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New Media Center Plays Well

From Issue #5 , Page #20

While Apple is busy dominating the MP3 market, Microsoft has been working on a strategy to dominate the entire personal media market. In October 2004, Microsoft launched Windows Media Center 2005 (WMC), the centerpiece of the company's multi-device media strategy. WMC is a PC pre-loaded with a special version of Windows XP that includes all the software needed to archive and display your personal digital media.

WMC's default menu includes My Videos, My Pictures, My TV, My Music, and Radio. My Videos is the place to scroll through your home videos and picture slideshows. My Pictures is the place to upload, maintain, catalog and display all of your digital pictures. My TV is a TiVo-like personal video recorder for your TV recording needs. WMC supports dual TV tuners, so you can use picture-in-picture (PIP) features, or record two programs simultaneously. My Music uses Windows Media Player 10 to rip, burn, catalog, and playback all of your audio files. WMC makes it easy to subscribe to music download services like MSN Music, Real, Napster, and others. The Radio option allows you to listen to Web-based radio stations or various music streaming services from MSN Music, Napster, and others.

Part two of Microsoft's personal media strategy is the portable media center. This device allows you to download all of your personal media to a small, battery-operated, handheld device. Using a 20 to 40 MB hard drive, you can take your photos, videos, and music with you wherever you go.

Part three of the strategy plans to distribute your personal media throughout your house. First, Microsoft is going to offer the WMC Extender device. The WMC Extender is a Wi-Fi-enabled (802.11g) device that streams any data located on the WMC PC and displays it on an attached TV, display, or projector.

Microsoft has also announced a WMC-enhanced version of the Xbox that also allows streaming of content from a WMC PC to the video game console. Also expect a WMC-enhanced version of the MSN TV device, which allows streaming of WMC content to the device in addition to its normal Internet connectivity.

Microsoft's A3 (anywhere, anytime, any device) strategy is taking shape with its WMC strategy. The ability to leverage your personal media anywhere, anytime, on any device is a big vision that is only beginning to become a reality. So far, Microsoft has sold about one million WMC PCs. - Mark Smith

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