Peter Kafka

Recent Posts by Peter Kafka

Microsoft Shows Off Its New Video/Xbox Service

So here you go: As I reported last night, Microsoft has added several more video providers to its Xbox video service, and has deals with Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner’s HBO, among others.

The video below gives you the gist: You can control some of this directly on your Xbox via voice control, motion control and a Windows smartphone. Again, the key point here is that you won’t get any of this stuff on your machine unless you’re already paying for it through a cable subscription.

This is incremental stuff but it’s still interesting. A source who’s played with the new service says it’s genuinely cool. Just as important, given that Microsoft has sold some 50 million compatible machines, it has (potential) leverage to do some really interesting stuff.

This is where Google TV would like to be, and it’s why Google is out pitching content guys for a relaunch this fall.

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Nobody was excited about paying top dollar for a movie about WikiLeaks. A film about the origins of Pets.com would have done better.

— Gitesh Pandya of BoxOfficeGuru.com comments on the dreadful opening weekend box office numbers for “The Fifth Estate.”