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Link? And I don’t meant that to be condescending, but I honestly haven’t seen any mention from MS that this is their plan. All I’ve seen is what was in the press conference, which made no mention of free games on the One.

3 days ago on Microsoft says games for the Xbox One will still cost $59.99

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If you don’t know the specifics by now, you haven’t been paying attention.

3 days ago on Microsoft says games for the Xbox One will still cost $59.99

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Actually, the 360 only routinely outsold the PS3 in North America. To the extent that, despite the PS3 being launched a year later, $200 more expensive, and the related PR nightmare that goes with that, that it has overtaken the 360 in overall marketshare worldwide. Point being, NA != The world. And the world as a whole never came to the “the 360 is universally the better console” conclusion.

3 days ago on Microsoft says games for the Xbox One will still cost $59.99

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And of the 77 million that own 360s, only 44 million have ever connected it to the Internet. And of that 44 million, only about half or slightly more pay for Gold. MS is discounting a pretty significant portion of its current user base.

3 days ago on Microsoft says games for the Xbox One will still cost $59.99 1 reply

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There was no misdirection on Sony’s part vis a vis DRM. The PS4’s DRM scenario will be precisely what the PS3’s DRM scenario is. That’s what they stated at the press conference and nothing has changed since then.

Many gamers see the “motion device” not being included as a positive. Most non-Wii gamers eschewed motion gaming this generation and I don’t see that changing in the next. Those gamers don’t want to pay for a peripheral they don’t want.

As for the article, it’s actually presented as a positive. Note that it mentions rumors or speculation that next-gen titles would be increasing in price and that MS has confirmed that there will be no price increase on games, while Sony has not explicitly stated such (though it’s pretty obvious, based on prices at retailers).

3 days ago on Microsoft says games for the Xbox One will still cost $59.99

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I honestly don’t understand people that act as though they’ve been forced to watch things in 3D. It’s a choice. Don’t like it, don’t watch it. But why anyone would call for the choice to be taken away from those that do appreciate it is beyond me. I don’t like country music. And I assure you that I’ve been subjected to it unwillingly significantly more often than you’ve been unwillingly subjected to 3D.

Also, ESPN 3D is awesome. Fewer commercials, more game-related content, and the 3D is great for sports.

6 days ago on Is 3D TV dead? ESPN 3D to shut down by end of 2013 1 reply

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People, in general, don’t even use keyboard shortcuts. And you’re asking them to learn an entirely new UI with many features that have no visual cue as to how to get to them or that they’re even there.

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users

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If “no one” would have bought the forked Metro version of Windows, doesn’t that mean that there isn’t enough demand for it to justify its existence? And if so, how does forcing it on people make any sense?

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users

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You can have the same underlying OS and not have the same UI on top. And a UI designed to best take advantage of touch is NOT best suited for mouse and keyboard. By the same token, a UI designed to best take advantage of mouse and keyboard is not best suited to touch. They’re different use cases and should be treated as such.

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users

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I use a Mac every day. And I’ve never once used Launchpad. I do, however, put the Applications folder on the dock. And I have Alfred installed as well.

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users

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Just curious… did your business ever move to Vista? I suspect most businesses are going to sit out Win8 if at all possible (MS may make it very difficult to do so – may) and see what MS cooks up for 9. And if 9 is more suited to the enterprise, they may just skip 8 completely. Like most did with Vista.

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users

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And the additional burden of having to get everything certified by MS to go through the Windows store. Which is another thing that bugs me about this seeming push to Metro/Modern UI… Control. Yeah, you can still use the Desktop and install anything you want in that environment, but the writing is on the wall that MS wants to push everything through the store. I had the same misgivings with Apple and the Apple store on OS X, but Apple has never seemed as dead set as MS is to push that. Hopefully I’m wrong, but I don’t like the idea of a Windows environment where the only place to get programs is through the Windows store.

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users

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I use Pokki on the Win8 VM that I use for testing on my Mac. It’s not bad, but doesn’t seem to be as responsive as Start8.

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users

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Nothing that’s on the Start Screen that gets constantly updated is anything that I need to see constantly. As Stormspace noted, this is no different than that “gadgets” that MS introduced a while back. I never used those, either. On my Mac, I really only ever use two widgets in Dashboard (which is a lot less intrusive than the start screen, I might add) – weather and a package tracker. And honestly, I could live without those. The live updating tiles on the start screen are completely useless to me.

17 days ago on Windows 8.1: Microsoft brings back the Start button with options to appease desktop users