Microsoft Alexandria?

We're not even through the woods yet on Microsoft's Origami buzz campaign and now we're supposed to come under siege by a second, Microsoft Alexandria? Apparently a designer by the name of Issara Willenskomer did a promo video for Microsoft that was set to air during the Gates CES keynote (we don't know the year, however; was it 2005, 2006?), but was apparently pulled last minute -- yet at the time of this writing is still allowed to air online, lucky us / what a coincidence. The subject? Yet another mysterious Microsoft product called "Alexandria" -- "mysterious" because they won't show what the product is, just that it's something that apparently runs on handhelds and laptops alike and that nimbly gathers large crowds of disaffected youth and buttoned-down adults, alike. The video closes with "The future of entertainment / summer 2006," fade to black. Here we go again.

[Thanks, Alex]

Update: After a closer inspection of a much higher resolution version of the supposed-Origami pic from yesterday, we happened to notice an icon labeled Alexandria on the device's desktop. Given what's on screen and the "future of entertainment" bit, can we assume this might have something to do with same Windows Media Video subscription system used in Vongo, perhaps? Thanks, Jakob.

[gristle @ Mar 7th 2006 9:50AM]

They were showing pornos on the devices... you can see it in the viewers faces.

[John Doe @ Mar 7th 2006 9:51AM]

I think MS is trying the Apple approach to product releases. Leak the crap out of stuff and let people's imaginations go nuts. In this case it looks like the future of entertainment is a sequel to the Breakfast Club.

[Huw @ Mar 7th 2006 9:52AM]

It says Summer 2006 at the end of the video.

I'd say its the new version of Windows Media Player.

[Zex_Suik @ Mar 7th 2006 9:54AM]

It's a rave-in-a-box.

My intuition tells me that this will be a huge competitor to that sling player. Finally rounding off the market for playing your DRM'ed (or not) audio/video files from your home computer to your laptop/PPC/smartphone...oh yeah and to the origami.

Didn't you see in the origami video how it was synced to the desktop and she changed the playlist?

[Razor @ Mar 7th 2006 9:55AM]

It will be Microsoft's answer to the iTunes store. Microsoft is gearing up to play hard ball with Apple.

[Zeek @ Mar 7th 2006 10:04AM]

looks like it's the infinite jest video that endlessly hypnotizes everyone who watches it in the David Foster Wallace book of the same name.

[pjakubo86 @ Mar 7th 2006 10:04AM]

Does anyone else find it odd that this is in .mov format and not .wmv?

[Rex @ Mar 7th 2006 10:06AM]

It's going to be an all-around media player for Vista. Dropping WMP so they won't get in trouble with the UK..cause I saw some europeans in there.

[Chuck @ Mar 7th 2006 10:06AM]

When I hear the word Alexandria, the first thing I think of the is famous library. Something to think about.

[matt @ Mar 7th 2006 10:17AM]

hypno-toad

[mark @ Mar 7th 2006 10:22AM]

#1 was partially right. It's MS's new "Pornolizing" software. Similar to Colorizing software that allows B&W movies to look like they were shot in garish color, the Pornolizing software changes scenes where stars are close together to look like they are having sex. Imagine Rhett Butler blasting a guardrail across Scarlett O'Hara's gullet in "Gone With the Wind", or a Peter Pan doing Wendy doggy-style in midair! The mind reels.

[theFDB @ Mar 7th 2006 10:25AM]

Look out iTunes. You know MS will sell music/videos for half of what Apple is selling them for - if they can get the licensing. They'll sell them for a loss to get market share. I'm surprised it took them this long to do it.

[Ashley Allen @ Mar 7th 2006 10:26AM]

What next? adverts with white silhouette's dancing around to popular music?

iOrigami + iAlexandria

I think it's a iTunes type thing but with video and it'll work over origami, windows and Xbox 360.

[rayray @ Mar 7th 2006 10:35AM]

Does that chick have a mullet?

[mike @ Mar 7th 2006 10:41AM]

two whites, 2 hispanics, 2 asians, and two black people. yup, looks like a good product.

[Jeff Mac @ Mar 7th 2006 10:51AM]

'Alexandria' was the site of the world's first library. It's their cutesy codeword for some sort of multimedia content library.

[DJ @ Mar 7th 2006 10:54AM]

Bill Gates hinted in one of his keynote speeches recently that Microsoft would bring the world to everyone's fingertips no matter where they were. My guess is that we're looking at the first "hybrid" of PC technology. Personal music, video, game player, tablet computer, communication device all in a microtablet format that will support EV-DO, 3G or some other wireless broadband technology.

[x23 @ Mar 7th 2006 11:01AM]

"14. two whites, 2 hispanics, 2 asians, and two black people. yup, looks like a good product."

don't be so quick. you may not have noticed the alarming lack of a wheelchair kid.

[shamste @ Mar 7th 2006 11:05AM]

This is all starting to ring too much like Ginger/IT/Segway to me now.

[Rex @ Mar 7th 2006 11:07AM]

Whoa...i'm starting to get the picture now....Origami is a whole bunch of shapes made from one piece of paper...like how this Origami will have a whole load of entertainment in it...and how it shows a bunch of random races in that Alexandria ad....So it's the ultimate portable device that will cater to any tech junkie out there and to random normal people too!... amazing...i can't wait to hear more news about this :D

[Dyltone @ Mar 7th 2006 11:07AM]

The King is dead... All hail the King!

M$ is releasing what is probably the best effort to date of a Ipod/Itunes killer.

Good luck to them and I'll be in line for one.

[poppy @ Mar 7th 2006 11:23AM]

thanks to Wiki we can see the hstory for the name: "The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt was once the largest library in the world."

Thus making the strategy is pretty clear now.: UMPCs driven by the Intel LPIA running the "Oragami" MS operating system (a version of XP tablet) connect to MS Alexandria online movie, music (and more?) online store (library).....

[poppy @ Mar 7th 2006 11:23AM]

thanks to Wiki we can see the history for the name: "The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt was once the largest library in the world."

Thus making the strategy is pretty clear now.: UMPCs driven by the Intel LPIA running the "Oragami" MS operating system (a version of XP tablet) connect to MS Alexandria online movie, music (and more?) online store (library).....

[poppy @ Mar 7th 2006 11:24AM]

thanks to Wiki we can see the history for the name: "The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt was once the largest library in the world."

Thus making the strategy is pretty clear now.: UMPCs driven by the Intel LPIA running the "Oragami" MS operating system (a version of XP tablet) connect to MS Alexandria online movie, music (and more?) online store (library).....

[JamesBrown @ Mar 7th 2006 11:27AM]

who cares about this? it's just a music video.

does it remind anybody else of samuel jackson's briefcase in pulp fiction tho?

[Scott @ Mar 7th 2006 11:28AM]

"thanks to Wiki we can see the history for the name: "The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt was once the largest library in the world."

The irony, of course, is that the library at Alexandria burned and vast numbers of the world's greatest treasures were lost.

[miller420 @ Mar 7th 2006 11:30AM]

If you look at the Origami Picture you will notice the application that is running is "Alexandria". Looks like a replacement for WMP and being able to subscribe to seasons of your facourite tv shows, music, movies and games?. Looks Good!

[Baumann @ Mar 7th 2006 11:36AM]

Sorry M$, but it's just not gonna happen. iPod+iTunes has become the band-aid of digital music. You (the average consumer - not engadged readers) don't call it a "portable media device" or an "MP3 player" anymore. It's simply an iPod, whether it's by Apple, Creative, or anyone else.

I know I wouldn't switch to another player, if not for any other reason because I've got over 2000 songs purchased from iTunes. Unless they can figure out how to get my music onto their service, they're not getting me. And with over 1 BILLION songs sold, I'm sure there are others in the same position as me.

[matthew @ Mar 7th 2006 11:41AM]

A bunch of overly trendy looking disaffected yoofs and some bizarre 50s film noir style retro-scifi ..thing.

WTF.

[Tom @ Mar 7th 2006 11:43AM]

It doesnt so much look like the application is alexandria, than its the actual music/video store service which is running inside WMP.

Notice the alexandria logo at the top right of the WMP bar, where you select your service, e.g. msn music, napster etc.

[atomicthumbs @ Mar 7th 2006 12:05PM]

I see that the Windows Media Player on the Oragami pic has a menu at the stop labeled "Alexandria". I agree with Razor. I think that the Microsoft Music Store is gearing up for business!

[Jen @ Mar 7th 2006 12:14PM]

Alexandria... as in THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA.

Clearly, this is a mobile device that allows you to save/access data located on Microsoft servers, probably via some sort of data-cell plan.

[mike @ Mar 7th 2006 12:31PM]

It will be Microsoft's answer to the iTunes store. Microsoft is gearing up to play hard ball with Apple.

---

Uh, guess you already forgot about the MSN Music Club. That's what happens when MS competes..

[unsane1 @ Mar 7th 2006 1:03PM]

Alexandria is the competitor to the iTunes Music Store.

[ryan @ Mar 7th 2006 1:10PM]

My first thought on the Origami was how was the internet connection going to work? Wifi? 3G? Perhaps Alexandria is some sort of wireless dial a broadband internet connection for origami?

[100 Ipod movies @ Mar 7th 2006 1:23PM]

Yeah, I'm guessig Alexandria might be like an online store...

[Jeff @ Mar 7th 2006 1:25PM]

"it's something that apparently runs on handhelds and laptops alike"

It sounds like 'Synapse' from the movie AntiTrust.

Sounds cryptic, and will likely suck, but that's microshaft, and we can all look forward to seeing what it is soon, or not soon...

[Chris @ Mar 7th 2006 1:28PM]

Guess that Microsoft got to him. The video is now gone, replaced by the test "Microsoft has requested that I take this project down". Sounds more and more like Steve everyday.

[J @ Mar 7th 2006 1:46PM]

Alexandria is already running on the device. It's Podcasting.

http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/leaked/origamibig.jpg

[mdeltito @ Mar 7th 2006 1:47PM]

As of today, my new fave is the one about microsoft's fingerprint reader.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/07/microsoft-fingerprint-reader-gives-up-your-prints/

Its amazing to me that MS, who focuses so much of their resources on DRM, security, etc, would opt to disable a higher level of security in one of their new age security products. Especially since they didnt have to design it...

[lbizzle @ Mar 7th 2006 2:01PM]

Video link is down, I assume it has been removed on behalf of Microsoft.

[DC @ Mar 7th 2006 2:05PM]

"two whites, 2 hispanics, 2 asians, and two black people"

No Eskimos? No American Indians? No aboriginals? How blatantly racist.

[ZipperSeven @ Mar 7th 2006 2:08PM]

Is it me or does the bottom of the screen (the whole 'Future of Entertainment' bit) look like it was done by the same guys that do Apple ads? It looks like this should be next to a picture of the G5 tower.

[J Fish @ Mar 7th 2006 2:19PM]

She IS rocking a metal gear solid snake style mullet..how cool is that!?!?!

This UMPC Origami sh*t better live up to its hype because I really do suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder and want to buy it even though my life is perfectly fine without it.

I want it. I just hope it comes in piano black like the psp or a matte black like my motorola razr. My ipod is black too and so is my car and my clothes. Everything must be black. Black is back again as the new Black.

[Doc Savage @ Mar 7th 2006 2:29PM]

I know it sounds bizarre, but there have been a lot of things that point towards an Apple/Microsoft partnership in this Origami/Alexandria marketing hype. The OS X desktop background on the Origami teaser page. The Mac Mini sitting on the floor in first scene of the Origami marketing video. The references to Podcasts.

Something odd about all of this.

[Freezer @ Mar 7th 2006 2:34PM]

"two whites, 2 hispanics, 2 asians, and two black people"

PORN is "the future of entertainment"!!!

[Zeek @ Mar 7th 2006 2:56PM]

Why is crummy network TV so much more facinating when it's on a tiny 4" LCD screen? [apple - looking in your direction too] How about content vs. portability? How about giving me something I want to carry around and show folks that isn't CSI or Lost reruns? Now you can stand around the water cooler and watch the damn show instead of discuss it. This just furthers the growing gap between people, who are to busy passively looking at screens than interacting with faces.

[James @ Mar 7th 2006 3:00PM]

"41. Is it me or does the bottom of the screen (the whole 'Future of Entertainment' bit) look like it was done by the same guys that do Apple ads? It looks like this should be next to a picture of the G5 tower."

yes, just like apple patented the color white, they have patented the black background with white text in ads.

[Patrick Dodds @ Mar 7th 2006 3:14PM]

#28: Oh dear, the delights of DRM. Use allofmp3.com people - it's the answer to your prayers.
#42 - me too, I've contracted OCD over this and never expected to.

[Matt Hoy @ Mar 7th 2006 3:19PM]

You can get a Sony Vaio that's smaller than that. And that's got a processor measured in Ghz, a high amount of RAM and 10s of Gigabytes of memory space.

Oh, and a keyboard. I'd MUCH rather carry the vaio around.