Heys guys, I've been doing some musing and I need some opinions. Me da is looking for a new compy to manage the multimedia circus at church, because the old one is about to die. Now, XP has been ...adequate..., but he may be looking for something just a bit more. Anyone have advice on one of the Windows Media Edition PCs? Is the DRM really bad? I still need to query him about specific needs, but rudimentry needs are an ability to play and copy audio/visual DVDs without interference (damn you Microsoft!). 
(Don't you just love it when parents give you projects? 
)
Thanks guys!
Ashes
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is a Linux based one. Or was that Gooxbox?
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R McCue
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
MCE is really just XP Professional with some extra frontends to make multimedia stuff easier. I don't get what all the hype over it is for.
I see. And I'm also a fan of Linux, but Da vetoed that because the other multi media team members are lazy and don't want to 'learn a new system'. *rolls eyes* Lazy bums the lot of them. Actually, both of us wanted an Intel/Mac tower, but he doesn't think the old compy has that long, and we're too dependant on it. I think the only thing MCE has going for it is the remote!
But I promised I'd look into it, that's all. 
If you need to rip DVDs, run DVD Shrink/DVD Decrypter. To play 'em, use the built-in DVD player or Portable VLC.
MCE just uses a fancy-shmancy frontend for WiMP, and, like most conglomerate's apps, are loaded with DRM bullshit (sorry for the language, but I feel very strongly on the matter).
What exactly are you looking for?
~nm35 {blog} {personal space}
I feel the same way. I'm sick and tired of companies taking away my rights with DRM bullcrap and then hiding behind the DMCA when we (validly) claim fair use. Everyone is treated like a pirate these days. Note that I don't particularly like the term "pirate" either... but that's a whole other story.
I was under the impression that in America, you're innocent until proven guilty. Guess I was wrong.
Same here in Oz. Seems like we have adopted Indonesian rules. (You may have heard of Schappelle Corby, who, while there isn't enough evidence to incriminate her, there is less evidence to support her)
I think we need to elimintae DRM.
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R McCue
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
*agrees with rmccue* And my dad was a little general on the subject of specifications. He just needs it to play nice with a couple of other laptops, the soundboard, and the projector. He also needs to be able play discs with out interferance. Other than that, he gave me free reign to look into stuff, as long as it wouldn't confuse the the other team members too bad. Truth be told, I'm a simple girl at heart, and would rather just get a high capacity refurbished machine w/ XP Pro on it, but I had to make a token effort.
Did you say girl?
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R McCue
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
lol, you didn't know?
I thought it was obvious. Though I do recognize that there is a much smaller female presence here, so mabey not. 
I suspected as much. Experience tells me most guys wouldn't register a username "Ashes for Tears."
Hate to dissapoint you rmccue, but I thought I had it figured out, it was just the way you put some of the things that you said.
Yours
Steve Lamerton
Developer Profile Sync & PortaLog
I thought there was a small female presence and noticed a few things.
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R McCue
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
No MS OS will let you copy DRMed DVDs. Doing so is actually illegal in the US. (The MAFIAA -- RIAA + MPAA -- sneakily killed fair use, not by outlawing fair use directly, but by outlawing the method you need to use to excercise your right to fair use.... tricky, huh?)
DVD Shrink is one of the better DVD copiers (according to my, uh, non-US friends). It's free.
Windows Media Center Edition, as mentioned, is really just Windows XP with a few programs to play videos and show pictures on a TV. If you decide you need something like this, you can always add on a program like Meedio to XP to handle it. And, unlike Media Center Edition, Meedio can actually play Quicktime and other files. Media Center Edition can barely play MP3s correctly.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I have found that the "backup" feature is very useful.
I have been using it for more than a year to make "backups" of my favorite movies.
Life is about the journey not the destination!
The Kazoo Spartan
I use a combination of DVD Decrypter and Videora iPod Converter to get my DVD movies onto my iPod. I don't care what the MAFIAA thinks. I refuse to abide by a law (DMCA) that takes away my constitutional right to fair use. This is America, MAFIAA--get it through your heads.
@John T. Haller
Haha. Thanks for coining the term "MAFIAA." That has to be the best name ever for the RIAA+MPAA juggernaut. I will henceforth refer to them as the MAFIAA.
mafiaa.org
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R McCue
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
*Update* Da says that there are no protections or licence hubabuloo to deal with, which is good, though I'll still copy them out with the aforementioned programs.
It seems that he still has his heart set on a Mac, for he went back to that as soon as I disuaded him from WMC. He had two last questions: Does any body know if the Intel Mac Mini can handle a dual graphics card? And can you patch a Video iPod into a visual system? Say, like on a projection screen, or compy moniter?
Again, thanks guys, you've been a lot of help.