“Inspired by Apple’s audacious iPod campaign, Microsoft hopes Xbox 360’s minimalist industrial design and frosty white appearance will appeal to more than just hardcore gamers,” Che Chou reports for 1UP.com. “The move away from a traditional console look is, of course, a calculated move on the part of Microsoft’s designers. ‘We did lots of color studies,’ says J Allard, corporate VP of Xbox and one of the console’s most outspoken evangelists. ‘Part of it is that plasma screens are going really big with glass and frosted glass. They’re getting away from black as the framing, so as we move into the HD (high definition) era and think about the next 10 years of TV, there’s that. Part of it is consumer preference and value. They associate a lot of value with the lighter colors. Most people actually came back and said, ‘This reminds me of iPod.'”
“The heart of the system itself is made up of a custom-designed IBM PowerPC-based CPU [yes, like CPUs in Apple Macs – AIM was an alliance formed in 1991 between Apple Computer, IBM and Motorola to create a new computing standard based on the PowerPC architecture.] with 3 symmetrical cores crunching data at 3.2GHz each (for a total of 6 hardware threads) at any one time,” Che Chou reports. “Allard himself hopes to model Xbox 360’s growth and evolution on Apple’s iPod success — to him, flexibility and adaptation is the key. ‘Our initial thinking was there can only be one [Xbox 360 SKU], but you know, that just limits options,’ says Allard. ‘I don’t wanna think that way. If Steve Jobs thought that way, iPod sales would have [plateaued] because there’s a finite market for people that want 20GB white things that play music at a price point that’s above $200. And that’s all he could do with iPod.’ While Allard doesn’t think Microsoft will ever have a family of Xbox 360 core units like Apple does for the iPod, he suggests that a year or two down the line, we’ll begin to see divergence in different territories, so that the North America 360 suits the hardware needs of its respective market, and likewise with Europe and Asia.”
Che Chou reports, “Taking further minimalist cues from Apple’s iPod, the Xbox 360 opts to keep most of its functionality hidden. Even the Xbox 360 logo, which was brazenly stamped dead-center on its predecessor, is all but invisible on the new system, carved discreetly instead on the DVD disc tray and imprinted on the sides of the system.”
“During our initial visit to check out the Xbox 360, Allard took significant pains to emphasize the system’s power button, which has been dubbed internally as ‘the ring of light.’ Aside from functioning as a just another on/off switch, the Xbox 360 power button is surrounded by a ring of colored light, divided into four quadrants. Depending on the individual game and programming by individual developers, these lights can be used to communicate certain info. For example, let’s say you’re playing Halo 3 splitscreen with three other friends and one of them gets an invite over Xbox Live — his quadrant of the circle could light up red as an alert. How the ring of light will work in practice with actual games remains to be seen. Since the Xbox 360 can stand vertically or rest on its side horizontally, an internal gyroscope sensor will let the machine know its orientation and adjust its circle of light quadrants accordingly,” Che Chou reports.
Full article with much, much more here.
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft sounds pretty happy that most people in their focus groups said, “This reminds me of iPod.” Does anyone remember Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect (Windows was obviously constructed without a building permit) Bill Gates’ sarcasm, “Oh, wow, I don’t think we can do that,” regarding Apple’s iPod? We do.
So, Xbox uses a PowerPC CPU, huh? Created by Apple, IBM, and Motorola’s AIM alliance and just like Apple’s Macs have used for longer than a decade? What’s the matter, Intel/AMD x86 CPUs not good enough?
Now, about that ‘ring of light.’ Doesn’t Apple already own the patent, specifically U.S. Patent #20040156192? Hey, do you think that maybe Microsoft actually licensed the patent from Apple?
How’s that “Thought Thieves” short film contest going there, Bill?
Related MacDailyNews articles:
RUMOR: Sony and Apple working together on PlayStation 3 – May 13, 2005
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 demos running on Apple Macs – May 13, 2005
Microsoft holds ‘Thought Thieves’ short film competition focusing on intellectual property theft – May 12, 2005
Apple to release new computers and devices that dynamically change color? – December 28, 2002
Apple’s patented chameleon computer case could have many uses – August 16, 2004
Apple to release new computers and devices that dynamically change color? – December 28, 2002
afcombatcrayola, come clean, you’re not a graphic designer any more than I’m an astronaut (hint: I’m not an astronaut). I’ve never met a graphic designer who would admit to using Windows, even if they were forced to by a moronic IT dept (that’s the only excuse). Your attitude about not caring what the printer does with your work is another clue. If you really are a Graphic Designer and you have an attitude like that you should really find a new career. And don’t give me this BS about AMD being so much faster than a G5. I had a topped out AMD system at my last job, but it was barely faster than the 3 year old Power Mac Dual 800mhz system. Needless to say, even with all that speed, I still chose the Power Mac. The AMD running Windows XP crashed several times a day while the Power Mac ran flawlessly for months without being shut down. I don’t use Apple products because Steve Jobs tells me they’re great. I use them because in the 24 years I’ve been using Apple computers, I’ve experienced that they’re great for myself.
The original Xbox runs at 733mhz, the PS2 runs at 300mhz.
Yet, the slower PS2 can match the graphics of the more powerful Xbox. (Take a look at Gran Turismo 4 against Forza Motorsports.)
Yes, I know the graphics are handled different on each, but the Microsoft boys are once again going ga-ga over the 3.2 mhz.
My name?
Steve Smith II
I’m an astronaut too, fight tigers on the weekends as well.
Nevermind y’all. Sorry, I’ll quit trollin’.
it took afcombatcrayola 1:15 to come up with that great comeback
Sammy:
Obtain a clue. Apple designed the custom ASIC controller for the current G5s (since Apple is the only user of this G5 varient, who do you think designed the chip, IBM?). A simple look at any Apple motherboard will reveal numerous Apple designed IC chips and controllers.
Apple designed the chip set for Firewire. Apple designed the chipset for NuBus.
Nothing in your “rebuttal” contradicts me. Stop kidding yourself.
Sammy:
Reread my last post and need to clarify. Apple designed the custom ASIC system controller for the Apple G5 PowerMac. That is an IC, a “chip.” All CPUs are IC chips. Thus, contrary to your claim, Apple designs “chips.”
Until the advent of the dedicated AGP slot in G3 towers, Apple designed all their own video processors on motherboards and daughter cards. Those would be application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) or “chips.”
Apple, Motorola, and IBM jointly created AltiVec or “Velocity Engine.” That would be a dual-instruction, foating point core on the G4 and 970 (G5) “chip.” That is hardware design, not software requirements driving hardware design. AltiVec isn’t used by IBM, nor is it present on the Power5 processor upon which the 970 is based, so clearly IBM had a support role in its development.
The article that you quote contradicts your “rebuttal.” You claim that Apple is merely the customer and Apple’s “main role in the alliance have always been on the receiving end rather than technical specifications or R&D.”
I said that “Apple has designed many custom chips and processors over the years, so it shouldn’t surprise you that they had a very active role in the specifications. Apple doesn’t manufacture chips, hence the three-way alliance.”
Here’s a quote from IBM’s Jesse Stein. You tell me whether it sounds more like what you said or what I said:
“During the PowerPC 970’s development Apple was identified as one of the primary customers. Their product and intellectual property requirements have had significant influence on the 970’s development and have helped shape the final product.”
http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/34030.html
Yeah. Apple, the only non-clone personal computer manufacturer, didn’t have any active role in the technical specifications or R&D.
As I said before: get a clue.
Hey, mfwombatasshola – you’re a designer all right. A designer of shitty suck-ass posts.
You wouldn’t know Quark from downloaded porn, you inbred assclown. Take your transparent Mac rants and stick em in your pie-hole, you poorly worded space case. No motherf*cking designer worth his f*cking name uses a PC by choice — BY CHOICE!? Gimme a f*ckin break.
You’re a PC troll dipshit of the highest order, and that’s all you’ll ever be. I’ve set more type, RIPed more files, and cut more rubylith than you can even count, dumbass. Lemme guess, bet you won’t name any of your clients or tell us what you take in a year, will you touchhole?
Shove yer PC up your cheapskate butthole, you tightass. You deserve every little “black & white notepad” job you get. It’s a long rainy weekend comin up and this Bud’s for you, dorkshit.
Syphilitic bread pounder.
^ WTF?
Hey “informed”, thanks for yer great posts in defense of the Mac, but don’t move my cheese, dink. I don’t need no glory-hole comments from the paraplegtic peanut factory, m’kay???
Take yer ‘wtf?’ and tighten it real good for entry.
Lingam.
Send me your e-mail, pal, and I’ll show you my “WTF?”
Course, it’ll hit you so hard you’ll be in a coma. Gutless.
Say something useful or get off the boards.
I have never used obscenity in posts.
Someone is doing a Triumph on me.
So, what I’m thinking is:
How are M$ going to cool those puppies!
That’s a powerful processor! It’ll take a lot of cooling.
Apple uses a pretty full-on water-cooling system for their 2.7GHz processors.
What will the X-Box 360 use to keep cool?
I predict a few meltdowns and a lot of recalls, when it finally ships…
…for the pedantic: “liquid cooling” rather than “water cooling”…