Too late. Cartman's already got one...

"Hey dudes, check out my sweet Trapper Keeper Ultra Keeper Futura S2000. Yeah well, its got ten different compartments for every subject in school, electronic pencil sharpener, four plastic bags with electronic zippers, copy machine, fax, a better picture of Dawson's Creek on the back than Kyle's, flat screen TV, and of course OnStar."

So you mean it files my tax returns and walks my dog? And goes to work for me when I feel like slacking off?

It can jack ME off?

HAHA look at the geek in the video!

#!/bin/sh
export CARTMAN_VOICE=BEST
echo "Sweeeeeeeet"

Resistance is futile.

That was useless.

Digital soothsayers spent years debating whether this all-in-one device would look more like a TV or a PC, the two most obvious contenders.

Sure, but you have a chance for a much bigger payout if you place your bet on an exacta box with the microwave, the toaster, and the answering machine.

Computer/Tv/keggerator/

If that is ever a reality none of us will ever leave the house again. If you could incorporate a cyborg love slave then the economies of the world would colapse.

mmmmmm cyborg love slave.



"electro-gonnorhea: the noisy killer">

Do you really want networked Content delivered throughout your home? I aways thought having a TV in every room was a sign that you watch too much TV.

It all sounds like solutions to things are aren't problems.

I, for one, welcome our new digital uberdevices.

/so, so cliched. I feel dirty.

I was happy to have a device. I am now on the edge of my seat for these UBERDEVICE thingees.

I'll stick with my home network. Some of us like big boxes with tons of cables in the back and CAT5 up to your chin.

We already have the Internet Fridge. What esle could be ask for?

Wow, you mean I can pay $200 for an XBox, $40-$70 for a mod chip, and $150 for a hard drive on my PC big enough to support my downloads of Law & Order?!
And I get all those episodes at 320x240 resolution?! Does it piss off the RIAA or TV industry somehow?? Wow, the benefits just keep on ROLLING in! What a digital revolution!
I'll never need TiVo!

/novel attempt at sarcasm

First one to develop a peripheral that gives realistic interactive blowjobs wins.

I suggest The Connection Gap by Laura Pappano.

Everyday they keep coming closer to making console systems just like PCs.

If they could somehow work it out, so that I could connect a future model of RealDoll to my computer, and have macros in the computer control her movements and actions, then I would never, ever leave my house again.

Yoshi's Boxx is way better...

skinink -- considering adult entertainment consistently leads the charge into new tech, I would not be surprised to see such a thing.

And I wouldn't ever leave the house, either.

twotontim

They won. NSFW

Um, can't I have a machine that just plays games?

Oh, that's right I already do. It's called a GameCube.

2003-12-15 12:20:14 AM skinink

If they could somehow work it out, so that I could connect a future model of RealDoll to my computer, and have macros in the computer control her movements and actions, then I would never, ever leave my house again.

That's being worked on by the realdoll people. No really, I'm not making this up... read the FAQ on their site.

oh, and for the idea: :D

GoSlash27:

That's right, egg Gates on: She'll automatically update all the viruses we'll ever need and, if we forget to pay, her voice will lose it's sultry tones to be replaced by a shrill ice pick "LET ME IN! I WORK FOR BILL!! Just uberdooper.

Just so long as it comes with the "uber-remote."

I agree the YOSHI box is the best, old school nes rocks!

The accompanying video shows just how much money MS is going to make when they release the X Box 3, which is rumored to be incorporating PVR into it. The geek made a good point, he would rather sit in a comfortable chair to watch his episodes and movies on his homemade PVR than in a computer chair.

Basically a TIVO that plays games.

OMFG LOLOLOl!!!!11111 Ub3r-L33tness I pwn j00 ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US LOLO!

i AM UBER L0L one three three seven!111!!!@21@!!

why doesn't he just hook his computer up to his tv? He wasted 200 dollars on something he doesn't even need. Oh wait, he can play games on it too. Nope, computer all ready has that one covered too. Should of bought a gamecube, they have original games only out on Nintendo's system.

Nintendo Lamecube. Enough said.

Yeah, I don't get it. Just hook your computer up to send output to your TV; leave the XBOX an XBOX. Am I missing something?

Super Smash Brothers on the N64/Gamecube is still the best multiplayer console game. Why? It looks like a kiddy game (probably because it is) but it's hella fun, like so many nintendo games, and you don't need to put up with that split screen bs. Plus it's a game that really needs to be played on a console, unlike many other 'good' games that other consoles have such as halo.

A gamecube is a console, an xbox is the poor mans pc. I haven't played with the playstation 2 much in order to form an opinion there.

Gamecube/N64 + LAN = a good time had by all.

Anyone have a good link for info on PSX and PS3?

I'd just like to say:

Y'all realize the game industry is bigger than movies? Games are very important. And they're only going to get more important. It actually seems logical to me that the unified device would come out of gaming. Gaming drives most of the PC hardware industry.

p.s. I will farking own you all at Battlefield 1942

Runkey: I've got Law & Order DVD rips :)

"Basically a TIVO that plays games."

Like a computer you mean?

I think the one factor that's being overlooked by the industry is price. Putting all that hardware into one box isn't cheap. The PSX (PS2/TiVO) thing is friggin' $700! You could buy a PC with a montor for that kind of money. Nintendo dropped the price of the Gamecube to $99 a few months ago and now it's outselling the PS2 and Xbox. It's the best selling console this Christmas season. If the next generation of consoles cost around $500 apiece because of all the hardware bloat, and Nintendo comes out with a game-only machine with comparable graphical ability for around $200, they might just be able to wiggle their way out of third place.

I hope that if they plan on going the convergence route they let you get a stripped down version of the systems that will let you play any of the games. Ahhh to dream.

More than likely though, if they did have a barebones version and a full on version, you would have to upgrade the barebones version to a cost greater than the full on one to be able to play all the games.

Get ready for the next wave of consoles. $500 when released???

My pocket pc phone which plays movies, games (emulators too), browses the web, newsgroups, plays mp3/ogg/shoutcast (admitedly shoutcast is only usable over my wifi network through my cable modem), supports a few IM clients as well as IRC. Seems like it has the best of this convergence so far.

The only question that really comes up in such a situation is do gaming companies really need to combine components into a single box?

Most people own a tivo/replay, why even bother adding that to a game system when price point will be affected? It really doesn't make sense. Unless enough consumers think that it is "worth it" to pick up the system with capabilities they already have. It is always nice to clean up that component rack, but at what price does that come? The average consumer really doesn't have an extra $500 for machine that does stuff their current technology already does (like that microwave toaster that cannot microwave and toast at the same time. What the fark is that?!). And upgrades will be a problem (non-firmware upgrades). If you are combining that many components, upgrading is necessary, as is creating a few sets of specifications available for purchase. And console makers have never really been to big on that (extra ram for Saturn and Nintendo64 doesn't count, nor do external add ons like the Sega32x or segaCD).

I never understood this Microsoft Xbox project. It didn't seem as logical an extension as everyone claimed (it isn't really even a game console, just a decent computer--by release date standards--that was being sold under price).

Can't we please just stop using the word "uber" in front of random words. Gawd now that the media is using it, its just not l33t anymore :p

I don't buy the hype. I remember all the promises and love songs Sony sang as it heralded the coming of its PoS2 Christ-child. It was going to be your game player, DVD, network hub, home shopper, mother, teacher, and secret lover. What a load.

The Gamecube doesn't have a lot of the games the PS2 does, but like any good tool, it does only one thing, really well: play games.

I hate to feel the words coming out of my mouth, but MS was the closest to getting it right with Xbox. If they upgraded the next version with a Tivo-like vid card, like an All-in-Wonder Pro, and a DVD-RW drive, they'd be set. Especially since the TV Industry ain't gonna mess with the 800-lb. gorilla. Hell, toss in a cheap streaming audio/music store app just to twist Steve Jobs' and the RIAA's knickers at the same time.

First thing I don't understand about the whole computer/game/av convergence thing; why all the cables? Sony came up with Firewire (iLink) as a way to send sound,vision, control, and network digital signals bidirectionally along one cable. How come, 5 years after it came out, there are still a buttload of cables behind my a/v rack? I want one cable going from VCR, DVD player, computer, tivo, tv to receiver/controller. Would do a lot to help clean up this mess, instead of routing all these analog signals around.

As for convergence, would be cool if the console makers made modular versions of their boxes that could plug into some kind of backplane so there could be easy Yoshi boxes capable of running all games.

My ideal setup would be a firewire based receiver, a server with enough expandable storage (fiber channel raid box?) to hold all my dvd's (around 100), all my music, timeshifted tv, etc. as well as user home directories and running home automation software and a network that would let it be accessed from around the house. While such a device would have an ip and be controled via a GUI or terminal, it would not be a workstation. Why should it? In IT we have servers and clients. Why expect a household, with multiple users to not be the same? I'd like to have one good workstation, capable of pro-level video/3d production (lots of fast storage) and wireless tablets (getting user home directories from server) for connecting to the internet, displaying a/v from server and able to handle office/dtp work.

As for an all-in-one device, laptops might evolve into that role, just so you can take it with you. Hell, I have a 5 year old G3 laptop with DVD, Mame, a/v out and enough hard drive space to hold several divx rips. Yeah, no 5.1 stereo but other than that, it works pretty well.

If anyone actually bothered to go to XBox Media Player's website they would immediately stop huffin' and puffin' and start drooling. For 140 (used) + 50 (solderless mod-chip) you can have an entertainment center far better than almost any home-built PC for double the price.

Can't we please just stop using the word "uber" in front of random words. Gawd now that the media is using it, its just not l33t anymore

You couldn't be more wrong. It's uberl33t.

2003-12-15 10:19:51 AM gilmoure

First thing I don't understand about the whole computer/game/av convergence thing; why all the cables? Sony came up with Firewire (iLink) as a way to send sound,vision, control, and network digital signals bidirectionally along one cable. How come, 5 years after it came out, there are still a buttload of cables behind my a/v rack?

Because Apple invented it, not Sony, and Apple charges royalties for its use.

The funny thing about this whole debate is the amount of vaporware out there that says its going to be the "digital lifestyle device of choice" - like this (bluebox technology) one. Nice to see that you've got an amazing screenshot but you're still trying to hire project managers and programmers, l0ser.