Xbox Live, Xbox 360, Vista Media Center Features Request and comments.

• Red is my reply to the Comments made to my Blog post
• None bolded black is

Microsoft created the Xbox to be the center of your Entertainment World, as a standalone device and as an Entertainment Extender from your PC or Windows Home Server. Nether, fit in to the coming world of Cloud based processing or Mesh Networking. I am currently moving all of my file based content to the Mesh Cloud and intend to move my Xbox 360 content as well in time.

If you haven’t been paying attention PC’s and workstations are going away because there is little need for heavy duty processing unless gaming or design. Because few of us need design systems it is only logical that the device we use for Entertainment needs to be able to meet our social needs as well.

If you don’t believe me: Quickbooks Online, Adobe Photo Shop online, Adobe Acrobat online, Office Live, Outlook Anywhere, and all Hosted Exchange and SharePoint services added with DFS or Mesh Network give us the easy question why have a laptop or PC when you could have your Entertainment system and a Multi-touch LCD screen with a wifi card. You didn’t notice the Zune doesn’t even need a PC and you didn’t ask why not because Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo and Google are all building Host based software.

 

[quote user=”DarkStar33Cdn”]Its called program scope, xbox live is not meant to become a ubber solution by throwing every piece of technology at someone at once. It has a very narrow job (facilitate games online) and it does that well. This is a critical success factor for any solution.

The general rule is to keep it simple and that a system that does everything cannot do it well. Lets do these quick:

I still cannot manage any type of social network on Xbox Live, even when Microsoft owns Live Spaces.
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC. –

Yet Sony is addressing this issue and the demands for it. They themselves disagree with you. You sound like the people that say it’s ok not to have any co op in a game. Fine then we wont play it. The whole point is to interact with REAL PEOPLE thats entertaining not just a game.

Cell phone’s could come with just voice thats what they are for in your argument. But they don’t because the consumer like me demanded more. Sometimes like on battery this might have a negitive effect but this is the center of our Entertainment life but it’s missing tons of features.

I still cannot manage any type of clan or pro grouping system, no top friends nothing
This is currently based upon game. The developer will support this if they decide to include this. (see COD4)

Myspace has show these as features the public knows how to use and enjoys, why not have them. I hate this question why and not why not? This is AMERICA it’s called freedom and the option to choice.

A cell phone could come with just voice but it DOESN’T because people need and want to be able to do more.

I still cannot share video mail with family and friends, and have almost no video effect when video conf
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC.

Why when each of my friends bought this stupid Video cam for what? Microsoft has a product for this but the features are missing the make it 100%

Oh space is a problem? I can get 6GB of Email space on Live but I can’t send a 20 second low res compressed video to a friend?

I still cannot video and audio conf with more than 1 person on each side, no room Mic
Agreed. Feature Request – Pending Implementation?

Maybe the Rockband Mic might work but there is no boost option for room monitoring.

I still cannot 3 way call (a simple feature free on land lines and cell phones but not xbox live)
You pay for your POTS provider for that 3 way ability. Microsoft is not a telecom.

I don’t pay for POTS I have cells and Microsoft does sell telecom software and equipment, even full voice controlled software were you can call in and get all of your email read to you, write emails over the phone with your voice, change appointment with your voice and so much more

As well they’ve built the VoIP network to support in game chat with up to 16 people at one time but I can’t get 4 or 5 people in a chatroom? It’s already built and free.

 
I still cannot meet in a open 3D world with my friends and family
World contained within games

NO, this is more why can’t I interact with a real person in GTA4 or any other game in a virtual setting, PC gamers have this and have had it for while. There is no reason we can’t have something like this too? Sony Home.
I still cannot access my gaming statistics online or anywhere
Stats are game specific (metric tracking has to be coded into the game). See Halo 3.

I agree, Halo did a good thing so why don’t I as a customer have the right to see these stats in other games and why don’t devoplers give us this access. GTA4 has tons of stats but no one else can ever see them for them to be used. 360voice.com should be able to highlight my 30/1 in COD4 or that amazing across the map pistol kill but they can’t because the dev wont let them because we haven’t demanded it as a must have feature. I am!

As a customer I think this a crap!

I still cannot get gaming release dates, news or rate features or xbox live content
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC. Also See Inside Xbox

It’s not a computer but we get MSN videos, It’s not a computer but… When I watch a game video I want to know all of the basic stats that are on xbox.com, co op, online players, other basic options, why should I have to watch the video here, then get off the xbox (what Microsoft doesn’t want) go to my computer to xbox.com just to get the info thats already listed in their own database? I hope you don’t work for Microsoft because you are the example of the problem, this isn’t forward thinking. Most the time everyone else but xbox.com doesn’t have the info or is wrong.

I still cannot access Video over IP tv (MSN Video performance on a 15MB cable is very poor and not Video over IP)
Micrsoft does not own this content. See US copyright rules. Also current infastructure network cannot support the required bandwidth of IPTV services.

I agree but they do control the contracts and have more then 16 Million users, if Hulu.com can get the rights to stream the media then Microsoft can. Direct tv doesn’t have the rights but they have a contract to stream On demand content for free.

I still cannot access web content from my Media Center with good performance.
I have 600GB of content I watch on a regular basis. The streaming works fine even with 18GB 1080p BR-DVD rips. SATA drives recommended to stream.

LOL funny, I have a 65″ 1080p and a 61 1080i. Media Center works great. The Internet Browser that works on the Xbox 360 Extender has poor performance because there is no Mouse or pointer style control in Media Center, a simple laser remote for projectors could solve this or allow the Xbox 360 remote to have a floating curser.

All of our 4x Xbox 360’s 2 Laptop’s and 3 Workstations use a Vista based Media Center with duel tuners, we have a dell server for content recording which has Raid5 on a gigabyte backbone then streams content with Media Guide to our phones and other devices.

Add to my list no HDTV card with HDMI input is coming but should have been here years ago.

There should be a yearly option for unlimited downloads of shows and movies from Xbox Live, no one wants to pay per movie...
Microsoft does not own this content. See US copyright rules.

I agree.
Section 2:

You tell my 10 year old daughter why she can’t watch hairspray day after day for a week because we can only rent it for 48 hours then we have to pay to rent it agein even after we’ve downloaded it? What are we paying for?
Microsoft does not own this content. See US copyright rules. Example: iTunes.

They MS buy NBC’s Hulu.com

But yet I’m spending $15 a month for netflix? Why doesn’t Microsoft take that money and give me FREE unlimited content from Xbox Live?
No such service exists yet because there is no market opportunity. Unless Microsoft purchases NetFlix (who now provides onling streaming with membership BTW). In addition you can display this content via your xbox with a WMP11 plugin.

sorry free unlimited of the content they do have

Add-ons for Media Center have been poor, with few useful applications, even fewer that work on extenders.
WMC support is typically done by OpenSource developers. See the NetFlix plugin.

I agree but I hate it because just like Linux it leaves the customer screwed looking for programs and features that should have been included in the first place.

Microsoft still needs to create content as AOL, Yahoo and Google are all finding out, you must still create content.

Even with the Xbox 360 I am yet to be able to use Microsoft Word on my Xbox 360, even when most USB Keyboards work great and Microsoft has Office Live in Beta
This is a terrible idea. The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC.

Why it’s already there online in Office Live ready to go. I think about the poor family with no pc, they could get a Xbox 360 for $350 and have all the entertainment, basic online needs and kids could still do basic school work.
I am unable to access my Microsoft Live Mesh dashboard and data from Xbox Live Dashboard on Mesh
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC.

I think when more people understand the Mesh and it takes over this wont be a point.

I am unable to change the Dashboard Nav type (there should be a 3D option for Navigation in the Xbox 360 Dashboard)
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC.

Sony has a 3D nav so does Vista, PSP, Microsoft Table Top, this is a must to support touch and multi touch like in vista and windows 7 based on hardware acclerated desktops. Which the xbox 360 is I assume based on the Webcam Desktop background.

Why can we have a webcam video background but not a 3D nav? It’s not a PC but we have a webcam video based desktop background, Vista doesn’t even have a that.

There are few Video Cam application, even fewer effect, no full screen for video conference….(this is just stupid) Should I go on with missing video features there’s a lot
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC. Most good conference software is subscription/pay based.

This is amazing, why would I go to a 22″ monitor when I could video conferance on a 65″ one in a nice confertabile spot with my family and friends. We had 10 people on cam last night, I should tell them all to get around a computer?

I ask why not? Why can’t my laptop webcam video p2p to my xbox 360? This is America we have Microsoft Sync in cars, and you’re still giving me because it’s not a PC!

This is 2008 and I can’t get full screen video on my TV with a friend? Then I demand those profits are put directly back into the company for more research because I saw Cisco show a full 3D holigram of two people in a conf room last week transmitted across the world

http://www.musion.co.uk/Cisco_TelePresence.html

but I can’t get a full screen webcam video on my $450 Elite?

There is no touch screen support, also should include multi-touch support before Windows 7 does. Must be supported in media center!
Not a valuable feature as many people do not have touch screen displays (TV/Moniter)

I agree but this is coming and we need to make sure Multi-touch makes it into the XBox world!

Unable to use a Mouse or wireless style pointer or Wii style remote
The controller is wireless. This is not a Wii. Xbox games would simply not work with a non-standard interface. IMO pointer style controllers are a gimic.

Funny, have you used a 65″ TV? Have you tried to use the Internet Addon for Media Center with a Xbox 360 or Media Center Remote? It sucks because of one small thing there isn’t a mouse or a pointer. It’s 65″ a pointer would be the best. I hate mice. You know what would be better? A multi-touch screen where I can just pust the button!

I know this is hard, but come on. Our setup is a little more advanced then yours I know, but just think about it the Xbox 360 is still slated for another 2 to 4 years. My 65″ HDTV 1080 was only $1350 so more families will own one in the coming years if not this year after the US Tax Stimulus Checks and HD Spectrum change over. More families will want to be able to access their data from anywhere just like cell phones are allowing now. After they access their data they want to access others like the Microsoft Research Project WorldWide Telescope which is just amazing for families. You should check it out before you go on!

So you could have this pushed by a Xbox 360 over a 65″ 1080P in all it’s glory but you don’t have a mouse or pointer to control it!!!

Other new software and technologies like Microsoft Live Mesh allow you to access your data from any device anywhere. Vista includes Media Center in 2 versions of Vista for free making it’s on almost all non-business PC sold in the last almost two years with Vista. Thats 7% of all the total computers in the world! Which would match alot of the millions of Xbox 360 users.

The Internet Windows Vista Media Center Addon is free.

Most family would like to surf the internet together but can’t because of the limitations of their computers, but if they could with an Xbox 360 and Vista Media Center, they would want to have a pointer or mouse.

We use this now but it’s hard with the Nav system, it’s worst than the PSP Browser.

Unable to Backup my game data anywhere but a USB memory card (Mesh, DFS, MS Home Server integration…) and only sometimes, viva piñata still can’t be copied
The HDD can be copied to a computer with specific software and cables. Gamertag Recovery Service facilitates the remainder.
For the love, are you a robot, make it easy and simple. My lord, my 10 year old has an Xbox 360 she needs to be able to do this. My 40 year old brother has an xbox 360 he needs to be able to do this. The Mesh is the way to go.
Unable to stream video content for game previews, reviews…. Why must I download everything I want to watch even if just one time just to delete it a few minutes later, this is a great waste of bandwidth and storage.
Do a latency test on your ISP, you may not have a sufficent connection in terms of quality to facilitate this.

I get 32ms to 4.2.2.2 which is a multi-homed always server used by Cisco. You? I don’t have problems with performance, I have problems with the lack of content say something like a G4 tab with game news, reviews, previews, cheats, codes, game products for sale…  Why can’t we stream the game preview videos and not download the videos to the console. 
Why can’t I get Fox News or the News of my choosing on my Dashboard as a tab? Why no rss feeds?
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC.

Yes, I know but my Cell Phone is not just a phone is it. The Mesh will change this crap. I could get this forum on my Xbox 360 right now and reply, read the posts all with just an RSS READER on the Dashboard without leaving my game!

Why can’t I Picture and Picture my duel tv tuners in Media Center?
Not related to xbox 360. WMC is also on its last legs, WHS will replace it very soon.

Why will home server change the features in the technology? Same Same.

Why are the music visuals so poor? Winamp style anyone, why can’t we control the effects in a visual editor and then save.
Low priority Item. No one cares.

The people that use them do which is everyone I know… everyone uses them on the weekends during cleaning and puts up with them. Please add more options and controls we aren’t KIDS anymore up there MICROSOFT we are adults now START giving us more options!

Oh, but Microsoft my 10 year old daughter (future customer) asks for a fish aquarium as a visual or screen saver for her Xbox 360. She says like in Windows XP Media Center 2005.

Why are there no advanced features, there are more than just stupid people using these tools and consol’s and we should have the right as consumers to have at least some control and advanced features. Just like in Windows you can default the settings stupid but please give us the options to control visual and feature based options.
The 360 is not a computer. Use a PC.

Hmm, doesn’t hold up your is not a computer… XNA would have killed that in one stop, they’ve made it more then just a PC it’s a Media Center, their just missing some need features for the future!.

I don’t care if the core of Xbox 360 OS runs in 64MB give us more options and make it run in 256MB. Same with Windows 7 you can make it lean by default but you better give us the advanced options too or we’re out.
Non sensical question. The xbox hardware works on a 32 bit level. The OS is stripped down to allow maximum performance for games.

Then make it into a 64-bit level and lets kick it up a notch or two. We’ve proven to Microsoft that we will fund their research and advancements in to the future now give us the added features you promised. You’ve taken it slow and had you learning process it’s time to step it up and start making a complete product.

Ultimately Microsoft we will demand a Web Browser on the dashboard.

Summary: Microsoft has focused over the last 3 years to connect all of their software together with Mesh Networking, SharePoint Services,Windows Mobile, Windows Media Server, DFS, XNA, CRM, Dynamices, Outlook Anywhere, all of the live services, Windows Home Server, Meeting Spaces, SharedView, virtual pc and all of the Visual Studio tools all work together in Microsoft’s world to their Praise they have done well to connecting all of their software packages together from different worlds to communicate and function together.
by CyberAxe

Overall 3/10
The xbox is not a PC and never should be.
Just because microsoft makes a product it does not have to be on the xbox (what about SQL Server 08?, Visual Studio Team Edition? Dynamics CRM? – stupid)
Microsoft does not own rights to copyrighted media and only acts as the delivery method within the terms of the copyright owners.
Implementing features from an operating system currently 4 years out is not high priority.
The xbox is not a PC and never should be.[/quote]