Xbox 360

Will (or should) Microsoft be applauded for Kinect already?

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Kinect_logo_pageSo far, Microsoft, despite all its recent successes: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 & 2008 R2, Office 2010, SharePoint Server, Xbox 360 – yes, the Xbox!, has not been given it’s due props mainly due in ink to the fact that so many of the mainstream IT punditry and in the blogosphere are looking for the diminishing, IMO) accolades from the public for being the person who discovers the next ‘new thing’.

All the while, Microsoft is making bank in several areas, with SharePoint being the latest Microsoft product to garner more than $1 billion USD in annual revenue.

Are we going to add the Xbox, and its new hardware add-in, Kinect, to that august list?

Why?

Trip this:

  • On November 4th, Microsoft released Kinect to the wild.
  • I had pre-ordered a Kinect (for my office Xbox 360) from Amazon.com which I got on the 5th of November.
  • Wifey purchased a Kinect at mega-mart* on November 4th for the kids’ Xbox. She just walked into mega-mart, and there were several units ready for purchase.
  • There were several observations about Kinect possibly failing to meet expectations.
  • Whispers started being heard about Kinect possibly being a, //gasp// failure!

How could this happen? Kinect had, in my opinion, gotten the highest marks for utility from virtually all out there. In that case, what was wrong, I wondered?

Yesterday, Microsoft released some data about Kinect.

Guess what?

In the ten days since the release of Kinect, the device has sold one million units. Not a typo, folks: one million copies!

Why are you yawning?

Let’s put this in perspective:

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      • The (previous) most impressive product in recent CE history is the iPhone. It took the iPhone 74 days to sell one million!
      • You say the iPhone was a new entrant while Kinect is a follow-on product? Okay. The most iconic product this year is the iPad, which is an extension of the iPhone. How long did it take the iPad to sell one million? 28 days!

What does that show?

It shows that when Microsoft actually innovates, it can move the crowd.

Moreover, remember that the Xbox 360 has the highest attach rate of all of the game consoles on the market, and you have a potential winner here.

I believe our two consoles added to that, including the two games we have, Kinect Sports & Kinect Joy Ride.

To show the versatility of Kinect, the Microsoft Lync team has released an add-in that allows for video conferencing calls with Kinect. This is just the beginning for Kinect.

10 days, one million units sold!

Kinect_logo_printKinect for Xbox 360.

It rocks!

To answer my question: yes, Microsoft should be applauded for Kinect, and Kinect’s success. Immediately.

Remember, we haven’t even mentioned Windows Phone 7!

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Presenting....Silverlight!

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WPF/E has now been christened 'Silverlight', a new technology for creating 'Rich Interactive Applications'.

Announced by Microsoft today at the NAB confab in Las Vegas, Silverlight, which is more than just Flash, will do, actually, I'll let Darryl K Taft break it down:

Silverlight is based on the .Net Framework and enables developers and designers to use their existing skills to deliver media experiences and RIAs—which Microsoft refers to as "rich interactive applications" as opposed to "rich Internet applications"—for the Web with role-specific tools: Expression Studio for designers and Visual Studio for developers.

More in his article here.

As usual, Mary Jo Foley has some thoughts, and Robert McLaws chimes in too.

© 2007, John Obeto II for SmallBizVista.com®

© 2005-2009, John Obeto for SmallBizWindows

AMD Shrinks XENOS

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Announced at the recently-concluded GDC, I almost missed this nugget.

AMD has succeeded in shrinking the XENOS GPU to allow for installations in mobile devices, aka cellphones.

Are you freakin' kiddin'?

The XENOS is the DirectX-10, unified memory graphics processor powering the Xbox 360. Yes, that XENOS processor.

Maybe, just maybe, TV, video, and gaming on mobiles might have a future!

© 2007, John Obeto II for SmallBizVista.com®

© 2005-2009, John Obeto for SmallBizWindows

Xbox 360 Elite!

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Microsoft has released the Xbox 360 I had been waiting for, but didn't know it: the Xbox 360 Elite.

In Black, thank you!

Brandon LeBlanc, the Sidebar Geek, has ongoing coverage, from several sources on this event, from a video at the Channel 10 website, On 10, to pictures from Major Nelson, to the official Microsoft press release.

Suffice it to say that I am looking askance at my current Xbox 360, and trying to see which of my juvenile relatives deserves it.

Also being contemplated is how I would have to bamboozle persuade Wifey of my need for this Xbox 360 Elite without have to resort to the subterfuge of purchasing it and sending it to myself as a 'gift' from a satisfied client.

My only concern is that there was no word of the HD DVD player option in the new color as well.

© 2007, John Obeto II for SmallBizVista.com®

© 2005-2009, John Obeto for SmallBizWindows

Vista no threat to OS X Leopard

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Says Apple's CFO.

So?

Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? That the company whose product has 90% of the market shouldn't feel threatened by an upstart?

If, with 3% or so of the computing market, this idiot feels the need to reassure us about his forthcoming product's prospects, what does that say about the loops at 1 Infinite Loop?

Dude, this ain't the iPod market.

Holla' when your market share gets to 3%.

© 2007, John Obeto II for SmallBizVista.com®

© 2005-2009, John Obeto for SmallBizWindows