RSSGates Touts Xbox as Entertainment Hub
By Nate Mook | Published May 3, 2005, 9:31 AM
At the annual meeting of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Monday, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates talked up the next Xbox as more than just a gaming console. He said the device, code-named Xenon, would serve as a complete entertainment "hub" capable of displaying music, video and pictures.
Although he wouldn't discuss specifics, Gates said Xenon would feature a menu-driven interface similar to Windows XP Media Center Edition. "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," he told reporters.
Microsoft has high hopes for its second generation gaming console, set to appear for the first time on May 12 in a half-hour special on MTV. The public will get its initial taste of Xenon at E3 in Los Angeles later this month.
Gates boasted that the new Xbox could vault Microsoft to the top of the gaming market above Sony, which has remained the dominant gaming force for years. "Our goal in the last generation was to be in the game," Gates said, "We came out of this round a strong number two."
In his speech, Gates also took the time to poke fun at Apple's new Mac OS X "Tiger" release, which hit store shelves last week and has been greeted by rave reviews. It's easy to tell if you're using a PC or Mac, Gates joked, "Just take your applications and stick them in there and see if they run."
Microsoft next Windows release, known as Longhorn, isn't due out until late 2006. The long delay following Windows XP has prompted some analysts to suggest the door may be open for Apple to reclaim some valuable market share, much in the same way Firefox has done against Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser.
I personally can't wait for the phantom console to hit the market...
http://www.phantom.net/
i think it would be a worthy competitor to the playstation and xbox... if the pricing is done right and the availability of good titles is abundant.
(i hope it doesn't kick nintendo of the chart-they do need to grow up...)
xbox and ps2 are becoming a little bloated
just like you use the toilet to take a dump...
you'd wanna use your gaming console to relax and game... and your sound system to listen to a good tune...etc... :-)
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|* AMD® Athlon™ XP 2500+ central processing unit (CPU)
* NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX 5700 Ultra graphics processing unit (GPU)
* NVIDIA nForce™2 Ultra 400 platform processor
* 256 MB RAM
* 40 GB local content cache
* Microsoft Windows XP® Embedded Operating System
* Dynamic, personalized user interfaces customizable for age, gender or technical expertise
* Lapboard, mouse and game pad included
* HDTV and Dolby® Digital 5.1 compatible
* Works with any consumer-standard broadband Internet Service Provider (ISP): DSL or faster
Its just a pc in a console box, now that sux
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|Where's Nintendo's response to this in the mean time?
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|no no no dammit the reason i buy a game console is 2 play games and a few dvd's (ps2 xbox) not to be my all in one that what my comp is for for EVERYthing not my game console bah!
i cant wait 2 get a mod chip for his new xbox and tear it open :) after all i did pay for it ..what i do with my voided xbox 360 is my prob.. i got gmail invites....email me for 1 ..or 2 :) mrfrostbite@gmail.com u see kids its good 2 listen 2 a 17 yr old babble on
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|rumors are that it's to be revealed at the upcoming E3 named revolution...and then again not LOL...
if they don't it'll be a heavy setback...because the E3 is probably the biggest tech conference of the year...
the ps3 is to be revealed at the E3 as well... and the xbox will have been released before that... they appareantly made a deal with mtv to promote their new xbox 360...
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|I am looking forward to the new systems. I have always been a Playstation fan and have owned played on all the others. I really beleive that Sony was the bomb, but recently I have seen some really great things on the Xbox and was thinking about buying one this time around. (new design and all)
I am concerned about it having an actual OS(MC). Sounds as if that will become the platform of the Media Center. Does anyone know this for sure?
An OS, drivers, updates, crashes . . . I will not look forward to this. And what are the opensource programs you are running on the current Xbox? Sounds cool!
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|The original XBox was based on a Windows OS.
Each system has their own OS it is running... the difference is, everyone looks at the XBox worse since it's run by MS.
There is no difference. An additional menu doesn't hurt an XBox as it's fixed hardware.
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|Menu drives...like XP...music, video, pictures...
Hell, give it a keyboard and mouse and call it the Microsoft PC, for pete's sake. At least then I'd have a use for it.
I know I'm in the minority...and definately going to get flamed for this because I despise consoles. Sorry guys, just do.
All that power...just for games?? Can you imagine how fast the 360 could rip a DVD to XviD? Encode an Audio CD to flac? Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of gaming, but I'd rather have another use for my product so it's got some purpose other than taking up space when I'm not playing a game.
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|I am a fan of consoles after they have been tweaked by the public. The current XBOX is fun, but it REALLY shines after it is modded. All of the open source software available really makes the unit shine. XBOX Media Center is a wonderful example.
Hopefully M$ will take cues from the public and not limit the XBOX 360 from the get go.
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|I don't understand this.. is it a PC or a console. MS make up your freak'n mind. I don't want to play PC games on a console, and they are going down that path... i own a ps2 and xbox, purchased the xbox about 6 months ago, and if there is no backward compatibility... No thanks MS.... Does anyone else have a problem with their console running media edition of MS?
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|1 more thing... why in the world are they releaseing this so soon. The ps2 and xbox haven't ran their full cycle yet... .. there are still some great ps2 and xbox games out there... if ps3 looks leaps and bounds better at E3... Microsoft might not get anything for christmas.
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|Frankly, no. I'd rather see it act more like a PC than a console...which is hopefully where they're headed. Then again, I'm biased by my dislike of consoles anyway, as stated above.
If you think about it, MS is way behind apple on this curve. I'll be one of the first in line to buy a Microsoft PC running a Microsoft OS on Microsoft Hardware. i'm not the biggest fan of MS... but I do give them credit for trying to build an OS compatible with such a wide variety of hardware...and then standing by while a bunch of know-it-all, knee-biters tear it apart because it doesn't work flawlessly with their BTO system.
It's about time for MS to build their own system. Sell the OS for other systems, sure, but include the statement, "This OS was designed for the MS PC and while much testing has been done, it is not guaranteed to function to your high standards on any NON-MS PC."
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|Any luck getting a keyboard/mouse on these baby's? I have a PS2.....I'd love to plug in my USB hub, add a keyboard, mouse, burner....etc.
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|A lot of new games are being geared for Xbox 360... Morrowind IV, NFSU3, etc...
Also - this machine is running a PowerPC chip (similar to what Apple uses), so MS would need to adapt their OS to run on that processor architecture. It would essentially be Windows for a Mac processor.
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|Xbox Media Center is simply amazing. It's a great example of what Microsoft should shoot to embrace on their next system. I can't imagine the possibilities after I get this 2nd xbox modded :D
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|It's possible if you have a modded box. It's actually pretty easy to convert a controller cable to USB. There are other ways, also. Check out www.xbox-scene.com for tutorials on that stuff.
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|Or to be more exact. Everything on an IBM processor. (Which includes all the new consoles, + Apple)
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|Microsoft sells computer units for game developers. It's a modified version of Windows XP Pro running on a PowerPC.
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