CPAley's Tech Blog » Gaming

Review: Xbox LIVE Vision

Colby Aley — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:37:27 +0000

Have you ever wanted to video chat on the Xbox 360? This is where the Xbox LIVE Vision comes in. The XBL Vision works as both a camera for video chatting on the Xbox 360 and also as a webcam. Today I will be reviewing the camera both as a webcam an as a video chatting device for the 360.

360 Video Chat:

This is pretty lame. I don’t know why but for some reason, it’s hard to video chat when nobody has a camera. It might be because I don’t have 3,000 friends on XBL. Does Microsoft need to utilize the camera more in games? If they do, it just might send some people to the store to by the XBL Vision!

Webcam:

The Xbox LIVE Vision is a pretty good webcam. It works seamlessly on Mac OS X and on XP, Vista and 7 with a few drivers. It delivers 30fps video with 1.3 megapixel still photos.

My Rating:
3/5 stars

Do I Recommend This Product?
No.

Nov. 17th Xbox LIVE dashboard update to bring Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm

Colby Aley — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:53:47 +0000

Microsoft yesterday announced that the Xbox LIVE Dashboard update with Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm will be available for download to gamers over 18 years old beginning next Tuesday, November 17th.

To go along with these updates, Microsoft is also saying that they are going to be adding in a “News and More” section to the “Inside Xbox” Channel. the “News and More” section will feature news [and more!] from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert. “News and More” brings the latest in current events, arts and entertainment right to your fingertips.”

To read the article on Microsoft’s website about this, Click Here

What do you think?

Xbox 360 dashboard update

Colby Aley — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:50:54 +0000

When turning on my Xbox 360 I was greeted with a message informing me of a new dashboard update. I downloaded and installed the update thinking that this would be the update with Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm. It turns out that all this update does is support a wireless N network adapter for the Xbox 360 that is ”slated to release later this year”. Here is a picture of a message telling of this update:

[To read more about the Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm update, Click Here]

Nintendo officially lowers the Wii's price

Colby Aley — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:30:35 +0000

Nintendo has officially announced that they are going to be lowering the price of their Wii gaming console to $199.99. The price drop will become effective on Sunday the 27th. I think that this is a nice price drop and now the Wii is going to be competing head-on with the Xbox 360 Arcade, also priced at $199.

What do you think? Do you have a Wii? If not, why?