Xbox One Set To Launch On November 22

Dave Knott writes "Microsoft announced today that its upcoming Xbox One console will launch later this year on November 22 in 13 territories, including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. This is exactly one week after the announced street date for Sony's PlayStation 4, ending speculation about whether Microsoft would try to launch ahead of their closest rival's next-generation console. It is also the same day that the Xbox 360 launched in 2005." The supply of pre-order consoles is mostly exhausted already.

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Re:

[oodaloop]

Well, it's a good thing you went with a company that really respects its customers and developers, like Sony.

Re:

[TWiTfan]

I'm not pre-ordering either this time. I still don't trust Sony and MS has been a complete foot-in-mouth bunch of jackasses on the Xbox One. In the previous two generations, I pre-ordered the Xbox 360 and Xbox1. This generation, I'm waiting to see which console maker with be the biggest ass-clown of the two (a role that MS is competing VERY hard for so far) before I decide.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

So what is the alternative?
Even Steambox has DRM.

Windows 7 and 8 basically are DRM, they even downgrade Blu-ray if you play it over a non-HDCP protected path.

Re:Sorry..

[Hadlock]

PS4 has less DRM and Sony is decidedly less hostile towards their customers. Microsoft had to be cowed in to eating their own words and finally reversing fully on a lot of anti-consumer policies. Vote with your dollars, get the same (basic) product, everybody wins!

Re:Sorry..

[sosume]

I haven't seen MS distributing rootkits with its hardware products. So definitely less hostile. I swore to never buy anything from Sont again since the rootkit fiasco, and have kept to that.

Re:Sorry..

[Anonymous Coward]

So a CD is classified as hardware now? And please note, while you say Sony it was actually just the music part, the US bit at that. And they did it all without approval from the top, you know, head office in Japan.

So, while you still berate Sony do you still buy Microsoft products? You do know all the anti-competitive things they have done, don't you? Or are you just a hypocrite?

Re:

[SilenceBE]

I haven't seen MS distributing rootkits with its hardware products. So definitely less hostile.

But remember kids when Sony opens their bootloaders for Android it is the Ericsson part. But when Sony BMG does something stupid it is the whole company that is at fault.

But yeah trying to strip consumer rights to the bare minimum, wanting to have a system that is 24/24 connected and knowing that you are part of PRISM (but I forgot its OK because it only invades the privacy of us non-Americans/Untermenschen

Re:

[Teckla]

I haven't seen MS distributing rootkits with its hardware products. So definitely less hostile.

I haven't seen Sony charging me extra to stream Netflix or browse the web. So definitely less hostile.

Re:

[TWiTfan]

PS4 has less DRM

At this point, that's unclear. It appears that both Sony and MS will be allowing *publishers* to decide the level of DRM on their products, though Sony has definitely taken a more hostile public stand against it. What this will all mean in the end we won't know until the actual games start coming out. "The proof is in the pudding," so to speak. I'm taking a wait-and-see approach with both of them for now.

Re:

[AdaStarks]

Sony is decidedly less hostile towards their customers

You are aware that Sony is one of the biggest members of both the MPAA and the RIAA, right? Two of the most decidedly anti-consumer organizations out there?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPAA [wikipedia.org]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

Right. Microsoft only tried to give us DRM until we can't sneeze without permission because the media companies that want to sell products through Microsoft outlets ask for it.

Sony is one of those media companies that asked for it. Their console division may pretend to be friendly to consumers, but that was just cynical self-interest. And outside the console division, Sony's history on DRM (rootkit fiasco, MPAA and RIAA support) and security (Playstation Network hack and long outage) is awful. It's

Re:

[Hadlock]

I guess that just goes to show that Sony is more in tune with how draconian DRM is perceived in the marketplace? The fact at stake here is that Sony acknowledged it and acted on it, while Microsoft didn't think the market cared enough to leverage consumer consideration to push their platform in the lead. Microsoft may have adopted a more consumer friendly stance on paper, but the management hasn't suddenly been switched out with gamer DRM hippies. Those PHB types are still making decisions at microsoft...

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

I think Sony still supports DRM, they just did a cost-benefit analysis of supporting DRM versus the increased sales from avoiding it, and discovered that the second option was superior. You can't lock down consumer access to the media they purchased through your device if they don't own your device. That's not putting consumer interest first, just more thorough market research by Sony than Microsoft.

I think this shows that Sony management is more practical and less arrogant than Microsoft management

Re:

[Ravaldy]

Well, the PS3 was inferior to the XBox 360. Will PS4 actually beat Xbox this time?
1. Graphics in most games were rated to be better on XBox 360 as per GameSpot
2. Many of the big titles were ports from XBox 360 to PS3 which left many customers unhappy. Read the forums you will see.
3. There is a larger population for Xbox 360 owners (more units sold), if tendency remains users will stick to the platform they know.

Question is here, other than the .5% of techies here that just don't like MS, who's going to care

Re:

[h4rr4r]

There is not a larger population of 360 users.
1. It sold very poorly outside North America
2. Many 360 users owned 2 or more units due to the RROD issues

I know 0 people buying an Xbox one. Netflix is still free to use via the PS4 and most of my friends are not big on multiplayer. The adult schedule does not often work for that.

Re:

[HairyNevus]

In fairness, I'm (for some reason) on my third PS3 due to YLOD issues.

....And I'm building a gaming PC for next-gen :P

Re:Sorry..

[cbhacking]

Because retroactively removing advertised features from purchased products is very consumer-friendly, right? I can't believe how short memories here on Slashdot are. Yes, 15 years ago MS was "evil" for bundling a web browser with an OS at no extra charge (the horrors!) but three years ago Sony crippled their own products *after you had already bought them* and you call them *less* hostile? You're either insane or very, very biased. Sony are playing you for a fool, and you're lapping it up.

Mind you, I have no intention of purchasing either console, but seriously, you sound like an idiot, and Sony has a *lot* to answer for. Seeing somebody call them *less* hostile than... pretty much *any* other consumer-oriented company is absurd.

Re:

[abigsmurf]

Yeah, I can't believe Slashdot's memory either. Care to show me a single example of Linux on PS3 being advertised?

You can't. Because it was never advertised, it was never even mentioned on the box. The only 'promotion' it ever had was a few Sony reps talking about it and the fact it was included with the console. It was always a little bonus, it was never a promoted feature. It wasn't even any good, performance was poor and the sandbox it run under gave you very little hardware access.

Besides which, i

Re:

[Master Moose]

You can't. Because it was never advertised, it was never even mentioned on the box. The only 'promotion' it ever had was a few Sony reps talking about it and the fact it was included with the console. .

I would say that reps speaking publicly about features of an product constitutes advertising. A bonus feature it may have been. They included it and spoke about it to target a segment of the population that would be interested in this. For some users this 'promotion' formed a part of their purchasing decision.

Besides which, it wasn't forcibly removed, you were free to choose not to agree to getting the latest version of the PS3 firmware if you wanted to. They made you choose between Linux and the latest firmware but you still had the choice (so that Navy example everyone gave as pretty much the only people who had found a use for it wasn't affected).

Yes you had the choice, however, by forcing this choice on your customers, you were limiting more than just access to the PS network.

Users could keep the other OS, and stay off the PS Network and not b

Re:

[Master Moose]

Some of us still have memories.

M$ is still evil and Sony has seen my last hardware dollar (until they both prove themselves to have made significant change)

Why my hardware dollar? Well I am not so anal as to check what studio/distributor is behind the movies/records I see or buy.

Re:Sorry..

[TWiTfan]

You obviously don't have to work with anything on the web, because the pain inflicted by Microsoft on the countless web developers over the years is still fresh and ongoing for many.

Uh, I've been doing web development since before IE (and even Netscape) existed, and I don't know wtf you're talking about. When IE came out, I added it as a test platform just like Netscape. As it got more popular, I targeted it more (same as I've done with iOS Safari in recent years). The only people I've ever seen tearing any hair out over a new browser were fucking drama queens who refused to adapt, or thought that standards should be a license for laziness.

Re:Sorry..

[gstoddart]

I don't care if they have DRM ... as long as it doesn't require an internet connection to do it.

I have no interest in having my video game console serve me ads and the like, so a required internet connection for me is a deal breaker. Even that one time register is too much -- it's none of Microsoft's business who I am or that I have a video game.

I don't expect DRM to just go away, but when Microsoft started putting ads in the home screen of my XBox 360 -- well, sorry, but no.

I bought the console, I bought the game; if you think you should be entitled to my usage data and the ability to advertise to me, too damned bad. I don't play games online, so that internet connection doesn't do anything to improve my experience with it. It's purely a mechanism for Microsoft and the game publishers to annoy me.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

The Xbox will continue to be an advertising machine. For me that disqualifies it right there.

Re:

[gstoddart]

Yup. Which is why my current XBox got disconnected from the network the day after they pushed the update which added ads to the home screen and the games.

If Microsoft thinks they're getting free reign of an internet connection on a video game ever again from me, they're quite mistaken.

That they acted like such arrogant, dismissive assholes when they announced this initially says they don't actually give a crap about customers. So, conversely, I don't much give a crap about them.

An internet connection in a

Re:Sorry..

[ackthpt]

So what is the alternative?
Even Steambox has DRM.

Windows 7 and 8 basically are DRM, they even downgrade Blu-ray if you play it over a non-HDCP protected path.

Go outside and play.

That's the better alternative.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

Where are these video games outside?
Also when I get home from work it tends to be dark other than the middle of summer. Plus what are my friends wives going to say about this?

Also real ammo is expensive these days. The last time I took the long guns out I spent more in a couple hours on ammo than I have spent in months on video games.

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

I suggest archery instead of firearms, most of the time your ammunition is reusable.

But your other points are of course valid. I can't safely go shooting or take a bike ride or play soccer at night.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

I do that too, but most of my friends do not.
I use my basement to do archery at night and in inclimate weather. Basement runs whole length of the house so not much of a range, but ok for Archery and Air guns.

Arrows are expensive too, last time I bought a dozen gold tips it was around $100. I had them cut to length and fletched though. Normally I do the latter, but I prefer not to cut carbon arrows myself because of the dust.

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

I haven't practiced archery for decades, but the last time I bought cheap training arrows they were $3 each, and if I shot into targets on bales of straw the arrows usually survived intact.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

Gold tips are rather expensive carbon arrows. I shoot into a block and they always come out fine, unless I robin hood them. Eventually from field use they get lost or damaged when I miss. $3/arrow and hay bales sounds like you were using aluminum arrows.

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

Wooden, actually. :)

Re:

[h4rr4r]

I would be very surprised if wooden arrows could be straight enough or sturdy enough for modern archery.

Also I will get off your lawn now.

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

I was a teenager at the time, the bow had a 35 pound draw. I wouldn't be surprised if a bow with a 50 or higher pound draw would demolish those arrows. I just hadn't thought of the possibility until you suggested it. They held up fine to my little recurve.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

I am shooting a 70lb Compound with 80% letoff. I can shoot through a steel drum. Not really useful, but neat to do.

Re:

[Teckla]

Go outside and play.

That's the better alternative.

Maybe you should take your own advice rather than act like a condescending jerk. For all you know, the person you responded to spends plenty of time outside already. We're talking about video games and hardware here. If you don't want to contribute to that discussion in a meaningful way, you should just go away.

Re:Sorry..

[N0Man74]

Read a mother fucking book.

Or...

• Exercise.
• Make a healthy meal, and clean up.
• Spend time with friends and family.
• Try board games.
• Do all the things you want to do, but you keep putting off because you don't have time (chores, fixing that broken shower head, writing that novel/program, learn to play an instrument).
• Get the recommended amount of sleep.

I enjoy video games too, but they are time vampires. I greatly appreciate the anti-consumer ass-hattery of Sony and Microsoft and the tech ineptitude of Nintendo, and the decline of Blizzard over the last several years. They are making it increasingly easy to break the habit.

In the last few years I've increased my fitness level, had improvements in my (previously non-existent) dating life, made more friends, improved my programming, learned to ride a motorcycle, and have even gotten involved in some performing arts. I still waste a lot of time on dumb shit, and I find myself wondering how much more I could accomplish if I wasn't so horrible with schedules and discipline.

Thank you video game industry for having your heads up alienating your customers!

Re:

[i kan reed]

I do every item on your list most days(well, board games are weekly), and I still play video games sometimes.

Re:

[Teckla]

Now that you play video games less, it seems it also affords you the time to be a condescending jerk to people on the Internet!

Congratulations!

Re:

[N0Man74]

In the last few years I've increased my fitness level, had improvements in my (previously non-existent) dating life, made more friends, improved my programming, learned to ride a motorcycle, and have even gotten involved in some performing arts. I still waste a lot of time on dumb shit,

there are people who might not consider that stuff you mentioned "dumb shit"

Sorry if I was unclear. That wasn't the list of stupid shit. I was just pointing out that I still manage to waste a lot of time, despite all those kinds of things.

Re:

[N0Man74]

There is a difference between an activity that takes time and a "time vampire". The things I mentioned certainly take time, but they are things that are about enhancing or maintaining your quality of life, building stronger social ties, and growing personally, professionally, or creatively. They are things that can have positive benefits.

If you see enhancing or maintaining your health, social ties, skills, creativity, and knowledge as being nothing but "time vampires" that are equivalent to spending it on

Re:

[halltk1983]

Video games have been shown in studies to improve cognitive ability and problem solving skills. Many video games involve online interaction with other people, frequently improving social skills. Raiding in MMOs qualifies for this, especially in a guild, where you make new friends or play with old ones. Many of my guildies that I play with frequently are RL friends. In addition, quickly typing messages assists in clear, accurate, typing practice, which is a skill I use daily in my career. Many of my co-

Re:

[N0Man74]

Don't fool yourself. You simply grew up.

Perhaps... or at least began the process. I don't think I'm quite there yet.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

I will not if that means advertising on the damn home screen. Nor will I pay a tithe to be able to access netflix.

Re:

[h4rr4r]

Nope, get an account with good karma and you will not either.

Not that it would matter, since I pay $0 for slashdot vs a console for hundreds of dollars.

Dumbass apples to oranges comparing moron.

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

And MS didn't learn from Sony's mistakes. If anything they doubled down until the outcry was so great that they had to reverse course. Seriously Sony got a standing ovation at E3 for not changing anything when it came to used games. MS fucked up badly. I suspect this is why Don Mattrick left so suddenly.

Re:

[TWiTfan]

I get a funny picture in my head every time I think of the guy who must run MS's Public Relations division. I'm picturing a cross between Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man," Leonardo DeCaprio's character in "What's eating Gilbert Grape," and a doorstop. And a dumb doorstop at that.

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

I'm guessing the MS PR people have been doing this [youtu.be] for since E3.

Re:

[jellomizer]

Its beyond your comprehension. It is very simple.
They don't care.

Sure the PS4 or XBox One can probably work as a PC. But why buy a console if you want a PC. You want a game console that play games, and plays them well. So most people who buy these things are not going to be making a PC out of it, or hacking it, trying to pirate games... They are OK to be playing by the rules.

If you can hack it. Then you can get a (bigger) issues such as Modifications to Online Games so players can cheat. Malware progr

Re:

[TWiTfan]

You would be surprised at the number of people who buy and sell used console games. They're most certainly not pirates and they're playing by the rules. It's just that MS (and possible Sony) are trying to CHANGE the rules.

Re:

[jellomizer]

That is for the XBox One, but not for the PS4

Re:

[TWiTfan]

Sony has made it clear that they won't stop publishers from prohibiting resale of their games either. They just won't make it a requirement at the console level, like MS was planning. At this point, it all comes down to what the publishers think they can get away with (which, in the case of EA, is probably quite a bit).

Not the least bit interested in buying one.

[Anonymous Coward]

Until they stop closing down their consoles (which will never happen) and stop implementing any form of DRM (again, probably never), I'll never buy any of this garbage.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Other things would be off topic in this post, wouldn't they?

What is the real demand?

[UnknowingFool]

So who's still getting one? I'm not getting either but it seems MS seems to the less favorite of the two.

Re:What is the real demand?

[CastrTroy]

I agree. Almost nobody I've talked to is interested in buying the new XBox. Even the guy I know who took the day off work to pick up and play the Wii U, and owns all 3 consoles from the previous generation is not planning on buying the XBOne. I suppose that they'll be a lot of clueless parents/grandparents who will buy it, but nobody who is really interested in gaming seems to care about the new XBox.

Re:

[CastrTroy]

Only 7 games? personally, I think that's plenty of games. I don't get much time to play, but even when I do, I continually go back to the same games. Games cost $60, and there's no reason for me to spend $60 on a game that I'm only going to get 3 hours of entertainment out of. I only own the Wii from the previous generation, and I probably only play about 6 games. Mario Party 8, Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros., Zelda Skyward Sword (had Twilight Princess for GCN). I have

Re:

[MBGMorden]

A lot of people will probably get both.

Personally I'm not sure which I'll get early-on (not getting either immediately though). I'm mostly an Xbox 360 player for current gen, though I'm considering buying a PS3 just to play "The Last of Us" (really wish PS4 was backwards compatible as I'd just wait and buy it instead).

Admittedly though, with a few rare exceptions there's not enough exclusive games anymore to care which or the other I get.

Re:

[sl4shd0rk]

So who's still getting one?

If you look at the turnout at most Xbox related (Halo) conventions, it's the parents of the kids in the age groups 5 to 14.

Re:

[UnknowingFool]

From my standpoint HALO seems to be one of the only advantages of Xbox One. It costs more but comes with Kinect. This seems to be reversal of PS3, Xbox 360 where the PS3 cost more but came with BluRay which was worth it at the time. I don't see that Kinect is enough of a differentiator for me. The Xbox Live service is fine but is required to get Netflix connectivity.

Re:

[Grizzley9]

I preordered mine. Skipped the last gen and just had a Wii. With a young family and not much time to game it was fine. Kids are getting older and I like what MS showed off so I'm in. I'm really curious to see what can be hacked with the Kinnect2 as well.

Being as they are nearly sold out of the launch date consoles, it seems to be doing just fine. I'm not a fanboy of either but the XB seemed to have more family oriented setup with the Kinnect.

Re:

[CastrTroy]

I like what MS showed off

Care to list some specifics here? I haven't seen anything to like. More expensive, less powerful, more restrictive than the PS4. Only possible advantage is that it comes with Kinect.

Re:

[alen]

we will find out when they arrive and the scalpers start selling them on ebay. with the PS3 no one was buying it and they all had to return it

Re:

[Nidi62]

I'm holding out for an Oculus Rift. EVE Valkyrie? Yes please.

Re:

[NeverVotedBush]

http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/ps4-oculus-rift-rival-in-the-works-as-sony-announces-head-mounted-display-1177670?src=rss&attr=all [techradar.com]

Re:

[sunking2]

The millions of people with kids who were too young to care about the 360/ps4 and have held out a little bit for new consoles to come out? There will be plenty of demand for both.

Re:

[Princeofcups]

So who's still getting one? I'm not getting either but it seems MS seems to the less favorite of the two.

One hit exclusive and everyone will eat crow and run out and buy one.

All the Backpedaled DRM....

[Lumpy]

Set to be silently put back in Januray 22 2014 with the first large software update....

Re:All the Backpedaled DRM....

[gstoddart]

Yup, they've tipped their hand as to where they're going, and eventually it will be the always on crap and everything else that pissed people off.

I think I'm more likely to buy a spare current-gen XBox than even consider the next one.

I just don't trust that Microsoft won't hold off a bit and then push out an update which does everything they've backed off from.

Re:

[Zimluura]

I hear that!

The game from the last 2 gens I've played the most is Forza, and on the xbone Forza will have to download stuff before you can complete the game. So, in addition to having the console require activation, they've already gone back to activation on a game.

I guess I'll be checking out Gran Turismo this gen.

Re:

[Lumpy]

Forza kind of jummed the shark anyways. I was excited about Forza horizon, then I discovered that I paid $60.00 for 1/2 a game. I have to pony up an additional $40.00 to get the rest of it. Bite me.

I'm done with their entire franchise. If they want to do t he DLC dance then the starting price is $30.00 not $60.

Re:

[Zimluura]

yeah, horizon kinda blew. not nearly enough cars. i think a review i read described the cut-scene characters as "desperately hip", that pretty much sums up the game.

Re:

[Andrio]

This is why the Xbox One has to die. It needs to be shown that consumers will not put up with the always-on/DRM BS that MS tried to pull off. The fact that they even tried it shows their intentions, and they must be punished.

If Sony tries it down the line with the PS5--and I have no doubt that Sony would have loved to do it, but was smart enough not to--then the PS5 needs to die too. Go with the Wii-Three or whatever will be out by then. Make it clear that always-on/DRM BS will always kill the console.

Re:

[TWiTfan]

More than likely, it will be publishers who try it, not MS or Sony directly. EA or some other douchebag will start putting it on their games, and MS and Sony will try to blame it all on them (as if they couldn't have expressly forbade it as part of their approval process).

Re:

[gstoddart]

They tried it once, and got shouted down.

Companies don't usually take that as a cue to say "gee, that was a bad idea". They usually just try to figure out how to foist it on you eventually.

So I'm saying I have very little confidence they won't just eventually do this as an update and tell people to eat shit once they've bought the console. I plan on skipping that step, and simply not buy the console. They can eat their own shit.

What you sound like

[cbhacking]

Right, because of the two "hardcore" gaming console manufacturers, it's always been MS who retroactively shafted their customer base with forced updates, right? ... wait, what do you mean that it was Sony who did that last time? That can't be right! Sony gave us Linux on our consoles! ... until they removed it? Crazy talk, right? I mean, that was an advertised feature on the box! They would never retroactively remove an advertised feature! ... really? They did it anyway, huh. Wow, damn. Oh well, I'm sure a

This just in...

[wbr1]

Home audio/video monitoring device that the government can use, willingly PAID FOR by millions.

Re:

[cbhacking]

To be fair, Android isn't much better here... CarrierIQ, etc. But yes.

Artificial artificial scarcity

[EmperorOfCanada]

Artificial artificial scarcity is going to be the name of this campaign. They don't want real scarcity as that could hurt their probably crap sales. But they want to be able to show the people lining up for days to get one. So I suspect they are going to spin this in some sleazy ways. A few sleazy ideas would be things like having a best buy in a really poor area offer the XBox at 80% off for the first 500 customers. This would then get at least 500 customers lined up for a week or more. You could also have other offers such as contests where you have a 1 in 5 chance of winning either the XBox or a trip or something. Or if worse comes to worse they could just hire actors.

Once they have the scarcity going they will do a huge PR campaign first to promote these 3 week long line-ups and then trying to get the world convinced that there are very few XBoxes in their local retailer. They could then work with the retailers to somehow do something like say 1 store in town has 500 while the other stores only have 50. Which store is it? Then people line up and all find that they were lucky enough to be at the store with 500 as they all had 500.

Lastly we are all going to be reading reviews from Console Times or other made up reviewers saying that this is a "Game Changer" and that while the PS4 is a slight upgrade that the new XBox is revolutionary, a paradigm shift, customer oriented, the only console that will survive.

But the worst is going to be in "Votable" forums like the Slashdots and Reddits; where they nodoubt have an army of voters seeking out to kill the bad reviews and promote the shill reviews. A simple example of this would be in any MS related Slashdot posting the anti MS positions are voted down initially but after a while they resurface and then become the norm. My guess is that the PR firms have a limited number of Karma points at any time and try to steer the mood at the beginning but then run out of ammunition.

Re:

[Scutter]

The easiest way to not be a victim of this kind of marketing is to simply wait six months before purchasing a console. Don't buy it at launch. After six months, it should be obvious what's crap and what's not.

Re:

[EmperorOfCanada]

I waited even longer for my XBox 360. When they did that perma ban a zillion people sold their consoles on the used market all at the same time. So I bought one then for around $80 when used consoles sold a couple of weeks before for around $160.

Doubly insulting for Microsoft as it clearly meant that I had zero desire to spend one cent on their Live product.

I bought their Kinect to use in robotics projects.

Re:

[Jmc23]

What colour is the sky in your world?

Re:

[EmperorOfCanada]

I don't understand? My premise is that MS is not going to generate much enthusiasm about this device. Thus they are going to have to artificially generate it.

So are you saying that they won't have any problems with people wanting their device and will get genuine hype. Or that they will have disappointing sales and won't resort to underhanded tactics to try to get people hyped up.

Maybe they will hire the same bunch of break dancers as they did for the Surface to inspire people to buy their dud console

Re:

[Gravis Zero]

But the worst is going to be in "Votable" forums like the Slashdots and Reddits

i look forward to voting for Cmdr Taco's CardboardBox 7.

Anniversary

[devnullkac]

It is also the same day that the Xbox 360 launched in 2005.

It's also the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK... coincidence? Actually, yes, I'm pretty sure it's just a coincidence.

Re:

[space_jake]

Can't wait to get my XBox One Shooter bundle.

Re:

[EmperorOfCanada]

This is a concern with a US manufacturer of a device that is often on, has a camera, has a microphone, and comes from a company that has cooperated with the stazi. If you said this a year ago you would get a tinfoil hat award. Now you just get a "Could be right". So a simple question is: After Sony suffered the hacking scandal would they allow a US agency to spy on their customers opening the door to another Scandal?

Re:

[nojayuk]

"This is a concern with a US manufacturer of a device that is often on, has a camera, has a microphone, and comes from a company that has cooperated with the stazi."

That technical specification covers every smartphone going pretty much with the additional features of location data, movement tracking outside the home, contacts lists etc. Not gonna give up your iPhone though are you?

Re:

[cbhacking]

Smartphones, laptops, no few desktops, and so on. Yeah... if the NSA wants to monitor you, they can (much more easily) do it from whatever device you posted this message to Slashdot using.

Re:

[tompaulco]

I might take a break from my PS4 just to laugh at the MS FanBoyz. I hope they enjoy spending their Microsoft Fun Bucks, I mean cash on avatar "clothes".

I have a 360 -- the last Xbox I'll own until MS pulls their head out of their sphincters.

I won't be buying either one for awhile. I can't see any reason to buy an Xbox at all, and the PS4 doesn't have any launch titles that interest me. I'll buy Grant Theft Auto 5 for PS3 and that will keep me busy for probably 6 months. By then, maybe there will be some interesting titles for PS4 and the price will have come down.

Re:

[DrXym]

I really don't get the mad rush to buy any new console. If I bought a XB1 or a PS4 at launch, at best I'd be paying a premium for a console with only a handful of games to play for months. At worst I could suffer a broken online experience, glitchy firmware (with frequent updates), and possibly even glitchy or bricked hardware.

It took both the XBox 360 and PS3 nearly a year to gather enough titles to justify themselves as platforms and look at all the problems that the 360 had with it's ring of death and

Re:

[Xest]

"I have a 360 -- the last Xbox I'll own until MS pulls their head out of their sphincters."

Are you sure you have a 360? It's just if you actually did I'm amazed you didn't realise the update a few weeks back that eliminated Microsoft points and switched everything to real currency in preparation for this being the standard on the next gen.

But FWIW you can buy equally silly stuff as avatar clothes on the PS3 too.

You may well be right that this time around the PS4 will be a way better console but I think you'

MS may have their collective heads up their ass...

[cbhacking]

... but you'll buy from Sony, the company that spent the last console generation smearing *your* head with shit and shoving it up their ass? Seriously?

I mean, I can understand if you want to ignore all the anti-consumer stuff Sony said before the console launch. Most people were reasonably pissed off by it, but it's not like they actually forced you to go get a second job, they just heavily implied that anybody who thought $600 was a lot for a console was too poor to have one, etc. It's a bit of a double st

Re:

[tompaulco]

"Half a million Wisconsinites will soon have to open up their pocket books for health care coverage," says a local anchor. "And new estimates show, it may be costly. ... The state's office of the commissioner of insurance released estimates of how premium rates for individuals will be changing under the Affordable Care Act."

I know, I know, don't feed the trolls. But Wisconsin? Wisconsin is already well kn own for having an extremely strong Doctor's lobby and an extremely strong Insurance lobby, which means that we poor little suckups have to pay huge insurance premiums. Luckily I was able to move away from there.
But, in general we can expect Health Care Premiums to o up with this new legislation. After all, it requires you to have insurance. Therefore, the insurance companies can charge you whatever they want and you just ha

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

The health care reform requires that 80% of the revenue of any insurance company be spent on patient care, and if the company does not meet that threshold, they rebate the difference to their subscribers.

That does nothing to control medical costs, so getting a Tylenol from a nurse in an emergency room may go from $150 to $375. So the doctors and medical equipment companies will get wealthier. But it does control insurance costs.

Most Democrats wanted to include provisions in the health care reform

Re:

[DaHat]

But if you think our health insurance system was less broken in 2009 than it is today, you weren't paying attention. We've gone from "worse" to "bad", and I'll take that any day.

Yeah, I remember 2009... it was rather difficult driving to work each day, having to dodge the millions of dead in the streets who died because of lack of health insurance.

Today though... you have millions losing their insurance and hours being cut as a direct result of the law... and you say we've gone from "worse" to "bad"? You do

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

Yeah funny, my uninsured brother lost his job because he was sick and then had an emergency appendectomy, and got a $48,000 bill. He called the hospital billing department and explained that he was unemployed, and they nicely offered to cut the bill down to $36,000 if he paid it immediately. Funny, for some reason being unemployed meant he just didn't have $36,000 handy, so he's still working on that bill. Yeah, the system worked really well.

In 2009 I was already paying $12,000 per year for health in

Re:

[DaHat]

I'm sorry to hear about the issues of your brother... though things like that can happen when one chooses to be uninsured.

So what's changed?

He could still lose his job because he is sick depending on whatever employment agreement or state laws are in place.

At least at my company, while the premiums have remained the same, the actual out of costs expenses have gone up significant.

You complain of paying $12k a year for premiums in '09... but failed to mention what you are paying today. Are you actually sugges

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

He didn't choose to be uninsured. His minimum wage job (at age 26 with a college degree, that was all he could find) didn't offer insurance. God bless America.

Re:

[DuckDodgers]

Actually yeah, my insurance is now $11400 a year. It has gone down.