When I knew I was going to be able to upgrade to Windows XP, I was excited to get the Windows Media Center that was included in the software. Though is okay, it is not what I thought it would be, and I don’t use it very much. I guess it is nice to have access to everything media related on my computer through one piece of software, but I think I thought it would do more than that. The things that it does are great, but they are things I could already do. I was waiting for something new and exciting.
One nice thing about Windows Media Center is that you can open it with the touch of a button, or at least you can on my laptop. I have a button at the top that opens it. In fact, I quite often open it by accident when I am adjusting the volume. This is actually quite annoying. Though it is not as bad as it might be. At least Windows Media Center opens and loads rather quickly so it’s not like it loads forever when I open it accidentally. It tends to close fast too, which is always a good thing.
My husband was excited to have Windows Media Center as well, and I don’t think he uses it as much as he thought he would either. He had it in his mind that it would do more than it does as well, and I think he has gone back to using the same old software that he was using before he got a new computer. All in all it is a nifty program though, and when you want to see everything that you have all at once, this is a great way to do it.
Another great thing about Windows Media Center is that you can skip downloading a lot of different players if you want to, and you can use it for everything. In the end, that might be more convenient for some. It should update on its own, and you will know you have the latest that this type has to offer. You may have problem with it playing some types of different media though. I have noticed it does not like the video files from my digital camera. All in all though, it’s a great idea, it just has some work to be done before it is something that is a must have.
