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Sony and AOL vs Microsoft
jadrien writes "As the war for the common denominator access platform continues, the only two players that scare Microsoft team up. This story on CNET news.com details some of the forthcoming collaborations, including keyboard, monitor, mouse, and mozilla." Yes thats right kids, AOL is coming to your PS/2.
that the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' is *not* true. At least, with friends like AOL and Sony, who'd need foes ...
monty
www.aolsucks.com
nuff said, altho if you are on AOL you will get error 404, hmm i wonder why
I've tried. I've directed the moderators to mod them down. I've abused them. I've abused the moderators. Nothing works. The dumb jokes get scored "funny". They're not fucken funny. Why would the moderators score something "funny" when it isn't? Why?
check www.aolwatch.org for the latest news on aol's misdeeds
it goes far deeper than just screwing over their customers, theyre also in the habit of doctoring their books so they can screw their stockholders too. most of AOL's money is pretend money, as most of their subscribers are throwaway subscriptions. try 500 hours free, then next month try another 500 hours free, and then next month try another 500. aol counts each of these 1 month, never paid for subscriptions as a FULL YEAR of PAID subscriptions in their bookwork. they do this so they can keep saying "4 million subscribers cant be wrong" even when half of them are imaginary.
Mozilla and external hardware plus a harddrive --this calls for an operating system.
Will it be Linux?
Great. The two dumbest products on the planet collaborating to make the world a lesser place. You'd think these media giants would figure it out - NO ONE WANTS TO BROWSE ON THEIR TV!! When HDTV becomes the standard in, oh, 2050, then maybe we'd want to have net access through the TV. But until then, Sony, AOL, and MS are all insane. This is what happens when you have too many tens of billions of dollars lying around. I hope they all fail miserably, just like webtv. Another thing, why would anyone fork over the cost of a PS2, adapter, HD, keyboard, mouse, and ISP fees when a much more versatile computer system can be had for the same price? I suppose parents would much rather buy a $600 network game machine for their kids than a multipurpose computer right? As for network gaming, I think that those who care would opt for a real computer, not a DVD-player-wannabe. When Wal-Mart announces its entry into the interactive tv/network gaming/isp arena, it will indeed be time for the four horsemen to take their ride.
But we know who will lose the fight.
Us, or more accurately "the consumer".
The Dreamcast isn't locked to a single ISP in hardware -- it's just that in Europe Sega never gave you the software to change the dialup settings. You *can* change the settings, even on a Euro DC, using US or Jap browser disks, and those settings are kept in flash RAM, so that certain PAL games can use whatever ISP you like. Phantasy Star Online is one such game...
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Actually, these types of things tend to work the other way around. Every time Microsoft has pointed out weaknesses in Linux, especially legitimate problems, the Linux community has rallied and corrected the problems. For example, the Mindcraft benchmarks were nothing more than Microsoft sponsored R&D for the Linux kernel team. If anything Mundie's inane have served as advertisements Linux. His most damaging criticisms have been rebuffed over and over again, by Linuxers and non-Linuxers alike.
This announcement only goes to show why it is that Microsoft's ambitions will be foiled in the long run. Microsoft may be the biggest software company on the planet, but they aren't big enough to take on the entire rest of the industry. They have back-stabbed so many of their allies that there is no one left to watch their back, and their competitors are showing that they are more than willing to cooperate if it means denying Microsoft control of yet another market. The OS and Office suite markets will become commodity markets eventually, and Microsoft is going to be hard pressed to find some other market that they can dominate as completely as they have dominated the desktop.
Yeah, but not AOL 6.0! Imagine all those new, nifty AOL features you're missing out on by using an old version, like . . . like . . . like . . . ummm . . . well, nevermind.
Yeah, I know. I just moved and havn't set it back up yet. Some day it will be working again, once I figure out how to set everything back up...
Posted from the wireless couch.
My PS/2 is a Model 55/SX from about 1988 or so. It has 4 meg of memory and runs at 16 MHz. It also powers my fishcam. When I got ahold of it it had Win3.1 on it, and might have even had AOL on it already (I don't recall...). So HA! My PS/2 already has AOL!
(Oh, wait. Maybe that isn't what he meant...)
Posted from the wireless couch.
nonsense. it's only really in the last decade this rift has appeared. Nintendo were planning modems and home banking with the original NES. What was your commodore 64, your spectrum, your amiga? Games machines? Computers? Consoles?
"computer" is going to mean server very soon. most people will be using 'appliances' under which category games machines will fall.
I think it may not be a success on the PlayStation 2 platform. The reason is simple: PS2 doesn't currently support higher-resolution TV's of both CRT and projection variety, which means not much improvement over WebTV now.
One far-reaching idea about Xbox was that they designed the system to support even 1080i HDTV monitors and projection TV's. This will make surfing the Internet a far more pleasant experience than on PS2.
According to the article, AOL said this is not an exclusive deal with Sony; that means we may see AOL on Xbox by this time next year.
Raymond in Mountain View, CA
There's also one more thing about Xbox: it has quite a bit more computing power than PlayStation 2. And Xbox will support higher-resolution projection TV's, including HDTV, which means surfing AOL on Xbox could be a more pleasant experience than on PS2.
Remember AOL has said it may offer AOL on other Net-compatible gaming consoles in the future. That means we may also see AOL on Xbox by this time next year.
Raymond in Mountain View, CA
...remember eWorld?
That was built on the AOL servers and AOL Mac client...
S.
Now M$ will be competing against a team of the premier content producer (AOL's portal service with its millions of subscribers, [Oh and Time-Warner too,] :-) and the premier play-platform producer (Sony, which also happens to be a class outfit which produces everything from games to movies to...)
Why waste cash a PC and all those headaches when a PS2 will do just fine and will never crash?
Look for M$ to start spitting in every direction: "Open Source is a communist plot" and "Buy our X-Box against Japanese imperialism." (Strike that last one. It would cut into OS Sales.)
Cute, with M$ reputation of delivering too little too late, its going to be a battle of the bank accounts. Who's got deeper pockets and a stabler revenue stream?
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
Coleco Adam (sold standalone or as ColecoVision Expansion Module #3)
The "you can turn it into a computer" logic seemed to appeal to my parents too, even though we had a funky greenscreen Apple ][+. The Adam shipped a little too late and with too few features (such as pricy highspeed tapes instead of disks), and never really could compete with Commodore and Atari.
--
Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
<FLAMBAIT like comment>
Just like cigarettes, get 'em hooked (on AOL) while young and those who do don't know better will stay hooked. </FLAMBAIT like comment>
Because M$ bought 10% of Apple to keep them from going out of business.
From my understanding it was more along the lines of M$ buying $150M of nonvoting stock as part of an out-of-court settlement regarding some non-licensed inclusion of QuickTime code into the then-new Windows98. Apple found out, threatened to sue, MS offered to buy some stock to shut them up (along with some effective Office-type sabre rattling) and it was a done deal.
Geez, I should get a consulting fee or something at least.
Slashdot -- News for Nerds, Business Plans for Corporations.
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Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Here's my worry. AOL is not really known for its gaming ability; anything outside AOL's network is accessed by a massive proxy. So are AOL-PS2 customers going to play GAMES through that? They'll either burn out the servers or they'll get such high latency that their games will turn into slide shows.
Still, who else saw this coming? (Many hands go up.)
Thats what I thought.
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Mod up a post Rob doesn't like and you'll never mod again
from the allright-thats-just-plain-creapy dept.
can a man get a spellchecker ..
from the alright-that's-just-bad-spelling-dept.
BilldaCat
Additional hardware including a hard-disk drive, liquid-crystal display (LCD), keyboard and mouse will be offered to help customers access the new features.
Note that the monitor being discussed is a special LCD monitor, and not a standard VGA hookup. Why? Because the PS2 is a DVD player, and the DVD Consortium has apparently dictated that DVD players aren't allowed to output an RGB signal, because Macrovision only works along a composite signal path.
Reservoir Zig
I question this simply because of the fact that *EVERY* "Appliance" that has hit the market has died a horrible death.
I personally wouldn't buy a PS2 to surf the net because it would suck. For the same reason the I-Openers sucked, for the same reason the Virgin WebPlayers sucked and for the same reason all of 3coms webpads have sucked.
Most importantly, why in gods name are "slashdotters" supporting one evil over another?? Isn't the PS2 one of the most proprietary consoles around? Isn't AOL one of the biggest monopolies around?
I don't get it. I remember buying all my Sega consoles because Sega kicks ass as a gaming company. Sony, well they kick ass at sucking up your money, much like Microsoft, Much like AOL or any media titan for that matter
Now that i have said all that, i hope they do applianc'ize the PS2 and i hope it days a quick death for that matter.
For those that say they want wireless accessories, fast gaming, and hdtv or analog tv support why not spend 500.00 on a PC that will do all of that and much more instead of sicking 500+ dollars into a device that will have an old version of java, not support new media formats, be limited to a single vendor and most important of all be 100% proprietary
Good ridance PS2
Ok let's put some things together.
:) .
What AOL has:
-Largest online community
-Rumours of upcoming Linux support. Long time ago, maybe vapour.
What Sonay has:
-Most (?/very) popular game console
-Hardware that runs Linux.
What they both have:
-Microsoft is enemy no 1
What Microsoft wants:
-Take over AOL's community
-Get XboXes (=WebTerminals) into houses
What I think is that Microsoft uses the Xboxes into peoples houses and at some point tie them into the Microsoft Network. This would be a lot of competetion for AOL.
Using Sony's hardware (PS2) they can run there rumoured Linux software without needing Microsoft for anything, and they are using Microsofts own trick against it.
Sony profits from having a strong partner that delivers lots of added value for there hardware.
The bonus for us would be that we probably also can run AOL's linux software (oh yes, I have been waiting for that . . . . NOT!) and get a lot of Linux enabled PS2's (yes
Wait. Isn't it 'PSX2'??
Where the value of X-Mailer: is the true measure of a man...
Since the PS/2 is a loss-leader in the hardware dept (the money is made on games) - I'm all for giving it basic internet functionality. Give me a wireless keyboard and mouse, an internet enabled PS/2, and a nice 50 inch HDTV, and I'll be cooking with grease!
That's what these companies realize. HDTV has monitor-like resolutions. And hell, why should I spend 2k for a 24 inch LCD (price pulled outta my ass - with left hand) when I can spend the same amount for a nice 50 inch 16:9 HDTV that will show me DVDs *and* be my computer monitor.
Hell, I could watch the National Kickball Tournament[1] on 1/2 of the screen and surf on the second 1/2. I'd be happier than pigs in mud.
[1] When was the last time you used "Kickball" in a sentence?
HI Mom!
Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
while i agree that microsoft has done some really nasty stuff in the past, has aol done anything besides being huge? this isnt a troll, i really havent followed aol that much and i am wondering what it is that they have done to be qualified as evil?
use LaTeX? want an online reference manager that
-- john
that page seems to chronicle aol's lax security and some stuff about them getting cracked by people capable of social engineering. this implies incompetence, but hardly justifies the term evil.
use LaTeX? want an online reference manager that
-- john
Nonsense. In the mid 80's, my brother and I sold my dad on the idea that we should get a Colecovision, because they were going to have an expansion keyboard which would turn it into a computer. He didn't want to get us a game machine, but he was much more receptive to getting us a computer. We got the Colecovision, but I don't know if they ever actually came out with the keyboard...
To within half a percent, pi seconds is a nanocentury. -- Tom Duff
Once upon a time, it wasn't that far from $6.075.
:(
Some people got a standard $6/hr rate, but the norm was $8/hr during peak times, $4/hr for off-hours.
Once upon a time, playing NeverWinter Nights on AOL, I had an average $400/month bill
William
--
Lettering Art in Modern Use
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Damage the console? Please. I'm so glad I didn't have anything to drink before reading your post. The liquid could have damaged my keyboard after coming out my nose.
GPL made simple: What was my stuff is now our stuff. If you improve our stuff, please keep it our stuff.
AOL on your PS2 or winCE on your PS2?
AOL running under WinCE on your PS/2, of course.
Imagine what this could do if Sony opens up it's music IP for access over the PS/2. Of course there'd be no way to save the music (short of analog-recording from yer TV), but turning your game console into an on-demand jukebox might make it look pretty sweet to the consumer.
Does the PS/2 have an ethernet port option?
Is better than the devil you don't know.
Peter
--
www.alphalinux.org
www.alphalinux.org
I think you're right on here -- the cube seems less like a computer than the ps2, in the same way that aol seems like real internet access. ps2 users will probably be more interested in their own isps than gamecube owners would be.
There's three problems here, tho. First is exactly the non-computerness of the GC -- it's got no hard-drive, and i've read nothing of one, and last i checked, there's been no decision on modem v broadband. add this to the fact that us launch has been pushed to november, and gc isn't really a partner, yet.
Problem two, and this isn't really a problem, is that there's no reason AOL can't still go after the cube. Lots of game developers release on multiple platforms, there's no reason to suppose that non-game app developers for consoles won't do the same.
Finally, there's nintendo itself. You know how they are, what with their licensing and their stranglehold on developers and insane paranoia about the control they have on their product, its software library, and their brand. I love them, really i do, but i can't imagine trying to work with them to release an application.
Sony's the easy initial win. Maybe AOL will go after gamecube later, but they've got a year before that even becomes an issue.
god is just pretend.
But I'd like to cut short any 'omigod, it's the corporate newworldorder supermegahyperconglomerate that's evil and will probably outlaw mp3, free speech, and free beer' talk. What, is Sony going to go with my local isp? Are they going to predispose their console to play well with Prodigy? Come on -- this just makes sense. For their box to compete with XBox, they need a standard, simple, widely-accepted, powerful brand as their internet access tool. AOL has like 90 % of the universe, probably including your mom, so condescend all you want, this was a no-brainer.
So, again, don't get me wrong, every time something like this happens, it feels a little dirty, but if you believe that computers and consoles are becoming more and more alike, you believe that AOL must partner with a console manufacturer. XBox is out of the question, cause of MSN, and the gamecube is out, because Nintendo doesn't play well with 3d parties. So Sony it is. This is just another OEM deal, like Dell or Gateway or anything else. It would have been hopelessly naive to suppose that consoles would remain immune to the AOL invasion just because they sit under our tvs -- they've got hard-drives(well, ok, maybe by end of year), they'll have modems (someday), they're fair game.
god is just pretend.
AOL on your PS2 or winCE on your PS2?
Take your pick!
This deal between AOL and Sony looks like it will help both of them expand thier markets. However, I didn't see anything that said this is an exclusive agreement. If the XBox takes off, AOL will likely want to have AOL on the XBox as well.
The worst thing would be for AOL, the largest internet provider, and Sony, the largest game console company, teaming up to keep competitors out of the market.
The PS/2 was a line of computers from IBM back in the late 80's. Its distinguishing features were the MicroChannel bus and cable-free internal components. To avoid confusion, the abbreviation for PlayStation 2 is "PS2", not "PS/2".
--
Lord Nimon
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
MS won't have the overheads of collaboration to worry about
I'm not sure about that. From what I've read, there is a lot of infighting in the M$ ranks. Each group trys to out shine the others, and direct competition between product groups is not unusual.
Don't put two prima donnas in the same room. It is not a nice sight.
Obviously the bad guy is the one who is winning... at least in this case.
"I don't need a compass to tell me which way the wind shines." - Mr. Furious, Mystery Men
That's an outright lie! Mozilla is not slow at all. Why on my 1.5 GHz Cryotech Athlon with 2Gb RAM and overclocked to 1.98 Ghz I notice no difference than any other browser. If you were a techie like me, you wouldn't fall for stupid adverts from Intel that says Pentium III will make your internet faster! That's impossible. Just remember to run the nightbuilds and you'll be allright.
(Posted anonymously because I'm scared about losing my karma point.)
- Steeltoe
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
So I spend a thousand bucks on PC and a PS2, including a high resolution monitor, or I can buy a PS2+AOL pack, plus thousands for an HDTV? I think the people this is targeting don't have that kind of money, this is more mainstream - just like AOL itself. Anyone "in the know" wouldn't want to use AOL anyway. That's not who they're targeting.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
The Anti-Blog
I wonder if you will ever be able to get rid of AOL from the ps2 once its being installed;)
Copy protected typing. Coming to a computer near you.
========================
63,000 bugs in the code, 63,000 bugs,
ya get 1 whacked with a service pack,
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
Hey, with Mozilla I think we've finally found a piece of software that can push the PSX2 to it's limits.
*ducks*
--
andy j.
Stupid Cheap Guitars
Something similar was tried before with WebTV...where is it now, I ask you? The fact that such a system would use AOL to connect will only add to it's lameness. Ever try to do something routine like send an e-mail attachment to an AOL user? AOL with all it's hype is still just a glorified purveyor of "shiny coasters". At least with a PC/M$/(noAOL), you have functionality and if you don't like M$ you can always try that penguin thingy...
You're using her as bait, Master!
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive
That would be circular. Recursion has to have a terminating condition. I'm not very good at this but you could try something like:
Recursive: Adj. If not understood, See Recursive.
Cheers,
Mike.
-
Sony and AOL vs Microsoft
Yes thats right kids, AOL is coming to your PS/2.
Oh, wonderful.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Come on, I just got my PS2... and it was expensive too.. don't go associating it with creeps like those!
:) It doesn't have their browser built into it already, so that would mean an expansion. An expansion that would surely have some *damn good* competition (hopefully well marketed. Since AOL are very good at fooling people with their marketing).
:( In which case I'll just kill myself :p
*Sobs* *Huggles PS2*
Which would I rather see... a PS2 ruined by AOL, or a PS2 ruined by Microsoft?
Go Microsoft! Go Microsoft!
(Hey, at least MS make decent hardware. AOL just eat people... and block people from using their lame instant messenger.)
But there's one thing we can be thankful for - there isn't really any definite way AOL can ruin the PS2
I could be wrong
It is a trivial matter to make an internet appliance for under 100$ that has wireless networking or a modem, TV output's or a built-in screen, and all the basic hardware a user would want (Not to mention all the software a person could ever use, for free). Free services like NetZero would be happy to provide half-way decent internet access for free.
There's one reason appliances haven't succeed so far, they lock down the machine so consumers are stuck with only what they want you to have. From ISP to applications, to browser, you are stuck with only what they will let you have, and the PS2 is obviously going to be no different.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
It was listed as Netscape, but the changes will have to be rolled into mozilla, as far as i can tell. b
Sony reported that they will be supporting Linux on the PS2 (at least in Japan). Now AOL says they are going to be adding support for the PS2. Of course, they could go out and make a whole new AOL-OS or something, but maybe they are just going to port everything to Linux, and use that? And since Mozilla already runs under linux, it wouldnt be much of a stretch to make sure it runs ok in the PS2 hardware.
How would this benefit the linux comunity? First of all, it will get mentioned more. If the AOL people are nice, they might even add a little linux icon somewhere during the boot sequence. Second, there will be development focused on linux. Meaning, maybe the AOL coders can fix some bugs in the kernel while porting their stuff, etc.
See, you're looking at three of the scariest companies out there. Sony and AOLTW make massive amounts of money off of being gigantic conflicts of interest, and Microsoft is... Microsoft. I honestly don't know which I find scarier.
(And no, I don't like Sony at all. I might buy a PlayStation2 from them, but I have no plans to ever buy, say, a Walkman again.)
/Brian
That's true...when there's a specific definable problem and that problem actually exists.
Microsoft seems to have learned it's lesson with the Mindcraft benchmarks; be vauge, where possible turn black into white and white into black, and put a seed of doubt in places where there are facts that back them up.
Another point of the Consulting Times article is that a little focused propaganda can incite and distract attention from the real issues. That it takes some explaining to show that MS is pushing hooey just shows that they are having an impact. As a small example, we're not helping anyone here by writing and reading any of this!
In this case, IBM has the real potential to make Microsoft's networking efforts as influential as Banyan Vines. That IBM uses open source, Linux, free software, or any other method -- substantial or wholely illusion -- doesn't matter one hoot. That IBM is bold enough to try is enough of a threat to MS.
[ software as a commodity ... MS foiled in the long run ]
Software is a commodity, no doubt. I'd include in this many commercial programs. A quick check of the made-for-bargin-bin software section is all that is needed to verify this -- and it is not just games anymore. On the flip side, to call open/free software a commodity is absurd; it's 'sold' in a nearly infinite volume for largely the same 'unit cost'. Having said that, regaurding open/free software as a commodity still has practical utility.
If a wholesale switch from MS Office to free/open alternatives happened today, there would be some pain but that would largely go away within a year since there would be quite a few highly motivated people added to the existing open projects. That MS still can charge substantial amounts on a per-user basis is amazing and shows that the grip they have is quite strong. If MS didn't have a monopoly, they would not be able to charge what they do.
Because of that control, and the subsequent lowered interest in the alternatives, it will be well over a year before most companies that use MS apps will see the switch to alternatives as a possibility. In one year, quite a bit can change...so no, I don't see MS's failure in desktop apps or server software as a given.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
I'd add IBM to the top of that list. After reading this article from Consulting Times I have a new perspective on the whole Mundie distraction.
In sum: MS doesn't care about 'Linux'. It cares about control and threats to that control.
By distracting the open source, free software, or Linux advocates it zaps strength from IBM's efforts to rally them to make stronger technology that MS doesn't control...and thus slows IBM's own efforts. MS needs some time to keep companies from moving away from Microsoft-based software, and to institute more MS-controled technologies such as .net.
Anything that can impact IBM's efforts to build open source or Linux support will also slow the efforts of HP, Compaq, Dell, and others that understand the business costs of the current Microsoft monopoly.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Maybe I'm wrong, but this seems really good for the playstation 2. The Xbox runs on pc hardware, runs a windows based kernel, I am sure it would be easy as pie to port AOL, or any other app over to the xbox, and with the hype surrounding the Xbox, you are bound to get way more publicity.
Why then, did AOL still choose the PS2?
Time Warner Records and Warner Bros. Studios
Men believe what they want. - Caesar
>MS will be able to avoid many teething problems by watching what AOL & Sony are doing and then copying them
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this mean MS would make the same mistakes? Copying is what MS does best!
Men believe what they want. - Caesar
The slow, clunky, barely-breaking 1 gflop, 32-bit Pentium III in the Xbox is nothing compared to the speed demon 128-bit RISC + 2 vector unit 6.2 gflop processor in the PS2. The PS2 also supports high resolution display and HDTV. Look at the new Linux kit for PS2.
Men believe what they want. - Caesar
It all used to be so clear: a pc is a pc, and a game platform is a game platform. So now they take a game platform, add a mouse, a keyboard, a harddisk and a LCD display and hey presto! We've got a pc. Now as long as Microsoft is at battle with AOL we can be sure that Windows, Office and other Microsoft stuff will not be ported to the PS2
Take your pick.
Since consumers have historically gone with "good enough and cheaper" rather than "better but more expensive" (witness: M$ vs. Apple in the desktop wars nearly a decade ago), at this point, I'd be betting on the consoles.
What I do not understand is why is there so much anti-aol hysteria to this day?
Another problem was that AOL's newsreader had some stupid maximum like 32K per message. If people didn't split their encoded binaries into these ridiculously small parts, much AOL flamage would ensue.
But, be honest. The only reason the Usenet problem "went away" was that nobody tells newbies about Usenet anymore. Which means that most AOL users don't even know it exists, so the rest of the world doesn't see them.
I was on AOL briefly in *1991*, and most of the users were complete morons then, depsite the fact the online world was considerably more obscure. I have no doubt that the AOL message boards are currently just as full of inarticulate posts as Usenet was during the endless september.
When I hear the word 'innovation', I reach for my pistol.
If these two fight each other, i wonder who will be the laughting third?
The right market would have been GameCube.
The demographics for Playstation are older males, savvy about AOL's "features", who may occasionally use Instant Messenger. The demographics for GameCube are young males (and females) are actual fanatics of the "real" AOL (subscribers) who aren't willing to investigate any of AOL's privacy/tracking "features".
I would hedge my bet, also, that the AOL package will pretty much require the hard drive (and the ethernet card/modem) which is going to make this an expensive upgrade for some. Sony is in a pickle that they couldn't get both pieces of the hardware in the basic set (as Microsoft is doing -- we'll see how well that pans out). But they will probably have to offset the purchase with rebates which will require -- you guessed it -- long-term subscriptions to AOL.
No matter what way you slice it, AOL wins in some capacity. They should have gone for GameCube though for the kill.
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Me too!
Go Kathryn Thurber!
AOL!
Go Kathryn Thurber!
So when does September end?
Go Kathryn Thurber!
As long as it hurts Microsoft I am happy. The anti-aol stuff is very old and ancient. Back in the early 1990's when I was a teenager my parents used aol it was not that bad. It was during the mid 1990's when the interent became public and aol began offering access when the anti-aol hysteria started.
Basically from what I remember in AOL 2.0, is that users brand new to the interent did not understand exactly what it was and there was a huge bug in aol's interent software that posted users messages 6 times.
The users would type things in newsgroups like alt.pcitures.erotica that would " say, hey this sucks! No download button come on". This would casue alot of anti-aol flames back when the interent still had rules that everyone had to follow. Basically no one ever told them how to cut and past the picture files. Today I believe the newsgroup software is better and you no longer need to do this but I just use dajanews.com so i do not know. Also many interent users thought aol users just wanted attention when they say something posted 6 times due to the bug.
That would piss off alot of early interent users into thinking aolers were also trollers.
Anyway that was a long time ago. Aol users today believe the interent is seperate from aol and know better. Back then when it was called the super information highway, how would they know?
Ordinary people use aol to communicate and not cs or engineering majors.
I have not used aol since 1995 when the first isp's came into my area. But AOL has great things for non techies family members. I remember getting help with homework, getting technical support for pieces of hardware, having cool forums, parental lock controls, having a fully integrated online service that is not wild like the interent. ITs these reasons is why for family users and people like my mom is why aol is great. IF I was a parent, I would be concerned about porn spammmers and adult site filtering. With aol I would have everything under control and my kids can get help with there homework and socialize with others. I myself however would prefer an isp.
What I do not understand is why is there so much anti-aol hysteria to this day?
If you don't like don't use it. AOL users today know how to act accordingly on the internet so why still flame them because of something that happened 6 to 7 years ago. Also I would be terrified if msn became popular because of the xbox.
The xbox may become the next big internet appliance for those who can't afford a comptuer and want to go on the net. We need competition! If everyone uses an interent address with *.msn.com people would switch to join the herd and then we would have another monopoly on our hands.
http://saveie6.com/
Great. When it boots up we'll be greeted with a dialog box that says "You've got ammo!"
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
"Remember AOL has said it may offer AOL on other Net-compatible gaming consoles in the future. That means we may also see AOL on Xbox by this time next year. "
Not if MSN has anything to say about it....
Jaysyn
There is a war going on for your mind.
Where this is also advantagous is in creating a new route into the internet for loads of people that previously couldn't afford a full on PC.
I run a talker, uberworld.org, and I see lots of the newer people on the web on a daily basis. I reckon this will help a great deal.
--
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
-- .sig are belong to us!
All your
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
M$ Rep: Soitainly, it comes on 12 CD Roms and costs $75 a copy.
Sony/AOL Rep: Uh, there must be a misunderstanding, we only need the basic OS, not all the extra.
M$ Rep: Ooooh, you want that! It's 12 CD Roms and costs $75 a copy.
Sony/AOL Rep: What? That sounds like the same thing? Why is it such a big distro?
M$ Rep: Well, everythings bundled, you see, we can't take anything out without breaking it, so says the Hizzoner Bill, hisself!
Sony/AOL Rep: That seems hardly fair!
M$ Rep: Well, you can take it or leave it, that's fair! Nyuk nyuk nyuk! Hey! You guys should call yourselves SOL! Woo woo woo woo woooooo!
-- .sig are belong to us!
All your
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
This just looks like classic Sony tactics. Create hype for something nobody needs. Let's be honest here.. are you going to buy a PS2+Keyboard+Mouse+HD+Modem to surf??? Your PS2 will look like a Borg invention. Sony is behind the curve here... this time MS and Nintendo have all the cards. I just hope someone can get Linux on XBox asap.. maybe MS should do it? It would be a sign of goodwil and wouldn't really compete with their OS business. Wishful thinking I guess ;)
AOL supports Mozilla. Sony supports Linux (on the TiVo). At least they understand the meaning of open source.
Sony never got any extra money from the price gauging... PS2 squaters did!
Taxes and Lazy People are best friends.
AOL/TIVO/Mozilla/.... It's all going to be LINUX
"The Most Fun Possible on 4 wheels" is at SunBuggy in Las Vegas
While I think it's good that someone is trying to compete with Microsoft, I'm a little concerned about how easily two of the largest corporate behemoths on the planet have formed a partnership.
Does anyone else think that this could be overtones to a possible merger? And does it scare the hell out of anyone that if it does?
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
AOL has to open its IM if users can video-conference. If AOL IM is the protocol that enables Playstation users to play each other, does that count? Presumably, if one user sees the likeness/character of another user, that would be videoconferencing?
Additional hardware including a hard-disk drive, liquid-crystal display (LCD), keyboard and mouse will be offered to help customers access the new features.
Sony and AOL are working hard to make gaming devices into standard computers. Meanwhile, video/sound card companies are hard at work turning computers into gaming consoles.
Take your pick.
Most people who can afford a PS2 can afford cable modem service. So unless they some how allow you to share it between PS2 and computer or vice versus, very few people are going to use the service. I love my PS2 but Sony will wreck its chance at online if it does not offer consumers an option.
I'm getting kinda tired of all the AOL bashing. You know who uses AOL? Clueless users who want to e-mail pictures of their kids to Granny and 13 year olds in chat rooms. They've made the software easy to use on purpose. I work tech support for a medium-sized ISP, and we've gotten a few users from AOL. And they were idiots. But ya know what? If they want to use a garbage front-end to a content controlled ISP, they have the right to choose that, or choose any other ISP if they so desire. Eighty percent of our customers think of computers as televisions with typewriters attached. When you or I want dialup, all we want are a fucking phone number, login, password and maybe DNS. These average Americans want to see a nicely integrated, easy to understand front-end. They want to see the AOL logo everywhere because it gives them confidence that they are connected through a famous major ISP. AOL versus *real* ISP is like apple pie versus tiramisu- AOL's American as shit, but tiramisu's better in many people's eyes. But 80 percent of people don't wanna try it because it's different and strange. They want the security that AOL *APPEARS* to provide. No pity for AOL users, and no love for AOL haters.
Hey Taco! Looks like you're using the "infinite monkeys and typewriters" scheme to generate Ask Slashdots again...
Who didn't see this coming?
AOL porting their software to Linux.
Sony porting Linux to the PS2.
Can we say Linux powered game console that runs an AOL client powered by Mozilla natively? I can.
And since Linux is open source, AOL will have no problem changing it over to look "so easy to use..."
Blah!
Do you like German cars?
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
So Astoroth and Baphomet have finally ganged up on Lucifer !
This will be interesting in deed! Especially the Slashdot comments. The anti evil corporation fanatics will have an interesting time figuring out who is the bad guy in this fight.
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
That is probably encouraged, because this mean that MS people are more efficent that way.
However, in MS, there is someone that can step into the room, say: "I want it that way, make it so!" and everyone will do it.
Nothing like that in AOL-TimeWarner Sony partnership.
--
Two witches watched two watches.
Which witch watched which watch?
MS will have their own console soon
MS will be able to avoid many teething problems by watching what AOL & Sony are doing and then copying them
MS won't have the overheads of collaboration to worry about
The hype surrounding X-box will mean a good user base of gamers (&& their families) to sell into
It depends who makes the modems.
Many console modems are locked into a specific ISP (Think about it. they buy the hardware then they have to pay a monthly fee to use the hardware).
I think this is how it was on the DreamCast for standard Kage-based (one of Sega;s network APIs) multiplayer gaming, and it wouldn't suprise me if AOL did the same for the PS2. They could even prevent other ISPs from getting hardware authorized if it risked their monopoly (Manufacturers aren't opposed to exclusive contracts).
"Faith is the last resort of a desperate man" - Me
When did PS/2 become Playstation 2?
:P
strange, I thought we were using PS/2's a long time ago..
my mouse is a PS/2 mouse..
~j
I read about AOL being the preferred ISP for the Playstation 2 late last year or early this year. Can't remember where though. Maybe it wasn't "official" then.
My IP is 192.168.1.100 Hack it if you want.
There's a whole shitload of young adults who are hopelessly addicted to AOL, brain fried form all the "please wait, while we add new art" crap, and they're all hanging around a lawyers office, filing their class action law suits that will make the tobacco settlements look like chump change.... "I tried to get a real ISP, but everytime I quit AOL, I got the jitters and shakes, and just couldn't help myself....and the reps just keep calling me...I had no choice" I almost thought there was hope several years ago when I could buy unused AOL disks by the hundreds, reformat them, and use them to pass on pr0n to my friends... but now, every day when I get home, it seems like there's a "New, Improved" AOL on my doorstep. I save em, and use them as skeet targets. Sorry to rant...just felt the need.
my
Gimme Mandrake and Nintendo, and I'll be happy.
RealNetworks is joining AOL on PS2. Their press release says that Real Player 8 will be included with the PS2.
Just my $0.04 (adjusted for inflation)
--------------------------------
Id pick High Lord Father Gates over Sony/AOL any day. Why? Because Sony and AOL are parts of the big 6 media monopoly. That is dangerous. Microsoft is just misguided *ducks*. I don't trust Sony/AOL farther than I can throw them.
Malda using PS/2 where he should use PS2 isn't a spelling problem. It's an ignorance problem.
Unless it was the only service available for use on my PS2 to allow me to go head to head online If this is the only way to go online I certainly wouldn't want to pay for two ISP's and I might just cancle the one that doesn't work for all of my boxes
Sounds like AOL finaly figured out my number The Bastards
I used to have a cool sig, back when I cared
SWM ISO [S|D]WF with PS2. Please send pic of PS2 along with list of high scores. I look forward to kicking your butt in NHL2000!
:)
just kidding
There isn't any report of mozilla on the CNet article. From my reading of it, it looks like AOL will be acting as a portal for Sony.
Plus we all need to relax. Isn't there a link (link masters feel free to reply) around to Linux on the PS2? With Linux on the PS2, there will be a light in the two evil darknesses.
--
McCarrum!
Robert Anton Wilson
But AOL?!? Eww...
Keyword: AOLSUCKS
Least it's not microsoft. God, can you imagine Sony and Microsoft working together? *shudders*
With any luck, they will continue the AOL CD campaign and start giving away free "700 minute" trial PS/2's.
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
I see one glaring problem with having a console system actually hooking up to the web-----If you get a virus downloaded onto the console system, you could end up frying the whole thing. At least with computers you have work arounds and can pull out individual parts. I just hope that they seriously look into this. I for one would NOT like to dish out $450 just to watch it meltdown.
i recognize,
Ithink they meant PS2 NOT PS/2, I too am using a generic "PS/2" and I have one that's from '87(I collect loads of old computer stuff) But now I am confused how could AOL run on a mouse (and why would I use AOL)
/.er
"Do not meddle in the affairs of SysAdmins for they are powerful and easy to anger!"(my fav. phrase)
..to see Slashdot users backing a proposal like this! AOL is a giant corporation which piggy-fucks just about any and everyone's machine it can. Sony is a consumer electronics dynsasty, who got lucky with the PSX, and is now hoping to rule with the PSX2. But, it runs Linux, so every things okay? Sweet mother mary of God what happened to sanity. Game consoles are perhaps the next generation of connected-computing. Through this new boxes, presumably half the cost of a PC, many home-users will view the world of the internet, and those the world in general. If AOL and Sony band together on this outing, you will begin to see the world's larget content whore providing systems for the world's largest profit vixen. In short, just another Microsoft with bigger balls, and squinty eyes. The fact remains it doesn't matter who has the monolopy, no one should have it. The GameCube is likely to remain a niche player, as was the N64 (Ninentdo is the Apple of game consoles), while the PSX2, despite repetitive gameplay, and various hardware issues, will likely just slightly lead in the Game Console war to be appearing at local theaters in 2002. However, with AOL now providing service to PSX2 first, and the some 4 million customers strong in adverts that can not be ignored so easily, Sony has positioned itself to push the PSX2 into the laps of consumers before the XBox hits the streets. Once you have 60% market saturation, you're as good as gold. If the XBox manages to survive it will only be because Microsoft can dump millions into the project without blinking an eye, until it survives, where other companies are forced to let go of unprofitable dogs, M$ can strive on them. So, at the end of 2002, we now have two vast monopolies controlling what about 4-10 million, see, and hear. Sweet merciful crap.