Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
Maturing as an “entertainment hub”, the Xbox 360 is gaining the focus of those who wish to own one box to rule them all. Microsoft's wish of dominating the living room is coming true at last! Should Sony and Nintendo be worried?
The November system update for the Dashboard is finally upon us, delivering an incredible 85 new features to show Sony and Nintendo that they're not the only next-gen action this Christmas, giving us a gaming machine perfect for home entertainment, too.
A very exciting update for some will be the expected HD support for 1080p screens, which are clogging Australian lounge rooms as never before, although those with a 720p HDTV will feel a little left out, and wish they'd spent the extra to buy a 1080p HDTV instead.
Other needed updates include a minor revamp of the Microsoft Live Arcade interface and the ability to run XNA amateur created content - the homebrew software coders will love this opportunity, and Microsoft is smart to let this happen, unlike Sony who are trying to stamp out the homebrew coders on the PSP.
Most excitingly of all for owners of regular Windows XP machines, as opposed to those owning the more media-friendly 'Media Center' version of XP, is the ability to download and stream Windows Media Video files from an attached XP machine. Given many Xbox 360 owners also use Windows XP, they now have a real reason to stream the video content stored on their computers to watch on their TVs.
If Microsoft wants to dominate the home entertainment space, this is the way to do it, as those of us bereft of Windows Media Centre OS that know there was no technical reason not to be able to do this. At the time it was just a business decision. Thank goodness the world has changed, because this change reflects the new world of downloadable video we all live in, and Microsoft's business decision this time around benefits all Xbox 360 owners.
This new focus on streaming and downloading video has inevitably lead to Microsoft offering an iTunes-type service to provide SD and HD television content for direct download. For those people looking for a no-think download solution for this type of content, there will be rejoicing indeed, while video store owners will be shaking in their boots.
Despite some initial software issues, that, -ahem-, have allegedly “bricked” some machines, the problem has since been corrected. This update signals that Microsoft is truly upping the ante against Sony at precisely the right moment. Sony, along with cable TV companies with their own hard disk video download devices, are Microsoft's direct competitors for the hearts of lounge room budding technophiles after all.
Of course the main battle in the high definition video space is yet to be fought - that of HD DVD vs Blu-Ray. The PS3 and Xbox 360 will play a massive role in that fight as well. We can't wait to watch it unfold, as we'll be at the frontlines of the battle, just like many of you. FIGHT!
David Frost
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