Today we reintroduce Entelligence as a new column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

Here's a riddle. Why was a $300 PC with a Pentium III CPU, an 8GB hard drive, 64MB of RAM, 10/100 Ethernet, a DVD player, and an NVIDIA graphics chip considered a killer PC system in late 2001? The answer is because it wasn't a PC -- it was the original Xbox. In recent years, Microsoft has evolved the Xbox quite a bit. No longer is it a PC system with N-1 technology -- it is now a targeted and focused piece of engineering that is state of the art and optimized for games -- but importantly, a lot more than games. It's the Xbox that will likely be Microsoft's beachfront into the digital home, and it will be the Xbox which furthers Microsoft's role in the digital home beyond the PC.

Let's be honest, getting a CableCARD to work with Windows Media Center is far, far, far from a smooth process. Thankfully, the Media Center Integrator Alliance -- this sort of the things is its bag, naturally -- are set to show off a Digital Cable Tuner Diagnostics tool at next week's Electronic House Expo. It'll provide all kinds of information on your tuner and CableCARD, including modulation type, format, frequency, carrier, PCR Lock, encoding level, and authorization -- and if all that goes way over your head, there's an option to export the data to XML and send it to someone who can help. No word on when we'll see an official release, but no matter what, it won't be soon enough.

Given that Toshiba still refuses to recognize and support Blu-ray, at least it's warming to streaming. Toshiba has quietly announced today that some of its future A/V products will have Extenders for Windows Media Center integrated in; additionally, certain items will also tap into Intel / Yahoo!'s widget channel. We're told that this functionality (dubbed Network Player) will eventually find its way into REGZA HDTVs and a still mysterious standalone player, but you won't see either until the second half of this year. Bummer. Full release is after the break.

What's this? A little standardization in the TV realm? Announced today at IBC2008, Microsoft has launched its Protected Broadcast Driver Architecture (PBDA), a new worldwide platform that was made possible by the recent release of Windows Media Center TV Pack. In short, this system enables the "PC-TV hardware ecosystem to integrate virtually any free or premium TV service into Windows Media Center," which keeps content guardians ultra-stoked while giving consumers more choice when it comes to TV tuning. Essentially, PBDA gives OEMs and tuner-makers the ability to develop and ship wares for WMC "regardless of geographic location or television standard." The initiative is being backed by some serious players, too -- Hauppauge, AVerMedia, NEC, and NXP just to name a few -- and a couple have already shipped PBDA-based solutions overseas. Hit the read link for more... if you dare.

Engadget HD has gotten the latest on the highly anticipated update for Vista Media Center and it doesn't look good. The first release candidate made it into testers hands recently and they weren't happy to see that the most anticipated features -- support for a DirecTV HD tuner and native H.264 support -- got pushed to Windows 7. So head over to Engadget HD for more details (screen shots included).

We're not sure where Earl from DBSTalk got these scans, but we're so excited to get some official confirmation that this device exists, that we really don't care. The HDPC-20 is a dual tuner device that connects via USB to your PC and allows you to record and watch DirecTV programming on your computer -- and curiously includes an Ethernet port. It supports Vista Media center, but also appears to work with the regular flavor of Windows. What might be the best news is that from what we have here, there is no indication that it will have a OEM requirement like its cable equivalent. There isn't any word on price or availability, but after two years of waiting, we'll find a way to hold on for a little while longer till this thing hits the streets.

Picture of the rear and more details after the jump.

Windows Media Center fans have been dreaming of having access to DirecTV's programming for at least two years, and just when we think both companies have let the idea fade away, we get new clues that it might actually happen. According to a recent job posting, Microsoft is looking for a qualified individual to help it develop "premium TV experiences from world class satellite TV network operators" with experience in pay-per-view, H.264 and in-band programming data. Currently, Media Center uses the internet to obtain its programming data, but just like the DirecTiVo before it, Media Center looks to get the information via satellite from DirecTV. Mostly, we're just happy that both companies are (apparently) still working to make this happen, but having access to PPV is just icing on the cake and a new experience for Media Center fans.

[Via Chris Lanier's Blog]

Technically, Niveus was the first of the major partners to spill the proverbial beans on its Extender for Windows Media Center, and while it was sitting around for all to see at CEDIA, details were admittedly slim. Now, however, the firm has come clean and doled out the specs for its Media Center Extender - EDGE, following the moves made by Linksys and D-Link earlier. The EDGE boasts a "Glacier Passive Cooling for near silent operation," RS-232 / IP / IR for third-party control support, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, HDMI / component outputs and two-channel analog / digital optical audio outs. Unfortunately, Niveus' box doesn't include integrated WiFi, so its wired or nothin' here, and while we'd love to know how much this thing will actually cost, we do know it'll land sometime in November. Click on for a few more looks.

Just as we expected, Microsoft is getting official with its Windows Media Center Internet TV feature, which is set to go live in beta fashion tomorrow morning. According to Microsoft, US-based users of Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate will soon be able to download a simple update that will enable them to "enjoy a range of television and video content on their PCs and TV sets [with a Media Center Extender of some sort] without a TV tuner in their PC." The streaming content will all be ad-supported "by an advertising platform provided by YuMe," which means that you'll be getting it gratis. The programming reportedly "comes from MSN Video," and just over 100 hours of it will be available when the beta begins. To whet your appetite, a few notables that will be available are "full episodes of TV shows such as 'Arrested Development,' full-length music concerts by artists such as Chris Cornell, Snoop Dogg, Elton John, Pink, John Mayer and the Pussycat Dolls, movie trailers, news segments from MSNBC, and sports clips from FOX Sports."

Remember those Linksys Media Center Extenders that popped up yesterday? Well, today the duo has officially been priced, but there's no good news for folks hoping for these two to undercut the other guys. Up first is the DMA2200, which will of course sport an integrated "upscaling DVD player" along with the obligatory dual-band Wireless N functionality, while the DMA2100 arrives in a smaller package (see it up close after the break) but keeps to the basics by omitting the optical drive. Both boxes are set to land this November, and while the DVD playin' DMA2200 will run you $349.99, you can save $50 by opting for the lesser-spec'd sibling.

Right on cue, D-Link has made its own Media Center Extender official on the same day as Linksys. The DSM-750, which strangely boasts the exact same model number as a different product we heard about at CES, becomes the latest in the firm's MediaLounge lineup and enables "high-speed, uninterrupted wireless (or wired) streaming and sharing of HD / SD video, movies, digital photos and music," regardless of where your PC is located. The device features dual-band draft Wireless N technology, silent operation, a wireless remote, USB 2.0 port for accessing external storage, and a 10 / 100 Ethernet jack. Catch it this November for $349.99, and check out a bevy of photos (including a few hands-on) in the gallery below.

During our chat with Microsoft today, we got wind of a brand new feature coming to Windows Media Center, and it's slated to hit just as D-Link and Linksys get official with their Media Center Extenders. Reportedly, Microsoft plans on unleashing Internet TV on or around September 27th, which will enable Media Center users to watch a variety of on-demand, ad-supported content free of charge. While details were kept slim, we do know that content will fall into Sports, Entertainment, News, Top Picks, Music and Movies categories. Additionally, the videos will reportedly be "better than SD quality, but not HD," although HD programs could certainly emerge in the future. Best of all, this feature will simply be delivered as a normal software update, and while it seems that we'll have to wait until Digital Life before we know any more, feel free to peep the gallery below for a few shots of the Internet TV beta in action.

While Microsoft representatives at CEDIA were being exceedingly selfish with any information about the media-centric partnership with D-Link and Linksys, Niveus was putting all its cards right there on the table. Essentially, Microsoft claims that the actual hardware from Linksys and D-Link "could change" from its current form, but apparently, Niveus has a finalized product (reportedly dubbed Niveus Media Extender) ready to roll. The touchscreen interface functioned about as well as you'd expect, and while it did lag slightly at times, the overall feel was pretty fluid. Per usual, the hands-on goodness lies beneath, and oh yeah, official specs and such should be landing later this month.

UPDATE: Gallery also includes photos of the Vantage touchscreen and Rainier rig that Niveus was using on the floor.

It was but three months ago that Microsoft opened the flood gates to beta signups for Windows Live for TV, and now the mega-corp is soliciting the help of free laborers yet again to test out a potentially buggy and likely frustrating piece of forthcoming software. If you're still intrigued, Microsoft is holding an open signup to beta test Windows Media Center update for Vista, but we certainly hope you weren't counting on even a partial list of features, as the curiously bland signup page doesn't relinquish much of anything beyond procedural instructions. So if you're hankering for something new to try out, and don't mind replying to Microsoft's "surveys, bug reports, and other means as required," feel free to hit the read link and toss your name in the hat.

[Via BoyGeniusReport]

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:

A few weeks ago, HP announced that it was ending development of its Digital Entertainment Center line of A/V component form factor PCs. Normally, even a major manufacturer dropping a line of PCs wouldn't be cause for much industry introspection, but the continued struggle of the computer in the living room illustrates the challenges Microsoft has had in expanding the PC beyond its staples of desktops and notebooks, and why it may be increasingly turning inward to approaching new hardware markets.

Before the great unification of Windows Vista, Microsoft created two forked, hardware-specific versions for Windows XP -- Tablet Edition and Media Center Edition. Both found their way onto millions of computers, but neither achieved Microsoft's most ambitious goals. Per its name, Tablet Edition was to usher in a new wave of ultrathin devices free of keyboards that would be positioned as the next wave of notebooks.

However, to the extent that the operating system was adopted, it was primarily retrofitted onto "convertible" notebooks with swivel screens, making some of these "tablets" only slightly more sleek than the props carried by Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments. Undaunted, Microsoft has now decided that these devices should be half the height of those Tablet PCs, but its latest foray against the keyboard is driving backlash.