Xbox

The launch of Windows 95 was a big deal for Microsoft. They licensed the Rolling Stone's "Start Me Up" for the commercials, had computer stores hosting midnight launches, and generally whipped up the kind of frenzy that only Call of Duty can muster in the software aisles these days. I, however, was dissatisfied. I wanted Windows NT. I wanted the stability, the NTFS file system, and the "true" 32-bit architectural underpinnings of Windows NT. I stuck with Windows 95 because Windows NT, by and large, was not suitable for gaming. Dave Cutler, the lead engineer during Windows NT's development and a major player in the development of Windows Azure has moved to Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division to work on the Xbox. I don't imagine that Dave Cutler has suddenly become more interested in gaming than he was during the development of Windows NT or in media streaming which seems to be the real focus of Xbox development these days, so it begs the question, what is Dave Cutler doing working on the Xbox? I have a couple of theories that I have kicked around for a few years about how Microsoft might eventually turn the Xbox into a general computing platform, and an engineer like Dave Cutler would be just the person to lead such an effort. Anyone else have any thoughts on what Microsoft might be cooking up?

One of my contacts said to think about Cutler’s new role as focusing on moving Xbox beyond a gaming platform. Does that simply mean he’ll be helping Microsoft do what it’s already on the path to do: To make Xbox more and more of a TV and/or settop-box replacement? Or is it something bigger, like helping Xbox also become a home videoconferencing/telepresence hub — or maybe even a whole home-automation system?

ZDNet

Microsoft may not have had a lot to announce during tonight's CES keynote, but they did have a little bit of Xbox media streaming news in the form of the Fox App. Microsoft has partnered with News Corporation to bring content from the Wall Street Journal, IGN, Fox, and Fox News to Xbox Live. No timetable was given, but it should help Microsoft keep that steady flow of content coming for Xbox Live TV.

Microsoft continues to focus its living room aspirations on the Xbox 360. For a long time, one insurmountable advantage that Windows Media Center held over the Xbox 360 was access to live sports content. The addition of the ESPN3 app to Xbox Live changed that, and now the Xbox's ESPN3 app is getting an update that might just convince me to watch some sports. The app gets a UI overhaul that brings navigation more in line with the conventions of the Xbox 360 and would make the app feel right at home on WMC.

Users now have the option to turn on a live sports news ticker that runs along the bottom of the screen. With it running, the app looks for all the world like a standard cable channel, right up until you open the new mini-guide or the full content guide to pick a different stream. For college football fans, there is also an option to track the NCAA football scores, complete with live alerts that will pop up while watching other content and a fly-out scoreboard that can be pulled up with the press of a button. I can see this being a popular feature, though I wish that it was possible to use it for other sports as well. I can see how the live alerts might not work for every sport, but fly-out scoreboards probably would.

There are also a few new features that I have not had a chance to play with yet. One feature that I will leave to my son to try out is the Kinect voice control. He can't get enough of giving the Xbox orders. There is also a new option to run two streams at once in a split screen mode.