Discussion on:

Geek Trivia: Thinking outside the Xbox

Snow Crash may well be the best science fiction title I've ever read (and I've read a lot of them in addition to actually earning three credit hours in college with a sci-fi course). If you haven't read it, you need to give it a go.

The article says "...Bill Gates took notice, and he used Allard's memo as the basis for Microsoft's "embrace and extend" Web software strategy..."

I believe that the Gates' expression is "embrace, extend, extinguish" thereby revealing the diabolical nature of Gates and Microsoft.

This explains how the target slipped a lot between concept and release. The XBOX processor was a 700 Celeron when current pc's had 1200 Celerons and P4's were about to release. Any gain from the adapting to the hyperbus was lost to locked design and development with slower uncached processors and graphics. Cost was a constraint, but so were the restrictions of not competing with PC builders and not being able to run MS software on the Xbox, or Xbox games on PCs. They are side stepping the Intel vs AMD and PC builders by going IBM PPC.

http://microsoftversusapple.blogspot.com/2009/11/about-whats-wrong-with-pc-aka-microsoft.html

Console is the enemy of every Microsoft based Pc. Why? Because using Xbox/PS/Wii means that I can buy a Linux or Mac operating system to my new netbook/laptop. Why? Because I will play on Xbox/Ps/Wii and I can use Linux/Mac to do my work using
OpenOffice, watch a movie, check facebook.

Ps: Microsoft sells technology. Apple sells clothes. Be simple because nobody will understand you.