Linux version of XP Media Center

[Ouattara Oumar Aziz]

Wade Smart  :
> 11252006 1650 GMT-6
> 
> Well, thats the problem. MS promises all of this and then this company
> takes it and says it does this and that but - it all fails too often.
> That is why I was asked for a linux solution - but a entire solution
> isnt available yet. 
> 
> Wade
> 

Let's be precise about one thing : Windows Media Center is just a very 
small piece of the whole system.
For information, that kind of technology is called Ubiquitous Computing. 
It's the art of hiding computer from you and letting it automate all the 
thing you do. It's very cool, but yet experimental.

So let's analyze the video to see the very cost of the system:

- There is a computer in each room.
- There is a central server.
- Most of interfaces are Tactile or wireless.
- a lot of captors (video camera, the oven is full of captor ...)
- and then connected OS.

See, you may buy all that and won't have yet and Out-of-Box system 
compliant with that cause you must now connect the whole thing. Let's 
suppose you succeed. Now comes the OS connectivity work. Actually, I 
don't doubt Linux, got enough resources to manage that. Freevo (for the 
multimedia work), NFS or SMB for the network connectivity, ... and more 
software and drivers exist.

So the only thing missing for having an out-of-box system like that is a 
bunch of people (called a company) which propose it as a product. 
They'll get you a list of necessary accessories to have, they'll connect 
it and configure it for you. And you gonna pay for a fee, I guess.

if your question was about to find a Linux version of XP Media Center, 
then Freevo is one of them. If you wanted the whole system you showed us
Then Linux comes last and you may first find a company that will try 
doing that for you. (You can try to do it your self though and create 
your out-of-box pack and be sure you'll get a product that you could sell)

wattazoum