares about the environment. Just like a lot of consumers reject pesticides and insist on organically grown food products, more and more consumers insist on buying green, energy-efficient technology from companies that care. It’s good to know that megahits like iPhones and Wii gaming consoles are made by such companies.
What we’re seeing here is really an inevitable, accelerating trend towards smarter, greener and more efficient and conscientious consumption. We all must fight waste and embrace clean, sustainable, renewable energy.
Online gaming is as addictive as heroin
Online gaming is as addictive as heroin
Gaming is big business but it has its downside. People have died from gaming and the world is recognizing that game addiction is serious and spreading fast. Mental health professionals opine that gaming can destroy lives, keep students from focusing on learning, workers from working, and women from their duties. There are instances where gamers have not left home for years.
Games like EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot, and others are popularly referred to as heroinware. And symptoms of addiction according to Computer Addiction Services at McLean Hospital are: obsession with the game; inability to stop; neglect of family and work; lying to hide activity; problems with studies and work; health problems, muscular as well as vision related; neglect of personal hygiene; as well as sleep disturbances.
The games provide social interaction to lonely people, gamers gain acknowledgement as well as power denied elsewhere due to their gaming expertise, and the game weaves a spell on the mind—one gets so absorbed by the virtual realities that it is hard to get away.
The addiction is so real that it requires intensive therapy. Treatment programs include: behavioral therapy, anti-depressants, as well as prescription drugs.
Not all agree that gaming is addictive. MIT’s Games-to-Teach project manager opines that games sharpen critical thinking, improve social skills, and increase empathy. Many others do agree that games inspire imagination, creativity, and team work.
However, the problem is real and countries world over are taking measures. China has set up a clinic in Beijing for net-frazzled addicts to be treated with sports, acupuncture, and medication. The inmates according to the clinic’s director have: depression, nervousness, fear, interaction problems, panic, agitation, shaking and numb hands, as well as sleep disorders. Gaming is a serious problem in Korea — 1-2% of South Korea’s online gamers are addicts. The government is taking steps and requesting game developers to create advisory patches to alert gamers to the impeding dangers.
A hard core gamer is one who is completely absorbed by his online fantasy, he isolates himself from family and friends, lets everyday activities fall by the wayside, spends over 16-20 hours a day playing the game and games at work, at home, and while on the road. Gaming becomes his whole life, a thirst that is never quenched.
Treatment is long and hard and like other addictions the first stage is the most difficult, getting the gamer to acknowledge that he or she has a problem. Addicts find it extremely painful to “kill” the characters of the game and to erase /destroy the software. Most are unable to “keep away” and return to the game addictively. Studies indicate that hard core players are often neurotic, shy, have emotional as well as behavioral issues, and problems in the home environment.
To overcome the addiction, the player must consider and analyze the issues underlying the game—it is the question of power, social standing, respect, and emotions.
Gaming is set to become a global epidemic and needs immediate attention as well as solutions.
Magnavox Odyssey 2: The Game System That Started It All
Magnavox Odyssey 2: The Game System That Started It All
Today, you will see different gaming systems that are integrated with the latest graphics and sound technology. The games that are available in these game systems are even amazingly realistic and can really make you feel that you are part of the game and not just as a person playing it. The realistic and customizable character features in some of these games enables you to feel as if you are part of the game itself.
There are a lot of companies that manufactures gaming console competing in the market today. Some boasts that their gaming console can connect to the internet while other gaming consoles brags that it can have up to four different players playing locally at the same time.
With a wide library of games available today and the different gaming consoles available in the market, it is very hard to imagine that these games have evolved from a very simple and primitive beginning.
Before the Magnavox Odyssey 2 gaming system, the Magnavox Odyssey gaming system was the first to come out. This gaming system was developed by Ralph Baer who worked on the Odyssey gaming system for two years. The Odyssey was first called the Brown Box because it was encased on a wooden box. Baer’s associates showed little interest with idea so he looked for a company that is willing to produce his invention and market it.
The company called Magnavox became interested in Baer’s idea and was willing to reproduce it and market it. The Brown Box is an analog system that runs on transistors and capacitors. Baer’s Brown Box underwent a number of refinements and changes before it was released by Magnavox as Odyssey in the year 1972.
Upon release, the Odyssey was the talk of the town. But because of the high price and inefficient and confusing marketing, people thought it needed a Magnavox TV to run. This confusion hurt sales badly but nevertheless, Magnavox sold almost 100,000 units on its first year.
In the year 1978, Magnavox released the new version of Odyssey called the Odyssey 2. This unit was created to compete with the growing gaming console industry. One of the features that made Magnavox Odyssey 2 stand out is the 48-key keyboard to assist in educational games. Odyssey 2 has features that are considered state-of-the-art during its time.
The Odyssey 2 technical specifications were an 8 bit Intel 8048 (1.79MHz) CPU, a 64B RAM integrated in the CPU, 16 colors and 4 on screen, resolution of 280×192, 4 sprites, 1 channel mono sound system, and a 2K programmable game card. These features were considered the latest technology in its time and Odyssey 2 was considered a success with sales that went up to over a million units.
Odyssey 2 gaming console is also integrated with one button digital joysticks, and a QWERTY layout keyboard for educational games.
Odyssey 2 also has expansion modules for different games. It can be integrated with The Voice where it provides speech synthesis and enhanced sound effects. It also had a Chess Module to run the chess program effectively.
So, when you play with the latest gaming consoles that have great graphics and great sound quality, think of where it all began and imagine what may come in the near future. Because of the fast technological development in the gaming console industry, you may assume that more gaming consoles with the best technology available will eventually pop out in the market in the near future.
Just think about it, in less than 30 years, game console developers and manufacturers have developed simple gaming consoles to highly advanced gaming console with the latest technology in graphics and sound in just a little time.
Today, because of the latest development in computer technology and the internet, Odyssey 2 games are readily available for online play. It is defiantly hard to imagine that all the gaming consoles you see in the market today evolved from a simple gaming console developed by a man called Ralph Baer and a company called Magnavox.
Come to think of it, if you played Odyssey 2 before, you would really want to play the old and simple games again. You can play these old games in a number of websites available. Most of Odyssey 2 games are available for online gaming for free.
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Play With the Best Video Game System and Spend Hours of Great Fun
Play With the Best Video Game System and Spend Hours of Great Fun
Video games are one of the best forms of entertainment today. With it, you can really make your imagination come alive and become an entirely different character that fights monsters from different planets or be a Formula 1 race car driver.
To play these games, you usually go to the mall and play it on the arcade. In the arcade, you will see different games available. Some are even placed on realistic cars or fighter planes that are designed to follow every move you make. For example, if you play in a fighter plane, you will see that the machine will follow the plane’s movements, when you bank your plane right, you will feel the machine that you’re in move right too, if you pull up, you will feel that the machine will also point up.
Some of the arcade games even have a vibration feedback to alert you that you’re being hit by the enemy. There are even two player modes where you can go head to head with your friends in a dog fight or you can do cooperative missions where your friend can be your wingman. There are a lot more arcade games available.
However, you can’t go to the arcade everyday because doing so can be too expensive. Therefore, you should buy your own video gaming console where you can play right in your own home. Although it won’t contain all the realistic machines that you can find in the arcade, you can still have that great graphics and sound quality in the games.
Another great thing about buying your own gaming console is that you can have flexibility in selecting your games. There are a wide variety of games available that is not yet available or impossible to put in arcades.
In order to maximize enjoyment when you buy a video gaming system, you want to get the best. However, you may wonder what makes a good gaming console. With the number of gaming consoles available in the market today, people get confused on which gaming console they should purchase. The competition makes gaming console manufacturers develop the latest graphics and sound technology and integrate them in their systems making all the different kinds of gaming consoles in the market really stand out.
In the past, crude graphics and simple sounds were the ones available in the market. And, it was really popular. Today, quite a few gaming console manufacturers are now manufacturing the latest gaming consoles with integrated features that can even rival the power of your home personal computer.
Sega, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are four of the big names in the gaming console industry. They create the best gaming consoles in the market and really took the world by storm with each new version released. When you play in these consoles, you will know that it can really give quality entertainment for you and your family. When you have the time, you will spend hours on playing an action packed game with amazing realism and sound quality.
To answer the question on what makes a gaming system the best is not just about the sound quality and the graphics technology integrated on the system. Before you buy a gaming console, make sure that the gaming console has a lot of game titles supported. Besides, people would rather choose a gaming console where thousands of different games are available rather than purchasing a gaming console that only supports a few hundred games. You would eventually grow tired or bored of the only few hundred games available in a particular gaming console.
With thousands of gaming titles you can choose from, you can simply buy another game title if you get bored with your other games.
Another thing you should look for in a gaming console today is if it has additional add-on gadgets that you can connect. Some gaming consoles have memory cards that you can buy for you to save your progress in case you want to continue playing later on. Some have different joysticks that you can plug in for a more realistic feel for the game. For example, if you want your racing game feel more realistic, you can purchase a steering wheel with gas and brake pedals and if you want your fighter plane simulator, you can purchase a joystick that looks similar to fighter plane controls.
There are even gaming consoles that are integrated with a modem. This gaming console can give you the capability to connect to the internet and play with other players across the world.
If you choose a video gaming system that has all these features, you purchased the best video game system available. With the continuing development of different gaming consoles, who knows what other features it may bring.
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NES Game Systems: A Great Way to Relive Old Games
NES Game Systems: A Great Way to Relive Old Games
With the different kinds of gaming consoles appearing in the market today that are integrated with the latest graphics and audio technology, you will find it hard to imagine that one of these gaming console originated from a simple and humble beginnings. If you are familiar with the Nintendo GameCube, you have to know that it all originated in a gaming console called Nintendo Entertainment System or NES.
When Nintendo is mentioned, the first thing that comes into a person’s mind is video games. It is a fact that Nintendo has been producing and manufacturing different kinds of gaming consoles since the video game market was still in its infancy.
Unlike the gaming consoles that you see today that were developed by Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is purely in the gaming industry. Sony is known for their hardware and Microsoft on the other hand is known for developing software. Nintendo have been in the business of video games for a long time and still remains as one of the best manufacturers of gaming consoles today.
With the Nintendo Game Cube, you would almost never expect that Nintendo also developed a primitive gaming console that was one of the most popular in the world. Nintendo started out with NES or the Nintendo Entertainment System.
NES is one of the more popular video gaming consoles in its time and is also one of the best selling video gaming console. The games in NES were simple but really entertaining, such as the Mario Bros. and Tetris.
In fact, NES games are so entertaining that many people today who owned NES gaming console are still hooking up their old NES gaming console to their TV and play their old NES games. It is also a fact that the entertaining features of NES games still attracts people from buying the console over the internet or download NES games that they can play in their own computer.
NES gaming console were in fact the best selling console of the company. Even their latest gaming console called the GameCube can’t compete in terms of sales against the NES. Nintendo had an estimated 61.9 million dollars in sales for NES worldwide while GameCube only sold units for only 20.9 million dollars. It may be because of the other competition in the gaming console industry but this proves that NES is one of the best gaming consoles ever developed in the world.
NES also has a wide variety of games. With this feature, many people have been playing NES for a lot of years until the arrival of a more advanced gaming system developed by different companies, such as Sony and Microsoft.
However, the popularity of NES didn’t entirely die. There are still lots of people who like playing NES games with NES gaming console. However, NES games are also readily available in the internet where you can download it for a price.
You have to consider that NES, although has primitive games, develops entertaining games as well. If you have played with a NES before, you know how entertaining their games can be. With a lot of popular game titles, you will surely never run out of games to play with the NES.
So, if you feel like playing NES games again, all you have to do is hook your NES gaming console to your TV, choose the game you want to play and relive the time when you where still young and loved to play different NES games.
With NES, even your kids will enjoy playing with the old games. Even if you have the latest gaming console with different game titles, you will surely want to play with the NES over and over again.
However, if you don’t have a NES gaming console, you can still buy it through the internet. Or, you can download NES games and play it in your home PC. There are different emulators available today that will enable you to play NES games.
Playing with NES games is a great way to entertain yourself and relive the past. If you get tired of the same old games that are available today in the latest gaming console, you can easily step back and play simple and fun games for NES. Hook it up in your TV and start playing with the most popular gaming console ever sold in the market.