Always On
Keeping my system connected and always online sounds alarming but mobile devices are doing both of these things right now. My Sky+ box is always on and connected to the internet and that isn't an issue either. The problem came from the confusion Microsoft created for itself by being cryptic when answering straight questions. What they actually meant was that for the system to check for updates, validate games, etc. it ideally needed to be online so these things could occur in the background. PlayStation proudly says it performs game downloads in the background as you play. The concept is the same but the difference is that poor PR may undermine the Xbox in comparison to Sony who simply implied the need for a constant internet connections rather than being explicit.
Gold
Towards the end of the presentation Xbox teased a new deal. Offering two free games a month with no restriction to gold members must have sounded good on paper as a rebuttal to the PlayStation Plus system (which, for those who don't know, offers 'free' games for a subscription. It is basically a subscription rental service as stopping payment means the game would become inaccessible.) The initial games announced by Microsoft were Assassins Creed 2 and Halo 3. Both are good games but are rather dated and are probably in the collection of most gamers anyway. This situation can change month on month depending on the titles on offer so it would be foolish to judge it too quickly. It is at least an attempt to bring more value to the Gold account which currently suffers in comparison to the amazing deals on Playstation Plus.
Design & Spec
The design of the consoles is a little disappointing because they are near identical black boxes. Both resemble 1980's VCRs and each device shares similar specs under the hood. Although the PS4 is still ahead thanks to the type of RAM it uses there are few significant differences to either console. The 360 was severely underpowered against the PS3 but for a variety of technical reasons still kept pace in terms of graphics. It will be fascinating to see side by side graphics comparisons of the new systems now the tech specs are closer.