Michael Creasy's blog

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I've had lots of questions recently and no time to really get answers and post them up here. If I haven't answered you question it's because I don't know the answer and haven't had enough time to get to the bottom of it yet. First of all I had a couple...

How are HTML apps and add-ins associated with each other? (Can HTML apps trigger add-ins to be launched?) HTML and add-ins can both be part of the same application, that is each is a different entrypoint of the application. The association takes place...

Betanews reports that Gateway/ eMachines will be offering a new Media Center PC for $599! The specs are pretty impressive for such a cheap computer: AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 1GB DDR SDRAM 200GB hard drive ATI Radeon Xpress 200 8 in 1 media...

I've decided to take all the questions I get by email and answer them on Fridays in one post, so do please continue to email me any questions you have. That said, here's this weeks questions: How can I keep the Media Center window on top so I can work...

Jason over at Digital Media Thoughts sent me an email about his new article on The Powers and Perils of a Platform . Jason talks about the trouble he had when a Media Center "plugin" went bad and couldn't be uninstalled. It's not clear if it was an HTML...

David Burnett talks to the New York Times on what cameras he uses and why he mainly shoots digital now - he's another Canon 20D user. The article is interesting, but the audio slideshow is much more interesting. He explains that he uses a number of different...

I've had a couple of questions by email that I should answer (note I've paraphrased some of these): What fonts should I use for my HTML Media Center application and can I use Flash? The SDK is where to go for design guidelines for HTML applications...

Sorry I haven't had much (anything) to say for a while. I've been terribly busy on a number of things that it won't take a genius to guess about. So what's been going on? Well, I'm very excited about the XBox 360 and it's built in Media Center Extender...

No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I've just got back from a long and exhausting holiday and now I'm back at work and catching up on what I've missed. I'll have some photos to share and a few stories to tell once I know what day of the week it is...

All the keyboard shortcuts for Media Center for those times when you just don't want to use a remote control are documented here . Update: If the page doesn't display, try again later, it's propagating around servers or something like that I'm told

The ability to install an iPod in a BMW has been around for a few months now and I hadn't given it much attention or thought until now. Mainly because I now have a car that the technology supports. So here's a mini review... Installation: No idea if it...

MSN Video Download apparently went live today with a choice of two membership types Premium and Basic. Premium is $19.95 a year and has more content than the free Basic membership. Not wanting to commit myself to a membership yet I signed up for the Basic...

I've always owned Canon cameras and was looking around for a new small digital camera and decided on the Canon SD500 . I haven't had a small camera for a few years - the last being a Canon S100 (the original digital Elph/Ixus) which I enjoyed using. My...

MSN Remote Record is live and out of beta. In simplest terms it's a way of browsing the same TV guide as your Media Center PC uses and then remotely instructing your Media Center PC to record something. Pretty clever stuff. There's a small download for...

I get a lot of emails asking for help with people's Media Center and I can't answer them all. Feel free to email me with things you'd like me to write about, but please understand I can't answer all the emails or provide tech support for you. If you have...

This is pretty cool if you're looking to build your own Media Center PC. Intel have started producing barebones systems in a case that wouldn't look out of place with other A/V equipment. All you need to add is a CPU (an Intel P4 of course), hard drive...

There's an update for MCX for Xbox available on Xbox Live now that will allow you to play back CGMS-A content (HBO etc...). You should get prompted about the update next time you log into Live. If you don't have Xbox Live you can request the update here...

In response to an emailed question from Mike Kaltschnee about how to install applications on Media Center I thought I'd provide my thoughts on the subject. First, do you really need to install something? Let's tackle what do if you just want to create...

I won't make a habit of this, but I wanted to share a picture I took this weekend at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. I love how it's come out. Here's the techincal details: Canon 10D with a Canon 17-40mm L lens. Settings were ISO 400, lens was...

Quite a lot it seems. I own a few domain names. Most I've had for several years and they've always been with the same registrar. Three of them need to be renewed in a few days time and I thought I'd shop around for a better deal on renewing the registration...

If you've got a Sony Media Center PC and want an upgrade to Media Center 2005, you'll want to click here .

I started reading Samuel Pepys diary earlier this year and I've read about half of it so far. Pepys wrote a diary in 17th century England. His diary is one of the leading historical accounts of the time and I've really enjoyed reading it so far. I was...

eHomeUpgrade talks about how to improve the My Pictures experience in Media Center . There's some good ideas there. Some that I've thought of before and would like to see and some that I haven't. They noticed that a slideshow always starts with the same...

Now you can watch copy protected TV on your Extender. Update for the HP model. Update for the Linksys model. Just in time for the holidays. Enjoy everyone.