MC boxes should be sold assuming the user has a "server" MC setup. This would go a lot beyond existing server abilities. A user should be able to buy a MC computer and upon plugging it in and starting, be welcomed by MC theater view and a popup asking the user to select their desired Media Center Server--which it auto found just one, so not much to think about.
I just think at the moment, each new MC is a hours of work! This is how it is for me. And I do find the time. But for larger adoption, it needs to be more automatic and solid. The server should be highly active, keeping a good connection with clients and updating them of changes to the database so everyone is in sync all the time. Once this infrastructure was in place, I think the team and everyone here could dream up a million new possibilities.
Why not let each machine talk to one another? I still am hoping for a menu option while playing video:
"Continue this content elsewhere" > "Select another location: Kitchen, Theater, Great Room"
"Synchronize playback elsewhere" > "Select another location: Kitchen, Theater, Great Room, All Locations"
The weather configuration, news, etc. all should be set by the server. I truly think a new server front end should be included which does not allow the user to play content but is intended only for managing content and forcing settings on connected users.
Each file (with global setting) should give the option to proxy files through the server or try accessing the files directly (network accessible).