Jeff Henshaw talks 360 multimedia
by Jennie Lees 
{ Dec 14th 2005 at 2:30PM }
The UK's Official Xbox Magazine has managed to spend some quality time with Jeff Henshaw, the man who turned the Xbox from a games console to a multimedia centrepiece for the home. He's also responsible for the Guide, and some of the new features in Xbox Live and the Marketplace.
With a little sly dig at some rivals -- There are other companies out there that want you to own a brand ‘S’ console. They want you to own a brand ‘S’ TV and a brand ‘S’ digital audio player and a brand ‘S’ portable gaming device -- he talks on living room convergence, Microsoft and Apple, casual gamers and Xbox Live. Microsoft are clearly focused on convergence--the Guide and the multifaceted functionality of the 360 make this clear--but it's interesting to see quite how single-mindedly they are going after the market. In Microsoft's world, all you need is an Xbox.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Duncan @ Dec 14th 2005 4:20PM
That interview would have a lot more truth in it if the 360's non-gaming things sucked much less. If I could play music and videos or view photos over my network, that would be a welcome improvement. Or, if the music player would read CD text, not impose character limits, and allow me to set album titles of individual tracks, that would also make me happy. Damn you Microsoft! Ruining an entertaining product with shoddy software... When will you learn?
elroyhead @ Dec 14th 2005 3:58PM
An Xbox and a Media Center PC, right?
miguel @ Dec 14th 2005 4:13PM
haha.. my first thought too.
S.A. @ Dec 14th 2005 7:00PM
Actually, it works with regular windows and Media Center PC's. Of course I think the media center pc users would find streaming content easier. But there is an option on there to stream content from a regular windows pc.
jennie @ Dec 14th 2005 7:33PM
Yup, you can just get Windows Media Connect and stream photos and music across your network from XP. It works brilliantly for me, but shame about the video.