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You can have Windows XP when you pry it from our cold, dead hands
Posted April 15th, 2008 at 3:42am
Microsoft has this way of (how shall I put this?) corralling their consumer base into upgrading on the MS timeline, i.e. how often and to what product. That master plan hit something of a bump when Windows Vista, the branch all the monkeys were expected to swing to from the XP branch, sorta broke and all the monkeys went tumbling down. To put it less poetically, XP users don't want to be forced to upgrade to Vista because an endless list of annoying problems and bugs associated with the operating system makes it look like a pretty bad choice. MSNBC has run an article about how Microsoft is literally forcing XP users to upgrade; tech support for mainstream users ends this month and before the year is out you won't be able to buy a copy of Windows XP anywhere no matter how much you beg. This has perturbed XP users so much that a petition with 111,000 signatures has been created, asking Microsoft to continue support for XP indefinitely or at least until Vista is useable on a regular basis.In a recent article about the “Save XP” drive, Gruman wrote that “in Vista’s first year, InfoWorld detected a deep anxiety over Vista among technologists and consumers alike. … We have not criticized Microsoft’s XP support plans. We have criticized Microsoft for ending the availability of XP on new machines past the June 30 end-of-sales date. ... It does you no good to have XP support if you can’t getGuy who looks like an idiot asks Microsoft’s permission to make it worse
Posted April 14th, 2008 at 11:58pm
The mind boggles. It really does. Anyhow, you might have heard about a fellow known to the internet as "Zune Tattoo Guy" - for the tattoo of Microsoft's Zune logo on his shoulder. Gizmodo reports that he also wants to legally change his name to "Microsoft Zune" and is currently seeking Microsoft's permission to do so. He recorded his call to Microsoft to inquire about the matter and, in an uncharacteristic display of forethought, decided to record the call and share it with the world via Youtube. As an aside, I am wondering if one needs to ask for permission from a company to use their trademarked words as your name. If someone wanted to call their building "Zune Plaza" or their business "Zune Photocopying", I believe that's a clear matter of trademark ownership and it's obvious in which direction the butt-kissing needs to take place. But your name? It seems to me that a person should be entitled to call themselves whatever they wish because your name is not, by nature, a brand (yes, I know your brand can be your name, but the inverse is not true). Kind of makes me scratch my head wondering whether or not it's a good idea to give Microsoft the message that it's up to them what you want to name yourself... and if Mr. Zune decides to get too legal about it then he's going to start establishing precedent. It just makes me wonder, that's all. Oh btw, make sure youImpression of Halo 3’s Legendary Map Pack
Posted April 14th, 2008 at 11:34pm
Halo 3 fans have eagerly awaited Microsoft's release of the "Legendary" map pack for download on April 15 (i.e. today), but the $10 pricetag might be a bit off-putting for those who don't want to buy three new maps sight-unseen. Fear not: 1up has been playing the Legendary maps for a while now and have given some pretty thorough impressions (replete with video) and will fill in a lot of the blanks for those of you who are wondering what's behind the curtain. Here's a taste of what they had to say about a new map called "Avalanche":Helping to cut down on the long treks are two-way teleporters and lots of vehicles, including Ghosts, Warthogs, Wraiths, Scorpions, and a toned-down-and-balanced-for-multiplayer, rocket-launcher-less Hornet. ("We knew the [original] Hornet was a death machine," says Bakken. "It wasn't tweaked very well for multiplayer.") The developers also removed the interior hallways that used to connect the two bases, forcing most of the conflicts outdoors. The result? The most exciting, most action-packed large-sized Halo map yet. As a side note, the previous map pack (entitled "Heroic") was also priced at $10 (or 800 Ms points) when it was first released, but as of the 15th will be available for free download.halo 3, legendary, map pack, microsoft, xbox
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Microsoft planning to market the crap out of Halo 3
Posted April 14th, 2008 at 10:01pm
Game Daily has an interesting look at how Microsoft has created a roadmap for last fall's Halo 3 which is intended to give it life, particularly in crossover to general pop culture, for many years to come. Microsoft's Jerret West spoke to GD at the MI6 conference in San Francisco and explained what it is that MS has in mind for the future of the game whose release was so big that Hollywood blames it for torpedoing ticket sales:Starting with positioning, the team wanted to develop the humanity around the character of Master Chief as a human savior, "not as a reckless American cowboy." West says that they also wanted to raise the immersion bar of the franchise. Microsoft knew Halo 3 could be big, bigger than gaming itself. As West says, it "wasn't about video games, wasn't about video games press," but the franchise had to become part of pop culture. "You have to be very articulate about the tactics." This is not only an interesting article for gamers, but also for those who are interested in how branding is developed and created and how strategies are created to make sure that people not only know of the game but, more importantly, recognize the branding touchstones therein.Microsoft does something nice for once
Posted March 27th, 2008 at 12:17am
I love a happy ending. Quick recap: Nathaniel took his XBox 360 to the shop because of Red Ring of Death issues (like so many other people do) and got it fixed. No big, at first, but this Xbox was special: The Halo team had signed it all over with personalized messages and autographs, so obviously it was of great sentimental value. Imagine the shock when Nathaniel got it back in working condition but scrubbed from top to bottom with all the signatures gone from sight. Not a happy boy. Destructoid tells the tale of "all's well that ends well" by talking about who stepped up to the plate to make amends:Bungie stepped in and showered Nathaniel with a ton of Halo swag. Most people figured this would be the end of the story but it looks like Microsoft actually stepped in and made it up to Nathaniel. Microsoft sent Nathaniel a box full of awesome things. He got an Xbox 360 signed by the original RT signers, new artwork by Luke McKay, signatures from the Xbox 360 team and signatures from Bungie. The faceplate was also signed by a few others including Bill Gates himself. The package also contained: * Devil May Cry 4 * Lost Odyssey * Rainbow Six Vegas 2 * Gears of War * Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom * 2 ‘What’s Your Gamerscore?’ Bumperstickers * Xbox 360 CD Wallet * Signed picture of Bill Gates That signed pic of Bill Gates is gonna makeEven Microsoft execs are feeling the Vista pain
Posted March 26th, 2008 at 9:29pm
Those of you who follow the adventures that Microsoft has had with its trouble release of the latest Windows update, called Vista, will already know that a lot of users and critics alike suggest that it be panned completely until it improves (in fact, Microsoft even released a free program specifically designed to roll your computer back from Vista to Win XP). What you might not know is that even Microsft executives are just as hassled by Vista's long list of Epic Fail as you are. An article at the Sydney Morning Herald talks about how private MS emails that came to light during a recent US court case (a class action against MS over Vista) explain that their brass are complaining about how much it sucks. One executive, Mike Nash, complained he was "burned" so badly by compatibility issues he was left with "a $2100 email machine". Steven Sinofsky, the Microsoft executive in charge of Windows, struggled to even get his home printer working with Vista. In an email to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in February last year, Sinofsky outlined reasons why Vista struggled at launch. He said hardware and software vendors never "really believed we would ever ship [Vista] so they didn't start the work [on updated drivers] until very late in 2006". "People who rely on using all the features of their hardware (like Jon's Nikon scanner) will not see availability for some time, if ever, depending on the [manufacturer]," Sinofsky wrote. Ballmer responded with a terse