Xbox, no longer just for games?

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5100151,00.html?chkpt=zdnnp1tp02

Ballmer said there was a larger agenda for the Xbox than just games, but he gave no details.

"We know we have to succeed, but there is a broader concept there that we will pursue at some point," Ballmer said. "You can say, is it the end of the road or is there a bigger play? And the answer is yeah, there's a bigger play we hope to get over time.''


Pretty lame, being they always claimed it was strictly a gaming machine. Now it's going to what? A set-top box? Get a GameCube.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

hehe, but you didnt include the whole article
balmer said originally it was supposed to be an all in one set-top box, but game companies wouldnt talk to them. they made it into a gaming only machine and they became interested, and is the product out now.

ive been reading today on teh hax0rzing. very interesting stuff, always been fascinated by these groups and what they are able to do. so far (from today) ive gathered that you can:
crack the hard drive password and access it, appears to use a FAT structure, and alot of files can be viewed (o/s files, dvd kit files, temp game files, save games, etc) but alot of it is still jumbled. it also takes major balls to do (power up the xbox, unplug the hard drive in mid boot, and hook to the pc or something.

can play svcds sorta.

may be possible to play dvd's without the dvd playback kit

etc. neato.

 

[Finality]

I believe Balmer is referring to the HomeStation which is essentially an XBox with TIVO + WebTV ability. Expect it sometime 2002 with a pricetag between $450-$500.

XBox was never meant to be an all out machine the HomeStation probably will be. It looks like they are waiting to establish XBox as a strong brand before they come out with successor/upgrade its just like the Panasonic(?) GameCube solution.

Essentially one of the main reasons behind XBox is to get game developers more interested in making games for PCs since games are the only things that really require the latest and greatest OS with the latest and greatest OS (read OEM machines = $$$ for M$).

As for the XBox hacking I'm not too keen on ripping it appart and pulling some hot swapping off last time I tried anything like that I fried a mobo + HDD.