Just as I prepare to leave for the airport I saw the press release on Microsoft's new Surface Computing product.

It looks a fantastic user interface and at first it expected to be used in public places like Casinos. I can see that when the product becomes more mainstream that it would be great in the home, control Home Automation, Windows Media Center etc all from surface control.

Checkout the video on Channel 10

Extract from Microsoft's Press Release

Microsoft Launches New Product Category: Surface Computing Comes to Life in Restaurants, Hotels, Retail Locations and Casino Resorts

First commercially available surface computer from Microsoft breaks down barriers and provides effortless interaction with information using touch, natural gestures and physical objects.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — May 29, 2007 — Picture a surface that can recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. Today at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil Microsoft Surface™, the first in a new category of surface computing products from Microsoft that breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, dynamic surface that provides effortless interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Beginning at the end of this year, consumers will be able to interact with Surface in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues.

The intuitive user interface works without a traditional mouse or keyboard, allowing people to interact with content and information on their own or collaboratively with their friends and families, just like in the real world. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that small groups can use at the same time. From digital finger painting to a virtual concierge, Surface brings natural interaction to the digital world in a new and exciting way.

“With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology,” Ballmer said. “We see this as a multibillion dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror. Surface is the first step in realizing that vision.”

For the first time in a long time I am going on holiday (vacation for US readers!) so there will be little if any posting, I will not be completely disconnected, I am taking my Samsung Q1 UMPC with me. I am looking forward to switching off for a while, and putting my faith in my Media Center PC to record all the things it's set to record.  While I am away checkout the forums on TheDigitalLifestyle.com and have a look at some of the videos I have recorded.

See you soon!

As I blogged about Apple discontining their Mac Mini yesterday and I said forget about the Mac and look at AOpen's min pc. Well today I read on Engadget that Aopen are launching a new Santa Rosa based mini PC

As Chris Lanier points out in the comments Apple TV is Apple's Media Center type device but as a HTPC I don't think its that good and a PC like the new AOpen would be a brilliant HTPC and paired with a Windows Home Server would make a great Media Center system.

From Engadget

Given all the buzz surrounding Intel's new Santa Rosa platforms for laptops, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before some company would get the bright idea of re-purposing it for use in a pint-sized desktop PC. From the looks of it, AOpen is the first to go that route (though we somehow doubt it'll be the last), recently introducing its Santa Rosa-based miniPC Duo MP965-VDR. While complete specs are still a bit light, you can expect much of what we've been seeing in Santa Rosa laptops as of late, including Intel's 965GM chipset, support for the latest Core 2 Duo processors, 802.11n WiFi, and an Intel Turbo Memory cache card to speed things up a bit further. Still no word on pricing or availability, unfortunately, though we wouldn't expect AOpen to hold out too much longer on that.

I am not one to normally report on Apple stuff but this may be of interest. There is a report that Apple are going to drop the Mac mini. This was touted as Apple's Media Center type device. It's interesting to see that Apple have either no interest in this sub $800 market or that it wasn't selling well.

I would go for an Aopen Mini PC with Windows Vista Home Premium

As readers may know last year I bought a Denon AV receiver and it's connected to my Xbox 360 via optical cable and matched with Mission speakers . I love watching movies in 5.1 surround sound and also live music concerts are great too. But recently I got the new remastered and 5.1 mixed Genesis box set and listened to A Trick Of the Tail in 5.1 DTS (at 96k) and it sounds fantastic. I have listened to the original version of this album many times but listening to it in 5.1 is amazing. You can hear sounds that you never really noticed before and it's an truly amazing experience, the Mellotron strings on "Dance on a volcano" sound out of this world.

The Xbox 360 makes a great player too, I am totally in love with the music again!

Chris Lanier pointed to a new web site called Media Center Components that aims to create a list of components that play nicely with each other. You can upload a system component list (or manually enter the information) and rate your system this is them stored in a database.

It looks like a good idea, when you are buying a new component like a TV card its good to know what works well with Media Center. In fact I had this exact idea back in January and created a forum for Media Center users to post there hardware experiences and I used this information to help me pick a TV card for Vista.

So I hope the site goes well and don't forget the database on The Digital Lifestyle.com

Link http://www.mce-components.com/

Over on CE Pro there are two posts about new Media Center systems coming out.

Niveus are planning to come out with a lower cost Media Center system designed to fill the gap left by left by HP discontinuation of it's Digital Entertainment Center (see this story from CE Pro), designed for multi dwelling units (apartments and hotels)

Niveus CEO Tim Cutting says that, in the past, the company has not had a down-scale product because, "in our circle (custom installation) we're not trying to reach everyone like HP." He adds, "but in other markets like MDU (multi-dwelling units such as apartments, condos and hotels), sometimes they really do want to work with one vendor for both their high-end suites and their other units."

The post continues on to say they Interset may be planning a similar solution.

On another post CE Pro reports that Exceptional Innovation are to ship 5 new Media Center PCs, this is their first venture in to the hardware business. They are shipping 5 models called Lifemedia. They are planning five Lifemedia models, starting at $4,500 and including CableCard.

Its great to see a company like Exceptional Innovation coming in to the Media Center market and for more details checkout the post on CE Pro

Exceptional Innovation to Ship 5 Media Center PCs

Niveus, Inteset Plan Entry-Level Media Centers

Just a quick reminder that on this weeks Media Center Show (show 108) I am giving away a great prize pack

The Media Center Show Prize Pack includes:

• A signed copy of "Using Microsoft Windows Vista Media Center"
• A Windows Live USB Memory Stick
• A Microsoft Wireless USB Mouse
• A Vanishing Point shirt

To win this pack just send an email to Ian [at] digitallifestyle.com telling me your favorite Media Center feature,and your location. I will draw a winner at random and announce it in a few weeks

Good luck!

While I was reading through some of the content coming out of WinHEC I noticed an interesting press release from Ricavision on there Sribbler / Sideshow Fridge Magnets (MK140 FM Fridge Magnet).

The device can magnetically stick to your Fridge and talk wireless to a Vista PC. They are SideShow devices and features a 3.5" QVGA LCD screen and can run any of the SideShow gadgets and it comes with a scribbler application for taking handwritten notes that can be sent to the Vista PC.

I can see an opportunity here to have these devices as wall mounted control panels for Windows Media Center with very little effort, I can't wait to try one.

Embedded Automation are launching mControl (their home automation software) as an Add-In to Windows Home Server. This is a great idea as Windows Home Server is the always on center of the digital home. You will still be able to use mControl on Windows Media Center as the UI can still run on Media Center (Vista or XP).

I will get Ted Singh from Embedded Automation back on to the show to explain more on a future show, for now here is the press release:

Embedded Automation Announces mControl’s Support for Windows Home Server
 Surrey, BC – May 15, 2007
 Today, in conjunction Mircosoft’s announcement of Windows Home Server hardware and software partners at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), Embedded Automation announced it’s popular mControl Digital Home Software will be available as a Windows Home Server Add-in.
 Embedded Automation’s support of the Windows Home Server platform will allow users of mControl to:
Ø Easily install mControl using the native Windows Home Server Add-in functionality
Ø Conveniently administer the mControl system using the Windows Home Server console
Ø Serve mControl user-interface clients – including via Media Center clients (Windows Vista and Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005) and Windows Mobile clients
Ø Allow authenticated user access of mControl remotely using the native IIS web server functionality of Windows Home Server
 “Applications like mControl extend the possibilities and customer benefits of the Windows Home Server platform,” said Steven VanRoekel, director of Windows Server Solutions at Microsoft. “Working together, Windows Home Server and mControl will make home automation and management more accessible and cost effective for customers.”
 “We've have evaluated Windows Home Server beta technology and look forward to the product’s final release. We believe it will be a great platform for the ‘Digital Home’ because, first and foremost, it provides a convenient and easy way to centralize, share and protect personal digital media and data. But secondly, and importantly to Embedded Automation, it provides a great platform for mControl”, said Ted Singh, Business Development Manager of Embedded Automation. “With Windows Home Server, mControl can be ‘always on’ and can be conveniently located to Ethernet and other interfaces. The combination of mControl and Windows Home Server is just another piece of the digital home puzzle falling into place.”
 mControl will be available as a Windows Home Server Add-in after the release of Windows Home Server later this year.

 For the corresponding press release from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/.../05-15WHSNewHardwarePR.mspx
 For the Bill Gates webcast and transcript from WinHEC:
http://www.microsoft.com/events/executives/billgates.mspx
 For information on Windows Home Server from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/.../windowshomeserver/default.mspx
 For Embedded Automation's analysis of the Windows Home Server beta:
http://www.embeddedautomation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334

About mControl
 Thousands of customers worldwide use mControl software to view, manage and secure their “digital homes”. mControl integrates lighting systems, security panels, cameras, climate control and audio/visual components into a unified interface which is accessible through televisions using a remote control, via an Internet browser, through touch screens and even by voice. mControl meshes seamlessly within a Media Center environment to provide an integrated home control and media management solution.
About Embedded Automation
 Founded in 1998, Embedded Automation designs, manufactures, and markets solutions for “Digital Home” under the mHome product family. mHome products allow consumers to easily and affordably add control and media management capabilities to their homes. mHome products are available from Embedded Automation and through the mHome Authorized Dealer Network.
Contact Information
 Embedded Automation Inc.
http://www.embeddedautomation.com
sales@embeddedautomation.com
 (604) 596-4999

Via Windows Media Center Sandbox

On Coding4Fun there is a article demonstrating how to use a Windows Mobile 5 device to control Windows Media Center. This looks a great article and it uses the Windows Media Center SDK, the Windows Mobile 5.0 SDK and Visual Basic or C#

It takes you step by step through creating a Media Center Presentation Layer Application, creating an AddIn for the mobile client to talk to and creating the Windows Mobile 5 client application. It is a very complete sample with C# and VB code (which is nice for us VB devs)

This would be great to use on my Windows Mobile Treo

Today I got to play with Mobilesware's Big Screen Photos 2. This is a  Vista Media Center application that enables you to browse and view Flickr pictures. V2 adds features such as Geo Browsing and slideshows. The best part is its a true Vista Media Center application so it has a very rich user interface, in fact the feel of the application is very much in keeping with the rest of Media Center

I have just started playing with it and will report more when I have had more time with it , I think I will have to get Nial Ginsbourg back on to the show!

Since the Spring Update for the Xbox 360 you can boot your Xbox 360 directly in to Windows Media Center. This is great for people like me that use their Xbox 360 mainly as an Extender. It all adds to the WAF!

Thanks to Michael Creasy for the tip

The new Spring Update for the Xbox 360 is out.

While playing around with my system this morning I found a new feature I hadn't seen reported before.  You can now boot your Xbox 360 directly into Media Center.  From the dashboard, go to System, Console Settings, Startup and there along with Disc and Xbox Dashboard is the new option, Media Center.  Select that and the Xbox 360 will boot directly in to the Media Center extender experience when you turn it on.  Great if you use your Xbox 360 mostly as a Media Center Extender.

More use of Windows Media Center as the core of the digital lifestyle. Domia are using Media Center in their Lifestyle brand with a new home automation solution being shown off in Dubai. Check out this video (divx) showing off the solution

In a few weeks time I will have Tim Ellert from Domia on The Media Center Show to explain all.

More info on their blog

PRESS RELEASE

Domia chooses e-Home AUTOMATION to launch new “Lifestyle” solutions developed in partnership with Intel® Corporation

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 10th May 2007 –

e-Home AUTOMATION is proud to announce that it has been
chosen as the first company to offer a truly innovative way of smart living to home owners and developers in the
United Arab Emirates. e-HomeDomia Lifestyle is a brand new home automation solution developed in partnership
with Intel Corporation which allows you to cost effectively control any part of your home - whenever you want, from
wherever you are!
Committed to providing the most affordable and cutting-edge home automation to consumers, e-Home
AUTOMATION will be launching this new solution at the Hometech Middle East show in Dubai from 13th-15th May
2007 (stand no. HT410). The company will be joined by leading European smart home developer Domia, and Intel
Corporation to showcase this fully integrated digital home solution.
With e-HomeDomia Lifestyle, intelligent technology for today’s living is now within reach of every homeowner.
Fingertip control over lighting, climate control (HVAC), audio & video, appliances, energy management, security and
surveillance is conveniently and centrally delivered to the homeowner via a variety of smart interfaces. With the
significant growth in new-build property development and an ever-increasing demand for fully integrated smart home
solutions, the United Arab Emirates has been chosen by Domia as a primary region for market development.
"We believe that the cost of owning an e-HomeDomia Lifestyle solution is significantly less than competitor
systems, largely as a result of the work we have carried out in partnership with Intel on their Quad core systems,”
comments Darryl Mattocks, Managing Director of Domia Ltd. “This technology enables owners to control and
automate more Lifestyle technologies on a single computer than was previously possible. This has led to a simpler and
cheaper system than previously thought possible.”
“In particular, CCTV management, appliance control, and voice recognition can now be handled transparently in the
background, whilst still leaving sufficient processing power to enable full media experiences such as playback of high
definition video and gaming,” Mattocks continues. “Without the power and energy efficiency of the Intel Quad Core
CPU, these tasks would have required separate computers to process individual aspects of the lifestyle system, costing
more to both the end user and the environment. We believe installers will find the system simpler to commission and
families will benefit from having more control over their digital lifestyle using fewer hardware components and at a
cheaper cost.”
“To control your home from a central point either remotely or locally through a variety of multi-functional interfaces is
now an integral part of everyday contemporary living,” comments Arch. Khalifa A. A. AlJaziri, Managing Director of e-
Home AUTOMATION. “e-HomeDomia Lifestyle is superior to other smart home products currently on the market
as it provides a greater range of user interfaces than competitors such as Vista’s Media Center GUI, mobile phone and
web interfaces.”
“The beauty of our system is that it is designed in a form that has more modules at a wider variety of price points,”
continues AlJaziri, “this means that you can customize and grow an entire solution in stages. The latest version of the
Domia Harmony software is also extremely flexible, allowing you to use any equipment, in any system, from any
supplier – seamlessly.”
“e-HomeDomia Lifestyle is an exciting leap forward for the smart home market,” enthuses AlJaziri. “It enables you
to take full control of your home from anywhere in the world – switch off your lights via the Internet from your desk
at work, even monitor your home from your favorite spot on the beach via your mobile phone, the possibilities are
endless! Furthermore, this sophisticated technology is incredibly responsive. For example, if you use your mobile
phone to switch on your cooling, all other interfaces such as the touchscreens in the home are automatically updated
to show the true status of your home at anytime.”
About e-Home AUTOMATION:
e-Home AUTOMATION is the leading supplier and installer of integrated smart home solutions to the United Arab
Emirates and the Gulf region and beyond. The company integrates a vast array of smart applications such as audio &
video, lighting, climate control (HVAC), security and surveillance into complete and affordable digital home solutions.
e-Home AUTOMATION draws on the experience and innovation of Domia Ltd, Europe’s leading developer of home
automation software, hardware and lifestyle systems who works in partnership with Intel Corporation. e-Home
AUTOMATION’s goal is to make home automation flexible, simple and comprehensive by offering a completely
integrated lifestyle product range. For further information about e-Home AUTOMATION, e-HomeDomia Lifestyle
or Domia Harmony please use the following contact details:
e-Home AUTOMATION
Business Avenue Tel: +971 (4) 295 7878
P.O. Box: 779 Dubai Email: info@e-homeautomation.com
United Arab Emirates Web: www.domialifestyle.com
The Intel logo is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries

HP have announced a very nice looking (and big) new entertainment laptop. It would make a great Media Center devices, just take a look at its specs

• Centrino (Core 2) Duo T7700 2.4GHz CPU
• 20.1-inch 1680 x 1050 "Ultra Brightview" display
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB graphics (DirectX 10)
• 4GB RAM
• Dual 200GB SATA drives, eSATA port
• Integrated ATSC / NTSC tuner with IR blaster  I wonder if there will be a UK version with DVB-T?
• 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
• HD DVD (read-only), dual layer DVD±RW drive
• ExpressCard slot, HDMI out

According to Engadget it's heavy (15.5 pounds) but I don't expect anybody would want to carry it around with them, more mobile Windows Media Center PC around the home

Link to HP Pavilion HDX "The Dragon" entertainment laptop announced - Engadget