You're a better man than I; I've inexplicably managed to acquire more televisions than residents in my household. Shameful, really.

Although it does come in handy when the gang comes over to play Artemis.

Aww, I miss my Compaq luggable.

Yay!

L'art pour l'art!

Magnificent.

I'd probably build boats. Or houses; working as an electrician's apprentice during high school and college was one of the jobs I loved most. Or maybe be a long-haul truck driver; that always seemed appealing to me on a weird level. Some nice, honest, not especially academic work (unlike what I do now).

Not to mention the knitted vest. Ungh. Soooo hot!

I kinda think you guys are looking at it the wrong way.

Microsoft isn't selling a game/media console; they're selling a software ecosystem. This isn't "one device to rule them all" as much as it is a compatible chunk of hardware designed to integrate with software their customers probably already possess. They want your life to be enhanced by Microsoft--a Microsoft desktop environment, a Microsoft mobile smartphone environment, a Microsoft media environment, etc.

It's a pretty effective business plan, in my humble and completely insignificant opinion. It worked extremely well for Apple, once they rose to dominance with their iPhone. It's working reasonably well for Google, though they've only taken tentative steps into the hardware world. It has not worked well for Sony; they have tried and failed to establish their own software ecosystem. Now that their tablets are running Android, it's probably not going to happen for them. Nintendo has never really tried to establish a software ecosystem (and that's fine; they do what they do pretty well... though I'm not especially impressed with the WiiU).

I think think the Xbox One is a good indication of where we've come from and where we're going. It's basically just a half-decent PC running a very restrictive custom OS designed to integrate seamlessly into M$'s world. This is kinda how tech is working these days. We have more devices than ever... they can just do a hell of a lot more than they used to. When we get a new phone, we expect it to have a camera, a GPS, a web browser, an app for FaceSpace, a media player, an alarm clock, a news client, a remote link to a satellite that can scratch our ass from outer space, and, oh yeah, a phone. Devices are coalescing around software environments more than they're coalescing around hardware, though. We're more concerned with the quality of the Maps app than we are with the processor speed of a phone nowadays, 'cause that's what's really going to decide whether or not the phone is going to be as useful as we want.

I'm rambling; please forgive me.

The PS4 is probably also going to be a fancy PC with a restrictive OS--I expect it will actually be superior (possibly substantially) to the Xbox One, but I'm not sure that it will sell as well, because it isn't designed specifically to integrate with a software ecosystem (as far as I know).

I think engineerd is right about the SYNC system being an indication of the future--the idea is that your hardware will be compatible with all the other tech in your life, that the software will behave in ways that you expect--useful ways that allow you to accomplish more things in less time with less effort.

I already think about my computer in a "modular" sense. I don't give a crap about my hardware. "My computer" is not a piece of hardware, it's the amalgamation of the data, programs, and software environment. The hardware will be upgraded, will change completely, and will take different forms, but it's ultimately all a way of accessing my "exobrain" (if I might borrow a fantastic term).

Will the Xbox One become a part of my exobrain? I'm not so sure. The Kinect will probably be great for Skype and possibly a couple of games, but motion-based control of the "Minority Report" sort only looks cool on TV. In reality, it is annoying as all get-out (currently have a Kinect, would far prefer to use my controller 99.9% of the time). Same goes for voice command. Looks and sounds cool when Tony Stark talks to his computer, looks and sounds idiotic when I'm doing it in my living room.

Software ecosystem? We've got a mix in our home; an Xbox sits under the TV, but so does a Wii and a Raspberry Pi. My desktop is a Hackintosh but also has a Linux partition and a (completely unused, if I am to be honest) Windows partition. Our laptops and MG's iPad are Apple products, but our phones are Android phones. Currently, we manage pretty well with this mixed system...

I kinda wonder if we'll go with "one" ecosystem at some point in the future. I don't like the idea, honestly; competition is good for consumers like me. As long as there's a bit of competition, we can generally be assured that most of our devices will be somewhat compatible with one another; every manufacturer has an incentive to allow their stuff to work with someone else' stuff.

Ugh, kinda been all over the place with this post; my apologies. Tryin' to squeeze it in before I hafta run to my next class!

If you absolutely have to spend time in front of a desk...

I am typing this post while walking on a treadmill desk. It is awesome; I am addicted to the thing. I don't know that it's helped me lose any weight, but it's probably helped keep it off, and that definitely makes the thing all worthwhile. Only about $100 for a damned good used treadmill at the local thrift store (they call 'em "recycle shops" here); just add a modular shelf and a second monitor + keyboard an' mouse. MG uses it sometimes, too; she just pushes my keyboard out of the way and sets up her iPad while she runs. She likes to run on the thing, in short bursts (10-20min). I prefer to walk for longer periods (1-3hrs); I can type, do graphics work, pretty much whatever I want at around 1.8-2.4kph.

I'd prefer to spend time outside, bicycling, swimming, snowboarding, hiking, or just goofing around... but, if nothing else... it's better than that horrifying one-person loveseat.

IBM Model M for the WIN! I still have one back in the 'States somewhere. There's a reason Unicomp can still sell the damned things for $80 a pop, despite not having backlights or fancy customizable buttons or any gibberish like that.

Pro tip: Marry someone who's even more perverted than you are; never worry about it again.