Amazing!!! Casey at Brains-N-Brawn has coded up an instant messenger bot called Mobile Record Bot that allows you to actually chat with your Windows Media Center PC at home to schedule TV recordings (via Make). The great part is that you can chat via text OR speech, search for shows, browse available shows, etc. Unfortunately, general users will have wait for speech functionality to work since Microsoft has now delayed its Speech Server product until 2007. In any case it’s worth having a look at. Casey has also just posted several videos to show the application in action (scroll to the bottom of the page). MORE »

Popularity: 3% [?]

If you’re fan of SnapStream and its Beyond TV product, you’re going to love what the developers have been up to. They’ve taken the popular, but less than stellar feature-wise, MediaMVP [prices] and have created their own software and skin tweaks that provides “something closer to the complete Beyond TV experience.” Another interesting aspect of the project is that it’s completely open source, cost no money to download and install, and is hosted at SourceForge. Well done guys! MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Global families today are harnessing pervasive technology and media to help them manage busy households and achieve more balanced, satisfying lives, according to research released today by global Internet company Yahoo! Inc. and OMD, a worldwide media communications specialist. The study, “It’s a Family Affair: the Media Evolution of Global Families in a Digital Age,” found that technology and media are essential to planning, researching and acting on many of family life’s important priorities, and that multi-tasking significantly extends the average day’s activities beyond 24 hours. MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

If you’ve been looking for an elegant whole-home audio solution that seemlessly integrates the Apple iPod (as a storage device), XM radio, and AM/FM, have look at the following video product demo from the guys at SpeakerCraft showcasing their new MODE in-wall controller (via Automated Home). Cool features: prominent volume control knob, scroll wheel navigation, optional 160GB MODE Jukebox music server add-on. MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Sling Media, Inc., a digital lifestyle consumer electronics company, today announced the nationwide availability of three new Slingbox™ models that significantly increase performance, provide the customer with choice depending on their home TV setup and start at as low as $179.99. The new Slingbox family is designed to meet the varied requirements of today’s TV households whether that’s basic analog cable, standard definition cable or satellite or next generation high definition television. The Slingbox PRO, Slingbox AV, and Slingbox TUNER transform PCs, laptops and Windows-based mobile phones and handheld computers into personal portable TVs. Slingbox owners can now watch and control their home cable, satellite or digital video recorder anywhere they can access the Internet, from their back yard to Beijing and everywhere in between. All three products are available to U.S. customers only starting today. MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

One of the co-founders of the open-source movement has become the newest member of the Freespire Leadership Board. Freespire is a community-driven, Linux-based operating system that gives users the option of combining free open source software with certain proprietary codecs, drivers and applications. Raymond, well-known as both a theorist and an advocate for the open source movement, joins twelve other Freespire Leadership Board members, composed of thinkers, business people, evangelists, and key members of the Linux community. MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Intel Corporation and DIRECTV, Inc., the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, today unveiled details around the world’s first digital set-top box with integrated digital media adapter (DMA) functionality verified to work with Intel® Viiv™ technology. Through the integrated DMA, the DIRECTV digital set-top box will allow customers to access and enjoy their pictures and music on their TVs directly from Intel Viiv technology-based PCs. MORE »

Popularity: 3% [?]

Looks like the guys at SageTV want to go cross-platform and dominate the market with their highly acclaimed media center software (currently available for both Windows and Linux). Below is the call for OS X Beta testers the company posted in the SageTV Forums: MORE »

Popularity: 4% [?]

Here’s a product to watch (via Boing Boing)! I’m not sure how the market will react to such a device, but the Neuros OSD has the potential to replace two categories of products in the living room with its $229 price tag: standard, no frills digital media adapters & full-blown media center PCs. According to Neuros, “the OSD is open, expandable, flexible and standard and uses software that is upgradeable and relentlessly enhanced. By taking these attributes and applying them to an ‘embedded’ consumer electronics device, the OSD can evolve and grow to meet all the expanding needs of the digital consumer in a device that, unlike a PC, is small, inexpensive, silent, and designed specifically for the job.” MORE »

Popularity: 3% [?]

SIRIUS Satellite Radio today announced the availability of Stiletto 100, the company’s first live portable radio, featuring WiFi, Yahoo!™ music purchasing software, and the ability to save music subscribers love for playback later. MORE »

Popularity: 4% [?]