XBox More Than Games : You Tube

Did you realise that one of the fab new features of Xbox Live is that you can now watch You Tube through it?

You don't actually realise what a big deal that is till you give it a go. No more sitting uncomfortably at your computer, now you can full on sit back in your comfy clothes to catch up on your latest You Tube faves.

My children love it, maybe too much because now they fight over who gets to choose what they watch. The girls like to catch up with episodes of their favourite shows, like Tracy Beaker Returns, or Disney's Sonny with a Chance. Sonny likes to sit for hours watching other peoples uploads of his favourite Xbox games (I don't understand why either but that is another post altogether).

Me, well I dare say I spend way to much time watching stupid kitty vids (like I have the time) or my current favourite is this one that I stumbled across on my mobile phone after Betty had been using it...

A rare and beautiful find!

If you don't already have an Xbox Live Gold membership you can get 3 months for half price by using the code:  M3mmyT1ps

Awesome New Xbox Features and the chance to win £200!

I get to do some pretty cool things because of my blog and without a shadow of a doubt the best thing in the world (according to my children) is that I'm an Xbox Ambassador.

Much to the annoyance of said children, last week I went for a sneak peek, pre launch demo of the new Xbox 360 dashboard features and to a slightly off the wall Twin Peaks style soiree with interesting entertainment!

I got a new dress to celebrate the update!

Fun and games aside the new voice controlled Xbox feature is awesome. Its everything that Siri should should have been and most importantly it works. 

No more arguments and endless searching for the remote because you can control all of your content, games, music, movies and sports by simply using your voice.

Other features in the update include integration with leading entertainment providers including Sky, Love Film and 4od, allowing you to enjoy movies and TV content right on your Xbox and the brilliant Bing search functionality.

I'm so impressed with the voice controls that I haven't even considered asking it any of the idiotic things that I continue to taunt Siri with on a daily basis. Which is odd.

I've got lots of fresh Xbox content for you over the next few weeks along with offers and treats for fellow geeks starting with the chance to win £200 in Amazon vouchers.

The survey is now closed.

Do you like my new dress?!

Mummy-Tips Gift Guide Part 2 - Geeks

Part 2 of my Christmas Gift Guide - The Geek Edition!

1.  Lego VW Camper Van,  £79.99 from Lego

Yeah, I know this is a grown up guide but who doesn't love Lego? If Santa popped this in my stocking I'd be one happy girl on Christmas day. There might not be a Christmas dinner but I figure I could do without the calories anyway.

2.  Polaroid Z340 Instant Digital Camera, £229.99 from Firebox.com

I am loving this modern twist to the classic Polaroid camera. Its a bit pricey but what can I say? I love cameras!

3.  MiFi from Three, available on contract and pay as you go from Three

I never leave home without mine. It is quite simply one of the best tech gadgets out there and way worth the subscription. You can connect five devices at once so no one needs to be offline. 

I used mine to order a Tesco home delivery from the car on our way home from a two week holiday in Thailand. I ordered my weekly shop and it arrived an hour after we got home. Thats how handy it is.

4.  Xbox 360 with Kinect, £229 from Asda.com (4GB console with Kinect Adventures)

If you thought Xbox was just for teenage boys and hardcore gamers you are way off the mark. Xbox is the best family console on the market (and I've owned them all). 

As well as playing all of your favourite games Xbox has some pretty cool new features that turn it into the ultimate media hub. 

Facebook, Twitter, 4 On Demand, Love Film, You Tube and Video Kinect. You can say adios to searching for the remote because you are the controller. Play, rewind, pause and watch. You tell your Xbox what you want to do and it does it.... and unlike Siri it actually does!

Disclosure: I am an Xbox Family Ambassador but I already owned an Xbox and only became an ambassador after begging them at length to have me.

5.  Fruit Ninja on Xbox Kinect, 800 points from the Xbox marketplace

If you've enjoyed Fruit Ninjas on your phone or iPad you will love this Xbox Kinect version. Beware though - you won't be able to move the next day as you use muscles that you didn't even know existed!

6.  Philips Fidelio DS3500 iPad Dock. £119.97 from Tesco.com

I searched high and low for an iPad speaker dock last Christmas but they hadn't made it to market. This year there are loads of them around. Biba has a Philips Fidelio dock for her iPod Touch and the sound is great - well it was till the cat chewed through the charger wire but that's another blog post all together.

7.  Micro Samsonite Scooter, £250 from Micro Scooter

How awesome is this? It gives me visions of carefree scooting around an airport instead of being laden down by my computer bag. I would LOVE one of these!

Xbox Security Settings Have It Covered

I'm a geeky girl at heart and I know that not everyone would find the prospect of a live demonstration about Xbox's security settings exciting.... but what can I say? They promised tea and cakes and to share how they were planning to win the Battle for the Living Room. It was a no brainer really.

So last Friday I met with the other LadyGeek #XboxMums at a swanky London hotel for a discussion about the security measures that they already have in place and ways to improve them.

XboxMums and Kudo Tsunoda who threw himself in at the deep end and cared not about the consequences.

We're an interesting group of women, all with different experiences of home gaming and all with different aged children. I suspect that it's pretty difficult to create a secure environment for so many   differing needs but I think that within their 'Family Pack' Xbox have totally nailed it.

The problem as I see it is, that thanks to the modern trend of instruction-less products, us parents have to actively search out information online in order to understand the true capabilities of the amazing bit of kit that sits before us.. But who does that??

Take my family...
I think it's safe to say that we are 'avid gamers'. I had my first computer (a Commodore 64) in 1983 and my children have all grown up with games and technology as a part of their lives. 

No1 son had his first Xbox in 2002 and an Xbox 360 when they launched in December 2005 (they sold out at launch but I tracked one down on ebay in time for Christmas). #GoodMummyKarma

Last year No1 son went away to uni, taking his Xbox 360 with him and after months of begging, pleading and keeping his bedroom tidy I bought Sonny his very own 360 for his tenth birthday.

He took it out of the box and set it up independently. Minor input in the form of asking for the wifi key and he was online and off.

I never considered looking for parental settings because in all honesty I had no idea that they even existed!

I do now though and I have to say that I'm blown away by Xbox's attention to detail.

Did you know that you can age restrict games and online content? So if your sneaky little one tried their luck at age inappropriate title when your back was turned they'd need to know your security pin to even get it to load.

Worried about the length of time they spend gaming? You can set the parental timer so that the console switches off when they've reached their set time limit.

I love this feature - but that's the control freak in me! I especially love the ability to log into your console's settings through the web interface and make these changes from wherever you are.
That's ultimate parent power!

I would love to know about your home gaming habits. Do you have games consoles? Which ones do you own? Do you limit game play time? Do your children play games online? Do you worry about security settings? Do you let you children play games that aren't classified as age appropriate? Do you use security settings on your console? Are there any security settings that you'd like to see in the future?
Please do leave comments and suggestions as they will all be fed back to Xbox.
#XboxMums 

Win Your Shape: Fitness Evolved on Xbox

Now that I've booked our holiday I'm all over the rather fab Your Shape: Fitness Evolved Xbox game as I'd really like to shift a few extra inches before I subject my pasty body on the Thai masses, and now that CyberMummy is behind me I have no excuse to hit the hardcore exercise trail.

My biggest problem is that because I live off the beaten track I have limited 'spare time' in my day, so I hate having to waste precious exercise time in the car travelling to classes. 

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved really is the answer for me and I have a copy to give away!!!

All you have to do to enter is watch the short vid below and then leave a comment on this post (with means of contact) with the answer to this question;

What colour trainers is the girl with the pink top and green shorts wearing?

This competition is now closed.

We Are Xbox Family Ambassadors!!

A few weeks ago (much to the delight of my boys) we became an Xbox Ambassador family.
In our house this is MAJOR.
No1 son was an early adopter, switching to Xbox when it hit the UK in March 2002 and from the day it arrived no other games console saw the light of day.

Our original Xbox console from 2002 is still going strong.

December 2005, just in time for Christmas (and No1's birthday) the new Xbox 360 arrived in the UK. It was sold out with waiting lists everywhere and I had to get my hands on one.

December 2005 People queue to get their hands on a new Xbox 360

I searched and searched and ended up paying way over list price on ebay but at least I had the 360!

That original machine was played and played and played - finally giving up last December just in time for the Christmas Xbox fairy to return!

The beautiful Xbox 360

No1 son's now away at university and Sonny is the new Xbox master. They both have Xbox LIVE and hook up virtually every week for a play date. I love that.

Next week we'll be getting hot and sweaty as we begin our Easter fitness challenge with Your Shape and Kinect. 

We'll be battling it out as a family so stay tuned to see vlog our journey.

For further information about Xbox Family Ambassadors visit the PlaySmartPlaySafe site.