2013 Home for the Holidays Special edition of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com Page 37
A microphone enables users to con-
trol the system through a series of
vocal commands. Although limited
at launch, Sony plans to continue
working on the voice command
function in the future.
The console also comes with a
great deal of choice in social op-
tions. The controller comes with
a “share” button that allows the
player to re-watch the last 15
minutes of game play to select a
screenshot or video clip appropriate
for sharing on Facebook and Twit-
ter. Gamers can watch live feeds of
friends through the PS4 interface,
thanks to cross-game camera and
microphone inputs.
A week after the release of the PS4
was Microsoft’s Xbox One. The
system includes a 500 gigabyte
hard drive and a Blu-ray Disc opti-
cal drive. For networking purposes,
the Xbox One supports Ethernet,
wireless and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The Xbox One is capable of 4K
resolution video output and 7.1 sur-
round sound. The Xbox One also
supports HDMI 1.4 for both input
and output.
One of the more impressive fea-
tures of the new console is the
ability to monitor its internal
temperature and adjust accordingly
to prevent overheating. Anyone
familiar with the Xbox 360 will no
doubt remember the infamous “red
ring of death”: a series of red lights
flashing on the console indicating
overheating. This problem could
only be solved by shipping the
Xbox 360 to Microsoft for repairs,
a task completed several times
for the more unfortunate gamers.
Alongside an increase in fan speed,
additional measures can be taken,
including forcing the hardware to
run in a lower power state, another
new feature not present on the
Xbox 360.
The new Kinect camera that comes
with the console has greater accura-
cy than its predecessor. It can track
up to six bodies simultaneously,
with the capability to monitor
heart rates and gestures performed
with an Xbox One controller. It
can even scan bar codes to redeem
Xbox Live gift cards. The Kinect
microphone remains active at all
times to receive voice commands
from the user when needed, even
when the console is in sleep mode.
With these features in place, Skype
has become a function of the new
Xbox.
As seen with Windows 8, Xbox
One can move applications such as
music, video, Skype and Internet
Explorer to the side of the screen
for multitasking. Xbox One also
allows users to watch live TV from
their existing provider through the
console and access features such
as show recommendations and an
electronic program guide.
Cloud storage is offered by Micro-
soft to save music, films and games.
Xbox Live Gold subscribers will
be able to use the Upload Studio
program to share clips from the
last five minutes of gameplay foot-
age that is automatically recorded
by the console. The live streaming
platform Twitch will allow users to
