Canada.com posted a real nice interview with Robbie Bach, chief Xbox office (CXO) and vice president of the Home & Entertainment Division at Microsoft Corp.

Here are some of the Q&A's:

Q. Is Xbox becoming more than a gaming machine in a living room?
A. Gaming is the centre of Xbox, but the definition of gaming and interactive entertainment as a whole is going to broaden. We believe music, movie, TV and video games is a powerful combination that will lead to new things.

Q. You now have PC, Internet and cell phone connectivity with the Xbox, plus Karaoke. How are you addressing security issues now that the Xbox is stepping out of the safe living room?
A. We are designing everything we are doing to provide security as a service for both player and game publisher. For example, we can sense and disable an Xbox modified with third party "modchips" and not allow it to play online.

Q. Folks have even built a Linux-Xbox computer. How can you control this?
A. Electronic hobbyists will do what they want to do...the numbers are not really that big. It’s not a commercial as much as it is an intellectual property issue and we always pursue those. If someone finds a way to cheat, we close it down and do an update so people can't anymore.

Q. How soon will we see a new Xbox console to counter Sony’s rumoured PS3 model?
A. Well, tell me when PlayStation 3 ships and I will tell you we are going to be there at the same time. But I will tell you, Sony will not have the benefit of the 12 to 24 month head start they had in most markets with their current console. We are very focused on being there with a great product.



Read the whole article on canada.com