Xbox Vs. PlayStation: History Of The Rivalry
The current rivalry between the Xbox 360 and the coming PlayStation 3 is just the latest battle in the exciting leadership war that began in 2001, when microsoft introduced the original Xbox into the console market. The PlayStation was the reigning champion of the console market. It had dominated since the mid-90s. The original PlayStation sold some hundred million units, a staggering figure at the time.
By the end of the 1990s microsoft was worried about what is in our perspective the prospect of the PlayStation encroaching in the console market. Hence Xbox, was and still is a bid to win back territory for microsoft in many of our gaming views. While Xbox might have been the new kid on the block, it had the might of all Bill Gates empire behind it. Before the Xbox, microsoft had already ported Windows CE to the Sega dreamcast, giving them experience in the console market.
More importantly, they had some of the best programming teams on the planet. One of their original plan, if not their main plan for this long-time distribution for the Xbox, focused heavily on integrating it with other microsoft products, for example by including DirectX technology. The battle is about much more than just the console market. Sony and microsoft are looking forward to a time of increasing integration of different electronic devices within the home. Consoles are increasingly becoming conduits for internet access, for playing music, and even for personal computing.
Sony could be using the PlayStation 3 to push the Blu-ray disc format. In the past, it has come up with the psx, intended as a multi-purpose device, able to record and play videos as well as being a gaming console. microsoft, for its part, is putting a lot of weight on the Xbox Live online service, which we can expect to see expanding massively over the coming years. The continuing delays in shipping Windows Vista - the next incarnation of microsoft PC operating system - has dampened the impact of linking it with the Xbox. Once Vista is released, we could expect to see a stronger focus on linking the Xbox 360 to a PC running Vista.
In short, everything is becoming interconnected, and the exciting console leadership war is at the very center of this battle. Whoever can dominate this market will have the say over how the digital homes of the future are laid out - and will be able to profit massively as a result. The stakes are high in the rivalry between PlayStation and Xbox. It is just an exciting rivalry to keep watching over the years to come, for sure.
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Calcium, What's The Big Deal?
The big question about Calcium, exactly what is Calcium and why is Calcium so important to you and I?
What is Calcium?
Calcium is one of the most abundant micro-nutrient found in our body. 99% of our bodys total calcium is stores in the bones and teeth. The remaining 1% of calcium is then found throughout our body in blood, muscles, and the fluid in between cells. Calcium is also needed for muscle contraction and the secretion of hormones and enzymes. There are much more usage of Calcium, but to put simply, Calcium is important for Bone repair/formations and the contraction of muscles. Calcium is also the answer to strong and dense bones.
Different Types of Calcium, Which is Best?
Calcium is an element and it comes in various forms. Theres Calcium citrate, Calcium phosphate, Calcium Gluconate, Calcium Carbonate, and e.t.c. The list can go on and on, but which is the most common one that is best absorbed by the body?
There is something called the elemental weight. Calcium phosphate has an elemental weight of 31-38% whilst Calcium carbonate has an elemental weight of 40%. Lets use Calcium Carbonate (Most common form of Calcium found in the market) as an example, if you take 500mg of Calcium carbonate, only 200mg of elemental Calcium is available for absorption. Ill make things simpler by giving you an analogy; lets presume that youre now going down to the fuel station to pump some petrol for your car. There are 2 types of Petrol and both are mixed with water. For every liter of petrol, Petrol X contains 20% petrol whilst Petrol Y contains 40% petrol. We do know that cars require petrol to move and not water. So the obvious choice will be Petrol Y. The same goes to us, our body can only utilize elemental Calcium, and therefore, Calcium Carbonate is one of the better choices of Calcium supplements to take.
vitamin D & Calcium Absorption
Taking Calcium alone is not as effective taking calcium with a good dose of vitamin D. vitamin D helps improve Calcium absorption. To put things simply, lets imagine things this way. before calcium is absorbed by our body, it needs go through a door which is locked and requires a key to open it. vitamin D is the key to opening this door to allow calcium into your body and from there allows the body to utilize the Calcium.
What NOT to Consume Calcium With
We should not be consuming Calcium with Zinc and Iron. This is so as our body prioritizes Calcium over the other two minerals. I advise you to take Zinc and Iron at a time when your body has little Calcium, preferably 30mins-60mins after drinking your milk. When purchasing multivitamins, do also look at the nutrition fact sheet to see if any of this minerals are stashed together.
How much Calcium is Needed?
If youre just an average adult, I would recommend taking anything from 800mg 1200mg of Calcium a day. However, if youre an athlete or bodybuilder, you should be taking up to 2000mg 2300mg of Calcium a day. Good sources of protein include milk, yoghurt, cheese. Taking more than 2500mg of Calcium may cause you to get wet stools.
Benefits
Calcium will help you maintain a healthy bone mass, delay the onset of osteoporosis and recent research articles have also shown that Calcium aids weight loss.
Reference
Hartman TJ, Albert PS, Snyder K, et al. The association of calcium and vitamin d with risk of colorectal adenomas. J Nutr. 2005 Feb;135(2):252-9.
Shi H, Dirienzo D, Zemel MB. Effects of dietary calcium on adipocyte lipid metabolism and body weight regulation in energy-restricted aP2-agouti transgenic mice. FASEB J 2001; 15:291-293.
Zemel MB, Thompson W, Milstead A, Morris K, Campbell P. Calcium and dairy acceleration of weight and fat loss during energy restriction in obese adults. Obes Res. 2004 Apr;12(4):582-90.
dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/calcium.asp#h7
Darcy is currently studying and researching into Sports and exercise Sciences. He Co-Owns http://www.Supplementtracker.com Contact: Darcy[at] http://www.Supplementtracker.com
"Our body is like a delicate piece of art, every portion and every detail has to be sculpt carefully and patiently to get what we want" -Darcy
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