Power Pack 1 fixes the data corruption bug as well as delivers significant new functionality including:

• 1x64 support for home computers running Windows Vista
• Home Server Shared Folder backup
• Improved remote access experience
• Improvements to power consumption and performance
• Localization support for Japan and China

HP has also started pushing an update to their Windows Home Server powered HP Media Smart products timed to coincide with Power Pack 1.

• Update Package
• Release Notes
• Team Blog

Congrats to the Windows Home Server team.  I really like WHS and would run it instead of Vista Premium + Drobo as my primary home media hub if they'd support Windows Media Center & OCUR recording as a service.  Then I'd truly have a headless home media server that does it all (as I sit here dealing with my wife's system requiring a backup...)  How would you improve Windows Home Server after this release?

A few weeks ago, I was asked if wanted an opportunity to review a new software app under embargo that is designed to solve one of the great remaining problems with any music library - fixing album art and metadata.  Over the years between WMP/Zune/iTunes conversions of my library, converting all of my tracks into 160kbps MP3, migrating between HDDs and just plain idiosyncracies with ID3 tags and where album art gets stored, my library has become a severe mess.  TuneUp promised to fix it and I have to say aside from a few minor nits, it does a commendable job and is now available for download in two versions: TuneUp and TuneUp Gold but more on that later.

Around the UI
TuneUp is a companion app to iTunes for Windows (Mac coming this Fall) - it rides shotgun, snapping to the right-hand side of iTunes and listens into your library via iTunes' scripting engine. The UI offers four options - Clean, Cover Art, Now Playing, and Concerts.  The first two options - Clean and Cover Art are the meat of the app.  The second two options- Now Playing and Concerts are similar to other solutions offer links to YouTube, Stubhub, Amazon, Google, and eBay searches for artist information and concert listings in your area (via Ticketmaster/Stubhub).  But what sets TuneUp apart is the cleaning feature. My library started off with about 40% accurate information (horrible!) and by running through TuneUp's algorithm, was able to successfully match the majority of my songs. 

Taking it for a Spin
After backing up my music library, I did a series of ad-hoc tests to determine the accuracy of the service. TuneUp representatives tell me it works by applying a heuristic evaluating ID3 tags, filename, and even samples the audio of the song to create a fingerprint of the content. From there, it's matched against Gracenote's massive library of songs.   Gracenote is now a subsidiary of Sony and they've been making great strides in accuracy since their grass-roots efforts as user-supported CDDB so many years ago.

TuneUp correctly found a large # of U2 songs in my library that had missing album art or inaccurate media information, mostly a mix-match of Genre information.  Results are listed in one of three categories - Matches, Likely Matches, and Processing.  All display by album and can drill down to You can then choose to save each track. 

Not Perfect, But Closing in on the Target
Most of my issues with TuneUp are easily solvable.  First the UI has layout issues with the progress bar often colliding with text.  Here is a good example:

Another issue is accuracy on Live Sets or rare tracks.  The library does a good enough job of identifying the songs, but normally matches them to studio recordings.  As of right now, I wouldn't recommend TuneUp for eclectic music libraries. 

Also, I've noticed the Genre naming is quite a bit different across the industry - U2 suddenly went from a mix of Pop and Rock to Adult Alternative.  I don't know if that's a bad thing though I'm not sure Bono would agree.  Sheryl Crow's "Good is Good" genre became, "Singer-Songwriter".  Huh?! I actually started using it as an indicator for when content had been cleaned in my library.

Then there's the pricing.  The app appears to be ad-supported, with an American Apparel banner ad at the bottom of the screen.

Pricing and Advertisements
TuneUp is free to evaluate with over 500 song clean-ups and 50 album covers.  This is  a commendable # for testing and the price of $11.95 for an unlimited version is reasonable.  What I don't see noted here however is whether the Gold version removes the advertisements at the bottom.  I'd like to see more details about how TuneUp intends to use this space and exactly what information is shared with advertisers. Right now this appears to be limited to American Apparel - I don't see much of a fit between the ad and the content though, it would be less annoying if they did some frequency capping and targeted the ads to my interests.  I suspect this is to come in a later release.

Features I'd like to see
TuneUp isn't perfect- but it's pretty darn close.  Here are a few features I'd like to see included:

• View ID3 Tags and Fix.  iTunes will offer, but I can only see all of TuneUps changes after they're applied.
• Duplicate finder.  Yes, iTunes has a similar feature but is largely dependent on you as the user to go through and find
• Lyrics finder. Gracenote offers the service, would be good to see here.
• Offer to Remove Missing Songs from iTunes. WMP and Zune talk directly to the file system and know when files are removed.  iTunes tries to play and then gives you the dreaded "bang".  Nuke em all as an option.
• Zune/WMP Media Bridge.  Ensure media info is correctly set in the places Zune & WMP look, and offer a sync option for playlists, playcount, and ratings.  (Check out MusicBridge as a good proxy)
• Genre Mapper. Ability to rename a Gracenote genre (e.g. Adult Alternative) to Pop or whatever you wish.  It's a highly contentious and subjective topic.
• Faster indexing and better notification. TuneUp normally works well with ~50 tracks loaded but I decided to try and break it load in over 1000 tracks at a time.  It actually held up remarkably well but the UI updates started getting slow and I wasn't sure if it died or not.  A countdown time or est. time remaining option would be a big help.

Summary
TuneUp solves a major problem of most music enthusiasts, though if you're fastidious about your ID3 tagging, have invested hours in genre matching and the like, you may find continuing to manually update to be right for you.  Also, if you wear a tin foil hat and are concerned about personally identifiable information such as track names, playcounts and personal ratings being uploaded to TuneUp, you may want to scrub through the privacy statement. TuneUp assures us this is used for improvements to the service and personalization features such as concert listings (e.g. they won't give you a suggested concert for a one-star rated artist you hate).  For the mainstream music lover, TuneUp is a worthy addition to your toolkit, even in this first release with one caveat- back up your library before you try.  It's not perfect, but it's major improvement over in-app solutions.  Be sure to tell us how your experiences are going in the comments below.

As Media Center enthusiasts know, www.thegreenbutton.com is a fantastic resource for all things Media Center.  The good news is that the ads are gone.
I'm going to ping the team and get some details but this is fantastic news as we've always been super-supportive of the site and the contributions of the founders, moderators, developers, and community members over the years.  Perhaps it's time for me to re-up my account during vacation and pop into the site.

A Microsoft VP once told me, "In the world of business, there are Pioneers and there are Settlers.  Microsoft needs both."  I've always gravitated toward the startup opportunities within Microsoft.  A few years ago, I was given the opportunity to help take a fledgling technology called, "WPF/E", name it, brand it, and launch it as "Silverlight", with my team.  The response has been phenomenal, with over 1M downloads/day and a developed balance of features for RIA-focused and Media-focused features. 

A number of months ago, I learned of a new opportunity that what right in my wheelhouse of consumer-focused digital media as a steward of user experiences in the Entertainment and Devices Division as Director of Product Planning for Ad-funded Experiences.  Looking back on the most personally rewarding times of my career so far, I've most enjoyed building teams that focus on the user experience, and deliver "free stuff" for consumers. One could argue my first attempt there was developing the original XP Digital Media Fun Pack and Powertoys, many of which included a small sponsorship message.  Following the acquisitions of aQuantive, ScreenTonic, and Massive Inc., it became clear to me where opportunity intersects with my personal interests.  Put another way, working on the Silverlight platform and seeing so many cool apps developed helped me to realize I missed having a hand in building consumer products myself.  It/s hard to leave the amazing leadership of Scott Guthrie, Soma and so many friends, but I'm not going far.

So what does the job involve?   It starts with working with many of the teams in Entertainment & Devices - Zune, Mobile, Xbox, and more to identify market opportunities where the consumer wins and brand advertisers get impressions.  This is a new area and we're going to step lightly and take feedback as we did with over 10M enthusiasts on Xbox Live who regularly download free add-ons for their games - Map packs, cars, tracks, and even feature-length movies sponsored by brand-name companies like McDonald's, Frito-Lay, Nissan, Ford, Nike, and many others.  The question is can we do the same thing for more media types and devices.  In a nutshell, that's my job - to put the fun in ad-funded entertainment experiences.

And I'm hiring. More on that later :)

The new Microsoft at CES site is up, and it's powered by Silverlight. There are so many projects underway now it's hard to keep track of them all and this was a great one to see.   
What's more, you'll be able to watch the keynote live in-page with Silverlight or via WMP/default browser.  Take a look, spin the wheel in LV fashion and check out the latest news from Microsoft at CES.

Hope y'all enjoy the show - Sunday night @ 6:30pm

Todd Bishop of the Seattle P-I provides a glimpse into the Take-Home testing that many of us do on digital home technologies at Microsoft.  Scott and Hakkan are two of the guys I've had the pleasure of working with in the past - nice to see inside their homes. 

Which brings me to realize my setup has changed so much in the past few years since I was GPM for Media Center- it might be time for a video this weekend walking around our Digital Home 2.0 ;)

Microsoft employees try out new technology at home

Earlier this AM, HP shot me a mail with the latest details on announcements they're making for CES.  Here's the latest:

• MediaSmart Receiver - works with XP and Vista PCs, offering wireless delivery of media via 802.11 ABGN and is also DivX certified.  Includes a Pocket Media Drive slot on the front for the big files and will offer Media Center Extender support this spring via an Internet-delivered update.  No note on whether that's an additional cost.
• MediaSmart TVs - Updated 1080p TV's with three (3) HDMI ports, wired and wireless connectivity and (drumroll please) Media Center Extender support built in!
• Media Vault and Media Vault Pro - Home "NAS Plus" offerings in 500GB and 1GB offerings for the Media Vault mv2100, and up to 1.5TB for the mv5100. Both include Photo Webshare and iTunes server features previously seen in HP MediaSmart servers. These units are Linux-based, unlike the HP MediaSmart Server which is powered by Windows Home Server.

All products will be available in Spring 2008

Setting aside some of the complaints that users have had with Vista, Thomas calls out one of my favorite features of Vista as well- file moving and conflict resolution.  To quote Thomas:

One of the things that I hated about XP and Mac OSX as well for that matter is that frequently I'd try to move my photos from my MacBook to my drobo after I uploaded them and I'd get a message reminding me that I already had a file with that name in the folder and would I like to replace the file or not replace it. The problem though was always that I didn't know if it was an actual physical dupe file or a different photograph using the same name.
Well now with Vista when it notifies me of this conflict, it actually shows me thumbnails of the photos in question and then gives me three choices. To replace the photo, not to move it, or to move it and give it a new title.

This is one of my favorite useful features along with Media Center which is now powering two HDTV's in our household via Xbox 360 Extenders.

Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection: Moving Files With Vista is Awesome

Every year, I pore over my Christmas music looking to create the ultimate mix for that cocktail get-together with the neighborhood friends, the perfect in-car mix for shopping, the Christmas Eve Classical mellow-out of young children, and the anthem to which tiny feet run down the stairs Christmas morning.  Yes, I'm a sucker for the holidays.

I also use my free time over the holidays to try and put digital media to some unnatural uses around the home.  This year, sharing photos of holidays past with family and friends takes center stage.

Step 1: Assemble your "Best of the Holidays" Picture Collection into a Single Folder
To simplify transfer to my phone/PDA/Xbox/Media Center and call-up, I use the recently released Windows Live Photo Gallery to organize all of my holiday best pictures into a folder at the top. These are pictures I want to share during the party.

This is easy to do and can be done with any one of your favorite photo apps, though I strongly recommend WL Photo Gallery - not because I work at MSFT but because it has some really great features like ability to upload directly to Flickr.

Step 2: Sprinkle in some Holiday Trivia

I've created a set of 15 questions in the below pack and included the master images from the- all you have to do is unzip it, put the pictures in the same folder as your "Best of" collection.  You'll probably want to rename the files so as to mix them in sets with your own photos.  The pictures are from the old Winter Fun Pack I did as a side project so many years ago for XP.

Step 3: Assemble the Ultimate Christmas Mix

This year we went a little upscale with a swank set of songs for the adults and a few favorites.  Pretty much anyone can build a playlist these days.

Here are some of my favorites:

Cocktail Party Swanky Christmas (Most off "Christmas Classics" on Zune)

• Christmas Time is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
• White Christmas - Bing Crosby
• Baby, It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Lou Rawls
• Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let it Snow! - Lena Horne
• (Everybody's Waiting' For) The Man with the Bag - Kay Starr
• Happy Holiday - Peggy Lee
• Sleigh Ride - Ferrane & Teicher
• I'd Like You for Christmas - Julie London
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Ella Fitzgerald
• Grown-Up Christmas List - Michael Buble
  

Step 4: Share it on the Big Screen with Xbox 360, PC, Media Center, Digital Picture Frame etc.
There are a number of ways to get your photo playlist onto your PC or picture frame.  I use my Xbox 360 as an extender, and a CompactFlash card inserted into a digital picture frame to share them in two rooms.  Here are a few examples (click images for larger sizes):

Play it on Xbox 360 from your Zune - from the Zune device or home network

Play it from Windows Vista Media Center

Play it on a digital picture frame

Hope you enjoy- Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our family to yours.

It would look like this.

I don't always agree with Chris but this time I tend to. With the disclaimer that the announcement is huge - to enthusiasts willing to spend all that $$ to be able to watch and record HD and subscription cable TV on their PC. 

Dell’s CableCARD Re-entry Is Huge In the Grand Scheme - Chris Lanier's Blog

An interesting dialogue about consumer fair use rights happening right now.  I'm an advocate of protecting IP, but this bill (auspiciously named the PRO IP Act) goes way, way too far.

I may not agree with all of Jeremy's points (transmitting an MP3 intended for mass distribution is different from shoplifting a CD and should carry stiffer penalties IMO).  What concerns me about these kinds of bills is what happens to the Mom or Dad who puts copyrighted music under his home video, posts it and it goes viral?

This is an area where I encourage all of you to get familiar with the issues and make sure your congressional representatives have your views. Good places to start learning:

Jeremy Toeman’s LIVEdigitally » Blog Archive » A note to Nancy Pelosi regarding the PRO IP act

Michael Gartenberg - (un-) common sense on copyright

TiVo has been on a bit of a tear as of late.  Today. they released MusicChoice for TiVo. I'm watching Bon Jovi's, "Lost Highway" while writing this (you can take the boy out of Jersey...) but here's the deal - the service may appeal to some but without pre-programmed playlists ala radio stations on Comcast, I don't see a lot of value here other than another slightly confusing way to get to video.

One interesting thing to note is that they're offering 15sec pre-roll ads as a part of the experience.  The quality is pretty good overall and starts up quickly.  So in that vein, here are three services I'd like to see on TiVo:

• Karaoke downloads
• Traffic - a real traffic map w/ video
• NetFlix - live streaming & browse/add to queue

TiVo | TiVo Boosts Its Robust Broadband Offering With the Addition of the Music Choice Network’s Vast Library of Music Videos and Original Music Programming

If you're a hardcore video geek dealing with the mix-mash of video formats and wondering what will really be supported in the December 2007 Xbox Dashboard Update, then you'll want to read this FAQ.  Otherwise, we return you to your morning coffee.

Xbox Team : December 2007 Video Playback FAQ

Was too busy to note the following interesting stories the last few days:

• TiVo to get solution for Switched Digital Cable Nets, coming Q208
• TiVo interface coming to PC via Nero deal
• TiVo announces 3Qtr results, still losing millions :(
• Verizon to offer, "Any Apps, Any Device" option for customers (but at what cost)?
• Wired is spinning up its Video Division. IPTV for everybody!
• Xbox 360 Backwards compatbility update adds support for 80 add'l classic games
• Quad CableCard Tuner systems from Inteset for Media Center announced

Learn to Fly--Foo Fighters

Things Have Changed--Dylan

This Is How a Heart Breaks--Rob Thomas

Runnin' Down a Dream--Petty

Someday Baby--Dylan

LA Woman--Doors

Locomotive Breath--Jethro Tull

Won't Get Fooled Again--The Who

You Can't Catch Me--Stones

Freebird--Skynard

China Grove--Doobie Bros.

Don't Fear the Reaper--Blue Oyster Cult

We're an American Band--Grand Funk Railroad

If you're using an Airport Extreme with WPA/WPA2 Personal security enabled, you might notice that your shiny new Zune 2.0 software can't find your network automatically. The fix is  to manually add your Airport and set the network type as "WPA using TKIP" and away you go.

Technical reason: Airport Extremes for some reason squawk as WPA2  and not WPA, even when in mixed security mode which means they don't show up in the list. The Zune team is aware of the issue and it has been reported to Apple.

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the wireless sync feature. Four years ago we were talking about being able to wirelessly sync your device from your car in the garage. Now it's a reality, and a killer feature IMO.

One of my favorite people in eHome, Charlie Owen notes, "I'm going to head up an effort here at Microsoft between the Media Center, XBox and Zune teams to give you a set of resources which help you put our products together and begin to realize the 'Connected Home' dream." 

An admirable start. As I've noted here, I would like to see the merging of Windows Home Server and Media Center, and perhaps a wireless home automation component, though I have yet to use it beyond my Logitech Harmony remote. 

I'd also like to see a, "Buy anywhere, Watch anywhere" merging of the Marketplaces in Xbox 360, Zune, and Media Center.

Give Charlie your feedback in comments on his blog here.

via eHomeUpgrade

If you're an owner of a first-generation Zune,  now known as the Zune 30, it's nice to note that  you'll also shortly be able to use the new Zune software on your device and the new  Zune software starting on 11/13 - that's next Tuesday folks.  I'll post some thoughts here shortly after it's in the wild.

My iPhone and iTunes also took an update yesterday, pushing out a bunch of games and whatnot for the iPod.  I still don't understand why I have to reboot my PC it seems every time iTunes wants to do an update.  Oh well, off to rebootland.

In what is sure to be a smart business move for TiVo, they've announced that they're bringing Rhapsody's music service and the ability to download any of four million digital track into the living room.

There are some limitations according to the New York Times- TiVo owners can't move music around their homes or transport songs from TiVo to a mobile device.  These are both well understood and limited issues given that most consumers will just save the music to a playlist, and then sync  from their PC. 

This is great progress to see for TiVo. Their support for application extensions has languished and ISV community fizzled in part due to the lack of rich graphical capabilities such as what Media Center + Xbox 360 extenders can offer.  First MTV, now this, Rhapsody seems to be building out a new playbook.  I have to wonder- does Rhapsody have a Media Center solution waiting in the wings?

My mother always taught me if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.  I decided to opt out of all the hype/buzz/drivel about the Zune 2 announcement here because quite frankly I've been underwhelmed.  But I seem to keep getting emails asking what I think.  Sure, I have friends working on it.  I've inquired, "Please tell me the player is much much improved" and was told, by a friend "Trust us, it will be".  After sending mail to some other friends in Zune-land stating, "I love the iPhone, will I like the Zune?"  The response, "Just wait".   Hey, I want to like it, but I'm not going to shill for it.  I just can't seem to get jazzed up about the product after v1 was such a let down for me personally.  Then the company meeting happened.  I waited for the big Zune demo and announcement all employees would get one (ala Steve Jobs + iPod).  Neither the demo or the rumored announcement happened.  How will this device get to escape velocity if we're not firmly behind it?

So I've been waiting, looking the space more as a general consumer than I've been for years.  The tepid comments regarding Zune 1 and somewhat quiet introduction of Zune 2 had me concerned earlier this week.  Now it appears things are changing.  First the team is smartly offering the free update for all customers who purchased Zune 1 - we'll get all the software features.  Second, the new devices are definitely a generation ahead of v1.  Now, I'm waiting and reading Steve O'Hear from Last 100's coverage on the 5 things Microsoft did right with the Zune 2:

1. WiFi music syncing.  Definitely a big plus in my book.  Fewer wires = goodness and my Zune can now sit in the kitchen/office
2. Support for audio and video podcasts. Finally!  Someday I'll write my memoirs on how hard we tried to get this into another player...
3. Windows Media Center TV recording transfer. Good to see, still skeptical until I see it in action. 
4. Social Networking. Zune Social and Zune Card will be interesting.  But I still want "Zune Finder" as a gadget/widget/mini-app that detects Zunes when I'm on my laptop and have my Zune WiFi turned off at the airport, at conferences etc.
5. Free update for existing customers. Yep.  This is great.
   
   To this, I want to add my own:
   
6. MP3 Store. It's about friggin' time.  I completely converted from WMA and iTunes DRM'd content to MP3-only earlier this year through a painful series of CD rips ;).  Now my iTunes, Media Center, and Sonos Libraries work in harmony.  I use MusicBridge (an awesome, must-have tool) to keep my playlists, ratings, and playcounts in sync and I'm good to go. 
7. Media Player Software that looks clean and usable again. The video clips I've seen of the Zune look outstanding.  iTunes has it's quirks, WMP hasn't kept up with my music library but does a better job at certain functions  like album art matching. 
8. FM radio. Often overlooked, I sometimes get bored with shuffle and my playlists and just want to connect with the outside world. FM radio still has it's place.
9. The new Zune 2. Touchpad is the way to go.  Single-handed use is still easy, something that is increasingly frustrating me about the iPhone.
10. Support for Apple's Podcast extensions are coming. First comes denial, then anger, then acceptance ;). Zunester seems to confirm this which is nice to see. Album art today, full features soon?

Will I be trading in my iPhone for a Zune 2?  Not likely, namely because I love the in-car integration I have with my VaisTech adapter in my Toyota.  But I will load up the new software on my Zune 1 and give it another whirl.

(These thoughts are my own and don't reflect my employer)

There are certain things that are hard to watch being built - meat products and software come to mind.  In the software realm, the ante goes up when you're talking about consumer software that is critical to peace and harmony in the household.  Of course I'm talking about the DVR.

As the Group Product Manager for Windows Media Center 2004-2005, I had an enlightening opportunity to see the sheer volume of work required to create a stable DVR application that runs on a multitude of OEM PC configurations.  At the time, I really loved the product and technology. Then a few things happened.

First, I was given an opportunity/challenge to join the Vista team and had to leave my beloved MCE team behind.  I became a consumer again. Then, we moved to an area where I could no longer get an over-the-air HD signal and Media Center had to take a back seat as our HD DVR.

The Comcast Cable Box Nightmare
The Motorola box from Comcast was our only option at the time for watching HD, something that my wife and I both really enjoy.  But the Comcast box was (and continues to be) infuriatingly slow.  My wife regularly complained, rather her head spun like a merry-go-round whilst flames spew out of her mouth at the lack of performance.  The upholstery was starting to get charred from this weekly occurrence.

Switching to TiVo Series3
Finally, a solution that delivered adequate performance and HD DVR plus a few other features I loved.  After a year of my wife ranting about the Moto cable box, and realizing  it was going to be a while before Cablecard was ready for Media Center (and vice versa) I switched to the TiVo Series3.  It was a hard move, like the breakup of a long relationship. The extenders were put away, the Media Center removed from the living room.  I have raved here about my Series3 but recently have found myself disappointed in a few key areas:

• Database performance. Dare I say the TiVo seems slower than the Comcast box when adding new recordings or pulling up guide data
• UI sluggishness.  The TiVo engine seems like it hasn't changed much in5 years and neither has the performance save for a modest increase in speed
• UX Idiosyncracies.  Since adding new features such as Swivel Search and Amazon Unbox (both of which are welcome additions) the UI doesn't appear to be able to handle these additions elegantly.  Add to this the fact that the guide displays in 4:3 instead of 16:9 when tuned to an SD channel, and I get strange flickering as the device switches formats between channels and guides and it still has some rough edges (not to mention the rough edges on the graphics- this is HD!)
• A year later, still no ability to stream video from one TiVo to another room, only vague statements of future support. I understand these are issues related to CableCard's requirements and the long times to get certification on any solution, but this was a reason I wanted to go to TiVo! 

So, a few weeks ago I was invited to try a new Vista Media Center w/ CableCard support.  I held my breath and dove back in. 

Vista Media Center, Cable Cards Grow Up