Thursday, October 31, 2019

My best, or your worst, team experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My best, or your worst, team experience - Essay Example We were to prepare documentation for business plan, three-year cash flow, and development plan for three, five, and ten years respectively, and lay out a marketing policy for the bank establishment. We divided the tasks equally amongst ourselves and worked hard to accomplish the goals. The command was challenging especially due to time constraints. However, the command experience was made exciting by respect from all members. All team members were respectful, disciplined, and obedient to one another. We made friendship and learned how to solve our differences professionally. Everyone contributed thoughts, ideas, and expertise. As the command leader, I made a great contribution by utilizing my team leadership and problem solving skills. The greatest experience came when we presented and won the command competition. Making the command successful was the most important accomplishment to me. It felt great and I was very happy to have led the command and emerged the winners. The whole command was a learning experience. I learned that collaboration, discipline, obedience, and positive attitude are the keys to a great teamwork

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Influence on Culture Essay Example for Free

Influence on Culture Essay Surely, not all upper middle class professionals in their late twenties or early thirties shared the same values or ideals. The media, however, used to popularize a certain image of the yuppie with features that became stereotypical and reflected, at least in the journalists’ opinion, the dominant trends in this environment. The yuppie was used to describe not only certain demographic characteristics, but also to denote a psychographic profile including â€Å"a set of behavioural and psychographic attributes that have come to constitute a commonly believed stereotype† (Wikipedia). Thus, yuppie values were supposed to be more conservative than even their parents who were often involved in social programs and idealistic movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Yuppies, on the contrary, were people tended to favour stability and devote more attention to their own problems instead of trying to reform the society. Stability for yuppies was embodied in ownership of material things. In their choice of purchases, they supposedly demonstrated a poor taste buying more expensive stuff in order to show off their wealth. Their lifestyle was heavily impacted by career demands. Career was a necessary prerequisite for sustaining a life of comfort, and its requirements acquired a paramount importance. This resulted in a frequent lack of time that took a heavy toll on their families. Family relationships were often jeopardized by the necessity to move to a different place once in a few years under the influence of the career necessity. The strain in their professional lives often resulted in moral and mental exhaustion, aggravated by the high level of competition in high-income jobs that has been labelled a rat race. Climbing a career ladder in a corporate environment requires a specific set of skills and mentality that were fostered by the yuppies with great persistence. Too often this career-making drive affected their relationships with families and friends. Yuppies were also believed to share â€Å"an entire code of unwritten etiquette can govern their activities from golf and tennis to luncheons at trendy cocktail bars† (Wikipedia). Although the yuppie social group was to some extent invented by the media, the existence of the social and political concept of this group had an undeniable influence on the conceptualisation of social realia by the contemporary society. This perception of social reality was bound to exert influence on cultural life and lead to several talented portrayals of the new groups in artistic works. The artists, unlike the media, often focused on the positive characteristics of the yuppie social group. A typical representative of the class â€Å"had high educational achievement, a high income, enjoyed urban life, had a success orientation, and was a hard worker† (Kawasaki 1994). They were able to achieve affluence in one swoop and therefore did not feel pressured to maintain aristocratic attitudes. As a result, the new generation was less obsessed with gender, racial or regional distinctions. There was even the term â€Å"buppie† – black yuppie. The yuppie generation was portrayed in the works by Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis and Jill Eisenstadt, the most prominent writers of the yuppie era. The biggest success of their literature was the 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City by McInerney. The novel also features a character seeking refuge from challenging professional environment in Bolivian marching powder† (cocaine) to offset the continuous stress associated with crazy yuppie lifestyle (Nostalgia Central). Bret Easton’s most remarkable work was Less Than Zero (1985) in which he describes New Lost Generation, and Eisenstadt became famous with From Rockaway (1987). Tom Wolfes The Bonfire of the Vanities also depicted the effect of a decadent lifestyle on yuppie culture. This tender portrayal of the newly emerged social group was offset with indignation over lavish yuppie lifestyles, manifested through Die Yuppie Scum bumper stickers. Influence on Fashions Yuppies left a lasting impact on fashions of the 1980s, naturally affecting most the segment for expensive designer apparel. Their dressing style was supposed to demonstrate â€Å"conspicuous wastage† (Tomas 2001). They wore wide shouldered jackets in the day time, and on the weekends they changed to a Barbour for a country look or a ballgown that manifested their comfortable lifestyle.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Argument Of Free Will And Determinism Philosophy Essay

The Argument Of Free Will And Determinism Philosophy Essay Determinism is when a persons behaviour is considered to be affected by internal or external forces while free will is an individuals ability to make most decisions. If we agree to a deterministic description of psychology then we can precisely foretell human behaviour, which results in psychology being in a similar field of science as physics or chemistry. According to Watson, (1982:2), determinism is the view roughly, that every event and state of affairs is causally necessitated by preceding events and states of affairs. On the other hand according to Gross, (2009:210) free will is, the common sense, lay persons understanding of the term is that the actor could have behaved differently given the same circumstances. This essay will explore the different approaches to free will and determinism from different theorists for example behaviourists, neo-behaviourists and so on. The argument of free will and determinism between psychologists and philosophers has existed for years. People who are determined assume that behaviour is determined by outside and internal forces performing on the human being. One example of an outside force could be parents supporting a kind of behaviour thereby encouraging it. On the other hand an internal force would be driven by hormones. People who believe in free will assume that things are a bit difficult (Eysenck, 1994). They know that there is external and internal factors but they believe that people are free to choose their own behaviour. The free will and determinism debate could be finished up by the query that could a persons behaviour have been different in a certain situation if they willed it?(Eysenck, 1994:65) People who are deterministic would disagree and those who believe in free will would agree. Determinism is supported by more theories in psychology than free will. Behaviourists are highly determinists and they argue that the universe is ruled by certain widespread systematic principles (Eysenck, 1994). They believe an action is initiated by a certain presiding cause, and a persons action is no exception. Behaviourists also believe that accurate judgement of peoples behaviour is likely, if a persons present stimulus circumstance is recognized, and if their habitual past is recognised. Skinner (1971, cited in Gross, 2009) claimed that behaviour is determined by ecological factors and that people usually replicate behaviours that are rewarded. According to Skinner free will is an illusion. Bandura, a neobehaviourist, believed in reciprocal determinism and pointed a weakness in Skinners methodology. If human behaviours are truly determined by the external incentives and retributions, then people would always transform to conform to other people. Bandura specified that behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning (Chance, 2009). Children watch the behaviour of people surrounding them and the people being watched are named models. In society children are influenced by many people or models for example parents, actors on televisions and other models they meet at schools. Children copy these behaviours and then practise these behaviours later on in life. Bandura demonstrated with the bobo doll experiment. He illustrated how there can be hidden learning until a reward or stimulus is used to encourage that behaviour. Young children copied to either strike, or not strike the bobo doll. Only the children that witnessed the model, not g etting positive reinforcement for striking the doll really got involved in that activity. Skinner concentrated mainly on the concept that peoples behaviours are determined by the outside world. When an individuals behaviour is determined by force or punishment it is clear that there is no act of free will. One example of that could be being scared of committing an offence or crime because of the fear of going to prison. Likewise we are also shaped by positive reinforcements, for example being paid a bonus for working overtime (Gross, 2009). However we usually forget about external causes of our behaviour and assume that we are acting freely. When we are determined that we are acting freely this usually implies that we are free from negative reinforcements and this is usually a result of the awards or positive reinforcements we have had in the past. However peoples behaviours also influence their surroundings. Skinner ignored the large number of causes of behaviour. Freud also deeply believed in determinism. According to Freud, people are determined by certain unconscious feelings, outside their consciousness. Minor occurrences like referring to a person with another persons name are a result of fixed causes in the persons motivational system. Freudian slips are involuntary but motivated errors that reveal a persons true desires. According to the Psychodynamic approach internal techniques like defence mechanisms verify the type of behaviours people will have as adults. People are developmentally oriented and will biologically grow in relation to the satisfaction of their natural ability if inner circumstances are positive. However, this differs with Freuds opinion of humans as basically savage beasts, whose hostile drives and volatile sexuality can only be managed by the procedure and arrangement of civilization. Freud was negative towards human nature and saw the instinctive desires of the id as driving people near the self -centred gratificati on of primitive desires. According to the biological approach behaviour is determined by a persons chromosome and inner systems (Eysenck, 1994). When looking at mental disorders this method expresses that the patient is not to blame for their illness. Their biology inclines them to certain situations thereby making it unmanageable unless their biological make up is influenced. This has been supported to an extent, with the understanding that schizophrenia is caused by extreme chemicals in the brain that carries messages. The chaos theory and butterfly effect are an example that show that while psychology is deterministic it is best explained as probabilistic. On the other hand the humanistic approach argues that people have freewill. Carl Rogers argued that people have an inborn desire for positive growth and self-actualisation (Gross, 2009). An individual should be responsible for their behaviour. Rogers suggested client centred therapy where the therapist is known as a facilitator whose job is to help patients exercise free will. Humanistic psychologists argue that the notion that people are controlled by external forces is wrong. However Rogers also looked at the bad side of people and he quoted that, in my experience, every person has the capacity for evil behaviour. I, and others ,have had murderous and cruel impulses, desires to hurt, feelings of anger and rage ,desires to impose our wills on others à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ whether I or anyone, will translate these impulses into behaviour depends, it seems to me ,on two elements : social conditioning and voluntary choiceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I believe that theoretically at least, every evil behavio ur is brought about by varying degrees of these elements (Rogers,1982 cited in Gross,2009:225). A problem for free will is causality. Free will would imply that nothing triggers an action; someone showing only random behaviour would be listed as mentally ill. Free will needs to clarify what triggers actions to occur or else behaviours are predicted to be determined. The ethical argument assumes people have free will. According to this, in order to expect ethical accountability, people must acknowledge the notion of free will. If a persons behaviour is determined by things that they cannot control then the person cannot be accountable for their actions (Hospers, 1997). However, on the other hand, laws require that grown up people do have individual accountability for their actions and so society is indirectly in favour of free will (Teichman Evans, 1999). Soft determinism is an approach that argues that all acts are caused, but only those that are not coerced or constrained are free (Gross, 2009:211). William James supported this approach which is average in relation to the two extreme opinions. According to James effort, or the impression of effort, is the main personal sign that free will has taken place. James also specified that , if our actions have, as their proximate ,immediate cause, processing by a system such as conscious mental life, t hen they count as free ,rational, voluntary, purposive actions (Gross,2009:220). Fromm claims that people are both part of the environment and also unrelated to it. People formed primitive dogmas and religious doctrines to allow them to feel less detached from the world. In Europe until lately the Catholic Church accomplished this position of giving a feeling of security. The church intervened between God and humankind, ensuring deliverance but in the course restricting human liberty (Gross, 2009). I believe we are influenced by our nature which is a combination of what we get from our genes and what we learn from our environment. Sometimes we are forced to make decisions and only get options that are forced upon us by the circumstances we are in. Those circumstances may be a direct result of previous decisions or may largely be decided by luck. Things do not usually turn out the way we really want it. I would agree that people are free to make choices that shape their lives, but, on the contrary people are related to society and consequently ones behaviour can have an effect on others despite the insignificance of the behaviour. I think the notion of cause and effect comes in the picture because there is the notion of right and wrong and the existence of society. For me then, behaviour is significant in both free will and determinism. The way you act is influenced by freedom to make choices in your life, however if put to mind, the decisions are more determined by environment and by current surroundings. (1589) How I have used feedback I have changed the way I used to put my full stops after writing a sentence and I have also worked on using shorter and understandable sentences. I have also sorted the areas where writing was in places, over complex and ungrammatical. I have also put references where they were missing and have also put the word count at the end of my essay.

Friday, October 25, 2019

My Last Duchess :: Robert Browning, My Last Duchess

Robert Browning is the author of "My Last Duchess" and he shows the audience how it is a dramatic monologue. In a class lecture, the professor had mentioned that the poem is set in the 15th century. During that time, it was common for a young woman to be arranged in a marriage. As the poem unfolds, the audience learns the speaker of the poem, Duke Ferrara, is talking to another male character and begins to tell the story of his previous wife. As they are standing in front of the portrait of the Duke's last wife, now dead, the Duke talks about her imperfections. The reader discovers that the ex-wife's "imperfections" were qualities such as generosity, courtesy to those who served her, and an overall respected woman. What follows are examples on the nature and personality of the Duke. Browning lets the reader to believe that the Duke has found flaws of his previous wife because she did not respect his rank and his power. More importantly, the Duke did not approve the behavior of his previous wife and will tolerate it again. As the story begins, the Duke is speaking to the other male character about the portrait of his previous wife. A painter by the name of Fra Pandolf had painted the portrait and it is said that Pandolf's hands may have wandered as well. The following lines can make the audience wonder about the relationship between Pandolf and the Duke's ex-wife. "That piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf's hands / Worked busily a day, and there she stands" (lines 3-4). The Duke is now left to wonder that if his ex-wife and Pandolf may have had a relationship of some sort. In the poem, the Duke does not reveal the painting to any person. He is the only person that is allowed to reveal the portrait from the curtains that cover it. Although he does not show anyone t he portrait, the Duke had revealed the painting to the other character. "The depth and passion of its earnest glance But to myself they turned (since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but I) And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst" (8-11). The audience is learning very early in the poem that the Duke questioned his relationship with the Duchess in the portrait. It is at this moment in the poem that the Duke begins to tell the reasons he did not trust his ex-wife.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The dark comedy Scotland, PA relates the story in an understandable manner

1. The original Macbeth takes place in the 11th century Scotland, while Scotland, PA takes place in the American 1970s. Thousands of historical events and many generations set these two time periods apart. Yet, while the time span seems immense, noting really changed in human nature. People undoubtedly were and remain social creatures who intensively struggle for their rights, and, in extreme circumstances, power. Of course the setting of Medieval Scotland and modern America contrast each other, but what doesn't change is the characters' drive. Both in the play and in the movie, Macbeth wants recognition and rewards for his work, whether it will be a throne or a boss chair. Macbeth and his lady want to emancipate themselves from subjection and be the ones to take control. Thus the issues of social struggles are visible throughout both versions. Another human quality revealed is the abuse of power. In the original Macbeth, the lovers become absolute, despotic rulers of Scotland. They throw feasts, rejoice in their glory, and, unfortunately, often forget about their subjects. Although the film couple does not obtain this much control, its excessive pride does shine through. Pat used to complain about her boss, but once she herself took the position, she didn't change any of the things she disliked not so long ago. She couldn't remember an employee's name, annoyingly calling him ‘Richard,' and wore beautiful clothing, while the employees wore ugly, orange uniforms. Additionally, in both versions, Macbeth falls under pressure. In persuading her husband, Lady Macbeth uses her eloquence to achieve her greedy means, while Bet cunningly employs her charming looks. Macbeth also lets the witches/hippies guide him, albeit he suspects that they aren't the best advisors. It must be admitted that Scotland, PA did lose some of Macbeth's themes by switching the time setting. For instance, there are no battles between Norway and Scotland, no problems with the tyrannical ruler, no loss of followers, and no strong social dissatisfaction. However, the unrest and struggle between the subjects and the state can still be observed, only in the form of the workers versus the Duncan's restaurant. It can even be argued that the narrowing of the population circle serves well, because the struggles of the workers are easier to follow. 2. Macbeth is a noble work of literature that for many centuries was accessible only to the elite or educated people. By adapting the play into a film that contains things familiar to everyone, the creators of the film gain a larger audience. Now, the viewers don't have to relate the events to history or have any background information on the beliefs of the age. Keeping the work up to date also makes it easier for the audience to relate to it, while the themes of revenge, manipulation, guilt, and fate are well preserved. Additionally, for people who are familiar with the actual play the movie is particularly interesting. It is entertaining to parallel the events of the play with those on the screen. On the one hand, some details are cut out or diminished. For instance, instead of the commander's acclaim of Macbeth's performance on the frontline, the viewers see a scene in which Joe throws two troublemakers out of the restaurant. On the other hand, some events are completely new to the plot. For instance, the play avoids the actual killing of Duncan, while the film clearly shows how he gets boiled. If in the play the murder was intentional, in the movie the murder is shown as a result of Macbeth's carelessness. Other events are interwoven strictly with the original plot. For instance, Pat's guilt manifests itself as a burn that cannot heal, and the viewer immediately recalls Lady Macbeth's famous sleepwalking. The alterations in the plot somewhat dilute Shakespeare's tragedy, but yet keep it recogniza ble. Of course the â€Å"descending† of Macbeth to such level is open to criticism. For instance, conformists and lovers of classics would argue against such a rebuilding of Shakespeare's work. They might view the cutting out of important scenes and Shakespearean language and addition of too many kisses and curses as a bad reflection of modern culture. Also, if in the play there are slight hints on Macbeth's intellectual level, in the play he is openly displayed as a dummy. I would also agree that this is a wrong interpretation of his character, that doesn't look in the depth of him inner conflict. From my own standpoint, I would say that it has to be kept in mind how much time passed between the two versions. I would appreciate the way this film finds an inventive approach and risks standing out from the rest of the interpretations. 3. Scotland, PA completely revolutionizes the play by turning it from a tragedy into a comedy, and thus missing some of the play's serious issues. The film is also visibly low budgeted and should probably be viewed as an experiment. Nonetheless, through comical approach the film serves a purpose of social criticism. Morrissette satirically comments on fast-food, small towns, and culture of the 1970s. The viewer recognizes the people, the shops, the cars, and many other aspects of the 70s, but this recognition comes through a new light. By watching the events unfold from a side, the viewer sees how the lack of opportunities in the 70s created the most appropriate atmosphere for greed, lust, and dishonestly to proliferate. Since the film is an overall comment on human greed and desire for leadership, it can be viewed as a subliminal message about Richard Nixon, who covered up the Watergate break-in that led to his resignation. However, from a positive side, the viewer gets acquainted with the goodness of the age. For instance, the witty slang of 70's Middle America, the clothing, and the sneaky fellows introduce the culture of the time. Also, the soundtracks play the Bad Company's songs, which were extremely moving and valuable to the youth of the 70s. The youth itself is very well portrayed with Malcolm as a rock ‘n' roller, and Donald an enigmatic gay teenager. The progress and innovation are also showed in how Macbeth invented the â€Å"drive-thru† in the restaurant. This is the time when some of the major corporations begin to arise and attract customers. For example, in the matter of a few weeks after it underwent the renovations, the restaurant skyrocked in its popularity. 4. Many students have trouble following the events in Macbeth and interpreting Shakespeare's complex language. The dark comedy Scotland, PA relates the story in an understandable manner, but spares students of the real Shakespearean classic. The adaptation is oversaturated with its own whimsy, which obliterates most of the drama in the play. Shakespeare's dictions, allusions, and symbols, which are essential to the play, are completely obliterated. Instead, the addition of the references to the 1970s forces one to view the play as â€Å"American-made.† By over-simplifying the play and giving it new cultural references, the creators leave only superficial plot references to the tragedy. Thus the highly intellectual ideas that Shakespeare incorporated in his work are lost along the way. Very clever writing and great casting make this a comedy that is fun to watch even if one is not familiar with the source material. However, the adaptation can supplement the understanding of the play, but absolutely cannot take its place in the school's curriculum. The witches as three hippies, Duncan as a hamburger joint owner, Banqo as a hamburger seller, and Macbeth and his wife as self-advantageous couple undoubtedly may help the youth to perceive the characters' relationships. However, their original connections and motivations are not demonstrated in-depth. For example, the desire to become a King is much more powerful than desire to become a restaurant's owner. Similarly, predictions given by supernatural beings are much more convincing than those given by the three hippies on marijuana. Thus the power Shakespeare invested in his play is indeed undervalued and â€Å"dumbed-down.† 5. It sure was an original decision to give Macbeth a new birth by bringing it into the American 1970s. Although low-budgeted, the film literally re-builds the 1970s. This is partly achieved through shooting the film in a Canadian suburb that resembles the 1970s' streets. The shooting in the Nova Scotia, whether planned or serendipitous, adds a nice touch to the film production and even more unexpected irony to the modern interpretation of Macbeth. The switch of the settings may seem dramatic, but the Moorissette's underlying message is that human nature applies to every historical period and section of society. One can be a dignified man in 11th century Scotland, a homeless guy in American 1970s, or any other person in any other place and time, but the humiliation and power games will always exist. The adaptation proves that although Shakespearean epoch passed, his work is still appreciated in America. 6. On the one hand, Macbeth has always been considered one of the literary world's most celebrated tragedies. It is possibly the darkest and most gruesome of Shakespeare's plays. Scotland, PA steals all of the play's seriousness by turning it into something sloppily simple and funny. If the original version centered on characters' development, the reworking was unable to create characters of even the slightest interest and fully show how they change after their gruesome actions. The result is a lifeless film, which is only saved by its setting and soundtracks. The film will most likely be enjoyed by someone who knows absolutely nothing about Shakespeare, because those who know the original work would view Scotland, PA as a silly parody. Also, although much gets cut out, the added details get unnecessarily overcomplicated and the film gets unexciting. On the other hand, Scotland, PA stays on the task. It has many parallels with Macbeth and enhances some of its themes. Major themes from the original work: revenge, guilt, self-doubt, fate, and prophecy still exist in this manipulated adaptation, even in a new light. These themes are revealed straightforward through peculiar, funny, and incredibly well-conceived approach. The adaptation is also educational, for it shows an interesting piece of American history. For teenagers like me, the setting in the 1970s is very exciting to see because this is the time of our parents' youth. So looking at contrasting young characters – bold, rebellious Malcolm and gentle Donald – it is interesting to think about to which extreme our parents appealed. Also, the portrayal of vegetarian lieutenant McDuff and suspicious Banconi captivate the reader. Actors who played these two characters, in my opinion, showed the best effort and understanding of the actual characters in Macbeth. With both its drawbacks and its wonderful additions, Scotland, PA causes a lot of mirth and leaves the viewers with positive impressions.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Playstation 4 vs Xbox One

The year 2013 marked the new era of video game consoles. Sony and Microsoft, two heavyweight entertainment companies that are both fighting for the title of the best console. In one corner you have Sony’s Playstation 4 and in the other sits Microsoft’s Xbox one. Both of these are next generation consoles that use the latest technologies to give the gamer a better feel for the game that he or she plays. Both of these consoles are similar in a variety of ways but, for the similarities that they share they also contain many differences. Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox one are both two powerful consoles but, are completely different from each other before I can one I need to compare the two. The Playstation 4’s console design is similar to the its predecessor on the outside sporting a similar sleek design scheme but, this is where the similarity ends. The ps4 uses a semi custom accelerated processing unit that combines a central processing unit and graphics processing unit all in one chip. This chip is used to amplify the power of the simulation and graphics on the console. The console also holds several chips that assist in its multitasking ability and can be utilized even while the system is in sleep mode. The ps4 houses a special audio chip that can be used to support in game chat ability among other players and supports in game mp3 streaming. The console comes with 8 gigabytes of GDDR memory and a bandwidth of 176 gigabytes a second which is sixteen times the amount the ps3 had. The ps4 will contain a bluray disc drive that reads discs at 6x CAV for a read speed of 27 megabytes a second. The ps4 boasts a massive 500 gb pre-installed memory that can be modified so that user can add more whenever he or she wishes. Like the rest of the latest gaming consoles the PS4 will have wireless connectivity; an Ethernet port will also be integrated into the system to for wired connections. The playstation 4 is also Bluetooth compatible. The ps4 will support HDMI cables recognizing up to 1080p isually. The system will also come bundled with a mono stero headset and a peripheral motion detection device, The Playstation Camera. This year’s model of the Playstation will mark the debut of a a radical change to dual shock controller, the DualShock 4. The DualShock 4, being the latest in the series of controllers is well more advanced than the previous three. The basics of the controller haven’t changed much over the years besides the addition of new buttons, func tions and capabilities. The Dual Shock 4 comes with a touchscreen pad on the back, a share button that will allow user to upload videos of their own gameplay experiences, a small built in mono speaker, and a lightbar that changes color to indicate which player is which and can be used by the ps4’s Playstation Camera to determine real life movement and depth of the player. Even the select and start buttons have been merged into a single button called, options. These features aren’t included on any other gaming controller available to the public. This controller even took an Emmy for best â€Å"Peripheral Development and Technological Impact of Video Game Controllers† by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on January 8, 2007. In the other corner of the ring, you have Microsoft’s new fighter, the Xbox One. The Xbox One is a gaming console and all around entertainment system. This year Microsoft has decided to move away from the PowerPC chip and is now utilizing an AMD processor in this new console. The Xbox One was built with heavy emphasis on the Kinect peripheral camera device and comes with numerous functions that use this device as well. Console users can hook up their cable boxes and watch live television through the gaming console. Xbox live, the consoles signature gaming service has also been improved. Gamers will have the ability to record live footage of their game play and be able to stream that footage to certain outlets or share it with their friends online. The Xbox one comes bundled with the Kinect motion camera device and the standard Xbox one controller. The kinect will play a much more important role on the Xbox One. The kinect will integrate with the Xbox One allowing users to use functions such as voice commands, it will have different hand motions for different functions, and the most critical part is, the Xbox one will not work without the kinect attached but, doesn’t need to enter a powered state just as along as its hooked up to the console. The Xbox One controller still has the same design as the original xbox but, will have a slightly different layout and features. The directional pad has been changed to a four-way design, the battery compartment has been made slimmer, the start and back buttons has been renamed menu and view respectively. The two triggers on the controller have been outfitted with a new feature as well. Both of the triggers have independent rumble motors called, Impulse Triggers, these Impulse Triggers allow video game developers to bring vibration to controllers independently. Now both of these consoles sound great right? They both come with amazing features and do amazing things. Both the PS4 and Xbox One come bundled with controllers and devices and have loaded these devices with many features. The Playstation 4 comes priced at $399. 00 USD, comes with a 500 gigabyte hard drive, a AMD 8-core jaguar processor, and 8 gigabytes of RAM. The Playstation camera comes separately from the gaming console. The PS4 is also Bluetooth compatible. The Xbox One and the included Kinect will be priced at $ 499. 00 USD, will have a 500 gigabyte hard drive, will have a custom 8 core chip built by microsoft, and is not Bluetooth compatible. The Kinect utilizes voice commands, can detect body and hand motions and can track up to 6 people at one time. Xbox one controllers have been designed to include vibration packs in the triggers. So as you can see these system both share similar functions, equipment, and hardware specs. One of the most obvious differences is the price with the PS4 priced at a hundred dollars cheaper than the Xbox one. If I or anyone else has interest in these gaming consoles and wishes to purchase one, this information would be needed to compare the two before I can make a decision.