What If Microsoft Made A PC?

Over the weekend I had a discussion with a friend who has recently switched to Mac, and he brought up an unbelievably good – and I mean good – point. I’ll get to it in a moment.

The friend I speak of is a Mac convert. He switched over, is very happy about it and has nothing but nice things to say about Apple. Granted, there are a few things he doesn’t like, but overall he’s satisfied with the way his Apple boxes work.

He knows that Microsoft is a software company and Apple is an OEM (something many Mac vs. PC debaters always forget). The super-good point he made is this:

"I have only one product made by Microsoft in my house, and it’s an Xbox 360. If Microsoft built a PC as good as the 360 like Apple builds a Mac, it would be the best PC made."

And he’s right.

Microsoft’s "PC" is the Xbox. It runs like a top. Gamers of all ages love it. Microsoft controls every bit of hardware and software that goes into it. It’s ultra-proprietary being that it’s a gaming console. And the fact it’s proprietary in and out is a huge reason why it runs so well – just like a Mac.

It should be noted that many Mac fans do own an Xbox. These people who positively can’t stand PCs will applaud the Xbox for working properly just like their Macs do; it is the single product made by Microsoft they don’t complain about.

I had to sit back and realize that yes, being proprietary does have its advantages, with the main ones being stability and reliability.

With Xbox, you pop in a game, turn it on and go. Simple as that. No fuss, no muss. It just works (and doesn’t that phrase sound familiar?) It’s networking also works without any hitches to speak of.

When you’re the OEM and control both the hardware and software, the box does what it’s supposed to do. There are no questions involved, such as, "Do I need a driver for this?" or the like. Everything is ready to run. When you’re not the OEM, yes, the box will crash. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, but it will do it.

If Microsoft did actually manufacture a PC, and it was as good as the Xbox is, and it was priced right, they’d probably put Dell out of business.

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Fishy
Until those PCs started getting the Red Ring of Death, that is.

http://www.menga.net Rich Menga
The recent previous-gen Macbooks also had an overheating problem.

http://www.jordandelozier.com/ Jordan
Don’t forget the DVD drives going bad…. and you couldn’t replace them because they are synced to a code on your motherboard unless you did some unsightly hacks.

http://www.menga.net Rich Menga
Sounds no different from an iMac’s custom slot-load optical drive. And that breaks too.

Bryan Gulley
The new Jasper configuration for the 360 seems to have diminished if not stopped the red ring of death. Older Apple notebooks overheat. I love my Falcon 360. As David said it just works. Games, video, networking. Unfortunatley MS would be hard pressed to create a proprietary PC. Users the world over would cry Antitrust. It would be a bad business move. MS is however improving my leaps and bounds with thier OS and software. Their recent add against Apple with “Laura” stating she wasn’t cool enough to be a mac person was a huge burn. I would love to see a MS PC, but I just don’t think it is in the cards. Are they still loosing money on the physical 360 Console?
SupaChalupa
If Microsoft puts out a PC of their own I will be first in line to get one.

http://kkomp.com Sharron Field
Just don’t click the mouse to loudly: Doing so might scratch the hard-disk, and Microsoft will blame you.

http://kkomp.com Sharron Field
Last week the Xbox was featured on UK TV in a consumer program because even the tiniest vibration was causing the Xbox to trash the games disks in a number of cases.
Microsoft maintained that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Xboxes under scrutiny, and that the damage was caused by moving the console whilst the disk was playing. This wasn’t the case though: The console wasn’t moved at all.
The program had experts do their own tests; which showed that the vibration caused by the sound from the speakers was moving the Xbox enough to cause it to trash the disk.

SupaChalupa
Play Station 2 suffers from the exact same problem. Wii for the win!

http://kkomp.com Sharron Field
‘Managed to find the url at last:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/03/xbox_360.html
Vic
Unfortuantely for MS, anything they put out will be roundly criticized by the many groups that have an interest in doing so, from both hardware and software sides. Some are legitimate complaints, others are nerdy trash and finally some are manipulative.
I can only imagine the heat MS will take should they make a proprietary pc that has ony 10% of the problems of other manufacturers…
http://none David M
On the other side of the debate, being proprietary also means less selection in hardware and flexibility. It also usually means higher prices because of less price competition for the hardware and software.
http://none David M
On the other side of the debate, being proprietary also means less selection in hardware and flexibility. It also usually means higher prices because of less price competition for the hardware and software.
I would rather have lower prices, greater flexibility and put up with the relatively rare BS.
http://none David M
On the other side of the debate, being proprietary also means less selection in hardware and flexibility. It also usually means higher prices because of less price competition for the hardware and software.
I would rather have lower prices, greater flexibility and put up with the relatively rare BS.
Face it, Macs are not perfect either.
Bryan G
Microsoft could sell a PC that undercut the Mac and is proprietary while still making there software. There software would naturally run better and cleaner on their proprietary system. It would be like if Apple released OSX to be used on non proprietary hardware.
JohnDetroit
It will probably be available in 7 different configurations. Home, Home Office, Home Network, Small Business, Medium Business, and Big Business in a Small Form Factor. It will also be setup with a dual boot option of Dos and XP…
http://perpetualbeta.com/release Mike
I own – and enjoy – both XBox and Mac systems.
That said: Red Ring O’ Death.
James
It was reported here recently that Microsoft is taking a page from Apple, and opening their own retail stores. This would seem to be an outstanding opportunity for Microsoft to make their own PC’s. At minimum, they could mandate to OEMs the hardware/software parameters that would make the computers perform as MS intended.
However, I would imagine that MS has ironclad no-compete agreements with PC OEM’s. To opt out of such an agreement would cause major upheaval in the market.
LoydB
microsoft building a p.c.,propriatary-yes,just like a ps-1or2(propriatary gaming consoles).These may be cheaper than a MAC, but try to upgrade anything in it, watch the costs and hassles pile up. M.S. is still cursed,otherwise, the
X-box 360 would out perform and under cost any other gaming console, past or present. Check their history-starting with buying Q-DOS to become MS-DOS, why couldn’t they create their own dos??!.