Apple and Microsoft have very different views of what a Media Center PC is

Michael Gartenberg | October 12, 2005, 02:27 PM

Part of the today's news are the new media centric iMacs. This is in an important part of Apple's strategy and it's been a while coming. The existing mini seemed likely to become the focal point for a media center but Apple's taking this idea in a new direction. I'm a big fan of the Windows Media Center platform and personally, I want the TV integration as well as the access to recorded TV as a great source of legal video content. Why pay for an episode of Lost that I missed when I can just as easily watch it on my Media Center PC, stream it via Orb or Slingbox or copy it over to my laptop. Of course, offering technology that lets you do that might dampen enthusiasm for paying for episodic but if you don't have a TiVo or other device, this is the perfect solution. It's pretty cheap and of course, simple

It will be interesting to see how third parties plug into this new eco system and perhaps offer some TV integration into this new platform. The new Phtobooth and Front Row apps look pretty cool. Like I said, very different philosophy here. It also looks like these apps and the remote control is for new iMacs only, not for older units.