For JackAxe

[hucsman]

I don't think there's a single word in this article you won't hate :D


SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp.'s next-generation
Xbox gaming console will be more of a digital entertainment hub than its predecessor, making it even more of a PC hybrid than ever,
Bill Gates told a meeting of business journalists on Monday.
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The console, code-named Xenon, is due to be previewed in an MTV half-hour special later this month.

Gates, Microsoft's chairman and co-founder, was vague on specific features of Xenon but said the company's consoles would be evolving to include improved communications tools for making multiplayer online gaming more convivial.

He told the annual meeting of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers that Xenon's software menu would be similar to that of the company's Media Center edition of Windows, which is designed for computers meant to be located in the living room.

"If you're used to that menu, when you use this Xenon you'll see a menu a lot like that that lets you get photos, TV, music and all those different things."

Video game players want to be able to chat with their buddies, know when others are present online, and will want to access their music and photos on their consoles in an interface already familiar to them, Gates said.

At a convention of hardware engineers last week, Gates said the company's investments in Windows Media Center software have paid off, with more than a million copies sold since the launch of the operating system's second version in October and a total of 2 million since the initial system shipped three years ago.

Gates also called the Web log phenomenon fantastic and joked that it's become more difficult than ever to provide a single company message to the public given the number of Microsoft employees who are now blogging publicly.

"I keep thinking about when am I going to start doing a blog," he said in answer to a question. "My rate (of posting) has proven to be irregular so far. When I turn out at least two a month they'll put me online," he joked.

The Microsoft chairman also drew guffaws when he took a dig at Apple Computer Inc. in response to questions about the rave reviews the competitor's newest operating system,
Mac OS X "Tiger," received upon release last week.

The overwhelming consensus was that Tiger was far and away the best consumer operating system available now, with Microsoft not expected to match it in features in Windows until the end of 2006 at the earliest in its "Longhorn" system.

Gates said he was pleased that the media were getting excited about computer operating systems. And then he took his jab at Apple, whose share of the consumer market is nearly 4 percent.

"You can always tell if you're working on a Mac or a PC. Just take your applications and stick them in there and see if they run," he said, moments after calling Apple "the super-small market share guy."

[JackAxe]

Well there are a few words, :) but then again it's also entangle in complete fallacy and typical MS B.S. O lordy, Bill Gates is now a "complete" moron in my book. Well DUH!!! If I buy a Mac, then I'll buy Macintosh "applications," and guess what, they'll run. Wow, what a novel idea. I guess he never thought about that. Fvking moron. :rolleyes:

I was going to buy an XBox2, and this is no B.S. I heard they were designing it from the ground up to be a "game" box and this intrigued me, where as XBox "hugeassous" only converted to a "game" box, when the devlopers said they wouldn't support it. Hence we now have the option to buy a 400 pound Dremcast 2. ;) (Poor Sega, why did the have to be assimilated in to MS. :( ) But after reading this blurb that the XB2 will be a media center, I will no longer buy one.

And to point this out like I have a few times. Microsoft is using Apple G5 Power Macintoshes to develop their XBox 2 games, since it's based on a watered down PowerPC. Hypocrites!!!. :p My moneys on the PS3 and Revolution. Last thing I want is a Windows Media player crashing my TV. At least Sony innovates and has nice design, MS on the other hand doesn't really inovate, and there "borrowed" designs suck, because they never full implement them.

Yep, MS is rotting. They'll be around for a few more years, but they've had their time and they are no longer the only choice, and on that note, they're definitely not the best choice for the majority of us.

*Blah, rambles rant.* See what you've done. I must work now. :p

<]=)

[Ezikial Anta]

Microsoft is using Apple G5 Power Macintoshes to develop their XBox 2 games, since it's based on a watered down PowerPC. Hypocrites!!!. :p
<]=)

ROFLWAFFLE.
:D

[hucsman]

ROFLWAFFLE? That one I hadn't heard... :confused:

[JackAxe]

Yep. Apple ships them the box without OSX, and they install a PPC version of WinNT on it. :)

<]=)

[JackAxe]

I love waffles. :)

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[Ezikial Anta]

ROFLWAFFLE? That one I hadn't heard... :confused:
Yeah, i felt pretty good about making that one up...
I mean, maybe someone else has done it, but i think its original.
I love waffles. :)

[Ezikial Anta]

I love waffles. :)

<]=)
Hey, have you seen the new LifeDrive? You must have! Doesnt that make you want to have one?
:eek: :D

[JackAxe]

Yea, just saw it on Gizmodo. If the T650 weren't already on my purchase list, the LifeDrive would probably be on there. :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0009JMT38/ref=dp_images_0/103-5051414-9518231?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=electronics&img=0&childASIN=B0009JMT38

Do you have any info on it, like what OS version it will be using?

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[Ezikial Anta]

As we understand it, 5.4
Thats sort of dissapointing, but rumors that the PDA itself will stop being made by P1, so this is kind of the way to go out, with a bang, instead of trying to plop the new OS on it and try and work out all the bugs, ect.
Disapointing really, but in about a year or two i will enjoy my Treo 800? :|

[JackAxe]

5.4, cool. I was woried it would have 6 or something and buying my Treo meant I would be screwed that much earlier. :)

I've read that Apple is in talks to buy Palm. If this is true, than Apple really could do some good for the overall interface and how the device syncs with the computer.

A Treo 800 would be nice, this means they'll be around. :) With my luck, 31 days after I get my Treo650 next week, Palm will release a T700. =\ But realisticly I'm expecting something new in January or February of 2006.

I heard rumors that Sony will be re-entering the PDA market again.

<]=)

[Ezikial Anta]

I believe i read they (Sony) lost their license, though that British guy that took over the company may in fact bring them back into the PDA game.
~But~ i read an interesting Sony quote today, and it seems that i see quotes like this coming out of Sony all the time -

(A Korean Sony Representative is quoted on Asia Times) saying:
"South Korean customers were too sensitive to dead pixels and their counterparts abroad had not made it a high-profile issue. The dead pixels (on the PSP screen) did not matter significantly in the United States and Japan".

When they know dam well that we are having many problems with a lot of the units and the screens. We just paid 250 dollars for your product and you are saying that we should just live with it? As the consumer, we are entitled to what we purchased, not a broken version of what we purchased... </end rant>

Yeah, i wouldnt want to have bought a 5.4 and have a 6 device sprung on me either haha...
If Apple buys palmOne i will still support them the same as i always have. Maybe even more-so, because i like Apple's new OS...

Speaking of P1 and Apple, have you by any chance seen the article at BrightHand?
http://www.brighthand.com/article/Another_Apple
I thought it was interesting.

Yes, they are saving the Next-Gen Treo for a while - or so i hear.

[JackAxe]

I didn't know they had lost the license. That gives me more hope for a return, since I they advanced Palm further then any other PDA maker. They've definitely done the same for the portable game market, even though I'm not giving up my DS and it's RPG possibilities. No matter how many times I've been mad at Sony for intentionally limiting their PDAs via software, my old NR70 is still an amazing PDA.(Definitely the best OS4 PDA ever made.) :) And the UX is my favorite PDA, I just never got around to getting one, and now that I'm getting a T650, I'll probably never get one.

Yeah, that pixel comment is B.S. For the price and screen size, there should be no noticeable dead pixels. Maybe Sony should've left the better screen in and kept the device's price a little higher. The peeps I know that bought one, still would've even at a $100+ higher.

My friend got a dead pixels on his first DS though, and then another on the exchanged unit, but he said screw it and kept it. He also has a PSP with dust under the screen's corners.

(Now I must ramble.) :)
I agree with some of his points in that article, but his comment about Microsft being clumsy compared to Palm(Which it was) seems a bit off, only because from my perception and others, the the PocketPC in the beginning was the high-end luxary PDA with all the features, and Palm devices seemed cheap and limiting. Just like PCs compared to Macs in the earlier years. But just like a Windows PC, the Palm was comparably affordable, so the price was easier for most peeps to stomach and that of course brought devlopers and lots of software.

And Mac workstations are not only elegant, but they cost less than their PC counterparts now days, so he's only partially correct when comparing Macs to PCs price-wise, saying we pay a premium. Apple even had the most affordable 23" for years. Most peeps seem to have troubles differentiating between a workstation and consumer comp. Even my friends who have used PCs as long as me didn't really know about workstations. The included software is also a much better deal when compared to all PCs. ;)

XP is better, than Win2K, 98, 95, Bob, etc.., and OS9(Not in navigating though.), but that's it.. Ok, I'm not sure about DOS either, I love DOS. :D Funny, my friend's that switched to the Mac in the past 2 years, said it was because they weren't cool until then. This isn't true at all, but as my friend pointed out, he's not an artist, so it took Unix and the upgraded compatibility of Panther to switch. Before that he really didn't have a need for what Apple could offer. :) Anyways, Apple has the best understanding of software and hardware integration when it comes to computers, and they've proven they can also do it with audio devices, so they would only make Palm better IMHO.


If anything, waiting longer to get my Treo has given me more time to read up and hopefully understand any shortcomings, so even if they did release a new one, I would be buying one that's not as buggy.

<]=)

[JackAxe]

My posts are tooo long. :rolleyes: :p

<]=)

[Homie S]

Gates, Microsoft's chairman and co-founder, was vague on specific features of Xenon but said the company's consoles would be evolving to include improved communications tools for making multiplayer online gaming more convivial.

Too bad you lose money on every one you sell, buckaroo.

(not that it matters, their ~300mil loss on the Xbox last quarter was dwarfed by their ~8 billion in profit)

[Ezikial Anta]

Yeah, well, in my mind i put out ~20 billion a month...
What now Gates? :P :D