October 14, 2004

Tomorrow’s Living Room Today

by Guy Brighton

MediacenterextenderThe announcement this week from Microsoft about the new launch of Media Center gives us insight into how we’ll all be organizing our living room leisure in the not too distant future.

What excites PSFK about Microsoft’s plans is the Extender. The Extender allows a PC in another room to wirelessly record or play DVD movies on your TV, broadcast a CD over your stereo and even run a slideshow of your vacation snaps on that projector you just bought over eBay.

Apple already sells AirPort that allows stereos to play iTunes wirelessly from a Mac, now the Extender will be on sale mid December to provide a greater mix of media for your sofa entertainment. By 2006 the market should see the introduction of UltraWideBand - a system that will complement WiFi by providing 480 megabits per second in a close area - allowing faster better quality content to be distributed.

Some commentators think that the starting price of $299 for the Extender may be restrictive but PSFK is raiding the piggy bank: We just can’t wait!

Herald Tribune Article on Media Center Launch
Wired Magazine on UltraWideBand

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Microsoft Launches Online Music Service

Article categories: Lifestyle, Music, Web & Technology

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