Windows 8 Consumer Preview Coming February 29, WMC Unlikely to be Included
Microsoft will be attending the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, but not just for Windows Phone. Microsoft will also be hosting a Windows 8 Consumer Preview event to launch the next phase of their Windows 8 beta program. While launching the Windows 8 Consumer Preview at WMC will lead to all sorts of speculation about how Windows 8 will tie into Windows Phone 8, it is far more likely we will hear more about Microsoft’s tablet strategy for Windows 8 and hopefully even get some more specific details about Windows 8 on ARM.
Microsoft revealed today that it plans to launch the highly anticipated “Consumer Preview” version of Windows 8 on February 29th. The company will hold an event at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 29th to launch the Windows 8 Consumer Preview between 3PM and 5PM (CET).
Unfortunately for Windows Media Center fans looking forward to previewing the next version of WMC, the Consumer Preview may end up being a letdown. Although Microsoft continues to confirm that WMC will be part of Windows 8, it appears that it might not be part of the Consumer Preview. Given the screenshot that Microsoft has tweeted today of WMC running on build 8225, it does not look like we will be missing much. Anyone still hoping for a Metro-fied WMC, however much of longshot it may have been, will be disappointed.
It’s unclear if Microsoft will include Media Center in the “Consumer Preview” version of Windows 8. The software maker originally removed the application from its Windows 8 Developer Preview, released at BUILD in September last year, and explained “Media Center will not be part of the first pre-release builds,” at the time. However, Media Center fans expected to hear more during the beta (Consumer Preview) phase.
Well I have a SSD and 2.5″
Well I have a SSD and 2.5″ 1tb notebook drive in my newegg shopping cart for a Windows 8 test machine. I almost pulled the trigger today but now I might as well hold off.
Here is the tweet from
Here is the tweet from @BuildWindows8
So is MC in the “preview” or
So is MC in the “preview” or not? I have a SSD and a 2.5″ 1tb in my shopping cart to test W8.
That’s just it. Microsoft is
That’s just it. Microsoft is dodging the question with their tweet. Even the original Verge article didn’t question whether WMC would be in the shipping version of Windows 8, only whether it was in the CP. Even if WMC is largely unchanged, I am very curious to see how it interacts with the new start screen in full-screen mode when current versions of WMC are more than a little touchy about sharing the rest of the system. On top of that, if removing WMC from certain versions of Windows 8 is an attempt to avoid licensing fees, then it suggests that the CP will lack the media features that MS does not want to license and confirms that WMC will not be available in the versions of Windows 8 geared toward consumers, further marginalizing WMC.
There’s always the chance
There’s always the chance that they’re saving it for their “store”. After all, all lot of us did say that we would gladly pay for MC as a seperate product. Mr. S. even made mention of that when he declared MC would be included in 8.
Like you said, even if MC is untouched, there is still much to be curious about.
To be honest, I hadn’t even
To be honest, I hadn’t even thought of that. The Store will be available in the CP and pushing WMC through that route would satisfy the cost-cutting needs and make it more widely available.
I’m still hoping what they
I’m still hoping what they have in store is so good they don’t want to talk about it until it is ready. Just trying to stay positive.
I’m not even going to bother,
I’m not even going to bother, Ceton Q or bust for me 😉
Ceton has my vote too,
Ceton has my vote too, but:
**In my best Yoda voice**
No, there is another – Niveus Connected Platform
Yea but which one will be
Yea but which one will be more affordable? Niveus has always been super expensive.
Also Yoda doesn’t speak that way…..
**Insert Yoda Voice here**
Another, there is.
i just want a TILE for my
i just want a TILE for my tuners/TV guide/Live TV
I suspect that for most folks
I suspect that for most folks that would be the ideal.
WMC is in it. Right now,
WMC is in it. Right now, I’ve just to got Win8 running in a VM machine but I may toss it on a spare drive in my MCE machine this weekend to see how it handles. Anyone else playing around with the preview release?
I’m downloading it now. Was
I’m downloading it now. Was just planning on putting it on a spare notebook for a look around. But if WMC is in it, may do a dual boot on the HTPC like you. We will see. Probably just notebook first.
Jeff
If you’re planning to run Win
If you’re planning to run Win 8 CP with WMC and the DCA, make sure you run WinSAT (Windows Experience Index) prior to running DCA. It may also be advisable to use Win 7 graphic drivers from vendor instead of in-box drivers before running WinSAT. The InfiniTV is working under Win 8 CP.
For InfiniTV owners, make
For InfiniTV owners, make sure to install .NET Framework 3.5/2.0 via the Control Panel prior to installing the driver package.
Btw, love it when
Btw, love it when Twitterverse goes off based on a rumor (MC is dead etc.) and then its wrong.
mikinho wrote:Btw, love it
[quote=mikinho]
Btw, love it when Twitterverse goes off based on a rumor (MC is dead etc.) and then its wrong.
[/quote]
What’s Twitter? Is that one of those places where people go to avoid all actual human contact, spew forth whatever drivel they can come up with on the spur of the moment, not thinking or caring about possible repercussions or how what they say might affect others, believing that what they say is actually of interest to the people who read their mindless diatribes?
Just checking. 😉
On a more relevant note, yeah, it’s pretty funny… and sad, actually.
skirge01 wrote:
What’s
[quote=skirge01]What’s Twitter? Is that one of those places where people… spew forth whatever drivel they can come up with on the spur of the moment, not thinking or caring about possible repercussions or how what they say might affect others, believing that what they say is actually of interest to the people who read their mindless diatribes?[/quote]
yeah, its pretty much like real life.
DavidStein wrote: yeah, its
[quote=DavidStein]
yeah, its pretty much like real life.
[/quote]
Damn… can’t even argue that. 😀
Twitter is a tool and is only
Twitter is a tool and is only as good as the user makes it. Yes, there is mindless diatribe (just like tuning into certain news channels on TV…), but I have found it quite useful. Perhaps the most useful I found it was during a rare power outage when I was living in San Diego last year that lasted for ~12 hours. It allowed me to quickly determine the extent and severity of the outage right at the beginning which kept me from getting stuck in traffic for hours on the way home from work since I was able to leave quickly instead of waiting longer in hopes power would be restored quickly.
Aaron Ledger wrote:Twitter is
[quote=Aaron Ledger]
Twitter is a tool and is only as good as the user makes it. Yes, there is mindless diatribe (just like tuning into certain news channels on TV…), but I have found it quite useful. Perhaps the most useful I found it was during a rare power outage when I was living in San Diego last year that lasted for ~12 hours. It allowed me to quickly determine the extent and severity of the outage right at the beginning which kept me from getting stuck in traffic for hours on the way home from work since I was able to leave quickly instead of waiting longer in hopes power would be restored quickly.
[/quote]
Hehe… maybe I needed a [/sarcasm] tag in my post. It was meant as a joke, even if it is often true. Hell, not sure if davidstein intended to or not, but his response could very well have been a “look in the mirror” reply, pointing out that my comment about Twitter was precisely the kind of useless drivel I was talking about. Intentional or not, I thought it was hilarious!
For the record, there are actually a couple of (famous) people I check in on via Twitter, every so often (one, because she’s pretty damn funny and the other to get free tickets), but I never, ever, ever Tweet and I have zero followers. (Anyone who tries to follow me gets reported, since there’s no reason for them to want to do so, in the first place.)
skirge01 wrote:Hell, not sure
[quote=skirge01]
Hell, not sure if davidstein intended to or not, but his response could very well have been a “look in the mirror” reply, pointing out that my comment about Twitter was precisely the kind of useless drivel I was talking about. Intentional or not, I thought it was hilarious!
[/quote]
It was funny 😀
But everything is true until
But everything is true until proven false. And even then it wasn’t false when they wrote it so they weren’t wrong or responsible.
Isn’t that how it works?
And, nearly on command, [H]
And, nearly on command, [H] posts a link to this website about dumb tweets people send to companies.
I really wish MS would put a
I really wish MS would put a little effort into MC for Win8. Why is it that Niveus has a Metro style media center then MS???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-packOsphlc