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[usa]

Next-Generation Xbox to Be Media Hub


SEATTLE May 2, 2005 — Microsoft Corp.'s next-generation Xbox gaming console will be more of a digital entertainment hub than its predecessor, making it even more of a PC hybrid than ever, Bill Gates told a meeting of business journalists on Monday.

The console, code-named Xenon, is due to be previewed in an MTV half-hour special later this month.

Gates, Microsoft's chairman and co-founder, was vague on specific features of Xenon but said the company's consoles would be evolving to include improved communications tools for making multiplayer online gaming more convivial.

He told the annual meeting of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers that Xenon's software menu would be similar to that of the company's Media Center edition of Windows, which is designed for computers meant to be located in the living room.

"If you're used to that menu, when you use this Xenon you'll see a menu a lot like that that lets you get photos, TV, music and all those different things."

Video game players want to be able to chat with their buddies, know when others are present online, and will want to access their music and photos on their consoles in an interface already familiar to them, Gates said.

At a convention of hardware engineers last week, Gates said the company's investments in Windows Media Center software have paid off, with more than a million copies sold since the launch of the operating system's second version in October and a total of 2 million since the initial system shipped three years ago.

Gates also called the Web log phenomenon fantastic and joked that it's become more difficult than ever to provide a single company message to the public given the number of Microsoft employees who are now blogging publicly.

"I keep thinking about when am I going to start doing a blog," he said in answer to a question. "My rate (of posting) has proven to be irregular so far. When I turn out at least two a month they'll put me online," he joked.

The Microsoft chairman also drew guffaws when he took a dig at Apple Computer Inc. in response to questions about the rave reviews the competitor's newest operating system, Mac OS X "Tiger," received upon release last week.


The overwhelming consensus was that Tiger was far and away the best consumer operating system available now, with Microsoft not expected to match it in features in Windows until the end of 2006 at the earliest in its "Longhorn" system.

Gates said he was pleased that the media were getting excited about computer operating systems. And then he took his jab at Apple, whose share of the consumer market is nearly 4 percent.

"You can always tell if you're working on a Mac or a PC. Just take your applications and stick them in there and see if they run," he said, moments after calling Apple "the super-small market share guy."


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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[usa]

Bill Gates sieht gute Chancen für neue Xbox
"Die neue Generation der Xbox hat die Möglichkeit, dem Konkurrenten Sony die Führungsrolle auf dem Spielemarkt abzunehmen", sagte Microsoft-Chairman Bill Gates am gestrigen Montag auf einer Wirtschaftskonferenz. In der ersten Runde sei es darum gegangen, die Xbox erfolgreich auf den Markt zu bringen. "Aus dieser ersten Runde sind wir als starke Nummer 2 herausgekommen", sagte Gates. Die neue Xbox-Version sei im übrigen nicht einfach eine Spielekonsole, sondern vielmehr ein vielseitiges Gerät um im Wohnzimmer zu spielen, Musik zu hören oder Videos und Bilder anzuschauen.

"Die neue Xbox unterstützt auch HDTV", bewarb Gates die Kompatibilität zu hochauflösendem Digital-TV. Neuartige Power-Chips von IBM sollen es dabei mit dem leistungsstarken Cell-Prozessor in Sonys Playstation 3 aufnehmen. Weitere Details wird Microsoft aber erst bei der Präsentation auf MTV am 12. Mai bekannt geben.

Analysten hatten kürzlich vor zu großem Optimismus bei den Konsolenherstellern gewarnt; trotz des erwarteten Verkaufsstart der neuen Xbox zum Ende diesen Jahres werde erst mit dem Erscheinen der Playstation 3 der Run auf die nächste Konsolen-Generation zum Jahreswechsel 2006/2007 einsetzen. (tol/c't)


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