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Viiv Falls Flat
smilingman writes "The Washington Post (Retina Scan Required) is reporting that Intel's Viiv media center, which was supposed to revolutionize home entertainment and kill the living-room PC as we know it, fails miserably to deliver in its first incarnation. From the article: 'During a presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, chief executive Paul S. Otellini unveiled Viiv -- a combination of hardware and software that would combine functions of the TV, the DVD player, the VCR and the video game console... In April, Viiv doesn't look much like that vision. On a typical Viiv box, Hewlett-Packard's Pavilion m7360y, it amounts to a smattering of free Web video clips and discounts on online music, movie and game rentals -- plus a nifty rainbow-hued Viiv sticker on the front of the computer.'"
This situation reminds me of the problems that Microsoft has with its visions for a cheap Origami device. The ones that are coming out are quite expensive because manufacturers insist on putting Intel chips in them instead of the ones from Via that Microsoft wanted. In this case, it's likely that the manufacturers just aren't designing viiv boxes that live up to Intel's idea of what viiv should be. If Intel wants viiv done right, it's going to have to do viiv itself.
*The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question.*
...has always been a bit alien to the PC industry.
PC types keep scratching their heads trying to figure out what people like about Apple. It never seems to cross their mind that it's because Apple at least delivers some of what it promises.
The article says: "The worst experience of all came when I tried to view Intel's own showcase of Viiv content. At first, clicking this button yielded a "Windows Media Center Edition required" error. After rebooting the computer to try again, I was presented with a lengthy license agreement and an ActiveX installation dialog. The subsequent download seemed to stall out when the HP-bundled Norton Internet Security firewall warned that "EntriqMediaServer" was a high-risk program that it should always block. Naturally, that was a Viiv component."
I cannot ever imagine that Apple would ever, ever, ever ship a product in a state like that. Words fail me. Did nobody at HP or Intel ever try actually using the product even once? Does anything think they have responsibility for what the user finds when they take the product out of the box?
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!