Hello all, glad to be on the The Geek's blogs.  I'm obsessed with home media automation (to the point of threatening my marriage by replacing perfectly good appliances with cooler, more cutting edge appliances that work 60% of the time with a lot of love, care and offensive language). 

One perfect example is Vista Media Center.  There are some great things hidden behind that green button for free if you have Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate installed.  And even if you don't make it your primary media appliance (like I did) there are some great applications to take advantage of.  I'm hoping my scar tissue can save someone (novices and hobbyists alike) a lot of heartache when they take the plunge. 

For now I just wanted to inaugurate the blog.  In my next post I'll roll up my sleeves a bit.  But if you are thinking about adding Vista Media Center to your home entertainment setup, and want to know where to start, take a look at the following links to vendors who produce machines specifically for Media Center.  Notice the price?  That's right.  Think you can do better on your own?  You are probably right, but there is one HUGE catch that you need to consider before taking the plunge.  I'll get to that in the next post, too.

S1 Digital's Media Center System

Velocity Micro's Media Center System

Dell's XPS 420 with Cable Cards