also Windows Media Center (not player) under vista how would you get XVID support ? (I can install the direct show filters but I think this only supports the media player not Media Center )
The dshow codecs for DivX/XVid work in both media center and media player (and any other DShow app for that matter). They do not work on extender. For the extender scenario the media is streamed in still-encoded form (otherwise the bandwidth would be impossible to manage) and are decoded on the standalone box or 360 - that remote device needs to have software to decode whatever formats it needs.
You can stream or play Divx files from everything BUT Windows Media Center. Why the hell would they prevent that? Either a) they continue to not understand what users want or b) they don't want dvix/xvid competing with WMV for people who use Microsoft's preferred setup of WMC and an Xbox extender. Thank god for Transcode 360 but I was looking forward to ditching that and having native support.
They are not 'preventing' anything - the media center app is not part of the xbox flash, it is downloaded from the PC. Updates to it go through windows update on the host PC and are done by a different team (not the xbox team) on a different schedule. That same team just shipped new standalone extenders that DO support divx, so they aren't trying to stop you from getting your divx on. Hopefully having the codec support in the xbox flash will make it easier for them to update the xbox mce software to add this support. We'll see.
I'm pretty sure Media Center Extender is a separate application on the Xbox 360, delivered by a separate team. So the Xbox team has added the DivX support to the Xbox media player, but hasn't received an updated MCE with DivX support. My guess is that MCE was designed to be used on dedicated hardware, so they didn't plan for codecs to be installed outside of their app.
Correct on the first part. It's not really about 'dedicated hardware' or 'not planning for codec updates'. The software that runs media center extender is delivered via windows update on the host PC. It isn't actually part of the flash so it really can't be part of the xbox fall update - it could be delivered 'soon' and could take advantage of the new codec support, but I have no idea if this will happen.
The 360 requires a UPnP server to do it, they prefer you use Windows Media Center or whichever version of Vista does that.
Actually, Windows Media Center is not a UPnP server at all, and the support for remoting media center to the xbox has not changed one drop in this update (and still doesn't support DivX for example).
Windows Media Player, Zune (app), Windows Home Server, and countless non-Microsoft apps are UPnP servers and can serve files to the updated dashboard media player on the xbox, including divx and xvid files.
Valve's orange box gave us 'Achievements', which are viewable online.
Every 360 game has achievements. Some of them keep the achievements in their PC versions, some don't. A few actually use the PC version of live and attach the achievements to your gamertag like the xbox versions do. (not sure whether orange box does this or not)
1000pts for a retail game
200pts for an arcade game (also applied to the half-way house burger king games)
250pts extra for a major downloadable upgrade (oblivion, gears, crackdown all have 1250 total points now, for example)
While excessive lawsuits suck in their own way, the fact that Americans can and do sue for, in this case, wrongful termination - represents a level of personal power and self motivation that I believe is, taken as a whole, a good thing.
I believe I represent the original intent of the people forming this country when I say: I will take freedom over security, I'd rather have choice and responsibility than comfort in mediocrity.
Or, to put it in (shockingly) canadian terms: "I'm not giving in to security under pressure, I'm not giving up on the promise of adventure, I'm not giving up on implausible dreams, experience to extremes, experience to extremes" - Neal Peart, Rush.
(Ya, Ya, I know GWB is screwing this all up. I'm talking about what America aspires to be, not what it actually is like today.)
I completely recognize and can respect your different set of priorities, I just don't share them.
Actually, the most important fundamental difference IMO is that a private entity doesn't get to say "sorry, you can't have that info, national security and all you know" when an investigation proceeds against them. The government is ultimately accountable to no one - sure, for small things you may be able to win - but for the areas they want these new powers they can use their magic terrorism card every time and no one will be able to check their actions.
If they believed all that strongly in HD-DVD's technical merits, the switch wouldn't have required grease on the wheels. Additionally, you're citing Panasonic's CTO as to the switch. No matter what the reason was, he's going to tell you it wasn't the money. Even if it was, in fact, the money.
He's also going to try to get the money, no matter what the reason. Just because he may believe HD-DVD is better in some way doesn't mean he'd standardize on just that format for free if he could get some payoff to do so.
Here in Switzerland, 2 months notice MINIMUM is required by law. Most companies write up 3 months for most regular jobs, and 6+ months for senior/executive positions.
Sorry to spoil your part, but really *that sucks*.
I can't imagine being forced to stay at an employer for three months, much less six. I can leave any day I want to - and sure, they can fire me any day they want to, it's only fair that it goes both ways. The great thing is that no employer in their right mind will fire you on the spot without a *really* good cause because they are all concerned about being sued. On the other hand I really can leave on the spot and they can't do a damn thing about it. It's a good place to work.
p.s. when someone going to a competitor gets "walked to the door" they typically still get paid for at least two weeks, they just don't have to come into work.
I also swore off Xbox live because of the inane credit card retention policy. They make it extremely hard to remove a CC after you use it and there really isn't any good reason for it.
Are you aware that nothing on live actually requires a credit card? Gold membership and points cards are available at pretty much every store that sells games - and they are priced exactly the same as buying points through the console/web site.
Google has anything but a monopoly. The search business can easily go to an engine that performs better. Google has most of the market share because they are quite simply the best at performing searches.
Do you really think most people go to google because they provide the best results? Come on, I know I go to google out of habit - I've occasionally tried other search sites (yahoo, msn) and the results are no better or worse, but I inevitably go back to google because it's comfortable and I'm used to it. MSN search would have to be in a whole different league before I'd switch to it as my main source of search results - and I actually like Microsoft.
What's google's marketshare in the search world? What's Microsoft's marketshare in the operating system world? (and not the narrowly construed "desktop PC that is not a mac" definition that the DOJ had the audacity to use.) How different is this? I'd say the biggest difference is really just how long it has gone on for - give google a few more years, if they aren't toppled and we get a Democrat in office then they'll be going through antitrust hearings in no time.
Many people bought the xbox specifically to play halo... A lot of those same people may have chosen a mac for the same reason. (personally i don't think halo is all that great of a game)
You're assuming that Halo would have been the same game without Microsoft. I have a feeling that a) Halo wouldn't have been nearly as successful without Microsoft and b) Halo isn't really the game Bungie wanted to create in the first place. I have no idea if it would have been a "better" game or not, but to assume it would have had the same system-selling attributes without Microsoft is... assuming a lot.
Just because they own the IP and made the first few games, does not mean that they have to make all the games in perpituity.
Sure, but the MTV link is speculating about what would happen if they gave up the IP, which was reasonable speculation but isn't what happened. It seemed odd to bring it up *after* the details of the Bungie deal came out.
Actually, Microsoft is keeping the IP, not Bungie:
"Microsoft will retain an equity interest in Bungie, at the same time continuing its long-standing publishing agreement between Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie for the Microsoft-owned "Halo" intellectual property as well as other future properties developed by Bungie."
Re:Getting closer... still not there.
on
ZOMG New Zunes
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· Score: 1
I have an Axim (x3i) as well, and I know it can play music - the interface sucks and my cheapo sandisk mp3/wma player does an immensely better job. I've also had two recent WM phones (audiovox 5600 and samsung blackjack) and sure, they can play music, but they still do a crappy job in terms of UI (and for the samsung, no normal (even for a cell phone) headset jack!!).
Common sense would have put a play/pause and skip fw/back buttons on phones years ago and normal 1/8" stereo jacks - I know one or two have done it (the buttons anyway), but this + a decent music UI would have made iPods a specialty item for those who *must* carry all their music with them instead of the commodity they have become.
I say all this while being a pretty big fan of windows mobile (apart from the failure to capitalize on the music market thing)
Re:Getting closer... still not there.
on
ZOMG New Zunes
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· Score: 1
It's got Wifi, and it has a screen... but I still can't check my email or/. on it.
As such, my 4 year old Axiom still beats the pants off of either a iPood or the Zune.
-Rick
It would, if it had a decent interface for playing music. I can't understand why cell phone companies (and MS with windows mobile) didn't realize this years ago, they had the opportunity to make the iPod (and related devices) virtually irrelevant - but they failed to capitalize on it.
I'm willing to pay a surcharge to live in a less-populated area (which I do, by paying higher property taxes, and by paying more for my property).
While I agree with the rest of your comment, I don't really understand how you pay more for your property to live in a less-populated area. Certainly land costs less in less-populated areas as a nearly universal rule.
It's interesting, a few years ago I would have found the idea of taxing internet service to be totally outrageous in a 'how dare they stick their fingers into our world.' But the internet has become fundamental to our economy, and to the extent that the government is responsible for building and maintaining that network (and I don't really know how much of this they are responsible for) it actually makes sense to tax the usage of the network so that we can fund this with a use tax - let's face it, if we don't tax internet service then the cost comes out of the genereal tax pool. I suppose the broader question is 'should this be a use tax' or can we assume that virtually everyone benefits from the internet whether or not they use it (much like roads, even if you don't own a car you buy products and consume service that are built upon that infrastructure) - in which case using general tax funds makes more sense and saves the overhead of managing rates & billing for the internet access industry.
Gears was a system seller (not like Halo will be but still significant) - Bioshock not so much. While I think Bioshock is a better game than either Halo 3 or Gears, because it's single player it doesn't have the same sort of network effect the others do. Sure, you see your friends playing it - but you don't have your friends harassing you to get it so that they can play it with you. That, and the fact that Bioshock is artsy (i.e. it's a freaking work of art), means that it has a smaller audience that's really going to 'get it'. The gameplay is great - but Bioshock's story makes it more - and if you haven't, for example, been exposed to Ayn Rand, you aren't all that likely to get it.
The indie gaming scene is required, but can't survive on locked-in consoles.
While you are, in large part, right - if one console vendor is working on opening up these doors it's Microsoft. Sure, they're never going to let you make whatever games you want and sell them without paying royalties (that's their business model) - they are allowing random people to develop games within the confines of XNA and are even publishing some of the best of these for sale on XBLA.
They both make the game for both PC and Console. They both release games for the console way, way earlier than the PC. They both have no good reason for it.
They have great reasons for it! They sell more copies with higher profit margins ($10 more per copy on average - and that's ignoring special editions) and it's extremely important to each of them that they sell as many consoles as they can. They ship the big games for the console first so that they can have the secondary effect of selling consoles - and so that they can avoid being distracted and/or delaying their release dates by the far less important (in terms of sales) PC version. They'll port to PC later and make some more money - the margins will be good because most of the work was done upfront for the console version. So if by "no good reason" you mean "excellent business justification" then we totally agree:)
Re:Thanks for the warning
on
Halo 3 Review
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· Score: 1
Thanks for the warning.:) I have not played the other games since the 360 is my first xbox. It seemed like Halo 3 was for people who had played the other two. I wasn't sure about buying it. Now I know that I shouldn't.
I didn't play the other two (ditto, 360 my first xbox, wasn't interested enough to play last gen title on it, and, hey! no achievements!!) - but I'm getting Halo 3 - 4-player live co-op (take what gears did right and do it for 4 players instead of two). Every game should let you play the *actual* story with multiple players... R6 Vegas lets you do it but you miss the cutscenes:(
Slashdot Mirror
The dshow codecs for DivX/XVid work in both media center and media player (and any other DShow app for that matter). They do not work on extender. For the extender scenario the media is streamed in still-encoded form (otherwise the bandwidth would be impossible to manage) and are decoded on the standalone box or 360 - that remote device needs to have software to decode whatever formats it needs.
They are not 'preventing' anything - the media center app is not part of the xbox flash, it is downloaded from the PC. Updates to it go through windows update on the host PC and are done by a different team (not the xbox team) on a different schedule. That same team just shipped new standalone extenders that DO support divx, so they aren't trying to stop you from getting your divx on. Hopefully having the codec support in the xbox flash will make it easier for them to update the xbox mce software to add this support. We'll see.
Correct on the first part. It's not really about 'dedicated hardware' or 'not planning for codec updates'. The software that runs media center extender is delivered via windows update on the host PC. It isn't actually part of the flash so it really can't be part of the xbox fall update - it could be delivered 'soon' and could take advantage of the new codec support, but I have no idea if this will happen.
Actually, Windows Media Center is not a UPnP server at all, and the support for remoting media center to the xbox has not changed one drop in this update (and still doesn't support DivX for example).
Windows Media Player, Zune (app), Windows Home Server, and countless non-Microsoft apps are UPnP servers and can serve files to the updated dashboard media player on the xbox, including divx and xvid files.
Every 360 game has achievements. Some of them keep the achievements in their PC versions, some don't. A few actually use the PC version of live and attach the achievements to your gamertag like the xbox versions do. (not sure whether orange box does this or not)
1000pts for a retail game
200pts for an arcade game (also applied to the half-way house burger king games)
250pts extra for a major downloadable upgrade (oblivion, gears, crackdown all have 1250 total points now, for example)
While excessive lawsuits suck in their own way, the fact that Americans can and do sue for, in this case, wrongful termination - represents a level of personal power and self motivation that I believe is, taken as a whole, a good thing.
I believe I represent the original intent of the people forming this country when I say: I will take freedom over security, I'd rather have choice and responsibility than comfort in mediocrity.
Or, to put it in (shockingly) canadian terms: "I'm not giving in to security under pressure, I'm not giving up on the promise of adventure, I'm not giving up on implausible dreams, experience to extremes, experience to extremes" - Neal Peart, Rush.
(Ya, Ya, I know GWB is screwing this all up. I'm talking about what America aspires to be, not what it actually is like today.)
I completely recognize and can respect your different set of priorities, I just don't share them.
Actually, the most important fundamental difference IMO is that a private entity doesn't get to say "sorry, you can't have that info, national security and all you know" when an investigation proceeds against them. The government is ultimately accountable to no one - sure, for small things you may be able to win - but for the areas they want these new powers they can use their magic terrorism card every time and no one will be able to check their actions.
He's also going to try to get the money, no matter what the reason. Just because he may believe HD-DVD is better in some way doesn't mean he'd standardize on just that format for free if he could get some payoff to do so.
Sorry to spoil your part, but really *that sucks*.
I can't imagine being forced to stay at an employer for three months, much less six. I can leave any day I want to - and sure, they can fire me any day they want to, it's only fair that it goes both ways. The great thing is that no employer in their right mind will fire you on the spot without a *really* good cause because they are all concerned about being sued. On the other hand I really can leave on the spot and they can't do a damn thing about it. It's a good place to work.
p.s. when someone going to a competitor gets "walked to the door" they typically still get paid for at least two weeks, they just don't have to come into work.
Are you aware that nothing on live actually requires a credit card? Gold membership and points cards are available at pretty much every store that sells games - and they are priced exactly the same as buying points through the console/web site.
Apparently? Come on, that's was apparent by January when everyone had an idea of the sales numbers for Wii and PS3.
Do you really think most people go to google because they provide the best results? Come on, I know I go to google out of habit - I've occasionally tried other search sites (yahoo, msn) and the results are no better or worse, but I inevitably go back to google because it's comfortable and I'm used to it. MSN search would have to be in a whole different league before I'd switch to it as my main source of search results - and I actually like Microsoft.
What's google's marketshare in the search world? What's Microsoft's marketshare in the operating system world? (and not the narrowly construed "desktop PC that is not a mac" definition that the DOJ had the audacity to use.) How different is this? I'd say the biggest difference is really just how long it has gone on for - give google a few more years, if they aren't toppled and we get a Democrat in office then they'll be going through antitrust hearings in no time.
You're assuming that Halo would have been the same game without Microsoft. I have a feeling that a) Halo wouldn't have been nearly as successful without Microsoft and b) Halo isn't really the game Bungie wanted to create in the first place. I have no idea if it would have been a "better" game or not, but to assume it would have had the same system-selling attributes without Microsoft is
Given that Microsoft remains Bungie's exclusive publisher, I don't think that's gonna happen - unless by "non-windows platforms" you mean Xbox 360.
Actually, Microsoft is keeping the IP, not Bungie:
"Microsoft will retain an equity interest in Bungie, at the same time continuing its long-standing publishing agreement between Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie for the Microsoft-owned "Halo" intellectual property as well as other future properties developed by Bungie."
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/oct07/10-05BungieEvolvesPR.mspx
I have an Axim (x3i) as well, and I know it can play music - the interface sucks and my cheapo sandisk mp3/wma player does an immensely better job. I've also had two recent WM phones (audiovox 5600 and samsung blackjack) and sure, they can play music, but they still do a crappy job in terms of UI (and for the samsung, no normal (even for a cell phone) headset jack!!).
Common sense would have put a play/pause and skip fw/back buttons on phones years ago and normal 1/8" stereo jacks - I know one or two have done it (the buttons anyway), but this + a decent music UI would have made iPods a specialty item for those who *must* carry all their music with them instead of the commodity they have become.
I say all this while being a pretty big fan of windows mobile (apart from the failure to capitalize on the music market thing)
It would, if it had a decent interface for playing music. I can't understand why cell phone companies (and MS with windows mobile) didn't realize this years ago, they had the opportunity to make the iPod (and related devices) virtually irrelevant - but they failed to capitalize on it.
This alone guarantees that I will purchase one. Daughter + Car + Zune + Dora. Done.
What, are they going to ban laptops while they're at it? How many laptops today *don't* have wireless. Stupid airline industry.
I like that, I think I might need to make a bumper sticker...
While I agree with the rest of your comment, I don't really understand how you pay more for your property to live in a less-populated area. Certainly land costs less in less-populated areas as a nearly universal rule.
It's interesting, a few years ago I would have found the idea of taxing internet service to be totally outrageous in a 'how dare they stick their fingers into our world.' But the internet has become fundamental to our economy, and to the extent that the government is responsible for building and maintaining that network (and I don't really know how much of this they are responsible for) it actually makes sense to tax the usage of the network so that we can fund this with a use tax - let's face it, if we don't tax internet service then the cost comes out of the genereal tax pool. I suppose the broader question is 'should this be a use tax' or can we assume that virtually everyone benefits from the internet whether or not they use it (much like roads, even if you don't own a car you buy products and consume service that are built upon that infrastructure) - in which case using general tax funds makes more sense and saves the overhead of managing rates & billing for the internet access industry.
Gears was a system seller (not like Halo will be but still significant) - Bioshock not so much. While I think Bioshock is a better game than either Halo 3 or Gears, because it's single player it doesn't have the same sort of network effect the others do. Sure, you see your friends playing it - but you don't have your friends harassing you to get it so that they can play it with you. That, and the fact that Bioshock is artsy (i.e. it's a freaking work of art), means that it has a smaller audience that's really going to 'get it'. The gameplay is great - but Bioshock's story makes it more - and if you haven't, for example, been exposed to Ayn Rand, you aren't all that likely to get it.
While you are, in large part, right - if one console vendor is working on opening up these doors it's Microsoft. Sure, they're never going to let you make whatever games you want and sell them without paying royalties (that's their business model) - they are allowing random people to develop games within the confines of XNA and are even publishing some of the best of these for sale on XBLA.
They have great reasons for it! They sell more copies with higher profit margins ($10 more per copy on average - and that's ignoring special editions) and it's extremely important to each of them that they sell as many consoles as they can. They ship the big games for the console first so that they can have the secondary effect of selling consoles - and so that they can avoid being distracted and/or delaying their release dates by the far less important (in terms of sales) PC version. They'll port to PC later and make some more money - the margins will be good because most of the work was done upfront for the console version. So if by "no good reason" you mean "excellent business justification" then we totally agree
I didn't play the other two (ditto, 360 my first xbox, wasn't interested enough to play last gen title on it, and, hey! no achievements!!) - but I'm getting Halo 3 - 4-player live co-op (take what gears did right and do it for 4 players instead of two). Every game should let you play the *actual* story with multiple players
That, and Forge is so much fun