Next Gen console software, PC software and the future!

[Christiaan Lourens]

Good morning guys and ladies (haha just kidding there are no women on the internet)

Now that you are all cheery and in a good mood let's discuss business.

So what are your opinions on the new software for the next gen consoles? I am rather astonished that Microsoft can develop stuff like that for a console in 5 years and not develop a similar type of software for pc's in over a decade.

Also with the PS4 the fact that you can now play while installing or downloading is amazing, why can't pc's do this yet?

What is keeping our master race at bay?

I would like to see the death of splash screens as they are annoying as hell, the I would like to see some true innovation regarding actual computers. Where is our breakthrough technology?

I feel as though we are like the iPhone, just coming out with faster, better hardware each year but stagnating in the software department and even though we get a rehash (Windows 8) that looks lovely and handles better we're still not at a stage where our needs are really satisfied.

Where are the voice command pc's? (I know they are working on it now but why did cellphones have it first?)

Let's discuss what functions you would like for a pc, what console functions you would like for the pc, as well as why they are not yet implemented or why they can't be implemented at all...

Let the discussion... Begin!

 

[ssddx]

i can play a game or use software while installing. just not the same software or game that i am currently installing.

why? because the pc is not set up to do this. in any case this actually slows down the install and installs in general do not take very long so it is a trivial matter.

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you can play while downloading as well in many cases as most patches are available on 3rd party sites.

can a ps3 or ps4 play multiple games at the same time while web browsing, on skype and watching a movie? a pc can though it is also trivial.

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voice command is quite limited. yes i agree pressing a button and saying "call 123-123-1234" is very neat for handsfree it does not translate so well to the pc. why would i say "launch chrome open www.tomshardware.com open new tab open gmail.com" or even something as simple as "open calculator" when you can do it with the keyboard faster? push start typ ca (or if you have software with a similar name... type cal or calc) and push enter. easy.

as far as speech recognition for typing... we do have it for pc.

basically... its only a novelty for the most part with not as many practical applications as a phone.

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ios, android, symbian, windows are all pretty much rehashes. what else is new? you want the progam to be similar so that users can jump right in.

windows 8 handles like a cement truck compared to windows 7. microsoft office 2010 handles like a double tractor trailer in traffic compared to office 2003. change is not always better. fixing bugs is good but you want to leave core elements the same or at least allow reverse compatability so users can use what they are the most productive with.

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why isnt there software on pc like there is on console?

not really much point. xbl and psn are quite limited in what they can do while pc is just about unlimited.

we already have steam and other services which provide downloadable games as well.

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splash screens just give you something pretty to look at instead of no image or a loading page.

lets say i want to load up diablo 3 on ps3... i need to insert the disk, click on it in the menu, wait at the loading page while it loads up the game and shows me the menu. how is this any better than looking at a splash screen for a few seconds? in some games and programs you can have elements preloaded in the background so the game or program starts right up at the expense of more programs running in the background. office does this and it works great.

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while i definitely agree with innovation it should not come at the price of productivity.

i am a power user and anything which affects my ability to get a task done is a big deal.

in ms office 2003 for instance i could do some rather basic tasks in seconds while in office 2010 it could take me 5-10 minutes of searching for the function which may or may not exist in the ribbon bar. this is not a lack of skill but a lack of insight when creating the program since it has no classic mode.

autocad on the other hand has a new ribbon bar but also provides a classic mode with icons for power users who are much faster with this method of input (although they also allow type in commands as well so its negligible but still a very good idea and i commend them for it).

as far as windows is concerned... i am on a pc not a tablet. why do i want a tablet start screen? i dont. why do i want the start bar button erased? i dont. why do i want fullscreen win8 apps with no title bar and a completely different way of closing them? i dont.

as far as i am concerned win8 is garbage for the working class.

 

[Christiaan Lourens]

i can play a game or use software while installing. just not the same software or game that i am currently installing.

why? because the pc is not set up to do this. in any case this actually slows down the install and installs in general do not take very long so it is a trivial matter.

---

you can play while downloading as well in many cases as most patches are available on 3rd party sites.

can a ps3 or ps4 play multiple games at the same time while web browsing, on skype and watching a movie? a pc can though it is also trivial.

---

voice command is quite limited. yes i agree pressing a button and saying "call 123-123-1234" is very neat for handsfree it does not translate so well to the pc. why would i say "launch chrome open www.tomshardware.com open new tab open gmail.com" or even something as simple as "open calculator" when you can do it with the keyboard faster? push start typ ca (or if you have software with a similar name... type cal or calc) and push enter. easy.

as far as speech recognition for typing... we do have it for pc.

basically... its only a novelty for the most part with not as many practical applications as a phone.

---

ios, android, symbian, windows are all pretty much rehashes. what else is new? you want the progam to be similar so that users can jump right in.

windows 8 handles like a cement truck compared to windows 7. microsoft office 2010 handles like a double tractor trailer in traffic compared to office 2003. change is not always better. fixing bugs is good but you want to leave core elements the same or at least allow reverse compatability so users can use what they are the most productive with.

---

why isnt there software on pc like there is on console?

not really much point. xbl and psn are quite limited in what they can do while pc is just about unlimited.

we already have steam and other services which provide downloadable games as well.

---

splash screens just give you something pretty to look at instead of no image or a loading page.

lets say i want to load up diablo 3 on ps3... i need to insert the disk, click on it in the menu, wait at the loading page while it loads up the game and shows me the menu. how is this any better than looking at a splash screen for a few seconds? in some games and programs you can have elements preloaded in the background so the game or program starts right up at the expense of more programs running in the background. office does this and it works great.

---

while i definitely agree with innovation it should not come at the price of productivity.

i am a power user and anything which affects my ability to get a task done is a big deal.

in ms office 2003 for instance i could do some rather basic tasks in seconds while in office 2010 it could take me 5-10 minutes of searching for the function which may or may not exist in the ribbon bar. this is not a lack of skill but a lack of insight when creating the program since it has no classic mode.

autocad on the other hand has a new ribbon bar but also provides a classic mode with icons for power users who are much faster with this method of input (although they also allow type in commands as well so its negligible but still a very good idea and i commend them for it).

as far as windows is concerned... i am on a pc not a tablet. why do i want a tablet start screen? i dont. why do i want the start bar button erased? i dont. why do i want fullscreen win8 apps with no title bar and a completely different way of closing them? i dont.

as far as i am concerned win8 is garbage for the working class.

I want to emphasise a certain part you said: Installs do not take long in general. Let's take an MMO, F2P game like World of Tanks, or even Steam games like Rome Total War 2 ect. as examples these games take LONG to install due to the download required after the install so with regards to that statement you made you are wrong, Plus who cares if it takes longer? If you are playing let's say 2 hours by the time you are done the game is installed anyway so your point is what exactly?

Nr2. I was not speaking of using other software or playing other games I was speaking about the game you are currently installing.

You can play and download at the same time, uhm? Give an example because SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, Company of Heroes 2, Rome Total War 2, Dota2, LoL & COUNTLESS other games are not like this, what game are you referring to?

No one cares about playing more than 1 game at a time, taking into consideration it is a game that requires allot of resources like the Witcher 2 or battlefield 4 you are not going to play more than 1 at a time so your example is meaningless.

How exactly does Windows 8 run like a cement truck? I have it and love it, you just need to get use to it it's like switching over from a Mercedes to a Lexus it just takes some getting use to both are premium quality. If you really like the start menu that much you just need to learn how to use Win 8, it takes less than a week to live without a start menu.

You're going about this all wrong, YOUR needs are already catered for in current OS as it is so why are you mumbling about other peoples, the future? People who just browse, game on their computers have a whole other world of needs compared to yours. This is why we have work laptops/desktops and recreational computers (enthusiast pc's which are usually much more expensive than the former unless you use a workstation in which it is the opposite or of equal value).

All you do is crit my suggestions or telling me how impractical it is to what a certain groups needs are. Instead of contributing seriously man the whole point of this is to formulate new ideas so come on get the creative juices flowing and SUGGEST some stuff stop being so pessimistic about things.

You are mainly comparing Current gen console software to my thread where as I am ONLY referring to the next gen software and what the companies said they are capable of...

I will list some examples of features to give you an idea of what I was referring to:

PS4:
The Share button

The PS4's hardware encoder always records the last several minutes of game play without using any additional resources from the game. By pressing the Share button you can then upload or save your gameplay, show your friends or keep it just for your own amusement.
PS4 Streaming

PS4 streaming lets you stream out live gameplay to your friends. This is all built into the hardware and does not need to be supported by developers. Users can react to the video by typing comments in real time. You can do this to friends, or public.

Let's say John has a gaming pc and gaming is all he does on his machine why can't he have a feature like this:

PS4 Instant On

The PS4 will be one nippy device if Sony is to be believed. It will have an instant on/off feature allowing your to shut down during a game and then boot up from scratch in seconds and resume where you left off. The days of waiting 60 seconds as your console loads up are about to end.

What's more, Chris Norden has stressed that Sony has three tenets of PS4 design: simple, social and immediate. Gamers will be able to start playing titles before they've even finished downloading.

And with one button sharing, Norden says the goal is to make it so simple users will "do it without thinking about it."

Xbox One:

You will be able to use the same Gamertag

Your Gamertag, Friends List and Achievements will all roll over to Xbox One. If you're keeping both consoles, you will be able to use the same sign-in details on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and the price of Xbox Live isn't going to be changing either.

(so imagine your pc picks up you use 5Monter4 as a gamertag in all your games it automatically creates that profile linked to an email address of your choosing no more gamertag theft because someone else beat you to it)

Xbox One personalisation

You can turn on the Xbox One by simply walking over and talking to it. It turns on instantly, and Kinect will recognise you and take you straight to your own personalised home screen. Here you have access to your own personal movies and music, as well as leaping straight into your own save games.

imagine just coming into your room you turn your tv on with your voice (I do this almost every day) my pc hears my voice and ALSO turns on... yay me...

When I mentioned splash screens I was not referring to games but ALL splash screens this includes java, mobile partner (there are allot of people from India in this community and they will know what I am referring to), banking sites, literally every program has a splash screen and it is annoying because

#1. Yes I know I opened you but it will take x amount of time for you to open so in the mean time I am doing something else...like typing oh what's that? You want to pop up and let me lose half a sentence of type work just because you like trolling me? Great!

#2 It's annoying

#3 They are not needed, the program can still open without them

#4 remember in the old days when you opened a program and there were no splash screens and if you wanted to do something it was inside the program? Yeah those were the days...

 

[ssddx]

you are entitled to your opinion but so am i. i am just providing some counterpoints as to why it might not be feasible.

i'm not being pessimistic, i'm being realistic.

just as you dont agree with my suggestions, i can not agree with yours as well. that is fair enough right?

lets continue to keep it civil here.





again... i'm stating my opinion or a few reasons i think it may not work.

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I want to emphasise a certain part you said: Installs do not take long in general. Let's take an MMO, F2P game like World of Tanks, or even Steam games like Rome Total War 2 ect. as examples these games take LONG to install due to the download required after the install so with regards to that statement you made you are wrong, Plus who cares if it takes longer? If you are playing let's say 2 hours by the time you are done the game is installed anyway so your point is what exactly?

you only need to download updates only on games you want to play online. i can play any "offline game" without any updates but any "online game" you need them. you would need to download an update for console as well which makes your point absolutely moot. yes, you can play the game while downloading an update for "online play" at the same time as playing offline but you can do this in windows as well. as far as actual game install times... i've never had a game take longer than 5-10 minutes even on a crappy old hard drive.

Nr2. I was not speaking of using other software or playing other games I was speaking about the game you are currently installing.

yes i realize this. i just threw it in as a console limitation.

You can play and download at the same time, uhm? Give an example because SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, Company of Heroes 2, Rome Total War 2, Dota2, LoL & COUNTLESS other games are not like this, what game are you referring to?

i can play unreal tournament 3 offline while downloading the multiplayer patch off a website. for any online game you need to have the patch before you can play with other players on multiplayer. no way around this. mmo games are special as they receive many more updates and you may need to not only download files when you start the game but when you try to enter certain zones as well. i played guild wars off and on for 10 years so i have a good idea about how they work.

No one cares about playing more than 1 game at a time, taking into consideration it is a game that requires allot of resources like the Witcher 2 or battlefield 4 you are not going to play more than 1 at a time so your example is meaningless.

i wouldnt say nobody however it was meant to show a limitation of consoles

How exactly does Windows 8 run like a cement truck? I have it and love it, you just need to get use to it it's like switching over from a Mercedes to a Lexus it just takes some getting use to both are premium quality. If you really like the start menu that much you just need to learn how to use Win 8, it takes less than a week to live without a start menu.

since you mentioned cars... how would you feel if i moved the steering wheel to your feet, pedals to your hands and switched you to the other side of the car? you need to get used to it i could say however you would call it stupid. i never stated that i could not use the new system just that it is a huge leap backwards instead of an improvement. its like trying to open a jar of peanut butter with a robot arm and a joystick instead of just doing it with your hands. pointless. we all have our own opinion but as a poweruser this is my standpoint

You're going about this all wrong, YOUR needs are already catered for in current OS as it is so why are you mumbling about other peoples, the future? People who just browse, game on their computers have a whole other world of needs compared to yours. This is why we have work laptops/desktops and recreational computers (enthusiast pc's which are usually much more expensive than the former unless you use a workstation in which it is the opposite or of equal value).

my point is that my needs are NOT catered to. i would have actually no issue if they would have kept a classic mode and classic functionality but added onto it the new features and new modes. instead they completely redesigned things from the ground up in a way that may have a few users praising it but anyone worth their salt finds extremely annoying and backwards. a good example of good + old is autocad the newest version. it has a ribbon bar but also a classic mode with icons. they did it right

All you do is crit my suggestions or telling me how impractical it is to what a certain groups needs are. Instead of contributing seriously man the whole point of this is to formulate new ideas so come on get the creative juices flowing and SUGGEST some stuff stop being so pessimistic about things.

you asked for an opinion. i gave you one and also a few technical reasons why it was not implemented. dont forget you were the one who attacked "how things currently are". i'm merely defending the reasons why things might be that way. i also did give suggestions on how things should be but apparently i just "need to learn again"

You are mainly comparing Current gen console software to my thread where as I am ONLY referring to the next gen software and what the companies said they are capable of...

ps4 and xbone are not released yet. i dont have any super secret connections to allow me to play with the new software. it most likely is going to be similar to current gen except with added functionality and perhaps a different layout. the only thing i can compare with is current consoles and how i think they may change it for the future

I will list some examples of features to give you an idea of what I was referring to:

PS4:
The Share button

The PS4's hardware encoder always records the last several minutes of game play without using any additional resources from the game. By pressing the Share button you can then upload or save your gameplay, show your friends or keep it just for your own amusement.
PS4 Streaming

PS4 streaming lets you stream out live gameplay to your friends. This is all built into the hardware and does not need to be supported by developers. Users can react to the video by typing comments in real time. You can do this to friends, or public.

Let's say John has a gaming pc and gaming is all he does on his machine why can't he have a feature like this.

you can record games. essentially all ps4 is doing is merging a game recorder app with the os. keep in mind that this sucks away resources too. it would be a great idea to have a similar easy to use program for pc but not at the cost of sucking power. it should be optional to turn it on or off

PS4 Instant On

The PS4 will be one nippy device if Sony is to be believed. It will have an instant on/off feature allowing your to shut down during a game and then boot up from scratch in seconds and resume where you left off. The days of waiting 60 seconds as your console loads up are about to end.

does the device completely power off? eg if i unplugged it from the wall for 10 hours after that... what would happen? it sounds like an advanced sort of sleep mode where you can instantly resume any tasks. sounds interesting but it would require both game makers and windows+mac+linux to all sit down and create some code. then since all pc hardware is different there would be all sorts of bugs. lots of them. it likely could be implemented to some degree but i'm not sure how practical it would be

What's more, Chris Norden has stressed that Sony has three tenets of PS4 design: simple, social and immediate. Gamers will be able to start playing titles before they've even finished downloading.

And with one button sharing, Norden says the goal is to make it so simple users will "do it without thinking about it."

again, neat concept but its only good for trolling "oh hey look at that headshot i just did" instead of any practical recording purpose like "this is how you play this game" youtube videos or the like. for that you still need professional software. again... neat idea but i'm not sure how practical it is

Xbox One:

You will be able to use the same Gamertag

Your Gamertag, Friends List and Achievements will all roll over to Xbox One. If you're keeping both consoles, you will be able to use the same sign-in details on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and the price of Xbox Live isn't going to be changing either.

(so imagine your pc picks up you use 5Monter4 as a gamertag in all your games it automatically creates that profile linked to an email address of your choosing no more gamertag theft because someone else beat you to it)

this could be solved by tying your os key to a tag and email address which all games would be forced to use. or you could do this by running a program in the background you need to log in to. in any case every single game would have to require it. pretty much you alienate anyone who doesnt want to run that program. also it gives users who buy the game first a chance to pick an ideal nickname. just because they started gaming at a later date doesnt mean you need to force them to use some lame combination like user151771676716161 just to play. its quite a fair system but i do see your point.

a gaming program or app that kept track of all your friends, names and information would be neat. however, who is going to pay for this service? am i going to be forced to pay to play games online on pc too? no way in hell i'm doing that. it also sounds like a bit of steam mixed in which has huge flaws. i see what you mean and agree with the concept however execution is going to be a killer and i think it would be a large flop

Xbox One personalisation

You can turn on the Xbox One by simply walking over and talking to it. It turns on instantly, and Kinect will recognise you and take you straight to your own personalised home screen. Here you have access to your own personal movies and music, as well as leaping straight into your own save games.

imagine just coming into your room you turn your tv on with your voice (I do this almost every day) my pc hears my voice and ALSO turns on... yay me...

so lets say you're getting it on with your gf on the couch and you just so happened to have turned off your system in a video chat session so now it restarts and broadcasts it to the other party. or lets say your xbo gets hacked and is used to spy on people (its happened with laptops before). really neat concept however it comes with serious security issues. i want my computer to stay off until i physically push a button to tell it to turn on. a phsyical switch is safe. if you read alot of xbo comments they call it a spying device already. again, neat concept but it has issues

When I mentioned splash screens I was not referring to games but ALL splash screens this includes java, mobile partner (there are allot of people from India in this community and they will know what I am referring to), banking sites, literally every program has a splash screen and it is annoying because

#1. Yes I know I opened you but it will take x amount of time for you to open so in the mean time I am doing something else...like typing oh what's that? You want to pop up and let me lose half a sentence of type work just because you like trolling me? Great!

you can go to the start bar and click back on the app you were in before and in some cases you can continue working. i do agree that it should be optional whether to have it up or not which is a very valid and good point

#2 It's annoying

true

#3 They are not needed, the program can still open without them

true

#4 remember in the old days when you opened a program and there were no splash screens and if you wanted to do something it was inside the program? Yeah those were the days...

no. you need to accept it and change your ways. isnt that what you told me about win8? i should just learn how to use it. same here.

i'm not being serious. in reality i completely agree that we should be able to turn them off or on as we desire though. i just wanted to make a point that you're calling the kettle black.

 

[Christiaan Lourens]

Quote me where I said you need to change your ways and accept it.
Provide proof of this: "i just wanted to make a point that you're calling the kettle black."

As I completely disagree with your last statement, indeed you are entitled to your opinion but after your second post continued to critisise without any productive suggestions it seems like you are just bitter and trying to see the bad/worst in everything (being a pessimist).

As I said previously Windows 7 64Bit caters your needs (since you used the Windows 8 in your argument about annoying splash screens I will use windows 7 in my defense)

So if Windows 7 is more your cup of tea shouldn't I have an OS without splash screens that are my cup of tea? (otherwise you are the kettle calling the pot black)

Please think of something productive before commenting again it's getting annoying reading such long posts without even one good suggestion for future software/tech (the title of the thread)