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.'"

Comments

Not too bright, are they?

[tinpan]

If neither Mr. Gates nor Mr. Belfiore can figure out how Front Row could have TV and digital video recorder functions without adding buttons to Apple's remote, Microsoft is in sorry shape.

And even if...

[Sosarian]

And even if it did have tv recording functions, my MythTV setup for instance uses about 9, maybe 10 buttons plus lets say 12 for the number pad. 22 total

Tivo Series 1 has 33 if you count the four way hat as four.

For me it's not so much how many buttons, but whether they layout is useful.

One button?

[HermanAB]

I thought Apple's remote control would have only ONE button.

the real answer

[webdev]

"Mr. Gates, Apple didn't release their remote until we had already gone to manufacturing."

Buttons?

[Rand310]

Why must there only be buttons on a remote? What about a scroll wheel like on the iPod? The 'superluous' padlock on the iPod is an easy way to squeeze numeric buttons into one scroll wheel...

war of the buttons

[lucm]

Microsoft can't win this war of the buttons.

Mac could go with only two buttons ("play" and "order a new battery from apple"), but Microsoft is stuck with at least four ("play", "reboot", "reinstall" and "upgrade").

Only Amazon.com could possibly come with a single button operation... but wait, don't they already have a patent on this?

Why only 6 buttons? Here's why.

[goldsounds]

When Microsoft created the MCE remote, they simply copied the style of VCR one-function-per-button remotes. This is stupid and short-sighted - the reason VCR remotes evolved that way is because for many years VCR's couldn't overlay fancy animated menus on the screen that give the user a sense of context.

When Apple designed Front Row, they realised that because they have visual cues all over the screen, each of the six buttons can have several functions depending on the context. They just need enough buttons to navigate a menu system, and everything else is done on the screen.

Leave it to Microsoft to cram in the technology. Leave it to Apple to see the possibilities afforded by that technology.

Dan

What a Putz.

[jcr]

Front Row computers don't have TV or digital video recorder functions and thus don't need as many buttons.

With a properly-designed UI on the freaking screen, you don't need 39 buttons on the remote.

-jcr