I just received an update that automagically dl'd and asked me if I wanted to update. That surprised me. Not sure why considering this thing is basically an android phone without the screen and cell bits. Good news, it cleared up the hitch in the menu. No more lag there, much better. The tiles for the games are still slow to load however. It's weird, sometimes they are there like they're cached but when you scroll to another 'section' they get wiped and it has to re-dl the image. Not sure what's going on there.

Wired seems much better than wireless but that's not really a surprise.

Typical android system settings. Easy to navigate for android owners, especially with the track pad in the controller. I have a system load in the top right screen because I like to see what's going on system wise. Pretty lite stats and that makes me happy.

I guess I'm an Xbox fanboy.  I didn't set out to be, but it happened that over the course of the original and the 360, I began gaming 60% xbox, 20% pc and maybe 10% ps3 with the remainder being gobbled up by 3DS and Vita.  Wii is completely out of my rotation and has been for 2 years.  I can't even justify to myself the need for a Wii-U, which is odd, since I'm a sucker for gadgetry and have owned every Ninty console till now (yes, even Virtual Boy).  Of late, PC has been a higher percentage, but that mixture is about right for a 2 year window.  I guess the real reason I became so dependent on the Xbox was because of the controller.  Sure, the Duke sucked, but the Controller S was magnificent, and the 360 controller was an improvement (albeit, with a shitty D-pad).  I thought about it, back to the PS1, PS2 and even with the PS3 - I just don't like the dual shock controller, or whatever it was called in the PS1 days before they added the second thumbstick.  It's light and feels flimsy.  The thumb positioning feels unnatural to me.  Sure, most of the games I have on 360 are also available on PS3, but they just don't feel right.  So, that said, I don't know if I'm really an Xbox fanboy, or if I just have a system preference.

Yesterday, we got our first look at the Xbox One.  I get that yesterday's reveal was more about the entertainment aspect, with the original vision of the Xbox - for Microsoft to take over the living room was taking another step.  I'm fine with the fact that we're not going to see much on the games until E3.  I was left neither excited, nor down about the reveal.  What I don't get is how this device will control my entertainment center.  They showed how you can be completely ADD and go from game to movie to music to tv back to music, then over to game.  That was somewhat interesting.  But..HOW does it interface to these devices and WHAT devices can it interface with?  At first, I thought that the One would take over as the receiver - which would mean it would need to have good audio processing capability, allow for HDMI passthrough and probably support HDMI 1.4 for 3D passthrough as well.  Then, I got a look at the back of the unit - gigabit ethernet, what looks like "IR Out", Kinect, 2 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI In (assuming 1.4 spec), S/PIDF out and HDMI out (again, assuming 1.4).  I am thinking there's an HDMI to component or composite adapter for those connections?  Finally, there's the power input.

Now, obviously, the One is not a home entertainment receiver.  If it were, I would hope to see 5 HDMI in (at least 3).  I am concerned that the One may aim to control the other devices via IR.  This is not good.  It reminds me of the first and second generation TiVO.  Sure, that was a kickass device - 15 years ago.  I just don't see how it all fits together.  I am with AT&T U-Verse (great a few years ago, now showing it's age, but not allowing competition for cable providers is a good thing?).  I suppose Microsoft could have a partnership with them where a simple ethernet cable would supply the  television content, with a software emulator to handle the guide (that leaves the question about DVR - am I expected to now use my 500GB Xbox drive as my television DVR - that dog don't hunt).  Then there's music.  This is easier.  I have all my music and digital movies on a NAS.  I would imagine the Xbox just connects to this and it's off to the races.  What about the stuff that's Apple though?  Will the One play that?  What if I want to switch between dashboard and Apple TV?

All of this leads me to believe the content switching capabilities are bullshit.  I think in order for it to work as shown, you need to have all of your music in a certain format, movies must be zune marketplace and tv must be with a supported provider who has a deal set up with Microsoft.  They did specifically mention Comcast in the presentation, and there is a UVerse plug in for the 360 that AT&T charges extra for and requires a tech to come out and install.  If Microsoft is expecting all of this fast switching to be contained within it's own ecosystem, that's okay - and in reality, that's the only scenario I can get my head around.  However, the reveal seemed to intimate that the One can aggregate your shit and then unify the access and presentation - now that would be quite interesting.  Did I let my mind go off on a tangent when watching the reveal and am I expecting too much?

When cruising some forums after the reveal, someone on some board had an interesting observation.  If this really switches shit that easy, our tech support calls from our parents could be a thing of the past.  Now that's something I could easily see myself investing $400 in an Xbox One for my parents this Christmas.  I bet we have our fair share here at 2o2p who get the "the tv screen is black" calls where a parent fat fingered the remote and changed the input to HDMI2.

I'm anxious to see what happens here.  Hopefully, I'm worrying over nothing and there is a simple explanation of connectivity out there - I just haven't seen it yet.  

I guess I could go on about the used game FUD, but I'm reserving judgement until more is known.  In the end, I can't see Microsoft willfully putting itself at a competitive disadvantage to Sony with a group as fickle as hardcore gamers - ie, the future early adopters.

 Several of us on 2old2play gathered in site chat to watch the Xbox One reveal today. United in our admiration of the new technology, anticipation of new IPs, and disdain for Dixon Tufar, we oohed and aahed each new piece of information. Forza 5 was verified as a launch title, and the console itself will hit store shelves this year...probably around the holiday season. EA showed off a couple of sports games, Ship Wreck Simulator 2014 was showcased, as well as some COD newness.   

I have had limited time with the OUYA but here is a quick and dirty review.

It's small and silent. 

The UI is pretty slow. Boot time is around 10-15 seconds but there is kinda a hitch in it's giddy up.

DL'ing is pretty damn slow. Maybe because it was running on wireless. Maybe not. I won't know till I use the ethernet port (yay for wired!)

Limited selection of software. I expected this so it doesn't really bother me. I dl'd a dubwars game that was decent and a snes emu.

I hate the controller. It has the feel of a shitty third party dualshock with the stick placement of a 360 pad. The good news is a wired 360 controller or a wired dualshock are reportedly working with the OUYA. I didn't have time to try it. There is a trackpad on the OUYA controller that works well, kinda neat. Runs on 2 AA batteries that are installed in the handles that gives the controller a hefty feel. I don't think there is a rumble feature.

There is a bug with usb flash drive mounting. You need to turn the box off if you remove or change the usb drive (to mount another drive,the system doesn't lock up or misbehave). There is no other way to unmount the drive (that I know of). I would expect a system software update to fix this.

Everything needed to get the system up and rolling is included in the box. HDMI cable / power supply / batteries.

Looking forward to rooting this thing and seeing how xbmc runs. I sold off my raspberry pi because it just didn't have the balls to run xbmc the way I wanted.  

Last night Joel 'doodirock' Albert and I launched the newest 2old2play podcast, Still Got Game.

If anyone would like to try your hand at creating an intro, please feel free. There aren't a lot of requirements, except at some point it should say "2old2play presents Still Got Game".

Thanks...

D

I might've found my next tattoo design...

My OUYA is out for delivery. Just thought you would like to know.

I'm not expecting much if anything, I didn't get it for games but to dick around with. We'll see how it goes.