Well... this looks cool and all but... I now have to get my ass *OFF OF THE COUCH* and actually touch my TV screen to navigate now? Well, that's after I buy a 50" touch screen. Oh wait...

EnochLight

Did I see FM Radio in the Guide?

Or do some cable companies include local FM stations with their digital cable TV?

millerbrad

@lankysob: *end up punching the screen

lankysob

He wanted Music Library, couldn't get it to take and settled for My Pictures instead. No one will actually settle for selecting something they didn't want. They'll just end punching the screen.

lankysob

This moans seductively, "Touch me."

Ibelieveinsandwitches

i love touch probably a little too much... but in media center... really... im going to connect this to my TV and im not buying CNN's $100,000 touch plasma

purple-pillows

Very nice! Looks very smooth for this early of a release

peterfnet

@EnochLight: Lets just admit it. This looks great, but its just more of MS giving us technology that no one wants or needs. I will never stand up and get my greasy fingers on my 46" LCD. That's insane. And as for smaller screens elsewhere in the house, why would i have a media center in my kitchen? Why am I watching tivo while warming up spaghetti? This is totally niche and totally a waste of R&D while the company's OS goes down in flames.

Mark 2000

@lankysob: Well if you're punching the screen there is a very good chance of having the screen end ;)

Thats Dr Bear to You

That's ridinculous! Isn't MCE supposed to be worked through a remote from the couch? What am I missing here?

future-proof

@EnochLight: maybe, this interface could be in a smaller touch panel that you have on your coffee table, and when you play media, it goes to your tv. ya know, like a remote control or something....

natenovs

@EnochLight: That's right, because Microsoft will remove the mouse functionality from MCE completely, it's part of their new 'get your ass off the couch' experiment.

/sarcasm.

iSee

@EnochLight: Agreed. What I need is a multi-touch remote with a usable virtual keyboard.

Silly McFakeypants

@purple-pillows: Touch may not always be the ideal interface for a Media Center but if you had small touch screen machines like this in the kitchen or in a public area it may be a nice way to control it while you're doing something else.

jasonsplace

Ok, so the current touchsmart is beautiful...I've almost pulled the trigger several times. Only thing holding me back was the choppiness that occasionally happened when moving touch based windows, pages etc. This looks beautifully polished in that department. Now I'm sold. Give me a date, I'll give you a check.

mangamonster

@purple-pillows:

Two words "Play On"

With windows 7 you can 'send' media to another device.

Put a small touch screen in your kitchen and control your stereo.

Control your media center from an ultra portable 7" touchscreen running Atom2.

im.thatoneguy

I think it looks pretty good. To the comments about this on a 46" TV, i don't think this is meant for a touchscreen that is that size. And if someone had a touchscreen that size, and wanted to use it for a purpose similar to this, I'm sure they would be able to pay someone to make some software for that.

This would be a slick application in smaller bedrooms, or kitchens, assuming that all the media throughout the house is networked.

whatne1wuddo

@iAirmanshirk:

[achievements.schrankmonster.de]

diabolusunknownTheSecond

@not a sailor boy: edit: get your shit together Microsoft, because every day, month and year that you don't, pushes users to Linux, Unix or OSX.

not a sailor boy

Just need a touch screen 50 in plasma and I'm SOLD!

N@tedog

as an MCE user, i can say that it's not designed to be used with a touch interface and the windows 7 version ui looks the same...the buttons are way too small.

i really want Microsoft to do a good job with their products, but they have constantly failed on so many fronts over the past ten years.

get your shit together Microsoft, because every day, month and year that you don't, pushes move to Linux, Unix or OSX.

not a sailor boy

[www.theonion.com]

iAirmanshirk

@iSee: Mouse functionality...huh? So I can get up off the couch, go over to my MCE and use the keyboard and mouse??

The whole point of the media center ilk is to have a 10ft interface. Maybe a remote with touchscreens....but nobody wants to manage their TV by directly touching it.

edmicman

@im.thatoneguy:
My touch screen iPhone controls my iTunes & will stream audio to any speakers on my network today.
Super handy way to roll whole-house audio for a party. Either all rooms on the same playlist, or separate music in different rooms.

rexplex

@future-proof: How is this a waste? 1) It's on Windows 7, an OS that's not even released yet. 2) It has nothing to do with with current version of MCE 3) How do we know they'll disable the remote control if touchscreen control is enabled? 4) Do manufacturers ever care about how their new models are going to affect their older models?

I for one wouldn't mind having this. I would have a dual monitor setup (clone mode): one with touchscreen and the other connected to my TV. And if I feel like it, I could still use my remote.

ripfire

Finally! So many times I've wanted to reach out to my screen and use MCE this way. I'm excited. If only I could use this on the classic blueberry iMac I have sitting in the kitchen... :(

DigitalSciGuy

Impressive....just wondering how MS is going to fuck this up between now and release.

EVEs_Mako

@not a sailor boy: Really? Maybe Apple has a slightly growing base but I don't see Windows losing any ground to any other platforms.
No need to hate on this though...its not even a finished product and it looks pretty smooth to me, even if it had a little trouble tracking at a few points

efenili

@future-proof: They may or may not be modifying the interface for touch, but the fact still remains that touch interfaces require larger on-screen objects and the distance-optimized interface of MCE actually lends itself to touch capability.

DigitalSciGuy

@Mark 2000: well said.

This is an absolute waste. It's like they forgot that every manufacturer has been shipping a remote control with MCE.

*boggles mind*

future-proof

@purple-pillows: Sorry, this computer does not have video out.

comp_wiz101

@millerbrad: FM radio has been in Media Center for a while - my tuner card has one tuner dedicated to OTA TV broadcasts OR FM radio, depending on which antenna I have hooked up to it. I haven't tried FM though, so I can't speak to how well it functions in WMC.

drewkkake

@Mark 2000:

"Who watches TV while warming up spaghetti"?

People who cook.

im.thatoneguy

@diabolusunknownTheSecond: Sorry if i owned you

iAirmanshirk

I hope microsofts new ad campaign is "Are you touching it?"

jackfrost132

@jackfrost132:

Duda da da da!! I'm touchin' it!

... :\ .

Kyang

Very nice... but why do I want to get up to touch a screen to choose a piece of media to play? Isn't that why we have remotes?

ApolloCoppard

@future-proof:

Maybe you are missing other classes of devices that might stream Media Center content. Like say netbooks, laptops, or media center extenders. You could have an MCX in another room streaming from your media center where you might just use the touch interface instead of searching around for a remote. Who knows, maybe the next extenders will support touch?

sbrown23

@ripfire: Well said.

*Takashi Miike*

@edmicman:

Hey guy, you've never heard of wireless keyboards and mice?

sbrown23

@ApolloCoppard: *Sigh* You can keep using your remote if you want! This is just another method of input.

*Takashi Miike*

"we had it for vista but it was cut" we should find the person that cuts things, and punch them in the face

Digitallysick

I like to multitask. This is why I have three 20 inch monitors and a 12 inch Wacom on my desk hooked up to one PC. Has it ever occurred to some of you that there are those that might have a touch screen such as this that would sit in front of you allowing you to check email and browse the web. It could perhaps also be connected to your large non-touch TV allowing you to control the content of your TV while still allowing you to multitask with the smaller touch screen in front of you? Just a thought. While I'm not opposed to being able to afford a 50 inch touch screen TV, I'm really glad that the people inventing and designing these technologies are a little more "outside the box" thinkers then some of the commentators on this website.

IleneEris

@ApolloCoppard: or maybe, just maybe, you'll now be able to get a touchscreen remote, or *gasp* there will be an sdk for devel's to write their own.

oh noes!

mikeg916

@lankysob: I noticed about 10 other times he was trying to select something and it didn't work. It scrolled off the screen so he just kept touching other stuff to mesmerize the audience. I can't see myself buying a touchscreen media center to be honest. But maybe that's just me.

broho

I like how he couldn't tap the "music" tab when it was at the top, until he had to change the arch of his hand.

benjello

@alukard: probably because of the odd angle he's at while touching the screen. Who would ever actually use it from the angle he is?

cardboredbox

@lankysob: horray for nitpicking.

"oh damn, there is a piece of lint on this $500 suit, i'll throw the whole thing away."

alukard

very nice feature, but very few will make full use of it..

sarwatmj

I see a lot of people bashing it...funny, when it comes for apple and touchscreen, it's all "Sweet" and "Ohhhhh" in a orgasmic choir.

If it's microsoft, its a "useles feature"

Get a grip

SewerShark

@broho: Ever think that could be because this is a pre-beta? There is still a lot of work to be done on making the interface polished and obviously, this is one of those things.

poedgirl

it would've been hott if they had a preview of the show they were browsing through like in the channel index.
If you could click on it a pip type screen pops up in the bottom left hand side of the cpu and you could zoom in and zoom out by expanding it with multi touch. That would be sick i'd love it. And even edit the picture by using the edges like making it more narrow or wider.

SneakerFiend

@SewerShark:

lol -

this is Gizmodo my friend... lol

even the readers are biased here... lol

but i agree - People should wait and experience before shooting down something just cuz it doesnt have a bitten apple logo on it....

xaflatoonx

this is old news.. you can run windows media centre on a small 7" liliput touchscreen just the same way, in car pc's and many different application

chigga

@efenili: i'm not hating on Microsoft...anyone who uses windows knows that there is room for improvement and MS has not really developed MCE much over the years.

not a sailor boy

@IleneEris: Make it super thin like OLED so it just sits on your desk. You can access your stuff with and without affecting your desktop environment. Attach that with MS Surface like technology with the devices and such, along with a wireless power station like intel or other companies revealed and I'm hooked.

addiktion

Beautiful! can't wait to try it out!

DJJS

@*Takashi Miike*: Which means that this is a piece of hardware that will be more expensive than the hardware already was that offers nothing that is actually useful.... Touch is nice - but on things I am holding in my hand (Phones, laptops) - not on things I want to sit 2 yards away from....

ApolloCoppard

@drewkkake:
I have tried the FM radio in MC and it is alright. I can change the name of the station and add presents. I can pause the radio but can not rewind or skip ahead.

iChop