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Prepping For The 360
An anonymous reader writes "The Xbox 360 launches on Tuesday, and ZDNet talks to some of the folks who are already prepping for it. John Dvorak also has commentary on the new console, and he seems to like it." From the Dvorak article: "Luckily Microsoft's Xbox 360 crew, and other game developers, are working on cool stuff that will cross over to PCs. When game developers retake their rightful place on top of the hill of progress, we'll all be better off. Needless to say, I am impressed by the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 explores new menu structures with a unique and pleasant GUI. One often-overlooked element that the Microsoft games group brings to the party is its unique GUIs that are unlike the folder/desktop metaphor that Xerox and Apple developed."
Why would anybody want to buy an Xbox? It is no more than a closed PC where the consumer is no longer in control. We all know how unstable Microsoft GUI's are, and quite frankly, I rather like to launch a game from a simple MSDOS prompt than from a blue GUI. And why buy into new DRM technology? It just makes no sense to buy an Xbox when PC's are so cheap and offer more features and more games with more balance (CSS vs DeCSS etc.).
Watch those idiots who rate every critical comment as trolling. ;-)
So, Mr. Holier-than-thou, what do you squander your time on? Masturbating to pictures of Natalie Portman?
That is a worthwhile pastime, if and only if they are pictures of her Petrified with Hot Grits. (TM)
I think you are underestimating Microsoft...
They most certainly could operate this generation in the red and they most certainly don't need to innovate. If Microsoft just continues to throw billions into their XBox division then eventaully Sony and Nintendo will go bankrupt. Sony's video game division supplies most of it's profits, and Nintendo is purely a video game company. It's nearly impossible to compete against a state-approved monopoly.
It must suck to be a hard core gamer and be an open source zealot...or is that an impossibility? I guess one could be a hard core Tux Racer fan, but the really great games are commercial (except bzflag, I'll give you that). Does the open source zealot just do without? Work on creating an open source console? Or just steal the console and games? Would stealing be ethically better than supporting closed source products? After all, if you steal it, it's free as in beer. As for the other kind of free, well, the word is that consoles are jealous of information and now want to be free too.
I'm glad I've got nothing against closed source products. Of course, I'm broke so I guess I'm still in the same boat as the other side. Oh well...
Yeah, people liking a subpar game machine because it has a pretty interface is just dumb. Thats like someone buying an MP3 player because its shiney and white.