Hands0n
21st January 2007, 11:36 PM
Absolutely nothing at all to do with 3G in particular or even mobiles in general, although a rather tenuous link with WiFi can be claimed :D
In other threads I have voiced my high appreciation for things Apple (iTunes, iPod and Mac Mini) where these have been a doddle to install and get running. As directly compared to the 'umble Personal Computer running Billy-boy's general purpose Operating System called Windows XP (and all of its predecessors). Arduous is the politest word one can bring forth to describe getting MS Windows up and running well. What has this to do with the XBox 360? Bear with me :)
After much soul searching, and wondering how the hell I am going to explain this one away to the Mrs I dragged the little'un off to Bluewater today for a timely visit to Game (upper level at the M&S end). He had £30 to spend and I had nothing except a pair of well stacked credit cards - folly in the extreme!
Four times I resisted while junior was choosing his selection of games for the Pee Cee. We wandered past the rather sad-looking WII stand, no stock, no prospect of stock, no chance...... And we had promised him one for Christmas, as did almost every single other parent in the UK.
Finally I cracked and within 10 minutes we were walking out with a new XBox 360 bundle, plus an additional wireless controller, WiFi adapter (gawd how expensive was that!!!) and some other bits and pieces.
Unpacking was a trial itself - it is very well packed and wrapped. Everything was there, and in good physical condition. So far so good.
Having bought an HD LCD TV during 3Q/2006 I decided to use the component HD inputs to get the best out of the XBox - I really have not paid any attention to HD to date and so did not really know what to expect. I must say that it is extraodinarily good in comparison to the regular SCART-connected stuff, noticeably so!
Starting up the XBox 360 gets you into the initial setup menus where it wants to know the ins and outs of a ducks botty! Name, address, phone number, email address, inside leg measurement - all are required information. But once given the machine bursts into life allowing some exploration to begin.
Attaching the Bluetooth wireless hand controllers is a doddle - just read the instructions, press two buttons in the correct order and you're done.
Getting the WiFi up and running was initially confusing - it found a pair of networks from outside my house, but not the WiFi kit upstairs! But several moments later when searching again the home WiFi router and repeater were found. Setting up the WPA was very straightforward, and guided. Once done, the box goes through a check of the entire network all the way up to XBox Live.
Establishing an account on XBox Live got me a free month of use. Also in the bundle is a voucher for another month's use, plus one of the games (I forget which) had a voucher for 48 hours also. You will need an MSN, Hotmail or Windows Live ID to register with XBox Live. It is best to prepare one before you register, to save hassle.
It has been fun playing my new XBox 360 games in HD - the clarity is superb compared to the normal resolution I have viewed on a friend's setup on is conventional TV. And I must say that Microsoft done good with the XBox 360 in terms of ease of installation - very Mac-like in that respect :D
Now the competition is on - do I use the XBox 360 to stream Video and Audio from my PC or ..... do I go for an Apple iTV when it hits these shores?
Decisions, decisions .....
In other threads I have voiced my high appreciation for things Apple (iTunes, iPod and Mac Mini) where these have been a doddle to install and get running. As directly compared to the 'umble Personal Computer running Billy-boy's general purpose Operating System called Windows XP (and all of its predecessors). Arduous is the politest word one can bring forth to describe getting MS Windows up and running well. What has this to do with the XBox 360? Bear with me :)
After much soul searching, and wondering how the hell I am going to explain this one away to the Mrs I dragged the little'un off to Bluewater today for a timely visit to Game (upper level at the M&S end). He had £30 to spend and I had nothing except a pair of well stacked credit cards - folly in the extreme!
Four times I resisted while junior was choosing his selection of games for the Pee Cee. We wandered past the rather sad-looking WII stand, no stock, no prospect of stock, no chance...... And we had promised him one for Christmas, as did almost every single other parent in the UK.
Finally I cracked and within 10 minutes we were walking out with a new XBox 360 bundle, plus an additional wireless controller, WiFi adapter (gawd how expensive was that!!!) and some other bits and pieces.
Unpacking was a trial itself - it is very well packed and wrapped. Everything was there, and in good physical condition. So far so good.
Having bought an HD LCD TV during 3Q/2006 I decided to use the component HD inputs to get the best out of the XBox - I really have not paid any attention to HD to date and so did not really know what to expect. I must say that it is extraodinarily good in comparison to the regular SCART-connected stuff, noticeably so!
Starting up the XBox 360 gets you into the initial setup menus where it wants to know the ins and outs of a ducks botty! Name, address, phone number, email address, inside leg measurement - all are required information. But once given the machine bursts into life allowing some exploration to begin.
Attaching the Bluetooth wireless hand controllers is a doddle - just read the instructions, press two buttons in the correct order and you're done.
Getting the WiFi up and running was initially confusing - it found a pair of networks from outside my house, but not the WiFi kit upstairs! But several moments later when searching again the home WiFi router and repeater were found. Setting up the WPA was very straightforward, and guided. Once done, the box goes through a check of the entire network all the way up to XBox Live.
Establishing an account on XBox Live got me a free month of use. Also in the bundle is a voucher for another month's use, plus one of the games (I forget which) had a voucher for 48 hours also. You will need an MSN, Hotmail or Windows Live ID to register with XBox Live. It is best to prepare one before you register, to save hassle.
It has been fun playing my new XBox 360 games in HD - the clarity is superb compared to the normal resolution I have viewed on a friend's setup on is conventional TV. And I must say that Microsoft done good with the XBox 360 in terms of ease of installation - very Mac-like in that respect :D
Now the competition is on - do I use the XBox 360 to stream Video and Audio from my PC or ..... do I go for an Apple iTV when it hits these shores?
Decisions, decisions .....