xBox One - Biggest Deal-Breaker Yet

Of course... now that SONY's FAQ PS4 Fact Sheet List is out.... the PS4 has several draw backs like USB, Blu-Ray, CD Music Playback, no external hard drive support and a number of missing or broken apps or hardware.  So the xBoxOne isn't the only offender.... PS4 Bad News Here:  http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/10/30/ps4-the-ultimate-faq-north-america/  Sony hints that some of the missing items and support "may" come in patches and updates later.  But it's clear... SONY has rushed the PS4 to market in time for the Holidays... and the PS4 isn't ready to come out of the oven!

I'm still getting my PS4 on day one... but SONY better live up to their PS4 hype... or SONY will have a big price to pay later!!


'Xbox One's 720p problem is the biggest deal-breaker yet'
Added by Gauss on 31.10.2013
LINK  

A Videogamer.com article,

VideoGamer wonders why Microsoft has failed to provide a machine capable of offering the same performance as its rival...

As you may know, it was confirmed this week that Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts will run at a lower native resolution on the Xbox One than its PlayStation 4 counterparts.

Well, VideoGamer.com has published an article saying that this '720p' issue is the biggest deal-breaker for Microsoft's console.

According to the site, Microsoft has "dug its own grave", and now "it's difficult to be so forgiving" about this situation.



Do you agree? Here are some interesting quotes from this piece of opinion, but of course that you can always check out the full article on the link below:

Quote :

For a long time I've accepted Microsoft's rhetoric on the power of Xbox One. I've gone along with the talk about balance; I've acknowledged the promise of Cloud technology; and I've empathised with its frustration over the ongoing community backlash.

But now it's difficult to be so forgiving.

With two of next-gen's major launch titles performing noticeably better on PlayStation 4, now's the time for the tough questions to be asked: why, given the £80 premium, has Microsoft failed to provide a machine capable of offering the same performance - a reasonable performance - as its rival? Why is Call of Duty: Ghosts – a game often ridiculed by the community for its underwhelming visuals – unable to render at native 1080p? And should those who have stuck with Microsoft through thick and thin over the last four months finally start to reconsider their purchase?

If Sony was ever to able to pull forward, I believed it would be later in the console's life as developers ran into bottlenecks on Xbox One and managed to squeeze the extra ounce of power out of PS4's GDDR5 RAM and impressive GPU.

Perhaps foolishly, I also believed Microsoft's bullish claims about its machine's capabilities.

"There is no way we're giving up a 30%+ advantage to Sony,” said Albert Penello, Xbox's senior director of marketing and planning, last month. “And ANYONE who has seen both systems running could say there are great looking games on both systems. If there was really huge performance difference – it would be obvious."

He continued: "I get a ton of hate for saying this – but it's been the same EVERY generation. Sony claims more power, they did it with Cell, they did it with Emotion Engine, and they are doing it again. And, in the end, games on our system looked the same or better."

Penello's words are a particularly agonizing read now. The two games we've seen and heard about so far on Xbox One – the games that could arguably matter most to a huge portion of next-gen investors –do not look better on Microsoft's console. They don't even look the same, with PlayStation 4 displaying a significant advantage in pure pixel count. Based on early indications and an ill-advised aggressive commentary, Microsoft, frankly, appears to have dug its own grave.

But as we've seen with Wii U, getting a launch right can be vitally important to public perception, and once the idea that a machine less powerful than one almost £100 cheaper seeps into the mainstream, Microsoft may struggle to turn things around. And as developers grow more familiar with PlayStation 4's hardware, there's little reason not to believe that the differences between the two consoles could remain a constant.

Eight weeks ago, Microsoft's Major Nelson said that he was “very much looking forward to the next few months (and beyond) as the truth comes out” about Xbox One. The truth is out there now, and it certainly isn't pretty.

NOTE... any of these privacy issues that Microsoft says is "Turned Off" on the xBox One... can be "Turned On" with a simple patch or update.  Would Microsoft tell it's customers that the xBox Ones Privacy Policy was changed per the NSA... if the NSA forces them that they can't?

How about SONY?  If I find out my new PS4 is watching me... and sharing that information with others... IT WILL BE SOLD AND I'LL FIGHT FOR A REFUND!!

Is Microsoft, Google, SONY, YouTube, G-Mail, Yahoo, Apple and the rest of the Internet giants... in bed with the NSA to spy on America?  The Answer: Yes.

The IRS, NSA, CIA and all the spy agencies are Controlled by the Whitehouse. And WHO... is setting in the Oval Office?

Think twice about the xBox One.  Food for thought.



Microsoft offers full disclosure amid fears over Kinect surveillance
Xbox One cannot transmit facial images; Player 'emotions' destroyed once game session expires

Posted on Friday 1st Nov 2013 at 11:54 AM
By Rob Crossley, Associate Editor for CVG UK
LINK  

The Xbox One Kinect sensor identifies users by measuring the arrangement and length of certain facial features and calculating that into a number, Microsoft has revealed as part of a detailed disclosure about its privacy policies.





In what could be a crucial clarification amid growing paranoia and distrust over Microsoft's privacy policies, the corporation explained that this unique number - even if passed onto government officials - could not be retroactively used to build an image of the user's face.

With this clarification, Microsoft is promising that it is not technically possible for security agencies and state officials to access images of players.

Quote :

Late in September, a former Microsoft privacy adviser said he no longer trusts the company after reading about the NSA mass-surveillance operation.

The company also clarified that, while game software can read player expressions and respond accordingly, that data is not sent to Microsoft.

"It stays on the console and is destroyed once your session ends," the company claimed.

Microsoft has come under significant scrutiny regarding its privacy policies. In July it was discovered that the corporation supplied email and Skype details to the NSA. Microsoft said it was legally bound to not discuss the matter openly.

Doubts and suspicions over Microsoft's handling of personal data has not abated. Late in September, a former Microsoft privacy adviser said he no longer trusts the company after reading about the NSA mass-surveillance operation.

Days later it was revealed that Microsoft handed over the personal information of more than a thousand customers to Australian government agents in the first half of 2013.

In response, Microsoft has launched a privacy policy disclosure web page, detailing its rules and limitations.

Quote :

Standout Xbox privacy policies include:

   Players can turn Kinect off at any time.
   
When Kinect is used with certain games and apps, a user's skeletal movements can be used to estimate exercise stats. Microsoft says "you can decide how your stats are managed and whether they are shared".
   
Kinect's facial-numeric identifiers, as described above, "stays on the console and is not shared with anyone".
   
Microsoft can share user info "with companies we've hired to provide services on our behalf". Those companies must pledge to keep the information confidential.
   
Microsoft can share user info "to comply with the law or respond to legal process or lawful requests, including from law enforcement and government agencies"
   
Aside from these exceptions, the company "will not disclose your personal information to a third party without your consent".
   
For games that enable in-game communications, the game publisher may also have access to the content of in-game communications when users are signed into their account with the publisher.
   
Xbox applications built by partner companies, from Netflix to Sky, have their own separate terms and conditions with regards to privacy.
   
Microsoft will read player data to serve better targeted advertisements, which users can opt out of.
   
If customers link their Microsoft account with a partner company, "Microsoft may share limited account information with that company". That information may include name, address, email and date of birth, but not credit card or other payment information.
   
Xbox applications using Windows Phone that require location data "will only collect and store the approximate location of your phone"
   
Payment data is stored and used for "detection and prevention of fraud". In support of these uses, "Microsoft may share your payment data with banks and other entities that process payment transactions or other financial services, and for fraud prevention and credit risk reduction."

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SOME READER COMMENTS

   Pankratous Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:08 PM GMT

   sry this is exactly what you'd say if spying

   Spies confirmed!!!




   Beetle Bum Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:11 PM GMT

   Microsoft lies and in denial as much as John Kerry.




   ronaco Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:15 PM GMT

   no thanks seems like a lot of my personal information will be for advertisers to market unwated crap at me



starvinbull Posted on 1st Nov 2013 at 1:07 PM UTC

Oh and I almost forgot to mention. If the NSA requested your information from MS or other* hardware manufacturers for that matter, MS * would be legally unable to tell you. If they revealed what information they'd handed over or who was "spied" on, MS executives would be locked up.

It's more serious than some people on this site are making out, they collect information and if you ever do something that upsets the government they can retroactively go back to all the data they've collected to find out if there's any skeletons in your closet.

You may thing oh but I'm not doing anything wrong, as has been reported that doesn't matter. The NSA is effectively thousands of individuals looking at all this information with little or no scrutiny, a demonstration of this is the term LOVINT. The term applies to NSA employees spying on people they are personally involved with such as spouses, ex partners, people who are just attractive or people who have a feud with the NSA employee.
Think about that, it's so common for NSA employees to spy on whoever they want without being challenged that they have a name for it. That shows you how illegal and out of control the whole system is, and we only know about it because 1 man was prepared to throw his life away to tell us about it.




   wellb_b Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:16 PM GMT

   Microspy




   apalmer28 Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:28 PM GMT

   NCA is now MSNCA, much like what happened with NBC




   drpunk Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:28 PM GMT

   I trust them. Especially with all those "We'll can share if..." clauses.




   EvilDog77 Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:35 PM GMT

   Let's face it. You can't trust any US company with your data any more.




   Mackins Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:37 PM GMT

   Microsoft can share user info "to comply with the law or respond to legal process or lawful requests, including from law enforcement and government agencies"




   g83 Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:37 PM GMT

   I'm afraid this device being compulsory doesn't get any better. It's the bit i have a problem with. By all means if people want a kinect, and don't mind any potential privacy issues, then of course they should be able to buy it, and enjoy it. However, the suspicion arises from when it has to be purchased, especially as laws can change. I think this device is the reason that many 360 users will switch to a ps4. Only my opinion.




   StonecoldMC Posted on 1-Nov-2013 12:39 PM GMT

   The irony in those posting comments about MS being the new THRUSH whilst using a PC, laptop, Tablet or phone to do so is pretty funny .