So close, and yet so far away. They stole enough styling cues that the ripoff is obvious, and made enough clumsy blunders that the result is half-assed. Yes, there are a couple of thoughtful touches, but it's not a Mac. Nothing that ponderous would ever leave Ives' skunkworks.
I have a more than sneaking suspicion that the screen shown there is attached to a box under the table by that big, thick umbilical cord. It certainly wouldn't be the first time MS had pulled that stunt (early XBox demos were actually run on a powerful, conventional PC with an nVIDIA AGP card slipped under a table).
Don't hope for expandability or upgradeability, Matsu. That's a part of the PC world that MS has been fighting more and more as the market matures. How upgradeable is the XBox? And if you think that's "just a console," you need to do some reading up.
MS' business model depends on steadily increasing revenue streams. New PC sales are stagnant, so MS is trying to find ways to get people to replace them faster. At one point, Gates and Grove stated the goal of getting people to replace their PC once a year (that was before the economy went south).
Sealed hardware means a more consistent and reliable operating system, much less work and testing on MS' part (lowering costs and time to market), the ability to control the platform in a way that can shut out Linux at least until the hardware's behind the curve, enables the sort of draconian and pervasive DRM strategies that MS has been planning for years, and it results in a non-upgradeable box that should ensure a stready stream of income from new Windows licenses.
Anything MS introduces will be far less configurable, expandable and upgradeable than your average white box, or even your average Dell. If the XBox is indeed the first step toward a "net PC," as Ballmer intended it to be, then it might even be a more sealed box than the iMac.
the ability to control the platform in a way that can shut out Linux at least until the hardware's behind the curve, enables the sort of draconian and pervasive DRM strategies that MS has been planning for years
I was thinking this same thing myself. Unfortunately for MS and their PC partners, locking out Linux will mean the hemorrhaging of market share. IBM will ensure that the PPC 970, 980, etc. run Linux optimally. A lower cost chip running an inexpensive OS will destroy the MS/Intel/AMD/HP/Dell business model. (Gateway has no viable business model and is excluded by default.)
If the hardware manufacturers have any semblance of intelligence, they won't let MS follow through on this. IBM will absolutely annihilate them otherwise.
The PC manufacturers have low cost hardware as their main selling point. If they lock out Linux, how on earth will they compete with IBM? MS certainly can't compete with Linux on price. The PowerPC 970's pricing hasn't been announced, but it should be lower cost than what Intel and AMD can put out. (Don't flame me on this as I do realize that economies of scale can make a more complex part less expensive to produce and therefore, the 970 could indeed be more expensive. I wouldn't, however, expect it to be much more so than Intel's chips.)
In any case, getting back to the thread, it's too bad that MS can't copy Apple's ability to innovate. Unfortunately, MS seems to be copying the poorest part of the Apple business model. Produce an underpowered machine, make it "closed", and sell it at a premium price.
Perhaps MS might copy Apple's history of colossal business decision blunders!
There was once a time when the Apple II was the dominant machine. It was supplanted by MS riding the coat tails of IBM. Perhaps it is Apple's turn to return the favor by riding IBM. With Gates copying Apple's business model, MS seems destined to make the same magnificent business blunders of Apple's past.
LOL! reading that ap article is great. they are talking about how great things can be when the HW maker and the SW maker work together to develop one product instead of 2 seperate deveolpments. Kinda like one company making the whole widget, hmmm, who does that again?
While I was watching that Real video over news.com, this "prototype" looks complex and not build for human.. I mean the idea/concept behind. OR that HP demo guy gave me a crappy speech.
If M$ at any time thought that they could close of the system and still keep their ginormous revenue streams alive, still dominate, they would have already done it. They're slower than they used to be, but still plenty scary once they aim their barrels in the right direction. M$ ain't going anywhere.
Is xBox the latest strategy for closing the wintelon architecture? It's part proof of concept, yea.
I don't think PPC linux will ever be the sobering force some here imagine. GO on over to IBM and check out their "affordable" PPC workstation prices. Makes even Jobs' pricing dellusions seem reasonable.
Nope, it will be the cloners of x86 wintelon/linux that keep M$ honest.
M$ may want to close down the box, but they won't ever dare, they made their money opening up the commodity market that prevades computing. For all they may have destroyed along the way on the software side, they are the only credible flexible multi-vendor OS in existence today. They are the reason computers can be bought for reasonable prices. They weren't always the bad guys, they taught IBM that it's better to have a commodity hardware platform, and it is better.
Now software, that's different, they're gonna close that fvcker as tight as they can, but they're not going to turn their back on the formula that made them rich.
***translation for the youngsters (like EbOy)....fugly=****ing ugly. case of beer fugly=that is so ugly it will take me drinking a case of beer before i am drunk enough to **** it.
Good point. Gates is aging pretty poorly. No wonder, with the last 2 decades of bad karma he's built up he's gonna be really fugly and have a terrible rebirth.
In the shots I've seen it looks like a cheap Cube wannabe.
I guess you could say it looks good for M$. But that isn't saying anything. M$ have no taste. That's their problem. It's not Apple's.
It looks like a 'me too' machine bar that most inelegant Phone thing (can anyone say 'strap on'?) on the monitor. Tacky. Want a drop dead gorgeous all in one? We've got one. It's called the iMac. And this fugly M$ 'athens' isn't in the same league. Gee, a CD rom in the monitor. One of the Ives 'bin it' ideas.
Transparent windows? Hmmm. Guess nobody has done that before...
I gets ta figure that I'm really looking forward to that 970 on Panther. I think Apple will show Redmond how it's done.
Guess some people will see this as a revolution and buy it. After all, M$ invented the internet.
Comments
I have a more than sneaking suspicion that the screen shown there is attached to a box under the table by that big, thick umbilical cord. It certainly wouldn't be the first time MS had pulled that stunt (early XBox demos were actually run on a powerful, conventional PC with an nVIDIA AGP card slipped under a table).
Don't hope for expandability or upgradeability, Matsu. That's a part of the PC world that MS has been fighting more and more as the market matures. How upgradeable is the XBox? And if you think that's "just a console," you need to do some reading up.
MS' business model depends on steadily increasing revenue streams. New PC sales are stagnant, so MS is trying to find ways to get people to replace them faster. At one point, Gates and Grove stated the goal of getting people to replace their PC once a year (that was before the economy went south).
Sealed hardware means a more consistent and reliable operating system, much less work and testing on MS' part (lowering costs and time to market), the ability to control the platform in a way that can shut out Linux at least until the hardware's behind the curve, enables the sort of draconian and pervasive DRM strategies that MS has been planning for years, and it results in a non-upgradeable box that should ensure a stready stream of income from new Windows licenses.
Anything MS introduces will be far less configurable, expandable and upgradeable than your average white box, or even your average Dell. If the XBox is indeed the first step toward a "net PC," as Ballmer intended it to be, then it might even be a more sealed box than the iMac.
and Gates is even badly ripping off Steve's wardrobe...
Sweater (not black) and casual pants (not jeans).
another bad cloning job from the (fashion) design-impaired.
the ability to control the platform in a way that can shut out Linux at least until the hardware's behind the curve, enables the sort of draconian and pervasive DRM strategies that MS has been planning for years
I was thinking this same thing myself. Unfortunately for MS and their PC partners, locking out Linux will mean the hemorrhaging of market share. IBM will ensure that the PPC 970, 980, etc. run Linux optimally. A lower cost chip running an inexpensive OS will destroy the MS/Intel/AMD/HP/Dell business model. (Gateway has no viable business model and is excluded by default.)
If the hardware manufacturers have any semblance of intelligence, they won't let MS follow through on this. IBM will absolutely annihilate them otherwise.
The PC manufacturers have low cost hardware as their main selling point. If they lock out Linux, how on earth will they compete with IBM? MS certainly can't compete with Linux on price. The PowerPC 970's pricing hasn't been announced, but it should be lower cost than what Intel and AMD can put out. (Don't flame me on this as I do realize that economies of scale can make a more complex part less expensive to produce and therefore, the 970 could indeed be more expensive. I wouldn't, however, expect it to be much more so than Intel's chips.)
In any case, getting back to the thread, it's too bad that MS can't copy Apple's ability to innovate. Unfortunately, MS seems to be copying the poorest part of the Apple business model. Produce an underpowered machine, make it "closed", and sell it at a premium price.
Perhaps MS might copy Apple's history of colossal business decision blunders!
There was once a time when the Apple II was the dominant machine. It was supplanted by MS riding the coat tails of IBM. Perhaps it is Apple's turn to return the favor by riding IBM. With Gates copying Apple's business model, MS seems destined to make the same magnificent business blunders of Apple's past.
i wonder if this "prototype" will ever make it to production...
anybody remember all the "prototype" machines intel was heralding a few years ago? like that ridiculous ottoman pc?
Look at Bill now...
Is xBox the latest strategy for closing the wintelon architecture? It's part proof of concept, yea.
I don't think PPC linux will ever be the sobering force some here imagine. GO on over to IBM and check out their "affordable" PPC workstation prices. Makes even Jobs' pricing dellusions seem reasonable.
Nope, it will be the cloners of x86 wintelon/linux that keep M$ honest.
M$ may want to close down the box, but they won't ever dare, they made their money opening up the commodity market that prevades computing. For all they may have destroyed along the way on the software side, they are the only credible flexible multi-vendor OS in existence today. They are the reason computers can be bought for reasonable prices. They weren't always the bad guys, they taught IBM that it's better to have a commodity hardware platform, and it is better.
Now software, that's different, they're gonna close that fvcker as tight as they can, but they're not going to turn their back on the formula that made them rich.
Originally posted by Matsu
The machine is not ugly, and Apple has not created it yet, nor did they create it 3 years ago.
It's fugly.
The keyboard OTOH is very ugly, I'll give you that.
The display is nice, but the 'cube', and the keyboard, are hideous.
It's fugly
case of beer fugly***
g
***translation for the youngsters (like EbOy)....fugly=****ing ugly. case of beer fugly=that is so ugly it will take me drinking a case of beer before i am drunk enough to **** it.
which reminds me....
i haven't heard from EmAn's Mom in a while
Originally posted by curiousuburb
and Gates is even badly ripping off Steve's wardrobe...
But he's so fat.
"Microsoft is the best! We innovate everything!"
Originally posted by Nitzer
That big fat umbilical (no way is that power only) must go somewhere...
It goes to the "cube," but it's not really a cube...it's more of a tongue...it looks like the top of a white Jell-o pudding pop.
Originally posted by OSXaddict
"Microsoft is the best! We innovate everything!"
lol
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,58745,00.html
Originally posted by bunge
He's fat.
Good point. Gates is aging pretty poorly. No wonder, with the last 2 decades of bad karma he's built up he's gonna be really fugly and have a terrible rebirth.
Go watch the RealOne stream at News.com.com (you may have to disable pop-up blocking on Safari) about Athens. It dropped my jaw.
Originally posted by Steve
I'm definitely with Matsu on this issue.
Go watch the RealOne stream at News.com.com (you may have to disable pop-up blocking on Safari) about Athens. It dropped my jaw.
And your jaw came back up when you learned that it will contain this:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...cure_computing
Originally posted by Steve
I'm definitely with Matsu on this issue.
Go watch the RealOne stream at News.com.com (you may have to disable pop-up blocking on Safari) about Athens. It dropped my jaw.
I watched that last night and didn't see anything particularly inspiring. Which features blew your mind?
Which features blew your mind?
The built-in sink and the spotlights. Oh, wait that was my dentist's chair. Nevermind.
I guess you could say it looks good for M$. But that isn't saying anything. M$ have no taste. That's their problem. It's not Apple's.
It looks like a 'me too' machine bar that most inelegant Phone thing (can anyone say 'strap on'?) on the monitor. Tacky. Want a drop dead gorgeous all in one? We've got one. It's called the iMac. And this fugly M$ 'athens' isn't in the same league. Gee, a CD rom in the monitor. One of the Ives 'bin it' ideas.
Transparent windows? Hmmm. Guess nobody has done that before...
I gets ta figure that I'm really looking forward to that 970 on Panther. I think Apple will show Redmond how it's done.
Guess some people will see this as a revolution and buy it. After all, M$ invented the internet.
Lemon Bon Bon