Should You Upgrade to an XBox 360

Should You Upgrade to an XBox 360

The XBox 360 is going to be one of the most sought after gifts of this upcoming holiday season. However many people want to know is it worth upgrading now, or should you wait, here are some factors you may want to consider.

The base price for and XBox 360 is $300, the most common accessories are the 20GB hard drive ($100), wireless controllers ($50) and headsets ($20). Many vendors are offering packages with a variety of options with prices of $500 or more. While some of these options depend on your gaming style and preferences the hard drive is the one option we recommend you get right away. The hard drive allows you to save games to play back later and install updates that make many older games compatible on the new platform.

One of the advantages the XBox 360 will have over other game systems is graphics. The graphics of other gaming systems are top notch but on newer games like Project Gotham Racing 3, NFL 06 and Call of Duty 2 which were written for this platform, there simply is no comparison. When you compare the specifications the XBox 360 to any of its competitors, it’s anywhere from 2 to 10 times more powerful. If you are lucky enough to own and HDTV you will really notice the difference, although it will work on standard TV’s as well.

With this console Microsoft is also making a concerted effort to make the Xbox part of your media center. It can connect to any other windows networked computer in your house. It can be used to play movies, slideshows of pictures, and MP3 files. If you own and IPod or digital camera you can also connect them directly to the USB port located on the front game console.

Lastly you’ll want to think about Xbox Live. This is a paid online membership that allows you to get free trials of new games and play in head to head action against other players over your high speed internet connection. You also have access to updates and patches as they become available.

For hard core gamers there is no choice, they will do practically anything to get their hands on the newest and latest systems available. For others it may be worth waiting until 2006 when Playstation 3 is released to see how platforms compare. 

Ringtones: What's the Point?

Ringtones: What's the Point?

A quick Google search will produce countless articles trying to understand the popularity of 'ringtones'; hundreds of bloggers waxing lyrical on the benefits of personalising their cell phones. Interviews with “experts” profering sexy theories about ringtones and identity construction lend an academic seriousness to the Crazy Frog phenomena. The figures are pretty serious too, in the U.S.A. alone, the Yankee Group predicts, ringtones will be worth $500 million. That’s roughly the GDP of Fiji.
Obviously our cell phones needs a voice, but does that voice need to be a polyphonic adaptation of 'Living on a Prayer'?

The latest figures indicate that young people are the greatest consumers of mobile music. According to one UK survey, 15-24 year olds account for 80% of ringtone spending. Studies by Nick Anderson of Sussex University show that young people are far more aware of the "brand personalty" (the particular identity affiliated with certain brands) than older generations. Anderson suggests that teenagers can deduce a person's character, likes and dislikes, by their branded possessions. Considering the amount of branding in the music industry, it's not unreasonable to say that popular musicians have their own “brand personality”. So, your 50 Cent ringtone, for example, communicates not only a your taste in music, but also your compliance to the whole ‘Fiddy’ meme. Ultimately, for brand savvy youth, this says something about your personality, which, you hope, everybody within earshot understands.
If a cell phone rings in the woods but nobody is around to hear it, are you still down with 50 Cent? Ringtones are about personalization, and about public performance. The publicness of the ringtone is an integral part of its appeal. It's unlikely that anyone would have a ringtone on their landline. In a noisy urban soundscape like the city, silence is an anomaly. Personalised ringtones are simply another irritating sound in the hullabaloo. Most of us manage tune out the sounds imposed on us: muzak, hawkers, traffic, the O'Reily factor, so why try and impose yet another squawk? Perhaps the ringtone is the audio equivalent of territorial pissing; thirty seconds in which YOU pick the soundtrack. For a few moments when your cell phone rings the 50 Cent meme is the most powerful in the sonic environment. Where “Fiddy” is relatively redundant as a social force, certain ringtones allow citizens to demonstrate their dissatisfaction or support of a cause. Independent radio station WFMU have created a variety of anti- George W. Bush ringtones available for download, while engadget.com allows users to choose their preferred presidential candidate ringtone. Condemning other commuters to several cycles of 50 Cent, the theme from 'Star Wars' or a Dubya quote demonstrates your individual tastes and allows others distinguish you as either nemesis or brethren.

In our efforts to relieve poverty, impede environmental disaster or cure the global AIDs epidemic, ringtones are totally and utterly useless. When it comes to enforcing the myth that every individual is special, the artificial uniqueness of a personalized ringtone is just the ticket. Paradoxically, this demonstration of individualism is only really effective in a crowd. As far as this writer's concerned the real purpose of ringtones lies in their ridiculousness. A recent gathering of sensible adults turned to hilarity thanks to an improvised game of "Name that tune". Using Foovely's ringtone preview function, those gathered took turns choosing snippets of songs for the party to guess. Recognising a song in 30 seconds is SO much harder in monophone! 

How to Tap Your Own Phone Line

How to Tap Your Own Phone Line

It may seem kind of strange that you would want to know how to tap your own phone line. After all, aren’t phone taps meant to be used on other people? However, there is a definite advantage to having a tap on your own line, as long as you are the one doing the tapping. The best thing you can do, especially if you are fielding some pretty important or incriminating phone calls, is to record them. You can use them for bargaining, or you can use them as evidence that someone is behaving inappropriately.
It is not too hard to learn how to tap your own phone line using simple and relatively inexpensive items that can be picked up from your local electronics store. You will need one Ferrite split core assembly, 75 feet of 28 AWG magnetic coil wire (enameled), one 1/8th inch mini-lug cable (should have tinned ends), and make sure have heat shrink tubing, tie wraps, and electrical tape.
One you have all of these items, it is time to begin learning how to tap your own phone line. Open the core assembly and wind the coil around the end that does not open. There should be roughly 100 turns of coil. You should leave a six inch tail sticking out before you start winding, and then at the end, create a second six inch tail when you clip the wire.
Use fine grit sand paper on the last half inch of the coil wire to remove the enamel. You have to be careful not to break the wire. Slip the tubing over each end of the wire for insulation purposes. Then, solder the ends of the mini phone plug to the coil wire. Use tie wraps to secure the cable to the tap, and insulate solder joints with electrical tape. Slip one (and one only) of the phone conductor circuit through the split core. You can then attach the core to a tape recorder to record all conversations that you wish.
This is a very simple way that you can create your own effective phone tap quickly and inexpensively. Additionally, you have the peace of mind that comes with being able to record conversations because you know how to tap your own phone line. 

Why You Need Covert Listening Devices

Why You Need Covert Listening Devices

Covert listening devices are those items that are hidden and meant to listen in on others’ conversations. These devices are often very small and hidden, or they may be disguised to look like ordinary household items. There are a variety of covert listening devices, and they are essential to the success of any surveillance operation or surveillance business.
Convert listening devices can add context where some cameras do not offer adequate information. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine what a visual actually means without the accompanying audio. This makes the incorporation of listening devices very important in any surveillance mission. While the visual may serve to identify, you may miss crucial spoken information without listening devices.
In addition to adding to the visual, covert listening devices have other uses. In some cases it is impossible to get a camera in place. At such times a listening device can be very helpful. These devices ensure that there is some information gleaned and that the surveillance mission is not a complete wash. Audio can provide valuable clues, especially when listening is the only option.
Whether or not you are a surveillance professional, or just a private person, covert listening devices can be very helpful. For the professional, listening devices present a picture of someone who knows what he or she is doing. You look more reputable, and the information is more likely to be helpful, if you use bugs to get information. If you are a private person, there are many uses for covert listening devices. You can use them to record conversations you have with others that may need to be referred to, you can use them listen in on what your children are doing, and you can even use them to check your partner for infidelity.
There are many different covert listening devices, ranging in price from under $50 to costing more than $5,000, depending upon your needs. Additionally, you can get them to look like nearly anything, from buttons and pens to cell phones and alarm clocks. But not matter you buy, or how you use them, it is possible to keep on top of things by making use of covert listening devices. 

Nokialand

Nokialand

I guess you haven´t heard of NokiaLand before? The naming NokiaLand has to do with the worlds big-gest handset manufacturer Nokia and Finland, the country it comes from.
Nokia
Nokia has not always been a world leader in cell phones, digital technologies, telecommunications networks, wireless data solutions and high tech gadgets like the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. Some 100 years ago the company was manufacturing paper, toilet paper, galoshes, tires and raincoats.
Finland
Thanks to Nokia Finland has become one of the fastest-growing and most prosperous economies in Europe. And Nokia phones have a dominant market position on its home market. This is why Finland is sometimes referred to as NokiaLand.
In the 1980s Finland was best known for its paper and pulp industries and long dark winters. At the same time Nokia made the decision to shift its company focus from timber, tires, and rubber boots to mobile phones. Good move - today the company sells more phones than any other company in the world.
The Nokia success story had an enormous impact on the finnish economy. Nokia increased the finnish GDP by more than 1.5 percent in 1999 alone. In 2004 Nokia's share of the Finnish GDP was 3.5 percent and accounted for almost a quarter of Finnish exports in 2003. Last year more than 20 000 people were employed by Nokia in Finland which is roughly 2 percent of the people in the Finnish business sector. Also several tiny companies such as Perlos have grown into large ones as Nokia subcontractors.
As Nokia´s profits grew, the Nokia share price increased and this also created a large number of new very rich households in NokiaLand – thanks to Nokia.
The President
Believe it or not there was a secret plan some 5 years ago in NokiaLand to put Jorma Ollila, CEO of Nokia as president of Finland. This did not work out, but if it had we surely would have had our NokiaLand. The story was revealed when Sauli Niinistö published his memoirs this summer. He writes that he had asked Jorma Ollila, the chief executive of Nokia, to run for president in the 2000 presidential election. According to Mr Niinistö, Mr Ollila pondered over the matter when Niinistö made him the offer in the spring of 1999. As we all know Mr Ollila didn´t go for it!