“The Portable Media Center — a new, Microsoft-conceived handheld device that presents video and photos as well as music — would be a decent idea if there weren’t such a thing as lampposts. Or street signs. Or trees. Or other cars. All those obstacles explain why no sane person tries to walk, run or drive while watching video, even as millions do partake in those activities with music playing,’ Rob Pegoraro reports for The Washington Post.
“A Portable Media Center’s ability to display photos and play back recorded TV programs, digital video clips and downloaded movies is supposed to set it ahead of mere digital-music players, but there just aren’t that many places where you can make use of it. Everywhere else, a Portable Media Center turns into the world’s heaviest, biggest, costliest MP3 player,’ Pegoraro reports. “It’s just too big to run with or even to stash in a pocket. Every time I took it on my commute, I spotted other passengers listening to their iPods and couldn’t help imagining what they’d think of anybody lugging around such a chunky gadget: ‘loser.'”
Full article here.
Well, this is to be expected when Bill tries to do “the vision thing.” I think this whole media center debacle, which by the way will be highly entertaining to watch implode, perfectly exemplifies what Microsoft is all about. They’re a marketing company that happens to make software. When they actually try to pretend it’s the other way around, sh*t comes out.
Last Post!!
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But on a serious note, this thing was doomed from the start. Nice comment Ed “Shit comes out”, ya and you can’t even wipe your but with the damn thing!
There is only one company that will create a portable media centre that answers all these usage ideas and that is practical for all uses.
And that company is APPLE!
All I want is an iPod with a colour screen so that I can store pictures of my grandchildren and show them off. You know! Grannies bragging book.
Grandma Crawford
well that’s pretty much MS for ya: chunky gadget losers
I like the idea of video on the go….I travel alot and could make use of such a device…
This was a very closed minded article…
Typical of this site…Is this Microsoft daily news or MAC Daily news…?
SnagglePuss, get a portable DVD player, it’s cheaper and has a bigger screen. Better yet, use your laptop.
eBook readers were a flop, expensive and limited in usefulness. As long as there are laptops there is no point to these things.
What would you expect from the makers of Internet Explorer, XP-only Service Packs, non-64-bit OS designs, and vaporware with less and less features (i.e Longhorn)?
Microsoft’s vision looks more like a nightmare.
Ahh, the perfect accessory for the Gateway Profile 5.5.
By the way, Gateway’s Profile 5.5 numerical suffix was chosen in honor of the 5 and 1/2 inch floppy drive. Rather sentimental of the Gateway folks, don�t you say?
When they come up with an encoding so you can download a full length movie off the net in half an hour then it would be cool to have an ipod with a video out feature so you can hook it up to watch on a TV, small screen you hook up to it, or maybe even goggles that you can wear which show as a full screen. You could then just play it when you want and would not have the bulk associated with the POS media center. If it becomes so it makes sense to do it I am sure Apple will lead the way.
Anyone know what the battery life of this ‘offspring from an M$ bastard child’ is?
1 hour… 2 hours…?
If you watch video on it it bet it wont be longer than 2 hours – as the screen would have to be backlit permanently to see the video!
Portable Media Center: Technology with a thousand and one uses!
Use #5. Chock for yer car when you hafta change a tire.
Use #23. High-tech paperweight.
Use #107. Wireless feature announces when Paul Thurrott’s video stream for the “new” Longhorn release is available.
Use #241. Nightlight and lullaby player fer yer little baby. Let Bill Gates nightly plant the seeds of MS dominion in the mind of yer innocent child.
Use 425: Back up yer �old� Windows OS before you install the next Service Pack.
Use 760. Link yer family�s PMC�s together to make yer own exclusive �home version� of a Microsoft supercluster-supercomputer.
Use 828: Run Windows externally after the latest virus has just trashed yer internal hard drive. (Only for Windows XP users with pre-paid subscription services.)
ONE BIG REASON ms pmcenters won’t sucksede is because there was no apple prototype to copy.
I think this picture pretty much says it all:
Could you actually see yourself holding that little brick up like that for half an hour to watch a TV show on that tiny screen, let alone a 2 hour movie? AND pay $500 bucks for the privilage??
The other promotional pictures look just as ridiculous. To me it already looks like a dated piece of technology.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002J6GLG
readerX:
Congratulations for finding the power switch to your computer. Now, find a dictionary or use spell check. Yours has got to be the most wretched and infantile attempt to spell “succeed” that I have every seen.
I hear that Mrs Crawford. Good to see proud grandmothers on this site.
According to the Microsoft website you can use the PMC for movies, television, or still photos.
You cannot use the PMC for movies, television, AND still photos.
Wow, what versatility, expansion capacity, and convergence?
Well, I suppose, that most Windows users will pay $1,500 to use all 3 grand features (excluding having to pay to upgrade to XP). Maybe Bill Gates will offer his non-XP user lemmings a discount to upgrade to XP.
Public Education Inaction:
It looks (more to the point) like you need a lesson on how to interpret sarcasm and wordplay. Lay off ‘readerx’ for trying to express his point of view with a bit of clever wording… While you’re at it – shove that dictionary up your a$$ and enjoy a good colon cleansing…
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/devices/portablemediacenter/overview.mspx
Every TV show you’ve ever quoted. *
Every movie you’ve ever loved. *
Every photo you’ve ever taken. *
* This storage capacity requires that you have a Portable Media Center with a hard disk that is 40 gigabytes (GB) in size, with all hard disk space dedicated to either video, audio, or pictures.
Rite. I git it know. Werd play. Im goink to be a kreative riter lik readerx an scoty the toilet tissue. Say scottie i hope it tasted good.
werd play? wird play? help mee scotie. I furgit wat yu taut me in skool. kreativ ritin is hard too doo kus i cant tell when i start or when i stop it.
kan i go back to reglar riting. this kreativ stuf makes my hed hert.
yer lil pupil, readrex
portable media centers already exist, they are called laptops…theyre a phenomenal creation
microsoft get a clue, youre not going to kill the ipod with something that is not comparable. is the ipod competing with laptop computers? no. a portable media center is just a crappy notebook computer, and who wants one of those? i guess money doesnt buy common sense
woo needs gammur or punkuashun im a kreativ riter
i will rite kreative riting fer dummys to proov that i kan rite abowt kommunikashun an kreativ ritin at the same tyme. if u kant deel wit it two badd
no rools iz the roolz doo yoo whant moor or shud i shut up know or iz it reelee anoying
how kan u tel if it iz wat it iz call skoti fer sarkasm
so now i no wer scoties dickshunhairy is lodged – it iz up hiz kolon – i thaut that waz a kweer playce to put it
o no look at the tyme – gotta go
bin nyce rite sune
Re: ED
” think this picture pretty much says it all:
Could you actually see yourself holding that little brick up like that for half an hour to watch a TV show on that tiny screen, let alone a 2 hour movie? AND pay $500 bucks for the privilage??
The other promotional pictures look just as ridiculous. To me it already looks like a dated piece of technology.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002J6GLG“
————
Is it me or does the guy in the pic look like he is squinting because he’s looking at video on such a tiny screen???
LOL!
What gets me laughing is the fact that the average windows user will NOT pay �499 for this ‘device’ when their windows pc only cost them $299!
The PMC is overpriced for the windows market!
AND you can’t even make telephone calls on it!
Bloody useless if you ask me!!
Solarflare:
The gentleman is not squinting, he is wincing in pain. This is a common reaction.
Solarflare:
Please note that the blue screen is clearly evident on the device and is quite likely the source of the user�s consternation. The ubiquitous trademark of Microsoft Corporation is smaller than what is seen on a typical PC, but the engineers at Microsoft were able to minimize the blue screen. Kudos to them.
Public Education Interaction,
Regardless of how many posts you send back, you can’t wipe away your first post. You obviously didn’t understand the sarcasm in reader X’s remark. Even if you did, you may want to check your own spelling. I don’t believe “the most wretched and infantile attempt to spell “succeed” that I have EVERY seen” makes a lot of sense. Nice try.
Solarflare, Meat of Moose, Mac Zealot:
Sadly, I think you’re all correct: he is in pain, from having to squint to see the blue screen of death. I suspect he is approximately three seconds away from hurling it against the wall. Obviously, the ease with which this can be thrown against a wall is its chief advantage over a $299 PC.
“There is only one company that will create a portable media centre that answers all these usage ideas and that is practical for all uses.
And that company is APPLE!”
Apple will not go that route as SJ has consistently said. Did you read the article? The device doesn’t make any sense. Want to watch a movie, use your laptop or portable DVD player. Want to listen to music, use an iPod. There absolutely doesn’t need to be a device that does it all. It makes for compromise. For gadget freaks it may be nirvana, but for most others it a bad idea.
Interesting Review from Amazon on the product….
“I bought one and the battery life is only 1 hour.
The sound quality is lousy and it only has a small hard drive, so you can’t even store alot of video on it! The windows OS installed is very buggy to say the least and it seems to slow down when video is played on it!
My advice is buy an ipod or wait until APPLE comes up with a better, cheaper, easier to use and more intuitive PMC!
I can’t even sell it on Ebay at a loss – no one wants one!!! “
It should be noted that the the blue screen that you can see is the normal PMC interface.
That said, I think it’s only a matter of time before the real BSOD appears. At which point the user will throw it against the wall and buy a truly usable device…an iPod, or a portable computer.
“It should be noted that the the blue screen that you can see is the normal PMC interface.”
Which leads me to believe they were just saving on graphic design expenses. Why go to the trouble of designing some other screen, when they all ultimately lead to the BSOD?
The reviews on Amazon are hilarious! Especially the ones promoting the PMC!
I need not quote here, there are just too many tidbits of windronism over there.
If they are willing to put up with a lack of software to actually convert video content to be useful on the PMC, then wait hours upon hours to do the conversions with 3rd party beta software, then wait some more to upload the video, then tolerate the fact that the video is inverted (ie negative image), and still rate the product as great, then I would like to see what they would say about….well never mind.
Zac
I have to admit that some PCMs look novel; they have a cool factor the way a lot of new gadgets do. The problems start when you start using it in the real world. Personally I would not want to watch a long movie or even a television show on a tiny screen in one sitting; it would be too uncomfortable. The content for these things has to be short, as in a few seconds or at most, several minutes.
Sony realised the limitations of portable video and that is why the Portable PlayStation will make the PCMs history. While the PSP will have movie playback on a quality screen, it will be a games device first and a media player second, just like the PS2 before it.
As for Apple, they might introduce a portable colour screen device for using indoors (Airport Express 2.0 Remote?) but i do not think they are interested in video iPods. Best to let Microsoft test the waters with that idea.
boisei:
Since beating a dead horse is a traditional blog activity, let me say that �suck-cede� or “suckcede” or �suck-seed� or �suck-ceed� (you get the point, right?) or something like this would be intuitively understood to be sarcasm. It is difficult, at times, to tell complete idiocy from �kreative riting�. Perhaps you have greater insight and education in writing than most people. I look forward to your blogs and links regarding creative writing and sarcasm. Really. I�m sure that your efforts will be suck-cessful.
Sincerely,
Publik Egamicayshun survivor
What I want to know is why people are willing to put up with such garbage.
If anyone bought a TV that inverted the colors like the PMC did, they would throw a hissy fit, and return the TV immediately. I personally could give MS (or any other company) such leeway with a problematic device.
After reading the reviews on Amazon, it makes me even happier that I have an iPod.
If I want portable video (� la PMC), I’ll wait for Apple to jump in and show the industry (once again) how it’s done.
Publik,
I love the way you are able to turn up the sarcasm in your own posts while not being able to recognize sarcasm in the posts of others. You’re so clever.
Seriously, if you can’t tell the difference between complete idiocy from “kreative riting” then maybe you should not be posting on such matters. Laugh at yourself. Everyone else is.
So, Publik, get creative and look for the power switch to your computer. Push it and call it a day because your “infantile” attempt to defend yourself has grown old.
I’m off to find more idiots to make fun of.
Looks like the Atari Lynx Video Game I bought back about the time of the LAST Gulf War. Check it out:
NoPCZone:
That’s astounding. And the Atari actually looks quite a bit thinner!
Maybe years from now when significant advancements in nanotechnology, a/v codecs and batteries enable these devices to be considerably lighter and thinner, AND general Internet bandwidth increases to the point where people can actually download lengthy, high-res video media in a reasonable period of time, they might be able to develop a small market of their own, a fraction the size of the portable audio player market. But the basic idea is simply too fundamentally flawed for these to ever to be the next big thing, much less an “iPod killer”. For now, I think it’s a pretty safe bet these are going to be quite a bit less successful than tablet PCs, which is saying something.
^ idiot
gee…
For $500, I could buy a DVD player, AND a small color TV… and watch videos….
I’d much rather carry them around than this POS…
Even though I would look just as ridulous .. at least I’d be able to actually see the screen !
boisei:
You have not seen the assignments from students that I have had the misery to review. Be glad that you are not in my class, your papers would be bleeding to death. Good writing comes from clear thinking, extensive reading, and regular practice; efforts that most students have not taken the time to develop. You would agree, I hope.
Publik Egamicayshun = troll
“Porn on the go” is the marketing lingo to sell these products thats for sure.
This would work, if only there were also GAMES on these portable devices. Gameboy, a real life result.
Porno would help vastly as well =D
This article is just a carbon copy of Steve Jobs – vision.
Whats happened to the human race ? Surely we can survive a 2 hour bus trip without watching Futurama episodes, ‘again’.
Publik Egamicayshun…
Just for general *tickles*…. why not stick around MDN… for awhile …read the comments, and just observe the wit and satire filled comments from the regular posters here…
For the most part, they are a funny bunch !!
and …maybe, just maybe… if you understood what goes on around here… you wouldnt feel the need to correct everyone on their spelling, diction and punctuation….
No one needs a grammar school teacher here…. and contrary to what you may think…. even the posters here from around the world get their message across…
And after all…. isnt the whole point of the spoken…or in this case… the written word??…. to get ones point across ?
Chill !
and besides ….Publik Egamicayshun…
Im quite sure the MDN posters from the UK are quite capable of giving YOU an English lesson….
and why not?? … after all… they invented the language !!
My portable media Center is Apple PowerBook with Superdrive, Bluetooth and Airport connected to my Nokia telephone and iPod. This combo is brilliant.
We know Microsoft and innovation, ease of use and customer satisfaction don’t mix.
“I told you it wouldn’t work!!!”
That’s ok it makes my iPod look so much better.
Oh, visti my webstie
Just One More Thing.com
This is not a very bright idea…
What are all you guys who love slagging off the concept of a portable media center gonna say when Apple finally do get round to bringing out their own video iPod? Granted, if they ever do, it will look and work much better than the current round of PMC devices…, but are all the readers on this site so Apple brainwashed you can’t have anything good to say about any product that isn’t Apple?
What are all you guys who love slagging off the concept of a portable media center gonna say when Apple finally do get round to bringing out their own video iPod?
~~~~~~~~
that it will serve to merely hold movies to be played on a ‘real’ viewing screen, like a television…
in other words.. the ipod.. connected to a Apple Home Theatre Deck of sorts.. connected to your Television
Let me know when people want to watch movies on a small screen, let alone watch movies over and over and over and over..
I know.. kids like watching cartoons incessantly…and movies over and over…
for the rich that insist on giving their kids these toys.. get a TV in the back seat of your car (common) and be done with it..
Can you imagine entrusting that thing to your kids and them losing it?! pfft..
pity the jerks who steal it.. it runs windows
I think Toshiba has decided to go it alone…
http://www.macminute.com/2004/09/27/toshiba/
switcher:
If Apple developed their own version of the PMC I wouldn’t buy it.
Happy now?
Video just doesn’t work when your on the run. I don’t want to strain my eyes watching a 2″ screen when I can use my laptop with a 12″ screen if I really want to watch some video. Most cars have there own video players now so I don’t need it there. Glare from the sun probably would prohibit watching anything outside. The screen probably wouldn’t be bright enough anyways. It just doesn’t make sense to carry around a portable video player.
If it did Apple would have already come up with one very cool player already.