Windows Xp Pro Sp1

Windows XP Media Center Edition ("Freestyle") Preview

During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early January 2002, Microsoft unveiled two technologies--code-named Freestyle and Mira--designed to extend the reach of Windows PCs from the office into the far larger and more lucrative living room. The plan, launched through the company's eHome Division, aims to leverage the power and intelligence of the PC while offering simplicity and convenience for consumers.

Currently, PCs are powerful, but limited to specific tasks. As we move toward a more connected world where digital media experiences such as music, photos, and movies are used more and more with PCs, it makes sense to bring that machine into other areas of the house. Windows XP Media Center Edition ("Freestyle") addresses this need. With Windows XP Media Center Edition, a new generation of TV-based PCs, or PCs used in smaller living areas such as dorm rooms and apartments, is made more viable thanks to a simple new user interface. Somewhat predictably, Microsoft calls these PCs Media Center PCs.

Windows XP Media Center Edition will only be available from the few PC makers that elect to ship Media Center PCs. The software is basically Windows XP Professional Edition Service Pack 1 (SP1) with an optional digital media user interface that's specifically designed for use with a remote control. Since most of the OS is identical to XP Pro, we'll focus on the digital media stuff in this preview. Let's take a look.

I received my first Windows XP Media Center Edition preview the morning before Gates' CES 2002 keynote address and found myself immediately impressed. eHome Division general manager Kevin Eagan told me that Freestyle builds on the foundational digital media technology in Windows XP and enables a simple user interface for those digital media tasks that can work with a remote control, rather than a keyboard and mouse.

"The PC is moving out of the home office and into the den," Eagan told me. "It's a complete UI that separates the old 'two foot interface' from the new, remote-enabled 'ten foot interface.' It extends the attraction of the PC. The remote control is for 'consumption mode' but I don't necessarily want to edit my home videos with it."

So Windows XP Media Center Edition provides a very simple user interface  that obviously harkens back to the standard XP interface style, which is not a surprise since XP UI guru Joe Belfiore is now working for the eHome Division. Users can connect a Media Center PC--available from Samsung and HP this year--to a television set and home stereo and use a remote to view home videos , music  and photos , watch DVD movies , and program Digital Video Recorder (DVR) capabilities  through a nice onscreen program guide . And the DVR allows you to watch, pause, and record live TV like you would with a TiVo or Ultimate TV device.

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