awaltzforvenus

Not sure I understand this move by Microsoft – I get the bet on Metro as the future of Windows, but it’s too early to try and kill the desktop in Windows just yet. Quite frankly, Metro just isn’t yet capable of replicating all the tasks you would do in desktop Windows, particularly with the same efficiency. A lot of people have already been concerned with the direction in which Windows is going, and have jumped to OS X or Linux…and I have a feeling this will only add to that exodus.

This reeks of Microsoft’s fear of the iPad.

Holy crap, this is such a huge improvement. I’m really starting to look forward to Windows 8.

Anyone else thinking of that scene in Minority Report when Tom Cruise walks by the interactive ad in the Gap?

Ha, no, definitely not. But Sony has barely added to the PS3 functionality over the last year or so, where MS is clearly investing heavily in expanding the functionality of the Xbox. I appreciate my PS3 greatly, but it’s getting a little harder to justify its purpose over a 360 over time.

Luckily, the release of Starhawk is helping with that. :)

Almost all of the hate I hear about Metro is the same hate I remember from when Windows 95 hit the market. People don’t like it when things change. The fact is, just like then, the form factors and use cases for computing are changing, and so must the operating system to best utilize these changes. Everyone will get used to the Metro UI, just like they got used to the Start menu/taskbar/Explorer UI. Anyone else remember Windows 95? Now compare that to Windows 7. Metro will evolve and improve in much the same way.

Why did I buy a PS3 again?

Glad that Microsoft has been called out to adopt greener practices, and that they’re actually working to address them. They’re one of the largest computing entities on the planet, and they would do really well to lower their carbon footprint as much as possible. Users switching primarily to mobile is great on a personal level, but moving to the cloud is certainly having a more or less unseen negative effect on our environmental health, from a global perspective.

I think I speak for the whole Internet when I say…

…YAWN.

Oh good, it looks like I deleted this app just in time.

I don’t think it’s meant to be a great idea from the consumer’s perspective. It’s meant to get more Xboxes in the hands of more people, which is a great idea from a business perspective. Yes, it does take the advantage of appearing to be a ‘deal’, but a subsidized $99 upfront cost with a two year payment contract works pretty damn well. Ask almost any phone carrier in the US about it.

Ha! I totally didn’t even consider that. Nicely done. :)

Which, when you add up the Xbox Live Gold costs, makes sense.

I don’t see what the complaints are about. I don’t think this is meant to replace the existing means of purchasing an Xbox. It’s just another way to get more Xboxes in the hands of consumers.

Spotify refuses to add Library to their mobile apps, which means I refuse to reactivate my subscription to access on mobile. End of story.

Er, I mean…

YESSSSSSSS

Digital learning initiatives are skyrocketing right now, and this is a great way for Microsoft to be an even bigger contributor in the booming market; despite not having much of a presence in the e-reader/tablet market yet, if you think they’re not very involved in education, you’d better think again. This will absolutely factor into their strategy to remain competitive in education going into era of mobile computing.

I’d be pretty interested in seeing what kind of future devices/software this produces, as well as how it will bridge the gap between Microsoft’s and B&N’s ecosystems. This is too much of an investment for just a Nook app on Windows 8.

“Oh crap, we actually have to think in order to keep the billions rolling in!”

It’s feels like, of all entities that fear change in the world, cable execs are the worst of the lot.