HP Pavilion m7360y, Viiv reviewed, called jive

Here we are, four months since Intel promised a new home entertainment computing revolution the likes of which we'd never seen in the form of Viiv. Sure, no one -- including Intel -- could really figure out what the hell Viiv was, but they successfully convinced a lot of people that it's a brand they needed to see represented in their next PC. Well, according to the Washington Post, who recently spent some serious time with as mature a Viiv product as exists in the form of an HP Pavilion m7360y, the platform "amounts to a smattering of free Web video clips and discounts on online music, movie and game rentals -- plus a nifty rainbow-hued Viiv sticker on the front of the computer." They too couldn't define Viiv, and even called the Intel's much lauded Quick Resume feature as being akin to switching off your display and speakers -- nothing more. Not that we're really surprised, but it's pretty harsh when people start accusing your seemingly directionless platform initiatives as "embarrassing [your]self."

[Razib Ahmed @ Apr 24th 2006 6:35AM]

It is always better to first know about a product and then start a marketing campaign. Showing off is a good idea if you really have something exceptional but on the other hand trying to fool people do not make you smart. We never expect this kind of attitude from companies like HP or Intel.

[daddycool @ Apr 24th 2006 6:47AM]

This is hilarious because at 1145 GMT I see this post at the top of the page, and two huge banner ads for VIIV - Powering the New Entertainment PC.

I can't believe people see a bullshit marketing gimmick and then act surprised when they find out it's a bullshit marketing gimmick.

[Ultim8fury @ Apr 24th 2006 7:01AM]

I can't see how you guys don't get it. VIIV is a paradigm, a pro-active slant on multimedia....

Nah, you're right it's bollox.

[Fred @ Apr 24th 2006 9:30AM]

I bought a VIIV machine, but not because I wanted to, but because Dell gave me no other option. I cannot for the life of me figure out what my machine has which other non-VIIV boxes haven't.
It's taken me months to figure how to pronounce it, it will will take Intel a few more months to figure out what to do with the logo.
I applaud the authors of the aforementioned article to have found so much VIIV content. Maybe they should have posted a detailed description on how they got to that - I can't find anything in my preinstalled desktop that contains the faintest hint of anything to do with VIIV.

[Saluki @ Apr 24th 2006 10:35AM]

I also had no choice when buying my dell pc but to get a VIIV system. Just today, I found something buried in the Media Center menus for a download to get my VIIV functions working. It didn't say how large the download was, but it took me 15 minutes to download (on a cable connection) and guess what? It's nothing more than some free movie clips

[Nate @ Apr 24th 2006 10:38AM]

I think VIIV is sort of like those racing and kanji stickers those craptastic lowriders (or whatever the heck you call them, now..."shopping carts" was always my favorite) have slapped all over them -- where those stickers make rice-rockets go faster, the VIIV emblem lets you handle media faster.

Or something.

[Rick @ Apr 24th 2006 10:55AM]

These are speed holes, they make the car go faster.

You want my opinion? I think you should buy this car.

[WhyFi @ Apr 24th 2006 10:58AM]

Viiv amounts to nothing more than a set of minimum requirements that Intel thinks you need for a halfway decent multimedia experience, no? Dual core (Intel, not AMD, natch...), XP MCE, 1 gig RAM? Kinda like THX certification, only more meaningless...

[Jeff @ Apr 24th 2006 11:47AM]

According to Intel, this is basically a "soft launch" for ViiV - they do have a set of features that they're planning ("instant-on" being one of the few that's already in there), but they say most of these won't actually be available until later, via software updates.

Of course, you can successfully argue that this is why you don't do soft launches. Or if you do, you give people at least a basic feature set that's meaningful on day one, then expand it later. You can't just put a name badge on a machine and say it's any different than any other just because it has instant-on. And you can't say it's just a list of minimum specs either, because people don't understand that.

I think Intel should have waited until they had both a clearer plan and a more ready feature set.

[My m7360y on its way @ Apr 24th 2006 12:48PM]

Yeah Intel should have waited but at the same time does it follow Moore's Law if they had waited? Also, could it be that Intel had the chip ready and needed to start returning profit on it instead of waiting for the other equipment to catch up? Anyone old enough to remember when USB first came out? There was nothing to plug in the damn thing yet we were buying computers with the USB ports. What about Apple Firewire? I think it hasn't hit off still. Let's just hope ViiV is successful because like a few others, I just order a new HP coming with ViiV but hey, I am not paying for it, my insurance is to replace a 4yr old Alienware.

[Build a Robot @ Apr 24th 2006 1:32PM]

I was reading the comments and people can never praise things up all they do is critisize, anyway this PC is not bad at all for your everyday use at home, in fact its more than capable of running great in the office as well.

[pete @ Apr 24th 2006 3:13PM]

It may be "not bad" for every day use, and possibly work in the office, but what does that have to do with the viiv issue. The past few generations of computers (dating back to the end of pentium 3) would work adequately in house and at work, this is being marketed as something shiny and new.

[J2thaG @ Apr 24th 2006 5:10PM]

Think of it as Centrino for Media Center PCs. Viiv at least guarantees that someone who knows nothing about computers gets a minimum of specs. Intel is also promising a world of Viiv-labeled devices will exist in the near future that will more easily connect with your Viiv PC, as well as some Viiv-only content. Of course, none of this makes it any less of a marketing ploy. And probably worst of all, Intel's dual-core desktop processors are crap right now.

[jalabi @ Apr 25th 2006 4:12AM]

Oh dear. I think Intel made a mistake on this one. VIIV is an odd looking word, no one knows the proper pronounciation, and then when it does come on your machine, it is practically useless.

This reminds me of the debacle that was Microsoft Bob. If I were to get the ear of the CEO of Intel, my advice would be to look at what happened to Bob, and go thou and do likewise (i.e. deep-six the project, now!)