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[nila]

Check out this - I saw it in my local PC Store today. One of the guys had one there and started telling me about it when I was asking him about the Shuttle.

This believe it or not is a FULL computer!!!

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/detail_spec/product_detail.asp?model=MEGA_651

Stand alone - it's an FM/AM Radio Player, mp3 cd player - it's also if you add the pieces a full computer - but looking and working like a stand alone hi fi.

The best of both worlds rolled into one right here - this is where computers are heading.

I want one of these for my living room - anyone wanna buy me one as a present for letting you know they existed? I'll come over and configure MC on it for you as a thank you!!

This with MC, wired to a TV is exactly what I've wanted for tooo long

[nila]

Was just chatting on irc and talking to peeps about this and someone mentioned this too:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate/


Looks pretty sweet to me!!

That'd tie in NICELY with any current computer system!

[Cmagic]

Hi Nila,

Funny you started a thread on the MSI Mega PC. Because I just saw this in a computer shop in Paris for about ¤ 329 ($350) and I thought - wow ! this would be the perfect case for MC9. Just add a 120 Gigs HDD, a decent P4, some memory and you have - as you just said - the perfect media convergence device.

I downloaded the user's manual from MSI website and it says that there are two distinct operating modes :
Hifi and computer but in hifi mode you can't play tunes stored on your HDD and on computer mode you can't use the remote control !

Anyway, I'm sure others (Asus, Abit, etc..) will soon come out with similar solutions.


Cheers,

Christian

[nila]

Ah - but thats probably because they're just stupid - I'm sure (I hope desperately) that you can use the remote in computer mode - that you simply have to install Girder and set it up.

If not their technical manager needs a broom smacked over his head!! - Why build a media pc with a remote that doesn't work for it? I think he's behind the times - hasn't he heard of MC or even just Windows Media Center edition?

I'd imagine it would thou and I wouldn't want/need the hifi to work while in PC mode (well except for the radio possibly) - I'd rather be using MC to control my music - I hope the hardware controls still work thou (again with girder) - if not again - get out that broom.
It would take EXTRA work to disable the controls depending on what mode it was in - if they just leave them on Girder should (I think) just pick up the signal and let us associate it with whatever we want.


Anyway - I'm hoping that both the remote and hardware controls work in PC mode with girder.



It's pretty sweet dont you think C? I got SUCH a shock when I saw it!

[Cmagic]

It's pretty sweet dont you think C? I got SUCH a shock when I saw it!

That's for sure it is sweet.

BTW the guy in the shop told me there are two models one with a P4 mobo and one with an Athlon mobo but he recommended the P4 model because of its lower heat output hence a slower/quieter fan.

who will be the first on interact to setup a MC box with it ?

Have a nice week-end.

C.

[Doof]

Even if the remote didn't work in PC mode, there's no reason you couldn't connect an IRMan to the serial port on the back and still use Girder with the same remote. Provided the unit didn't respond to remote commands and power up hifi mode automatically, I don't see any reason that wouldn't work.

While using the integrated IR receiver would be a cleaner solution, I could see some technical reasons such a thing might not work. If the HiFi mainboard is truly seperate from the PC motherboard, then that would be one reason it might not work.

I'm seriously considering picking one of these up. Slap a TV Tuner card and a DVD-ROM drive in there, install MC, and I could easily lose my TiVo and DVD player. Well maybe not the TiVo... MC still doesn't have any kind of program guide...

So close...

[nila]

Doof - if I had the cash I'd buy one in an instant, combine it with a nice sharp TV and the new 'monitor/graphics tablet' from MS that basically displays the screen on a portable LCD screen so you can walk around with your monitor - and it's touch scree.

Lock MC into hairstyle mode and the ultimate system is set up -watch all and any of your friends - females too - start drooling when they see u pick up this little panel and turn music on in any room or instantly put on a film on the tv or start displaying all your holliday pics

[lOth]

Lock MC into hairstyle mode and the ultimate system is set up

that is, of course, with some improvement on hairstyle...

What about the soundcard in there? What do you guys think about it?

[Mastiff]

Nila, I partly agree. But instead of using one of those expensive and rather limiting (you'll have to show the same thing on the monitor as you're showing on that tablet) tablet things I'd rather use NetRemote with a WLAN card (or external USB solution) on the computer and a Siemens Simpad SL4 to run NetRemote on. Then the display would be free for any kind of use - visualisations or whatever you want.  

[kiwi]

Wow... the SIMpad looks very cool.  Actually, it is very close to the device that I am looking to get.  One of my requirements would be to be able to read PDFs easily,  I'll have to explore whether 800x600 is enough resolution to confortably read PDF pages.

kiwi