BANNED  Posts: 1336 Joined: 21 May 2008     | |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1409 Joined: 16 Dec 2008    | Well I think your a mad man, if I had money I would probably invest in Apple and Microsoft, but I don't |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3580 Joined: 8 Feb 2009     |
really? I'd invest my money in a time travelling machine than go back in time to invest in nintendo when they were still cool, oh wait are they making more money now? >> Damn, my plans are ruined. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 3580 Joined: 8 Feb 2009 | Wait a second? Did I think that through correctly? |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1015 Joined: 11 Jan 2009     | While some of the information presented is true. The rest...mostly speculation at this point. Crackpot theories. |
BANNED Posts: 1336 Joined: 21 May 2008 |
Well, yeah, that's the idea. But it COULD happen. And that would mean if you bought shares you're rich ^^ User was banned for: TIME Makes Everybody Lose "The Game". (Permanent) |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3373 Joined: 23 Oct 2007     | http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.86737#1291541 I don't think cloud computing is going to go anywhere, but if it does, it will actually favour the PC rather than the console. The console will become obsolete, and netbooks will be able to play games previously limited to gaming-class PCs. It's still not going to go anywhere, though. |
Muckraker  Posts: 307 Joined: 19 Jan 2008     |
Dude, Windows is the most profitable division of MS. MS will not kill its biggest division and money maker - there is no point. Also, things that you can and will do with a 10-foot UI (TV) and 3-foot UI (PC monitor) are completely different. It would be really annoying and pointless to do word-processing on a TV. What you will see instead is a more connected environment. Better and easier integration of a PC and 360 into the same net. Easier Media Center setup, in-house secure domains which allow sharing of protected content across all laptops and such in the house, better PC & 360 game integration, etc. |
BANNED Posts: 1336 Joined: 21 May 2008 |
Well of course if you limit yourself to the hardware we have today. If you got a full-fledged keyboard for your xbox, word processing would be fine, know what I'm saying? Making the Xbox INTO the next PC is the next step, and they would be selling them AS PC's in the future. An Xbox nowadays can be bought for as low as 200 bucks, it just to say that the next generation, more profitable and more complete--and cheaper--will make a big difference. User was banned for: TIME Makes Everybody Lose "The Game". (Permanent) |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1090 Joined: 3 Apr 2008    | I don't think Microsoft is would do th- RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED |
Muckraker Posts: 307 Joined: 19 Jan 2008 |
It is not a question of hardware capability. 360's are quite powerful compared to PCs - their architectures are a bit weird, but they are easily capable of running basic word processor stuff. All of the necessary hardware is already there - you can already plug in a USB keyboard, etc. I am saying that it doesn't make sense from a financial and usability perspective. Financially this would require the MS gaming division to compete with the MS Windows division. Gaming is just now starting to make money - Windows is the biggest powerhouse in there. There is no point, since this strategy would not gain MS more market share, more users, etc. And as far as usability - have you tried doing normal things at 10 feet away from a screen? Even if it is big, it still feels weird. Plus you would need a desk and a mouse to operate many things properly. There is a reason why console resolutions have lagged behind PC - this is because from this far away the human eye cannot see this many details. Thus spreadsheets and stuff wouldn't work very well. |
Press Junketeer  Posts: 494 Joined: 16 Feb 2009    | So if we all find ourselves playing Captain Bland's Monotonous Adventure in what little time we can spare in between shifts at the Microsoft Overmines Offworld Mining Complex then I want you to know that I F**KING CALLED IT. --Yahtzee Now that I've got that obligatory ZP quote out of the way, let me tell you something: We'll be knocking the last few nails into the Windows coffin by the space year 2020. That is, unless they open-source it. I recently came into contact with Windows Vista, so I have The Rage. But I have also seen its future. It infuriates me that they continue to get away with charging money for Windows when my usual OS, Ubuntu Linux, is free and does a damn better job (DO NOT want to turn this into an OS war thread, just explaining the train of thought behind my prediction). So it's blindingly obvious to me that Microsoft's PC software business model cannot possibly compete against free software in the long term. Just making a competing prediction :) One flame-grilled cheezburger, hold the flame. |
Copy Clerk  Posts: 97 Joined: 29 Oct 2008    | Google, man. Google is the future of everything. |
BANNED Posts: 1336 Joined: 21 May 2008 |
Sorry if I was unclear, I meant hardware in the weird way, like Xbox keyboards etc. As for the rest, I'm not saying it would be better to replace the PC by the xbox, I'm saying if it worked more like a PC people would be way more interested in it and it would make for a totally new perspective in the realm of computers. Distributing software for your own platform hardly seems like a bad financial decision since your a) promoting your own OS by the medium of the platform and inversely and b) still allowing others to compare and see that, if you own 90% of the market, how much easier it is to get stuff from you. One of the prime aspects of PC's is customization, so the next Xbox has to be able to change hardware like legos. (kind of like how the HDD on the 360 is atm, except were talking everything here). By doing this, you'd not only keep everyone happy, but youd still keep that freedom you have if you, for instance, compare it to a Mac. In the end we'll wait and see what they do, but I think I can predict in the future a move that may resemble this, and that will net shareholders big money. User was banned for: TIME Makes Everybody Lose "The Game". (Permanent) |
Muckraker Posts: 307 Joined: 19 Jan 2008 |
I know I would get one if I could game with a keyboard and mouse on a 360. I actually opened a bug against one of the 360 devs on this issue, but he said that there is no space left in the 360 kernel for a keyboard driver. So maybe on the next version (720?).
No, think about it. There is a limited number of people that would buy this sort of stuff, and a huge overlap between PC and 360 users. If there was a viable and powerful 360 that could be used as a PC, then a user would not need to or want to buy another machine with Windows on it. Which means that MS is not getting the money for the OS licensing. It is already probably still loosing money on the 360's. In 2005 somebody calculated that a 360 costs $525 - today it is probably closer to 400, but not by much. So in effect MS would be selling a machine with a net loss, and would have to recoup that loss by selling programs for it. Alternatively MS could sell the 360 with some loss, and at the same time sell a PC with a pure net gain of whatever a Windows license is worth. It also doesn't need to worry about hardware problems of the box, manufacturing, etc. So basically if it is a combo 360+PC the cost will be -100$ + 10 games at (for example) $10 net gain to MS - comes out to a net gain of 0 dollars. Or it can sell -100$ + 10*10$ + 100$ for the Windows license - for a net gain of 100$. Minus the hassles of hardware, warranty, etc.
But that takes out one of the key advantages of consoles - their solid and constant hardware set. If the hardware changes, then everybody who writes software for that platform needs to test and make sure that it works properly on every combination of hardware. And if MS owns the platform, it also would need to write the drivers for each hardware piece. You would basically have a PC which is a little bit more modular than right now, and MS would be responsible for all of it. The only way Apple can get away with that is that they have 5 configs are locked down and that never change. |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 878 Joined: 19 Aug 2008   |
On the console market, yes. On the overall market OH DEAR GOD NO. Nintendo makes video games and that's it. Microsoft does EVERYTHING, and has a near-stranglehold on the personal computer market, which, in case you haven't noticed, is damn near universal. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 3580 Joined: 8 Feb 2009 |
Yeah, I found that out when I compared microsoft and nintendo in my plan and found out that microsoft does have more money than nintendo so instead I'm just going to steal all their ideas for myself. |
BANNED Posts: 1336 Joined: 21 May 2008 |
Interesting. I suppose we can only speculate at what their plan is in the long run. If they have this idea in mind, they would probably first make a true PC and slowly erase the differences between it and the Xbox. We can only wait and see... User was banned for: TIME Makes Everybody Lose "The Game". (Permanent) |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 514 Joined: 9 Jul 2008  | Of course. That's it. World War III won't be China vs USA. It will be Microsoft's mercenary legion vs. World's collective armed forces, right after a high court declares Microsoft needs to be split up to keep the market fair. Judging by the amount of fanboys, Microsoft has their cannonfodder ready. |
Press Junketeer  Posts: 454 Joined: 21 Dec 2007 |
This. Microsoft has hit a peak it can't grow beyond. Google is turning over the real dollar on the internet and the internet is the future.
The only problem with this vision of the future is the superiority of non-MS products. Yeah MS have the money to buy out much of the competition but they are under intense scruitiny over competition/monopoloy regulations already. And MS is not cool. This is very important factor, they are the evil empire to chaps like you. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1177 Joined: 26 Jun 2008  | You're not looking around the industry. The Nvidia ION platform will be shipped out within time which is a good compeditor against any console. |
BANNED  Posts: 4378 Joined: 21 Aug 2008     | Google is great, but they will never have this. Hell, when the iPhone touts it as its biggest enterprise feature and Microsoft still controls over 90% of the consumer OS market, I'm fairly certain Microsoft won't become irrelevant anytime soon. And outside of really basic tasks, Open Office sucks. User was banned for: Microsoft and the World Domination of Gaming&Communication. (Permanent) |
Press Junketeer Posts: 494 Joined: 16 Feb 2009 |
This. Although it's not stopped them in the past. But it's true they're hitting brick walls in all areas.
Better is a subjective term.
Wine and its various offshoots continue to make progress in this area.
If they behaved responsibly, if they behaved like they had a clue, they wouldn't bother me. Good thing is they won't bother me for much longer, 'cause if they don't wise up they're headed for the scrapheap. The current Windows business model of "release new version every couple of years, each more bug-ridden than the last" can't survive in the face of the superior competition. Open source is the only way it could survive. Man I wish they'd make me their CEO, I'd put 'em on the right track. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2813 Joined: 23 Dec 2007   | Microsoft mercenary legions vs. The world. Sod the world, we'll just have the SAS kill the entirity of Microsoft's stakeholders. And then mop up their mercenaries with the Parachute regiment.... The US can join in if you like. |
Press Junketeer Posts: 454 Joined: 21 Dec 2007 |
Open Source and internet collaboration is the future of computing indeed. Also, I think we'd all like to be CEO of Microsoft ;) But yeah, the current Windows business model is flawed. I truely believe MS dominance is solely based on the two factors of DirectX and a public lack of awareness about alternatives. Average Joe doesn't even know Linux exists yet, and when he goes to buy a family PC he goes to PCWorld and buys what he is familar with. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3252 Joined: 8 May 2008 | Huh, so it actually happened, Eggo was actually banned. For good. On topic, as long as I get to keep running Steam and playing my games the way I want to (mouse adn keyboard minus all the "bro gamers"), I don't care. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 4190 Joined: 6 Sep 2008 | You realize, the Xbox ALREADY runs off a windows OSX. Yes, centralization is the way of the future- see TEH NEW XBAWX ESPERIANCE! or PS3's Home. I wouldn't say that the PC will dissapere inteirly, at least not until technoligy progresses signifigantly. Mixing a PC with a console, you'd get... I dunno, a PC with controllers that plug in? You already can do that with USB's. |
Muckraker  Posts: 268 Joined: 2 May 2009 | Don't know why you're all complaining about Windows. It works fine. It does what it is supposed to do. And, yes, he has made mistakes (Namely Vista) but, XP is perfect and Seven is made to correct the problems that Vista had. XD |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 651 Joined: 4 Mar 2009  | MICROSOFT THE HACKERS LOVE IT seriously ms is good but the hackability is bad , the 360 is cool despite the rrod ,the only thing they need is a full web browser and sony might go tits up , because the dlc ends up on 360 more than ps3 and the points card is more out there then ps3 's (still wait'n) but world domination nah that's my job lol and not even a mouse could do it narf |
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For a while now, I've been defending Microsoft quite a bit. It's kinda time I make this official: Buy. Microsoft. Shares. I can't stress this enough.
Yeah, not everyone likes them, but check the facts: World Domination is coming.
I watched as Xbox live blossomed from an infant to a full-fledged internet superhulk. I've watched as Hotmail turned into "Windows Live" with an abundance of free features and an increasingly accessible and open-ended tool. I've watched as Microsoft introduced "Games for Windows" to try and keep gamers on the PC.
For a while there it might not seem like much, but when I realized they linked Windows Live, Games for Windows (Live) AND Xbox Live, my conspiracy alarm when berserk (yea you heard me lol).
Looking at it now, it seems Microsoft is setting the pieces on the board for a checkmate.
Windows Live?
The Microsoft cloud?
What's missing?
Well they could buy Steam...
Or an operating system perhaps. I heard Windows 7 would support Windows Live features, but why should console gamers and PC gamers alike be concerned? Because it's a plot for world domination... Not the tinfoil hat kind of conspiracy mind you.
Yes, it seems that linking all their assets together, Microsoft only needs to eliminate the middle man: The PC.
As soon as they get an operating system on the Xbox, it's Game Over man. Cheap computers, all the features. It won't be a PC nor a console, it will be something else completely.
And unless you intend to bomb Microsoft--or they are incredibly thick and didn't even think about it--then you might as well embrace it... And buy shares.
If you didn't see this coming, you probably have trouble dressing yourself, but then again that would make me a total asshole for posting this and "informing" on the possibilities.
Any thoughts?