Comment: Living room in a box

By Paul Trotter

Posted on 3 Mar 2005 at 15:28

But hang on a minute. Isn't that a great description of the early adopting technology fans we all profess to be? Without people getting in early to show off the newest gadgets, the technologies that self-proclaimed technophobes now regard as the norm would never have taken off.

Gates seemed proud to announce manufacturers had sold 1.4 million Media Center PCs worldwide by January 2005, a figure that surprised a few, yet still pales next to total PC shipments.

But it's too early to write off Windows XP Media Center Edition, and quite untimely given the improvements in the most recent version. Any PC-sceptic walking into our Media Center-controlled living room is likely to be impressed: that's why we enjoy our lives at the bleeding edge. They too could be checking out prices for these boxes in a few months, but be prepared for the phone call asking for your technical support.