Offline Entertainment

As well as there being online entertainment there is also offline entertainment. Offline entertainment has changed dramatically over the years, with technology becoming more advanced the simple things such as Gameboys and videos no longer exist.

Video games

Video games go all the way back to the 1940’s where they were first introduced by Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, who in 1947 created the invention they described as the ‘cathode ray tube amusement device’. This invention was to be known as the earliest interactive electronic game. The first ever video game, ‘Spacewar!’ was created in the 1960’s. Mainstream video games didn’t get introduced until the 1970’s-1980’s, this is when arcade video games, gaming consoles and home computer games were introduced to the general public. The msot common forms of video consules are the Xbox, PS2 (or PS3), PSP and the Wii. All these types of gaming consoles have been made into many forms of different models.

The Nintendo Company has been running since 1889 and was founded by a Japanese company. The first Nintendo game console known as the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in North America in 1985. Nintendo then went on to develop the Game Boy handheld console, which was released in 1989. As technology became more advanced the more recent handheld game Nintendo have produced is the Nintendo DS, this was released in 2004. As Nintendo could see with their large sales the Nintendo DS was a good seller they went on to make the DS one step better. The Nintendo DS Lite brought a smaller factor but was known for its double screens, a microphone and as well as it having a touch-sensitive lower screen. Sales continued to increase so more models were to be made, the most current form of a Nintendo handheld gaming system is the Nintendo DSi which features larger screens and two cameras and the DSi XL that contains a 90% bigger screen.

Video games have become part of a big industry. Nowadays it is common for video gaming to be taught in school and as part of the curriculum students have to know how to make their own game.

Advantages

-Video games can improve hand-eye coordination, especially for people who play fast action games.

-They improve reaction time.

-You have to use your brain a lot of the time so a lot of quick thinking is involved because you’re playing as part of a challenge all the time.

-Some games can be educational.

Disadvantages

-Most gaming consoles are very expensive.

-Through a constant use of your thumbs, wrists and eyes it can lead to problems such as eyestrain, RSI and other physical problems.

-There is no physical activity involved.

-They can be seen as being very unsociable because most games are for one player.

-A newer model of a specific gaming console is always being released so if you have just brought one, chances are that as soon as the new version comes out you will want that one.

Personal Experience

When I was younger I did own a Gameboy that I used to love. I did really enjoy using my Gameboy, however the games for it were very expensive so I only played on a couple of games that in the end became very boring from where I had played them so much. For my 10th birthday I got the Nintendo DS which was the very first one which was made. I really liked the DS because I could use my old games from my Gameboy and my new games for the DS at the same time. After about 3 years my DS broke, however, my sister got the Nintendo DS light in 3D which is very good as you can also access the internet through it and connect with other players for certain games.

Music

Music has dramatically changed since the time records were made around the 1860’s. The record player is something that was very popular and back in the day and the only way of playing music, people would have to purchase a vinyl record which is like a giant version of a CD which would play 1-2 songs on it. As record players were so large it meant that they were very space consuming which for people that lived in small houses it wasn’t very practical. The record players were huge which meant they were very space consuming. As technology became more advanced Fritz Pfleumer invented tapes which were another way of listening to music. Tapes were a great deal smaller than vinyl records and it was often that the tape would unravel which caused them to break, however tapes did come with more advantages than records as they held a lot more songs and were less space consuming. With technology continuing to become more advanced the next form of music device was the CD which came about in the 1980’s. CD’s are still around nowadays however it’s not very common that you see people listening to CD’s as they can download them from iTunes for the same amount of money. The first portable music player was the Walkman; this was a small device which you could listen to CD’s on. Portable music players then became more advanced and in 1998 MP3 players came out, this then advanced to MP4 players, this was then followed by the Apple Ipod classic. The Ipod classic was the first type of Ipod to be made by Apple and to be run through iTunes, this became very popular with the public as it was easier and more space efficient to by albums through iTunes rather than to buy them through a shop such as HMV. Since the Ipod classic Apple have produced many more advanced types of IPod’s, the current one being the Apple Ipod Touch.

Advantages
-If you only like one song from an album you save money as you can chose to pay for that one song.
-They will never be out of stock.
-You can package a chosen single to someone and send it to them.
-You can keep all your music in one place.
-You can buy ITunes gift cards for people so it’s better than buying them a CD as they can choose which songs they want.
-Rather than having lots of records and CD’s you can purchase music from Itunes which saves a lot of space.
-Records are worth a lot of money nowadays.

Disadvantages
- You need Wi-Fi to be able to access ITunes.
- You need an apple product to be able to use the ITunes software.
- There are many sites where people can illegally download music.
- You can’t collect records/ CD’s if you buy them through ITunes.

Personal experiences
My first ever portable music player was a MP3 player, it worked by plugging the USB stick into my computer and putting the music from my computer onto the MP3 player. I really liked my MP3 player because I would take it wherever I wanted to and the battery lasted a long time. Nowadays because I have an Apple Iphone I listen to all my music through there and it’s a lot easier to choose which songs I wish to listen to, however, my phone battery is rubbish and when I listen to music it normally runs out of power very quickly which can be very annoying as I really like listening to music. I also like the idea of how I can just buy songs off of ITunes whenever I want and how I can choose selective songs rather than buy a whole album.

Televisions

When televisions first came out they consisted of four basic channels; BBC 1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4. However, this is no longer the case; nowadays you can get hundreds of programmes on Sky, Freeview and Virgin Atlantic boxes. On many types of media boxes such as the most common ones being Sky and Virgin you can record, pause, fast forward and rewind programmes for whenever you are busy. Also now on many boxes you have the option of paying an extra amount of money per month and as part of your package you can get ‘On Demand’ this means any programme from the channels BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 you can get from your television at any time. Recently television has changed from analogue to digital making it more accessible for people to experience many different channels. From box TV’s to plasma screens televisions people are always buying new televisions due to better resolution, HD settings and recently the most advanced type feature included in a television is the 3D feature which is amazing. Nowadays televisions have become a lot more complex as they have so many different options on them; also recently it has become known that you can buy TV’s that include a Wi-Fi feature which means you can connect your laptop, Ipad, Iphone or Ipod to your television to play videos, films and music.
Advantages

-Higher resolution.
-You can always watch the programmes you want to watch whenever you want.
-More television programmes to choose from.
-More compatible with modern day technology.
-More precise.
-You can use Blu-ray players which mean the picture quality is a lot better.

Disadvantages
-Too many channels to choose from.
-Modern TV’s are expensive.
-Not compatible with older technology, for example, analogue videos.
-Sometimes ‘On Demand’ doesn’t work due to a weak signal connection.
-Some TV’s are so thin they are very fragile.

Personal experiences
My parents have always owned digital TV’s ever since I can remember. Currently we have a Virgin TIVO box which allows us to access thousands of channels, it also means we can watch BBC Iplayer, ITV player, 4 on demand and demand 5 through on demand whenever we like. My sister recently got a 3D television for her birthday which is amazing, however you have to buy 3D DVD’s which are very expensive. I have never really had any problems loosing signal or bad picture quality at home unless the weather is extremely bad. Also on the TV I have in my kitchen it has a USB port so I connect my phone, laptop and Ipad through it which comes in very useful when I have friends round and want to play music or videos on the screen.