Microsoft Still a Long Way From Home

Ever since Microsoft(MSFT Quote) became a player in the video-game business, the game console has been portrayed as a Trojan horse built to take charge of the digital home.

But despite the hype surrounding the Tuesday launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360, the video-game console isn't yet ready to become the centerpiece of the high-tech living room.

"Everything is [ultimately] going to converge," says Mark Demos, an analyst for Fifth Third Asset Management, which holds Microsoft shares. That would mean -- eventually -- a single system to run all technology in the home: video games, the Internet, music and software applications. ...