"Each time they're creating something new and eventually people will have to upgrade just to stay current, just like with current PC's."
Upgrades are optional. If you like the same PC games, no need to upgrade your hardware. If you can handle lower resolutions and detail, many new PC games are perfectly playable on non-cutting-edge hardware. If you want it all, though, you want it all. And that costs. No different from anything else in the world. That's true, so long as the developer is willing to handle it. Developing software that can handle multiple system configurations requires more time and more testing, which means either the development companies eat this increased cost or start raising the price of games to compensate. Then they have to deal with the "Technical Support" aspect of someone with an odd configuration that doesn't work.
I'm not saying upgrades are a Bad Thing, I just think that one of the defining feature of a Console was the static nonupgradable nature of it. You're exchanging the reduced functionality (it plays games, that's about it) for the "promise" of not having to upgrade for 4 or 5 years.
As for comparing it to the Zapper & other peripherals, I would think that a HD upgrade qualifies as more than the previously seen peripheral upgrades.. The closest resemblance would be the 8MB module you mentioned, or the Sega CD upgrade. Neither of those took off, but does Microsoft have the power to change that? I honestly don't know, but i'm pretty sure the XBox 360 has larger penetration than either the Sega or Nintendo systems did at the time.
This is what i've been afraid of for the last several years.
Several Years ago, the main reasoning behind buying/owning a console (aside from exclusives) was that consoles are universally consistent, so you don't have to mess with drivers, memory, or any other variance. A Playstation is a Playstation, and if it works on one playstation it should work on all playstations.
As consoles become more "computer-like", and with Microsoft already in their planned obsolence mindset of Windows, they're invalidating this entire argument by releasing significant "upgrades" to their existing platforms. While it seems innocent enough, how long will it be before a game comes out that requires the 120G drive? How long before they start releasing memory upgrades, HDMI upgrades (which they're already talking about), and more? Each time they're creating something new and eventually people will have to upgrade just to stay current, just like with current PC's.
The way I see it, It could go either way: 1) The upgrades become increasingly difficult to ignore (mandatory for new games) requiring people to upgrade, making more $$ for Microsoft (who hopefully is learning that OS design isn't all that profitable anymore) and they slowly convert the XBox into a "Family PC". 2) The upgrades start to drive away consumers as they find their console "too old" to play the latest Halo, and simply walk away.
"We are confident Vonage customers will not experience service interruptions or other changes as a result of this litigation," said Mike Snyder, Vonage's chief executive officer. . . "Our appeal centers on erroneous patent claim construction, and we remain confident that Vonage has not infringed on any of Verizon's patents - a position we will continue to vigorously assert in federal appeals court," said Sharon O'Leary, Vonage's executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary. "Vonage relied on open-standard, off-the-shelf technology when developing its service. In fact, evidence introduced in court failed to prove that Vonage relied on Verizon's VoIP technology, and instead showed that in 2003 Verizon began exploring ways to copy Vonage's technology," she added.
Maybe you're right.. But I was using the hardware I had available at the moment, and surprisingly it is rather quiet.. But a single 533Mhz Celeron isn't really "up to par" for recording, commercial tagging, re-encoding, DVD burning, etc. Dual CPU handles it alot better.
Maybe once I get a corporate sponsorship deal I can upgrade to something better;-)
Well, right now MythDora using Myth 0.20 and KnoppMyth (Which I use, and prefer) is on 0.19. Aside from the Debian vs Fedora, that's the main difference I think.
The issue I had with MythDora was that it ships with a single-processor kernel, SMP disabled. KnoppMyth worked with my simple SMP rig right outta the box, no recompilation required. If you care and find yourself with nothing better to do, and trust me there are far better things to do, my read on it is on my website.
I have to agree with the guy earlier, it's down. If you do a 'whois windows2000test.com', and then use nslookup with the DNS servers to get it's IP.. It won't respond. No ping, no telnet, nothing.
Slashdot Mirror
Upgrades are optional. If you like the same PC games, no need to upgrade your hardware. If you can handle lower resolutions and detail, many new PC games are perfectly playable on non-cutting-edge hardware. If you want it all, though, you want it all. And that costs. No different from anything else in the world. That's true, so long as the developer is willing to handle it. Developing software that can handle multiple system configurations requires more time and more testing, which means either the development companies eat this increased cost or start raising the price of games to compensate. Then they have to deal with the "Technical Support" aspect of someone with an odd configuration that doesn't work.
I'm not saying upgrades are a Bad Thing, I just think that one of the defining feature of a Console was the static nonupgradable nature of it. You're exchanging the reduced functionality (it plays games, that's about it) for the "promise" of not having to upgrade for 4 or 5 years.
As for comparing it to the Zapper & other peripherals, I would think that a HD upgrade qualifies as more than the previously seen peripheral upgrades.. The closest resemblance would be the 8MB module you mentioned, or the Sega CD upgrade. Neither of those took off, but does Microsoft have the power to change that? I honestly don't know, but i'm pretty sure the XBox 360 has larger penetration than either the Sega or Nintendo systems did at the time.
This is what i've been afraid of for the last several years.
Several Years ago, the main reasoning behind buying/owning a console (aside from exclusives) was that consoles are universally consistent, so you don't have to mess with drivers, memory, or any other variance. A Playstation is a Playstation, and if it works on one playstation it should work on all playstations.
As consoles become more "computer-like", and with Microsoft already in their planned obsolence mindset of Windows, they're invalidating this entire argument by releasing significant "upgrades" to their existing platforms. While it seems innocent enough, how long will it be before a game comes out that requires the 120G drive? How long before they start releasing memory upgrades, HDMI upgrades (which they're already talking about), and more? Each time they're creating something new and eventually people will have to upgrade just to stay current, just like with current PC's.
The way I see it, It could go either way:
1) The upgrades become increasingly difficult to ignore (mandatory for new games) requiring people to upgrade, making more $$ for Microsoft (who hopefully is learning that OS design isn't all that profitable anymore) and they slowly convert the XBox into a "Family PC".
2) The upgrades start to drive away consumers as they find their console "too old" to play the latest Halo, and simply walk away.
One interesting tidbit:
Go read this: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf50 0/200703161506DOWJONESDJONLINE000868_FORTUNE5.htm
Seems that a few investors (Comprising ~46% of the stock) think they can do better.. We'll find out on Friday if they wanna risk it.
Because they weight too much, cause motion sickness, and generally just aren't worth the trouble.
Maybe you're right.. But I was using the hardware I had available at the moment, and surprisingly it is rather quiet.. But a single 533Mhz Celeron isn't really "up to par" for recording, commercial tagging, re-encoding, DVD burning, etc. Dual CPU handles it alot better.
;-)
Maybe once I get a corporate sponsorship deal I can upgrade to something better
Well, right now MythDora using Myth 0.20 and KnoppMyth (Which I use, and prefer) is on 0.19. Aside from the Debian vs Fedora, that's the main difference I think. The issue I had with MythDora was that it ships with a single-processor kernel, SMP disabled. KnoppMyth worked with my simple SMP rig right outta the box, no recompilation required. If you care and find yourself with nothing better to do, and trust me there are far better things to do, my read on it is on my website.
It's funny to think that the CSS is hosed for the interview with the guy who "invented" it...
Guess the redesign didn't think of that..
Looks like they didn't appreciate the extra traffic to their site, and now it redirects to the FBI website.
It's good that something is finally going right for NASA. After all the mars problems, I'm glad to see something goin good for em. They needed it.
Now all we need is a client/server type setup, and a we'll be one big step closer to Neal STephenson's Metaverse.
I have to agree with the guy earlier, it's down. If you do a 'whois windows2000test.com', and then use nslookup with the DNS servers to get it's IP.. It won't respond. No ping, no telnet, nothing.
It's toast..