Microsoft to take on Apple TV with Windows-based set top box

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  • Reply 21 of 155
    xsamplexxsamplex Posts: 214member
    By the way, here's a quick tip. Unless you are a fifteen year old girl, putting little animated faces in your comments is a sure sign of loserdom. Same thing for emoticons or whatever they are called.
  • Reply 22 of 155
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by esummers View Post


    This isn't exactly a new product. It is a new version of an old product.



    Yeah, just like MS Windows Phone 7 and their tablet. Once shown the proper way of doing things that will make sales, MS is not adverse to doing a 180 from their talking points that they had when they were pushing their old product.



    Quote:

    It is probably in a different niche. Windows Media Center is more a competitor for devices like the Tivo. Sure there is some overlap but the strong points of each device are different. This sounds more like Microsoft is trying to make their existing product more affordable. Windows Media Center costs at least twice that now.



    This, we'll have to wait and see.



    Quote:

    Microsoft already has a real competitor to the Apple TV, it is called the Xbox. They are really competing with iTunes here. Microsoft, Sony, and Amazon all try to compete with iTunes but none of them are very close to catching up.



    What do you want to bet that this too will change? Imagine Apple TV taking all those iPad games and putting them on your tv and using the iPad as the controller... Touch tv... Who needs a game console? If Apple does do this, this will also be MS's next greatest idea.



    Quote:

    Many companies do try to copy Apple, but I don't think it is the case here.



    We are talking about Microsoft... Right?
  • Reply 23 of 155
    irelandireland Posts: 17,800member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Another "too little, too late" half-witted effort from Microsoft.



    Too late? I don't think so.
  • Reply 24 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by leighr View Post


    Ahhh.... Microsoft. The king of the "Me-to's". Customers might get a bit tired of watching a blue screen through.



    They may build in a choice of color for the screen of death this century.
  • Reply 25 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dcolley View Post


    Wow, how did they ever think of that?



    Idea came directly from Microsoft's R & D department of course ... AKA Apple!
  • Reply 26 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Too late? I don't think so.



    It's not too late to be a "too little, too late half-witted effort" from Microsoft I assume you mean! SpamSandwich hit it right on the nail.
  • Reply 27 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by xSamplex View Post


    By the way, here's a quick tip. Unless you are a fifteen year old girl, putting little animated faces in your comments is a sure sign of loserdom. Same thing for emoticons or whatever they are called.



    Sorry off topic .. I'd totally disagree. Yes they may be over used, yes they be used incorrectly at times. However, they add a dimension to writing previously absent to all but the most skilled writer, the ability to ... yes you guessed it ... show the emotional intent behind the comment. Add in the fact blogs are often terse and very susceptible to misinterpretation and they can become invaluable in avoiding any such issues.
  • Reply 28 of 155
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tania View Post


    i'm not at all suggesting that Apple is THE progenitor of all great ideas however why is it that when Apple is involved in a certain category of product somehow legitimizes it for bigger companies such as Microsoft, now Google, to enter even if that category of product had already existed before Apple's entry?



    Because the other guys sit on their a** while some other management takes the plunge. Then, if the product is a success, the other folk come rolling in.

    Look no further than the ipad. At the begging of 2010 there was so much hate around the net about the ipad it was sickening. And you probably remember Engadget shutting down their comments for few days until people calmed down. Now look, every mofo is pimping out an android tablet or announcing a soon-to-be Honeycomb powered tablet.

    And the tired fandroids have found a new narrative, the REAL TABLET OS:HONEYCOMB.

    Ha ha! How they back track.
  • Reply 29 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Another project for Ballmer to piss away more of Microsoft's market cap. I forget the numbers ... what's he done so far ... halve it?
  • Reply 30 of 155
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wings View Post


    Betcha 50 bucks that the remote for Microsoft TV (or whatever they will call it) will have a minimum of 50 buttons. (As compared to the Apple TV's 7 buttons.)



    Or could just have a Kinnect sensor and not buttons.



    Microsoft could do really well at this provided they don't screw it up. The real question is which product it will evolve from? Will it be a Zune product of Windows Media Center or some horrible combination.



    Currently the Xbox is an equivalent to the Apple TV but isn't the greatest implementation. It has on-demand tv which is fine, but as a separate program on it you also have Zune which provides on-demand films and music but doesn't stream your music from your pc or play the music on your xbox. You can stream music from your pc or Zune on your pc but it's in the Xbox's own music section. Then it also functions as Windows Media Center extender and by now we're far to confused to have any idea what to do. If this wasn't bad enough even when you have a 250gb hard drive there's no simple way to copy all your music onto it rather than stream it from your pc.



    Personally I think they should update Zune on the Xbox to handle anything and then bring out a Zune box as a set top box that is identical. Windows Media Center just sounds geeky and will never sell.
  • Reply 31 of 155
    Why is everyone saying that Microsoft is copying Apple? Microsoft has had services for this years before Apple ever did - its called the Windows Media Center. Use the extender for enabled devices, such as XBox.
  • Reply 32 of 155
    iguesssoiguessso Posts: 132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by blahblahblahblah View Post


    Why is everyone saying that Microsoft is copying Apple? Microsoft has had services for this years before Apple ever did - its called the Windows Media Center. Use the extender for enabled devices, such as XBox.



    Lots of tired old cliches in the comments here, probably from people who have never used Windows Media Center. It has a lot going for it. The remote believe it or not is very simple, the interface is slick and effective, the onscreen guide is the best I've ever seen, it supports OTA and QAM tuners, it has the best DVR abilities and interface I know of, ...



    If you've never used it it's easy to bash it.
  • Reply 33 of 155
    I think MSFT should just copy Apple TV exactly and not doing anything else. They are a dead company too many managers and not enough people that care about what they build.



    Apple 46" LED / LG coming in late 2011 with smaller iPad as the remote. Stay tuned for the best year in Apple History, again!



    2011 Apple buys Comcast, new Line of iOS TV 46" and 60", Stock runs alot higher to $500/share., iPhone 4G and Verizon finally sell new iPhone 4G & iPad2.



    Back up the truck and buy Apple Stock (AAPL) and sit back and enjoy watching the easy money over the next 3 years.
  • Reply 34 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iGuessSo View Post


    Lots of tired old cliches in the comments here, probably from people who have never used Windows Media Center. It has a lot going for it. The remote believe it or not is very simple, the interface is slick and effective, the onscreen guide is the best I've ever seen, it supports OTA and QAM tuners, it has the best DVR abilities and interface I know of, ...



    If you've never used it it's easy to bash it.



    It is absolutely true, Microsoft had lots of products prior to Apple ... Media Center, Mobile Phones, Tablet Computers ... need I go on?
  • Reply 35 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by timgriff84 View Post


    Or could just have a Kinnect sensor and not buttons.



    Microsoft could do really well at this provided they don't screw it up.



    partial quote





    You may be right ... you do the 'Monkey Dance' to change channels? Brilliant!
  • Reply 36 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by imurphit View Post


    I think MSFT should just copy Apple TV exactly and not doing anything else. They are a dead company too many managers and not enough people that care about what they build.



    Apple 46" LED / LG coming in late 2011 with smaller iPad as the remote. Stay tuned for the best year in Apple History, again!



    2011 Apple buys Comcast, new Line of iOS TV 46" and 60", Stock runs alot higher to $500/share., iPhone 4G and Verizon finally sell new iPhone 4G & iPad2.



    Back up the truck and buy Apple Stock (AAPL) and sit back and enjoy watching the easy money over the next 3 years.



    With such a small % of the market with Macs, the potential for iPad expansion and the growth of (Apple style) smart phones and beyond (and who knows what next) ... I totally agree other than I think it is far more than three years.



    p.s. Throw in Apple's ability (and increasingly so) to develop its own hardware components plus its ability to strip many other components from the market availability. wow ...
  • Reply 37 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by blahblahblahblah View Post


    Why is everyone saying that Microsoft is copying Apple? Microsoft has had services for this years before Apple ever did - its called the Windows Media Center. Use the extender for enabled devices, such as XBox.



    It was a huge success, Microsoft totally dominate the media arena and music downloads with it ... Oh wait a minute ...
  • Reply 38 of 155
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    Microsoft is officially the largest company with absolutely no original ideas.
  • Reply 39 of 155
    bobbycbobbyc Posts: 11member
    There's nothing wrong with being a "fast follower" and not a market innovator - you get to pick your targets, decide what you can do that is different, and you mitigate a lot of risk that goes along with being a market-leader and an innovator.



    The trick is. . .you actually have to deliver something that is competitive with, and occasionally better than, the market leader. And you can't have marketing that positions you as a market leader if you're not leading.



    All in, MSFT is subjecting us to volley after volley of disphoria - they say one thing, they do another. Sooner or later that's going to be a problem.
  • Reply 40 of 155
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bobbyc View Post


    There's nothing wrong with being a "fast follower" and not a market innovator - you get to pick your targets, decide what you can do that is different, and you mitigate a lot of risk that goes along with being a market-leader and an innovator.



    The trick is. . .you actually have to deliver something that is competitive with, and occasionally better than, the market leader. And you can't have marketing that positions you as a market leader if you're not leading.



    All in, MSFT is subjecting us to volley after volley of disphoria - they say one thing, they do another. Sooner or later that's going to be a problem.



    I'm with you till the "sooner or later" part ..
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