Microsoft Links 2003

Microsoft Links 2003: Microsoft GameSpot's 2003 Gamers' Week will be the final day that the company's Internet Provider, Links, will be free to Microsoft customers. The Windows 95/98 version will also be available through the Links CD-ROM service. The program will feature around 250 new web pages and allow for downloading and viewing on three different PCs. Links will also be releasing several new Internet-compatible games for the Windows 95/98 and Microsoft's Windows 95/98 Internet Expansion Pack software, which will be released for both platforms.

"We have huge opportunity in developing the great support for Windows 95 and Windows 95," said Terry Myerson, general manager of Microsoft's Internet Provider division. "Our PC partners are very keen to support Windows 95 and its large installed base. Microsoft is committed to delivering our excellent Internet traffic via the Internet. With the success of our NetDogs program, we are looking to extend this reach even further with future releases of Links and Links products."

Microsoft Game Studios North America, another division of the company, will work with Microsoft on a game-development basis. “We have developed a very attractive [game-development] environment with a wealth of resources to focus on delivering high-quality gameplay,” said Rob Pardo, president of Game Studios North America. “We are convinced that it is the right thing for the industry’s strategy. We are delighted that Microsoft Game Studios North America will be working closely with them.”

Microsoft also announced that all Internet service providers will be able to use Microsoft Live at least once per day for free. All these services will include its own features. The first Windows product will be Xbox Live Pro and Windows Marketplace for 99 cents a CD-ROM, while all future products will include features that can be accessed online in only a limited time for free.

“We also plan to make all our Internet content free of charge and includes high-definition video. The technology was developed in 2005, and Microsoft will have the technology built in to support the Xbox experience in a commercial way in the near future.”

Microsoft has shown off a number of innovations with Xbox Live, including a Games for Windows LIVE feature that allows users to compete against each other on a cross-game leaderboard. The new service also lets users stream games and other Xbox-enabled content to their computers, PCs, and the Internet.

“We look forward to seeing how the new Xbox experience and the full range of Xbox Live features and innovations will help extend the user base in the coming years,” said Ken Kutaragi, general manager of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division. “By offering Internet users more than just gaming, we are continuing to innovate in ways that we’ve never attempted before.”

“Online gaming is rapidly becoming the dominant form of entertainment, and the addition of Xbox Live in this new market will help extend the lifecycle of the console for an additional six to eight years.”

“I am convinced that as the public’s imagination starts to run wild, and as the number of entertainment-enabled PCs begins to become a new mainstream category, I believe that today’s market will not only continue to grow and evolve, but to become increasingly sophisticated.”

So, Kutaragi had little to do with what Microsoft was planning for its future. “A lot of what we are doing is also going to be focused on pushing the envelope of both technology and entertainment applications.”

By having two different processors on hand, and leveraging the power of the multicore performance in the "SCE4." “The concept is that the PPU processor will provide a greater performance increase over the PS3 than its predecessor,” he explained. “The CPU will do everything.”

He then went on to talk about the technology’s long-term potential and how it is still one of the defining technologies for the future of computing. “The PlayStation 3 is the beginning of this whole new paradigm,” Kutaragi said, “in terms of the technology that will allow people to go outside the traditional boundaries of technology, such as a high speed connection, a great storage solution, and power efficiency.”

This latest rumor is that the PlayStation 3 will be faster than the Cell chip in the PS3. Kutaragi was quick to point out that Sony’s next-generation console will be designed with only four times the processing power than the Cell. He also stated that the Cell chip will be twice as powerful than the Cell in both directions, and will make the PS3 even more efficient and efficient. “It's going to make the Cell significantly cheaper in order to upgrade the Cell processor,” Kutaragi commented. “The benefits of using this technology are going to be much more widespread than the Cell technology in the PlayStation 3.