Microsoft Officially Announces Windows Media Center Extender
Posted by Tom Warren on 08 January 2004 - 03:03 · 2 comments & 1114 views
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Full name: Tom Warren
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Full name: Tom Warren
Forum name: creamhackered
Contact: via forum PM
Submissions: Normal · Headline
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#1 Posted by JnCoKiLLa on 08 Jan 2004 - 03:09
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#2 Posted by figgy on 08 Jan 2004 - 03:26
QUOTE Microsoft is pleased with the overwhelming interest in the Media Center Edition 2004 Software Development Kit that was released in September
This is pure marketting speak.
The SDK is pretty crappy you can hardly do anything with it.
I would like to see the EPG data, the recording & playback interfaces exposed and documented.
Microsoft did it right by making IE programmable and making it a platform.
IE's ability to be hosted in other applications allowed many third products to build using it (like MSN Explore & MyIE2)
If Microsoft did the same with its media center application you see lot more third party apps for MCE and therby increase its market acceptance.
This evening during his keynote address at the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates unveiled Windows® Media Center Extender Technology. The software will power a new generation of products that will allow consumers to access their favorite digital entertainment, such as live and recorded television, photos, movies, and music that reside on their Windows XP Media Center Edition PC, from any room in the home regardless of where the PC is located. Alienware Corp., Dell, Gateway Inc., HP, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Tatung Co. and Wistron Corp. are among the industry-leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) working with Microsoft to bring these products to market in a variety of hardware form factors, including set-top boxes and televisions, by holiday 2004. Consumers will be able to enjoy the benefits of Media Center Extender technology through a set-top box connected to their television, or will be able to purchase a new television with this technology fully integrated. In addition, Microsoft announced the Xbox® Media Center Extender Kit, which will combine an Xbox DVD title with a dedicated remote control, allowing consumers to extend their Windows XP Media Center Edition experience around the home using their Xbox game console.
"Consumers are telling us that they don’t want to be tied to the room where their PC lives to look at their digital pictures or view a program recorded on their Media Center PC," said Joe Belfiore, a general manager in the Windows eHome Division at Microsoft. "With industry partners, we are meeting this demand by developing innovative new products that give consumers the freedom to enjoy their digital entertainment experiences anywhere in the home."
The Alienware digital home media center systems will be powered by top-of-the-line components such as Intel® Pentium® 4 processors, ATI Technologies graphics solutions, and hard drives with up to 250GB of storage capacity. These powerful components are encased within an ultra quiet chassis featuring an exclusive Alienware design.
The systems will be on display at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas within the Microsoft® booth at the muscle beach display.
ABOUT ALIENWARE CORPORATION
Alienware Corporation manufactures high-performance computer desktop and mobile systems and leading-edge professional systems. Alienware offers unique and award-winning products that incorporate state-of-the-art components, innovative engineering and design, and unprecedented customer service. Alienware systems are available direct within the United States and Europe. For more information, please visit www.alienware.com or call 1-800-ALIENWARE (254-3692).