I would say that's all extremely charitable of you to say all that Rich. In terms of, "re-engaging with the community and trying to re-establish the core identity of the brand and what it actually stands for" I would hope that's what the new management is trying to do there, but I feel if they wanted to really take that direction, why is the press release a bunch of garbage corporate words that have nothing of value attached to them? Why not even a simple, "We hear you and we understand. I'll try to make the best possible Xbox for you, than fans."? If she actually cared she would say as much.
Not only that, but when you look at her background, it's 100% on the software side of things with basically no experience on the hardware side at all. Satya obviously made this decision and it clearly shows that Microsoft wants to go hard into software much more so than the hardware side of things. After all, they're MicroSOFT not MicroHARD. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it turns out that Asus is the one actually putting the Xbox SoC in a console and sell it, much like how they produce the ROG Ally X. With Phil & Panos gone, I fully expect the hardware side of things to fall by the wayside.
Great article Alex! I am also 35, but unlike you, I got my herniated disk 11 years ago (L5/S1). I had a microdiscectamy to cut out the part of the disc that was sticking out and I don't think I could have gone on much longer without it. But, if cortisone shots and better posture solves it, that's great for you. I just recommend trying to go through all the steps in the process more quickly than not. If you need surgery, it's way better to get it sooner than it is to live like that, have the problem get bigger, and then have a surgery that isn't as effective as it could be.
I also HIGHLY recommend going to an office furniture surplus store and getting a Herman Miller Aeron chair with the lumbar support bar and the tilt limiter. When my old Aeron broke, I tried to use another chair and it was so painful that within 14 hours, I spend $1000 on a brand new chair and I still think it was one of the quickest & best purchases I have ever made. It's not cheap, but if you have back issues, you need it. Do I need to spend $1000 on a GPU? Absolutely not. Will I pay $1000 for a chair at the drop of a hat now? Absolutely yes, 100% of the time.
6 GB of VRAM required for that AI assistant feature is absolutely crazy. That only allows 10 GB on a 16 GB card (which probably won't work too well for most resolutions), or the 4090 & 5090, which simply aren't attainable for the vast majority of people. That sounds like a feature they were going to advertise alongside the 50 Super cards with VRAM to spare, but it's not meant to be I guess.
If I had a second hardware vote, it would have been the Analogue 3D, but it's great to see how positively the Switch 2 is being received by normal people. Too many reviewers complain that the Switch 2 isn't exciting or good enough, but the people say otherwise.
The most anticipated selection is also pretty funny. There's GTA6 and some scrubs (by comparison).
Rich, what do you prefer? People paying 15% more on a monthly basis, or knowing you have a set amount of money upfront without monthly churn (which I imagine to be fairly low in general)?
Comments 7
Re: Xbox Under New Management - But What Can Actually Change?
I would say that's all extremely charitable of you to say all that Rich. In terms of, "re-engaging with the community and trying to re-establish the core identity of the brand and what it actually stands for" I would hope that's what the new management is trying to do there, but I feel if they wanted to really take that direction, why is the press release a bunch of garbage corporate words that have nothing of value attached to them? Why not even a simple, "We hear you and we understand. I'll try to make the best possible Xbox for you, than fans."? If she actually cared she would say as much.
Not only that, but when you look at her background, it's 100% on the software side of things with basically no experience on the hardware side at all. Satya obviously made this decision and it clearly shows that Microsoft wants to go hard into software much more so than the hardware side of things. After all, they're MicroSOFT not MicroHARD. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it turns out that Asus is the one actually putting the Xbox SoC in a console and sell it, much like how they produce the ROG Ally X. With Phil & Panos gone, I fully expect the hardware side of things to fall by the wayside.
Re: Flexispot E7 Plus Review: Recovering From Injury With A Standing Desk
@AlexBattaglia Of course! My email is my username at Gmail.
Re: Flexispot E7 Plus Review: Recovering From Injury With A Standing Desk
Great article Alex! I am also 35, but unlike you, I got my herniated disk 11 years ago (L5/S1). I had a microdiscectamy to cut out the part of the disc that was sticking out and I don't think I could have gone on much longer without it. But, if cortisone shots and better posture solves it, that's great for you. I just recommend trying to go through all the steps in the process more quickly than not. If you need surgery, it's way better to get it sooner than it is to live like that, have the problem get bigger, and then have a surgery that isn't as effective as it could be.
I also HIGHLY recommend going to an office furniture surplus store and getting a Herman Miller Aeron chair with the lumbar support bar and the tilt limiter. When my old Aeron broke, I tried to use another chair and it was so painful that within 14 hours, I spend $1000 on a brand new chair and I still think it was one of the quickest & best purchases I have ever made. It's not cheap, but if you have back issues, you need it. Do I need to spend $1000 on a GPU? Absolutely not. Will I pay $1000 for a chair at the drop of a hat now? Absolutely yes, 100% of the time.
Good luck!
Re: Nvidia Announces DLSS 4.5 - New Transformer Model Already Live
6 GB of VRAM required for that AI assistant feature is absolutely crazy. That only allows 10 GB on a 16 GB card (which probably won't work too well for most resolutions), or the 4090 & 5090, which simply aren't attainable for the vast majority of people. That sounds like a feature they were going to advertise alongside the 50 Super cards with VRAM to spare, but it's not meant to be I guess.
Re: Digital Foundry's 2025 Community Awards
If I had a second hardware vote, it would have been the Analogue 3D, but it's great to see how positively the Switch 2 is being received by normal people. Too many reviewers complain that the Switch 2 isn't exciting or good enough, but the people say otherwise.
The most anticipated selection is also pretty funny. There's GTA6 and some scrubs (by comparison).
Re: Discounts Available on the DF Supporter Program
Rich, what do you prefer? People paying 15% more on a monthly basis, or knowing you have a set amount of money upfront without monthly churn (which I imagine to be fairly low in general)?
Re: Review: Analogue 3D overclocks the N64 in stellar fashion
I'm eagerly awaiting some DF performance testing of this thing, but not as much as I'm eagerly awaiting my Analog 3D to FINALLY ship to me.