Microsoft wants Live Anywhere

LincLinc OwnerDetroit Icrontian
edited May 2006 in Science & Tech
Bill Gates has unveiled an updated Live service for Xbox that will allow users to connect from anywhere from many types of devices. Could this be how it goes after Google?

The Ars Technica article linked below concentrates on the details of the new service, but I think there's a broader picture here to be considered.
Microsoft is expecting to have over 6 million gamers signed on to Xbox Live by this time next year. [...] Gamers will be able to log onto Live Anywhere from their PCs and go head-to-head with Xbox 360 gamers on cross-platform titles. [...] Microsoft is also extending the service to mobile devices. [...] The reach of Live will continue to grow, as the service will launch in Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Poland, Slovakia, and South Africa by year end, with Microsoft expecting to continue adding new markets throughout the year.
There have been discussions of an application migration away from an local operating system to an Internet-based way of distributing software for almost a decade now. You can clearly see Google enhancing its software offerings at the same time Microsoft has thrown itself headlong into competing with this Internet rival.

It stands to reason that this expansion of the Live service is a major bid by Microsoft to get people using its online gaming system as the first steps to creating a user base for a post-Windows world of online applications. What do you think?

Source: Ars Technica
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