Tech News of Note

May 14, 2002

Today, Apple announced a new rack-mountable server called Xserve. The name is dumb, but this is good news for Apple. A number of articles and a slashdot discussion claim that the server is well priced and will do quite well with their target markets: education, creative types, biotech and video. It's also a sexy beast.

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Sony has announced a price cut on the PS2, pushing the price down $100 to $199. This puts them even with Nintendo and $100 below Xbox. They already have a commanding lead in the market and this is could put the hurt on their competitors, especially Microsoft.

As expected, Microsoft will likely cut the price of the Xbox to $199 at the upcoming industry event, E3. Currently they are losing money on every console sold. This cut will not help.

Personally, I think Xbox is going to have to make a big move fast if it wants to stay alive. Nintendo will not leave because they know how to reach their audience and they have amazing franchise characters. They've also done poorly overseas in Europe and Japan. The next year will be interesting as online gameplay comes to the forefront and there is no new console to distract us. I'm excited, and based on this post I am also a geek. Wheeee!!

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