What Gaming Console is the Best?

     Most people ask this question when looking to buy a new game console.  While some people will tell you that one system is better than all the others, that is not necessarily true.  The "best" game system is most dependent on the person playing it.  For instance, a Nintendo Wii is more suited for younger generations of gamers mostly, but still is entertaining for older people too; however, the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are more geared for older gamers, especially those over 17 years of age.  Another thing to consider is that the Wii is not high definition like its competitors, the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

     The Wii console is possibly the best multiplayer console available, meaning that it is the most entertaining for a group of people playing at the same time.  Nintendo also knows that the Wii is a party gaming system and has made several "party" games to play on the console.  On top of being the best party system, the Wii is also the most affordable with a price of around $170 compared to the $300 range of both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.
     The Xbox and Playstation systems are mostly alike in the general audience they attract and the performance.  One of the biggest differences between the systems is the type of discs the systems uses.  The Xbox 360 uses traditional DVD discs for its games while the Playstation 3 uses Blu-ray discs.  That means that the Playstation 3 discs have the capability of holding much more data on each disc and therefore theoretically the games could be better quality; however, games that are multi-platform are not designed differently for each system.  The result is that the same game for either the Playstation 3 or the Xbox 360 are essentially the exact same.  Another big difference is the online network for each system.  The Playstation Network is a free service in which users can play games and access online content without any costs, while users have to pay for Xbox Live to gain access to the same online activities.  The difference in that may be the security of the network.  The Playstation Network has recently been hacked and many users' information was stolen, yet I have not heard of any such occurence happening to the Xbox Live network.  Also, the Xbox is completely backwards compatible with original Xbox games while the all models of Playstation 3 are backwards compatible with Playstation 1 games but only a few models are backwards compatible with Playstation 2 models.  The first Playstation 3 models included the hardware/software required for Playstation 2 backward compatibility and was later discontinued because  of the cost of the parts.

     All together if you are looking for the best system to play on, look at what you are going to be using it for and if you will be playing alone or with a group of people more often.  I would recommend the Playstation 3 myself, even though I am an avid Xbox 360 gamer and Wii owner.  The free online network, Blu-ray capability, and high definition video makes it the ideal gaming system.  Not only do I recommend a playstation 3 but the original Playstation 3 60 GB version so that you will also have backwards compatibility with both Playstation 2 and Playstation 1 games.  The PLAYSTATION 3 60GB can be bought used on Amazon for around $300, which is about the same price as a brand new Playstation 3 160 GB system that is not backwards compatible.

     You can also find a Wii on Amazon for around $170 or a
250 GB Xbox 360 on Amazon for around $300.

Want to buy a computer?

     Today, computers seem to be a necessity for every day living.  With everything going electronic, it is very important to have a computer so that you can keep up with the rest of the world.  There are so many options available and so many terms that many people don't understand when buying a computer.  Well, hopefully I can help shed some light on the computer terms that you may not understand.

    The first things you must consider when buying a computer is how much you are willing to spend and what kind of computer (ie. desktop or laptop).  For $500 you can find a decent laptop or desktop PC, but it is not really something that is made to last for very long.  The technology in those computers is usually outdated within a year or two and you will be needing to get a computer that is able to operate with the newer software.  These days, you can buy a desktop for a lower price but you give up the portability that many value from laptops.  The downside to laptops is that they are limited to how many components can be included in them.  Typically, a laptop has much less hard drive capacity and less RAM memory.

    A computer's hard drive and RAM memory play important roles for the computer's purpose.  Most people see a large hard drive capacity and think that means its a faster computer.  While having a decent size hard drive does help, the RAM memory is a bigger factor for speed.  Today, you would need to have at least 4 GB of RAM to be up to date and to stay up to date for some time; although, if possible I would recommend going with at least 8 GB of RAM just to insure that you won't get caught later on needing an upgrade sooner than planned.  The typical size of a hard drive right now is 500 GB for a laptop and 1 TB (or about 1000 GB) for desktops.  You don't necessarily need a huge hard drive for your computer, it all depends on what you are doing with your computer.  If you will be using your computer for lots of video and music storage, then I would recommend having a larger hard drive.  If you plan to use your computer for typical everyday use, then you won't need a huge hard drive space.

     Another thing to consider for speed is the processor or CPU in the computer.  Currently, Intel's i3, i5, and i7 are among the best CPU's available.  When buying a computer I would suggest buying one with an i5 or i7 CPU because they are the top of the line and have a quad-core meaning hey are at least twice as fast as the older dual-core processors.  You can usually tell which processor is better by how many GHz it uses, but that is not always the case.  A dual-core running at 3 GHz does not process as quickly as a quad-core running at 3 GHz, because of the amount of cores that are proceesing the information. 

     Recently, USB 3.0 has been created, which is up to 10 times faster than the very popular USB 2.0 that is used by many flash drives and external hard drives.  Finding a computer that includes the newer USB 3.0 ports may be a wise decision, especially since most are backwards compatible with USB 2.0.

     A few other things that you may want to consider are bluetooth capability and  wireless networking.  With most handheld devices now using bluetooth, having a bluetooth connection with your computer keeps you from having to keep up with more cables and saves time.  You can easily just find your bluetooth device from your computer and add pictures, videos, or whatever else from your device to your computer.  Wireless networking has become very popular in the past few years, and having a wireless computer has become almost a requirement for most people.  While almost every laptop has wireless capability, only some desktops include wireless networking.  With wireless networking you can place your computer wherever you want instead of having to be right next to the modem or router to be connected to the internet.

     Another addition to consider is a blu-ray drive.  With almost everything going to blu-ray, having a computer with a blu-ray drive is becoming very popular.  I would recommend getting a blu-ray burner drive if you get one.  A good way to judge if you should spend the extra money for a blu-ray burner drive is to look at how much you use a cd/dvd burner now.  If you use the cd/dvd burner a lot now, then go ahead and get the blu-ray burner because cd's and dvd's will soon be replaced by blu-ray discs.

    One of the last things to consider is the brand of computer you want to get.  I would recommend Dell for a PC, but some people do not like Dell products.  Other brands to consider are Hewlitt Packard (HP), Toshiba, Sony, Asus, or Lenovo.  All of those brands are make good computers and have people who would recommend them and people who wouldn't.  I would advise against getting an Acer or other brand computer because they are not as good as the other brands but are cheap (and you get what you pay for).

     If I were to buy a new computer, I would probably buy an Apple computer.  Both the Apple MacBook and the Apple iMac are great choices for anyone getting a computer.  The only problems I've heard about Apple products is getting used to the different setup of the operating system and the price of them.  The Apple products are exceptionally remarkable and the price is very fair for what you are getting.  I have played with the new Apple computers and they live up to everything they claim.  Not only are they virtually unhackable (meaning it is near impossible to get viruses) but they are extremely fast and last much longer than a PC.  The boot up time is especially fast compared to a PC, with startup time in just seconds instead of minutes waiting for everything to load.  The laptops are much better than a PC laptop in that they last much longer and the battery life is significantly longer than any PC laptop battery.  I have owned my current Dell laptop for three years now and my 9-cell battery is dead (actually died about a year ago).  A friend who owns a Macbook (six years old) still has a battery life of at least 4 hours. 

      The only downsides to an Apple computer is the lack of blu-ray drives, available in PC's, and the lack of certain connections, also available in PC's.  There are adapters for the Apple computers however that convert to just about any type of connection you need for whatever use you need.  One adapter I would suggest is the HDMI Female Adapter Cable for Apple Macbook, since many new electronics are using the HDMI connection.  As for the blu-ray drive, you can buy an external blu-ray drive if you want. This LG External Blu-Ray Rewriter is a good choice to provide you with read and write capabilities.

     With many different choices available for your computing needs, it is hard to choose what is best for your needs.  Hopefully I have helped in some way to narrow your choices and to help you get the right computer.