Over the past few years, Microsoft has been straining its tech sinews to turn its console into an entertainment hub. Its ownership over the Xbox has given it a competitive edge in making sure that its software becomes entrenched on users’ television sets. In recent years Microsoft has shrewdly added key entertainment applications to the Xbox, including Netflix and Hulu, that have helped make it much more of an all-purpose entertainment hub and not just a prized toy for gamers. The recent launch of Xbox One is expected to take Microsoft’s concept of the console as an entertainment system several steps further. It has embedded three different operating systems into the device that specialize in delivering gaming and web-based entertainment in a way that’s much more integrated and seamless than anything the Xbox 360 ever tried. It’s added voice and gesture recognition technology to make flipping through content on the Xbox simpler. And it’s even added the ability to make Skype calls through your television set to give TV watching a more social aspect than what the current Xbox offers. But all these features are nothing compared to Microsoft’s content delivery system. The new Xbox users will have access to vastly more content and applications over the web than anything else they’ve ever experienced over their televisions. These features are a refreshing change, given the tepid reception to other Microsoft offerings (Surface tablets, Windows smartphones, and even Windows 8).
