Media Center – Microsoft’s Secret Weapon
OK, let’s get this straight; I pretty much hate PCs. Now, of course I don’t mean I hate personal computers as a whole. After all my MacBook Pro, which I’m typing into right now is somehow cuddly to me, despite being a hunk of sharp edged metal. I even find the coloured wheel of death oddly appealing, and the odd crash kinda acceptable, in a “Love Is…” cartoon kinda way. I forgive my MacBook Pro these foibles ‘cos my relationship with my personal computer is, well, personal. My MacBook Pro has proven to me that I can (and this is a rather sad admission) love a computer. I am capable of that. Seriously. I need therapy.
No, what I hate is ICs; IMpersonal computers, and you all know what I’m talking about; the ones that take forever to find a wireless network, the ones that have the endless pop-ups, and the virus checks, the incomprehensible firewall software and the spyware apps and the… yeah, that’s right; PCs that run the W operating system.
So, I’m a Mac-head. Big deal. And big surprise in the music and video business. Still, the ubiquitous nature of the Windows OS bemuses me. Windows XP is kinda rubbish; it’s overcomplicated, cluttered and often nonsensical. So, what could possibly convince me to build a high-end PC from scratch from parts and stick it in my living room, and then, heaven forbid, stick Windows on it? Two words, Media Center.
As much as I am astounded by Windows being everywhere I look, rather than, say OS X or Unix, I am just as astounded by the lack of penetration of Media Center. Even now, when it’s part of almost every Windows Vista package, no-one seems to use it. What is wrong with people!
Media Center may be the best product Microsoft have ever made. What am I talking about – it IS the best thing they’ve ever made. In fact, they must have outsourced it, ‘cos the same people who made Silverlight or (save us!) the frickin’ paper clip can’t have had anything to do with it!
If you need to know what it is, Media Center is a management system for all your media; your TV, DVDs, videos, music, photos, radio, and lots more, all accessible from a simple remote control. Think TiVo/Sky+, mixed with a bit of iTunes/Front Row, and on your telly. It’s just brilliant. And there’s no point me trying to explain it to you any more than that. Just go see it in action somewhere – in a computer shop, in your mate’s gaff, wherever. You’ll want one too.
So, how come Apple have no answer to Media Center? Believe me, I wanted so badly for Apple to have a solution to the Media Center conundrum. Putting a PC in my living room was kinda like cheating on the wife for a Mac lover like me. But when I was setting up my Media Center, Apple’s equivalents were overpriced and not integrated well. Now, they have caught up a little, but I’ve had 18 months of use of my Media Center in the interim, and it’s been fantastic.
If you do insist on doing the Media Center thing on a Mac, there are a couple of options. Firstly, there’s the Center Stage Project. Center Stage is an application which adds Media Center-type functionality to OS X. Also, there’s a company called Elgato who provide a number of possible solutions. As for Apple TV? Phwah! It’s too early right now for it, especially in Ireland, where you can’t even buy any TV programmes. Regular TV broadcasts have a few years in them yet.
So, my love affair with Macintosh continues, but my Media Center means that now I’ve got a bit of old fashioned guilty pleasure on the side too.
References:
http://thegreenbutton.com/
You can find out all about Media Center here.
http://centerstageproject.com/
The Macintosh version
http://theappleblog.com/2005/04/01/apple-to-release-home-media-center-ihome/
An April Fool prank from 2 years ago suggesting Apple were releasing something called iHome. Maybe Apple TV is just a big April Fool joke gone wrong.