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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

Rejected Xbox 360 Prototype Designs 255

Posted by CmdrTaco from the you-only-get-one-chance-in-marble dept.
Matt writes "Next-Gen.biz has published the second set of prototype designs that were considered, but ultimately rejected, for the Xbox 360. Note the distinct similarities to the final design actually chosen." I wonder if I'm alone in just wishing that consoles looked like stereo components and fit in my rack without scary balancing acts and lopsided aesthetics. A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely.
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Rejected Xbox 360 Prototype Designs More

Rejected Xbox 360 Prototype Designs

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  • Sure they can. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Leon da Costa ( 225027 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:22AM (#13988100)
    A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely.

    Sure they can. Have you never heard of duct tape?

    • I/m using Velcro for mine. They also share the same universal Component AV cable, you just cannot turn them on at the same time. Now the Gamecube has to sit on another shelf next the Dreamcast that is about the same case design. My old Panasonic 3DO has a somewhat stackable design, It sits under my NES. The worst designs are the top loading cartridge console, the 2600, SNES, and N64 take up to much room.

      • I/m using Velcro for mine. They also share the same universal Component AV cable, you just cannot turn them on at the same time.

        What sort of cable is that? Do you actually have all three connected to your A/V setup via a splitter? What is the make/model, and where do I find such a beast?

        My present receiver has limited digital inputs, so I had to jury-rig my XBox to connect to the VCR/Digital input. If I got a second system and/or a digital cable box it would most likely have to connect to the same sou

  • Marketing (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Poromenos1 ( 830658 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:24AM (#13988104) Homepage
    A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely.

    It doesn't help with the marketing, I imagine. They want each console to be (and LOOK) different than the others, to have its own character. This is not as important for stereo components.

    • Re:Marketing (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Windsinger ( 889841 )
      The target audience is also a big consideration; these things are largely marketed to teenagers first and foremost, besides us nerdy 30-something losers who still play games. :)

      So the look of a console, the coolness factor, is a concern. I thought the Gamecube was well thought out for this, it had a handle on it even! The person who designed that obviously did NOT forget their childhood.

      Oh yeah this site got ./'d already. Mirror plsokthxbbyelolroflcopterbbq!

      • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

        by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:42AM (#13988229)
        Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • Re:Marketing (Score:2, Interesting)

          by Dracolytch ( 714699 )
          Which is perfectly fine with Nintendo, since by leveraging their niche market effectively, they're the only one of the three console groups to do well financially.

          ~D
        • The only big mistake in the GC design was the original color. It just looked silly. A black GC looks fairly sleek and cool. I'm not entirely sure who that pastel purple was supposed to resonate with.

          • Re:Marketing (Score:4, Informative)

            by badasscat ( 563442 ) <basscadet75@y[ ]o.com ['aho' in gap]> on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @11:20AM (#13989019)
            The only big mistake in the GC design was the original color. It just looked silly. A black GC looks fairly sleek and cool. I'm not entirely sure who that pastel purple was supposed to resonate with.

            It is (or was, not sure if it still is) Nintendo's "house" color since the early 1990's. And it's not purple, it's "indigo".

            The stock SNES and N64 both had indigo accents. The base Game Boy Color was also indigo (there was also a clear indigo model, which is the one I have). Nintendo also used that color for their logo for a while (though not consistently). The official Game Boy logo is still indigo. It was/is a branding thing.

            Whether you do or don't like the color, I think almost everybody who knows games identifies that color with Nintendo, in the same way people now identify Apple with white. And I don't think the color hurt the system - black was available fairly early on (if not at launch, I don't remember for sure - I know black was available in Japan before the US launch, when I bought my system).

            btw, to go back to the original point regarding stackability, here's a list of some other systems that were not stackable:

            Atari 2600
            Atari 5200
            Atari 7800
            Coleco Vision
            Intellivision
            NES
            SNES
            Sega Genesis 1, 2, and 3
            Sega Master System
            Neo Geo AES
            N64
            PlayStation 1 (unless you put it on top, with clearance for the drive door)
            PlayStation 2 is marginal, again unless you put it on top
            Xbox

            In other words, pretty much every major console ever made. If this is news to anyone, then you just haven't been a gamer very long. Consoles are meant to stand out, they're meant to be conversation pieces, the center of attention. I personally like it that way.
            • they're meant to be conversation pieces, the center of attention.

              That might be the funniest thing I have ever heard. Oh wait, you werent kidding. Nevermind, its the most depressing thing I have ever heard.

      • Re:Marketing (Score:5, Insightful)

        by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @10:21AM (#13988523)
        Yeah, the handle on the GC is something that's really nice. It shows that they encourage you to bring it with, you, and that they thought you might actually want to do that. With the XBox, the thing is really heavy, and big, and not meant to be brought with you. It's meant to sit under your tv. Are people aware you can hook up 2 GCs to two TVs, and play 8-way mariokart? Whoever thought internet multiplayer is the best should really try some real multiplayer games, with people in the same room. This is the same reason why lan parties are so much more fun than just playing against your friends over the internet.

    • Re:Marketing (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      And the words we're using to describe the things are another clue. A "component" is supposed to be part of a larger system. It implies that the separate things should coexist nicely as a unit. A game system is supposed to be the center of attention all by itself.
      • A game system is supposed to be the center of attention all by itself.

        Really? I would think most people would be far more interested in what the game console puts on their TV screen and plays through their stereo speakers than the console component all by itself. Otherwise, why connect it to anything?

        How is a game console any different than a DVD Player in this regard?

        • Really? I would think most people would be far more interested in what the game console puts on their TV screen and plays through their stereo speakers than the console component all by itself.

          Clearly you don't know much about marketing.

          How is a game console any different than a DVD Player in this regard?

          DVD players are marketed to everyone. Game consoles are marketed to people who are children, or childlike. (Myself included.) When the current crop of gamers turns 80 or something, maybe that

          • Game consoles are marketed to people who are children, or childlike.

            If so, that's a rather unwise choice... at least if my experience tells me anything.

            I have a lot of friends with children, at ages ranging from six months to 18 years... and not a single one of them has ever bought a PS2 or an X-Box for their child.

            Meanwhile, almost every 20-something or 30-something adult (or couple) I know has one or the other, if not both.

            Conversation at parties often gravitates towards speculation about the upcoming PS3
            • All this tendency to aim all the game equipment at children will continue to lose dominance as the average age of video game players tends upwards, as it is continuing to do. Children are still a serious driving force behind the sales of video games, though, probably still the single strongest factor. They have more time to play them, and their parents will buy them for them just to shut them up.
    • I wonder if I'm alone in just wishing that consoles looked like stereo components and fit in my rack without scary balancing acts and lopsided aesthetics. A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely.

      It doesn't help with the marketing, I imagine. They want each console to be (and LOOK) different than the others, to have its own character. This is not as important for stereo components.

      Obviously, they think that there is no possible reason why you would want to buy somebody else's product, and no

    • Most significantly, I suspect no one wants their console to be the one on the bottom :)

      Also, making stackable components means they have to be larger (yes, even larger than the Xbox Monolith o' Doom) and heavier because they have to be designed to have things stacked on top of them. I strongly suspect that Software Etc., Kay Bee Toys, and the others would object to having the size of game console boxes go up from (on average) something that would hold a toaster to something that would hold a VCR.

  • Stackable Console (Score:5, Informative)

    by Dubpal ( 860472 ) * on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:26AM (#13988120) Homepage
    I wonder if I'm alone in just wishing that consoles looked like stereo components and fit in my rack without scary balancing acts and lopsided aesthetics.

    I've often wished the same thing, and it turns out that Sony actually made something to cater to that market.

    The PSX [wikipedia.org] is a DVD Recorder/Tivo-Like device (that uses an interface similar to the XMB [wikipedia.org] type used in the PSP) that's also a PlayStation 2. If you look at the image on the first link, you'll see it wouldn't be at all out of place in a home theatre set-up. It looks like they're still making them, but you can't get them outside of Japan.

    • IMO, PS2 isn't any more out of place (the original model of course)
    • In the same vein as the PSX was the Panasonic Q [wikipedia.org], a Gamecube DVD player. It wasn't stackable, but it did offer front loading instead of the flip-top design on the Cube.
    • As long as it comes with a longer than normal cable, I'd be happy with consoles that are more stereo componentish.

      My problem is my rack is way up by my television. I have a fairly large TV, so I sit further back, so I'd probably end up needing at least an additional 4" of cable on my controller to reach comfortably. Preferrably more, so it's not stretched taut, a couple feet above the ground. ;)

  • Link Slashdotted Already (Score:4, Informative)

    by Dubpal ( 860472 ) * on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:28AM (#13988138) Homepage
    But the Coral Cache works fine. http://www.next-gen.biz.nyud.net:8090/index.php?op tion=com_content&task=view&id=1550&Itemid=2 [nyud.net]

  • Mirror (Score:5, Informative)

    by Rinnt ( 917105 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:28AM (#13988140)
    Here [mirrordot.org]

  • Could be worse (Score:4, Funny)

    by hal2814 ( 725639 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:29AM (#13988145)
    At least the systems mentioned would stack better than this [boingboing.net] monstrosity.

  • Marketing departments won't grant your wish (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ChrisF79 ( 829953 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:33AM (#13988169) Homepage
    "I wonder if I'm alone in just wishing that consoles looked like stereo components and fit in my rack without scary balancing acts and lopsided aesthetics. A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely."

    Although that would be nice for the consumer, it offers Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo no product differentiation. They want their systems to be flashy and unique so the convenience of stacking for the consumer goes right out the window.

  • GC in my computer (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:34AM (#13988181)
    I've often thought of modding my GC right into my computer. There's a lot of empty space in the bottom front of my tower, and it would be a great place to put it. With the revolution being even smaller, it looks like it will even be easier. Maybe in the future we can just use the same computer forever, since most productivity applications don't require that much CPU power, and use consoles that drop right into a drive bay in order to facilitate playing games.

  • nintendo started that (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Odocoileus ( 802272 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:34AM (#13988182)
    I remember an article when the super nintendo came out, they said they made the surfaces non-flat so that you wouldn't set your drinks on it. Seems logical since most kids back then would sit on the floor and play (shorter cables?), and drinks spill easy when sitting on the carpet.
    • You know... given how often my PC gets used as a cupholder... I have to admit that there's a certain amount of logic in that. hmmm... time to get to work on making the surface of my PC uneven. :)

    • Re:nintendo started that (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Maybe the real reason has to do with heat dissipation. If it's sandwitched between a DVD player and a stereo, it could get pretty hot.

      • Maybe the real reason has to do with heat dissipation. If it's sandwitched between a DVD player and a stereo, it could get pretty hot.

        I doubt it. Old systems ran cool, and were not all that heat sensitive because they were also slow. New systems have rear ventilation fans.

    • That sounds like a pretty irrelevant reason for designing a game console in a non-stacking style. You'd think Nintendo would ENCOURAGE kids to put their drinks on their consoles so they'd spill, void the warranty due to liquid damage, and be forced to buy a new one, that'd just be extra cash in their pockets.

      Or a more likely reason would be to promote better heat dissipation, as another poster said, or just for the "coolness factor" of not being yet another black/beige box.

  • I'll join the "me too" crowd (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DarkEdgeX ( 212110 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:37AM (#13988195) Journal
    Yes, I wish game consoles were in a standard shape that fit into a home theatre / entertainment center setup as well. I'd be especially happy if manufacturers will ditch top-loading designs (such as the GameCube, SNES, Genesis, and Dreamcast) and instead use tray loading designs (like the PS2 and XBox). With top-loading designs it pretty much means you can't put anything on top (or even near the top) of the unit.

    Maybe that fits in well with how the company would like our living rooms to look (just one system, theirs, on the top of everything else), but it's not how reality works.
    • I think the only thing anyone has ever said against tray loading designs is they can break, which a top load isn't going to do unless you go about ripping the top off or the spring dies. Also, the top loading giving you access to the lens area and some of the mechanics. While this may not seem good because it allows in dust, it is better for cleaning around the area with the canned air and the like. It should be noted that there have been problems [tweak3d.net] with the PS2 and skipping because of dust/dirt.

      While tr
      • I'd think a top loading design would be more prone to accidents and neglect issues. E.g. - leave it open and dust collects. Or someone walks by and spills something on it. Or the dog slobbers on it. Or your wife/mother decides to spray cleaning solutions nearby.

        I mean, sure, you can leave the tray open and it gets broke off, but at least there's not as much chance of dust getting inside or things getting spilled in it.

        I do agree though that top-loading is easier to clean in the event of problems. But ugh..
    • The slim PS2 is also a top-loading console, and that's the only one you can buy in a store now. I believe they changed to this because of all the problems with the tray mechanisms.

      The top-loading made more sense IMO with cartridges; instead of opening the door, sliding the cart in, and pushing it down, you just push the cart down in the top. My GameCube is on top of my TV because it's top-loading and doesn't open up in the shelves of my cabinet.

      They should move to the tray-loading, or slot-loading a

    • Slot. (Score:3, Informative)

      by Vo0k ( 760020 )
      Well, there's one more option, slot loading. Definitely most space-efficient, more reliable than tray, position-independent (good for horizontal and vertical CD-ROMs and quite comfortable to that. Unless people stuff junk in the slot. And of course it won't work with 8cm mini-CDs but I doubt that should be a requirement for a game console.

      (there's the fourth option, casette loading like in the first CD-ROMs, where you put the CD in a special container which you then insert in the drive, but it sucked so muc

      • Re:Slot. (Score:3, Informative)

        by Masami Eiri ( 617825 )
        My old car stereo (Pioneer DEH-3100, I believe) loaded mini-CDs just fine. Haven't tried it with my current one, but it wouldn't surprise me. Now, the weird shapes, like the Yoshi-shaped CDs Nintendo used to sell, yeah, those wouldn't have a snowball's chance of working.
      • The really imporant thing isn't the specific design, just that it's compatible with what most people have. Well my reciever, DVD player, VCR, cable box, etc are all basically the same. They are about 1 RU wide, have little feet to keep airspace if they are stacked, have controls and (if applicable) media loading on the front, connectors on the rear, nothing on the sides, top or bottom. End result is a nice stack of gear that's easy to access.

        So slot, tray, caddy, whatever, doesn't matter, just mark it front
    • Commodore had this CDTV [cdtv.org.uk] thing a few eons ago - but maybe that looked too much like a plain CD player. Either way, it flopped big time.
    • Know what I'd like? No more "Loading..." screens. Fuck stackability, how about letting me play the damn game promptly?
      • I hear that. I still hook my SNES and Nintendo 64 from time to time just to remind myself that it didn't used to be this way. If game system designers designed the system right and provided tools for game authors to "optimize" loading of data (think of something like profile-guided optimization, but it keeps track of what data ns necessary when and tries to optimize the layout on disc so it'll load faster when needed), I'd like to think long load times are something that could be avoided.

        The thing that woul
      • Even PC games entirely installed to the hard drive, which is typically much faster than (say) the hard drive available for the PS2 or built into the Xbox, do not load that fast. Even old ones! For instance, when I first played Total Annihilation, it was on a P2-266MHz with 256MB ram and a 7200 RPM UDMA66 drive. Now, I have an Athlon XP 2500+ with 1GB ram and two 7200 RPM drives (both UDMA100) in a RAID0 and I still have to wait for it to load - not near as long, but still. The only games without load time a

  • If you have a rack... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dracolytch ( 714699 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:44AM (#13988240) Homepage
    If you have a rack, insist on putting all of your gear in that rack, and worry about the stability of items because they're not designed for the rack, why not buy some shelves for your rack?

    I know, whining is much cheaper and easier, but this ain't exactly new technology.

    I wonder how many ordinary problems would be gone if we just used our energy for solving them, instead of complaining.

    ~D

    • Re:If you have a rack... (Score:5, Informative)

      by JediTrainer ( 314273 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @10:13AM (#13988465)
      ...why not buy some shelves for your rack?

      I think the biggest problem with this is that they still take up an obscene amount of space. Because most of these consoles are top-loading, this means both that you need to have the unit in an area where you can reach the top easily (and grasp the disc/cartridge), and it also means you need quite a bit of vertical space so that you can lift up that disc/cartridge.

      If these consoles were designed like stereo components, say where all the controls and game slots were on the front, you'd use up a lot less space and thus could have more stuff crammed in there, because you wouldn't need to have the extra inches of vertical space clear on top of the unit for these tasks..
      • "Because most of these consoles are top-loading, this means both that you need to have the unit in an area where you can reach the top easily (and grasp the disc/cartridge), and it also means you need quite a bit of vertical space so that you can lift up that disc/cartridge."

        $15 at a hardware store, or $2 at a junkyard, will get you sliders to mount the shelf on, so you don't need as much vertical space -- just slide the shelf out to change the disc/cartridge. This is also very useful when/if you need t

  • Well, no... (Score:3, Funny)

    by lpangelrob ( 714473 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @09:57AM (#13988327)
    A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely.

    ...and I can expect that from having different-looking systems. But have you considered the space efficiency of a Beowulf cluster of Gamecubes?

    • Yeah, you could probably do better with a beowulf cluster of Mac Minis. However, the cost savings are something to look at. You can get an old GC for about $70.00 CDN, and that's retail. You could probably get them cheaper buying them from the users. If you could figure out a way to use the GPU for processing, as well as the CPU, you could have yourself a pretty cheap beowulf cluster.
  • My TV sits on a unit with fairly low shelves beneath it. My Xbox has a clearance of only a few millimetres, there's no way I can stack anything on it regardless of the shape of the console itself. It's actually frustrating for me to have to pull my GameCube out from the shelf to put disks in due to the size of the shelves! The top-loading PS2 is short enough that it isn't an issue for me, but I don't think 'stackability' is really an important criteria in console design anyway.

    Am I in a minority? Is there a

  • Stacking causes overheating (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Junks Jerzey ( 54586 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @10:02AM (#13988358)
    Modern consoles (PS2 and up) run *hot*. I've often wondered if the awkward styling is to *prevent* stacking. The cooling systems aren't designed for numerous hot boxes stacked in close quarters.
    • "Modern consoles (PS2 and up) run *hot*. I've often wondered if the awkward styling is to *prevent* stacking. The cooling systems aren't designed for numerous hot boxes stacked in close quarters."
      I know Microsoft came out and said the top of the Xbox 1 was specifically designed to make it difficult for the user to stack anything on top of it for this very reason.
    • My surround receiver runs pretty damn hot too, but it's as stackable as any other standard home theater device. As long as the device above has feet on it to provide 1/2" or so of clearance, the heat should vent away fine.

      All three of the 2006 consoles--Xbox 360, PS3, and Revolution--have been designed to be set on their narrow end, so they take up more vertical space but use a smaller footprint. This would seem to indicate that the designers are taking our space concerns into consideration.

      (And if you ne

  • maybe it's just me... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by toQDuj ( 806112 )
    But I still think all of the xbox designs are missing a certain amount of aesthetics. Not to troll here, but I think Apple got it right, as well as NAD (although the green is hideous) and Bang and Olufsen. Those somehow "radiate" the idea of quality, sturdiness and coolness.
    Can anyone give an insight as to why this is? Are the maketing people at MS trying to push it too far? or did they intend to make it look like a run-of-the-mill pc?
    I for one would hide the xbox in another box or cupboard. It looks cheap.
    • But I still think all of the xbox designs are missing a certain amount of aesthetics. Not to troll here, but I think Apple got it right, as well as NAD

      So you'd like an XBox that matches your NADs?

      I always wanted that too...

  • Yes they can! (Score:3, Funny)

    by nigel_q ( 523775 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @10:13AM (#13988464) Journal
    Put the Gamecube on top of your PS2, and put the XBOX in the garbage!

  • From the Idlethumbs interview: (Score:4, Funny)

    by Bertie ( 87778 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @10:16AM (#13988487) Homepage
    Jesus Christ, it's David Brent.

    "Hayes is visibly excited about the fact that 'his' product will soon be released into the wild. At the end of our interview, I asked him what it's like to work as a designer within a technology-oriented company. He picks up the table cloth between his fingers. "Table cloth right? Microsoft is the table cloth. Everything is influenced by technology. So the brand team has to come up, and understand and integrate the technology. As an industrial designer, I'm only as good as the technology we use. It's kind of the common language that connects everyone. But it also needs to be balanced out."

    WHAT THE HELL IS HE ON ABOUT?
    • "Table cloth right? Microsoft is the table cloth. Everything is influenced by technology. So the brand team has to come up, and understand and integrate the technology. As an industrial designer, I'm only as good as the technology we use. It's kind of the common language that connects everyone."

      Reminds me of I Heart Huckabees :)
    • "You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." () [stanford.edu]

  • PC/Console Combos (Score:2, Interesting)

    by TheZorch ( 925979 )
    There were actually a few PC/Game Console Combo systems. One was a PC/Sega Genesis combo system that was only released in Japan. There was also one for the NES (aka the Famicom in Japan) that let you play NES cartridges, NES games on floppies, and PC games. Again, it was only released in Japan. Seems like the Japanese get all the great stuff and we only get it if we start demanding it. Maybe I should consider moving overseas. Hmmmmm.

  • Not True At All... (Score:2, Informative)

    by jpiggot ( 800494 )
    There's an easy and great looking "rack storage" solution for my Xbox and PS2, as well as for thousands of other devices...custom rackshelves from Middle Atlantic.

    It's basically a rack shelf with a laser cut panel in the front that perfects fits the components (it doesn't work for Game Cube or any other "top loading" system, unless you put those on a sliding rack shelf, which is certainly doable.) I've not only racked my game systems, but everything else...DVD players, DSS, etc. And I've got a neat, cle

  • Most of my components say not to stack anything on top of them anyway. They have vents in the top and are a bit warm on top. Of course that doesn't stop me from stacking them, but most manuals do say you shouldn't. See, by making them hard to stack, the game manufacturers are trying to help!
  • Actually I've been surprised that the whole 'convergence' thing of computers, stereos, DVRs, TVs, etc hasn't resolved a lot of inconsistencies at very basic levels that make integration difficult.

    I am not an electrical engineer, but couldn't
    - 3 cord, digital video cable
    - S-video
    - speaker wire
    - coaxial antenna cable
    - RCA-plug video connectors (VCR-TV)
    - USB
    all be functionally replaced by
    - CAT5e with RJ45 connectors?

    I mean, aside from setting on a stack-mount profile for equipment (gad, could you imagine how c
    • all be functionally replaced by
      - CAT5e with RJ45 connectors?

      No.
      Network cable has very high gauge (ie. skinny as hell) wire; bad quality, easy to burn out with high-voltage. It's not shielded very well (compare to a decent Monster cable); really bad quality problems. It's also got the wrong number of wires for just about everything.

      To sum up: use the right tool for the job.

      • It's not shielded very well
        Actually, standard cat5 is unshielded ("Unshielded Twisted Pair", in fact). That's a problem for some component connections, but not for others. Likewise for 'low gauge' - cat5 cable is certainly capable of running some level of power across it. But, yeah, it's not the panacea some people think it is.

        decent Monster cable
        Military intelligence. GIANT SHRIMP!

        To sum up: use the right tool for the job.
        I think grandparent was suggesting that perhaps the 'standard' tools ou

    • In Europe the French came up with a one-for-everything TV connection solution called SCART, as a standard connection between TVs and stuff like VCRs etc. (RGB and composite video input, with a composite video output line, stereo sound, plus some control lines like a "look at me" signal, a widescreen signal etc.) Unline many French standards, this was has actually been adopted by almost all European TVs.

      Now it's great, especially as it means most European TVs have RGB input. But it was designed in the early

  • here's what you (i) do (Score:3, Interesting)

    by real_smiff ( 611054 ) on Wednesday November 09, 2005 @12:25PM (#13989554)
    build a classy HTPC in the case of your choice (mine is smaller than anything else [bit-tech.net] (ooh am i going to slashdot them?) in my stack and powerful enough to run N64 emus and possibly later systems), say screw the new games, and play anything from about 1970 to 2000. I'm half serious.

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