Monthly Archives: November 2008

Netflix on Xbox 360. Thoughts and impressions.

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Oh yes. The time has come. Netflix has arrived to the almighty Xbox.

Now, previous to this Netflix/Xbox marriage, I already thought Xbox Live was solid. I’ve had a Xbox Live Gold membership for a few years. While it is true that in the recent years I haven’t logged as many hours as I used to (aka while I was in college), I still believe Xbox Live is a great service.

With this new addition of Netflix and the redesign of the Xbox Live Dashboard, I really think Microsoft and the Xbox Live team have really taken this product to the next level.

A few quick observations from my initial (and short) hands on experience with the new Xbox Live:

  • New Avatars are kinda ripped off from the Nintendo Wii Characters (sorry)
  • NetFlix movies start up super fast and I have a mediocre DSL connection
  • NetFlix movies are of acceptable quality
  • I would like to see the ability to browse Netflix movies right from the Xbox. Currently you have to use your Mac or PC to login to the Netflix website and make your selections there.
  • New Dashboard layout will take some time to get used to. Things which were 1 click away seem to be a little more hidden now. (IE where do I turn on/off automatic Arcade downloads? Can’t find it!!)
  • Will we see more games that make better use of the new avatars? Perhaps some MMORPGs?
  • Saving original game disc data to the console for faster loading time is cool but I haven’t tried since the games are HUGE and my hard drive isn’t that big. Also, how long will it be before someone hacks this new feature? How long before that will it take Microsoft to patch it.
  • Movie list looks a bit short and outdated, hopefully they work out those deals so I can watch newer movies.

I’m sure there are still some new features I have yet to discover and as I do … I’ll be sure to share. Hope you are also enjoying the new Xbox Live!

Books Books Books!

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Holy Cow. This has been the year of the book. I think I read more books this year than in my entire college career. There is something about reading for pleasure that makes it so much more enjoyable.

I must admit. I love the feel and smell of books. There’s nothing like turning the crisp pages on a brand new book. I also love book covers and I’m totally guilty of judging books by their covers. Oh well!

Here is a pretty cool site that lets you browse books by their covers:
http://bigbooksearch.com/

Goodbye Facebook Pt.2

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This is just a super short update letting you know that in the course of 24 hours since I’ve deleted my facebook account, I’ve typed “www.face……” at least ten times in the address bar. For absolutely no apparent reason, I will randomly open a new blank Safari window and start navigating to facebook. Talk about human conditioning. Hopefully in the next day or so I’ll stop doing that and start finding new websites I’ve never seen before. Stay tuned for any good finds.

Goodbye Facebook.

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Today, November 11th, 2008, I have decided to delete my facebook account. Yes it is true. I honestly can not remember the last time I learned something useful or connected with someone that I REALLY wanted to on facebook. Having a roster of “friends” I didn’t talk to in high school or college, doesn’t really help me. The very few friends I communicate with, will call me on my cell phone or visit me in person if they really are a friend. The social networking sites of today have literally stripped young people of their social skills. It has also created an ego-driven feedback loop where people strive to have more “friends” and appear cooler than their peers. It has also given birth to a new addiction that in its strive to bring people together, drives them further apart.

There are many arguments about the benefits of social networking sites. For example, if you live far away from the people you “know” you may justify the use of Facebook to keep in touch. The only problem with that is. Well … are you really keeping in touch? If anything you are further away or removed from that person than you could ever be. The person you think you are keeping up to date with may even have you as the furthest thought buried in the back of their minds. In essence, you create an imaginary world where you feel as if people REALLY want to be associated with you. 

According to a book I read a few months ago, Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders, you need to go above and beyond the simple act of “friending” someone on a social networking site if this is your means of “networking”. You really need to connect with that person on a deeper level. Otherwise, you are just adding noise and distractions to your true networking potential. Your REAL-LIFE networking potential.

Wake up. Interact with the people around you. The next wave of Social Networking (Web 3.0-Non Internet Edition) will come about when the social networking of today is so overrun with advertisements that you can’t even read profiles anymore. It will come about when you feel the need to buy products you otherwise wouldn’t think twice about. It will come about when your personal information is captured by indexing software and used for highly sophisticated and precise background checks. It will come about when the feeling of isolation and loneliness is so powerful in our society that we are forced to actually make eye contact with one another.

Here is a collection of interesting Facebook videos:


 

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Related Article and Discussion found on Tech Crunch, here.
FB image taken from here

A New Earth. A Good book.

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Yesterday evening, I finished reading Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” and all I can say is- Wow. I normally do not read any of these “self-help” or “spirituality” books, but it was quite enlightening. I highly suggest picking up this gem.