IOW, and like I said, all that's missing from Windows 8 is everything. Besides the apps not existing, it doesn't even provide a framework for developing these remote-friendly 10' programs some people mistakenly think are a natural fit for its 1' touch interface and keyboard/mouse afterthought interface. Those who would be willing to reduce the tile number to just the imaginary HTPC apps don't realize that an equivalent interface for the remainder could be developed in about a day, as what's left is so superficial, just basically a static menu system navigable with the arrow keys and selectable by pressing Enter.rantanamo wrote:don't get the negativity on this. Windows 8 would make a great 10 ft interface if a little remote support is figured out. The apps and its look is just like the Xbox 360. Don't be surprised if the community figures this out soon. If it happens, just group together your tiles for different apps, and especially on a dedicated HTPC, you can run the apps, and not have to close them. In case anyone hasn't used 8, app switching is quick and apps are light. You could easily have the ultimate media center because you'd have a beautiful easily controllable app for everything, and just switch to media center for tv and configuration. You could even majorly pair down what's on your media center.
Also like I said, everything you want and more already exists in the open source program XBMC, which is being actively developed and has spawned projects like Plex that run in a supported way on devices like Roku, and XBMC itself can run on devices like Apple TV, though you do have to jailbreak. That's the real future for the PC, IMO, and hopefully it will continue to expand into other devices. The next version of XBMC will include DVR support, though it won't handle protected content, for which the only PC solution remains Media Center.
Sometimes I like to switch away from playing music or TV to something else but let them run in the background. Ideally, switching to TV pauses music, and switching to music at the very least takes over audio, which is different than switching to say Excel, in which case, both should keep playing. This could be hard to coordinate between independent apps that Metroers think are a good idea, which is the sort of thing I was getting at in my earlier posts. This context-dependent behavior is not just going to fall out automatically any more than a good 10' remote control interface is going to magically appear in a touch app without giving it any thought, which is what some people naively expect to happen. I also like to have a real desktop window for TV sometimes, and that is at complete odds with Metro.you can run the apps, and not have to close them