{"id":1353,"date":"2011-09-06T15:54:59","date_gmt":"2011-09-06T19:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geekitdown.com\/blog\/?p=1353"},"modified":"2011-09-06T15:54:59","modified_gmt":"2011-09-06T19:54:59","slug":"preview-windows-8-media-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geekitdown.com\/?p=1353","title":{"rendered":"Preview: Windows 8 Media Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WindowsWe’ve received several inquiries about Windows 8. When will it be released? Should I wait to buy a new computer? What kind of features will it have? They are all great questions. The reality is that Microsoft has kept very tight lipped about all things Windows 8, but nevertheless as time goes by and we draw closer to the inevitable Windows 8 release, we’ll try to update you on news or topics of note.<\/p>\n

Media Center is the latest feature to have information released. Steven Sinofsky<\/a>, President of the Windows division, put some Media Center comments on the record recently via his blog<\/a> regarding its Windows 8 inclusion.<\/p>\n

Media Center News<\/h3>\n
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Windows Media Center has been an often obscure part of Windows for many users. It looks different than the rest of Windows and setup can be a confounding process for the average user. Nevertheless, it is a decent part of the Windows OS when setup. Having said that, the numbers representing its usage are far below what we would expect from an integrated Windows feature. Usage data indicates \u201c..Windows Media Center was launched by 6% of Windows 7 users globally..\u201d for the month of July. Six percent is not a lot and only a quarter of those used Media Center for more than 10 minutes. While not very impressive, the numbers do indicate that Media Center is being used and the focus is directed more towards TV viewing as opposed to CD\/DVD usage.<\/p>\n

So with data like that does Microsoft intend to include Media Center in Windows 8 or are we looking at a remnant of past Windows releases? According to Sinofsky, \u201cI want to reassure customers that Media Center will definitely be part of Windows 8. No doubt about it.\u201d That is a definitive statement which should put questions to rest about including Media Center in Windows 8.<\/p>\n

Sinofsky went on to say that pre-release builds will not have Media Center included, but that’s not entirely surprising and certainly not the only feature which will be omitted from the early builds.<\/p>\n

You can read other Windows 8 related articles on our Windows 8 News<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

Your Thoughts<\/h3>\n
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Are you looking forward to Windows 8? Do you approve or disapprove of the Media Center inclusion? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n

If you enjoyed or found this article useful, please show us some support by liking us on Facebook<\/a> or by sharing us on your favorite social website. Thanks!<\/p>\n