“Originally code-named Freestyle, this entertainment version of Windows–which will go by the name Windows XP Media Center Edition–will appear on new PCs and PC hybrids in time for the holidays, the company revealed on Tuesday. With Windows Media Center, consumers will be able to use a TV remote control to catalogue songs, videos and pictures, as well as check TV listings.” News report, press release and on a related note, this is how the new Outlook looks like.
Microsoft Reveals Media XP Details
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Why buy this version? The added “functionality” is fake. A pc is already a great digital hub. This is just an attempt by Microsoft to get in bed w/ Hollywood. (You know it will include some sh*tty feature that is meant to deter music copying or sharing). To me Outlook looked pretty gay (no degradation meant to homosexuals).
If they can provide decent content navigability interface using only a handheld remote control, I definately see this as worth it. People who have systems which serve only to play video streams on their TV can greatly benefit from something like this.
It definetly looks like crap but the interface reorganisation seems smart. I always thought that the current “standard” emailclient-interfaces somehow suck and wondered why nobody would try something new.
Hopefully Ximian will take this as a challenge and provide something even better with Evolution 2.
Dustin, I think you underestimate the need for truly a truly “consumer/entertainment” device. The current PC is far from ideal in this space. We need standards for things like remote controls and we need more user-friendly UIs for PCs to hit the living room. The PC is really moving into living areas. Or trying to.
I agree with your comments on getting in bed with Hollywood/content producers. And perhaps moving into being one themselves. That’s inevitable. All the more reason to never watch movies or buy entertainment from companies you don’t like. They are only as powerful as their userbase lets them be. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve watched a bland hollywood movie or payed for some watered-down music, and I’m not missing it one bit.
can’t microsoft afford graphic designers or something? the layout looks interesting but it’s as ulgy as hell.
I agree that the layout is interesting and smartly designed. But these colors used are so loud, that makes you feel really off for the product.
just switch off luna, and the colored windows. i’m sure it will look much better then.
xp media center, the idea won’t fly if it’s burdened with copy protection schemes. and it’s not just microsoft out there who may degrade user’s controls. intel is another big one working with the riaa/mpaa to limit PCs of the “future.”
is this a response to apple buying out all those software companies to move movie making over to macs?
Actually I think you overestimate the want for hybrid-PC based devices.
Internet Appliances are a form of hybrid devices, nobody wanted them.
Why do companies insist on making mistakes because it sounds “cool”. Fact of the matter is this type of device is not in high demand. Not least due to the fact that nobody wants a PC in their living room, and that you’d need some kick-ass TV screen to make computer use actually desireable.
We will see, I am very skeptical of what seems to me to be a very gimmicky feature.
In pertaining to the post by Mr. Burns(haha!, Smithers, get me my diamond studded alligator skin platform bedroom slippers), It’s the usual nature of the two dog controlled industry(this case being software), that the two dogs customarily and quite often buy out application vendors and codec creators in an attempt to circumvent liscensing like ordinary OS companies(that are holding on.. barely, if at all) do. It’s also another attempt usual and typical for them to have employees whose sole job is to sit on industry boards, to create means to bypass industry fairness practices. It’s basically the incorrect way of doing business, because when a megalithic giant too big to manage goes out of control.. it destroys everything in sight. It’s basic economic theory. Couple that with an insatiable lust to destroy, NOT COMPETE, and you have what we have today.
The answer for us, is to support the standards that give everyone the level playing field. Most of these technologies are superior in ways to their counterparts. The next issue is to put people from whichever group you’re from on some of these big industry associations, of course– to get our say also.
As for microsoft, they have no need for help bringing the law upon them, and they most certianly are making the industry reguess their thinking as it pertians to people’s perceptions and some other’s assertions that an OS, is virtually, some kind, or quite literally- a standard. I’ve seen 12,000 less programmers create a far superior product. Microsoft knows that, but- they are seen as big employers, so it’s like microsoft programmers have a “gun” to their head if the Government goes after them.
Microsoft though verbalised their paranoia, and verbalised their illegal plans. They’ve been caught. Apple employees quite a large bit of Microsoft employees, and that’s no urban legend. That’s a fact.
To eugenia, they use a barrage of ill matched colour to hide.. It’s smoke and mirrors. I like linux, but linux puts the average user too close to the code. Apple systems are poisoned by control against competition on the platform, stifling advancement, hence the talk about them going from Motorola to another maker.(MOTO isn’t worried.. they got this cross merchandising deal with the austin powers movie and a big rollout coming on).. and so, I could continue, but I bet we can poke and prod SUN products.(but they are, essientially a good company, inheirantly).
As for graphic design? They think skins is the greatest thing since choclate milk. Simpletons. (Mr Burns?)
Thanks to persistent M$ efforts you can run its soft smoothly now only on 1-2-4-8-…. GHz PC with huge HHD also suitable for baking cookies on it.
That soft+hw is suitable for living room only in cold weather, when you agree to tolerate this coolers noise – because it throws out so desired hot air…
I also imagine hybrids and appliances with water cooling – plastic tubes are quite flexible to move those monsters inside living-room to where you wanna.
M$ is just playing catchup with http://www.media-box.org ‘s freeware ‘media center’ (I hate that term) apps. Sorry to say.
And we don’t have media communists’ views at heart.
They offer no freedom of choice, lock you into their DRM and other measures, and sell this as bundled with hardware. Thanks, but I like to use whatever player I choose, launched from whatever application I enjoy, on whatever hardware I prefer.
Internet Appliances are a form of hybrid devices, nobody wanted them.
Why do companies insist on making mistakes because it sounds “cool”. Fact of the matter is this type of device is not in high demand. Not least due to the fact that nobody wants a PC in their living room, and that you’d need some kick-ass TV screen to make computer use actually desireable.
————
Nope, not necessarily. Computers weren’t in high demand once upon a time, either. I think the ‘internet appliance’ comparison was unfair. That’s basically a purposely dumbed-down device, neglecting the fact that a general purpose device is most desirable on the desktop. This is completely different. Tablet PCs, on the other hand, could benefit. But that’s another story.
Have you seen programs like ShowShifter? They’re basically VCRs for your TV, similar to what MS is rolling out now I’d imagine. Purpose-built “basics” GUI for the task. You can also buy a remote device that will work for it 100%. You set it to record TV shows while you are away and watch them on your PC. If the PC can do this better than a tape-based format, why not do it. And how is it out of place in a bedroom or living room as the integral part of an entertainment system? Have you noticed the growing trends to small form-factors and “cubes”? The remote controls, simple GUIs for the purpose all add to the appeal. Nobody wants to switch channels with the mouse (unless it’s wireless), or share photos hunched over a keyboard/mouse. If a TV screen is what’s desired for larger living areas (as opposed to bedrooms, etc), that’s easily done via the TV Out feature most low-end MX cards come standard with now. It’s a growing trend to integrate the PC with entertainment areas. It may not be big now, but it’s growing. Remote controls and friendlier interfaces are they keys.
Thanks to persistent M$ efforts you can run its soft smoothly now only on 1-2-4-8-…. GHz PC with huge HHD also suitable for baking cookies on it.
That soft+hw is suitable for living room only in cold weather, when you agree to tolerate this coolers noise – because it throws out so desired hot air…
I also imagine hybrids and appliances with water cooling – plastic tubes are quite flexible to move those monsters inside living-room to where you wanna.
—————-
Have you looked at VIA’s fanless processors, Eden platform and the new lower-end celerons? Have you heard about nforce2 (with integrated gf4 mx440 graphics) and other integrated form factors? They are the most suitable for a “living room” PC with low noise & power consumption. That niche is only starting to be tapped now.
The new Outlook does finally show that Microsoft understands the aspect ratio of all modern monitors is >= 4:3, not <= 3:4.
In simple terms, horizontal real estate is cheap, vertical real estate is expensive.
I can only imagine what great apps Microsoft could build if they actually spent money on human factors vs. waiting for millions of people to scream their heads off.
As I’ve used Outlook since the beginning and still use it, I’m happy to see some changes. Even with the few changes Microsoft has made, the UI still looks clunky.
#m
The niche? Microsoft stole every chance of a single targeted niche from Be. Inc. Microsoft targeting every niche market? Boy, they really think their product is that good? They’ve never had an origanal idea.. let’s not outsource our ideas like we’ve doing. We need to secure. We need to shut up. We need to become so much wiser to their tricks.
They get no more information. BeTV has been doing it for years, people. Even DOS wasn’t Bill Gates’ idea. Hauppage cards+TVOUT? Been there, done that.
But we’ve got stuff they’ll never think of in a billion years. We’re shutting our mouths.
I used to work for microsoft, bills people listen a lot and ask a lot of questions. Too many. A lot of “oh yeah?”
Yes, I’ll also tell you.. I’m not buying or messing with another Microsoft Soviet OS or product.(communist? dictatorship? tight oligarchy? the Soviets were original there, Bill Gates merely copied them too)
Bill’s people come and collect information, all under the guise of a friendly technical conversation. Turn them away. Say nothing. Just say nothing and walk away.
They are the so-called friend that is always scheming on how to fuck you. They are pure 100% amoral evil, a hungry killing machine.
And lest you forget, don’t let Windows XPY connect to the net. The Microsoft h4x0rs will get you then.
#m
The next major release on the books for Evoultion is 1.4 which, from what I have read, will be GTK 2.0 compliant, however, it won’t be out until the end of this year, along with a stablised version of Ximian Gnome.
Now, whether new capabilities are going to be added will depend on their stability so far. Many features are already available in the source, however, the likes of Redhat and Ximian take a more safe approach and only compile in features they know are stable.
…and its name is BeOS. … and it rocks. and it’s stable. and cheaper. and doesn’t give you a BSOD!
And where can you buy it? And who develops for it?
I think that Microsoft listens only *too* closely to UI factor engineering and open opinions. Just as the saying goes, if you have 100 cooks working on the same broth, the end product is only a compromise of 100 cooks, not a 100 times better broth. Perhaps this is what happened here. The UI is not God-awful ugly, as some of you think, but having worked in this field, these UI schemes become more difficult as your audience expands. Everyone wants something different. Colors must not offend/depress/”be too peppy”/look dated after x uses/whatever a certain (large) percentage of the population, nor should it violate certain TV limitation guidelines (some tv’s will bleed the color red – and hence why a lot of UI’s end up blue/green).
http://www.neowin.net/staff/users/Voodoo/Palladium_White_Paper_fina…
Very interesting how the PC, a tool of freedom, is being subtly subverted by Microsoft into a tool of the state, full of agents, and roots and certificates and validations, etc.
#m
To me Outlook looked pretty gay (no degradation meant to homosexuals).
I’m glad to see somebody using this vernacular. When I was in school, many years ago, gay was synonymous to stupid (which was more fun that it meaning happy); until the homosexuals hijacked it. I say take it back!
This new Outlook interface is definitely colorful. To bad it sucks as far as usability is concerned.