Laptop + XBox360 + iPhone + Netflix
After putting it off for a long time, I just purchased a new High Definition TV and an XBox 360 over the last month. I finally got around to rejoining XBox Live and downloaded the Netflix app so I can now stream Instant Watch Netflix movies straight to my tv from my XBox. I took a moment after I started watching a show to think about the whole process. Earlier today, my wife updated our instant queue from her iPhone. I setup/upgraded my live account using my laptop and had instantaneous results on my XBox. When I think about it, I can’t get over how cool it is. The amount of technology and how much infrastructure is in place to enable something like this to be possible. Not only am I on a wireless network at my house, but we use 3G on our iPhones. I can’t help but think about how many services had to be used to integrate this, services for account logins, credit card processing and probably many others that are behind the scenes.
I’ve been programming and using computers almost my entire life (as soon as I could move on my own?), but it hasn’t been until about the last year or so have I really felt that technology was really changing the way I live and think about the world and this is a direct result of how much integration we have been receiving over the last few years. I feel genuinely excited to be living in this time period and can’t wait to see how technology changes my life and how I live it over the next few years. I mean now that the International Space Station is internet ready, what’s next?
Thinking about the whole thing really brings my inner geek out (well..more than it is already)
Right on! Yeah I totally feel this way a lot over the past year. I know what you mean. It does seem like the promise of technology is finally actualizing for once–almost a critical mass kind of effect going on.
Comment by HybridMind — February 11, 2010 @ 12:02 am
With it also comes a lot of opportunity and not only in gaming. I’m excited to see in what way games will be integrated more with the rest of our everyday activities.
How can we take advantage of this in new ways as game designers/developers?
Comment by Casey — February 12, 2010 @ 9:12 am
Some people believe that all this technology is actually hindering our social skills. We not longer bother on interact with other people in social events, instead we are more likely to meet them online. Also, most people wouldn’t care about leaving their houses at all, after all you pretty much can do everything (order food/groceries/stuff, meet people online, work from home, etc) from home without having to see another human being.
Comment by owl — February 16, 2010 @ 10:39 am