Wow. I’m impressed. It was just a week or so ago that The Green Button had issues with the hoster and now they have the site up and running on a new host. New look & feel. Most content appears to have moved over. Great work folks!
The Green Button is a community website for Windows Media Center Edition (MCE). MCE is the coolest version of Windows you can get for home use. It includes an amazing UI for dealing with TV (with full digital video recording/personal video recording or PVR), photos, music, and video using a remote control. We call it a “10 foot” experience because you are typically 10′ away from the screen when interacting with it.
Right now the only way to get MCE is to buy an OEM PC or subscribe to MSDN Universal. My recommendation if you are buying a PC from an OEM like Dell, HP, Gateway, Etc… for home use, you shoudl buy one with MCE on it. Even if you don’t plan on using it for TV. The UI for music in photos is the bomb, even if you are using a mouse & keyboard; but especially if you want to use a remote control from a distance.
I’m a bit partial as I helped create the division that built MCE (eHome) and helped ship the first version in 2002. I also have developed a little shareware app, called MCE Controller, that helps you integrate MCE into your all-house A/V system (e.g. one based on Crestron, AMX, etc…). It basically lets you control MCE using Ethernet instead of relying on infared (IR) blasting. The number of 3rd parties developing add-no products is growing rapidly with some very cool things like MovieLink and ESPN Motion available now. One of my favorite add-ons is the DVD Jukebox.
The Green Button is full of great downloads for MCE and forums about the product. Check it out.
(The Green Button is named as it is because the remote control that comes with MCE PC’s has a distinctive green button on it that is roughly equivalent to the Start button on your Windows XP taskbar).
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The Green Button rocks!!!