More shows I like, available when I want to see them
Exactly what TiVo does with it's "Suggestions" algorithm (finding shows it thinks you'll like based on previous viewing, and records them so they're waiting for you when you return).
Why people insist on turning this feature off is a puzzle to me.
I think that being able to download programs to the iPod is all fine and nifty, but a real interesting thing that the networks could do in today's world of expanding cable channels would be to do what the Premium Pay Channels (HBO/Showtime) have done by offering HBO, HBO-L, HBO-W, etc.
Run NBC2 (CBS2, FOX2, etc) as premium digital cable channels and run the exact same lineup of programming a day later. That way, if we miss a particular episode of AMAZING RACE (or other shows that aren't re-run) or President [insert-name-here] decides to pre-empt Thursday night programming again for no reason, then we could tune in the following day to catch it.
Or if there was something that drove a lot of water-cooler talk the next day and you missed it, it would be another opportunity to watch.
What do you do for programming outside of primetime? First, you run the primetime programs from 8p-11p as normal, then rerun it from 11p-2a again just because you can. You could certainly rerun soap operas and other national programming; do you turn the local timeslots back over to the local affiliates to fill with what they'd like? Commercials could be the same as the previous day (justifying slightly higher ad rates for duplicate airings). It would also be a way to show older programs (like TRIO was doing) when something comes up that couldn't be re-aired due to contractual issues.
People with TiVo would love it because for those rare occasions that they need to record more programs than their TiVo allows at one time (Alias, Joey, Survivor, Inside The NFL all at 8p on Thursdays), it would give them the ability to catch the programs again on a relatively quick timetable.
Why would anyone want to watch videos on an Ipod-sized screen?
Make it a little bit bigger than an iPod (maybe same screen size as the PSP, but without all the moving parts and buttons.) A comfortable, portable-sized viewing device is possible... eventually.
More importantly, make it so I can plug it directly to my TiVo and download my shows to it so I can catch up with [insert favorite TiVo shows here] while I'm on the road. No fuss, no muss. (Added feature, make it have a video out for those times when I want to plug it to a TV).
Will this be the first game in a series of many to come that will be pulled off the market to be changed due to questionable content?
If you believe the marketing hype on The Guy Game's website, then there already has been a game pulled for questionable content.
And by "questionable", I mean supposedly/allegedly containing video of a topless 17-year-old girl who had signed release papers allowing the video to be shot but who later came forward and sued Sony/MSFT/Guy Game for including the underage video in the game.
I know I've still seen the game on store shelves this week, so I don't know the current status of this lawsuit or whether the game was pulled and released without her video included.
Riddle me this: why can't banks embed "preferred language" onto my ATM card so I don't have to always press the appropriate "Select Language" button on the ATM keypad? It's ALWAYS going to be the same language. Why do I have to keep telling you this?
I can understand the age verification thing not being on the credit card, as sometimes Mommy and Daddy give their cards to the kiddies to buy treats for the weekend. Wouldn't want to see 'em figure out they can buy a keg without an ID.
I've tried the automated check outs at walmart, and they often piss me off because of all the coded age checks(I'm constantly suprised what walmart restricts), which lock up the process until the worker comes by and ok's it. Sure, sound the alert, but let me keep scanning, please. The weight checks are fairly sensitive too, often making me reposition my goods a bit to make it happy. In short, it's often quicker for me to just go to a live cashier.
Of all the auto-checkout systems, I've found Walmart's to be the least user-friendly. Kroger's is workable, Publix's is a few steps below. Home Depot tries hard (hey, gotta remember the handheld scanner for large items next time) but the HD cashier lines are usually not usually terrible anyway.
The biggest issue with the self-checkouts is that for the most part, they really ARE intended for the 10-items-or-less folks. The scales are uber-sensitive and don't hold much. As long as the folks in front of me aren't trying to unload an entire grocery cart, put it on the scale, then move it back to their cart before everything registers, things move along pretty quickly.... which is to say not very fast at all.
I like to recreate the scene from SEINFELD where Jerry "races" the guy at the next ATM machine over. "Enter PIN.... Withdraw... Checking... $20... Ok. I WIN!!!" Doesn't always work out that way at Walmart, but give it a few years for people to catch on to how to use 'em.
So their tendency is to play "blocks" of music.
For example....
4 Classic Rock songs
3 Blues Songs
3 Folk songs
4 Female Rockers
3 Grunge
Not entirely true, and it depends on the station (as you stated). Some stations make it a point *not* to put songs with female lead singers together; *not* to put songs from the same R&B/Dance/whatever genre together; *not* to put songs from solo artists next to each other. And so on. And don't forget issues with playing more than one old song after another.
Again, it all depends on the station and format and what they're trying to do at the time, but as a general rule of thumb, there's a lot more analysis and thought that goes into creating a radio playlist than what iTunes automatically does, or by building "blocks" of music (Twofer Tuesdays, Rocktober, and Deep Cut Thursdays aside). It's all about how to best reach the desired target audience for the advertisers.
In other words, I can't imagine any station that's trying to make money that would rely on solely using an iTunes algorithm (current or proposed) for scheduling music.
Besides, what would the stations do with all the music scheduling software they already use?
There really aren't any specific reasons why -- across the board, across the country -- theater-going is down.
A side question: how much of "weekend box office revenues" is due to the rise in ticket prices as opposed to an increase in ticket sales?
Some folks say that improved home theaters is a cause. I say not entirely, as I have a fairly nice home theater and still will see movies in the theater. Going to the theater is a group and/or date experience. It's a social activity that is, for the most part, relatively inexpensive. People who love movies, no matter what type of home setup they have, will still go to the theaters to see both good and bad movies.
Some folks say that DVDs and Netflix/Blockbuster is a cause. The shorter the timeframe between major release and DVD availability certainly is a factor. If I knew that a movie that I was interested in seeing was going to be out on DVD in 2 or 3 months (with bonus features!), then why should I bother going to the theater and paying the same amount of money on tickets? I understand why the studios want to piggyback on marketing to help increase DVD sales, but if I knew that a particular movie was NOT going to be released on DVD for a few years then I'd be more likely to see it in the theater.
For example, Pixar announced last year (when they pushed back CARS) that their new release schedule is: Big Release in May for the Summer; DVD Release in November for Xmas. I know that going forward, every year I can expect to find the latest Pixar DVD around Thanksgiving. As long as I'm willing to wait until Nov, then I know I'll be able to see the movie then. BUT... if Pixar had a policy of waiting 7 years before releasing their movies on DVD (7 years being Disney's traditional "next generation" math for releasing videos/movies/DVDs) then they should see an increase in theater sales.
Through in the fact that with multiplexes the way they are, there no longer are "event" movies, with people waiting in line for hours to see the latest. Instant gratification has cut into building buzz and desire to see something. It may be better for the consumers to have 10 screens showing MegaMultiManIV for the opening weekend to choose from, but I remember waiting for hours to see Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, and Egon Spengler on the big screen and making going to the movies something special.
Sure, high concession stand prices and obnoxious cell phones, noise bleed, etc. are all there, but those are usually isolated incidents.
you all could share the memory card to transfer all of your saves over
Already said that in my original post where I mention that a one-time use peripheral would not be the best purchase to make. But thanks for playing.
Has anyone thought of just networking the XBoxes, and transfering saves that way?
Whatever it takes -- it certainly wouldn't be unheard of (yes, all of you with modded XBoxes; I see you waving your hands wildly in the air).
For example, XBox Music Mixer had software that allowed you to download specific files to your Xbox (but not transfer files back up). But because of the (overly, but justifably so) convulted file structure/naming conventions that MSFT put in place for the various games, it could be a complicated process to select and transfer the files to the PC and then back down to the X360... assuming that the X360's HD file structure/organization is even compatible with the Xbox's. Using a crossover cable would certainly be easier, but still run into the same file placement issues.
My point, which seems to have been lost although I've been saying it for at least a year now, is that MSFT may be creating a console that will play the older games, but they have not -- at least publically -- seemed to address what it takes to make a console truly backwards compatible with the previous systems.
Sony did it right with the PS1/PS2; we have to see what approach they'll take with the PS2/PS3 upgrade path. Just being able to play the older games is part of the battle. When is MSFT, and soon Sony, going to tell us the other part of the equation?
"Dingus"? Please. I have both PS2 and Xbox and enjoy playing both of them.
The whole idea behind the XBox's hard drive was so you didn't have to buy a memory card in order to save games. There was no way to avoid buying a memory card if you wanted to enjoy PS1/PS2 games.
That being the case, you're saying that I should go out and purchase an Xbox memory card for the sole purpose of transfering games to my "backwards compatible" X360 console?
Doesn't make sense - not after Sony let the PS2 read PS1 memory cards as part of *their* "Backwards Compatible" strategy.
Have we seen that the X360 will support the Xbox memory cards at all? I'm fairly certain that I read the X360 won't support Xbox peripherals such as DDR Dance Pads and maybe the Xbox Music Mixer microphone. Again, could be wrong. (I'll assume the PS3 will support PS2 peripherals like the Eyetoy, as that was USB-based.)
The brochures all confirm that a hard-drive is needed for backwards compatibility
Unless I've missed something (which is certainly quite possible), there has been no talk of how to move your saved games/preferences/etc from the old Xbox to the X360. Sure, the X360 will have a drive so the old games will run, but unless you can move all the info over from one machine to the other, who is going to bother?
Oh, that's right -- "Backwards Compatibility" is only for NEW purchases of Xbox games so they'll play on the X360 , not for Xbox owners who are upgrading their systems and want to continue raising havoc in [insert favorite havoc-raising game title here].
Where does that leave the PS3? Well, it's already been covered that the PS3 is moving away from the traditional PS1/PS2 memory cards in favor of supporting many other memory card formats... but it is certainly possible for a manufacturer to come out with an adapter that could be used to load/copy data from the old memory card to a PS3-supported card. (maybe a copy "service" would be more cost-beneficial than a one-time-use peripheral. Even so...)
Thought I had it nailed when it was first announced.
There's no reason for MSFT to sell the complete package for $399 when they could leverage marketing and sell it for $360.
Even if they wanted to keep $100 difference between the two units, they could have sold the base unit for $249 or $259. *THAT* would also force Sony's hand to bring the PS3 to market at a non-$299 price or risk being undersold from the get-go. Of course, that means that there would be no wiggle room for discounting the X360 when the PS3 is released.
It's standard Sony: price it slightly higher, give it a little more gloss, and create the perception that there's more there. Not hugely higher -- maybe $20 more.
I disagree -- the videogame market is so important to Sony (what is it, 50% of total revenue?) that they wouldn't risk putting themselves in a situation where they would lose marketshare based solely on price point. Take last year for example: every time MSFT lowered the price of the base console, Sony matched it.
Besides, Sony has proven that they don't always have their heads screwed on straight with creating public perception. They really screwed up their entry into the portable music market by insisting on *not* supporting the MP3 format until they realized (too late) that they've missed the boat and quickly began to try to rectify that. I don't think Sony will let that type of mistake happen to them twice.
As I said last week, I'm guessing that MSFT wouldn't pass up the massive marketing tie-in opportunity they'd have by pricing the XBox360 at $360. It's more than the $299 we've seen before, but under the terrifying $400 price point that could scare off parents from pleasing their kids this Christmas.
I can't see the PS3 coming out at a price point that's higher than what MSFT does, unless there's proof that it carries superior features to cover the increase. I think we can all agree that Revolution will be at least $50 lower than whatever MSFT and Sony put out.
It's already been said that we should expect the new games to run around $60. Start saving those pennies!
My prediction: MSFT will sell the XBox360 for the introductory price of...
$360
It's slightly more than the reasonable rollout price of $299 that we've seen on XBox/PS2 previously, and sticks below the weird $400 price for a "dedicated gaming machine" that a lot of early adopters and parents of spoiled kids may balk at.
Not only that, but the two standards that were thinking about merging had a recent setback when Toshiba pulled back a little bit from the talks.
I can't imagine that it would be that big a deal to switch out the drive from true Blue-Ray to whatever the new standard would be before the PS3s ship. Costly, certainly. Maybe requiring a small programming change on the PS3 motherboard. But other than that...
The Transfer CD is a nice thought. I had previously imagined there might be a way to do it over local network, but maybe a CD won't need to be involved at all?
Nah, a CD of some sort would need to be involved, as connectivity software needed to be loaded onto the XBox to activate the Music Mixer transfer program. So they write some program that identifies if the machine is an XBox or an XBox360 and installs the proper client on each, then you initiate the connection and transfer from one of the 360's menus. I'm sure a glorified Music Mixer software package would be able to do the job pretty easily.
Or we all just get mod chips and go from there.
As for being able to re-download items from XBox Live, I would say that yes - I recall that option is available for some downloadable items. But that still leaves player stats, custom soundtracks, and other stored-on-harddrive items that would need to be moved.
I guess one thing you could do is copy your XBL profile to a memory card and stick it in another Xbox, then see if you can download it again without being charged.
Memory card? I thought the whole reason for XBox to use a HDD was so we didn't have to use memory cards. For the PS#, sure -- a memory card was a standard purchase - you had to have one for 99.9% of the games out there (unless you liked starting over each time).
But for MSFT to say to XBox360 upgraders that they have to go out and buy a $20 memory card just to transfer data over from the old machine to the new one is shortsighted at best. (My suggestion to get around this potential flaw? They should include a "file transfer CD" that runs software on both XBox machines that are connected to your home network that will allow a transfer of all data from machine 1 to machine 2.)
And I don't think you'll have to copy too much over regarding your XBL profile -- that should alll be stored up on the server anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
Exactly what TiVo does with it's "Suggestions" algorithm (finding shows it thinks you'll like based on previous viewing, and records them so they're waiting for you when you return).
Why people insist on turning this feature off is a puzzle to me.
Run NBC2 (CBS2, FOX2, etc) as premium digital cable channels and run the exact same lineup of programming a day later. That way, if we miss a particular episode of AMAZING RACE (or other shows that aren't re-run) or President [insert-name-here] decides to pre-empt Thursday night programming again for no reason, then we could tune in the following day to catch it.
Or if there was something that drove a lot of water-cooler talk the next day and you missed it, it would be another opportunity to watch.
What do you do for programming outside of primetime? First, you run the primetime programs from 8p-11p as normal, then rerun it from 11p-2a again just because you can. You could certainly rerun soap operas and other national programming; do you turn the local timeslots back over to the local affiliates to fill with what they'd like? Commercials could be the same as the previous day (justifying slightly higher ad rates for duplicate airings). It would also be a way to show older programs (like TRIO was doing) when something comes up that couldn't be re-aired due to contractual issues.
People with TiVo would love it because for those rare occasions that they need to record more programs than their TiVo allows at one time (Alias, Joey, Survivor, Inside The NFL all at 8p on Thursdays), it would give them the ability to catch the programs again on a relatively quick timetable.
It's not a real riddle if Bruce Willis could figure it out in that one 'Die Hard' movie.
Make it a little bit bigger than an iPod (maybe same screen size as the PSP, but without all the moving parts and buttons.) A comfortable, portable-sized viewing device is possible... eventually.
More importantly, make it so I can plug it directly to my TiVo and download my shows to it so I can catch up with [insert favorite TiVo shows here] while I'm on the road. No fuss, no muss. (Added feature, make it have a video out for those times when I want to plug it to a TV).
If you believe the marketing hype on The Guy Game's website, then there already has been a game pulled for questionable content.
And by "questionable", I mean supposedly/allegedly containing video of a topless 17-year-old girl who had signed release papers allowing the video to be shot but who later came forward and sued Sony/MSFT/Guy Game for including the underage video in the game.
I know I've still seen the game on store shelves this week, so I don't know the current status of this lawsuit or whether the game was pulled and released without her video included.
Riddle me this: why can't banks embed "preferred language" onto my ATM card so I don't have to always press the appropriate "Select Language" button on the ATM keypad? It's ALWAYS going to be the same language. Why do I have to keep telling you this?
I can understand the age verification thing not being on the credit card, as sometimes Mommy and Daddy give their cards to the kiddies to buy treats for the weekend. Wouldn't want to see 'em figure out they can buy a keg without an ID.
The biggest issue with the self-checkouts is that for the most part, they really ARE intended for the 10-items-or-less folks. The scales are uber-sensitive and don't hold much. As long as the folks in front of me aren't trying to unload an entire grocery cart, put it on the scale, then move it back to their cart before everything registers, things move along pretty quickly.... which is to say not very fast at all.
I like to recreate the scene from SEINFELD where Jerry "races" the guy at the next ATM machine over. "Enter PIN.... Withdraw... Checking... $20... Ok. I WIN!!!" Doesn't always work out that way at Walmart, but give it a few years for people to catch on to how to use 'em.
4 Classic Rock songs
3 Blues Songs
3 Folk songs
4 Female Rockers
3 Grunge
Not entirely true, and it depends on the station (as you stated). Some stations make it a point *not* to put songs with female lead singers together; *not* to put songs from the same R&B/Dance/whatever genre together; *not* to put songs from solo artists next to each other. And so on. And don't forget issues with playing more than one old song after another.
Again, it all depends on the station and format and what they're trying to do at the time, but as a general rule of thumb, there's a lot more analysis and thought that goes into creating a radio playlist than what iTunes automatically does, or by building "blocks" of music (Twofer Tuesdays, Rocktober, and Deep Cut Thursdays aside). It's all about how to best reach the desired target audience for the advertisers.
In other words, I can't imagine any station that's trying to make money that would rely on solely using an iTunes algorithm (current or proposed) for scheduling music.
Besides, what would the stations do with all the music scheduling software they already use?
A side question: how much of "weekend box office revenues" is due to the rise in ticket prices as opposed to an increase in ticket sales?
Some folks say that improved home theaters is a cause. I say not entirely, as I have a fairly nice home theater and still will see movies in the theater. Going to the theater is a group and/or date experience. It's a social activity that is, for the most part, relatively inexpensive. People who love movies, no matter what type of home setup they have, will still go to the theaters to see both good and bad movies.
Some folks say that DVDs and Netflix/Blockbuster is a cause. The shorter the timeframe between major release and DVD availability certainly is a factor. If I knew that a movie that I was interested in seeing was going to be out on DVD in 2 or 3 months (with bonus features!), then why should I bother going to the theater and paying the same amount of money on tickets? I understand why the studios want to piggyback on marketing to help increase DVD sales, but if I knew that a particular movie was NOT going to be released on DVD for a few years then I'd be more likely to see it in the theater.
For example, Pixar announced last year (when they pushed back CARS) that their new release schedule is: Big Release in May for the Summer; DVD Release in November for Xmas. I know that going forward, every year I can expect to find the latest Pixar DVD around Thanksgiving. As long as I'm willing to wait until Nov, then I know I'll be able to see the movie then. BUT... if Pixar had a policy of waiting 7 years before releasing their movies on DVD (7 years being Disney's traditional "next generation" math for releasing videos/movies/DVDs) then they should see an increase in theater sales.
Through in the fact that with multiplexes the way they are, there no longer are "event" movies, with people waiting in line for hours to see the latest. Instant gratification has cut into building buzz and desire to see something. It may be better for the consumers to have 10 screens showing MegaMultiManIV for the opening weekend to choose from, but I remember waiting for hours to see Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, and Egon Spengler on the big screen and making going to the movies something special.
Sure, high concession stand prices and obnoxious cell phones, noise bleed, etc. are all there, but those are usually isolated incidents.
C'mon -- how many folks bought the PS2 because it was a game machine AND a DVD player?
Already said that in my original post where I mention that a one-time use peripheral would not be the best purchase to make. But thanks for playing.
Has anyone thought of just networking the XBoxes, and transfering saves that way?
Whatever it takes -- it certainly wouldn't be unheard of (yes, all of you with modded XBoxes; I see you waving your hands wildly in the air).
For example, XBox Music Mixer had software that allowed you to download specific files to your Xbox (but not transfer files back up). But because of the (overly, but justifably so) convulted file structure/naming conventions that MSFT put in place for the various games, it could be a complicated process to select and transfer the files to the PC and then back down to the X360... assuming that the X360's HD file structure/organization is even compatible with the Xbox's. Using a crossover cable would certainly be easier, but still run into the same file placement issues.
My point, which seems to have been lost although I've been saying it for at least a year now, is that MSFT may be creating a console that will play the older games, but they have not -- at least publically -- seemed to address what it takes to make a console truly backwards compatible with the previous systems.
Sony did it right with the PS1/PS2; we have to see what approach they'll take with the PS2/PS3 upgrade path. Just being able to play the older games is part of the battle. When is MSFT, and soon Sony, going to tell us the other part of the equation?
The whole idea behind the XBox's hard drive was so you didn't have to buy a memory card in order to save games. There was no way to avoid buying a memory card if you wanted to enjoy PS1/PS2 games.
That being the case, you're saying that I should go out and purchase an Xbox memory card for the sole purpose of transfering games to my "backwards compatible" X360 console?
Doesn't make sense - not after Sony let the PS2 read PS1 memory cards as part of *their* "Backwards Compatible" strategy.
Have we seen that the X360 will support the Xbox memory cards at all? I'm fairly certain that I read the X360 won't support Xbox peripherals such as DDR Dance Pads and maybe the Xbox Music Mixer microphone. Again, could be wrong. (I'll assume the PS3 will support PS2 peripherals like the Eyetoy, as that was USB-based.)
And the HotBar toolbar accounts for the other.
Oh, that's right -- "Backwards Compatibility" is only for NEW purchases of Xbox games so they'll play on the X360 , not for Xbox owners who are upgrading their systems and want to continue raising havoc in [insert favorite havoc-raising game title here].
Where does that leave the PS3? Well, it's already been covered that the PS3 is moving away from the traditional PS1/PS2 memory cards in favor of supporting many other memory card formats... but it is certainly possible for a manufacturer to come out with an adapter that could be used to load/copy data from the old memory card to a PS3-supported card. (maybe a copy "service" would be more cost-beneficial than a one-time-use peripheral. Even so...)
But they didn't get Heather Robinson, the former AOL staffer who stole celebrities' screen names and worked those "newly found contacts" into various movie deals.
One is a criminal; the other is an "up and coming screenwriter". Obviously there is no consistency in how AOL deals with employee violations.
There's no reason for MSFT to sell the complete package for $399 when they could leverage marketing and sell it for $360.
Even if they wanted to keep $100 difference between the two units, they could have sold the base unit for $249 or $259. *THAT* would also force Sony's hand to bring the PS3 to market at a non-$299 price or risk being undersold from the get-go. Of course, that means that there would be no wiggle room for discounting the X360 when the PS3 is released.
And we already have that today. Except it's called a "fanny pack".
I disagree -- the videogame market is so important to Sony (what is it, 50% of total revenue?) that they wouldn't risk putting themselves in a situation where they would lose marketshare based solely on price point. Take last year for example: every time MSFT lowered the price of the base console, Sony matched it.
Besides, Sony has proven that they don't always have their heads screwed on straight with creating public perception. They really screwed up their entry into the portable music market by insisting on *not* supporting the MP3 format until they realized (too late) that they've missed the boat and quickly began to try to rectify that. I don't think Sony will let that type of mistake happen to them twice.
As I said last week, I'm guessing that MSFT wouldn't pass up the massive marketing tie-in opportunity they'd have by pricing the XBox360 at $360. It's more than the $299 we've seen before, but under the terrifying $400 price point that could scare off parents from pleasing their kids this Christmas.
I can't see the PS3 coming out at a price point that's higher than what MSFT does, unless there's proof that it carries superior features to cover the increase. I think we can all agree that Revolution will be at least $50 lower than whatever MSFT and Sony put out.
It's already been said that we should expect the new games to run around $60. Start saving those pennies!
$360
It's slightly more than the reasonable rollout price of $299 that we've seen on XBox/PS2 previously, and sticks below the weird $400 price for a "dedicated gaming machine" that a lot of early adopters and parents of spoiled kids may balk at.
I can't imagine that it would be that big a deal to switch out the drive from true Blue-Ray to whatever the new standard would be before the PS3s ship. Costly, certainly. Maybe requiring a small programming change on the PS3 motherboard. But other than that...
I'll guess that the DDR games and Xbox Music Mixer would be on the "non-compatible" list as well.
Or we all just get mod chips and go from there.
As for being able to re-download items from XBox Live, I would say that yes - I recall that option is available for some downloadable items. But that still leaves player stats, custom soundtracks, and other stored-on-harddrive items that would need to be moved.
But for MSFT to say to XBox360 upgraders that they have to go out and buy a $20 memory card just to transfer data over from the old machine to the new one is shortsighted at best. (My suggestion to get around this potential flaw? They should include a "file transfer CD" that runs software on both XBox machines that are connected to your home network that will allow a transfer of all data from machine 1 to machine 2.)
And I don't think you'll have to copy too much over regarding your XBL profile -- that should alll be stored up on the server anyway.