Microsoft playing Nintendo’s game?

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With Microsoft’s announcement of the Xbox 360 Arcade, the anticipated device looks to be changing how the Xbox targets consumers.

According to a Microsoft representative, the company feels that “the timing is right to really focus and turn the spotlight on our family content and, yeah, we feel great.”

Believe it or not, Microsoft has inked a deal with Warner Bros. to bring HD Looney Tunes to the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and more games designed with children in mind will be coming down the pike with the help of this new console.

Xbox 360 Arcade

(Credit: Microsoft)

While I applaud Microsoft for making the jump to children’s games and attempting to attract the all-too-evasive “nontraditional gamer,” isn’t it playing a game that Nintendo already knows the secret to? And if so, is Microsoft barking up the wrong tree?

It may surprise you, but the answer is simply no. Microsoft is onto something with this new focus and whether or not you are a Nintendo zealot to the end, you need to realize that Microsoft may start attracting the younger crowd more effectively than you think.

Historically speaking, there is no denying the fact that Nintendo has controlled the family gaming market. With such classics as Mario and Donkey Kong (among many others), the company has single-handedly taken control of the casual gamer. And with the release of the Wii, it has enjoyed some success in attracting those “nontraditional gamers” by doing something other companies haven’t been able to do: creating a unique gaming experience.

Regardless of your opinion of Microsoft, it is not a dumb company when it needs to make solid gaming decisions. Realizing it cannot compete with the Wii on purely unique gameplay, the company has found a new way–enlist the help of popular child franchises and offer games that will appeal to the family. And while I’m not a firm believer in this idea of bringing an entire family into the gaming mix, I do believe it can attract at least one or two people in any given family, and effectively take a bite out of Nintendo’s stranglehold on the market.

In essence, Microsoft and Nintendo are trying to appeal to the same market in two distinctly different ways. Microsoft wants to attract consumers by offering well-known franchises and providing the new gaming crowd with a host of fun and entertaining games. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s main selling point this time around is its hardware. If the Wii was just another gaming console with old-style controls, we’d be calling it a Gamecube. And if memory serves me correctly, the Gamecube was quite a flop.

Unfortunately for Nintendo, I simply don’t believe hardware will take the day in the bitter battle for the family. Sure, it has been successful in bringing a unique experience to homes. But as I’ve mentioned before, it simply doesn’t have the software behind it to overcome the rest of the industry.

Microsoft is in an enviable position. With a strong library of games that appeal to mature gamers, it can now focus on the relatively untapped family market. And while I think it’ll be a tough nut to crack, look for Microsoft to make some headway this holiday season and capture market share from Nintendo going forward.

The change will not come overnight. But rest assured, if Microsoft can follow through on its promises and Nintendo remains complacent, look for Microsoft to become the “nontraditional” charmer.

Originally posted at The Digital Home.

Windows Vista Betas to expire today

Posted by multippt

The Windows Vista betas would expire today, 31st May 2007.

 If you want to save your data, you would need to upgrade/reformat your betas. Windows Vista Beta 2 requires a clean install, Windows Vista RC1 and RC2 could use an inplace upgrade (if you upgrade to Windows Vista ultimate) or clean install (you get to save about US$200) with the Windows Vista upgrades in the final release (RTM).

The in-place upgrade preserves all your data, while clean install will erase all your files and “repair” all settings [if needed].

Note that after this day, users of these betas would only be able to log in for 2 hours at any time to retrieve/backup data. After the 2 hours, the computer running the beta will shut down (without providing the opportunity to save data). During this period of time, you might be able to upgrade your beta to the final copy of Windows Vista (but, it is recommended that you have already upgraded the operating system earlier than the 31st of May). The 2 hour login sessions would be available for a while after the 31st of May for a limited amount of time (up till the 28th of August 2007).

Media rights technology sues Microsoft, Apple and others for not fully enforcing DRM

Posted by multippt

While Microsoft and Apple (and other companies) has started measures to enforce DRM (Digital Rights Management) in their products, the Media Rights Technology (MRT) is attempting to sue them, for not using enough DRM.

Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, and Real develop media player softwares, and even gadgets. These software can be used to play digital music streams and files. However, when one uses them for streaming (e.g. Radio stations and Podcasts), such streams are not protected by any DRM encryption, and hence, anyone with a stream ripper can rip off segments of the stream. MRT claims that these companies should have used one such DRM technology, called the “X1 SeCure Recording Control”. Guess who’s the maker of that technology? That’s right, it’s MRT.

So in other words, they are suing those companies for not using their products. How “sweet”…

The subject of DRM has been a rather rough topic, with half of the people agreeing or are against it. While DRM is designed to be protecting the rights of music artists, it is killing the right of the users using digital music. DRM basically enables the user to play the copy of the protected music, on a specific device. So, what happens if the user wants to listen it on something else, like an MP3 player? That’s right, they need to buy the song for that particular device. Imagine buying at least 2 copies of your legally owned music. In addition, it is difficult to recover lost DRM files (or backup DRM-protected files for future use). It is received a significant amount of criticism, especially amongst hard-core music listeners.

Windows Vista Aero glass sucks up batteries juice

Posted by multippt

Aero Glass is touted as on of Windows Vista’s most wanted feature. Yet, there is a price to pay when you want this feature. It has been found that using Aero Glass on Windows Vista drains out the battery’s juice much more faster than compared to using Windows XP on the same notebook.

However, if Aero Glass is disabled on Windows Vista, the computer actually lasts longer compared to Windows XP using the same battery [unplugged to the mains].

Although Windows Vista has been touted as having better power management, having Aero Glass on doesn’t make this convincing. This probably lies within the defaults, and if the settings were tweaked, the power hog problem won’t become too much of an issue. Microsoft even encourages PC makers to tweak the power settings.

However, Windows Aero Glass doesn’t seem to put too much load on the computer, since even if Aero Glass was disabled, the computer still runs as fast as with Aero Glass active. Thus, the problem could be due to the inefficiency of power management when Windows Vista deals with Aero Glass.

This power hog issue was not something new. The problem was aready apparent during the Windows Vista betas, and while Windows Vista now performs much better compared to it’s historical betas, it still has a long way to go before it can be said as being “more power efficient than before”.

While PC makers would help create power-efficient hardware, Microsoft for it’s part, would release updates and tweaks to improve Windows Vista’s battery life and performances.

Windows Live Hotmail?

Posted by multippt

Hmm… here’s something I’ve never noticed before… Windows Live Hotmail. This version of Hotmail is still in beta [probably was made available since Feburary earlier this year].

What’s so different from the original Hotmail?
First of all, it has a nice disk space of 2 GB [Hotmail plus members get this amount as well], 1 GB up from the original Hotmail. It also dons a nicer look [similar to Office 2007], plus allows you to change the theme. It claims to have increased security as well.

If you have a relatively old account, you can upgrade your account at the Windows Live Hotmail page. Some user accounts have already been upgraded automatically.

Windows XP to be phased out by next year

Posted by multippt

While Windows Vista has already been released (plus all of those nice “Windows Vista” campaigns), not all users of Windows XP are willing to make the switch. For one, it could be because of the many issues (especially in the software compatibility area) Vista have that users come across, and it turned them away.

This slow switch could also be partly influenced by the fact that PC makers are still shipping OEM copies of Windows XP (pre-loaded operating system). Another possible reason could be the price, seeing that a decent version of Windows Vista costs almost more than 1.5 times that of Windows XP (not to mention hardware support to get the most out of Windows Vista).

Microsoft has decided that by 2008, it would stop producing OEM copies of Windows XP (just like retail copies of Windows Vista, which was already done earlier this year), and that computer makers would have to get Windows Vista instead. This move would get more users to switch to Windows Vista, especially those looking for a new computer.

Via APC magazine

Patch Tuesday: Windows Vista 0-day exploit fixed

Posted by multippt

Looks like Windows Vista has a few loopholes of it’s own.

Some of these fixes involves Microsoft Agent, the successor to “Clippy” (the sometimes annoying paperclip), the Client/Server Run-time Subsystem, and some other vulnerabilities.

Microsoft has tagged the update as “important” (one level lower than “critical”).