The third time’s a charm
No one will deny that Microsoft has made tremendous progress going from the original Xbox to the current 360. Numbers-wise, they’ll likely outpace the original console by at least 10-15 million units and make more profit in the process. Their console has also managed to remain extremely relevant both in terms of software and hardware, despite launching a year before its competitors, and perhaps most importantly, the 360 has become this generation’s hardcore darling.
This is not to say it’s a perfect machine. But Microsoft still has room to grow, and as someone who would call themselves a fan of the company’s general console direction, I’d love to see their next console not only duplicate the multiple successes of the 360 but iterate on its success as much as possible.
The following article is a general bullet-point esque argument on what I’d like to see the next hardware shape up to be. More after the jump.
I’m a PC (don’t get excited)
Growing up as a kid, getting a computer (and later a newer computer) was incredibly exciting. Often times there were immediate differences right off the bat, whether it was a big OS change, the (kind of) exciting new world of DVD drives, fancy new programs packaged with the computer, etc. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown old and am prone to waving my cane at things, but I’m in need of a new computer and when I eventually get around to it, I’d imagine I’d want to immediately lock it down from all the fancy crap and strip it to the point where there’s little change to the way I use a computer now. The only real reason I want a new computer is because the one I have now can’t do the things I want it to do (it’s stuck with USB 1.1, some of the innards seem to slowly be going bad, it can’t play HD videos well, and it’s hard to find any games that’ll run well on it in general, along with a plethora of little issues along the way).
The last time I really had any sort of love affair with a computer was with my Linux tryst back in 2005 or so. It was exciting and heated, getting to learn all these new things, but then having to learn how to get the CD drive to play an audio CD wasn’t quite what I’d call “passion.” This is not to say that computers today have stagnated in terms of innovation, some tech. followers might say they’re trying too many things at once. I think a lot of it comes down to how thoroughly integrated PCs have become in our lives to the point where we have set expectations of the experience and anything that shakes that up is just a nuisance (and as a result you see a lot of arguments over what changes are warranted versus what is not, like with the overhaul that resulted in Office 2007). I find that it’s important to follow through with the gradual changes in technology but wow does it feel like a frustrating grind sometimes (I’d love to see how all those Facebook 2.0 haters would react if they suddenly had to revert to the old layout again)?
I want to touch you.
I’d love to experience that childish excitement that I’d had as a kid where everything felt fresh and in need of exploration, but these days it’s certainly more comfortable to play it conservatively rather than play around with all the stuff that pops up. It almost makes me wonder why I even want a new PC when much of that functionality I want listed above are things that can still be worked around. Am I just trying to be a good consumer, or perhaps a spoiled and needy gamer? If I’m going to do things mostly the same (maybe I’d throw Vista on there, that’d be the biggest difference), what’s really the point? It’s sad to say, but so much of is due to convenience. I would certainly like to do away with the stuttery scrollbars I experience when using Steam or the Zune software. And then why did they invent USB 2.0 when 1.1 would eventually get the job done? Well I guess watching a transfer with a USB 1.1 device is about as fun as watching your dog dry after he’s been out in the rain. Plenty of people have no idea what’s so damn special about a dual-core machine aside from perhaps knowing it’s more powerful. Hell I barely know much about how they work aside from being stronger multi-taskers, I guess all I need to know is what everyone else knows, it’ll get shit done faster. How much is all that extra power worth when most people don’t even realize it’s there?
Is it wrong that even with this realization (not to mention that I’d probably do things by the books with a new PC), I’d still love to have a new machine in front of me? Well no, not wrong but certainly inefficient. Newer PCs will be more efficient when handled properly, although how much more inefficient can you be than throwing aside your old junker and letting it gather dust in the attic? There unfortunately is no higher ground here in my mind. Either way, I’m being wasteful and paying the price in some way (by sticking with the junker, I’m unable to keep up with technology and it doesn’t get things done the way I’d like it to. And then by buying a new PC, I’m spending more for “virtual” gains while letting a “just fine” machine go to waste). I’m going to take a chance and say that no computer engineers did a side-focus on Ethics when they were getting their degrees.
Oh screw that, I want a new PC already.
