KGaines72 On a side note, Microsoft needs to get off their ass and make a media extender. Passively cool the 360, remove the hard drive, optical drive, controller/usb/mem card considerations and slap it in a smaller form factor that isn't irritatingly white to sell for $100.
On a side note,
Microsoft needs to get off their ass and make a media extender. Passively cool the 360, remove the hard drive, optical drive, controller/usb/mem card considerations and slap it in a smaller form factor that isn't irritatingly white to sell for $100.
That will also stream DVDs.
You ever play with Media Browser? I rip all my DVDs (main title only) to MKV and stream those to the 360 just fine. Supposedly, I've heard good things about Media Browser's ability to mount ISOs and stream those as well.
Vladimir UschintskyJessica (sorry, forgot her last name)
Jessica Zahn... what a cutie. It'd be cool if she's still here under an alias, she was pretty vocal but maybe MS didn't like that since nobody else has followed that example.
If you're reading this... Hello Jess!
KGaines72On a side note, Microsoft needs to get off their ass and make a media extender. Passively cool the 360, remove the hard drive, optical drive, controller/usb/mem card considerations and slap it in a smaller form factor that isn't irritatingly white to sell for $100.
That will never happen.... As was stated above there is maybe 500k media center users and 40 million xbox users. For better or worse xbox is the future of tv connected devices from microsoft. I do think we will see a new xbox360 (as early as this year) that will be designed to be much more quiet/reliable.
Well hell... I'd buy that too... just get on it already! While they're at it... slim it down and make it black or something.
acgaustinseriously, if they would just enable softsled functionality I think everybody here would be placated.
I'm sure they aren't interested in placating anyone. If there is a good business plan that makes them money, then they might be interested.
effyewI'm sure they aren't interested in placating anyone. If there is a good business plan that makes them money, then they might be interested.
Why not? All this talk about "Microsoft won't invest a lot of money in Media Center unless it makes Microsoft a lot of money" makes sense, except what we are asking for wouldn't require Microsoft to invest any more money at all, outside of the two or maybe three people at eHome that keep the lights on. Remote guide and recording schedule sharing could be implemented virtually at the flip of a switch, while the pieces for streaming live TV to remote computers are all in place, they just have to be enabled.
There are lots of things that users want that would require new, expensive, and complex features to be added to Media Center. Softsled is NOT one of them. If it doesn't cost any more money, why would the 2 or 3 programmers left in eHome not want the product to be the best it could be?
I doubt there is any significant project Microsoft is involved in that would have so few resources (2 or 3 people). Also, why would they want to just give away IP? No legitimate business would do that. It's easy to say how someone else should give stuff away, or to presume how little resource it would take to support something, but if you were on the other side it wouldn't be so simple.
You and I might want it to be "the best it could be" but that doesn't mean there's a business case to make it so.
acgaustinThere is a pretty straight forward business case.
If the case is so simple and straight forward, why do you suppose it hasn't been done?
effyewIf the case is so simple and straight forward, why do you suppose it hasn't been done?
Well. this is entirely the point, isn't it.
First, I don't what you mean about "giving away IP." Putting features in your product is not "giving away IP." If the intellectually property is protected, its still protected even if you release products containing the features. Further, as previously stated, Microsoft makes far more revenue off a copy of Windows than off an XBox 360, yet they put the extender technology in the XBox 360. I am sure they also make more revenue off a copy of Windows than license fees from a H/W based extender, yet they put the technology in extenders as well.
I don't think it is reasonable to assume that Microsoft is doing what it is doing because it makes the most business sense. Clearly Microsoft is not responsive to the people on this site. So, either this site represents a small sector of the Media Center users, or Microsoft just doesn't care what the majority users of Media Center think or want. You can decide for yourself which is true. But the lack of SoftSled is clearly a business decision that has been made, yet defies all logic. That's why, in lieu of SoftSled, it would be nice to have some reasonable explanation of why it has not been provided, and in fact, why Microsoft has gone to some lengths to ensure that third parties can't develop the functionality, either.
kingwrThat's why, in lieu of SoftSled, it would be nice to have some reasonable explanation of why it has not been provided, and in fact, why Microsoft has gone to some lengths to ensure that third parties can't develop the functionality, either.
I'm assuming MediaRoom has an effect of what goes into and left out of MC to seperate the products giving MR an advantage so MS can declare to customers and potential customers, or the existing MR customers just don't want people to have the ability to mimic what they are selling. That's the only half assed reasonable excuse that I can think of.
kingwrI don't think it is reasonable to assume that Microsoft is doing what it is doing because it makes the most business sense.
I don't think it is reasonable to assume that Microsoft is doing what it is doing because it makes the most business sense.
kingwr Clearly Microsoft is not responsive to the people on this site. So, either this site represents a small sector of the Media Center users, or Microsoft just doesn't care what the majority users of Media Center think or want.
Clearly Microsoft is not responsive to the people on this site. So, either this site represents a small sector of the Media Center users, or Microsoft just doesn't care what the majority users of Media Center think or want.
fair point. they don't seem to have more than an occasional presence here, probably because media center doesn't pay the rent. maybe they just lurk. did they ever claim that they would be here? serious question - i don't know the answer.
kingwr But the lack of SoftSled is clearly a business decision that has been made, yet defies all logic. That's why, in lieu of SoftSled, it would be nice to have some reasonable explanation of why it has not been provided, and in fact, why Microsoft has gone to some lengths to ensure that third parties can't develop the functionality, either.
But the lack of SoftSled is clearly a business decision that has been made, yet defies all logic. That's why, in lieu of SoftSled, it would be nice to have some reasonable explanation of why it has not been provided, and in fact, why Microsoft has gone to some lengths to ensure that third parties can't develop the functionality, either.
it may defy YOUR logic, but why do you continue to think you know more about their business than they do? and what's with the entitlement attitude? why does MS owe you or anyone here an explanation for their decisions? business strategies and decisions aren't made in a public forum.