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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
07/16/09
07/16/09
07/16/09
You mean as in it will show dirt and wear faster causing people to want to replace it sooner?
07/16/09
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07/16/09
06/07/09
06/06/09
granted, the content of said list was excellent -- i was greatly disappointed by the lack of round.
06/05/09
MS sees Nintendo selling Wii's like hotcakse, and wants to jump on the bandwagon. Unfortunately, the masses will not care.
06/05/09
If Natal or Sony had some killer franchise game to go with their new hardware (like Nintendo is apt to do with Zelda) then that could conceivably turn the tide their way.
06/05/09
If it were something that translated well to previous games then I would be slightly more enthusiastic about it, but as it stands, I probably won't be playing the new Zelda for a couple of years (when I can find it used, and MotionPluses are lying on the street for anyone to pick up).
06/05/09
06/05/09
06/06/09
06/05/09
06/05/09
(kidding obviously)
06/05/09
06/05/09
Apple made a nice, integrated, easy-to-use product. Microsoft just kind of keeps falling on their face. The Zune HD looks like it could be a huge improvement, but I'm waiting to see what the whole package looks like when it comes to syncing software and making your music purchases seamless. (IE: How easy is it to get it from say, Amazon.com to my Zune HD)
And it's nice to see someone outscore Apple on the hardware front, it means Apple will need to innovate again. I think they've stagnated in the market since the iPhone / iTouch were released. The 3G model is evolutionary, not revolutionary. As is the app store integration.
I don't believe Apple or Microsoft to be infallible. And the competition between them in this market will be to the end user's benefit.
06/05/09
What's he going to do? Run Vista or Win7? Oh wait, that's a Microsoft product. He couldn't use a phone running WinMo 6.5 or a PC using Microsoft Products could he? They'd be a competitor!
Oooh, he could run Ubuntu for his presentations!
Sorry, but that's a pretty moronic statement to make. "I wouldn't use an Apple product because they make a game console." Who else are you going to use that isn't a competitor that your IT dept will support you using?
06/05/09
06/05/09
Microsoft sells Office for Mac, and supports Macs connecting to its hardware. Apple makes iTunes and Quicktime for Windows. Sony uses Windows on its machines that it sells. Everyone I knew at Motorola had an iPhone.
When I worked for a bank I wasn't fired for banking with a competitor.
I'd say the companies are somewhat interdependent upon each other at this time. They just compete in other areas.
06/05/09
06/05/09
I'm just saying he's picking an odd line to draw considering how incestuous the entire industry really is.
06/05/09
06/05/09
We use the Wii at least 3 times a month where I work; in the physical therapy dept of a nursing home. Wii bowling is great! But very quickly we realized that only our highest functioning residents can use the controller effectively. Then Wii Fit came around. Even better! Any resident who is able to stand, even those who need fairly extensive assistance to stand; can now go skiiing down a mountain side just by shifting their weight back and forth. Balance is an area we concentrate on anyway... in fact the Wii fit is an object we've used in therapy for years! But we call it a BAPS board. It was a great advance ten years ago when they added beepers to BAPS boards so a patient could hear when they were out of balance... now Wii Fit gives us visual feedback... but it is missing the audio feedback which is better for those with poor hearing. MS needs to develope some great NATAL games with visual AND audio feedback.
I can't wait to see if NATAL is going to offer us anything we can use. Wii bowling would have been perfect, were it not for the whole hold the trigger down thing. Many of our residents just don't have the fine motor skills needed, or some the mental acuity; but I'm betting most could just swing their arm to bowl. Don't underestimate what controllerless controls can do for those with physical OR mental limitations. MS need's to get some physical and occupational therapists on some developement teams, and make a good quality game set geared towards rehab; ranging from intense exercise, to mini games suited to those with even the most severe limitations.
The Wii is practically standard equipment in many rehab and geriatric centers, so if NATAL is utilized properly.... it can sell hugely in these areas as well. In fact, the rehab company I work for purchased a Wii for each of the over 700 faciltities that they operate in, and my facility's activities dept also bought one for recreational use; so the smallish ~100 resident facility that I work in... actually has two Wii's. Get the right people to develope the right applications for NATAL... and I promise it will almost become a must have item in rehab facilities and even schools for the mentally challenged.
06/05/09
Ummm you do also realise that natal offers huge hurdles for those with no gross motor skill right?
if you're bedridden how will you interact with natal?
if you are parapalegic how will you use natal?
MS?
Etc.
I would actually love to see MS respond to how this system will treat the handicapped or those with limited motor skills.
06/06/09
06/05/09
Stuff like head-tracking and voice controls should also be easily replicated in the Sony machine because its based off the PS Eye. The have in fact showed off head tracking with the PS3 a while back:
[kotaku.com]
The Natal is what's called a markerless mocap system, its been around for quite awhile, just not in a CE device. I'd agree it's the most exciting, but Natal style mocap is also possible with the PS Eye, but without the IR camera it'll need to make 'reference' markers without the aid of secondary camera. So it would be much less effective.
06/05/09
could Natal be used as a lowcost Mocap system for animation? after all, the Wiimote's finding a home elsewhere these days...