Microsoft Talks Handhelds, Xbox Linux

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Canada.com interview with Xbox head honcho Robbie Bach, which shoots him some wide-ranging and perceptive questions about Microsoft's console strategy. Interesting answers include whether Microsoft wants to get into the handheld console market ("It's like starting a new business...we will focus on making the current Xbox successful."), and their views of Linux for Xbox ("..the numbers are not really that big. It's not a commercial as much as it is an intellectual property issue and we always pursue those.")

Comments

Microsoft XBox Handheld

[questamor]

I can see the XBox handheld now

One foot by 3 inches thick and about 6 inches deep. Somewhere around the size of a PS2 :P

Re:Microsoft XBox Handheld

[Faust7]

One foot by 3 inches thick and about 6 inches deep.

*opens mouth*

*closes mouth*

"We always pursue those."

[BitwizeGHC]

"Vinnie! Guido! Go 'pursue' the X-Box Linux intellectual property issue. To a satisfactory conclusion."

Goons: "Daaaah, right away, boss! Heehee heheh!"

Re:"We always pursue those."

[Obiwan Kenobi]

Also Known As:

GTA: Redmond

Example Mission:

Drive Bill over to the X-Box Linux Headquarters and wait for him to finish his "business". Then pay off the cops that come by with the trunkful of cash and dump the bodies of the X-Box Linux developers in the lake, after dropping Bill off at headquarters, of course.

MS handheld consoles?

[knightinshiningarmor]

Why would I want a portable blue screen? I get enough of that at home. :)

Re:MS handheld consoles?

[NanoGator]

"Why would I want a portable blue screen? I get enough of that at home. :) "

Ugh. BSOD jokes are so 1998. It's about as funny as somebody saying "Who'd want a Linux portable gaming machine? It'd be a pain in the ass to type 'jump -high' on that little thumbboard."

Xbox handheld?

[jolyonr]

Well, if Microsoft did an Xbox handheld, you'd need a damn strong right hand to hold it. Still, I guess if the market is adolescent makes, requiring a strong right hand isn't a problem.

Pr0n from MS?

[teslatug]

I don't know if N.U.D.E. will be available outside Japan, off the top of my head. A lot of the new content you will see is more interactive, social community...people want a competitive but fun social experience and we are experimenting with a lot of new concepts like project N.U.D.E.

I just hope they don't borrow from Clippy's personality...although, in this case, hmmm...

I see you're trying to beat off. Would you like a hand with that?

Re:Xbox as a pure console

[djNocturne]

> Why is it, that people always post big stories about the XboX ?

We enjoy reading various Xbox insiders talk about overtaking PS2 for the very same reason that we enjoying reading posts with extraneous commas and random capitalization: It's comedy gold.

> I don't see nearly as much stories about the PS/2

I almost bit on that one. I was about to waste precious time laying down an array of PlayStation-related story links, such as the recent announcement of a Sony handheld, several scattered tech notes on the architectural changes planned for the PS3, and the numerous obligatory PS2 hacks and mods.

> I guess as soon as it is from microsoft, it's bad ...

Of course not. I, for one, always assume that anything from M$ is remarkably stable and well-designed, and that their behavior in any given market keeps the associated industry vibrant and consumer-friendly.

There's not enough room in my head to store useless information, so I never bother with silly things like "historical perspective." That's why I
buy all of my Iomega gear at Best Buy, which I then promptly install on my SCO box; because, hey, every company deserves an amnesiac consumer base, right?

> GET A LIFE ! Microsoft is just some big company. All big companies do bad things.

I also find that moral equivocacy further simplifies my life. The world is so much easier to comment on when there are no degrees to consider. I like to paint everything with a giant, monochrome brush.

> That you are stupid enough to buy their stuff, that is your fault.

Finally, an assessment I can't argue with. The only thing I'm curious about, though, is this: I shouldn't be stupid enough to buy their products, but since all corporations are equally bad, what *should* I buy? You've obviously never been stupid enough to buy one of those "imperialist" consoles. But then, I guess it would be hard to play one without an imperialist television.

> They also do good things.

Quick, name one. I know: They ushered in the age of the GUI ... oh wait, they actually stole that idea. But they've written at least a few pretty decent products over the years, like SQL Server ... oh wait, they bought that.

I guess you're just referring to their superlative business ethics in general. Personally, I've always found the ISV and VAR criticisms of M$ as "inflexible" to be totally off-base. Their moral flexibility, alone, is without peer.

> Maybe it's not 'cool' to say good things about them

It's not. Still, the question is largely an academic one. We would need a good thing to report in order to put the matter to practical test, and there's very little risk of that happening.

- nocturne