Xbox Live

Sally-D — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:10:59 -0500

I agree that Xbox Live subscription seems a bit tough on the wallet - and wish it were free as it should be. But there is a kind of payoff - Achievement points.

By playing online and being a subscriber to Live, you can accumulate achievement points and these points can be exchanged for games and other Xbox related merchandise through Live. As a system it does tend to favour the avid, rather than casual, gamer but my point here is simply to suggest that the subscription can end up paying for itself - and more.

If you take a look around (for example, take a look at the article on xbox3l33t.com ) you will also discover that certain games and certain actions reward you higher than others, so even a casual gamer can strategically accumulate as many points as a hardcore gamer in less time. It's not a cheat or anything, it's just a matter of knowing where Mcirosoft's emphasis lies.

Anyway, I have both a Playstation 3 and an Xbox 360, so I know they are both equally good in their own unique ways.

Sally

Top 10 Online Subscriptions: Holiday Gifts for Media Snackers

Marianne Richmond — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:09:47 -0600

Are you a media snacker or do you have a media snacker on your Holiday List? This list of 10 Online Holiday Gift Subscriptions might help.

The always brilliant Jeremiah Owyang introduced the media snacker meme last month by asking the question, "Do You Respect Media Snackers? Tell Me Why."

His use of the words "media snackers" was accompanied by a 90 second video from Media Snackers, a site focused upon how young people consume media: in small bites of time and place shifted information and entertainment. Jeremiah made two additional points that I would agree with. He didn’t think that media snacking was limited by age and that in order to reach the media snackers one had to respect their need for speed.

Wired Magazine provided a veritable buffet of snacking lists, even providing a list of why we like lists that ties it all around again. Jeremiah says he respects snackers by providing digests , using Twitter , and writing analysts reports that provide the right information in a concise manner. Whether I am snacking or having a sit down dinner, Jeremiah definitely serves some of the highest quality fare available. After meeting him in person at the Forrester Consumer Forum, I would also add that he is also ever the charming host.

Many others served up some bits and bites on the topic:

Kami Huyse measured her contribution (she used the word "fun" in relation to measuring the meme….the sign of a devoted media snackin’ culinary warrior).

Shel Holtz who declares his respect for snackers through his use of Twitter, Jaiku, Jot, and widgets on his blog.

Chris Brogran gave himself a "C" for respect.

Deborah Schultz coins the term snackbytes, tasty morsels of thought that go down easy; like those awesome looking cupcakes.

Beth Kantor casts another vote for Twitter as the media snackers utensil of choice and makes a great point of not letting snacking become mindless consumption of empty calories.

So, with all due respect for media snackers, here is my top 10 online subscription (not in any particular order) list that will let you both do your Holiday shopping in online bites, give the perfect give to your friends and family wherever they are at the moment, and even add a few courses to your own media diet:

1. Starbucks Automatic Reorder: spend a few minutes estimating the frequency and amount of coffee you need, place your order and then don’t waste another moment of media consumption time with an unscheduled coffee run.

2. Marketing Profs Premium: You can be a basic member of Marketing Profs for free. With a Premium membership ($49.95 per year) you get online access to even more great content. With Premium Plus ($249 per year) you add unlimited access to online seminars from "some of the greatest minds in marketing." Also, add the Marketing Profs Blog, The Daily Fix to your aggregator!

3. Audible : No time to sit down and read a good book? Join audible, download and listen on line. There are a variety of subscription options, per month and per year explained here. IPod compatible of course.

4. Black Friday: This is the {unofficial} official guide to online deals that will be offered on that busiest shopping day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday. Its usefulness can best be documented perhaps by the fact that Wal-Mart has tried to shut it down. Bookmark it and you are good to go. For the definitive guide to "hacking the holidays" a subscription to….

5. Wired Magazine makes a great gift. You can read Wired online, subscribe with RSS, or customize a search feed by adding your desired search term after the ‘query=’ variable. For example, an RSS feed for the topic ‘Holiday’ would be http://www.wired.com/search/rss?query=holiday.

6. Flickr: Give the gift of Flickr Pro for $24.95 per YEAR for unlimited storage, uploads, and just about everything you need to be connected through photos 24/7. I encountered a problem in giving a gift subscription a few months ago which was my fault….when I emailed them about it with a question they were a little slow in responding, apologized, and then gave me a free gift code to keep or give away. They rock! And if you upgrade "today" you get 10 free Moo cards.

7. Salon: Although there is plenty to snack on for free at Salon.com, or add it to your aggregator , or even on your mobile, if you are interested in giving or getting a bit more to sink your teeth into there is always Salon Premium. The price ranges from $29 per year to $70 for 2 years with lots of choices in between.

8. Consumer Reports: The perennial pre-blog workhorse of what gives with what. From HD-TVs to cordless drills to a bottle of wine, a online subscription to Consumer Reports is $26.00. Might want to give it early, before Black Friday.

9. Xbox Live: Well yeah, you or your intended recipient need to have an Xbox and this is the part your kids (or at least my kids didn’t) don’t tell you when they first start asking; in order to play games on line you have to have an online subscription to XBox Live. There are a variety of levels but it looks like you have to be online ON an Xbox 360 to order. One year gold membership is $59.00.

Aside: I bought the XBox 360 for my son from Costco 2 years ago. They provide a replacement warranty that is awesome. When it died a few weeks ago, we returned it for a full refund and my son purchased a PS3 with the refund and about $100 instead of getting another XBox 360…the bad news was the $100 but the good news was it came with Wifi (no $100 wireless adaptor necessary) and no membership required to play online. This alone would make me want to add…

9.5. Costco.com: Costco offers a gift membership that can be purchased online for $50 and provides access to purchasing on Costco.com. Virtual or real snacks 24/7.

10 . Zagat.com: Access to ratings and reviews of 30,000 restaurants, hotels, and attractions worldwide all for $24.95. Access on your Blackberry, Treo and many others is $29.95.

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Xbox Live

Top 10 Online Subscriptions: Holiday Gifts for Media Snackers