Category: Gaming
There have been lots of confusions whether Sony playstation 3 is better than Microsoft Xbox 360 or the other way round. Both consoles boast good indy support with games like Braid on XBLA and PixelJunk games on PSN. Both are available with big titles like Street Fighter HD and Mega Man. So, what are the differences between the two consoles?
CPU:
The CPU of Xbox 360 has vector processing power and a dot product instruction. The console also has three general purpose CPU cores and each core has 128 vector registers per hardware thread with a shared 1 MB L2 cache and a dot product instruction. The CPU of Sony Playstation 3 allows an environment where 87.5% work is DSP calculation and 12.5% work is general purpose computing.
GPU:
The GPU of Xbox 360 is more powerful than that of Sony playstation 3. The Xbox 360 GPU has larger number of transistors and the total programmable GFLOPs number is almost equal. In order to add additional floating point options for graphics rendering the PS3 has extra seven DSPs on the Cell. On the other hand the three general purpose cores of Xbox 360 with dot products instructions and custom D3D are tailored for true graphics related calculations.
Multithreading and balanced designs are other features of the Xbox360`s GPU. the automatic shader load balancing, full rate texture fetching in the vertex shader, programmable triangle tesselator, memory export features, programmable vertex fetching are the other features of the Xbox 360 that contribute to the rendering performance of the gadget.
Bandwidth:
For a total system bandwidth of 48 GB/s, the Playstation 3 has 25.6 GB/s of RDRAM bandwidth and 22.4 GB/s of GDDR3 bandwidth. On the other hand, for a 278.4 GB/s total system bandwidth the Xbox 360 has a 256 GB/s of EDRAM bandwidth and 22.4 GB/s of GDDR3 bandwidth. PS3 try to compensate the lack of memory by using Z and color compression.
Multimedia:
When it comes to multimedia, the major advantage of PS3 is that it can stream media and also allow the users to store media on it. In case of Xbox 360 it is like a media extender and does not allow you to save your AVI files on the hard drive. Again, PS3 is, till date, the only Blu-Ray playing video game console. It has high video quality, responsive controls and also it supports all the latest features.
Backwards Compatibility:
In case of backwards compatibility Xbox 360 excels PS3. The PS3 does not support any PS2 library as it does not have PS2 functionality. Alternatively, you can buy a used 20GB or 60GB if you want a backwards compatible PS2. This can be considered as one of the drawbacks of PS3. However, Microsoft has allowed backwards compatibility for Xbox 360 and the online library if the console is adding original XBOX games regularly.
Open Source Operating System:
Playstation3 is the only gaming console that allows the user to install Linux, it does not allow to play games while operating in Linux though. Microsoft is planning to upgrade Xbox 360 and working on a version of Linux that can be installed on the console.
PS3 simplifies the choice for import gamers and is a completely region free gaming console. Xbox 360 has superior graphic power and its GPU allows it to perform at high resolution. With Playstation 3, some of the games require mandatory installation to the hard drive, whereas with Xbox 360, you have the choice of installation.
Both the video game consoles have their own strengths and shortcomings, and both are tremendously successful.
You can have access to articles in portuguese language from the article section of page Jogos
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for Polomercantil
How To Win Lotto: The Most Effective Way To Pick Your Winning Numbers
Mark Collard
When you consider the potential multi-million dollar fortunes on offer, picking your lotto numbers can seem like a complicated and stressful affair. Nothing could be more rewarding than cashing in a one- or two-dollar lottery ticket for a million-dollar jackpot.
You only have to scan the daily tabloids or internet search engine listings to know that everyone and their dog possesses some unique method of busting the odds or predicting the winning numbers of any lottery in the world.
In spite of the enormous odds, and regardless of the type of prize you are seeking to win, you can always depend on three universal principles* or laws every time you play lotto anywhere, anytime. The most important of the three ‘laws’ is this…
Lottery Numbers Are Totally Random
Lotto is a game of chance based on a random selection of numbers. It is not possible to consistently and reliably predict a random event. Full stop. End of story. Grasp this concept, and you are well on your way to lotto success.
Consequently, do not concern yourself with coupon patterns, hot numbers, frequency statistics or other implausible good luck charms. Although interesting, these systems have absolutely no bearing on your ability to predict the winning numbers, nor your chances of winning a prize. A random selection of numbers can not, by definition, form a pattern.
I am yet to see any computer system or software package that can reliably and consistently predict the winning numbers of any lottery in the world. It just cant be done, nor will it ever be possible. To this end, any product that claims to analyze patterns in actual lottery results or help you predict the winning numbers of your favorite lottery is a scam. If you just heard yourself say “No theyre not,” dont bother reading on youre fooling yourself, and I dont want to waste your time any further.
By all means, go ahead and have fun using these products to choose your weekly numbers. Just never bet your house on them.
So, what IS the most effective way to pick your winning numbers?
The answer is simple. Anyway you choose.
Your choice of selections has absolutely no bearing on the numbers which will be drawn this week, or any week for that matter. To suggest otherwise is to appear gullible and stupid.
If you want to know, I always choose my numbers randomly (it’s a function of the winlottosystems wheeling software I use) because it’s easy, and I don’t have to think.
Never Change Your Numbers?
This advice is dispensed about as frequently as a new system for picking this week’s lucky numbers is announced.
But seriously, should you change your numbers, or stick with the same numbers all the time (in case they are drawn)? It’s a good question, and one that vexes more lotto players than they care to admit.
You can play match 3 puzzle games on the internet free of charge. On the website, you will find many free match 3 games, puzzles and difference games. These can be played free, right then or whenever you want to. According to your interest and skills, you can choose the game and start playing instantly. It is a fun way to sharpen your puzzle solving skills and at the same time enjoy the free entertainment.
All Games Are Free Limitless Fun
On the internet, you will find many game sites and puzzles sites, but many of them require you to become a member before you can start playing. This membership can be yours only after paying a one-time fee or a monthly fee. Often, this deters the visitor from playing causing them to leave the website disappointed. But, the Match 3 Puzzle games site offers games free to everyone.
Even children can logon to the site and start playing the games, as there is no need to pay any kind of fee and all the games are family friendly. Some of the popular games are Snow Queen, My Shapes, 4 Dragons, Jungle Magic and Shining Mine, which have been there for quite some time and are being enjoyed by visitors. Some new free match 3 games include Blockes, Hop and Pop, I See Things, Candy Faces, Cube Logic, Find that Animal, Tootem and many more. The site is often updated, adding new games regularly. You and your family can have hours of fun with these simple games.
Puzzle Games and Brain games
A separate section of Match 3 puzzle games has puzzle games such as Milo Physics, Flying Candy, Rainbow Stars, Magic Towers Solitaire and many more puzzle games in the popular category. These games help in developing a brain that is quick at thinking of solutions and solving day-to-day problems. On the website, you will also find some exciting brain training games.
The brain training games tackle different characteristics of the brain by stimulating different parts of the brain. These free online games provide exercises for the areas of brain such as memory, intelligence, language, speed, focus. Research has shown that computer games specially designed to enhance different sections of the brain actually help in increasing brainpower, memory, identification, computation and analyzing skills, in a stress free environment.
Inside the match 3 site, you will also find a section of Difference games. Some popular games in this category are Alice, Goldilocks, Robin Hood, Mister Rain, Turbo Spot and many more. The latest games added in this category are Tribes, The Ocean Fantasy, Wild Safari and there are always more being added. Since all these games are free and available online, one can play for any number of hours and try any number of games during a visit to the site.
Playing the online games at the Match 3 puzzle games site is a fun experience and is a fantastic way to stimulate the mind. It is an interesting way to build bonds with family, children and friends. All this provides hours of fun at no cost, helping to sharpen the brain, improving memory and hand-eye coordination. It increases imagination and encourages quick thinking when problem solving.
In the world of gaming, there always seems to be this difficult relationship with the casino and its regulator. This is true for both private casinos and those that are Native American owned. Casinos need to hire reliable individuals (ideally those who have passed employee background checks) to keep their business generating revenue, and the gaming commission’s job is to make sure those people are legally licensed to work in their respective facilities. Sometimes, the casinos refer in jest to the gaming commission as “cops,” and the gaming commission can refer to the casino as “cowboys.” Aside from that friendly banter though, this is truly a symbiotic relationship. Both parties need each other, and the fact remains that if the gaming commissions overregulated the casinos, the gaming commissions wouldn’t be around themselves.
The Importance of Employee Background Checks & Monitoring
I had a chance to talk with casino employees and casino managers about how the gaming licensing process affects their lives. I also spoke with gaming commissions on how they view their role with respect to regulating. My firm works with a great deal of casino clients that span private industry operators to Native American owned enterprises. One of the major issues that kept coming up was the problem of casino employees not reporting to the gaming commission when they get arrested. This seems to be a recurring problem, but there are many different angles to the issue.
The first perspective that I encountered was from the applicant. Those that I talked to mentioned they knew they should report an arrest but it wasn’t very clear to them what a disqualifying offense was or not. The reality of the situation is that most of these offenses are not ones that would have their gaming license taken away, but the applicant doesn’t know that so they simply don’t report it, and then run the risk of having it exposed by the gaming commission. And if the gaming commission does an audit and finds an arrest record, that licensee can be terminated. If the applicant came clean and explained the circumstances and situation surrounding the event, he or she could have remained employed.
Another perspective is from the casino. Most casinos run employee background checks on any applicant that they hire, and then, in turn, the gaming commissions will typically also do a thorough investigation that involves an FBI database search. Then, a license is issued if the applicant passes all of the employee background checks. After this is done, casinos will employ the individual and put him or her through extensive training and on-boarding. According to an article published by Robinson and Associates, casino employees are considered to be very valuable asset because they fall under what is called a complex position. A great deal of time, effort, and resources goes into training and nurturing them. When a casino has to replace an employee, this could cost them over $10,000 (or over $12,000 if they work in an upscale property). What if the gaming commission runs an audit by performing its own employee background checks, finds an employee that recently got arrested (which went unreported), and terminates that employee?
In a time when gambling revenue is down, casinos are watching their bottom line very closely. In many of my discussions, executives have mentioned that if there was some way to have their employees electronically monitored and have the right process to provide the documentation of the arrest occurrence delivered to the gaming commission, it would be a huge help. Casino turnover is already high enough, and if the gaming commission came in and terminated a licensee, that would cost the casino even more money than normal turnover because that employee would have to be removed from the property immediately.
Instituting a System that Monitors Employee Background Checks
The last perspective on performing routine employee background checks is from the gaming commission side, whose responsibility is to keep those casinos in compliance with laws and policies from their respective governments. They are held to those standards and are expected to enforce them. However, every gaming commissioner that I talked to reiterated that the job is not to try and harm the casino’s profitability, but to make sure they are kept in compliance and assist them with remaining in compliance. I mentioned the idea of having a system that would instantly alert the employer and then provide a system for the applicant to report his or her arrest to the gaming commission. Although they cannot “officially” comment on any particular service, they did mention that it sounded like an excellent idea. Most commissioners say they consider themselves partners for the casinos and operate as such.
In closing, managing the dynamics of the casino, the gaming commission, and the employee can be challenging, but all parties working together can bring about a consistent solution. I have had the good fortune of being able to work with all parties on solutions for their relationship and get to hear about great ideas all the time. A system for instantly delivering arrest results and setting up a process for self-reporting sounds like a win-win-win. But this is just one of many different ways to approach managing all those involved on the different issues that they intersect on, including employee background checks. Great things come about by working together…and not in conflict.
About the Author
Devon Wijesinghe, Chief Strategy Officer of workforce solutions and risk assessment process provider e-VERIFILE.COM, is responsible for formulating and facilitating execution of long-term strategies that position the company as a leader in its field. Devon is also the youngest member ever inducted into the Atlanta CEO Council and the Atlanta Technology Angels. He sits on the Security Risk Management committee for the American Public Transportation Association and is also an active real estate developer in Hilton Head, South Carolina. To learn more about e-VERIFILE.COM, please visit www.everifile.com.
Today’s tech-savvy kids and young adults spend more text messages everyday than there are people on the planet. They grew up tethered to multiple electronic devices while juggling text messages, surfing the Net and listening to iPods – all while doing their homework. They mix learning, communicating and playing.
By age 21 years of age, it is estimated that the average child will have:
– Spent 10,000 hours playing video games
– Sent 200,000 emails
– Spent 20,000 hours watching TV
– Spent 10,000 hours on their cell phone
– Spent under 5,000 hours reading
As more and more adults worry that children are wasting time online, texting, or playing video games, social network and video sharing sites, online games, and gadgets such as iPods and mobile phones are becoming more mainstream fixtures of youth culture. Is our next generation of workers frittering their lives away – or is it just possible that resistant parents and employers are the ones becoming more out of touch with reality. New research just released by the MacArthur foundation might serve as a wake-up call…or at least force adults to pause before they pull the plug on their kids.
According to findings published in the study Living and Learning with New Media, this digital world is not sending our youth back to the age of caves and dinosaurs but creating new opportunities for youth to grapple with social norms, explore interests, develop technical skills, and experiment with new forms of self-expression.
Today’s youth are almost always “on,” in constant contact with their friends through private communications like MySpace and Facebook. But contrary to popular opinion that complete strangers are stalking and dominating these relationships, most youth are almost always associating with people they already know in their offline lives. The majority of youth use new media to “hang out” and extend existing friendships in these new ways just like generations before did with pen pals and tree houses.
A smaller number of youth do use the online world to explore interests and find information that goes beyond what they have access to at school or in their community. They form online groups, driven by common interests, to network with peers outside the boundaries of their local community. They can also find opportunities to publicize and distribute their work to online audiences, and to gain new forms of visibility and reputation. By exploring new interests, tinkering and “messing around” with new forms of media, they acquire various forms of technical and media literacy.
And to a lesser degree, some youth “geek out.” They dive into a topic or talent. But contrary to popular images, geeking out is highly social and engaged. Geeks tend to be highly specialized and seek the knowledge of both teens and adults from around the country or world. But in the digital world, experts aren’t automatically recognized by age. In many respects, geeking out erases the traditional markers of status and authority. In the digital world, expertise is what demands respect and they are more motivated to learn from their peers than from adults.
Again contrary to adult perceptions, youth who are hanging out online are picking up basic social and technical skills they need to participate in contemporary society. New media forms are altering how youth socialize and learn and if adults don’t choose to keep up with today’s new media, it is very likely that they will be the ones left disconnected and out of tune with reality.
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