http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/07/20/xbox/index.php

Partly from the repair/warranty fiasco, partly from a big drop in sales. Looks like Xbox users shouldn't be asking Sony to wave the white flag, but Wii users should ask for it! Just kidding. Anyway, I hear the Wii is selling great, but the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are struggling.

Good thing Halo 3 is coming out, but since I own an Xbox, I guess I'm not getting that!

heath

Dvorak has an interesting theory:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/microsoft-roll-out-pc-soon/story.aspx?guid=%7B189A57BB%2DD76B%2D4C81%2DA822%2DE728F1EB1C40%7D&siteid=yhoof

The first Xbox was actually a personal computer with proprietary subsystems designed for gaming. The second Xbox is a variation on a PC with a different, non-Intel architecture, but it is still a computer. I'm now guessing that the entire Xbox experiment was an exercise to clear the decks and shake out the cobwebs for a full-blown entry into the PC arena.

No matter who sells the most consoles (Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo), the big winner is IBM, who makes the processors. The PowerPC lives on!

heath

No matter who sells the most consoles (Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo), the big winner is IBM, who makes the processors. The PowerPC lives on!

heath

Sony PS3 uses a the Sony "Cell" processor while the XBox 360 uses a variant of an Intel Xenon. You can cheer for the Wii, which uses a PowerPC.

All made by IBM--I thought all three had PowerPC processors, but I was wrong. Plus, why would IBM call their chip Xenon?

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/xbox360-1.ars

heath

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360

Though WikiPedia can be wrong, I've heard about the G5 chip going into one and not working. Btw, you can install Apple's OS X into a PlayStation 3, according to my friend. I'm going to see if he'll do it. I have every version since 10.0, so he may try 10.1 on a partition.

heath

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360

Though WikiPedia can be wrong, I've heard about the G5 chip going into one and not working. Btw, you can install Apple's OS X into a PlayStation 3, according to my friend. I'm going to see if he'll do it. I have every version since 10.0, so he may try 10.1 on a partition.

heath

Apple OS X can run on a number of processors. One of my friends said he was running it on a 200 MHz ARM processor in an embedded application.

All made by IBM--I thought all three had PowerPC processors, but I was wrong. Plus, why would IBM call their chip Xenon?

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/xbox360-1.ars

heath

Sorry, my mistake on the XBox 360 processor. I read Xenon somewhere else and just thought that Microsoft had licensed the processor and managed to arrange their own manufacture with IBM.

I agree, it makes no sense about the Xenon moniker. Then again, both Sony and Canon have HDV cameras called the A1, and JVC and Sanyo both have "mini-HD" cameras called HD1.

heath

Ummm...the Intel workstation/server CPU is called "Xeon" not "Xenon." To the best of my knowledge, Intel has never produced a chip named "Xenon." So, strictly speaking, there's no conflict between the Intel workstation/server CPUs (Xeon) and the IBM CPU in the Xbox 360 (Xenon). Just picking nits...

Actually, I run into a lot of people who get the Xeon name wrong - even some IT techs. I once refused to hire an applicant for a tech support job because of that. Well, that and a couple of attempts to bluff answers to some other topics he didn't know.

Oh, and the Cell Processor in the PS3 is indeed made by IBM.

I can't believe I forgot that, then confused it with Xeon! I also know Xenon from a type of very bright bulbs that go into film projectors.

heath

I can't believe I forgot that, then confused it with Xeon! I also know Xenon from a type of very bright bulbs that go into film projectors.

heath

Don't worry about it Heath. Everyone has "senior moments" now and then. Regardless of age!

Speaking of Xenon lamps, if you've ever seen "The Andromeda Strain" there's a scene where they used a "xenon lamp apparatus" to burn away the hair and outer epithelial layers of the skin of the scientists as part of a decontamination process. Your comment just made me recall that scene. Totally off-topic, I know, but at least it's still film-related! ;)

I haven't read that book or seen the movie in...14 years or so, maybe even 15. Not since high school.

Anyway, like I said earlier, the Wii seems to be the one coming out of all this smelling like roses.

heath