Gizmodo's Microsoft Year-End Report Card: B- (Overall), A- (Xbox360) Options

[Xbox-Scene]

Gizmodo's Microsoft Year-End Report Card: B- (Overall), A- (Xbox360) Posted by XanTium | December 22 00:40 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From gizmodo.com: [QUOTE] Well, Redmond, it's been a funny year, hasn't it? Even if you ignore those Apple commercials, it's hard to ignore the fact that Vista was probably one of the main reasons people switched to the Mac OS, or to third-party Linux-based systems. We'll get to the big V--and that other mighty stain Windows Mobile--in a bit, but first you deserve much credit for some impressive feats in gaming, entertainment and home networking. Xbox 360: A- Microsoft, you have to be happy as hell that you pushed Xbox 360 out of the gate a year before the PS3 and the Wii. Console sales have been great, staying ahead of Sony and only recently challenged by Nintendo. This is fueled by two factors: a better selection of hot games like Halo 3 and BioShock and the only real implementation of live online gaming in the console world. The Xbox Live community has even allowed you to pilot programs for HD video downloading and all sorts of other media treats that make Sony (and Apple) nervous. Sadly for HD DVD buffs, compatibility with that format is not one of the selling points, or you would have included it in your recently revamped HDMI-equipped 1080p Xbox 360 Elite. Performance aside, I would say that the only mark against you on this front is the hardware itself. I personally would like some kind of Xbox 360 Ultimate with integrated with HD DVD, but even if that doesn't happen, it's still pretty noisy, and the Red Rings of Death are getting to be more than just a clever punchline. [/QUOTE] Full Story: gizmodo.com

[andi_06]

it's still pretty noisy, and the Red Rings of Death are getting to be more than just a clever punchline.

Yeh nothing like trying to enjoy some late night gaming and all you can hear is dvd drive spinning at full speed constantly, why isnt it the drive only speeds up when it needs to?

[HackMy360]

Yeh nothing like trying to enjoy some late night gaming and all you can hear is dvd drive spinning at full speed constantly, why isnt it the drive only speeds up when it needs to?

Luckily for some of us Ixtreme lets us set the speed at a quiet 8x so at least some of us get to enjoy the 360 without being annoyed by the noisy drive

[JBmtk]

well said..

[g8crapachino]

I keep reading these articles about people moving to Mac or Linux because of Vista and the biggest complaint those same articles make is that Vista wasn't compatible with the hardware or software that ran fine under XP. ....what I would like to know is how does switching to Linux or Mac solve that problem!? Most Windows software is definitely not going to run and hardware/driver compatibility is flaky at best. The news media loves to hype up their stories, especially anything that allows them to put Microsoft in the headline, but if you actually thought rationally about some of these stories, not all things add up.

[user112]

Luckily for some of us Ixtreme lets us set the speed at a quiet 8x so at least some of us get to enjoy the 360 without being annoyed by the noisy drive

I've got my benq running at 5x and I can only hear the laser moving.
It's almost serene silence compared to what I had to endure before that.
iXtreme

[Chancer]

If you have the surround amp turned up you can't hear the drive at all.
I think the muffled banging is the next door neighbour banging on the wall.

[FCTE]

I keep reading these articles about people moving to Mac or Linux because of Vista and the biggest complaint those same articles make is that Vista wasn't compatible with the hardware or software that ran fine under XP. ....what I would like to know is how does switching to Linux or Mac solve that problem!? Most Windows software is definitely not going to run and hardware/driver compatibility is flaky at best. The news media loves to hype up their stories, especially anything that allows them to put Microsoft in the headline, but if you actually thought rationally about some of these stories, not all things add up.

XP was just as flaky when it was released until SP1, pretty much the general rule of thumb for a MS OS, wait for the first SP. I think Vistas biggest problem is there isn't enough "got to have" features for people to want to upgrade from XP. That and being a resource hog unless you turn off all the eye candy and features that seem to be the biggest selling points for Vista.

Most people just don't see a reason to upgrade both their hardware and OS for only some marginal differences.

I prefer Ubuntu for my everyday basic computer tasks and dual boot XP Pro for any Windows needs.

How does Mac OS or Linux solve compatibility? Mac OS shouldn't have any compatibility issues seeing as how it's hardware is specifically built for it. Macs are not my cup of tea, but they are really nice machines and software. As far as Linux goes, the earlier versions were not user friendly at all, but I've installed Ubuntu on many different machines and rarely run into an issue, if you have basic computer knowledge a user friendly distro like Ubuntu should be pretty easy to get up and running with minimal work arounds. Hell Ubuntu picked up my HP printer and had a driver built into the OS for it.

[teknow]

I prefer Ubuntu for my everyday basic computer tasks and dual boot XP Pro for any Windows needs.

Aside from gaming, and I've for the time due to school (next 1.5 years) ceased that, I no longer have any need for the Microsoft OS platform. XP still resides on a drive just in case, but in all honesty it has reached the point of needing to be reinstalled. Wine has taken care of everything so far keeping in mind I've only been running Ubuntu for about 2 weeks, I don't forsee any reason I'll have to go back.
Ktorrent is excellent (seems to employ NAT hole punching). Open Office has every feature I need (and I would bet the vast majority of joe public). I can burn or create any disc needed, play DVDs, and every other file out there. It is an amazing feeling to know I'll be free of a degree of cost, PC dysfunction, and malware over the next several years.

I've installed Ubuntu on many different machines and rarely run into an issue, if you have basic computer knowledge a user friendly distro like Ubuntu should be pretty easy to get up and running with minimal work arounds. Hell Ubuntu picked up my HP printer and had a driver built into the OS for it.

Ubuntu is even on my tablet. Getting every aspect of tablet function is a work in progress but I enjoy that kind of thing. It is still a better laptop now than it ever had the ability to be before.

This post has been edited by teknow: Dec 22 2007, 04:42 PM

[FCTE]

Open Office has everything feature I need (and I would bet the vast majority of joe public)

I agree and I would even go so far as to say certain distros of Linux could do the same, but the problem is the vast majority of Joe Public doesn't install operating systems......ever. People just use whatever their computer comes with. I think when the vast majority of XP PCs get outdated or die off, that's when Vista will start to take off with new computer purchases.

Like I said, Vista doesn't have enough new features to take people off of XP. I went from Windows 98 to XP, it was a night and day difference, Vista just doesn't have that.

[teknow]

I agree and I would even go so far as to say certain distros of Linux could do the same, but the problem is the vast majority of Joe Public doesn't install operating systems......ever. People just use whatever their computer comes with. I think when the vast majority of XP PCs get outdated or die off, that's when Vista will start to take off with new computer purchases.

Like I said, Vista doesn't have enough new features to take people off of XP. I went from Windows 98 to XP, it was a night and day difference, Vista just doesn't have that.

Huge jump from 98 to XP!

Yes, Vista doesn't have near enough bait to lure me into the cost of upgrade (time/money) and regular maintenance. I'm pleading to get my parents to switch to Ubuntu to decrease the amount of 'tech support' I provide them.

Unfortunately Vista probably will continue to sell in the future due to familiarity. Ubuntu has gotten amazingly better since the last time I tried it almost exactly one year ago. I still spent many hours familiarizing myself to the new GUI, drive locations (renaming), and of course with command line interfaces.

Sure we've all heard Dell is shipping Linux now as an option. I believe it can help but I'd hate to be either the customer calling them for support or the tech attempting to help them. With a proper tutorial and out of the box functionality a person can definitely survive the transition and be installing/uninstalling packages which would likely appease most.

Bottom line is wireless must work out of the box. People (most) aren't willing to jump into that pool when they are just treading Linux. My last go with Ubuntu involved Ndiswrapper for my wireless and the only reason I got it taken care of was due to multiple forum threads that had tackled the issue.

This post has been edited by teknow: Dec 22 2007, 04:55 PM

[Software2]

What the crap does he have against windows mobile 6? He rambles on and on about how it's lacking all these features found in other devices, but never mentions any of them.

Oh wait, he's just trolling to get more hits. Kudos.

[Tony42077]

The way I see it, MS did it to themselves with Vista. They finally improved their OS to run with little problems (due to some Linux based improvements) compared to past releases; anyone remember Millenium? Their product life span for previous releases was 3 years tops before a new release while XP lasted almost 6 years. You get someone used to something long enough, that does everything that they need to do, then why should they upgrade?

MS should have got the 3rd party driver support better implemented before the release of Vista. Too much hardware and software was found to be imcompatible, or wouldn't run as efficiently as it did under XP. MS thought that they could just ram Vista down are throats because they did with all the rest. The problem is that technology progressed to the point that the inevitable upgrade wasn't inevitable anymore.

I still tell the average user (e-mail & office) that is looking to buy a new computer to get Vista. The pricing isn't that bad for an OEM Home premium license($100). Most of the software that is written for scene users is all written for windows, which I use constantly, so there is no reason to use Linux for me. Windows runs fantastic for me (as long as I reinstall it every 6 months or so ).

[bucko]

I personally would like some kind of Xbox 360 Ultimate with integrated with HD DVD

I wish these people would quit day dreaming, it's never going to happen, maybe in the next generation but maybe not.

Making silly news reports about it aint going to do anything..

Buy the add on, if you don't want it buy a separate player simple as.

This post has been edited by bucko: Dec 23 2007, 10:43 PM