This page will contain discussion groups about Mango, as they become available.Mango |
| Species |
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| About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera swintonioides Mangifera sylvatica Mangifera torquenda Mangifera zeylanica |
The mango (Mangifera spp.; Hindi: आम; plural mangos or mangoes) is a genus of about 35 species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae, native to southern and southeastern Asia from India east to the Philippines, of which the Indian Mango M. indica is by far the most important commercially. The name of the fruit comes from the Tamil word man-kay, which was corrupted to manga by the Portuguese when they explored western India.
Mangos are large trees, reaching 35-40 m in height, with a crown radius of 10 m. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 15-35 cm long and 6-16 cm broad; when young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark glossy red, then dark green as they mature. The flowers are produced in terminal panicles 10-40 cm long; each flower is small and white with five petals 5-10 mm long, with a mild sweet odour suggestive of lily of the valley. After the flowers finish, the fruit takes from three to six months to ripen.
The mango fruit is a drupe; when mature, it hangs from the tree on long stems. They are variable in size, from 10-25 cm long and 7-12 cm diameter, and may weigh up to 2.5 kg. The ripe fruit is variably coloured yellow, orange and red, reddest on the side facing the sun and yellow where shaded; green usually indicates that the fruit is not yet ripe, but this depends on the cultivar. When ripe, the unpeeled fruit gives off a distinctive resinous slightly sweet smell. In the centre of the fruit is a single flat, oblong stone that can be fibrous or hairless on the surface, depending on cultivar. Inside the shell, which is 1-2 mm thick, is a paper-thin lining covering a single seed, 4-7 cm long, 3-4 cm wide, 1 cm thick.
The often leatherlike skin (and the seed) is not normally eaten.
Mangoes have been believed to have existed in northeast India, Myanmar and Bangladesh after fossil records were found there dating back from 25 to 30 million years. Cultivation and domestication of mangos most likely began in the Indian subcontinent, where they have been grown for more than 4000 years. Buddhist monks were known for taking mango plants on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Around the tenth century AD, Persian traders took mangoes to the Middle East and East Africa. When the Portuguese arrived in India in they then took it to South America, the Philippines and to West Africa.
In the early stages of domestication, the fruits were probably very small and fibrous without much flesh. The Mughals and Portuguese selected and grew generations of mango plants. Many centuries of development have produced varieties of mangos free of both fibres and unpleasant flavours. This eventually led to the large fruits with thick flesh that we are most familiar with today.[1]
During more recent years, mangos have been introduced throughout the frost-free tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world, wherever the climate is suitable for its growth. It is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates throughout southern Asia, North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, south and central Africa and Australia. Mango trees require hot, dry periods to set and produce a good crop. The mango is reputed to be the most commonly eaten fresh fruit worldwide. Mangos also readily naturalize in tropical climates, becoming an invasive species; some lowland forests in the Hawaiian Islands are dominated by introduced mangos. Mangos were introduced to California (Santa Barbara) in the 1880's. [2]
Mangos can be grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates. They should be planted in an area with good drainage and a slightly acidic soil. They should be watered regularly when they are young but when they are old they should be watered between 10 anfd 15 day intervals.[3]
It is easily cultivated and there are now more than 1,000 mango cultivars, ranging from the turpentine mango (from the strong taste of turpentine; some cultivars contain the same terpenes found in turpentine) to the huevos de toro ("bull's balls", from the shape and size).
In mango orchards, several cultivars are always grown intermixed to improve cross-pollination. In India, the commonest cultivar is 'Alphonso', known as the King of Mangoes due to the popular opinion that they are the best cultivar available. The best 'Alphonso' mangos are reputed to come from the town of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. About 80% of mangos in UK supermarkets are of the single cultivar 'Tommy Atkins', which dominates the world export trade. It travels well and has a good shelf-life, but does not have the same flavour as some less common cultivars obtained from Asian shops.
Mango crops can suffer from several diseases at all stages of its life. All the parts of the plant, such as the trunk, branch, twig, leaf, petiole, flower and fruit are attacked by a number of pathogens including fungi, bacteria and algae. These pathogens can cause several kinds of disease, and can cause heavy losses in mango production.[4]
Over 492 species of insects, 17 species of mites and 26 species of nematodes have been reported to be attacking mango trees. Almost a dozen of them have been found damaging the crop to a considerable extent causing severe losses and, therefore, may be termed as major pests of mango. These insects are hopper, mealy bug, inflorescence midge, fruitfly, scale insect, shoot borer, leaf webber and stone weevil. Of these, insects infesting the crop during flowering and fruiting periods cause more severe damage. The insects other than those indicated above are considered as less harmful to a mango crop and are placed in the category of minor pests.
The leaves are toxic to cattle.
The mango is a popular fruit with people around the world. However, many mango farmers receive a low price for their produce. This has led to mangoes being available as a 'fair trade' item in some countries.
The taste of the fruit is very sweet, with some cultivars having a slight acidic tang. The texture of the flesh varies markedly between different cultivars; some have quite a soft and pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have a firmer flesh much like that of a cantaloupe or avocado, and in some cultivars the flesh can contain fibrous material. Mangoes are very juicy; the sweet taste and high water content make them refreshing to eat, though somewhat messy.
The mango is in the same family as poison-ivy and contains urushiol, though much less than poison-ivy. Some people get dermatitis from touching mango peel or sap. Persons showing an allergic reaction after handling a mango can usually enjoy the fruit if someone else first removes the skin.
A sliced mango.Once mangoes are ripe they are quite juicy and can be very messy to eat. However, those exported to temperate regions are, like most tropical fruit, picked under-ripe. Although they are ethylene producers and ripen in transit, they do not have the same juiciness or flavour as the fresh fruit. A ripe mango will have an orange-yellow or reddish skin. To allow a mango to continue to ripen after purchase, store in a cool, dark place, but not in a refrigerator as this will slow the ripening process.
In India, mango is often made into a pulp and sold as bars like chocolate, and unripe mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. Southern India, especially the Andhra Pradesh state, is a major producer of mangoes that specialises in making a variety of mango pickles. These pickles are very spicy. It is almost an essential food in Andhra families, where mango pickle production is a household activity in summer. Mangoes are widely used in chutney, which in the West is often very sweet, but in the Indian subcontinent is usually sharpened with hot chilis or limes.
In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong, a salty paste made from fermented fish or shrimp. Mango is also used to make juices, both in ripe and unripe form. In Indonesia, green mango is sold by street vendors with sugar and salt and/or chili. Green mango may be used in the sour salad called rujak in Indonesia, and rojak in Malaysia and Singapore. In Indonesia and the Philippines Immature mango leaves are cooked and eaten. Pieces of fruit can be mashed and used in ice cream; they can be substituted for peaches in a peach (now mango) pie; or put in a blender with milk, a little sugar, and crushed ice for a refreshing beverage. A more traditional Indian drink is mango lassi, which is similar, but uses a mixture of yoghurt and milk as the base, and is sometimes flavoured with salt or cardamom. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries, sweet glutinous rice is flavoured with coconut then served with sliced mango on top as a dessert. Dried unripe mango used as a spice in south and southeast Asia is known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor). Am is a Hindi word for Mango and amchoor is nothing but powder or extract of Mango. Amchoor is used as a souring agent to balance the flavour of many dishes. Unlike citrus juice or vinegar, amchoor imparts a richer and more gentle acidity to food.
In Thailand, there are green-skinned mangos of a class called "keo". Their sweet, nearly fiberless flesh and very commonly grown and inexpensive on the market. They are then soaked whole for 15 days in salted water before peeling, slicing and serving with sugar. [5]
Ripe mangoes are extremely popular throughout North and South America. In Mexico, sliced mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. Street vendors sometimes sell whole mangoes on a stick, dipped in the chili-salt mixture. In Guatemala, Ecuador and Honduras, small, green mangoes are popular; they have a sharp, brisk flavour like a Granny Smith apple. Vendors sell slices of peeled green mango on the streets of these countries, often served with salt. In Hawai'i it is common to pickle green mango slices.
In parts of India, tree bark was used to extract a light-colored yellow dye which was used for cotton, silk and woolen fabrics. When the stems of the trees were beaten, the juice that ran from the bruised stems were collected. This juice could be mixed with turmeric and lime to produce a rose pink colour which was most commonly used on cottons.
Along with many wooden items, the timber from the trees are used to make furniture, boards, ceilings, boxes, tools and tea chests. If it is treated with a preservative it can be used as a substitute for teak. [6]
Dried mango flowers serve as astringents in cases of diarrhea, chronic dysentery, catarrh of the bladder and chronic urethritis resulting from gonorrhea. The bark contains mangiferine and is astringent and used against rheumatism and diphtheria in India. The gum from the trunk is applied on cracks in the skin of the feet and on scabies, and is believed helpful in cases of syphilis.
Mango kernel decoction and powder are used as vermifuges and as astringents in diarrhea, hemorrhages and bleeding hemorrhoids. The fat is administered in cases of stomatitis. Extracts of unripe fruits and of bark, stems and leaves have shown antibiotic activity. In some of the islands of the Caribbean, the leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diarrhea, fever, chest complaints, diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses. A combination of mango and other leaves is taken after childbirth.[7]
About half of all the tropical fruits produced worldwide are mangos. This is because there has been an increasing demand for mangos throughout the world. India accounts for almost half of the worlds production of mangos, followed by China , Mexico and Thailand. One fact is that almost all of the mango producing countries are either developing or emerging countries. All large mango producing countries have the vast majority of their mangos consumed domestically.[8]
Mexico and other Latin American countries are exporting the majority of their mangos to North America. The amount of mango exports from these countries in 1999 was approximately 326,000 tonnes which is almost half of all the world’s mango exports. In the Middle East, Israel produces for the European Union and local markets. Mangos are imported in significant volumes by industrialized countries as well as by developing countries. Demand for mangos are rising in developed countries, as consumers become increasingly aware of this tropical fruit.
The fruit flesh of a ripe mango contains about 15% sugar, up to 1% protein, and significant amounts of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. These can include vitamins A, B and C. Mangos also contain an enzyme with properties that are similar to papain found in papayas. These proteolytic enzymes break down proteins and are effective meat tenderizers that are regularly used in tropical countries where mangoes are grown. The enzyme list contains magneferin, katechol oxidase, and lactase. Studies have shown that foods containing phenolic compounds have powerful antioxidant, anticancer, and anticardiovascular abilities. Mangoes possess the phenols quercetin, isoquercitfin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid, and methylgallat.[9]
Because of the mangos high iron content they are suggested for treatment of anemia and are beneficial to women during pregnancy and menstruation. People who suffer from muscle cramps, stress, and heart problems can benefit from the high potassium and magnesium content that also helps those with acidosis. It is also reputed that mangos soothe the intestines, which makes them easy to digest. In India, where mangoes are the national fruit, they are thought to help stop bleeding, to strengthen the heart, and to benefit the brain.
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In India, where mangoes are the national fruit, they are thought to help stop bleeding, to strengthen the heart, and to benefit the brain. Mangoes possess the phenols quercetin, isoquercitfin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid, and methylgallat.[9]. [17]. Studies have shown that foods containing phenolic compounds have powerful antioxidant, anticancer, and anticardiovascular abilities. NVIDIA ceased production of the Xbox's GPU in August of that year, which almost certainly marks the end of Xbox production and the quick release of the Xbox 360 featuring a new GPU from NVIDIA's rival ATI. The enzyme list contains magneferin, katechol oxidase, and lactase. Microsoft's next generation Xbox, the Xbox 360, was released on November 22, 2005. These proteolytic enzymes break down proteins and are effective meat tenderizers that are regularly used in tropical countries where mangoes are grown. To avoid frustrating early adopters, they offered a bundle containing two games and one controller for free to any purchaser who could provide a sales receipt showing the original higher price. Mangos also contain an enzyme with properties that are similar to papain found in papayas. Microsoft countered with a £100 price drop (and its equivalent in the rest of Europe) some scant months after launch. These can include vitamins A, B and C. With a price-dropped PlayStation 2 and a comparatively inexpensive GameCube as competition, many users were naturally reluctant to invest in the console. The fruit flesh of a ripe mango contains about 15% sugar, up to 1% protein, and significant amounts of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Obviously, ignoring the GBP-USD exchange rate in the way gives the impression of a 100% mark-up for Europe. Demand for mangos are rising in developed countries, as consumers become increasingly aware of this tropical fruit. As with many games consoles (for example, the PlayStation series), the Xbox was launched with a price in GBP equal to its US price in USD (in this case, $/£299), and this price then converted for the rest of Europe. Mangos are imported in significant volumes by industrialized countries as well as by developing countries. Of note is the high European launch price. In the Middle East, Israel produces for the European Union and local markets. Oceania. The amount of mango exports from these countries in 1999 was approximately 326,000 tonnes which is almost half of all the world’s mango exports. Europe. Mexico and other Latin American countries are exporting the majority of their mangos to North America. North America. All large mango producing countries have the vast majority of their mangos consumed domestically.[8]. Recently, the firmware to the newer optical drives was edited to allow signed code to play. One fact is that almost all of the mango producing countries are either developing or emerging countries. Modding your Xbox in this manner will definitely void your warranty, since it requires you to disassemble the console. India accounts for almost half of the worlds production of mangos, followed by China , Mexico and Thailand. There are now sites that offer to modify the software on your Xbox for free. This is because there has been an increasing demand for mangos throughout the world. Probably the most legal way of modding the Xbox is replacing the whole motherboard so that you can install Linux or any other operating system designed for PC without having to hack anything. About half of all the tropical fruits produced worldwide are mangos. One such successful use of Live to discourage modding was when the hit game Halo 2 was released, and many owners of modded consoles found out that they were permanently banned from the Xbox Live service, but was retaliated with On-Off switchable Modchips (or add-ons) and XBOX Live friendly softmods from XBOX hackers community. A combination of mango and other leaves is taken after childbirth.[7]. As of November 2004, Microsoft has been taking new actions for banning Xboxes with hard drive modifications from the Xbox Live service. In some of the islands of the Caribbean, the leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diarrhea, fever, chest complaints, diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses. Also, most internal hardware modifications will render an Xbox unable to participate in Xbox Live, which has forced many modders to use a switch that turns on and off their modifications. Extracts of unripe fruits and of bark, stems and leaves have shown antibiotic activity. Modding an Xbox may require opening the Xbox case, and would certainly void the Xbox's warranty. The fat is administered in cases of stomatitis. A modded Xbox can even be configured into a computer running Linux, FreeBSD, or Microsoft Windows CE operating systems. Mango kernel decoction and powder are used as vermifuges and as astringents in diarrhea, hemorrhages and bleeding hemorrhoids. Beyond gaming, a modded Xbox can be used as a media center with the Xbox Media Center software (XBMC) allowing the playing of DVDs without the DVD dongle/remote and streaming of music and video files from the hard drive or from another computer over a network. The gum from the trunk is applied on cracks in the skin of the feet and on scabies, and is believed helpful in cases of syphilis. This process does require a modded Xbox using one of the alternative dashboards, and is used by scrupulous users to eliminate load times or leave their games in storage, and by unscrupulous users to play illegally copied games. The bark contains mangiferine and is astringent and used against rheumatism and diphtheria in India. This allows the user to spare game disks from scratching and allows for faster load times. Dried mango flowers serve as astringents in cases of diarrhea, chronic dysentery, catarrh of the bladder and chronic urethritis resulting from gonorrhea. Then Xbox games can be copied from the DVD to the hard disk with programs such as DVD2Xbox and PxHDDLoader, and then played directly from the hard drive. [6]. The original hard drive can be replaced with a larger one. If it is treated with a preservative it can be used as a substitute for teak. This is especially attractive as the Xbox is designed to output to TVs, and high-quality controllers and arcade sticks are available for it. Along with many wooden items, the timber from the trees are used to make furniture, boards, ceilings, boxes, tools and tea chests. This allows running an alternate dashboard such as UIX, Avalaunch, Evolution-X or UnleashX and in turn makes playing original (free) homebrew games or various older games through arcade and console game emulators possible. This juice could be mixed with turmeric and lime to produce a rose pink colour which was most commonly used on cottons. Software modding is much less intrusive, and only involves running software exploits to trick the Xbox into running unsigned program code. When the stems of the trees were beaten, the juice that ran from the bruised stems were collected. [15][16]. In parts of India, tree bark was used to extract a light-colored yellow dye which was used for cotton, silk and woolen fabrics. He was sentenced to 140 hours community service, ordered to pay £750 costs at a court in Caerphilly, Wales, and his computer equipment was confiscated. In Hawai'i it is common to pickle green mango slices. It is the first conviction since the Directive was enacted in October 2003 in the UK. Vendors sell slices of peeled green mango on the streets of these countries, often served with salt. (The Directive makes it illegal to circumvent copy protection systems on hardware including video game consoles). In Guatemala, Ecuador and Honduras, small, green mangoes are popular; they have a sharp, brisk flavour like a Granny Smith apple. This was the first conviction of its kind in the UK. Street vendors sometimes sell whole mangoes on a stick, dipped in the chili-salt mixture. In July 2005, a 22 year old Cambridge University graduate was convicted under the EU Copyright Directive for modifying Xboxes and selling them with an upgraded 200 GB hard drive, which was pre-loaded with 80 games. In Mexico, sliced mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. Hardware modding can involve anything from simply replacing the console's green decorative "jewel" with a custom-designed one to opening up the case and installing a modchip. Ripe mangoes are extremely popular throughout North and South America. The recent popularity of the Xbox has inspired efforts to circumvent the built-in hardware and software security mechanisms (sometimes in order to use the Xbox as a low cost web server), as well as to add customized design touches to the console's case (similar to PC case modding). [5]. The Xbox API is similar to DirectX version 8.1, but is non-updateable just like other console technologies. They are then soaked whole for 15 days in salted water before peeling, slicing and serving with sugar. Microsoft's set of low-level APIs for game development and multimedia purposes, DirectX, was used as a basis for the Xbox's hardware programming. Their sweet, nearly fiberless flesh and very commonly grown and inexpensive on the market. This output selectivity is made possible by the Xbox's SCART-like AVIP port. In Thailand, there are green-skinned mangos of a class called "keo". Numerous unofficial third-party cables and breakout boxes exist that provide combinations of outputs not found in these official video packages; however, with the exception of a few component-to-VGA transcoders and custom-built VGA boxes, the four official video packages represent all of the Xbox's possible outputs. Unlike citrus juice or vinegar, amchoor imparts a richer and more gentle acidity to food. Included with the Hello Kitty Crystal console was a matching Crystal Controller S and a copy of Hello Kitty Mission Rescue. Amchoor is used as a souring agent to balance the flavour of many dishes. A limited production run of 550 units was sold at a retail price of S$99 (US$61), if you purchase selected Samsung LCD TVs during a promotion. Am is a Hindi word for Mango and amchoor is nothing but powder or extract of Mango. The special edition console was translucent with a pink and orange Hello Kitty picture covering the X on top of the case. Dried unripe mango used as a spice in south and southeast Asia is known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor). The Hello Kitty Crystal Xbox was released with Sanrio in Singapore, to commemorate the release of Hello Kitty Mission Rescue on the Xbox. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries, sweet glutinous rice is flavoured with coconut then served with sliced mango on top as a dessert. Included with the neon green console was one of two games: Project Gotham Racing 2 or Amped 2. A more traditional Indian drink is mango lassi, which is similar, but uses a mixture of yoghurt and milk as the base, and is sometimes flavoured with salt or cardamom. Dew logo under the Xbox name. Pieces of fruit can be mashed and used in ice cream; they can be substituted for peaches in a peach (now mango) pie; or put in a blender with milk, a little sugar, and crushed ice for a refreshing beverage. The Mountain Dew Limited Edition Xbox was neon-green colored and had a special jewel atop the Xbox that had the words "Limited Edition" and the Mt. In Indonesia and the Philippines Immature mango leaves are cooked and eaten. Production numbers are unknown. Green mango may be used in the sour salad called rujak in Indonesia, and rojak in Malaysia and Singapore. The sweepstakes spanned 5 months – from April to August – in 2004. In Indonesia, green mango is sold by street vendors with sugar and salt and/or chili. The Mountain Dew Limited Edition Xbox was only available through a Mountain Dew sweepstakes requiring loyal Dew-drinking Xbox fans to amass 550 points in order to "buy" the Limited Edition Xbox. Mango is also used to make juices, both in ripe and unripe form. Included with the Ice Blue console was a matching Controller S, and a copy of Halo 2. In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong, a salty paste made from fermented fish or shrimp. The console was translucent blue and retailed for approximately $249. Mangoes are widely used in chutney, which in the West is often very sweet, but in the Indian subcontinent is usually sharpened with hot chilis or limes. On March 18, 2005, an Ice Blue Halo 2 Limited Edition Xbox was released in Canada and Asia. It is almost an essential food in Andhra families, where mango pickle production is a household activity in summer. The original retail price was ¥22'800 yen ($215), and included the translucent blue console with a matching Controller S, a DVD Playback Kit, an Xbox Live Starter Kit with a free one-year membership, a copy of Dead or Alive Online, and a five-foot-long Kasumi body pillow. These pickles are very spicy. The translucent blue case was based on the costume of Dead or Alive's main character, Kasumi, and had "Dead or Alive Online" written in white lettering in the lower left corner of the top of the case. Southern India, especially the Andhra Pradesh state, is a major producer of mangoes that specialises in making a variety of mango pickles. The system had a limited manufacturing run of 5,000 units, and was released simultaneously with Tecmo's fighting game, Dead or Alive Online. In India, mango is often made into a pulp and sold as bars like chocolate, and unripe mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. On March 25, 2004, a Kasumi-chan Blue Xbox console was released in Japan. To allow a mango to continue to ripen after purchase, store in a cool, dark place, but not in a refrigerator as this will slow the ripening process. 200,000 of these Xboxes were produced. A ripe mango will have an orange-yellow or reddish skin. The version of Halo that came with this bundle was identical to other versions of Halo, with the exception of a "NOT FOR RESALE" notice placed on the front of the game case. Although they are ethylene producers and ripen in transit, they do not have the same juiciness or flavour as the fresh fruit. The console case featured the Halo logo and the words "Special Edition"; the controller had a jewel that had the Halo logo in place of the normal Xbox logo. However, those exported to temperate regions are, like most tropical fruit, picked under-ripe. This version was translucent green and came with a copy of Halo: Combat Evolved and a matching translucent green Controller S. Once mangoes are ripe they are quite juicy and can be very messy to eat. On March 14, 2004, Microsoft released a special version of the Xbox in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Persons showing an allergic reaction after handling a mango can usually enjoy the fruit if someone else first removes the skin. A Crystal Controller S was also availible separately. Some people get dermatitis from touching mango peel or sap. The Crystal console was re-released on October 8, 2004 in a new bundle (but with only one controller) at the normal Xbox price of €149/£99. The mango is in the same family as poison-ivy and contains urushiol, though much less than poison-ivy. It is unknown how many Crystal Limited Editions were produced, however; later bundles were released pairing a re-released Crystal Xbox with different Xbox games and Xbox Live subscriptions. Mangoes are very juicy; the sweet taste and high water content make them refreshing to eat, though somewhat messy. With a price tag of €199/£139, the Crystal Limited Edition came with a transparent console and two matching Crystal Controller S. The texture of the flesh varies markedly between different cultivars; some have quite a soft and pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have a firmer flesh much like that of a cantaloupe or avocado, and in some cultivars the flesh can contain fibrous material. On March 14, 2004, the Crystal Limited Edition Xbox was released in Europe to celebrate the Xbox's European birthday. The taste of the fruit is very sweet, with some cultivars having a slight acidic tang. Included with the Pure White console was a matching Controller S, a DVD Playback Kit, and an Xbox Live Starter Kit with a free one-year membership and voice communicator. This has led to mangoes being available as a 'fair trade' item in some countries. The original retail price for the Pure White Limited Xbox was ¥19'800 yen ($186) and was only available for purchase online at the Official Xbox Japan website between the dates of January 30 and February 6, 2004. However, many mango farmers receive a low price for their produce. The words "Limited Edition 2004" were also carved into the jewel of the console, and into the exclusive Controller S (right below the Xbox name). The mango is a popular fruit with people around the world. The system had a limited manufacturing run of 1,000 units and allowed purchasers to personalize their console with up to twenty letters (Japanese characters not allowed) engraved on the case. The leaves are toxic to cattle. On February 22, 2004, a Pure White Limited Xbox Console was released in Japan, to commemorate the console's two-year anniversary in that country. The insects other than those indicated above are considered as less harmful to a mango crop and are placed in the category of minor pests. The Translucent Green Limited Edition Xbox was also released in Candada and came with one matching Controller S and two games, Crimson Skies and Project Gotham Racing 2. Of these, insects infesting the crop during flowering and fruiting periods cause more severe damage. The green Controller S was also sold separately. These insects are hopper, mealy bug, inflorescence midge, fruitfly, scale insect, shoot borer, leaf webber and stone weevil. The styling of the Translucent Green Xbox is identical to Debug Units used in game development; of course, the retail versions lacked the words "Debug Unit" on the front of the case. Almost a dozen of them have been found damaging the crop to a considerable extent causing severe losses and, therefore, may be termed as major pests of mango. The console came with two matching Controller S and retailed for €229/£149. Over 492 species of insects, 17 species of mites and 26 species of nematodes have been reported to be attacking mango trees. On May 2, 2003 a Translucent Green Limited Edition Xbox was released in Europe to celebrate Xbox's one-year European birthday. These pathogens can cause several kinds of disease, and can cause heavy losses in mango production.[4]. Included with the Special Edition console was a matching white Controller S, an Xbox Component A/V cable, an Xbox Component AV pack, a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta with its soundtrack CD, and a dragon head necklace. All the parts of the plant, such as the trunk, branch, twig, leaf, petiole, flower and fruit are attacked by a number of pathogens including fungi, bacteria and algae. The Panzer Dragoon Orta Special Edition was priced at ¥35'800 ($358) and could only be pre-ordered on November 1, 2002 through Sega Direct. Mango crops can suffer from several diseases at all stages of its life. The console's special features included a white case with the Panzer Dragoon Orta logo in top's the lower left hand corner, as well as some artwork from Orta surrounding the Xbox jewel. It travels well and has a good shelf-life, but does not have the same flavour as some less common cultivars obtained from Asian shops. This Special Edition had a limited production of 999 units; however, it is rumored that there are actually 1,049 units in total. About 80% of mangos in UK supermarkets are of the single cultivar 'Tommy Atkins', which dominates the world export trade. This quickly became the most sought-after Xbox to date. The best 'Alphonso' mangos are reputed to come from the town of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. On December 19, 2002, a Panzer Dragoon Orta Special Edition Xbox was released in Japan to commemorate the release of Panzer Dragoon Orta on the Xbox. In India, the commonest cultivar is 'Alphonso', known as the King of Mangoes due to the popular opinion that they are the best cultivar available. Included with the Clear Black console was a matching Clear Black Controller S, an Xbox Component AV pack, and a key chain that had Bill Gates' signature and the console's serial number engraved in it. In mango orchards, several cultivars are always grown intermixed to improve cross-pollination. The system had a limited manufacturing run of 50,000 units, and originally retailed for ¥35'800 yen. It is easily cultivated and there are now more than 1,000 mango cultivars, ranging from the turpentine mango (from the strong taste of turpentine; some cultivars contain the same terpenes found in turpentine) to the huevos de toro ("bull's balls", from the shape and size). In 2001, a Clear Black Limited Edition Xbox was released in Japan to commemorate the Xbox's Japanese release. They should be watered regularly when they are young but when they are old they should be watered between 10 anfd 15 day intervals.[3]. Manufacturing photos can be found here.. They should be planted in an area with good drainage and a slightly acidic soil. Microsoft extended the warranty on those first generation Xboxes that came with faulty drives and fixed them for free, unlike Sony and their first generation PS2s. Mangos can be grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates. Several internal hardware revisions have been made in an ongoing battle to discourage modding (hackers continually updated modchip designs in attempt to defeat them), cut manufacturing costs, and to provide a more reliable DVD-ROM drive (some of the early units' drives gave Disc Reading Errors). [2]. This Japanese controller (which was briefly imported by even mainstream video game store chains, such as GameStop) was subsequently released in other markets as the "Xbox Controller S", and currently all Xbox consoles come with a "Controller S", while the original controller (known as Controller "0" or "The Duke") was quietly discontinued. Mangos were introduced to California (Santa Barbara) in the 1880's. In response to these criticisms, a smaller controller was introduced for the Japanese Xbox launch. Mangos also readily naturalize in tropical climates, becoming an invasive species; some lowland forests in the Hawaiian Islands are dominated by introduced mangos. The original game controller design, which was particularly large, was similarly often criticized since it was ill-suited to those with small hands. The mango is reputed to be the most commonly eaten fresh fruit worldwide. However, the Xbox has also pioneered safety features, such as breakaway cables for the controllers to prevent the console from being yanked from the shelf. Mango trees require hot, dry periods to set and produce a good crop. Because of this, the Xbox has found itself a target of mild derision, as gamers poke fun at it for things like a warning in the Xbox manual that a falling Xbox "could cause serious injury" to a small child or pet. It is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates throughout southern Asia, North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, south and central Africa and Australia. This is largely due to a bulky tray-loading DVD-ROM drive and the standard-size 3.5" hard drive. During more recent years, mangos have been introduced throughout the frost-free tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world, wherever the climate is suitable for its growth. The Xbox itself is much larger and heavier than its contemporaries. This eventually led to the large fruits with thick flesh that we are most familiar with today.[1]. The Xbox does not use Windows CE due to Microsoft internal politics at the time, as well as limited support in Windows CE for DirectX. Many centuries of development have produced varieties of mangos free of both fibres and unpleasant flavours. Therefore if the Xbox crashes, the only way to recover is to reboot the console as there is no multitasking support on Real Mode. The Mughals and Portuguese selected and grew generations of mango plants. That is why Xbox is running on Real Mode and not Protected Mode as seen on Windows 2000. In the early stages of domestication, the fruits were probably very small and fibrous without much flesh. Although the Xbox is based on commodity PC hardware and runs a stripped-down version of the Windows 2000 kernel using APIs based largely on DirectX 8.1, it incorporates changes optimized for gaming uses as well as restrictions designed to prevent uses not approved by Microsoft. When the Portuguese arrived in India in they then took it to South America, the Philippines and to West Africa. An Xbox owner can rip music from standard Audio CDs to the hard drive so players can use their custom soundtrack in addition to the original soundtrack of Xbox games that support such feature. Around the tenth century AD, Persian traders took mangoes to the Middle East and East Africa. Some games support "Custom soundtracks," another particularly unusual feature allowed by the hard drive. Buddhist monks were known for taking mango plants on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Most of the games also use it as a disk cache, for faster game loading times. Cultivation and domestication of mangos most likely began in the Indian subcontinent, where they have been grown for more than 4000 years. The Xbox was the first console to incorporate a hard disk drive, used primarily for storing game saves (eliminating the need for separate memory cards) and content downloaded from Xbox Live. Mangoes have been believed to have existed in northeast India, Myanmar and Bangladesh after fossil records were found there dating back from 25 to 30 million years. Nonetheless, most of these features were not fully exploited in its first year of launch, notably the lack of Xbox Live online multiplayer. . Also, the console cost as much as the high-end GeForce 3 video card alone in 2001, while having comparable graphics processing power (the Xbox's NV2A graphics chipset is a derivative of the GeForce 3). The often leatherlike skin (and the seed) is not normally eaten. At the time of its introduction, the Xbox was the only game console to do so. Inside the shell, which is 1-2 mm thick, is a paper-thin lining covering a single seed, 4-7 cm long, 3-4 cm wide, 1 cm thick. The Xbox was designed to take advantage of a slowdown in the saturated PC gaming market and incorporates a built-in Ethernet adapter. In the centre of the fruit is a single flat, oblong stone that can be fibrous or hairless on the surface, depending on cultivar. This prediction turned out to be correct; Microsoft Game Studios, Microsoft's game division in charge of Xbox development, had its first profitable quarter reported in January 2005, thanks largely to the success of Halo 2[14]. When ripe, the unpeeled fruit gives off a distinctive resinous slightly sweet smell. Microsoft predicted that it would not make a profit on the Xbox for at least three years. The ripe fruit is variably coloured yellow, orange and red, reddest on the side facing the sun and yellow where shaded; green usually indicates that the fruit is not yet ripe, but this depends on the cultivar. The losses deepened when sales of the Xbox increased and when the price was reduced successive times to compete with PlayStation 2 [13]. They are variable in size, from 10-25 cm long and 7-12 cm diameter, and may weigh up to 2.5 kg. [12] In particular, the Xbox hardware itself is a loss leader, since the console was sold at a loss even at its debut price. The mango fruit is a drupe; when mature, it hangs from the tree on long stems. Internal documents show that the Xbox division had invested $4 billion from 2000 to 2005. After the flowers finish, the fruit takes from three to six months to ripen. The large size of the hardware itself did not endear itself to the size-sensitive Japanese consumers. The flowers are produced in terminal panicles 10-40 cm long; each flower is small and white with five petals 5-10 mm long, with a mild sweet odour suggestive of lily of the valley. The Xbox has sold poorly in Japan mainly because Microsoft was unable to enlist enough local developers to cater to Japanese interests. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 15-35 cm long and 6-16 cm broad; when young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark glossy red, then dark green as they mature. In Europe, the Xbox's market share is currently ahead of the GameCube, but is still behind the PlayStation 2. Mangos are large trees, reaching 35-40 m in height, with a crown radius of 10 m. The Xbox has enjoyed its greatest success in North America, where an estimated 13.5 million units have been sold and where it managed for a time to outsell the PS2[11]. The name of the fruit comes from the Tamil word man-kay, which was corrupted to manga by the Portuguese when they explored western India. Although ahead of the GameCube's 18.5 million, this was far behind the PlayStation 2's 90 million (after the Xbox was discontinued in favour of the Xbox 360, the GameCube and PlayStation 2 have reached 19.8 million[9] and 100 million[10], respectively). indica is by far the most important commercially. According to company documents, Microsoft has shipped 25 million consoles to retailers worldwide at the end of 2005[8]. The mango (Mangifera spp.; Hindi: आम; plural mangos or mangoes) is a genus of about 35 species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae, native to southern and southeastern Asia from India east to the Philippines, of which the Indian Mango M. However, as of February 2005, estimates show the Xbox's share of the worldwide console market is only moderately ahead of the Nintendo GameCube and far behind the PlayStation 2. ^ National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development Mango Cultivation URL Accessed on February 7, 2006. Some critics were initially concerned that the Xbox would allow Microsoft to extend its dominance of the PC software market to consoles. ^ Plant Cultures History URL Accessed on February 7, 2006. In July 2004, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live reached 1 million subscribers, and announced in July 2005 that Live had reached 2 million. ^ Plant Cultures Craft URL Accessed on February 5, 2006. 250,000 subscribers had signed on in 2 months since Live was launched [7]. ^ New Crop Resource Online Program Medicinal Uses URL Accessed on February 4, 2006. This online service works exclusively with broadband. ^ New Crop Resource Online Program Mango Uses URL Accessed on February 4, 2006. In November 2002 Microsoft released the Xbox Live online gaming service, allowing subscribers to play online Xbox games with (or against) other subscribers all around the world and download new content for their games to the hard drive. ^ Conference on International Agriculture Research for Developement World Mango Production and Trade URL Accessed on January 29, 2006. In 2005, the long-awaited Xbox-exclusive Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and Far Cry Instincts were released. ^ Horticulture World Diseases and Pests URL Accessed on January 29, 2006. That year, Microsoft and Electronic Arts reached a deal which would see the latter's popular titles enabled on Xbox Live. ^ Vegetarians in Paradise Mango: Enchantment Under the Skin URL Accessed on January 28, 2006. In 2004, Halo 2 set records as highest grossing release in entertainment history [6] as well as being a successful killer app for the online service. ^ All About Mangos History of the mango URL Accessed on January 28, 2006. In addition, many other publishers got into the trend of releasing the the Xbox version alongside the PS2 version, instead of delaying it for months. Take-Two Interactive's exclusivity deal with Sony was amended to allow Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and its sequels to be published on the Xbox. Several best-selling and critically-acclaimed titles for the Xbox were published, such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Ninja Gaiden, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The Xbox Live online service was launched with a strong lineup including MotoGP, MechAssault and Ghost Recon. In 2002 and 2003, several releases helped the Xbox to gain momentum and distinguish itself from the PS2. Lastly, Sony countered the Xbox by making exclusivity deals for highly anticipated games such as the Grand Theft Auto series and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Although it enjoyed strong third-party support from its inception, many early Xbox games did not take full advantage of its powerful hardware, with few additional features or graphical improvements to distinguish themselves from the PS2 version, and this negated one of the Xbox's main selling points. However, the failure of several first-party games (including Fuzion Frenzy [4] and Azurik: Rise of Perathia [5]) damaged the initial public reputation of the Xbox. Other successful launch titles included NFL Fever 2002, Project Gotham Racing[2] and Dead or Alive 3 [3]). Halo still remains the console's standout title. The greatest success of the Xbox's launch games was Halo: Combat Evolved, which was critically well-received [1] and one of the best-selling games of the year. The Xbox launched in North America on November 15, 2001. The Xbox even brought high-end gaming technology to the mainstream, sporting a top of the line GeForce 3 equivalent graphics processor, a built-in Ethernet adapter, and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The Xbox also presented a standardized alternative to the near-endless variety of end-user configurations on the PC. Being based upon Windows and standard PC hardware, the Xbox was more familiar to developers and as a result was significantly easier to develop for in contrast to PlayStation 2's proprietary processor and operating system. The authors concluded that the Xbox project as a direct response to the upcoming PlayStation 2. As well, a venture into the gaming console market would also diversify Microsoft's product line, which up to that time had been heavily concentrated into software. The growing video game market seemed to threaten the PC market which Microsoft had dominated and relied upon for most of its revenues. According to the book Smartbomb, by Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby, the remarkable success of the upstart Sony PlayStation worried Microsoft in late 1990s. Some see the Xbox as a way to capitalize on the growing video game market, noting that the PC market growth was stagnating after the dot-com bust. In May 2000 the "Xbox Project" was officially confirmed by Microsoft. Gates said that a gaming/multimedia device was essential for multimedia convergence in the new times of digital entertainment. The rumors of a video game console being developed by Microsoft first emerged at the end of 1999 following interviews of Bill Gates. The Xbox was initially developed within Microsoft by a small team which included Seamus Blackley, a game developer and high energy physicist. . Notable launch titles for the console include Amped, Dead or Alive 3, Halo: Combat Evolved, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, and Project Gotham Racing. The Xbox was Microsoft's first independent venture into the video game console arena, after having developed the operating system and development tools for the MSX, and having collaborated with Sega in porting Windows CE to the Sega Dreamcast console. The Microsoft Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console first released on November 15, 2001 in North America and Puerto Rico, then released on February 22, 2002 in Japan, and later on March 14, 2002 in Europe. Xbox: Part Deux (Xbox XGPU Basics)" by Dave Salvator, ExtremeTech.Com, November 30, 2001, retrieved January 30, 2006. "GameCube vs. NZ$249 (2004 Q4, 2005). NZ$299 (2004 Q2). AU$249 (2004, 2005). NZ$349 (2004). AU$299 (2004). NZ$399 (2003). AU$349 (2003). NZ$499 NZD (3 October, 2002, Launch Price). AU$299 AUD (2005). AU$399 AUD (2004). AU$699 AUD (26 April, 2002, Launch Price) (Quickly dropped to $399 to compete with launch of Nintendo GameCube). €99 (Spain, January 2006 promotional price). €99 (Ireland; Christmas 2005 promotional price). £99 (August 27, 2004). €149 (August 27, 2004). £130 (2003). €199 (2003). €249 (August 30, 2002). €299 (Launch Price (Rest of Europe) and Ireland April 26, 2002). £299 GBP (Launch Price March 14, 2002),. €479 (Launch Price (Ireland) 14 March, 2002),. US$179 (February 6, 2006, Bundled with Forza). CAD$199 (March 29, 2004). US$149 (March 29, 2004). US$179 (May 14, (2003). US$199 (May 15, (2002). US$299 (November 15, 2001, Launch Price). Approved by Microsoft for wireless gameplay with Xbox. Logitech 2.4 GHz wireless controller. This system has been defeated by the Xbox hacking community, who have developed tools to modify gamesaves to work in a different console, though some unique technical information concerning the recipient Xbox must be known. Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball) do not support this accessory as a cheat prevention measure. Note that some recent games (e.g. Memory Unit: An 8 MB removable solid-state memory card onto which game saves can either be copied from the hard drive when in the Xbox Dashboard's memory manager or saved during a game. The precise layout of the controls differs between the two variations of controller. Xbox Music Mixer: A utility software bundled with a microphone that connects to an adapter that plugs into the top expansion slot of a controller. Later, as the price of the Xbox dropped, the DVD remote was bundled. Although there is nothing to prevent the Xbox from acting as a progressive-scan DVD player, Microsoft chose not to enable this feature in the Xbox DVD kit in order to avoid royalty payments to the patent-holder of progressive scan DVD playback. By selling a DVD remote separately, Microsoft was able to bundle the cost of the DVD licensing fee with it. DVD playback was not included as a standard feature of the Xbox due to licensing issues with the DVD format that would have added extra cost to the console's base price. DVD Playback Kit: Required in order to play DVD movies, the kit includes an infrared remote control and receiver. It can also be used for DVD playback. Xbox Media Center Extender: A kit that allows Xbox to act as a Media Center Extender to stream content from a Windows XP Media Center Edition PC. This functionality is similar to Sega's DirectLink for Sega Saturn. System Link Cable: A Cat 5 crossover cable for connecting together two consoles or a Cat 5 straight through cable used in conjunction with an ethernet hub for connecting up to four consoles, for up to 16 total players. The headset can in fact be replaced with most standard earpiece-and-microphone headsets; headset specialist Plantronics produce various officially-licensed headsets, including a special-edition headset for Halo 2. Xbox Live Starter Kit: A subscription and installation pack for the Xbox Live service, as well as a headset (with monaural earpiece and microphone) that connects to a control box that plugs into the top expansion slot of a controller. While the official Wireless Adapter guarantees compatibility with the Xbox, almost any wireless bridge can be used. Xbox Wireless Adapter: a wireless bridge which converts data running through an ethernet cable to a wireless (802.11b or 802.11g) signal to connect to a wireless LAN. Note that while there is an "official" Xbox 'System Link' cable (a crossover cat5e cable), any PC ethernet cable can be used in the normal way treating the xbox as an NIC, eg an Xbox-Xbox connection requires a crossover cable, whereas an xbox-switch connection requires a straight-through cable. Ethernet (Xbox Live) Cable: A Cat 5 cable for connecting the Xbox to a broadband modem or router. As Europe has no HDTV standard, no High Definition cable is currently provided in those markets. Advanced SCART Cable: The European equivalent to the Advanced AV Pack, providing a full RGB video SCART connection in place of S-Video, RCA composite and stereo audio connections (composite video and stereo are still provided by the cable, through the SCART connector, in addition to the RGB signal), while retaining the TOSLINK audio connector. Also provides analog RCA and digital TOSLINK audio outputs. High Definition AV Pack: A breakout box, intended for HDTVs, that provides a YPrPb component video signal over three RCA connectors. Advanced AV Pack: A breakout box that provides S-Video and TOSLINK audio in addition to the RCA composite video and stereo audio of the Standard AV Cable. RF Adapter: Provides a combined audio and video signal on an RF connector. European systems come with a RCA jack to SCART converter block in addition to the cable. Comes with the system. Standard AV Cable: Provides composite video and monaural or stereo audio to TVs equipped with RCA inputs. Dimensions: 320 × 100 × 260 mm (12.5 × 4 × 10.5 inches). Weight: 3.86 kg. Controller Ports: 4 proprietary USB ports. EDTV and HDTV Support: 480p/720p/1080i (see game boxes for supported resolutions). PAL TV's have less than 600 horizontal lines. Note: NTSC (Non-HD) TV's have less than 500 horizontal lines. Maximum Resolution (2x32bpp frame buffers +Z): 1920(vert.)x1080(horiz)
DVD Movie Playback: Yes (separate DVD Playback Kit/Remote required or by modding the Xbox and running DVD-playing homebrew software). Broadband Enabled: Yes (10/100base-T ethernet). AC3 (Dolby Digital) Encoded Game Audio: Yes (via TOSLINK). MIDI DLS2 Support: Yes. 3D Audio Support: HRTF Sensaura 3D enhancement. Audio Channels: 64 3D channels (up to 256 stereo voices). Soundstorm NVAPU)
Storage Medium: 2-5x DVD (XFAT), 8 gigabyte hard disk (new consoles contain a 10GB physical hard drive, though it is formatted to only use 8GB, uses XFAT), optional 8MB memory card for savegame transfer. Full Scene Anti-Aliasing: Yes. Compressed Textures: Yes (6:1 through DDS). Simultaneous Textures: 4. Theoretical Texture Fill Rate: 1,864 Megatexels/second (932 MP x 2 texture units). Theoretical Pixel Fill Rate: 932 Megapixels/second (233 MHz x 4 pipelines). Pipeline Configuration: 4 pixel pipelines with 2 texture units each. Theoretical Particle Performance: 125 M/s. Theoretical Geometry Rate: 115+ million vertices/second. Enhanced vertex processing with 2 vertex shaders, and more flexible pixel shading than DirectX 8.
Unified Memory Subsystem: Total (shared) Memory: 64 MB DDR SDRAM running at 200 MHz, supplied by Hynix or Samsung depending on manufacture date and location
Same as fastest Pentium III EB CPUs. 133 MHz FSB. Often used for audio and video. Switching between FPU and MMX is slow, so not of great use for 3D rendering tasks. Integer functions. SIMD: MMX. Pentium III had architectural drawbacks that lessened real-world SSE throughput. Theoretical maximum 4 FLOPS/cycle (2.9 gigaFLOPS for Xbox). Four single-precision floating-point numbers in one instruction.
CPU: Micro PGA2 733 MHz Intel Coppermine Core. ISBN 1565123468. Article: How Xbox Happened. |