The Xbox 360 may have had a third secret incarnation which would have run Microsoft Windows, according to internal Microsoft memos which have been revealed in the US press.
Dean Takahashi, author of The Xbox 360 Uncloaked, has made the claim on his blog, which quotes an internal MS email from December 2003 which says that the mysterious Project Helium had moved from investigation to an active project - green lighting a Windows-enabled 360 to become reality.
Of course, the Windows 360 never happened, but Takahashi believes that it was an idea that was originally floated to try and impress head MS honcho Bill Gates. However, MS execs are believed to have cancelled the project shortly thereafter and in public have always maintained that a Windows-enabled 360 was unviable; why would MS risk a hybrid machine which might threaten its core 360 and PC businesses?
Takahashi has asked Xbox supremo Peter Moore about the mysterious Project Helium, but Moore denied all knowledge, joking when he said, "I haven't go to that part of the book yet". However, Moore cited memory problems with squeezing Windows onto the 360 and added, "It's not about hardware and the operating system that sits on the console or the PC. Assuming it's the Xbox 360 OS. It's the Windows OS on the PC. It's not about the hardware ...it's about the service."
Microsoft has certainly gone in a whole other direction since, with the announcement of Live Anywhere which will work on PC, 360 and next-gen mobile phone, but Takahashi ponders whether we might see Project Helium revived at some point, reuniting the two platforms.
Given MS's new direction, we won't be holding our breath.
It's still viable that we'll see an all in one device in the near future I think - things are going that way if you think about downloadable content, console internet access etc etc.
Essentially the 360 is a Computer, so I dont see why Windows 360 couldnt happen... Personally I wouldnt be surprised if the 360 user interface/xna/sub system sat on top of some iteration of the Windows kernal
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