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I assume they’ll announce that at Build… but there’s a MiraDisp.dll “Miracast Display Driver” in the leaked versions.

about 3 hours ago on Apple TV vs XBox One - killer features

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Just put in the Bluray because Chris above mentioned it. And yeah, obviously you could get faster. An i5 is great. And I personally find an SSD necessary as well. But if you’re going for a budget PC, you can still get something VERY capable without it. See the Anandtech link, pretty much any CPU is comparable for most gaming.

but yeah, id spend more on a psu as I said. The point is you actually can build a brand new gaming PC for under $600.

about 4 hours ago on Xbox One Vs PC

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Admittedly after looking for a second more, I’d swap out that CPU for something more modern like a A8-5600K and end up with:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZqYQ

Even cheaper at $526 after rebates.

According to Anandtech , it’s in the same range as any other CPU during gaming.

about 5 hours ago on Xbox One Vs PC

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You can easily do it without cannibalizing parts (just something I threw together quickly, and I’d probably want to spend a little more on a name brand PSU and get a case without one, but still):

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZqOS

$533 after rebates.

about 5 hours ago on Xbox One Vs PC 2 replies

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I think it depends on what you need. My gaming / media PC already does most of what the Xbox One will do, and a lot of it works better on my PC (example, 4-tuner live TV and DVR that gets distributed to any room in my house that has a 360, plus having all of my ripped DVD/Blu-ray content available within the same system.). But for less technologically inclined people, I can see why a One would make sense as well.

I’d love an Xinput-capable controller (like I assume the One’s will be) with a better dpad though, so I’m very interested in that.

about 5 hours ago on Xbox One Vs PC

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You don’t need an aftermarket cooler these days, stock ones are fine (especially for a budget build). Neither console will have an SSD, so including that is a little unfair when a budget gaming PC can do great without one. I’m also not sure why you would buy a top of the line motherboard on a budget, or spend $200 on a CPU if you’re on a budget.

Especially if you’re going to be gaming on a 1080p display, it doesn’t really take much to play most games on medium to high settings. I mean, personally, while I’ll be upgrading this year most likely, I have a Q6600 from 2007 and a AMD 6850 and it’s more than powerful enough for many games on high settings, and the ones that I can’t crank everything up on, usually work on medium settings.

about 5 hours ago on Xbox One Vs PC

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Even better, there’s Miracast support in Windows 8.1 as well, which should catch Microsoft up to Apple’s Airplay Mirroring feature, which is what the OP is asking about. I’d be shocked if the Xbox One didn’t support that as well.

about 6 hours ago on Apple TV vs XBox One - killer features 1 reply

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Because a Kinect would be great for controlling Windows 8 on a HTPC, but they seem to have zero regard for consumers who want a Kinect with their PC.

about 7 hours ago on Microsoft says new Kinect for Windows launching next year 1 recommend

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And, just as I was concerned about:

We’re continuing our commitment to equipping businesses and organizations with the latest natural technology from Microsoft so that they, in turn, can develop and deploy innovative touch-free applications for their businesses and customers.

Note that they say nothing about making it an integrated OS-wide experience for things like start screen and universal app control. Sounds like they only want it to be used for experiments and development again, just like the last one was useless to most in Windows as well.

about 7 hours ago on Microsoft says new Kinect for Windows launching next year 2 replies

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Unfortunately, my concerns seem to be warranted. Microsoft’s “Kinect for Windows” team just put up a blog post about it, in which they mention:

We’re continuing our commitment to equipping businesses and organizations with the latest natural technology from Microsoft so that they, in turn, can develop and deploy innovative touch-free applications for their businesses and customers.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/kinectforwindows/archive/2013/05/23/the-new-generation-kinect-for-windows-sensor-is-coming-next-year.aspx

It says nothing about consumer use for things like OS-wide control.

about 8 hours ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows

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No, I think the one they sell for the PC will have a USB connector and AC adapter.

For the first Kinect, they included the adapter because original Xboxs needed it.

Sure, the Kinect has always been USB communication, but they need a way to prevent people from plugging it into a USB port and complaining that it doesn’t work because it’s not getting enough power. A proprietary port accomplishes that very easily, and it’s likely that they’ll provide the correct adapter when the PC one comes along.

about 8 hours ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows

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I think it’s 2.5" actually.

about 9 hours ago on Xbox One Motherboard Pic - Anything revealing tech experts? 1 recommend

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It’s not really that big when you consider how short it and the fan together have to be, plus the fact that the CPU and GPU are cooled by the same heatsink.

Besides, an optical disc is 120mm, so considering it appears to be the same width as the drive (maybe possibly it’s a 140mm heatsink/fan), it’s really pretty much a standard sized heatsink in the PC world (not including the in-box ones that Intel and AMD provide).

about 9 hours ago on Xbox One Motherboard Pic - Anything revealing tech experts? 2 recommends

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Less cable company hardware to deploy = less capital expenditure per home = more profit

But also, more cable company hardware to deploy = much more money in fees every month.

about 11 hours ago on Xbox One to Rule your TV 1 reply

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It’s the same app, but without the download function. Still no ads, because Microsoft still has no API to use them.

1 day ago on Microsoft didn't defy Google

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At least with the original version the only reason for the weird port is that they need to supply more power to it than USB 2.0 could give… but the regular Kinect (which, by the way, mine came with a standard USB and AC adapter) does work with the PC. Since the Xbox One will have to come with a Kinect and therefore none of the consoles will need extra power for it (like the original 360 did), I suspect the only difference is that the PC version will ship with a similar AC power connector.

1 day ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows 1 reply

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It’s definitely not as contextual. It’s not as ‘whole OS’ aware as the Xbox One’s control, and I think they need to work on that for sure. But if you think of it as more of a control that is centric to what’s on screen, then it works well. But yeah, with Google Now and Siri to compete with, (especially considering how limited TellMe is on Windows Phone), Microsoft definitely needs to work to make it more contextual and also more conversational, like it seems like they’ve done on the Xbox.

1 day ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows

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Right, that’s totally why I don’t want to replace my gaming and Windows (8) Media Center PC with an Xbox One. ;)

1 day ago on Xbox One won't lead the post-TV revolution and here's why...

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Now that we know how the architecture of the Xbox One works, it makes even more sense that there will be a lower power streaming box. I mean, think about it. The Xbox One is basically HyperV running an apps / dashboard VM and a separate gaming VM. If they pull out the gaming VM, the hardware requirements will decrease drastically, they’d probably only need a dual-core CPU with much less RAM and not nearly as powerful a GPU.

Obviously, when it comes to chip design, nothing is really simple, but the architecture of the One provides a really easy pathway to a TV/streaming/apps only box.

1 day ago on Xbox One won't lead the post-TV revolution and here's why... 1 reply

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External drives are supported, but I’m not sure if you can install games on them.

One of the articles I read, though I can’t remember where, claimed you can put anything you want on an external drive. We’ll see though.

1 day ago on 500GB enough for 50GB games, saves and DLC? 2 replies 1 recommend

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I’d be shocked if that didn’t happen, after hearing that the controller just uses Wifi Direct.

1 day ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows

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Windows has also had (quite frankly, excellent) voice command since Vista.

2 days ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows 1 reply 7 recommends

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But do they? Or would they rather it was used for experimentation again?

2 days ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows 2 replies 2 recommends

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The question for me isn’t if it’s coming to Windows, that was kind of assumed. For me, the question is whether Windows will allow the kind of systemwide control that you can get in the Xbox. Voice command and motion control of the start screen would be great.

2 days ago on Microsoft's new Kinect will be coming to Windows 5 replies 2 recommends

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No, Windows RT is Windows for ARM. WinRT is an app framework.

2 days ago on Xbox One is powered by Windows, but can Microsoft make you care? 1 reply 8 recommends

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So some random Windows developer guessing makes it the truth then? ;)

If we’re all just guessing, my guess is that it’ll be standard WinRT apps, but it’ll be a more-locked down and heavily curated Store.

But really, either way, I suspect we’ll hear more about it at Build.

2 days ago on Xbox One is powered by Windows, but can Microsoft make you care? 2 replies 1 recommend

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And an IR blaster if necessary.

2 days ago on Here we have it - XBOX ONE

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Did you read his post about how he currently just plugs the cable line directly into his TV?

2 days ago on Live TV on the Xbox One: Microsoft learns nothing from Google TV's mistakes 5 recommends

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No? Once you get it paired (which again, isn’t perfect, but it’s a much better process now that companies are all required to allow self-installs now), it just works.

My point wasn’t meant to be exactly about CableCard itself anyway, but more about how much better a solution with integrated tuning capabilities is than one that requires an external cable box, IR blasters, maybe HDMI-CEC, and an HDMI input.

The point is that except for the voice commands, which are admittedly neat, Media Center already does all of this better than the One does.

2 days ago on Live TV on the Xbox One: Microsoft learns nothing from Google TV's mistakes 1 recommend