Microsoft’s next game console – the Xbox 360 – will integrate with the companies Windows XP Media Center 2005 operating system. This feature will allow consumers to view HD video and utilize the new Xbox’s power for local processing. Microsoft has stated that this integration will have much higher performance than the original Media Center Extender that was offered last year for the first-gen Xbox. You can read the story here.
Windows Media Center OS to Work with Xbox 360
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Eugenia Loli
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I wonder how Sony will respond to using a console system as an integral part to the home network.
So … a MS OS will work with an MS peripheral? Incredible.
The Xbox 360 can work with any XP based pc also, using the default Xbox360 dashboard etc to stream over audio and video etc to your Xbox360, you just won’t get all the MCE feel and maybe some features unless you have a MCE 2005 PC
“Microsoft has stated that this integration will have much higher performance than the original Media Center Extender that was offered last year for the first-gen Xbox.”
I would hope so look at the specs. As has been mentioned before with other companies, MS also sells “outdated” technology today.
The previous post was in reference to the current XBox. The 360 will be a winner in my book.
So Windows for PowerPC is back.
So hang on, what we are talking about is a computer? A full blown MS Media centre computer on PPC hardware? Just how much is this awesome piece of technology going to cost?
GJ
This is wonderful. I initially bought the original Xbox hoping for some sort of multimedia capabilities. I bought the Xbox media center extender kit have since received the disk based update. This should be much better as it runs natively from the hard disk apparantely (as opposed to running from dvd as in the older version). Media Center 2005 is excellent and this new Xbox 360 will only make me the “non-gamer” pick one up as soon as it comes out! There’s nothing like hundreds of gigabytes of WMA Lossless Audio streaming through my home network into my living room through the digital out. Also the Online services will be fully enabled as well. This just might make it the killer box I was looking for that can fit in my stereo component shelf. I think the original Xbox doesn’t fit too well in my living room.
That and HD compatibility already has me sold. Does anyone know if the Xbox 360 will have digital outputs standard?
As long as some Linuxdistribution will run on the Xbox 360 everything’s fine. What can be better than a Microsoft sponsored Linuxbox?
Almost everything they’ve said, though, and even the videos call it a “Media Centre Extender” and say it works for Media Centre Edition XP only. There’s even been an update to that specific OS for the Xbox 360, no such thing for normal XP. I’m wary.
Windows NT has long run on PPC, just that port has been shelved for a long time since there is no use for it. Same for the Alpha and MIPS versions. Only with the Itanium and x86-64 has MS needed to fire up the old capability of the OS to run on various procs. The OS is very flexible, just no reason to do it. Also the version on the Xbox is a very special version, and clearly doesn’t support most windows stuff. Anything not needed for games and such isn’t going to be compiled to work on it.
My understanding is Xbox360 devs have been working on Powermacs running this version of windows, only game related stuff works.
I’ve got Windows NT Workstation v4.0 and quite a few PowerPC machines are supported. I imagine MS just dusted it off and updated it to current. Considering they used Mac G5’s as the XBox 360 development platform, MS could obviously release a Mac version of Windows. It would be really interesting to see what happened. For one thing, ports of games would be a lot easier to do.
I don’t see Microsoft releaseing a Mac compatible version of XP unless Apple gets in it. Something like that would destroy Mac OSX but cause apple to sell tons of hardware. The new X-Box is looking real good i might have to pick one up when it comeout.
“Something like that would destroy Mac OSX but cause apple to sell tons of hardware.”
Good jest. MS has to catch up to OS X before they can destroy it ie. when we see icebergs floating in Hell.
Isn’t one of the major selling points of gaming on a console the fact that it *isn’t* a general purpose computer?
By next generation, this “gaming console” is going to have more functionality than your average desktop.
I’m looking forward to X BOX 360, to hack it
haha..It is going to be the second time in my life when a console is more powerfull on debut than what I own. Looks like my X-Box hacked linux box might have an 360 brother next to it 
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