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The Engineer Behind Microsoft's TV Strategy
Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "A high-energy engineer named Joe Belfiore, age 37, has led Microsoft's Media Center team for four years. The effort has gained momentum in the past year, the Wall Street Journal reports, bolstering Microsoft's defense against a challenge from Apple's Front Row for control of home-entertainment software. 'The Apple threat seems menacing, in part because of recent history: Its iPod was a late entry in an established field of digital music players but soon stole the lion's share of the market,' the WSJ writes. At Microsoft, Front Row is already causing ripples: [Bill] Gates in an email to Mr. Belfiore asked why Apple's remote control had just six buttons. The standard Media Center remote from Microsoft has 39 buttons. (Mr. Belfiore's explanation: Front Row computers don't have TV or digital video recorder functions and thus don't need as many buttons.) At stake is more than just another piece of software for home computers. Both companies, and others, are trying to build the foundational technology for all home digital entertainment.'"
Absolutely not.
Right now I have a hideous frankenstein PC setup. I'm not going to drop the cheddar for a dead-sexy Apple rig and then hang a fucking $35 TOSLINK adapter off of it!
(Cue AC offering to sell me one for $150.)
I will have to add a USB TV tuner as it is, and have mixed feelings about that. No way I hang any more USB crap off of it. I have to have the tuner for the PS2 and VHS.
-Peter