Yep, Cringley pointed out that MS delivering quasi pc's was the end game here.
Delivering a true voice service over this is obviously on the cards. Then delivering asp payg services is only 1 step removed. Hopefully google will come along with their net based office competition. Dean > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:asterisk-users- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Colin Anderson > Sent: Monday, 16 May 2005 7:30 PM > To: 'C F'; 'Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion' > Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] xbox asterisk? > > > > interesting comment this week about the Xbox - any intelligent thoughts > > here? > > Semi-intelligent: > > xbox, as with any pc hardware, is commoditized to the point of absurdity. > The shift of the pc industry has changed from hardware driving the > industry > forward, to software, and specifically IP (Intellectual Property) in the > form of specific functionality (Skype, for example is more Hype than Tech, > but it is a more or less recognizable and bankable name brand. Ditto > Napster,Itunes, sort of.) The hardware simply becomes the medium. Hardware > these days is simply meatspace TCP/IP to deliver services that the meat > will > spend money on. Microsoft and Sony are pursuing the console platform as a > means of delivery for next-gen services, ostensibly as a means of > delivering > a better gaming experience. Xbox Live is a means for Microsoft to shake > out > how such a service will work. Seems to me, the guy that delivers 50 to 100 > million consoles with an Ethernet port and a hard drive to north american > households will automatically have a huge premade installed base for any > other service they choose to market on that console. Microsoft has *not* > gone after the guys who ran arbitrary code on xbox thru the buffer overrun > in the James Bond game and later put out the modchips as much as they > *could* have, because they want to learn more about how the best and > brightest minds reverse engineer encryption down at the bus level, and > take > those lessons and apply them to Xbox 360, make it so tight that there's no > way anyone will be able to run arbitrary code on it. Other lessons, you > will > see when the console is released. It will be smaller. It will run cooler. > There will be decent controllers. They will stop using crappy Mitsumi > drives > that flake out. One thing Microsoft is absolutely brilliant at, is taking > a > turd and polishing it until it shines (precedent and disclaimer: I bought > MS > Access 2.0 / I own an xbox) > > Now, let's see: An industry giant, markets a console that they loose tons > of > money on. They don't seem to care, which is unlike them, because Microsoft > cutting bait is legion (BOB, Cairo, WinFS, I could go on for days) > instead, > they come out with ANOTHER box that they will loose even MORE money on. It > will be as good as, or better than Cell, run on broadband, and locked up > internally tighter than Warren Buffet's sphincter before he announces a > full > point rate hike. Oh yeah, it also happens to be a kick ass PC. That runs > on > your TV. And only Microsoft code (or duly appointed licensees) will run on > it. And everyone in North America will have one. Unlike 3Com's stupid > fantasizing about Audrey, the games on the Xbox will make people *want* to > have one. > > This is probably the best way to stage your service rollout. > > You have a captive audience, with hardware they already own, which is not > a > specific purpose console, but a general purpose turing machine that just > *happens* to run games. They *know* how to do an online service, with > lessons learned from Xbox Live. They *know* how to mess with > reverse-engineering attempts, so they can lock out any attempt at running > any code that they don't get a piece of. At that point, you come out with > your entire service offering. VoIP? check. Tivo? check. Movies on demand? > check. MSN portal? check. Need Word for a weekend? check. All for $14.95 a > month X installed base = lots of dough coming in for little effort > outlaid. > No boxes. No shrinkwrap. No CD's. Just bits going from 1 server to 1 box, > that'll be $2.99 please. > > I hate to say it, but it's pretty damned smart. > > PS I read somewhere that Mark has Asterisk running on his Xbox with USB > FXO > adapters. Good luck on the 360, though. > > > _______________________________________________ > Asterisk-Users mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users > To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: > http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users _______________________________________________ Asterisk-Users mailing list [email protected] http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
