#9 when you consider that traditionally the pc is a box, with a monitor attached, and then see what people are already doing with them to make them more attractive to non-"dweebs". I'm talking about things like home-brew casemods to make the pc not look like a pc right through to microsoft developments like mira, media center, tablet pc, embedded systems, terminal services, right down to smartphone and xbox (which share common code with windows at a very basic level). For somethings yes, the pc as a box and a monitor will always be the best way to work, but more and more you will find especially in the home market and consumer market that pc's crop up in the most surprising places. Eventually with systems and processing being done remotely you'll find that devices will become more like dumb terminals with the processing done remotely - anything from applications, right down to content on demand and games. Sony and microsoft have already hinted at this as where they want to be in 5+ years. You may not like it, but unfortunately it's the way things are going.

Besides I thought they were already planning X-Box II

would be silly of them not to be thinking about xbox2, in just the same way sony have been thinking about ps3 since just after ps2 was launched in the states.. sony make me laugh with their wild claims for ps3 - anything for quantum level computing, right back to embedded systems i talked about earlier. Something they will not be able to pull off in the next round of the console wars.

I think MS and their push into other areas/markets all comes down to one thing... the same reason all businesses are in business... to make money

granted, however microsoft are a force to be rekoned with. If they want to give the videogame market a sly shove in the direction of set-top-boxes, or backend processing they are the company do it, not sony. And MS have a whole lot more money to make when they can introduce subscription services, and control the applications installed (read, cutting out warez)

This comment was edited on Dec 6, 09:00.