Computer, or "media reciever"?

[rcgreen]

Gates announced Windows Media Connect, technology for hardware manufacturers to use in developing "digital media receivers", or DMRs, which can play digital media files accessed on personal computers over home networks. Media Connect will let these devices automatically discover and access supported content on Windows XP-based PCs.

http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3297251

It seems that Gates isn't really living in the digital age, wanting to resurrect the
old paradigm of an all-powerful entertainment industry, sending us lots of
canned entertainment content. In this vision, your once powerful computer will
morph into a TV set. You will pay (no doubt about that) for the same bullshit that was
given away for free in the 1950s.

[phishphreek]

/kinda off topic

Thats pretty funny. I do something similar to that right now.

Mine aren't automatically discovered though... I had to set everything up myself.

Pretty kick ass though. I have one setup that has 4 computer speakers and a sub + the 6 speaker surround sound + the sub. Then the video is output to my TV. I also have a "presentation keyboard" that has the mouse built in and its wireless. Makes for a pretty sweet setup.

I also did this with other PCs in the house. Any computer or stereo near by that would support it, I plugged them all in. Now we can all listen to different music whenever we want without borrowing CDs. We just burn all the CDs to my server.

[jenjen]

sounds pretty cool phish.. I'm going to ramble and brag a bit.. (sorry all)
At one time I had a few of my systems hooked up to my main stereo.
Ever hear of Carver's amazing loudspeakers ? I have the original type.. 5ft tall, 4 - 12" subwoofers built into each.. this is an almost full range ribbon electrostatic type.. freq response of the total unit FLAT.. from 20hz-25hzk..(can you say dog whistle?) the subs handled the 100hz and below.. each speaker handles 1000watts RMS.. (but not any more, I burnt out and rebuilt my ribbons) all driven by two carver model M-1.0t's .. 500w/ch bridgeable to get the 1 MEGAWATT, per channel. For those audiophiles that don't know.. Bob Carver was a design genious.. the links on the web are very scarce now.. but he orginally designed the "proton" series amps for .. I forget who.. but his "transformerless" design.. in reality, not much different than a switching power supply.. made the things very lightweight and stackable in a rack without much cooling.. his "feed forward" techiques..(pipelining) allowed the right current to be delivered to the final stage.. and not much transformer was needed or heat generated.. oh god. I fear I've drunken too much beer.. I'll shut up in just a minute but I could go on all night..
this system when kicking.. makes all the lights in the house dim.. hehehe..

yeah screw all that MS thing... if they came up with a good projected overhead display like the pilots get to have... what even some cars have now.. a portable display unit projected on my windshield going down the highway.. one with interactive browser buttons.. yeah.. that'd be the ticket.. yes indeed...