Sandwich Smash

As one of the most promising platforms to have surfaced at the turn of the century, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was originally greeted with widespread derision as a Johnny-Come-Lately to the nine billion-dollar videogaming market (which is these days worth many multiples of billions more every year). Currently the Xbox is considered cutting-edge and competes directly with Sony’s equally impressive Playstation, but recently the stakes were increased with Microsoft’s introduction of its Kinect technology that promises to do away with game controllers once and for all, using the player’s own body movements to direct all onscreen activity. The highly sophisticated motion-detection technology makes it possible to scan even facial gestures!

Online MMOs and RPGs like World of Warcraft and Warhammer have taken the world by storm, and now the Xbox 360 is offering gamers a new way to connect to the online community with Xbox Live. With Xbox Live gamers of the world unite on their couches to battle demons, race cars and fight bad guys, sharing the fun of online gaming without having to give up the fun of their favorite Xbox.

To thoroughly enjoy the full Xbox Live experience, the only thing Xbox fans need are an Xbox 360 and a high speed internet connection. Gamers simply connect their Xbox to their modem and they have instant access to hundreds of games and free demos, as well as a global community of players just like them with whom to share the excitement and thrill of ultimate destruction from the comfort of their living room.

Xbox fans who choose to take advantage of Xbox Live have two membership levels to choose from. The silver level membership is available at no cost and allows players to download content from the Xbox Live Marketplace, share their gamer profile and achievements with other users and chat with their friends while they’re online. For casual gamers who want to be able to share the excitement of their favorite video games but don’t really care about multi-player events the silver option is perfect, offering the chance for gamers to build an online community without having to pay an extra fee out of pocket.

For video game lovers who are serious about taking their online community to new heights, Xbox Live also offers a gold level membership at a reasonable price that offers all of the advantages of the silver membership along with the ability to play multi-player games online, create parties and join games with their friends. For gamers who loved the raiding option of World of Warcraft and want to carry the fun over to their 360, the gold membership is the online gaming solution they’ve been waiting for.

Of course, Xbox Live isn’t just for hard core gamers. It’s not even just for video games! If you’re the type of person who just never found their way into the video game mania that’s sweeping the nation, you can still benefit from becoming a member of Xbox Live. Through the Xbox Live community members can watch movies, TV shows and additional, exclusive media content created especially for Xbox Live members, and Netflix fans can watch streaming movies on their Xbox 360. The diverse options available for Xbox Live means that no matter who you are or how serious you are about your video games, the Xbox Live community has something to offer you.

Online gaming has risen dramatically in popularity and exposure in recent years, and Xbox Live is taking that concept to new heights by bringing the fun and freedom of being part of an online community of gamers off of the computer and onto the Xbox 360. Who knows where it’s going to go next?

About The Author:

Ray Subs is a PR consultant working with InstantLiveCodes.com. Visit them on the web at www.InstantLiveCodes.com.

You might not think cell phone waste is a big problem since the average cell phone today weighs less than 6 ounces. However, since more than one-half of all Americans now own cell phones, isn’t it time we take a look at what happens to our old cell phone when we upgrade, change or cancel our service. According to Inform Inc, a non-profit institute which keeps tabs on such numbers, there are more than 500 million old cell phones sitting unused in drawers, closets and desks around the country. All of these contain chemicals and substances which are harmful to the environment if improperly disposed of.

U.S. consumers replace between 100 million and 130 million cell phones each year. Unfortunately, the cell phone recycling industry processes less than 10 million of these. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if there are already 500 million old cell phones and we add between 90 million and 120 million to this number each year – pretty soon we have a big problem!

This brings us back to our initial question… Where do all the old cell phones go? As I mentioned a short time ago, within the wireless industry there is a segment which takes these old cell phones and does one of several things with them.

• Some are sold for use in other countries
• Some are donated to shelters for use in a variety of emergency (911) phone programs
• Some are repaired or refurbished and sold in the U.S. either as replacement or pre-paid phones
• Finally, others are broken down to the essential elements and recycled

The bottom line is that U.S. consumers replace their cell phones approximately every 18 months which allows them to take advantage of the newest technology and features. In most cases the cell phone being replaced still works fine and has a lot of useful life left in it. Just because we are through using it does not mean it has suddenly become junk.

We all need to be responsible stewards of our planet’s resources and make sure that when we get a new cell phone we find a home for our old cell phone. In most instances your carrier will offer you a recycling option, but if not… there are plenty of places on the internet to sell your phone, donate it to charity, or simply send it in at no cost for recycling.

About The Author:

James Mosieur is CEO of RMS Communications Group, Inc. RMS operates several cell phone recycling websites like http://www.CellForCash.com. He has been in the electronics recycling business since 1985. James writes and speaks on cell phone recycling and related subjects particularly as they relate to the individual consumer.