Final Blog Post

Overall I had a lot of fun with this project. It allowed me to look in depth with a new technology and certain video game consoles. It made me think of how it could turn into an entrepreneurial business. Virtual Reality is not widely used anymore, but things like the Kinect of the xbox 360 is starting to become more interactive with the users. I am very interested to see where consoles and technology develops in the future. We are become more and more advanced everyday. Many people take technology for granted like the amazing smart phones we have today, compared to the old and huge phones during the 80’s. The things technology are capable of today is absolutely amazing. Reading a Microsoft professional blogger was very interesting because it provided the reader with up to date information about the new technological innovations available and the ones being developed.

My three comments and where I posted them are below:

http://seancheatham195.blogspot.com/2011/09/week-1.html?showComment=1320118448771#c7054247281428763789

http://cine-mate.blogspot.com/2011/10/color-purple.html?showComment=1320119084307#c2972985960632158178

http://hangerbaynetwork.tumblr.com/post/11010312065/qr-codes

(Took a picture) Submitted on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 11:53

Week 7: Professional Blogger

            This blog is supposed to be about a professional blogger and I chose a Microsoft Blog about technology. It can be found at: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/. This blog discus’s multiple topics such as new technological innovations that Microsoft has released or summarizing certain exhibitions of their products and how it went. Overall, quite an interesting blog, especially if you are interested in technology and the many great new things that Microsoft has introduced such as the Xbox 360, new phones, etc. The most recent post is about the Xbox 360 Kinect. It discus’s how it is something that has never been done before through its motion sensors. The Kinect sold eight million consoles, which set the Guinness Book World Record for the fastest selling-consumer electronic device. This was such a break though for Microsoft. I am very excited to see the new things they come out with in the near future.

            I enjoyed reading through the posts. I personally am a Microsoft fan, so reading about their new technology was really exciting for me. There is usually a new post everyday to every other day, quickly providing information to the public. On the side there are Tags to what is most popular at the time, according to the size of the lettering, which I thought was interesting. 

Week 6: Operating Systems

            Each video game console has different operating systems, in which it manages the hardware and software differently. The kernel is the main component of the operating system. It is used to manage memory and execute certain processes. It also has to do with how certain information is inputted out outputted according to the device. There are different operating systems such as Windows 7 or Mac OS. They are both used for the same purpose, except their interfaces are different. They are both used to assist the user when making certain commands

            The interfaces on the Xbox 360, PS3 and the Nintendo Wii are all very different. The Wii is based around the movement of the Wii controller or a regular controller connects through wires or wirelessly. The Xbox 360 is based around a controller or the movement of the body with the Kinect. Last, the PS3 is also based around a controller. I believe that they use controllers because it allows for very easy mobility around the interface of the console.

            These consoles need a solid operating system that is able to hold strong and contains few bugs within its processes. But, when a bug is discovered, updates are available to try and cope with these types of problems. 

Week 5: Bits & Bytes

            Bits and Bytes. This does play a role in virtual reality especially within game consoles. Many of these consoles have developed so they are connected to the Internet. This allows them to not only connect with others online through game play or even just discussion, but also to surf the web. It would be quite interesting to see if things such as the Kinect to be able to the surf the web but by using their body to swipe their arm to go back a page or use their finger as the mouse.

            The Wii already has this embedded, in which you can use the remote as the mouse moving it as you would a mouse except in the air. Clicking on things would just be clicking a button on the remote. So, the amount you search the web requires a certain amount of bits and bytes depending on how much bandwidth you are using up.

            Many of these consoles have also tried to embed certain social networks such as Facebook. There are “achievements” you gain when you play video games and each “achievement” has a certain score added to it. If you connect your gamer tag, or online name, to Facebook then every time you do an achievement it lets your friends know what game and what achievement you did. I think that when the xbox 360 designed these achievements, it was such a good idea to get people to buy more games. I personally know a lot of friends who play the Xbox 360 and buy games just to gain achievement points in order for their “gamer score” to go up. It was a very smart move by Microsoft. 

Week 4: Input/Output

            Virtual Reality is revolved around input/output, in which the user inputs a movement into the console and the output is the action within the game. This could range from many motions, including bowling, batting in a baseball game, or even using a sword to fight off an enemy. The possibilities are endless. The input could be the person (using consoles, such as the Xbox 360 Kinect), in which the movements of the person, rather than a controller would be used.

            The outputs of these movements could literally be anything because it is all visualized on a screen. The Wii even came out with a steering wheel that you could use for racing games. You would put the Wii remote inside of it and turn it just like a regular steering wheel in a car. The outputs of the different motions you could do are endless, especially with the Kinect, because there is only so much you can do with a controller, compared to the different motions of a body.

            On a different note, the new Google Wallet is being developed. It uses near field communication technology, in which the user would place the phone on a surface and it would ring up the bill/charge automatically and charge it to the users credit or debit card. This seems like a great idea to minimize carrying around a wallet, but it is only used on one phone, the Nexus S 4G. I would not buy the phone for solely this feature, but if they incorporated it to other phones as well such as the iPhone, Droid, etc, then I feel that more people would purchase and utilize it.

Week 3: Hardware

            Virtual reality hardware is similar to computer hardware, but instead, it tells the software to do different things. Many new game consoles such as the Xbox 360 and the Play Station 3 have USB connectors, allowing for external units to connect in. These things could include a keyboard, wired controllers, and even music players such as the iPod. Doing so, allows for more uses for such a device.

            A certain amount of memory is usually placed into these consoles in order to save data related to the games played or even patches to update the software within games. But, the more memory capacity that is given, the more it is going to cost for the customer. The Xbox 360 has a detachable memory unit, so if one would like to upgrade the capacity of their memory, they could easily just buy a larger hard drive. In addition to this, the hardware inside these consoles usually include a normal DVD and CD player, but certain consoles are starting to use Blue-Ray, such as the Play Station 3. Each console has its strengths and weakness’s. But in the end, they are all used for entertainment purposes.

            But as time goes on, each console is trying to become more advanced and interactive with the users. The Xbox 360 came out with the Kinect, adding a slight twist, in which the body is used, rather than a wired or wireless physical controller. The Wii is centered around the controller that is used through movements in order  to do different things in games. The Play Station 3 developed the “PlayStation Move Motion Controller”, similar to the Wii remote, in which it uses the movements of these controllers to interact with the game. 

Week 2: Privacy, Social Media, and Excel

             Virtual reality is slowly becoming an innovation and something possible within our lifetime. For example, Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law).  Due to this, processing speeds and memory capacities of computers will increase at a very fast rate. This could be utilized in order to make virtual reality a user-friendly device possible and in reasonable time, with these advances in technology.

Already there are many versions of virtual reality, usually involving a television screen. The Microsoft Kinect is considered virtual reality. No controller is required and it takes your body position and movement and integrates it within the game. It is similar to the Wii controller, where it uses the controller’s movements to control certain aspects of the game, as previously stated in my last blog. But, the Kinect is very unique in which it doesn’t require a controller because the software is able to recognize your body movements. There is a large sensor that is supposed to sit in front of you, usually right above or below your TV.  This sensor is able to detect the shapes of certain body parts, such as the arms, legs, chest, etc and uses these cues to create a brand new gaming and interactive environment.

Last week in my IST 195 class we learned about privacy, social media, and Microsoft excel. This is relevant to my entrepreneurship because if I were to place my ideas onto my Facebook page or twitter, these ideas could easily be accessed if not protected correctly.  In today’s society and the easy access of information due to the Internet, people should really learn how to change their privacy settings on their social accounts. In addition to this, one’s Facebook contains a large amount of personal information. If this is not secured correctly, it is set out for anyone to access and see. Protect your information!