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Ten lessons the Xbox Team can teach the rest of Microsoft | |
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||
| Time: 10:17 EST/15:17 GMT | News Source: ZDNet | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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When it comes to building community — and profiting from it — Microsoft's Xbox team is helping write the playbook. That fact isn't lost on the rest of the company. Increasingly, other divisions at Microsoft are studying what the Xbox folks are doing right and trying to apply those lessons to their own products and services. Microsoft launched the Xbox in November 2001. Xbox Live, the accompanying online gaming service, launched in November 2002. Halo 2 hit in November of 2004. The Xbox 360 subscription business went live in November 2005. And the Web-chat camera and video marketplace functionality launched in November 2006. | ||
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| #1 By 2960 (24.254.95.224) at 5/4/2007 12:48:31 PM |
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I had the urge to buy an Xbox Elite today after work.
Best Buy was the dumbest of them all - "Not Available In-Store". Sheesh.... Everyone else is out of stock. Oh, well. As the great Pink Floyd once said: When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, Out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now. The child is grown, the dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb. |
| #2 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 5/4/2007 1:06:23 PM |
| #1, Huge Floyd fan here! - attempted to see him in Europe decades ago, but got stuck sitting on a train in the middle of what was then East Germany - talk about a train full of very unhappy people. |
| #3 By 20505 (64.60.114.101) at 5/4/2007 1:20:39 PM |
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TL-
Are you still going on about those stoners;) Long live Adam Heart Mother. |
| #4 By 37 (76.210.78.134) at 5/4/2007 1:36:18 PM |
| As soon as I find a free moment in the next week or I will be getting an elite as well. |
| #5 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 5/4/2007 1:37:07 PM |
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#2: Him??? I hope you're riffing on Have a Cigar... "By the way, which one's Pink?"...
#3: Atom Heart Mother. |
| #6 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 5/4/2007 1:56:51 PM |
| #5, Love the lyrics, but can't take the sounds any more - something about perfect pitch and all - so it hurts <literally> to listen. Still remember it though - when it was possible. Sucked, because I could play like a mad man and had to find other things to do. There's still a lot of debate about what he meant... I think it was the whole, "wishing you were here thing..." |
| #7 By 52115 (66.181.69.250) at 5/4/2007 2:14:12 PM |
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#5: Hahaha.. Was just about to write that..
So, I'll add my own: the movie Armegeddon "It makes me mad when people think Jethro Tull is a man" "Who's Jethro Tull?" |
| #8 By 23275 (172.16.10.31) at 5/4/2007 3:04:49 PM |
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#7, just a man...
Good one, though. |
| #9 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 5/4/2007 3:53:30 PM |
| #8: You have no idea what we're talking about, do you? |
| #10 By 11888 (70.49.87.185) at 5/4/2007 4:14:32 PM |
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My 360 died this week :(
It survived the first 7 months just fine and then the video went all corrupt. Now I'm waiting for the box to ship it back. Anyone else gone though this before? Does it take very long? I'm wishing I'd actually bought the extended warranty nonsense at Best Buy so I could have exchanged it right away. This post was edited by MrRoper on Friday, May 04, 2007 at 17:41. |
| #11 By 23275 (172.16.10.31) at 5/4/2007 5:08:39 PM |
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#10, Man, I'm sorry. No, I have not heard of any; however, one thing I have noted - one of our guys bought a 360 when it first came out and his was quite noisy [which many people have noted] and he oriented his vertically.
Now, for those of us that bought 360's a bit later, and oriented them horizontally, we have never heard a lot of noise and never really understood what people were speaking to when they spoke of the 360 being loud. If I may ask, how did you orient your 360 - vertically, or horizontally? - I am curious if the orientation has any bearing on noise, heat dissipation and any influence on mean time to failure. Thanks, and sorry your 360 went south. |
| #12 By 11888 (70.49.87.185) at 5/4/2007 5:53:29 PM |
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Interesting idea. It was oriented both ways throughout its life. 95% of the time it was horizontal, but it died when it was vertical as I'd moved it to connect it to a monitor.
I think it was equally noisy in both situations. After a while you get used to it and don't really notice. I've been wondering if the heat was the problem 'cause man it really throws the heat. A buddy told me that a guy he works with is on his third 360. I'm really hoping this was a one time deal. I'd been reading about 360 failures and figured it was exaggerated like all hardware failure tends to be nowadays. Time will tell. |
| #13 By 20505 (64.60.114.101) at 5/4/2007 6:44:22 PM |
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Latch,
Doh! |
| #14 By 3746 (72.12.166.62) at 5/4/2007 7:16:31 PM |
| I bought a 360 at the end of November. When people complain about how loud they are I don't get it. I have mine horizontal and the only thing you hear from it when playing a game is the disc spinning (which is a louder then I would like but nothing turning the sound up won't cure). I also have the HDDVD addon and when you are watching a movie the fan on my DLP TV is louder then the Xbox. I have been very happy with the performance. I know quite a few people with 360's and not one has died. Then again they are smart enough to not have it in an enclosed space or blocking air flow. |
| #15 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 5/4/2007 9:21:38 PM |
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#12, I do think that a phenomenon known as "run in" does have an impact. When we test drives, we run them in, much like one would an automotive bearing, or race. If one runs them in in one position or speed, and then moves them, or runs them off-speed, they will fail far faster.
I suspect that this has a role when a 360 is run in horizontally and then oriented vertically and also the vents on the base are too close to the surface. Note also, that the bearing on the hard drive would be especially affected by this and so long as the unit is not moved from one orientation to another, there would be less free play and much less probability that it would fail. From what I can tell, a 360's air flow pattern is optimized [horizontally] where air enters from the right and moves in a shallow "S" shaped pattern through the left rear. So long as plenty of room is left around it, it would do well when positioned horizontally. |
| #16 By 3 (86.1.34.106) at 5/5/2007 2:12:07 AM |
| I've had 2 die and both were never moved and were only ever horizontal....latest one has started to scratch titles too so that'll be going back next! |
| #17 By 11888 (70.49.87.185) at 5/5/2007 8:26:41 AM |
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I'm going to check some other forums to see if anyone else has theories on optimal positioning.
#14, I hadn't owned a game console since the Sega Genesis that I think I received as a gift in 1989. So I'm from that era of gaming. It had been a long time. So when I fired up the 360 there was a "holy crap this is loud" initial reaction, but like I said, over time I got used to it. My HDTV is a CRT (I like my blacks inky and colours vibrant! :) ) so there's no noise from that. I don't know what you've been using before that, so maybe you expect that kind of noise. I've actually never seen the original Xbox in action so I don't know how they were for noise. |
| #18 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 5/5/2007 12:59:42 PM |
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#17, The first Xbox console had an optical drive that was about as loud as a PC optical of the day. It was pretty remarkable as it eventually supported so much more than the other consoles - MCE 2005 Extender, etc...
I wish I had considered an CRT based HDTV for the same reasons. We have a few different types and one has to go way up-market to get blacks and color as good as one can with a CRT. #16, Are you in the U.K.? Were your 360's purchased there? I am studying early RoSH compliant devices and material defects owing to the removal of many component materials in the manufacturing process. We have worked very hard in the last two years to ensure the systems we ship exceed RoSH environmental requirements and we have seen an alarming increase in component part failure. Many people may not realize that there is a great deal of movement inside electrical components - circuits bend, become brittle and eventually break. |
| #19 By 8556 (12.210.39.82) at 5/5/2007 2:46:51 PM |
| Larry, sorry for the correction, but I presume you mean RoHS. Reduction of Hazardous Substances. |
| #20 By 3 (86.1.34.106) at 5/5/2007 3:02:26 PM |
| #18 - yeah all from the UK, all PR systems new and from the box...even as new as Early this year builds. |
| #21 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 5/5/2007 7:04:51 PM |
| #19, Yes, Exactly that, thank you. The content used in the manufacture of compliant systems - like lead, mercury, PVC, etc... has been reduced. We have seen compliant components fail, or discolor much earlier than we had in the past. I was curious if the components used on the U.K. were different from those used in the states. Thanks. |
| #22 By 2960 (24.254.95.224) at 5/5/2007 11:19:45 PM |
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#2,
I'm a huge fan too. Gilmour is my Guitar hero. I want to get a set of the EMG DG20 Gilmour pickups for my Strat, but the $350 price tag keeps me from punching the button :) Unfortunately I never had a chance to see them live. During the 70's I was too young, and I spent all of the 80's in the Navy. They didn't tour enough in the 90's for me to catch a show. My back really prevents me from going to concerts these days, but there are two groups I would endure the pain for. The Eagles (but ONLY if Felder is part of the band), and Pink Floyd. The probability of either is near zero :( For a 60 year old man, Gilmour still plays guitar like no one else can. Bless Syd for starting the group (rest his soul), but I'm a DSOTM forward Floyd Fan. With the exception of a few cuts, I just really don't get into the early Syd based stuff. IMHO, Rogers writing, and Gilmours guitar is what made Pink Floyd what it is. David, Roger, Nick and Rick are the PF I dig. My "go to sleep" CD on my iPod I have in my bedroom has been the same CD for the last 3 years. Echoes: The best of Pink Floyd CD #2. I will toss in DSOTM every now and then, but the Echoes CD #2 is my favorite set to listen to. I rarely make it past SOYCD, which is the first cut. I think I have every CD. I KNOW I have every DVD. The recently released Pulse DVD is great, but it is a shame that the original source material wasn't better. David did the best he could with it and spent years making it as perfect as possible. #3, In the DVD "Pink Floyd - Live at Pompeii (Director's Cut) (2003)", Gilmour was asked if the band did drugs. He said no :) To be honest, I can't recall any proof ever being presented that they were a stoner band. Frankly, I could care less. The music is what matters to me :) TL |
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