Before purchasing the next generation video game, there are a few things that should be taken into consideration. The Xbox 360 is the latest attempt from microsoft to control the giant that Sony has dominated for the past several years. With a three-core IBM processor at its heart, this thing appears to be a wild animal waiting for its release. Without getting too technical, the specs on the Xbox 360 easily eclipses any piece of gaming equipment around today, with the exception of some of the $4k-$5k high-end gaming PCs.

The first decision you have to make is whether or not to spend and extra $100 on the official Xbox 360 or take the cheap way out and grab the core. I think you can assume what my recommendation is but for those unaware dont waste your money on the core system. The core, at a suggested price of $299, includes the system, a wired controller, basic video cables, and thats pretty much it. For those that chose to be a bit more dollar wise, the $400 Xbox 360 includes the system with chrome details, a wireless remote, a wireless controller, HD component cables, and the 20 GB hard drive. The latter of the two options would be more than $650 if purchased separately.

The second decision you must make, is if you are going to really jump into the next generation or if you are content with your current television situation. Personally, I went HD over two years ago and there is not in turning back in my horizons. At minimum, you need an HD-capable set in order to fully experience what the next generation of gaming has in store. My current set-up (pictured below) includes my Xbox 360 being displayed on a 32 Olevia Flat-Panel LCD and the picture in one word is MIND-BLOWING. If you have the finances, dont chinch on what type of display is showing these beautifully rendered graphics. just as a test, I set up my 360 on the last standard television I have in my home and to be honest, it didnt look to bad. But once I set it up on my High Definition set, my heart felt at piece and my eyes were finally able to relax and soak in the beauty. The level of detail on an HD set compared to traditional makes the Xbox 360 a must have for ANYONE that has and HD television.

The last thing to consider is the game lineup. I purchased my Xbox 360 the day it launched (how is another story) and with it I bought: madden 2006, call of duty 2, Need for speed, Perfect Dark Zero and nba 2K6 (Im not rich, its called credit). To my surprise Perfect Dark Zero and Call of duty 2 quickly stood out as the better games graphically and had pretty good game-play. If youve ever played a first person shooter such as halo, there shouldnt be any problem popping these in without much of a learning curve. nba 2K6 is definitely a must-have and is leaps and bounds better than its Xbox predecessor. madden and Need for speed were pretty disappointing considering they seemed to be ports from the original Xbox and nothing more. The line-up, as of now, is still in its infancy and is not enough to make you HAVE to own this system immediately. However, Im a gaming nut and I would have been extremely disappointed had I not had this system on launch day.

Recommendation: Purchase this system as soon as it is financially viable. The killer apps are in the pipeworks!

California's cities are each famous for one unique thing: Los Angeles has Hollywood, San Diego has surfing, San Francisco has hippies and Monterey has - cheese? The city of Monterey, located along the Pacific Coast's Monterey Bay in Central california, has long been known around the world as the home of Monterey Jack cheese. However, Monterey boasts a rich history, with its past residents including the likes of Henry Miller and John Steinbeck, whose novel "Cannery Row" was set in the city. In fact, Monterey offers the visitor many attractions - not just cheese!

Monterey has been dubbed by some as "the cradle of history" and is home to many "firsts" in California's history: including the Golden State's first theatre, brick house, publicly funded school, public library and its first printing press. Anyone hoping to get a glimpse of Monterey's rich historical tradition need only visit the Monterey State Historic Park, in which visitors will find many examples of early colonial architecture. major historic landmarks in Monterey include Larkin house, Royal Presidio Chapel and Colton hall - a public school and government meeting place that played host to California's first constitutional convention.

Moreover, Monterey is well-known for its spectacular marine habitats and its long fishing tradition. Monterey's fishing industry was for many years one of the most famous in the United States, but underwent severe decline in the 1950s due to over-fishing. Cannery Row, Monterey's once bustling sardine-canning street has now been converted into a major tourist attraction with many restaurants and shops lining the important historical site.

Cannery Row is also home to one of Monterey's most popular attractions: the Monterey Bay Aquarium. One of the largest aquariums in north america, the aquarium sees more than 1.8 million people pass through its doors every year and is home to 35, 000 plants and animals from around 623 species, including jellyfish, sea otters and stingrays. And in September 2004, the aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit momentously became home to the first Great White Shark to ever successfully be kept on exhibit.

If you're hoping to sample some of Monterey's non-cheesy delights, you'll find that getting around the city is simple due to its fairly compact nature. Any of the hotels in Monterey will leave you only a hop, skip and a jump away from the city's main attractions. And since Monterey is only a couple of hours away from San Francisco and San Jose, and only a little further away from San Diego, Sacramento and LA, it's an easily accessible day or weekend trip for tourists visiting any of California's major cities.

Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist

X-box was introduced by microsoft Corporation. It is basically a gaming device launched to counter the Sonys play station series. The users of X-box are provided with the feature of xbox Live. On order to connect to X-box Live the user needs to access a wifi network. X-box is not provided with inbuilt wifi facilities. So if gamers want to enjoy the advanced features of X-box needs to buy wifi network adapter. These adapters are available at microsoft outlet but can be very expensive. Those who can afford it surely benefit from the excellent features of X-box. It never gives you a chance to sit idle with its cool and exciting games.

The wifi network adapters provided by microsoft are compatible with X-box 360. These adapters are easy to install and are smarter than most of the available wifi adapters. But he microsoft adapters are very costly since it provides dual-band 802.11 a, b, and g bandwidth to the user. The microsoft adapter makes use to usb port which can be used for the following two purposes:

It provides power.

It enables the user to make use of ethernet port for computer hook up. It is easy to connect microsoft wifi network adapter to X-box 360. it can be installed with the help of usb cable. If a user wants to connect any other wifi device to X-Box 360 he must use an ethernet cable.

Now search through the X box 360 settings and select X box 360 wifi setting. It should be made sure that SSID of the wifi setting matches with the SSID of the nearby wifi router. If the router has been configured as network name broadcast then the SSID would automatically appear on the screen.

The next step involves the setting of security feature with that of X box 360 wifi router. If the router is running WPA standard then you need to disable the setting as X Box 360 does not support it.

Next we need to save the network setting and test and established connection to check whether it is functioning properly or not. There is an option in X box 360 known as Test xbox live Connection which automatically tests the network connection. Now the gamer can enjoy the various features of a wifi connection, being able to play some multiplayer games online. Its look and features have attracted quite a lot of buyers. The X-box 360 has brought a sort of revolution in the world of play stations and is surely and all time entertainer for the youngsters.