Students can earn money for PTSA with Facebook vote

Students of Canyon High School, one of the 45 founding schools in the State of Texas for the Green Initiative, can enter by Sept. 30 to win a $250 prize for school’s PTSA on the Green Ribbon Schools’ Facebook page.

Canyon High was named one of the founding schools because of its recycling activities, field labs in Palo Duro Canyon, and several other activities and programs that promote a “green” way of thinking. According to the Texas School Business website, schools achieve recognition as a Green Ribbon School by taking a holistic approach to student health and achievement and making improvements over time. The program promotes nutrition, fitness and health; promotes environmentally friendly campuses; promotes outdoor physical activity and nature play; and integrates nature in education.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Go to www.facebook.com/greenribbonschools.
2. Become a fan of the page to post on the Wall.
3. Type “Canyon High School, Canyon, TX” on the Wall.

The Wall post counts as an official entry, and the deadline for all entries is Sept 30. The site will announce winners on Oct 5.

New update for Xbox 360 available today

A new update for the Xbox 360 consoles is now available via Xbox LIVE. The new update allows users to access Facebook, Twitter, Zune and Last.fm through their Xbox 360 consoles.

Twitter works relatively the same as it normally would on computers, but Facebook has a feature that allows gamers to check updates, post in-game achievements to their news feed, view photos and even invite Facebook friends that are not already on the gamer’s Xbox LIVE friends list.

The new Last.fm feature adds the capability to stream music and lets gamers create their own “stations” similar to the way Pandora internet radio does. The Zune player is a more hi-definition version of the media player Xbox LIVE had already employed. This means users still must pay to view content, but can get it in a much higher resolution.

The only downside to this new update is that users must be signed up under an adult account, meaning users ages 17 and under will not be getting this particular update until a “safer” version is created.

Sony has also released information that limited Facebook integration will be available in an upcoming Playstation 3 firmware update. So PS3 users will not be missing out on this feature, they’re just going to have to wait a little longer.