And One (Xbox) to Rule Them All

 

So its been a few days since Microsoft took the cover off of the Xbox One. So far the reception has been mixed with core gamers and the game press underwhelmed by Tuesday’s presentation with its heavy focus on entertainment and media.

A heavily repeated refrain has been, “Where’s the Games”.

The presentation did highlight new deals and titles from EA (FIFA and Madden 2014) and Activision (Call of Duty: Ghosts) along with new titles from Microsoft Studios including new franchises.

So what of Cores,CPUs, and GPUs? Well here’s the thing I cannot explain them and really don’t care about them, but since some of you reading do I’m linking to those that can.

The Xbox One announcement from my perch was not about appealing to the gamer or even the developer, it was simply about premiering the device. And while Microsoft did answer some questions, they didn’t answer all of them definitively. And for that they’ve been taken to task. There were also questions not asked around what the Xbox team plans for Windows and Windows Phone, we know that SmartGlass (Microsoft’s second screen technology) is now built in, but what will its roll be if any in mobile?

So to that more will be written for now here are links to articles about the Xbox One.

TTFN and all that rubbish

Ben Gilbert (Engadget) Building Xbox One: An inside look at Microsoft’s play for the next generation of gaming

Mary Jo Foley (ZD Net) Microsoft’s Xbox One: What’s Windows got to do with it?

Farhad Manjoo (Slate) Steve Jobs’ Dream Device Has Arrived (And it’s made by Microsoft. Meet the Xbox One.)

Nick Summers (The Next Web) Frustrated with the Xbox One? That’s okay, because Microsoft isn’t building its next system for you

Peter Rubin (Wired) Xbox One Revealed

images: Xbox News Wire

Xbox: The Next Generation

In about 24 hours Microsoft will reveal the next generation of its Xbox console. It will be the start of the next generation of consoles that includes the SONY PS4, the Nintendo Wii U, and contenders such as Valve’s Steam Box and the open source OUYA.

The Xbox will find itself not just in a crowded game space but also a changed one. Mobile platforms like iOS and Android have become the new go to place for casual gaming. Valve has become the defacto ruler of PC gaming and console gaming has declined somewhat over the last few years.

Expectations for the new Xbox are high but a bit muted because of rumors of “always-on” and possible lack of backwards compatibility with games. Many hardcore gamers are thinking that Microsoft will move away from gaming as part of the product’s core functions. Meanwhile analysts will be looking for how well the Xbox will play with Microsoft’s ecosystem.

There are a lot of expectations coming for the new console and while I don’t have the power to see the future, I am willing to make a few predictions.

1. Simply Xbox

One device with no extras like infinity or 720. Much like the simplification of Windows nomenclature, the Xbox will be brought into line with Microsoft’s other offerings.

2. Xbox everywhere

On Tuesday part of the presentation will be on how gaming is not contained to just the console but also the PC, phone, and tablet. To that end the Xbox team will talk about improvements to both Games on Windows and Xbox on Windows tablets and Windows Phone. I expect them to show of how one game can be ported across all three screens (PC/Console/Mobile).

3. Xbox as the Entertainment center

With something like 20 percent of its users using the Xbox for non gaming purposes expect a significant part of the presentation to be about the living room. Whether its watching Modern Family or Game of Thrones Microsoft will be positioning the new Xbox as the center of your entertainment life. Expect to also see updates to the Xbox’s own Movies and Music services with possible web versions.

4. Xbox, it’s still can game

Yes the Xbox will play games. You know the drill exclusives, new titles, and squeals. We may also see new stuff or mobile.

5. Xbox (Yes you can see the device right here)

There will be a device and a controller, and we will be able to see it.

6. Kinect

And you thought you saw the last of it. It will be refreshed

7. Xbox has Windows on the inside

Last prediction, the Xbox will be running Windows 8 underneath which means a possible app marketplace with the ability to port to PCs and Phones.

And that’s it expect Tuesday to tale the tale of how it came together. Have fun and see you again later for the wrap up.

To watch it live go here. Presentation starts at 1PM Eastern/ 10AM Pacific (US).

Also check The Verge and Engadget for live blog coverage

image: Engadget/Microsoft

Quick thoughts on Windows 8.1

About a week ago Microsoft confirmed the final name for the first update to Windows 8. Up until the announcement the next version of Windows had been going by its codename “Blue”. But at a tech analyst conference, Tami Reller, head of the business aspects of the Windows division, detailed the official name and pricing.

Windows 8.1 will be an update bringing new features and bug fixes to all Windows 8 devices. It will be a free upgrade for all Windows 8 and Windows RT users with a device and come on hardware coming toward the fall of this year. From all indications it will have improvements for desktop users and bring back certain features desktop users expect from Windows.

Due to the vocal response of some to Windows 8, 8.1 has been greatly anticipated. For many traditional desktop users they hope for a return of the Start button and start menu (basically Windows 7). Actually let me stop and say that this has been the only thing people have talked about around Windows 8; its supposed unfriendliness toward users of mice and keyboards. This whole time when sales of tablets have increased, all the talk has been around desktops (not even laptops).

For many 8.1 is seen as Microsoft repudiating the changes made in Windows 8, coming back to earth says the CEO of Acer. It would all be cute if not for one thing:

It doesn’t answer the issue at hand.

As much as many would like to run back the clock, the PC market has plateaued and even then the growth was slowing. With the growth of tablets especially in business, Microsoft needed to get in the door with a mobile OS. And while Windows Phone might have been sufficient it would not have gotten as much attention as Windows 8 has now.

Windows 8.1 will have features to make desktop users happy, but it will not be Windows 7.5, an that’s because it still needs to address the market for devices. This means addressing tablets booth small and large.

Cool Concepts: Another Microsoft Surface

Occaisonally, you run across a concept design that makes so much sene that you start trying to find ways to get it made beffor you think better of it.

One such concept I ran across on the Verge, a technology review and culture site. In their Microsoft forum a person going by the moniker YKWWBC posted their idea of what a Microsoft Surface laptop might look like. YKWWBC describes the device as a 14 inch Ultrabook with similar innards as the Surface Pro but in the familial notebook frame.

I thought I post to both the origianl post and the forum post below.

Stay Thirsty My Friends

Another Microsoft Surface-You Know What Would Be Cool

Another Microsoft Surface-Verge Forums

image: YKWWBC

Little Green Robots a Dancing: Google I/O 2013

Tomorrow Google will hold its annual developer conference dubbed I/O. I/O begins the official conference season where Apple,Microsoft, and others will gather there developers and detail the next updates to their respective Operating systems.

Google is at an interesting juncture with its platforms. Android is basically the Windows of the mobile world with more than 50 percent of the market. With its growing footprint, Android is rapidly gaining ground on Apple’s iOS in both smartphones and to lesser extent tablets.

With this growth comes new opportunity and more problems. On the second front is Chrome OS, Google’s browser OS. Depending on how you divide the numbers Chrome OS and its Chromebooks are growing (according to Acer) or doing poorly (with sales of the Microsoft Surface RT outselling it). The Chromebook Pixel, Mountain View’s attempt at creating a high device got points for hardware. And then there was Glass. Google Glass finally was delivered to the Explorers aka those who paid a couple of thousand to be a part of the de-emasculation of America. Seriously though, Glass has come out to a lot of mix reviews, a debate on privacy, and a disturbing picture of Internet Capote Robert Scoble in the shower.

So what can you expect tomorrow from the three hour keynote. Well if the interview with new head of Android (and Chrome OS) Sundar Pichai don’t expect any major changes to Android. Where in past events we saw rapid iteration with the platform, this year could be the one where they slow it down. If a slowdown is the case I expect Google to release a minor update to Android Jellybean, and focus on streamlining features. There will also be a heavy focus on developers (I mean this is a developer conference after all). I think if things are REALLY slowing down with Android then tomorrow Google could announce changes to its APK to make it easier for developers to target Android itself and not a particular device.

Outside of little, green robots I also expect Pichai and crew to talk up Chrome OS and Chromebooks.With the introduction of touch to the browser Google may talk about the next version of the browser for iOS and Windows. I also think Google will detail changes to the Web apps that are at the heart of it. Reports from Engadget and The Verge detailed a new type application for Chrome that would function more like an application in the traditional sense. I also expect to see announcements of new partners for the Chromebook line.

And since I do not want to bore you or make detailed predictions that turn out wrong, here is a list of short sentenced predictions:

Google Plus (new features further tying all Google services to it)

Google Drive

Google Glass (or more Scoble with Glass in the Shower)

Nexus 7 (refreshed and with high res screen)

Free stuff (it is I/O)

App engine/Go/Blink (stuff that only the developers will love or understand)

Google TV/Music/Home

If you want to watch any of I/O 2013 live go here

 

 

 

Thin and Light

As much as I have written about Windows 8 from a larger perspective, I’ve failed to really give an actual review of the OS. I’m going to sort off rectify it with this post.

Small confession before now my main computer has been a Windows XP laptop (which is currently in need of repair) along with both an XP era desktop and a Dell laptop running Vista (which honestly gets a bad rap). As of now I don’t own a tablet so my experiences with Windows 8 has been on a non-touch device ( a Toshiba Satellite which has one of those ridge track pads which I dislike).

Having used Windows 8 now for about two months I have to say I like it. Windows 8 is miles better than XP and Vista and for me the new Metro layer is neither terribly jarring nor is the lack of the Start button (and menu) an issue. Now maybe its me (I looked at enough information to know what I was buying) but a lot of the issue around the Start Screen and the desktop is a non-issue. For one the majority of the functions people miss from the Start menu is in the Charms bar. To me the big things search, devices, and settings are there.

(And that is my brief review of Windows 8; I actually wanted to talk about hardware)

I don’t know when it happened, but at some point recently I decided that I was one of those computer users that could exist comfortably with tablets and Ultrabooks. An Ultrabook for those that don’t know is the term coined by chip maker Intel to describe laptops that were built with Solid state drives (SSDs), had screen sizes of around 10-13 inches, and abandoned things like DVD drives. Some consider these devices as toys; better designed Netbooks for casual users.

The benefit of these devices is unlike regular laptops they are lighter, thinner, and in cases have longer battery life. Ultrabooks have less issues with heat because they use less or no movable parts. Ultrabooks, including the MacBook Air line, are much more portable and smaller than average laptops.

Now when I first saw these devices I really didn’t have a use for them. I preferred a bigger screen and the perceived benefits of a more powerful machine. Fast forward to now and to be honest I may not be able to hang with an 11 inch (unless its a tablet), but I can get behind 13 and above.

Looking at how I use a computer I learning that for me a smaller lighter option with better battery life is more my style. The only hindrance for me is price; the nicer Ultra lights are pricier.

Ultrabooks are an interesting turn for PCs. For a long time PC computing has been around adding more power, more ram, and memory to systems. This didn’t stop when the market moved to laptops (think desktop replacements); but it did start to shift with the introduction of Netbooks. Netbooks were cheap and long lasting devices with smaller screens but they were also clunky and honestly the ugly children of the PC space.

They sold well because they were CHEAP. Apple came along and “invented” the market with the first Air but even it had issues. A lot of the issues were around the fact the chips made at the time were not built to handle what either the Air or the Netbook did.

Now a days Intel and AMD are building chips with both power, efficiency, and mobility in mind. Intel will especially interesting to watch with its Haswell chipset which is purported to offer almost 10 or more hours of battery life. AMD is focusing on bring desktop level graphics to fore with its Temash chips. Both will power systems that will be Thinner and lighter than any laptops made before.

And that’s speaking about the chips that will power tablets running on the x86 platform.

Another factor in all this is Windows 8.

One of the things overlooked in the uproar over the Start Screen is Microsoft has been doing a lot of work shrinking the Kernel; projects Like MinWin are about reducing the amount processes and things Windows runs in memory opening up more space. Microsoft has also worked on getting Windows to run faster and longer as witnesses by the 10 hours of Atom and ARM based devices. Add to this the shift in storing the majority of your stuff on cloud services like SkyDrive and Dropbox and you open up the possibility of buying a system that achieve tablet like use hours.

For me I’d like to see how weird these devices will get. I envision an Intel Bay Trail based 13 inch device running Windows 8 with LTE and a touch screen that is so thin people will think it’ll snap for like $400.

On a more realistic note, expect devices like the above Toshiba KiraBook with 1080p screen and touch.

Comming Out

 

 

Today news shows, Twitter, and blogs have been reporting on the coming out of NBA player Jason Collin, who is the first openly gay male athlete currently playing in a major sport. He is not the first LGBT athlete, there are many Lesbian players like Sheryl Swoopes and Greg Louganis, but Collins is the first male athlete still playing. His coming out will go down as a turning point in history and in many ways will outshine any of his other accomplishments as many famous acts do.

From all accounts this isn’t an act of publicity but a genuine act of wanting to live honestly knowing full well that not everyone will be as congratulatory when the story dies down. I tend to stay away from commenting on such matters because of the thorniness of the issue. As much as we as a society like to talk about what happens behind close doors is none of the concern of those outside of it; we do think about it.

Jason Collins’s act is to be applauded but it also shouldn’t be fetishied for people wanting to push an agenda. In the weeks to come I hope people remember that he isn’t a cause but a person. I also hope that all sides remember that we are all people; whether we are for LGBT rights or against them. The reality is that we all live in a complex world and sex and identity is but one of those facets

image: Business Insider