Custom PC Blog

Microsoft Announces Free Gaming Service for Windows

Microsoft has revealed their new gaming service “Games for Windows – LIVE”, a free gaming service that allows users to play games online through a service similar to that of Xbox Live.

The new service will utilize gamer tags, friends lists shared between Xbox 360, Windows Live and Zune, text & voice chat, and gamer achievements. All of these features are similar to those found on Xbox Live, the service that Microsoft has received high marks for on its Xbox and Xbox 360 console platforms.

On top of the PC game play aspects offered by the service, Microsoft has also announced cross platform gaming between Windows users and Xbox Live gamers. Although there was no mention of any plans to offer the Xbox Live service for free.

The Windows Live service sounds like it will attempt to set some new standards for online gaming. While it worries me when companies try to create standards for the rest of the industry, some of the innovations delivered by Xbox Live would be a welcomed change in the PC gaming world.

So far there has yet to be any industry standards regarding online gaming with PCs leading to a rather fractured online community consisting of millions of users. It would be very cool to allow those people to easily interact in a common ground to further the gaming culture, and bring gamers closer together.

To read the full details checkout the Games for Windows - Live homepage here.

With the new standards and features offered by Games for Windows - Live what are your impressions of how well the service will be received by users? Do you think standardizing online gaming will provide value to gamers, or make people feel as though they are being told how they should play. Let’s hear your thoughts!

Concerns from Customers Have Delayed the Pending Deadline

In a recent article on Information Week, Microsoft has announced that it will no longer make Windows XP available to large computer makers, such as Dell, Lenovo, or Hewlett-Packard, or to software retailers.

This did not come as much of a shock, since most businesses in the computer industry have been watching Microsoft bump back the cut off date from the original December 2007 deadline.

Since the Windows XP cutoff was first announced, Microsoft has had to readjust its deadline several times to address concerns from users over quality issues with the new Windows Vista operating system.

While this deadline will affect larger manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo, many white box system builders will be able to offer Windows XP until 2009 – 2010.

The main question that is posed from all the feedback Microsoft has received from its customers is “why are people so against this move to Vista?”

In almost any industry, consumers are usually excited to adopt the latest and greatest technology. Whether it’s for a status symbol or merely to be on the cutting edge, you will find the majority of people embrace this type of change.

I think this highlights aspects of Microsoft’s aging business model that continues to frustrate customers, and cause consumers to look for other means of software for their systems.

Click here to read the entire Information Week Article

Editor’s Note: With all the concerns surrounding the upgrade to Windows Vista what are you planning to do for your next operating system. While some may plan to upgrade to Windows Vista or purchase the Vista “downgrade”, others are planning to wait for the 2010 release of Windows 7 or switch over to another operating system altogether. What are your thoughts on the issue?