Lots of great news today!

Today we announced that Windows XP Media Center Edition will be available in 20 new markets this year.  Check out the list...

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and Turkey.

The official press release is located here.

We also launched the Australian version of Online Spotlight today featuring two partners: GameArena and KMS Software (screenshots below).  More are coming soon!

Check out An Introduction to Developing Software for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 -- good job Michael!

This is getting interesting...http://www.crossfader.com/.

My brother is getting married this coming June and the bonus is I get to be the best man and one of my daughters gets to be the flower girl -- way cool.

So, I decide to use some of my frequent flyer miles to get some free tickets.  I call the toll free 800 number and get 'Allan' who is a computer. 'Allan' (who should really be named HAL) informs me I have enough frequent flyer miles to receive two peak or non-peak round trip tickets.  We then have a back and forth conversation (honestly, give me a real person -- please!).  After 10 minutes of this, he informs me there are no flights matching my criteria.

So I decide to forego the phone interface (never once was I offered the chance to talk to a real person) and attempt to book via the web.  I go to the USAirways website, sign in and begin selecting the departure dates.  This is what I get after attempting to select dates in May and June as the departure.

All flights are 'Sold Out'...?  Granted, the summers are busy travel times for folks with vacations and all -- but according to 'Allan' my frequent flyer miles are valid for both PEAK and non-peak travel.

Hmmm....

So I visit http://www.travelocity.com and 1 minute later find I can actually purchase the EXACT same flights on USAirways for $349 each right now.  And LOOK -- I can fly on a competing airline for $187.  Ideally, I would like to fly all four family members on the same flights, so I do the math...

   2 Paid Tickets on USAir + 2 Free Dividend Miles Tickets = $698
   4 Paid Tickets on Competitor = $748

I've gone out of my way many times to book my travel in such as way that I could log miles at USAirways, hoping it would pay off at some point with the ability to be rewarded for my loyalty to the company and brand.

It doesn't appear they feel loyal to me as a customer.

So, I'm booking the tickets with their competitor tomorrow, if not tonight.  $50 more gets me everyone on the same flights WITHOUT the hassle.

On the bright side, I think I can use those frequent flyer miles to get a (literal) ton of magazine subscriptions.

Anybody know the true story on the Capital One Miles credit card...?  The commercials make it sound great, but if it's more of the same I don't want to invest the time and energy.

Heard about this via Brian Bailey of Leave It Behind

"One of the biggest problems in delivering a website, and yet probably the least talked and written about, is how to decide, specify, and communicate just what, exactly, is it that we’re going to build, and why. What problem are we solving? Who needs it? What’s this site for, anyway?"

Thus starts the first of two great articles on how to make sure what you build will meet the need of your target audience.  We leverage similar concepts in Windows eHome to drive feature requirements.  These are great reads for folks designing or developing for Media Center.

Use Cases Part I: What’s the Problem?

Use Cases Part II: Taming Scope

I really loved reading this post by Ed -- not because of the positive points for Media Center, but because I feel better informed about the choices in DVR options.  Thanks Ed!

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000509.html

Just skimmed this article, but it's already DEFINITELY a keeper...

Just read this article.  WOW!  The tools included are a must have -- get them.  Today.

Stephen Toub discusses the DVR-MS file format generated by Windows XP Media Center 2005, provides an introduction to DirectShow, and shows how the latter can be used to work with the former.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclient/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnxpmce/html/dvr-ms.asp

Sean, Matt and I had the pleasure to be interviewed by Thomas Hawk and he posted the second part today -- check it out at http://thomashawk.com/2005/03/my-interview-with-microsofts-media.html.

I remember WinBook back from pre-Windows 95 days offering value priced laptops.  Looks like they are being quite aggressive in this market.  I had the good fortune of seeing this living room form factor Media Center PC this morning -- very nice, and with room for expansion (at least 3 PCI slots were free).

http://www.winbook.com/ad_dest/wsj.html

30" Wide Screen LCD-TV
• HD-Ready
• HD Tuner required for HDTV reception (Not Included)
• 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution
 • 15:9 Wide-Screen Aspect Ratio
• Ultrathin 4.25" deep without base
• 33.51 lbs.
• 600:1 Contrast Ratio
• Wide, 170° viewing angle
• Built-in Speakers (10W + 10W)
• Picture in Picture (PIP)
• Closed Captioning
• Removable base with VESA Compliant Mounting points
• Composite, Component & S-Video Input Ports
• Ports are conveniently located on both sides

PowerSpec® MCE 410
 • Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 530 with HT Technology
(3GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB Cache)
• Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
• 512MB PC3200 DDR RAM
• 160 GB SATA Hard Drive
• 16X Dual Layer DVD±R/RW Burner
• ATI Radeon X300LS with 64MB DDR SDRAM
• NTSC TV tuner with pause, replay & programmable
record capabilities, FM Tuner
• 7 in 1 Media Card Reader
• Wireless Remote
• Keyboard & Mouse
• 1 Year On-Site Warranty

Sean, Matt and I had the pleasure to be interviewed by Thomas Hawk and he posted the first of two parts yesterday -- check it out at http://thomashawk.com/.