Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Bill Gates Hints At Xbox 360 Features

Posted by Zonk on from the could-be-a-blender-too dept.

mgbaron writes "Read the first part of Engadget's interview of Bill Gates where topics discussed range from the Xbox 360 to Media Center PCs to Windows Mobile and Microsoft's future involvement in portable devices. On an interesting note, Gates downplays the rumors that the Xbox 360 might itself be a media hub. He instead hints that it might share some of the same features. The second part of the interview will run tomorrow and cover such topics as Blu-Ray and the Tablet PC."

3 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Xenon by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Informative
    Xenon is the code name. They haven't officially announced the name yet, so even if it is to be called the Xbox 360, it would be inappropriate for Mr Gates to call it that.

    For the same reason, you'll hear him refer to Longhorn as Longhorn right up until the day it's officially announced it'll be called "Windows ST" (or "Windows QL" or whatever it is called), even if "everyone knows" it's going to be called that well beforehand.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  2. Re:Huh? by DingerX · · Score: 2, Informative

    The article suggests that ol' Bill has another reason not to call it a "media hub". M$ already has a "media center edition" version of Windows XP. It's not vapor here, just a clear case of differentiating the markets. Now, whether the Xbox will be a "crippled" media-center, or whether it will do what you want it to do, we'll see. My guess is that it'll play DVDs, CDs, and let you do multimedia stuff that involves extensive and annoying DRM.
    I also suspect someone's looking at the console market in terms of the iPod phenomenon: people buy iPods to listen to music, not to use the stopwatch feature. Are folks really going to buy a console and expect a HDTV tuner/PVR in there for free?

  3. Second Part of Interview by LoganEkz · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's now available, posted this afternoon on Engadget.