I became interested in the TubeCore product made by TubeCentric.tv about two months ago when I read that it promised to bring a DLNA client to Windows Media Center and that it would work with extenders. I signed up for the beta, but did not get around to installing it until I installed beta 6 this evening. Unfortunately, running the application succeeded only in locking up my Media Center application, so there appears to be some work still to be done! (I sent a bug report, so I will post again if I get this working.)

Although the emphasized use for this product in in streaming Internet Video through a DLNA server application, my envisioned use is connecting Windows Media Center to J River’s Media Center and its robust media organization capabilities.

One thing that doesn't require waiting for Windows 7 is using Internet Explorer 8. I confess, that I have not taken the time to learn about some of its new features, but after seeing the following video (linked below) demonstrating the use of "accelerators" I have resolved to learn more about the new IE8 features.

Accelerators in IE8 Help Save Time!
Accelerators in Internet Explorer 8 help people do what they want in the browser faster and more quickly.

I have not blogged much recently about problems solved or new applications experimented with for a couple of reasons: (i) an observation from my wife that our home systems require more time in maintenance that they save; but more importantly (ii) I am waiting for Windows 7.

With respect to the first point, I started keeping a log of the time I spent dealing with issues related to the complexity of our home IT systems (e.g. using Small Business Server 2008) which has both reflected that not more than a couple of hours per month has been spent on maintaining such systems, but has also deterred me from making changes that are likely to require significantly more time to fix if they go awry. My gain in the regard is my readers’ loss.

On the second point, there are a number applications that I might otherwise try and write about, were it not for the coming of Windows 7 in October that might make these applications superfluous or obsolete. I tried the beta this Winter and found that it’s relationship with my Small Business Server 2008 installation was problematic. Fair enough, it was a beta. As a result though, I was not eager to do more experimentation. Similarly, enhancements to Media Center will wait until I can install Windows 7 on our Media Center PC because I am unwilling to risk our primary entertainment medium on even release candidate software.

So I wait, while my time is consumed with actually consuming digital media.