Bill Gates Plots a Windows Future...

ziess

ziess

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4195177.stm

"The vision is that people should have the ultimate in convenience. Being able to get the things they care about on the appropriate device"

Ahhhhhha ha ha ha ha!
That'll be sorta like iTunes and the iPod.. iPhoto and any camera... that sort of thing then!

"Now we are up to literally hundreds of hundreds of partners who are building things that connect in with the Windows ecosystem and particularly the high end of that which is Media Center."

So why is no-one buying them then? I don't know one person who'd even consider a Media Center... Mac Mini on the other hand.. I know about 5 pc users who've got one already.

"...it's been a great three years for digital lifestyle innovation."

Sure has, but what have Microsoft brought to the table..?
 
Heh heh. I think he's stunned and confused by all the great stuff Apple's been doing, and is trying to keep his head above the water :D

Go Apple!
 
Windows Media Center Edition is great (for some people, with some hardware). It's one of those things that, if slightly tweaked, should have been an Apple invention (along with TV-tuner cards in the 20 inch iMacs).

I think Apple is really missing the boat with this sort of thing. I don't think there are many people who don't envision a future where we only have one set of screens throughout our house, which serve the purpose of TV, computer and telephone/videophone. With their Mac minis there is a perfect device for plugging in to AV equipment, but the software just isn't there!

There are groups on SourceForge etc., like the Mac Media Center group who are trying to develop something (anything) that can do what Apple should have made the Mac mini do to begin with.
 
Fully agree, mac integration is, in a certain way, not really moving forwards. Example:

Why wait for iPhoto v5 to integrate all media a digital camera generates - I'm talking about simple things such as mpeg.

I admit integration does not come easy. But Apple, stay true to yourself and integrate, integrate integrate.
 
Hm.. I for somre reason would not like to have M$ infiltrated to my TV (if I owned a PC running Windows). Keep TV as TV (since I never ever watch it anyway), keep my DVDs as DVDs, ... And I still don't get what is the minimum bandwidth that would be spent for watching TV? T1? I can't imagine wasting bandwidth to receive digi TV broadcast would even work on a DSL. Unless it was something like Realplayer quality.
 
Eh, you have to give the guy credit for always putting forth a good marketing happy face. They still (for the moment - discuss at your own risk) dominate the desktop. That's not a commentary on quality or the religion of computers... just stating what is.

Linux is a long, long ways away from being over take over simply for the usability x-factor. Windows beats most Linux distributions hands down for novice users and late-comers to the computer world. Again, not a commentary; just a statement of fact.

Apple is the only one technologically poised to take over the desktop. The Mini is a nice in-road into the PC universe solely because of cost. They (apple) need to rethink the marketing, price point and feature set just a little to make that push more successful. You can get a system that is more *apparently* capable, or more *apparently* equipped for less money from vendors such as Dell and eMachines. Do I think they're "better"? no, but the average new-user shopper, second-system shopper or low-budget shopper has little choice but to listen to the biased circuit-city flunkies. And they (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc) get some decent enough kickbacks to make the mild bias worth while. Apple is like your average import auto - an ok price point but no wiggle room, where as the PC world has price points all over the map and way, way more flexibility in inclusions, exclusions, special deals, etc. Again, just stating the way it is and not giving a commentary.

Media Center is an abortion and an abomination. </commentary> I can't think of too many home users that will spring the extra thousand bucks just to get past the near-$1300 licensing fees for it. A total and complete ridiculous move.

The idea that media center is even necessary is ludicrous.

$.02/ymmv
 
To clarify... when I said that Media Center isn't necessary, what I mean is that a separate version of Windows with media-based bells and whistles is silly. You have two computer markets.

Corporate desktops where you need a lean, network-capable OS that knows how to manage memory and process spaces.

Home systems that should be media-based powerhouses. The average new-computer purchaser and new-comer buys a system, printer, digi-cam, scanner and dvd burner, if not all at once, within a 4 month period.

In short... "once you go digital you never go back". It's the wave of technological progress. Why in the WORLD would M$ want to hamper themselves with YET MORE niche versions of Windows and exorbitant software licensing fees when simple business logic would apply - drop the price and sell more.
 
the average new-user shopper, second-system shopper or low-budget shopper has little choice but to listen to the biased circuit-city flunkies.
Click to expand...

I see this daily. So does this mean apple should focus on how its products are presented in shops, how advice is given..?

If I compare apple-PC marketing (in Europe). PCs are sold as boxes full of technical hardware, apple sells me a dream of how to use its product in a fun way.

I prefer the dream has positive ummmph! :D
 
You and I, my friend, are the exceptions to the rule.

The rule is founded on the price, built upon the notion that most = best and fueled by the ignorant who buy into the hype.

There are rules. There are exceptions.

No, What I believe is that *if* Apple truly wants to inject further into the average-user desktop segment, they have to include PS/2 support on the mini - even if they have include a KVM-like piece of hardware - and they have to provide for "bring my Windows stuff onto my new shiny Mac" type functionality.

They need to bridge that chasm, else they are going only half the way. There is certainly an argument to be made for Apple not wanting those customers who aren't willing to come 1/2 way, but experience shows that unless you provide a 100% complete solution, you will *not* win market share.

Does that mean I think that Windows is the 100% solution? No, not by itself. But... most Windows apps read and write a variety of formats, most provide seamless upgrade paths and import/export tools to help, windows integrates pretty smoothly into most networks...

Windows does many things well, Apple does a few things perfectly.

Given the choice, history shows the market place wants the "many things well" solution over the "some things perfectly" choice.

$.02/ymmv
 
No PS/2 ports! It's quite easy to get USB adapters for that function (admittedly, I'd be impressed if the Mac mini came with a USB plug which took both ATX keyboards and PS/2 mice in the one plug (so as to leave some peripheral room).

The biggest change I think the Mac mini needs: more USB ports.

The rest is perfectly fine.
 
Agreed on the PS2->USB converter. That'd go miles to making the Mini more palatable to the Win32 crowd. Very few PCs come with USB keyboards. I'd rather them add more memory than ports. USB hubs are $8, but 256Megs of RAM is anemic and nigh onto useless if trying to draw in PC owners who routinely run 512 megs or more right out of the box.

$.02
 
Um. firstly. No PS2 ports. there has been no legacy in macs since the first G4s. we don't need it now. Offer a USB/PS2 adapter (with a single usb -> dual ps2 for keyboard and mouse) but don't make it standard. offer it for $10.

more usb ports is good. a hub is going to give you more ports, but you're just splitting the speed then.
 
I agree the adapter would be better than built-in ports. But it should be included in the box. Remember, the mini is made to draw in PC users. You *have* to make that seemless. That means "out of the box" ready to go. The last thing you want if you're trying to win folks is "ah shit, I have to head to the computer store now!!"
 
Wow I really hope the entire world is watching and finally really taking notice to how much Microsoft is constantly stealing Apple's ideas. I mean yea it may make business sense but it is ethically and spiritually wrong.

I mean I don't know why, but for me this is what turns me off about Microsoft products, that and their inferior quality, they constantly are taking ideas and claiming they are their own, and they eventually end up owning a large percentage of tha market. I dunno...but this is what really makes me love Apple and how they are always the first to invent new stuff. And it's always the coolest stuff. I hope Microsoft dies and burns in hell.
 
I do agree with whitesaint in spirit but I am not sure Apple really invented everything. Take the desktop, though that was a Xerox research from melmo park.

Nevertheless, it is most dazzling to see PC fans blindly believe what B.Gate$ has to tell them.

Comming back to the thread title, my 2 cents advice to B.Gate$ is:

1. Make virtual PC for OSX really work smoothly
2. distribute windows for the PC as freeware
3. pray that 1 and 2 above convince PC software developpers not to switch to OSX

..
 
ziess said:
"The vision is that people should have the ultimate in convenience. Being able to get the things they care about on the appropriate device"[/I]
Click to expand...

Well, in some ways that vision is here today. You see my company has some automated software for our PC maintenence and it has handled the latest 13 Windows security patches pretty well - I only had to reboot 13 extra times in the past few weeks. Ah, to live in this golden age...
 
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