Ian Dixon's Blog

Asus officially launch Eee Top touchscreen PC line

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:10:31 GMT

While not in the league of the HP TouchSmart the EEE Top does look a very nice device for the home. According to Liliputing.com the 15.6” touchscreen all in one PC comes with Windows XP and an “easy mode” UI , it could retail for around $580. Now it would be cool if it could run Windows 7 and Windows Media Center could share content from other Media Center systems

Microsoft Announces New Zune Pass Music Subscription Model

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:01:18 GMT

It’s a shame you can’t access the new model outside of the US or Canada as I would consider subscribing.

Microsoft Announces New Zune Pass Music Subscription Model

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 19, 2008 — Zune, Microsoft Corp.’s digital music and entertainment service, today announced landmark agreements with major and independent music labels to bring significant new value to the subscription music model. The Zune Pass subscription service currently gives consumers on-demand access to millions of tracks for $14.99 per month. Starting today subscribers will also get to select 10 tracks per month to keep and add them to their permanent collection (an estimated $10 value).

Agreements have been signed between Microsoft and EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group, as well as independent distributors INgrooves, Independent Online Distribution Alliance and The Orchard. The Orchard delivers digital music, video and brand services globally, and represents labels including Barsuk Records (Nada Surf) and Fania Records (Hector Lavoe, Celia Cruz). IODA represents labels including Arts & Crafts (Broken Social Scene, The Stills) and Ghostly International (Matthew Dear, School of Seven Bells). The new enhanced subscription model came about as a result of close collaboration with all of these companies.

Zune Pass subscribers will have the added benefit of retaining digital rights management (DRM)-free MP3 tracks from Sony BMG and UMG, in addition to MP3 tracks from EMI Music, Warner Music Group and a large portion of the independent music labels. With the addition of tracks from UMG and Sony BMG, Zune will soon offer over 90 percent of its music in the MP3 format.

“The way people consume music has changed. With the shift to digital from CDs, it is more challenging than ever to offer the right mix of deep content, music discovery and economic value,” said Chris Stephenson, general manager of global marketing for Zune at Microsoft. “People want the freedom to listen to whatever they want across millions of songs, combined with the confidence that they can keep their favorite tracks forever.”

From its inception, Zune has bet on the power of subscription, not only as a consumption model but also as a way to highlight the music discovery features central to the Zune experience and the PC platform. The Zune service gives consumers convenient and unlimited access to the music they want, and also connects them to other music fans and expert sources to help them find the music they will love. The new enhancements to the Zune Pass subscription service offer unprecedented value for all music fans.

“The subscription model continues to redefine the digital music landscape, and today’s announcement is great news for consumers, artists and labels,” said Simon Renshaw, chief executive officer of Strategic Artist Management (representing Dixie Chicks, Miranda Lambert, Everclear, Tila Tequila and Aly & AJ). “This breakthrough offer makes it easier than ever for consumers to discover new music and will encourage deeper engagement in the digital music space, and that is good for the entire industry.”

A Zune Pass gives a subscriber access to millions of tracks that can be streamed or downloaded from a PC or directly from a Zune device when in a wireless hot spot.¹ Downloaded music can be shared among up to three PCs and three Zune devices. In addition to unlimited downloads, consumers now also get to select 10 free tracks per month to keep and add to their permanent collection. These tracks can be burned to a CD or moved to other devices even if their subscription ends.

Since the launch of the Zune portable media player and music service two years ago, Zune has invested in improving the subscription model and the discovery experience it brings to life. With the recent launch of Zune 3.0, Microsoft built additional value into the Zune Pass offering by adding new features focused on music discovery and personalizing the music experience for each user:

• Mixview. Customers can select an artist, album or listener from the Zune Social online music community to activate a dynamic visual mosaic of related music and listeners. With each click, users can take the view in a new direction. Mixview works with users’ current collection of music, in addition to tracks and albums from across the Zune Marketplace.

• Zune Channels. Subscribers can explore dozens of channels programmed by genre; explore sources such as Billboard Hot 100, The FADER magazine and KEXP radio; or access themed channels, like fitness, to get a steady stream of new music added to their collection automatically. Zune will even create custom channels for each user, based on favorite artists and genres.

• Personal Picks. Now the Zune software learns what kind of music users like and makes personal recommendations. Each week Zune suggests artists, albums and tracks based on the music each person has been listening to, as well as channels they might enjoy and listeners like them in the Zune Social.

To give people a chance to experience the Zune Pass subscription, Zune is offering a free, 14-day trial to all new customers.² More information is available at http://www.zune.net/free.

Okoro ship OMS-LX100 CableCARD system

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:45:12 GMT

Okoro Media Systems Now shipping 2009 LX100 CableCARD Media Center

Okoro Media Systems, manufacturer of Digital Entertainment Systems for the high end audio video market, is pleased to announce the availability of the 2009 OMS-LX100 Digital Entertainment System. The new 2009 LX100, part of the “Low Profile” Digital Entertainment Systems series, is built on a combined Intel and Nvidia energy efficient platform. The OMS-LX100 features cool and quiet operation, 7.1 LPCM HDMI support, and low power green operation.

“Customers have really enjoyed our LX100 series for years. Now by working with our various technology partners, we are now able to offer this next generation unit to our customers at a very nice price point. This is all part of our company mantra of providing next generation options across all of our product lines. We want to offer our customers the best Digital Entertainment System that is going to work well in their specific home theater setup.” said Christopher Curry, VP of Sales & Marketing.

The OMS-LX100 is priced at $1725 and is now shipping with the following standard specifications:

Dimensions: 17.00" Width x 4.13" Height x 16.13" Depth

65watt Dual Core Intel Processor
8-channel LPCM audio via HDMI
4GB RAM * 500GB low power HD storage
DVD Burner * HDMI, DVI, VGA, Display Port output
Windows Vista Home Premium
Choice of ATI Digital Cable Tuner or Dual NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners

For more information about the 2009 OMS-LX100 Digital Entertainment system, please click here.

via eHomeUpgrade

The Media Center Show #182 – Home Server Addins

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:15:00 GMT

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow182438.mp3[/mp3]

Listen Here (mp3)

This week I am talking to the Home Server Show’s David McCabe about his top Windows Home Server addins including addins for enabling Windows Media Center integration. I have email on HD Home Run, Extender DVD playback and Sideshow gadgets, plus a roundup of the Media Center news

Addin Reviews can now be posted directly on the Addin Review Wiki

Direct Download Link - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Jon The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Follow me on Twitter

This show is sponsored by mControl - Home Automation for Vista Media Center

Show Times:

00:50 Coming up this week
01:45 Email: Getting a HD Homerun working with Media Center
02:10 Email: Gold Membership
02:55 Email: DVDs on Extenders
05:10 Email: Sideshow gadgets and extenders
06:18 Email: Streaming H.264
07:26 Video: Running Windows 7 on a Samsung Q1
07:50 Design Guidelines and Considerations for Building Windows Certified Network Media Devices
08:09 My Movies for Windows Home Server 1.02 adds Extender compatible DVD ripping
08:45 Opportunity to beta test Windows Media Center
09:15 HP digiframe / slate PC hybrid device?
10:30 Zune 3.1 Firmware and Software Released
11:46 Welcome to David McCabe from the Home Server Show
13:11 Why do a podcast on Home Server
15:02 Windows Home Server Disk Management
18:10 GridJunction for Windows Home Server
22:32 Advanced Admin Console for Windows Home Server
27:21 KeepVault for Windows Home Server
34:01 Autoexit 2008 for Windows Home Server
37:48 Remote Notification for Windows Home Server
40:44 WIIST for Windows Home Server
44:00 Recorded TV Manager , TV Manager
48:01 The Home Server Show

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

The Media Center DirecTV HDPC-20 caught in action

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:48:30 GMT

EngadgetHD managed to grab some photos of DirecTV tuners working on Media Center in Microsoft’s lab at Redmond. As Ben says just because it’s being tested in Microsoft’s lab does not mean it will end up in production but it’s nice to know its being tested

Microsoft invited us, with a few others, to tour the eHome team office and lab's and of all the great things we saw -- pictured in the gallery -- the one that got us the most excited was to see the rumored DirecTV HDPC-20 USB tuner in action. Our dreams were a little dashed though, as we were reminded on numerous occasions that although Microsoft tests lots of hardware, not everything makes it to market. So in other words, the presence of any hardware in the lab is no way an announcement of future products

More pictures and details on EngadgetHD’s post

Thanks for the tip Richard

Windows Media Center in Windows 7 Touch Control

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:32:52 GMT

Gizmodo have a nice video showing off Windows Media Center in Windows 7 being controlled by touch. This feature must be disabled in the PDC version as I couldn’t get it to work in my Q1. The UI looks very smooth and the scrolling reminds me of how HP’s TouchSmart UI works.

I can’t wait to try this out it looks really good

Checkout the video on Gizmodo

via GottaBeMobile.com

HP introduces the multi-touch consumer Tablet PC: TouchSmart TX2

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:48:56 GMT

One of my favourite Media Center enabled laptops is the HP Tx2500, it has a tablet PC digitizer and touch enabled screen which makes it great for using as a tablet PC and as Media Center device. HP have updated the device to the TX2 series which features a multi-touch interface as well as the pen digitizer. HP have developed a multi-touch enabled MediaSmart UI that sits on top of Windows which I suspect will be like the touch UI on the TouchSmart PCs (see my video review). Multi-touch is going be a big part of Windows 7 and it’s good to see HP coming up with a multi-touch enabled device.

Some details from HP:

This sleek, ENERGY STAR® qualified, recyclable laptop has a 12.1" diagonal screen. The unique, dual-mode display accepts input from either a finger or a pen. You get:

Quick and easy selection, organization, and manipulation of digital files via finger swipe

A digital pen that turns the tx2z into a tablet so you can draw or take notes and then automatically convert to text (the pen stores in the PC's base)

A convertible design with a twisting hinge that lets you choose from three modes: PC, display, or slate

A streamlined, glossy, titanium finish and our cool "Reaction" imprint pattern

Three on-display launch buttons: one for MediaSmart software, another for Windows Vista Mobility Center—to get battery, volume, wireless or display data—and one for "rotating" the screen into slate mode

A color-matched keyboard and touchpad

AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core Mobile processors for intense multimedia²

ATI Radeon HD graphics for speedy processing on the go

The unit will be priced at $1199 and its spec is:

Processor: AMD Turion X2 Dual-core processor, 2.0 GHz - 2.4 GHz
Memory: up to 8 GB
Video: ATI Radeon HD 3200
Hard drive: 160/ 250/ 320/ 400/ 500 GB (5400 rpm)
Webcam
Optical drive: DVD R/RW double-layer or LightScribe
Display: 12.1-inch 1280X800, integrated touch-screen, convertible display (LED backlit)
Network: Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless: 802.11 b/g, 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth, 802.11 a/b/g/n, 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluethooth
Audio: Altec Lansing
Pointing device: touch-screen multi-touch, digital ink pen
ExpressCard/34 slot
Ports: 3 USB, VGA, RJ-11, RJ-45, 2 Headphone out, mic, expansion port, IR, pen silo
Dimensions: 12.05"x8.82"x1.23" (with 4-cell battery)
Weight: 4.33 lbs.
Power: 4-cell, 6-cell, 8-cell battery, 65W adapter

Checkout more details on HP’s information page (via jkOntheRun.com)

New blog on TheGreenButton

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:11:45 GMT

It looks like TheGreenButton has a new blogger, Pete Brown’s new blog is aiming to “documents my life living with Media Center in a family of four in the American middle west.”. Pete is working for Microsoft and it looks like his brief is to see how Microsoft can improve the communications with the community:

Microsoft is one of my clients, and one of my tasks is investigating how they can better serve the community of Media Center users, and learn more from what is, by all accounts, a passionate, committed and dedicated group of enthusiast unlike any other.

What does this mean, exactly? I like to think of myself, for the moment, as dedicated eyes and ears on the site, keeping watch for issues that many of you are experiencing, or subjects that draw the most passion. I'm on the lookout for questions that stymie the community, and hope to link those questions to a Microsoft expert for answers.

The line I walk, of course, is that I am both working for Microsoft and an average end user. I'm not with the team in Redmond, but far afield in Ohio. I'm having the same issues you are having, and experiencing the same successes as well, and that's what this blog is about.

So welcome to Pete, I am looking forward to reading his blog and seeing if he can make a difference

Zune 3.1 Firmware and Software Released Today

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:48:41 GMT

Last week I talked about the Zune 3.0 update with ZuneThoughts.com’s Jason Dunn and today Jason has details of the Zune 3.1 update. The Zune now has 3 news games and multi-player Texas Hold 'Em. The news games are:

Checkers: "Checkers - the eternal strategy challenge you can learn in minutes and play for life. Play the classic game or try suicide mode, in which the first to lose all their pieces wins."

SuDoKu: "Solve Sudoku by filling in all nine rows and columns with the numerals 1 through 9. Each numeral can only be placed once in a given row or column. Play the classic 9×9 or a quick 6×6 game

Space Battle: "Survive as long as you can against increasingly aggressive waves of alien attackers! Customize your ship and add weapons to your armory as you progress through the game."

Jason says that the other update are:

Zune Social enhancements include a visual refresh to make things easier to navigate, and a new feature called "Like Minded Listeners" that will let you see how compatible your music tastes are with friends and other listeners.
There's improved stability and performance in both the device firmware and desktop software. One the device they've improved the play count reporting and content synchronization, especially channels and wireless purchases from the device. The device side firmware should also eliminate some of the lag we sometimes see.

The update should happen the next time you sync your Zune.

HP digiframe / slate PC hybrid device?

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:32:18 GMT

Engadget have an interesting rumour about HP developing a combined photo frame / internet companion device. According to the post the unit would be a digital photo frame that can double as a kind of slate PC with a full web browser, email client, RSS reader and other applications powered with a Intel Atom CPU, 10 inch panel and wifi. If the story is true I think this would be an interesting device especially with a touch screen and with it running a full web browser it could work with browser based home automation solutions. HP do seem to be investing in alternatives to the standard Windows experiences with the touch based UI on the TouchSmart PC range so the rumour does make sense. Would you pay $400 for a devices like this?

Photo from Engadget

TheDigitalLifestyle.com Post Roundup

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:56:00 GMT

This week I have been playing with the Media Center sideshow gadgets on my Windows Mobile phone and Windows 7, taking to Jason Dunn about the Zune updates and talking Windows 7 with UMPCPotal. Here are the highlights from TheDigitalLifestyle.com over the last 7 days

Windows 7’s new “play all” decoders, encoders and transcoding capabilities

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:39:37 GMT

Long Zheng has highlighted some of the decoders built in to Windows 7. He shows how Windows 7 support additional codecs over Windows Vista, which is great as in my experience every time I download a codec pack it breaks Recorded TV playback. I was testing various formats in Windows 7 and found it would more or less play any format I tried on it (Divx,mp4 etc).

What is interesting is the transcoding features, if I read the reports correctly Windows 7 will transcode formats that network devices don’t support. So even though the Xbox 360 can’t play H.264 from the Media Center UI Windows 7 would transcode the format on the fly, so Extenders don’t need to support multiple codecs, this should reduce the costs of developing a Media Center extender as OEMs would not need to licence 3rd party codecs and make adding new formats much simpler

Checkout Long’s posts for details on the formats supported.

Opportunity to beta test Windows Media Center

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:28:00 GMT

Over on TheGreenButton Microsoft are looking for potential Media Center beta testers. It doesn’t necessarily mean there is something to test as Microsoft from time to time like to update their database of potential testers but if interesting in testing future updates then put your name forward. They are also asking you to be sure to include your TGB user name when completing the survey.

Please take a moment to complete the following instructions to access this survey.

1. Go to http://connect.microsoft.com.

2. Please enter the following invitation code on the Connect main page, where it says “Were you invited to join Connect?”:

WMC-JM7K-RRM6

3. Complete Survey.

Thanks to Jim for the tip

Note:Microsoft say: Please chose just one (1) dedicated PC for testing when responding to this survey

My Movies for Windows Home Server 1.02 adds Extender compatible DVD ripping

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:49:28 GMT

Brian Binnerup has added a great new feature to My Movies for Windows Home Server: Extender compatible DVD ripping. This is the ability to rip DVDs into MPEG2 format that a Media Center extender can play. You can configure it to copy to either create VIDEO_TS, MPEG2 or VIDEO_TS and MPEG2. For the MPEG2 you can configure it to have a primary audio preference language, and a secondary audio preference language. There are other features in the 1.02 build but I think this is my favourite

More details from the My Movies site and you can download it from the Downloads page

My Movies for Windows Home Server have been released in a 1.02 version as a pre-release. It labelled build 4, but is first public available pre release of 1.02.
The change log below:
Added: Automatic database backup feature. Automatically runs backup during the night with the internal you choose, and lets you choose how many backups to keep.
Added: Ability to use non WHS based shares and part of a share for copy target and monitoring.
Added: Support for Flac lossless music codec for Music Disc Copier.Added: Option to reject disc if no meta-data is found for Movie Disc Copier. This allows you to use a client to contribute disc id's for unknown discs, and then re-insert the disc to be copied with proper meta-data.
Added: Ability for movie disc copier to copy to Media Center extender compatible MPEG2 format, either as only file, or as combination of VIDEO_TS folder structure and MPEG2 file.
Change: Now asks to set services to manual startup when you stop them, to awoid them from restarting after a reboot.

Can Windows Live connect with the digital home?

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:29:22 GMT

I have been reading about the change of Windows Live in to a social networking hub and it looks promising, I moved away from Live Spaces due to it’s inflexibility and poor design and so the new social focus of Live could bring users back to the platform. Alexander Grundner has an post about how Windows Live could be a dark horse in to the living room. Alexander imagines a world where Live users are able to sync data, social network status, photo etc with Windows Media Center, Xbox 360 and Windows Live. Combine that with Live Mesh services like the Webguide service shown at PDC and you can see how Live could be the glue that connects our digital lifestyle together. I can see Alex’s point but I am not convinced by Windows Live yet, however I can see Mesh being a big part of the puzzle. Mesh will work as the sync framework for our devices as well as being a platform for connected application.

The Media Center Show #181 – Jason Dunn on the Zune

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:20:00 GMT

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow181JasonDunnOnTheZune541.mp3[/mp3]

Listen Here (mp3)

This week I am talking Jason Dunn from ZuneThoughts.com a great resource for Zune owners. Earlier this year the Zune firmware and software was updated and I talk to Jason about what’s new on the Zune devices and the updated Zune desktop software. I also have your email and a roundup of the Media Center news

Addin Reviews can now be posted directly on the Addin Review Wiki

Direct Download Link - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Jon The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Follow me on Twitter

This show is sponsored by mControl - Home Automation for Vista Media Center

I am testing a new host for the MP3 files, so if there are any problems with playback please let me know

Show Times:

00:50 Coming up this week
01:34 Email – Window 7 features
03:41 Email – TV Toolbox
04:22 DirecTV’s HD tuner set to debut with Windows 7?
05:13 Listen to me being interview on UMPCPortal.Com
06:45 Windows 7 thoughts
07:36 Video: Windows Media Center Sideshow gadgets on Windows Mobile
11:07 Welcome to Jason
12:43 Updates to the Zune
16:45 New hardware
24:27 Zune Accessories
27:03 What is new in Zune V3 firmware
28:00 Zune Pass
40:00 Firmware updates
41:25 Purchase from FM
44:00 Wireless
46:50 Zune international user guide
47:20 Mix View
52:44 Now playing view
56:50 TV Pack Zune fix
58:30 zunethoughts.com

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

Design Guidelines and Considerations for Building Windows Certified Network Media Devices

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:43:15 GMT

Microsoft have published a white paper detailing Design Guidelines for Networked Media Devices in Windows 7. It looks like moving content around the home is going to take a big step forward in Windows 7 with Media Center, HomeGroup and Windows Media Player 12

NetMediaDevices_ Cert.docx

This paper describes requirements and recommendations for building Network Media Devices that work well with the Windows 7 operating system. Consumers want their personal media collections available throughout their homes. To enable consumers to unlock the potential of their Windows PCs and enjoy widespread media access, personal and premium content must flow smoothly between Windows PCs and networked media devices.

This paper describes the Media Sharing functionality in Windows 7, and the Windows logo requirements that are associated with network media devices, so that manufacturers of networked media devices can develop products that are highly interoperable with Windows.

This information applies for the Windows 7 operating system.

Included in this white paper:

•A Brief History of Home Media Entertainment

•Scenarios

•Overview of Networked Media Device Roles for Windows 7

•Building a Great Network Media Device

•Building a Great Digital Media Renderer

•Building a Great Digital Media Server

•Building a Great Digital Media Controller

Video: Running Windows 7 on a Samsung Q1

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:33:00 GMT

When I was chatting with Steve from UMPC portal I promised a video of Windows 7 running on the Q1 and here it is, it’s just a quick look the PDC build of Windows 7 on the Q1. On the video I mentioned the audio problem and I have since given up trying to get the sound working and I am using Bluetooth headphones insted which are working great.

In my next video I am going to focus on the changes in Windows Media Center on Windows 7

Watch via Direct Download (WMV)
Watch via Youtube

Video: Windows Media Center Sideshow gadgets on Windows Mobile

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:34:00 GMT

I had been meaning to take a look at the Windows Media Center sideshow gadgets for some time now and since Windows Mobile can host Sideshow gadgets I thought I would give it a try on my HP Mobile.

The first part of the installations is to download and install the release version of the Sideshow gadgets for Media Center (64bit and 32bit), when I ran the install it told me I needed the Sideshow Managed Runtime 1.0 which can be download from Microsoft. Once I had the Runtime installed I could install the sideshow gadgets

Then I install the Sideshow Developer Preview on my phone by downloading the update from here and copying WindowsSideShowForWindowsMobile.CAB to my phone and running the install, then I had to pair up the phone with the PC via Bluetooth. I could then go to the Sideshow control panel in Windows and enable the Media Center gadgets.

Once everything was installed I ran the Sideshow application and connect to the host PC. On the Media Center gadgets I could choose whether to connect to my log in on the Media Center machine or an Extender session.

I did have some trouble with the running of the gadgets, sometimes the gadgets would not pull the information back from the host machine and occasionally it would restart Media Center so I would say it's not 100% stable yet but once I had it all up and running I found the gadgets were usefu

In this video I take a look at some of the features of the gadgets including Now Playing, browsing the guide data, playing music and selecting pictures

Note: This was done with the standard version of Media Center and not the TV Pack version which may not work with Sideshow

Watch via Direct Download (WMV)
Watch via Youtube

Listen to me being interview on UMPCPortal.Com

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:03:00 GMT

The UMPC is an interesting form factor, I have had my Samsung Q1 for a while now and have had some good use out of it but the performance of Vista on it meant that it’s been left in a draw and the EEE PC comes with me instead. So when I got the M3 build of Windows 7 I thought installed it on the Q1 and as I said on the blog before I was impressed with how well Windows 7 runs on the Samsung UMPC. Last week Steve “Chippy” Paine from UMPCPortal (one of the best UMPC sites around) interviewed me about running Windows 7 on the Q1, we had some Skype problems but Steve did a great job editing the interview and you can listen to it HERE

Overall Windows 7 will be good for the Netbook and UMPC market but Steve thinks it will struggle to fit on MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices), read Steve’s post for his thoughts and have a listen to the interview

[mp3]http://www.umpcportal.com/downloads/ianpodcast-6-11-08.mp3[/mp3]