Introduction
Technology has become a part of our day to day activities with companies such as Microsoft, Apple and others introducing updated devices every other day. Technology has turned out to be so effective in making work easier for mankind and reducing the time frame in which things could be done, enabling business transactions to be done any time anywhere from any part of the world, allowing people from different parts of the world to communicate easily and effectively and so many other wonders that were most thought impossible. Microsoft unveiled a new technology known as Xbox SmartGlass last year which has a fascinating potential in acting as a second screen to a tablet that is running Window 8, Smartphone or Android. At E3 SmartGlass was introduced by Microsoft just as expected and the new technology turned out awesome. The technology was just meant to be an imitation of Apple Airplay but it turned out extra ambitious and proved to be something that could change the destiny of television for years to come. The SmartGlass is said to be an app that turns a tablet or phone into a separate screen for a TV, a show companion feature, internets remote control and another game controller. More interesting is the fact that it can work effectively with Windows and Android in a way that an individual does not need to purchase a new hardware for fitting into the ecosystem.
Environmental Implications
The Xbox SmartGlasses is a technology that has highly implicated our environment mostly in a very positive style. The fact that certain types of smart glass allow users to have full control of the light thus heating the transmission enables the environment to turn out more beautiful. This so happens since when activated the glass is able to change to translucent from transparent and this blocks the light partially while still through the glass maintains a clear view. Other types of Smart Glasses provide full privacy when activated and this has been applied in various parts of the environments especially hospitals. Smart glasses make our infrastructure more beautiful and help create better surroundings in our environment. This is a type of technology that has also made it so easy for the world to look so advanced due to the ease at which activities can easily be done with the phones and tablets people posses as means of communication, business and entertainment.
Smart glass is also a technology that helps save heating costs, lighting costs and air conditioning costs also. Helping in proper and unique air-conditioning strategies through use of this technology is also an indication that the health of individuals in the environment is well taken care of and this contributes to better health. This also helps people reduce the costs of installing and also maintaining the light screens which are motorized and curtains or blinds. Even in the state of the dark electrochromic glass is said to provide visibility thus giving a visible contact with the environment outside. The technology of electrochromic is also used in indoor applications a good example being for the protection objects which are put under museum glasses to display picture frames and cases from effects of damage of artificial light and visible wavelengths.
Smart glass has been applied in high profile applications with the use of aforementioned technologies. The major installation swell recognized include the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin whereby more than eight hundred thousand people annually get to view smart glass in an interactive display and also private windows. The major use of smart glass is normally in partitions internally where most of the company is able to enjoy the ability to switch doors and screens from clear to private.
This application also allows the user to edit their Xbox profiles then change their avatar thus allowing them to chat with their friends. This is a means that has also extended means of communication while still the user is enjoying other services at the same time. This application is termed to be quite advantageous in so many aspects and in future it is predicted to make Microsoft reputation better and gain the corporation a larger market share mostly of individuals who have proper knowledge of technology and are well updated.
Providing greater communication skills helps to make our environment more conducive whereby an individual can reach friends and family and still enjoying their favorite music, programmes or games. Communication has become a very essential part of the environment due to businesses and other relations. This technology application is thus proving to enhance means of people to reach others thus making our society look like a small village where people can talk and see each other anytime as long as the right technological connections, devices and applications are available
Healthcare industry is also part of the environment where smart glass is used since there is importance of surfaces which are easy to clean and the privacy of the client is very important. Traditional blind systems have been easily replaced by smart glass products of technology since they are easy to clean compared to the traditional blinds which can also easily harbor bugs and dirt. This helps give patients their comfort which is said to reduce the time of recovery. Xbox SmartGlasses has also made our community a better place to live by providing easier means of doing things which also reduce cost. This technology has enabled mankind to get more advanced entertainment which is of high quality and has prevented man from incurring more costs of installing move sets of television in the house and thus using one.
Release of Xbox SmartGlasses in the environment has been very important in completing an ecosystem for music, movies, TV and games. The technology has rendered the environment a better place to be in terms of entertainment especially in big cities with screens displaying colorful entertainment advertisements as a result of Xbox SmartGlasses. The technology has been described by many as an ambitious platform which is generally designed to synchronize, connect and enrich content across PCs Xbox 360s, phones, tablets and Xbox Live Service. Xbox SmartGlass has also made living rooms of various people across the globe livelier since it pushes audio and video around giving a turn of the Xbox 360 into the beating heart of a multi-screen media experience in the living room. Airplanes are also known to adapt the technology. A good example is Boeing 787 Dreamliner which has featured electrochromic windows with a major aim is replacing the shades of pull down window on the aircraft. The electrochromics can also be used to manage the thermal environment which is currently experienced by the Altair space vehicles and Orion which are newly developed.
Cultural Context
It is evident that the living room is the centre of interest for the majority of people. It is said that if an Englishman’s home is known to be his castle then the living room will definitely be his command centre. This is because being the king of the living room will grant access to the family’s heart through grabbing their affection and attention. Microsoft Xbox SmartGlass technology has impressed a lot of people worldwide since it has cut them cost of having a number of screens in the living room. Xbox SmartGlass is also associated with class and sophistication and it is a culture that is mostly entertained by the upper class educated individuals who have the full knowledge of the technology and can understand it apart from affording it. At some point it is said to be a technology that is separating the gap between the upper and lower class individuals and also the educated from the uneducated.
Xbox SmartGlass technology is also known to exist mostly in the rural areas and this leaves those living in rural areas to lack good knowledge about it. Also, there are cultures which do not entertain technology or lack full knowledge about technology most especially in non-developed countries. This kind of technology is mostly available in well developed countries which are well updated with technology everyday and those countries which can also sustain the cost of technology. Xbox SmartGlass is a technology that creates cultural difference in many ways in terms of education, lifestyle, salaries and others. This is not just a technology that can be used in any part of the world. It is sophisticated and not very flexible for everyone’s knowledge.
In most of modern living rooms where Xbox 360 is used it is claimed to be the hub that is known to power everything. Therefore since the Xbox 360 is said to be the brain the limbs are then given to the users by SmartGlass which are required for a full self-sufficient, functional media beast. This show helps the viewers to have a totally different cultural interpretation of the movies, sports and games compared to those who are viewing normal televisions without a boost of the technology. SmartGlass application is fast and convenient to the user if it’s given enough support, proper guidance and time. The application is free and in future it is predicted to become a competitive advantage for Microsoft.
Thinking about it, the Microsoft’s way of thinking regarding the living room of years to come is totally a throwback to what the company has already mastered and known which the PC is. This technology has turned a threat to the living room by turning out to as the Xbox as the PC, the TV as the monitor, the tablet and the phone as the mouse and keyboard. SmartGlass then can be declared to play the role of the Windows, seamlessly connecting all the details. This culture of Xbox SmartGlasses has been used in development of various cultural buildings in various parts of developed countries such as the United States of America which has the elevators of Washington Monument developed using smart glass for the passengers to have a clear view of commemorative stones which are inside the monument.
Media Influence
It is clear that the most industry that is more advantaged by Xbox sunglasses is media. Xbox has given media to display individual devices and TV in a style that they can talk to each other thus showing their most favorite TV shows, music, movies, games and sports. This is a strategy that has enabled people to use their tablets and PCs in controlling their living rom. Media has also been able to provide strategies to their viewers in which they navigate their Xbox dashboard, pause and also rewind them to their favorite movie and also to pinch, swipe and turf the Web on their televisions thus use the keyboards device for texting input and search on the console.
Xbox SmartGlasses has enabled the media to reduce cost. This is so in terms of advertising since it has become easy to display simple ads in one screen thus reducing the storage also. It is not like before when different screens for different adverts has to be used in different parts of the country but with this new technology things have become different. This also helps the media to acquire more money come in through advertising. The media has also acquired another advantage whereby they can deliver different messages from different brands to various targets market. This gives the media houses that use this technology an advantage over its competitors since they are able to cover a wide geographic area. The message is also easy and clear.
SmartGlass has made media more popular in the current world. Greater competition has been experienced in the media industry as they try to bring up latest media technologies and adaption of these give them a larger market share and a high number of views. SmartGlass can be easily used with more than just TV shows and movies. The media learned how to use a gamer to use a tablet as a playbook but separately while playing mostly Madden on the service and this aspect that has attracted a large audience for those companies who offer the service.
Xbox Live has acquired great access to Paramount movie library and its paving its way to paramount films. The technology of Xbox has enabled media to deliver high quality and flexible programmes which have given the audience a higher need of entertainment. This technology has mostly favored the area of games and music and it is evident that these two aspects have been highly on demand by people globally most especially the teenage age. The technology has also increased competition in the media industry thus making different media company’s opt to fight to acquire the various oncoming technological innovations in order to provide a better, quality and dynamic media to the viewers. This has also called for people with highly skilled manpower in the industry thus making it difficult for individuals with no experience and knowledge of the technology and media to acquire job opportunities. The technology is therefore termed expensive in the media since it requires the media to hire people with the skills and knowledge to operate the technology. An example of a movie that has been shown using SmartGlass is “School of Rock” whereby it’s shown calling up biographical information and skipping various scenes.
When it comes to the media, there is a feature of Smart Glass background by the Seven Networks Sunrise program which is updated and the feature uses glass that is liquid crystal and is switchable which is known to be supplied by the Architectural Glass Projects. It is dictated that the technology is well suited for the purpose since the set was from the word go opened to a public place which means that some individuals could do things which are obscene behind the presenters. At times the Smart Glass with the new set would allow the visibility of street scene or be replaced by blue colorings which is transparent or opaque masking the view. A good example of such media is Bloomberg Television which currently has featured Smart Glass backgrounds in the Studios which are located in London and New York.
Another proper example of use of the Xbox technology has been shown in several movies so far such as Game of Thrones which was being shown on TV through XBOX 360. The SmartGlass was used to enable the tablet in displaying a map of Westeros and the rest of important information regarding the show. The content can generally be pushed from the 360 going directly to the TV or it can be from the phone, tablet or computer towards the 360. SmartGlass is said to connect all these devices so as to make the content to engross on multiple levels. It is therefore so clear and evident that one’s individual devices cannot ignore each other but otherwise work together to entertain the owner more.
SmartGlass Compatibility
SmartGlass compatibility can be grouped in various areas of the media. However, the major areas include the following:
- Games
- Movies
- Live Events
- Application
Below is a table that shows some of the games using the technology, when they were introduced and in which country.
Fig.1.0: Shows the games that were introduced in Japan and Europe as a result of SmartGlass
Challenges of Xbox SmartGlass
The developer’s enthusiasm for creating and developing ways in which they could work with SmartGlasses is a very big challenge. This is because the technology is complicated and requires a group of highly qualified manpower. Therefore, for Microsoft to develop this type of technology and make it simple and easy enough for the average use is quite a big challenge. This will also limit the Company’s sales to a smaller target market if they lack to come up with proper strategies to for the technology to be of use to the average user. Another challenge associated with SmartGlass is the fact that it is impossible to hold both the controller and the device at the same time. This clearly states that SmartGlass can either function as something for another person to use while you are playing or at some point it will require the user to switch focus when using SmartGlass alone. For most users they claim to have problems to switch attention from the television and the Wii U Gamepad since it needs so much focus which then makes the application more of a cool novelty instead of something really useful.
In conclusion, Xbox SmartGlasses is a Microsoft technology that seems to come with a package of activities in entertainment and communication industry. The application which was supplied free of charge to those who can access it has brought about entertainment and media into a new stage today. Users have been given an opportunity to control what is in their screens to their best advantage as long as they posses a tablet or Smartphone. It is clear that technology is reaching into greater lengths daily as top companies in the industry compete to bring the best service and devices daily.
References
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