I was surprised to read on Engadget that the latest FairUse4WM may strip video (WMV) DRM too (citing the new BBC iPlayer), so I conducted an experiment (before rolling back Vista). We’d previously purchased three episodes of the second season of Weeds (while waiting for the DVD to be released) via Amazon Unbox for TiVo. Using Amazon’s PC player, I downloaded one episode and ran it through FairUse4WM. I took the resultant file over to my Macbook Pro via a USB key… Lo and behold, after a slow load (it’s a big file), it played back. Very nicely, I might add.

While I’m sure many will appreciate this updated utility, I worry that apps like these make content owners skittish - potentially slowing the delivery and adoption of digital media. Though, maybe more favorable terms for honest consumers would send fewer people down this path.

Now that I’m back home for a few weeks, the time has finally come to remove remove Windows Vista from my desktop. While I appreciate the rich GUI and new functionality (photo gallery), the computer is just too slow to be usable. Plus, my MCE <-> Xbox 360 connection has been unreliable. The media extender connectivity issues could be due to my network config, but the generally sluggish performance of Vista seems out of my control. I’m not entirely sure what the problem is… I know Vista is resource intensive, but I bought this PC last fall (Vista certified!) and the hardware specs are decent (the machine was blazing under XP). The final straw came last weekend when recording that TiVo animation. I couldn’t do it using Windows Movie Maker - the Vista edition has dropped analog recording. (I ended up capturing via BeyondTV and trimming the clip with WMM.) Bah! Back to XP…

A periodic roundup of non-iPhone news… coming to you from Amtrak.

• Growing pains challenge AT&T’s U-verse: Houston Chronicle
• Comparing Joost, VeohTV, Babgelgum and Democracy: PVRWire
• Windows Vista Media Center Cumulative Update: Missing Remote
• PacificNet iMobile broadens TiVo distribution in China: Engadget
• TiVo CFO lands at LinkedIn: TiVo Lovers

Given the title of this post, you might (correctly) assume that I don’t believe CableCARD PCs matter. Sure there will be a small niche that embraces the technology as a home media center hub, but the average consumer won’t bother overcoming the learning curve and paying the associated premium. It’s nice to hear that CableCARD equipped PCs can be had for as low as $1500, but that number still doesn’t compete with the set-top box market… Not to mention most folks don’t want a PC (that looks like a PC) in their entertainment center and don’t realize they may be able to extend this content to an Xbox 360. And the possibility of bidirectional, M-Card PC functionality doesn’t change the mindset or marketplace.

For several years, my “set-top” box was a HTPC and my living room “TV” was a projector. Maintaining it was a constant source of frustration (and I managed PCs for a living). CableCARDs may add additional channels but with it comes additional complexity. The Average Joe doesn’t have the skills or the budget and won’t be interested. Not to mention, it doesn’t appear that CC support can be added to existing systems or later migrated to new machines.

Having said that, the current crop of set-top decoders/DVRs (computers disguised for the CE marketplace) are in need of GUI and functionality enhancements.

SageTV has announced support for Windows Home Server. Unless they’ve coded some specialized WHS hooks, the functionality was already present… All computer-based media center/DVR software really should be able to utilize external or network storage devices.

“We’re excited to work with SageTV and make compelling digital entertainment capabilities available to Windows Home Server customers,” said Steven Van Roekel, director of Windows Server Solutions at Microsoft.

Yahoo is out with a fantasy baseball widget for that 10′ Media Center interface. Both XP and Vista are supported… AND you can use the Xbox 360 as a media extender if the PC isn’t in the living room. Right now it includes live stats and box scores, but “Smack Talk” and exclusive multimedia are on the way.

Using the remote control, consumers can get real-time updates on their fantasy baseball scores without missing a minute of the live game on their television screen. Key features of the new version include:

• Fantasy Baseball - Follow fantasy leagues and get live updates
• Real Time Game Data - Get all the important information such as player stats, inning information, who’s at bat and more
• Scoreboard - Get a birds eye view of all of the action across the league

Unlike Yahoo’s earlier football offering that required Intel Viiv (boo), access to this one isn’t limited to some sort of marketing arrangement. Hopefully it’ll remain open come fall football season because fantasy baseball just doesn’t do it for me.

(via eHomeUpgrade)

I downloaded the April Vista Media Center update, though I don’t have very high hopes at this point. While it reportedly corrects at least one problem I was experiencing (with a dual tuner card), it doesn’t overcome the resource hog that is Vista or replace the ironic PS3/PSP interface with the superior Xbox 360 blade GUI. Maybe I’m just a bit bitter since MC is the only software to have actually crashed my computer since upgrading.