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Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

JorgeA

By JorgeA
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It's official: Apple went Craze-Land.

http://www.osnews.com/story/27115/Apple_unveils_iOS_7

iOS 7 was the main attraction tonight, and just as all the leaks told us, Apple has revamped the theme for its mobile operating system. Gone is all the garish analog design (yay!), but sadly, the company doesn't really seem to grasp digital design as well as Microsoft and Google do. The icons in particular look very childish and garish, with neon-bright colours, and some aspects of the operating system are just bad design, like light-grey, thin fonts on white backgrounds. They've clearly got a few iterations to go.

Overall though, it's pretty clear that Apple took a lot - a lot - of inspiration from Metro and Google's Holo, and mashed them together on top of iOS, without actually changing the underlying workings of the UI. In that sense, it feels more like a flat theme than an actual redesign of the UI. Let me also note that, unlike some others, I have no issues with companies copying each other. In fact, I like the trend towards simplistic, digital design, so Apple following the trend that especially Microsoft has been championing for a few years is a good thing in my view.

As always, though, final judgment is reserved until the new theme has actually been used.

On the feature front, there's some very useful additions to iOS that were long overdue, such as a quick settings panel that can be accessed by swiping up from below the screen. Multitasking has also been changed, and is now essentially a copy of webOS meets Windows Phone. That's another great thing to copy, because switching applications on iOS with the icons was pretty terrible. Sadly, Apple maintained the awkward double button press, but alas, I think I'm one of the few who dislikes that. iOS will also adapt to usage patterns, and load applications in the background based on your usage patterns - kind of what Windows has been doing for a while now.

iOS 7 is looking like a relatively big update, and I can't wait to get my hands on it later this year.

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Sony just Sega Saturn'd the Xbox One. :sneaky:

In English, please? :P

--JorgeA

http://kotaku.com/ps4-games-wont-have-many-of-the-restrictions-of-xbox-o-512477859

The PS4 Doesn't Have The Xbox One's DRM

PS4 will not put any restrictions on used games, Sony's PlayStation boss Jack Tretton said today. Gamers can buy PS4 games, trade them in, lend them to friends or keep them forever. Loud cheers. He was drawing several points of comparison, obviously, to the Xbox One.

The PS4 will also be 100$/€ cheaper than the Xbox One!

What a whooping for Microsoft.

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From the Neowhiners thread:

I actually prefer installing games like Xbox one since the game agents can queue up matches and allow me to instantly switch games I'm playing. I don't care for the 24hr call home but I can't stand any requirement to have slow spinning media or disks to pkay. I want games, content and seem less experiences.

Good luck Sony, looks like you will need it.

---

Dude lets be honest, the [sony] presentation was absolute crap.

---

Microsoft says to developers: "It's up to you, how you want to handle used games."

Sony says to developers: "We don't care about you and what you want."

-----------------

Now to be honest, there are also lots of comments with a different tone. The neowhiners who wrote the above are also supreme W8 fanwhores and metrotards. I remember their nicks from the W8 discussions.

In short: NuMicrosoft scored another one!

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Most retarded comparison I've ever read:

http://www.neowin.net/news/the-playstation-4-to-cost-399#comment-2231319

I don't know why playstation remind me of linux. Share everything for free. Then tell me how the hell the game maker is supposed to make money? Or you like games to be made in poor quality because you can share it?

ROFLCOPTER! These guys are so whacked, it's unbelievable. They compare buying games and be able to give them physically to your friend, or sell them, to Free Software?

Insane.

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CharlotteTheHarlot

CharlotteTheHarlot

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This is the PlayStation 4 ( Neowin 2013-06-10 )

PlayStation 4 is used-game friendly, has no online authentication ( Neowin 2013-06-10 )

The PlayStation 4 to cost $399, available this holiday season ( Neowin 2013-06-10 )

Karma again. :yes: Sony set the trap with the PS4 teaser earlier this year, then Microsoft thought they could one-up them with their more fleshed-out announcement of Xbox One later but they over-reached by miles with all the DRM and Kinect and high price and other lockdown restrictions, and Sony springs their trap by under-cutting every one of them. Those NeoWin articles are in the order posted and they show the chronology of the reactions by the MicroZealots ( BTW, why would NeoWin Windows-centric commenters have so much emotionality invested into Xbox unless they were actually MicroZealots more than Windows zealots ? ).

Anywho, the reactions over there on those consecutive threads are a marvel of MicroPsychology. As each announcement hit the web, their mental well-being slid further and further into the crapper. The comments are wonderous. In the minds of MicroZealots Sony now sits right next to Apple and Google as demon spawn from he!!.

By the numbers, IMHO there are four separate categories that Sony just Xboned Microsoft ...

  • Price
  • Used Games Friendly
  • No Online Authentication
  • Appearance

... They undercut them by $100 on Price, and those middle two: Used Games Friendly and No Online Authentication are absolute killers and means that Sony was actually listening to all the controversy swirling about lately while Microsoft played deaf and dumb.

The most bewildering thing is that in all those categories you can read countless NeoWin comments trying to challenge and minimize their importance, reeking of monumental denial and desperation.

Now for the 4th category Appearance. This is very subjective I'll admit, but when Microsoft showed a plain square box that could almost be a "flat" Metro tile, they set the bar so low that almost any creativity would be sufficient to defeat it. Here they are, side by side. Personally I have no love for either company whatsoever. But I have to say that on first-glance aesthetics, I will give it to the Playstation ...

Av8HDZu.jpg

Further commentary from non-MicroZealot sites will appear below ...

Sony PlayStation 4 hardware revealed at E3, priced at $399 ( TechSpot 2013-06-10 )

EDIT: typo(s)

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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http://kotaku.com/sony-just-smacked-the-xbox-one-in-the-mouth-512492046

The second half of Sony's conference saw them systematically taking apart Microsoft's entire platform policy with the Xbox One, presenting the PlayStation 4 as a console able to undercut almost everything Microsoft was offering. Or, in many cases, forcing consumers to endure.

The Xbox One costs $499? Oh, OK, the PlayStation 4 costs $399. The Xbox One imposes online checks? The PS4 doesn't. The Xbox One has restrictions on the use of your disc-based games? The PS4 does no such thing.

It's a series of calculated business decisions - and they are calculated, right down to the fact Microsoft's policies were directly referenced by Sony on-stage - that have resulted in one of the most lop-sided public reactions to an E3 press conference in recent memory. No wonder Jack Tretton spent the last 20 minutes giggling like a schoolgirl.

Seriously, people are going crazy. Twitter and forums are overflowing with people declaring everything from "BEST E3 EVER" to "RIP XBOX ONE". I've been doing this job for a long time now, and I've never seen a reaction like it.

By listening to how upset people had become over Microsoft's restrictions and demands, and catering their console to appeal to them, Sony has instantly won itself legions of Xbox converts and new fans.

NuMicrosoft got smacked. It was easy though. Microsoft offered so many weak points, you don't need to have a Harvard Business School diploma to beat the Xbox One. Again you have to wonder what's going on at Redmond.

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CharlotteTheHarlot

CharlotteTheHarlot

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Barnes & Noble Offers Deep Discounts on Nook HD and HD+ for Father's Day. Save up to $120! ( Maximum PC 2013-06-10 )

Sprint announces Vital, a $100 Android smartphone with some power ( TechSpot 2013-06-10 )

Samsung announces budget-themed Galaxy Ace 3 ( NeoWin 2013-06-10 )

Early build of Intel's phone UI "Obsidian" shown off in video ( NeoWin 2013-06-10 )

Upcoming 7-inch Android Tablets Could Dip Below $100 ( Maximum PC 2013-06-11 )

More random examples of the huge problem that Microsoft faces. These articles appear daily, and there are dozens each week describing low-priced products flooding each and every form-factor of computing and communication device.

So why bother mentioning them? It's simple. Microsoft moved into the "mobile market" out of desperation because "they had to do something", and this is what the MicroZealots tell us. However, common sense tells us that there is no way they can compete on this scale because their boundless Apple-envy which in their minds ( and in the minds of their MicroZealot enablers ) fancies them on the boutique high-end of the spectrum with big profit margins. What they have in their minds does not match reality. The real world has blew right past their Apple-envy dreams and is busy pushing product into the hands of people everywhere while Microsoft pursues their crazy path of alienating the majority of their customers chasing a fleeting fad consisting of a decreasing quantity of potential customers.

For example, now there are stories of other phone makers talking about releasing a WP model. The MicroZealots cheer, but once again they miss the big picture. They will carve up that small potential customer base and Nokia will be the one that pays the price, not Microsoft. This is a slow motion train-wreck and it is all because the company that is based around Seattle might as well be based on the moon. Or Pluto. They are that far out of touch.

So once again Ballmer, this is what you destroyed Windows for?

EDIT: added article

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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while Microsoft pursues their crazy path of alienating the majority of their customers chasing a fleeting fad consisting of a decreasing quantity of potential customers.

So once again Ballmer, this is what you destroyed Windows for?

We shouldn't be so hard on Ballmer, he is after all busy destroying and alienating another customer segment:

http://kotaku.com/i-m-still-not-convinced-xbox-one-will-put-games-first-512422205

Too much of the stuff shown during today’s event felt derivative. Teases for meals that don’t feel the least bit t

antalizing. Even the games with bigger spotlights—like Quantum Break or Halo—still have the looming shadow of TV hovering over them. Quantum Break is supposed to be a sort-of hybrid between games and TV but that interaction wasn’t shown. And let’s not forget that said interaction may not even be a thing that we want.

And that Halo teaser we saw today? Microsoft couldn’t help but remind viewers that it’ll be tethered in some form or fashion to a TV show that they’re developing with Steven Spielberg. Did anyone forget that factoid in the intervening month since the Xbox One reveal? No? Didn’t think so.

Yeah, it’s great that smaller titles like D4 and Below go to share the stage with Titanfall and Metal Gear Solid V. Their developers didn’t get to talkabout ther games, though, and overall it’s hard to shake the nagging feeling that Microsoft’s a company with a seriously split focus nowadays. Whatever they do in the next five months, there’s no denying that their ultimate aim is to do something loftier than just deliver a greatly upgraded game box. And while that’s to be expected of all console makers at this point, somehow, the game lovers who energized the 360 to world-beating success feel like stepping stones now. It’s not a good feeling.

They have completely and utterly turned the gaming community against them. That will hurt them immensely, because that's actually the fanbase many of the metrotards were coming from.

Microsoft had pretty much no visible fanwhores before the Xbox 360.

Good job, Monkey King.

tumblr_kptcs76UNh1qzveh4o1_500.jpg

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Tripredacus

Tripredacus

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I've made the "Sega Saturn" comparison before, but back when the Surface and iPad Mini had similar product release "conferences" or presentations or whatever.

Regarding the design of the consoles... I didn't mind the Microsoft one... the Kinect kinda sticks out and reminds me of R.O.B. in a way. XBox One seems to be trying to add the features of Smart TVs into their console, maybe for people who don't have Smart TVs. :unsure: But this could end up backfiring on them as time goes on and more and more TVs are Smart TVs. The features would be redundant. The ability to watch TV on XBox One is interesting, but it sounds more like its a Tivo without the recording feature. I've never wanted to play on Xbox because most of the games were also on Playstation or on PC. With the Xbox 360, I never really liked the controller and again the games were available elsewhere. I don't see any reason to buy an Xbox One. I don't care for the games or the Smart TV features. I think the Kinect technology is really great, especially if you see what people have been doing with the dev kits outside of the gaming console.

Now for the PS4, I think Sony really killed at the presentation. The only part that was difficult was when the Japanese guy was talking. The console design was the real surprise I think. It reminds me a lot of the PS2, but then again it probably would have been a good design for the Xbox One instead. :whistle: Since it kinda reminds me of the old Windows flag.

The only one I couldn't stand was Ubisoft, showing off boring (read: kiddie) games and their presenter was making the worst jokes (read: no one was laughing) ever. Battlefield 4 looks great but I'll only try it on the PC. Playing a first person shooter with a controller is too alien for me.

Overall, I really think that not being backwards compatible is a mistake for both consoles. They are basically saying that all that money you spent on their products over the years is now junk. They could have come up with some way to profit on used games. In fact, I think that the current gen (PS3/360) already have this method built in through DLC. Maybe I'm just too old fashioned when it comes to that. For me anyways, I just keep my old consoles (or buy them later) to play old games on, but I think in the grand scheme of things, most people aren't like that.

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