I don't really see any evidence to support Ballmer's prediction. I mean, if current trends continue they will dominate the market in another three or four years, but I don't see anything like that continuing. The reason the XBOX was able to achieve such a market share is because it was only starting out and because it was propelled by a large, virtually endless source of money.
Now that the XBOX has been in the market for a while and has established it's name, I don't see such a gigantic market share improvement. Sony seems to have a very stable position; it has a lot of games that people love and two systems in the pipe (PSP and PS3). Certainly, any potential market share gains that the XBOX may see will be from Nintendo, whose sales have been staggering lately largely (IMHO) due to lack of interest in their games.
Additionally, the XBOX may even lose ground. Little is known about either the PS3 or the next generation XBOX so it is hard to judge how each console will do, but it would be easy for the PS3 to be amazingly popular and the XBOX to lag behind; this could be the case if there are too many flaws with Microsoft's console, such as the rumored lack of backwards compatability.
Steve Ballmer's interests are in the promotion of his company, and if making pompous predictions and generally being gaudy achieve that goal, then I think we should take what he says with a grain of salt.
I don't know; science fiction writers have been right about the future of technology many times. Of course, you could argue that it's because they imagine something and then scientists see their ideas and say "Lets do that", but I think there's at least one other factor involved. The more scientific of the scifi writers try to make their writing as explainable as possible, and it's that goal that makes their ideas easier to implement. So I think that having the science fiction crowd along for the ride is definitely a good idea.
The idea of 'terraforming humans' makes me think of some scientist dragging a rake over my face. My point is that it sounds like that would hurt, and I don't think many people will support scientific experiments on human beings that allow us to breath Martian air no matter how benign they are.
And besides, what's ten thousand years? Those plants will be done in no time!
Tech support will have a field day with that fading thing, I bet. Consumer: "Why can't I see it?" Tech Support: "Do we have your money?" Consumer: "Yes." Tech Support: "Run awaaaaayyyyyy!"
I would argue that they're supposed to be cheaper, but if the public doesn't know that then I'm sure Samsung could get away with changing "cheaper" to "more expensive than ever".
When I saw the article link I was just imagining something like a portable battery charger; I am actually a little underwhelmed at what it turned out to be.
I ride my bike to get places, but the exercise aspect of it is important to me; it would be cool if I could plug my iPod into the bike while i'm riding, though.
What other devices would be useful on a bike with a renewable power supply?
How many people have four-channel headphones? I ask because my iPod is used on the go, and not on my home stereo. Oh, wait, my home stereo doesn't have four channels either. Hell, I don't even know any songs that employ four channels. Why do I need more channels again?
I don't quite agree. Although I think Apple made a mistake when they restricted their software to their own proprietary hardware, I think it was literally the only option they had. I mean, Apple isn't making hardware at a loss; they're not stupid like that. I don't care if their hardware profits are miniscule compared to their software, they still make a profit on it. And the last time I checked, a G5 costs a hell of a lot more than a copy of X.
If Apple started creating an X that was compatible with other hardware, I am certain that their sales would both increase and decrease. Their software sales would definitely increase; I would love to have a X/XP dual boot. But their hardware sales would plummet.
My point is that nobody (excluding iPod users and a few die-hards) buys Apple hardware for the guts. The G3, G4 and G5 (weren't) and aren't all that much better than current processors over here on the XP side of the fence. People buy Apple hardware so they can get to the tootsie-roll center of the tootsie-pop: the software.
I don't think a loss of profit is what Apple is looking for right now.
I don't know about computers making proofs. I'm no expert, but afaik they only know what we tell them to know.
Then again, if we use the same logic processes found in computers in real life, then there should be no problem... until we think up loopier ways of thinking. I don't look foreward to the days when my math teacher will say "Ok, everyone back to addition. We've found a bug".
On another note, calculators are awesome. My math teachers yell at me for doing ridiculously easy problems in them (simple addition and the like) but I keep shrugging them off. But, the other day, my math teacher told us that there was a kid (no names mentioned) who got a test problem wrong because there was an addition mistake. There is no arguing that the kid would have benefited from using a calculator on her/his simple addition. Score number 2 for slacking!
I rest my long-winded case.
I can see that they have carefully timed this whole thing.
They clearly waited until all of the quality had left. They pounced right after Disney got rid of that dirty animation studio and waited for the whole Pixar filth to clear.
Such a well planned and carefully timed merger cannot fail!
...if Hector could teach me how to draw straight lines? I always have problems with those. I was hoping for a solution that didn't involve myself being suspended by two wires, though.
iGot:
Adobe Creative Suite Premium (Education Discount, stop eying my parents' wallets...)
Beyond Good & Evil (LOVE it!)
Two books from The Onion [theonion.com]
Finding Nemo Extended DVD
Animal House DVD
iGave:
Mom:
'Flawed Dogs' by Berkeley Breathed [berkebreathed.com]
Bushism-A-Day Desk Calendar
Contributed to a lazy susan painted at Sticks [sticks.com]
Dad:
Bush Cards: A Carefully Stacked Deck
'Dude, Where's My Country?' by Michael Moore
So yeah... nice 'n' liberal all around!;)
This is pretty cool, considering that I was a die-hard fan of the mod. I don't know what was so charming about it... it might have been the sound that played when you hit a scientist. It might even have been the community; nobody every played it and so all the Blueyonder servers had the same people on all the time. If you've never played it, download it now.
I wonder/hope they will be porting this to Half-Life 2 when it comes out!
What, so now I can't talk about something that a company thinks it owns?
The question of whether or not people can own ideas or material has been pervasive for a long time (i.e., RIAA lawsuits with intellectual music property, DMCA restrictions on undermining copy protection), and I have to wonder where it's taking us. With the computer, we've seen a mass 'liberation' of thought and media, and a while ago it was considered a good thing that people could have access to culture so easily.
But there have been major arguements as to what should count as a marketable product. Companies are insisting that they should be paid for their wares, and I guess from that viewpoint I agree. They should be paid for what they do. However, if what they do is think of an idea, and then if they tell everybody about that idea, I expect them to not charge me for thinking about it.
I think our culture will go down the drain if it doesn't accept that some things are not private property.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know; science fiction writers have been right about the future of technology many times. Of course, you could argue that it's because they imagine something and then scientists see their ideas and say "Lets do that", but I think there's at least one other factor involved. The more scientific of the scifi writers try to make their writing as explainable as possible, and it's that goal that makes their ideas easier to implement. So I think that having the science fiction crowd along for the ride is definitely a good idea.
The idea of 'terraforming humans' makes me think of some scientist dragging a rake over my face. My point is that it sounds like that would hurt, and I don't think many people will support scientific experiments on human beings that allow us to breath Martian air no matter how benign they are. And besides, what's ten thousand years? Those plants will be done in no time!
Read: Public Display of Affection, and not Personal Digital Assistant. It took me a minute... :P
I know; I just finished with the AP Physics B test, and I thought I was rid of specific heats forever. Why, God?? Why won't they die?
George could fix all of his problems by just selling the movie rights to Quentin Tarantino.
I would argue that they're supposed to be cheaper, but if the public doesn't know that then I'm sure Samsung could get away with changing "cheaper" to "more expensive than ever".
...since it's not spelled the same, I guess I don't really see his case.
When I saw the article link I was just imagining something like a portable battery charger; I am actually a little underwhelmed at what it turned out to be. I ride my bike to get places, but the exercise aspect of it is important to me; it would be cool if I could plug my iPod into the bike while i'm riding, though. What other devices would be useful on a bike with a renewable power supply?
--"Eh, wuzzat?" "TEETH, HAMISH." --"Theives?!?!!" "TEETH." --"KILL THE BUGGERIN' THEIVES!" It's time for his dried frog pills.
How many people have four-channel headphones? I ask because my iPod is used on the go, and not on my home stereo. Oh, wait, my home stereo doesn't have four channels either. Hell, I don't even know any songs that employ four channels. Why do I need more channels again?
I don't quite agree. Although I think Apple made a mistake when they restricted their software to their own proprietary hardware, I think it was literally the only option they had. I mean, Apple isn't making hardware at a loss; they're not stupid like that. I don't care if their hardware profits are miniscule compared to their software, they still make a profit on it. And the last time I checked, a G5 costs a hell of a lot more than a copy of X. If Apple started creating an X that was compatible with other hardware, I am certain that their sales would both increase and decrease. Their software sales would definitely increase; I would love to have a X/XP dual boot. But their hardware sales would plummet. My point is that nobody (excluding iPod users and a few die-hards) buys Apple hardware for the guts. The G3, G4 and G5 (weren't) and aren't all that much better than current processors over here on the XP side of the fence. People buy Apple hardware so they can get to the tootsie-roll center of the tootsie-pop: the software. I don't think a loss of profit is what Apple is looking for right now.
Public relations make me GIGGLE! OW! My tummy hurts.
I don't know about computers making proofs. I'm no expert, but afaik they only know what we tell them to know. Then again, if we use the same logic processes found in computers in real life, then there should be no problem... until we think up loopier ways of thinking. I don't look foreward to the days when my math teacher will say "Ok, everyone back to addition. We've found a bug". On another note, calculators are awesome. My math teachers yell at me for doing ridiculously easy problems in them (simple addition and the like) but I keep shrugging them off. But, the other day, my math teacher told us that there was a kid (no names mentioned) who got a test problem wrong because there was an addition mistake. There is no arguing that the kid would have benefited from using a calculator on her/his simple addition. Score number 2 for slacking! I rest my long-winded case.
I wonder if these kind of things will ever become more than an internet novelty?
If Dreamfall is cancelled, then I will seriously flip. Dreamfall is the sequel to The Longest Journey, one of the best adventure games ever. ;)
"Somebody give the baby Jesus a pacifier; he's bawling."
I can see that they have carefully timed this whole thing. They clearly waited until all of the quality had left. They pounced right after Disney got rid of that dirty animation studio and waited for the whole Pixar filth to clear. Such a well planned and carefully timed merger cannot fail!
Most people here have had a lot of time to fantasize about this kind of thing.
...if Hector could teach me how to draw straight lines? I always have problems with those. I was hoping for a solution that didn't involve myself being suspended by two wires, though.
iGot: Adobe Creative Suite Premium (Education Discount, stop eying my parents' wallets...) Beyond Good & Evil (LOVE it!) Two books from The Onion [theonion.com] Finding Nemo Extended DVD Animal House DVD iGave: Mom: 'Flawed Dogs' by Berkeley Breathed [berkebreathed.com] Bushism-A-Day Desk Calendar Contributed to a lazy susan painted at Sticks [sticks.com] Dad: Bush Cards: A Carefully Stacked Deck 'Dude, Where's My Country?' by Michael Moore So yeah... nice 'n' liberal all around! ;)
This is pretty cool, considering that I was a die-hard fan of the mod. I don't know what was so charming about it... it might have been the sound that played when you hit a scientist. It might even have been the community; nobody every played it and so all the Blueyonder servers had the same people on all the time. If you've never played it, download it now. I wonder/hope they will be porting this to Half-Life 2 when it comes out!
These new chips will, legally, constitute a fire hazard.
What, so now I can't talk about something that a company thinks it owns? The question of whether or not people can own ideas or material has been pervasive for a long time (i.e., RIAA lawsuits with intellectual music property, DMCA restrictions on undermining copy protection), and I have to wonder where it's taking us. With the computer, we've seen a mass 'liberation' of thought and media, and a while ago it was considered a good thing that people could have access to culture so easily. But there have been major arguements as to what should count as a marketable product. Companies are insisting that they should be paid for their wares, and I guess from that viewpoint I agree. They should be paid for what they do. However, if what they do is think of an idea, and then if they tell everybody about that idea, I expect them to not charge me for thinking about it. I think our culture will go down the drain if it doesn't accept that some things are not private property.