Tag archive: Windows Media Center

According to a recent report from The Daily, Microsoft is working manufacturers third-party manufacturers on prototypes of laptops utilizing a built-in Kinect sensor. Microsoft has already discussed desktops that include Kinect functions while at CES this year, but this is the first mention of the motion controller in a portable solution. The prototypes appeared to be ASUS netbooks and they were running Windows 8, likely to use motion… Read More

With the onslaught of whiz-bang media center interfaces including Boxee, Apple TV, Google TV, and even good old Windows Media Center, it’s easy enough to skip over an option like Moovida. Until you see it, of course. In a step away from the flat, tile-based systems used by most of its immediate competitors, Moovida presents titles as a 3D wall of box art, undulating across the screen with every press of an arrow key. Highlight a title and the… Read More

I’m at the Windows 7 launch event as I write this, where Microsoft has clearly taken a page from Apple’s playbook. It has held back a number of things in the months running up to Windows 7, so the launch wouldn’t be a rehash of things we’ve seen for months. This is historically been one of the key marketing advantages Apple has: Because it doesn’t do public beta tests, it can release a product and surprise you with its new features. Granted,… Read More

I’ve been a part of every Windows launch since Windows 95. That launch still remains the historic high point of Microsoft and Windows, even though Windows 95 wasn’t exactly a perfect product. Apple, which was struggling through a series of rather clueless CEOs at the time, was less hurt by Windows 95 than its own inability to focus and execute. It’s an error that wouldn’t be corrected until Steve Jobs got back and fixed things. But that was… Read More

You’ll find no shortage of software that will turn an ordinary PC into a TV-friendly media center. From MythTV and Freevo for chronic TV recorders, to Boxee and XMBC for Hulu and YouTube fanatics, any machine can morph into a set-top box with the right software aboard. But for total integration with an OS, Windows Media Center has been hard to beat. The large-print, remote-friendly interface for Windows started off as an offshoot from Windows… Read More