Top Tech News - Gates Slips on Xenon News

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates hinted at a press conference earlier this week that the next edition of the popular Xbox platform, codenamed Xenon, and often rumored to be called Xbox 360, would be shipping this year. Gates hinted that Xenon would be a media-entertainment hub for the living room.

Bill Gates hinted that future versions of Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox video game console will let players listen to music files, show home photos and send instant messages: “On my Xbox, I want to be able to listen to that music in that living room, I want to be able to call up those photos,” Gates told members of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

Gates said the capabilities and interface of the newest Xbox would be very similar to Microsoft’s “media center” PC software, which is designed to be a digital entertainment hub for the home.

“What will the year of high-definition be?” Gates asked, rhetorically, and continued, “this year, because we’re going to ship this next Xbox.”