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iPod to Connect with Xbox 360

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

May 13, 2005, 3:36 PM

Microsoft may be battling the iPod on the digital music front, but on the gaming side Redmond has embraced its Apple rival. The Xbox 360 will enable users to connect a portable music player, including an iPod, to the system and browse or play back music through the console's interface while watching 50 visualizations.

"We see the Xbox 360 as replacing your CD player in your entertainment center, but also as the best digital media amplifier available," said Xbox 360 product manager Barry Steinglass. "Your PC is a great place to manage your music, but it's not always the best place to enjoy it. With Xbox 360 you've got one central place to listen to all your music on the best sound system in the house."

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By walter_3_d

edited Aug 15, 2005 - 8:42 AM

I just setup a Pluto Home system (smarthome + media server, plutohome.com, free open source). It’s really cool. It has a streaming movie server, music server, pvr. Plus it does home automation and controls a/v equipment too. There’s only 1 problem…

You designate 1 PC to be the server; they call it the core. It exposes a network boot image for any other PC in the house, so your PC becomes dual purpose—normal pc, or net boot and it’s a set top box. You control it with Bluetooth mobile phones or web pads. And all the set top boxes in the house work together. Your media even follows you as you move from room to room if you keep the phone on. The problem is I don’t have enough media pc’s for all the rooms in my house, and buying a full PC for each room is too expensive. Plus there’s no video cards for the PC that have component video output—which is the only way I can get HDTV into my tv.

The X-Box seems perfect as a media director. It’s a PC inside, right? So why couldn’t it boot like normal as an Xbox, or net boot as a pluto media director? Then it would be part of a whole house solution that did everything. I could even use the Xbox to turn on my sprinklers if I wanted, and do all sorts of stuff with it. Plus, since Pluto gives it a network boot image, space is no longer an issue—all the software could be stored on the main server. And the XBox has component video and it’s quiet and cheap.

Does anybody have an idea if it would be possible to use the XBox as a media director like that, doing a network boot? Then I could just buy a few of the XBox’s rather than having to buy regular PC’s.

Score: 0

By Mark Gillespie

posted May 16, 2005 - 8:15 AM

I see the hype has already started. By the end of the week, E3 bullsh1t will be in full swing...

Score: 0

By Mark Gillespie

posted May 16, 2005 - 8:16 AM

Personally, I hope Sony are working on UPnP rendering for the PSP. That would be pretty cool with the wireless connection on the PSP. When PS3 launches, that would be the UPnP media server.

Score: 0

By mcbazza

posted May 14, 2005 - 7:22 AM

Wonder if the 360 will hook up with the Sony mp3 players (eg. NW-HD1/3/5)?
Doubt it!

Score: 0

By The-Ancestor

edited May 14, 2005 - 3:20 AM

I wonder if that is why the new xbox Looks like as if it has the design features of the ipod...

Score: 0

By sophist_dreams

posted May 13, 2005 - 5:22 PM

Earlier this week the boss of Microspud says the iPod has no future.......now this........

Score: 0

By bleh427

posted May 14, 2005 - 10:47 PM

Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.

Score: 0

By Maestr0

posted May 13, 2005 - 5:20 PM

While I can see the xbox 360 able to play the MP3 files on an iPod, now way apple gives it's blessing to the xbox playing the protected itunes files.
If it does, then it will be the first non-ipod device 'allowed' to do so...

It reminds me speakers that say they are "for your iPod" when all they have is a mini-plug in...
Who knows...I could be wrong...wouldn't be the first time.

Score: 0

By athome

posted May 16, 2005 - 7:32 AM

I thought the same thing. and they just updated their DRM, but I could be wrong.

Can you play music why playing the games or watching home movies?

Score: 0

By deadmonkey

posted May 13, 2005 - 4:23 PM

Well ok maybe not genius but a damn good idea!

The more they make the Xbox 360 interoperate with other devices the more they will sell. What would be cool would being able to hook your phone up to it (via USB or Bluetooth) and get game content onto your phone (Windows Smartphone obviously!). Say when you complete certain levels in Halo you get new wallpapers, video ringtones, etc. It is all the small things that gets the customers. Look how much money that stupid crazy frog ringtone has made Jamster in just a few months!

I will most certinally be buying an Xbox 360 on the day of release if just for Perfect Dark Zero :)

Score: 0

By ScottNY845

posted May 13, 2005 - 4:29 PM

What goes unsaid and unseen is that Mr. Gates own a huge piece of the APPLE pie...about 49% of the stock if I am not mistaken...

He just sits on the sidelines and keeps quiet about it...

Score: 0

By fxer

posted May 13, 2005 - 6:43 PM

Steve jobs is the largest single apple shareholder, with about 1.25% of the outstanding shares, Gates is not listed amung the top 10, if he owns stock at all. The $150 mil MS invested in apple in 1997 was for non-voting shares (5-7% of the oustanding stock of that type); i.e. they don't have any say in what apple does, just for the record.

Score: 0

By badbadman

edited May 15, 2005 - 1:36 PM

Jobs is a loser, he needs to be replaced with a guy that won't sue me because I own a mac and talk about it.

Score: 0

By Squire72

edited May 15, 2005 - 9:43 PM

He's never claimed to be a nice guy - he's innovative, hard nosed, and driving - and yeah, he's a jerk, but at the end of the day, he gets the job done better than anyone else.

He's the furthest thing there is in this world to a loser... but he is a jerk *lol*

Score: 0

By Squire72

posted May 13, 2005 - 7:38 PM

not only was the investment 150 millon dollars worth of non-voting shares, they've long since sold all of those shares (for a tidy profit)

the only MS investments in Apple are software support, and through an investment fund that gives them less than .01% ownership in Apple...

Score: 0

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