The days of being tied to a traditional TV to watch your favorite shows is becoming less and less of a dream — at least for Mediaroom 2.0 users, like those who subscribe to AT&T U-Verse. It hasn’t even been a full year since Xbox 360 owners were first able to launch a U-Verse blade to watch TV, but it has been about nine months when we first heard rumors of Mediaroom clients for Windows Media Center (aka Monaco), Silverlight (aka Taos) and Windows Phone (aka Rome) would see the light of day. A recent post on William Zhang’s blog, a Microsoft employee, confirms the rumored code names in addition to giving us reason to believe those using Mediaroom 2.0 software might still realize the three screen dream by the end of 2011 after all.

New Mediaroom clients to bring Microsoft’s TV platform everywhere this year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gadgets and Gizmos

Buying the latest gadgets and gizmos is one of those major highs for the techno savvy that has few parallels. In particular if they are high tech gadgets or computer gadgets. The mere announcement of the tablet display, sized at 7”, by Apple has all computer aficionados in a whirl. The screen of this new device is practically the size of the gizmo itself. All in all as far as high tech gadgets go, this one promises to be a delectable blend of design and ingenuity.

Those hooked on acquiring the latest gadgets and gizmos, and who feel that Nook, Kindle and the like are old hat, now can revel in the world’s first dual screen device — the enTourage eDGe. It combines a notepad, netbook, e-reader, and video/audio recorder and player in one Linux with Google® Android® OS device. What does it do? Much of what you might want to at any given time — web surf, read an e-book, get email, watch movies or listen to music from anywhere.

Essentially this is a student-friendly device aimed at freeing them from carrying books and notebooks. Since it is first and foremost an e-reader, the glare-free screen, zooming features, and the ability for a person to read in sunlight make it a particularly desirable gizmo. There is a journal page that can be opened and used by hand or with the help of a virtual keyboard — very useful for taking notes. This feature is enabled by e-ink technology, which further allows people to make notes on the book they are reading.

If latest computer gadgets are what you are hooked on, there are quite a few in the market just now. The Lenovo Multimedia Remote with 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboard comes in a compact style. Once connected, this multimedia remote can be used for using multimedia controls on the PC like with Windows Media Center. There is also the BearExtender n3 which Rokland Technologies has recently rolled out. It is a long-range 802.11n high-powered wireless adapter for Macs that offers up to four times the range of standard Apple-branded AirPort wireless cards. The Wi-Fi adaptor combines 802.11n compatibility with a powerful 700mW Wi-Fi radio that enables the device to pick up 802.11g and 802.11b signals from long distances.

• Ultra-slim ergonomic wireless 2.4Ghz keyboard with built in laser trackball, left / right buttons and scroll wheel features.
• 2.4Ghz technology offers greater range up to 33 feet away from your computer, Built-in laser trackball with 400, 800, and 1200 dpi selections
• Built-in left and right mouse buttons with built-in scroll wheel, 19 hotkeys for multimedia functions
• Slip Resistant design on both sides with rubber grip, 78 channels for Keyboard with unique ID to avoid interference (automatically switches)
• The perfect solution for Digital Living Rooms, ON/OFF switch for battery saving

IOGear GKM561R 2.4GHz Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel you can enjoy the freedom of wireless connectivity with IOGEAR’s slim and ergonomic wireless 2.4 GHz keyboard with built-in laser trackball. The 2.4 GHz wireless keyboard and laser trackball combo allows you to work up to 33 feet away from your computer. It’s the ideal solution for the living room home entertainment and computer enthusiast; also a perfect solution for meeting room presentation needs. Great for HTPC (Home Theater PC’s) setups or MCE (Windows Media Center) applications. The ultra-slim, and low profile keyboard lets you type with style and comfort from any angle in the room. In addition to its creative design it has built-in left and right mouse buttons with a scroll wheel and uses the latest laser trackball technology. This enables you to control the mouse cursor speed from 400 dpi, 800 dpi or at a lightning speed of 1200 dpi. An inclusive, ergonomic, smooth and superb wireless solution for y

Rating: (out of 147 reviews)

List Price: $ 49.99

Price: $ 38.99

What is the best, or most realistic connection option? Do I need some kind of converter box?

This may very well be the first time I’ve ever seen Brando sell a product from a big name manufacturer. Normally known for whimsical crap gadgets from faraway lands (and I mean that in the best way possible), the web store is now selling the HTPC-friendly Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard for $64.

As previously reported, the device mixes a thumb keyboard and a trackball into the body of an oversized remote control. It uses a 2.4GHz wireless connection and works up to 30 feet away, making it a good candidate for Windows Media Center, Boxee, or just about any other media center application that runs on a PC. It’s powered by two AAA batteries and the USB receiver fits right inside the battery compartment.

If you’d rather order directly from Lenovo, you can get it there for $60 instead. Might be a better idea, no? Lenovo’s always got some coupon codes floating around, too.

Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard [Brando]

This plug-in is so simple. It inserts a Boxee icon into Windows Media Center that when pressed, runs a script that closes WMC and starts Boxee full screen. When you close Boxee, WMC starts back up. Genius! It’s the next best thing instead of a true Boxee Windows Media Center app. [BoxeeWMC via Lifehacker]

If your home theater is powered by a Windows Media Center PC, the ideal solution if you have a large Blu-ray collection is to rip all of your movies to a hard drive. But that also requires a decent amount of storage, so as an alternative you can go with S1Digital’s Blu-ray Disc Changer which can accommodate up to 100 discs, making them available to watch almost instantly without having to constantly load each one. The included MyMovies software also automatically scans each disc and downloads metadata and cover art so you have a more visually-pleasing way to browse your collection.

However, when connected to an S1Digital Entertainment Center, or any Windows Home Server with enough storage, the Blu-ray Disc Changer can also be used to automatically rip your collection so that it’s available to any PC or media streaming device on your network. With a price tag of $1,500 you’re definitely paying for convenience here, though for that much money it would have been nice if the changer at least had an HDMI connection so you could hook it directly to an HDTV. From what I can tell it’s only equipped with USB 2.

[ S1Digital 100 Disc Blu-ray Changer ] VIA [ eHomeUpgrade ]

So I was all prepared to give Niveus Media’s new Sirius XM Windows Media Center plugin a try. (As I found out during a meeting with Microsoft while at CES, Windows 7 comes with Windows Media Center built in. I 100 percent didn’t know that till the Microsoft guys told me. Amazing. What else does Windows 7 do that I didn’t know?) Right, so I was all prepared, installed it, then tried to run the configuration. Oh, sorry! It’s Sirius-only! I’m an XM man, grandfathered into this whole Sirius XM debacle, so I can’t use the plugin. Great.

But let’s say you’re a Sirius subscriber, and one who also pays the extra $3 per month to get online streaming—you can use the plugin! And to be fair to Niveus 1) it has no control over Sirius XM’s incompetence (why are there still two distinct logins/subscriptions if it’s all one big company now? and 2) the plugin actually looks pretty cool. It looks like it belongs in Windows Media Center, which very much is a complement.

So what does it do? Not too hard to figure out: it adds a Sirius section to your Windows Media Center. Then you listen to your Sirius channels from inside WMC. That’s it.

The plugin is free, but you have to be a Sirius subscriber. And just to reiterate: you need to be a Sirius subscriber, not an old XM guy like me who had “Sirius XM” thrust upon him.

I’m annoyed, yes.

First off, the EyeTV One does receive OTA HD signals via an antenna and comes with the OS X EyeTV 3 TV software. Plus it’s compatible with Windows Media Center. But that’s about it.

This Elgato support page clearly spells out the difference between the new $101.20 EyeTV One and the older, but feature-packed $128 EyeTV Hybrid. Look at just this one section out of eight and tell me why someone would buy the new model when the older one costs just $27 more and does so much more.