page 6 The Fourth Wall
Diversity from page 3 Homecoming 2005: Hooray for Hollywood!
Other reasons why it may be
so hard to increase the size of
underrepresented groups here at
Mont Alto is “Location,
Location, Location” says
Andrea Christopher, Director of
Student Affairs. Christopher
expresses why location is a
major issue: “Mont Alto prides
itself for having such a diverse
Resident’s Life staff, including
our Resident Assistants,
Resident Coordinators, as well
as our Director of Academic
Affairs is a member of an
underrepresented group. It’s
challenging in a rural setting to
attract more diverse faculty and
staff. We do try to the best of our
abilities to make Mont Alto as
diverse as possible, but the area
is such a culture shock to
prospective employees. We
have been successful in creating
a diverse student population,
and hope it will be a matter of
time until the staff and faculty
catches up.”
To get a better understanding
of where Penn State stands on the
matter of the achieving diversity
goals or strategic planning, go to
“A Framework to Fostering
Diversity at Penn State” at
www.equity.psu.edu/
Framework/.
Join us for Homecoming
D005 on September 23 and 24.
This. year’s theme is Hooray for
Hollywood! Enjoy popcorn
vendors, movie soundtracks, and
feel like a star throughout the
weekend! Following is a
tentative schedule for the
weekend. If you have questions,
call the Office of University
Relations at 717-749-6110.
Friday, September 23
Noon - Penn State Mont Alto
Alumni Society Golf Outing at
Penn National
(Proceeds will benefit the John
Benchoff Trustee Scholarship)
9 p.m. — Homecoming Dance for
students and alumni
Saturday, September 24
9 a.m. — Alumni Society 5K
Walk/Run
(Proceeds to benefit John
Benchoff Trustee Scholarship)
10 a.m. — 3 p.m. — Woodsmen'’s
Demonstration
11 a.m. — 3 p.m. — Student
Carnival including the band,
“The Holders”
Noon - Penn State Mont Alto
Auction in the Multipurpose
Activities Center
(Proceeds to benefit the John
Benchoff Trustee Scholarship)
3 p.m.- Alumni Soccer Game
3 p.m. — Basket Bingo
(Proceeds to benefit the John
Benchoff Trustee Scholarship)
David Olson
The question has come up on
campus many times: “Which
game system is better? The
Xbox or Playstation 2?” Maybe
this article can help you decide.
Last summer, Microsoft
announced that over 200 new
Xbox titles would be available
worldwide this holiday season
and recently, the new Xbox Live
online gaming service has come
up. In comparison, Sony already
has more than 250 game titles for
the PlayStation 2 — but perhaps
more importantly, the PS2 can
play many of the games
designed for the original
PlayStation. And now you can
also get a Network Adapter from
Sony that allows you to compete
online using your own ISP. So
what’s the difference between
the two and which one is better?
Both the Xbox and the
PlayStation 2 feature the
requisite graphics and audio
subsystems needed to play
today’s incredibly realistic 3D
action games as well as DVD
movies. The XBOX is powered
by a 32-bit Intel processor and
uses a specially designed nVidia
GPU (graphics processing unit)
to achieve dazzling graphics,
plus it has 64 MB of fast DDR
(dual Data Rate) memory on
board.
The PlayStation 2, on the
other hand, uses 128-bit
processor and includes 32 MB of
Rambus memory; the 4 MB
Graphics Synthesizer chip
handles 3D rendering tasks.
Both systems come with a built-
in DVD drive for running
gaming and movie DVDs,
although you'll have to purchase
an additional DVD Playback Kit
to watch movies on the Xbox.
Also, both systems play standard
music cds.
The Xbox has four controller
ports, and comes with 10 MB
hard drive to store saved games
and user profiles. The drive also
helps games to load faster, and
allows you to store your own
music, which can be used to
customize your gaming
experience. Additionally, it has
a built in Ethernet port for
console-to-console or broadband
internet connectivity. The PS2
has two slots for memory cards
and two controller ports,
although you can add more
controllers if you purchase a
Multitap Adapter. As mentioned
earlier, you'll have to purchase
a Network Adapter for
PlayStation 2 to connect to the
internet. Sony also plans to
release a hard drive kit for the
PS2 in the near future.
The Xbox and the PlayStation
2 both support Dolby Digital 5.1
3D surround sound, making
them ideal for hooking up to a
home theater system. Dolby 5.1
enhances the DVD movie
experience, too. If you don’t
want to make the potentially
large investment in a complete
home theater system, you can
still buy a relatively inexpensive
5.1 speaker system like those
being shipped with today’s
desktop PC's.
Although both the Xbox and
the PS2 come with one game
controller, each accepts
additional devices. There are
several third-party game
controllers for the Xbox, such as
the FreeStyler board for surfing,
skateboarding, and
snowboarding games; a
NASCAR racing wheel for
driving games; and the Top Gun
Fox 2 Pro Joystick, all
manufactured by Thrustmaster.
A new company called
Gamester also makes controllers
and racing wheels for the Xbox.
For the PlayStation 2,
Logitech makes a force feedback
driving wheel that vibrates and
shudders as you navigate around
the track and a wireless
controller that gives you
mobility while gaming. There’s
even an air-cooled controller
from NKYO, appropriately
named the Airflow Controller,
which keeps your hands cool
while doing battle against your
friends.
There are certain advantages
to each gaming system. Sony’s
PlayStation 2 absolutely has the
edge when it comes to sheer
number of game titles, and it has
the benefit of being backward
compatible with an extensive
library of games, with more on
the way. Microsoft is new to the
party, but by some accounts has
a slight edge when it comes to
graphics. The Intel/nVidia mix
may also work to Microsoft’s
advantage as PC game
developers begin writing more
games for the Xbox.
Overall, both consoles offer
great video and sound quality,
which is all-important in the
gaming world, so hopefully this
can help you understand both of
there good points and exactly
what you are looking for in a
system. Happy Gaming!