A couple weeks ago Apple released new iMac G5s, and along with it a new piece of software called Front Row. Although mac enthusiasts have been clamoring for media center software for some time, the announcement did not excite many. Nobody wants to shell out $1,299 - $1,699 just to be able to watch downloaded TV, listen to iTunes music, and view their iPhoto galleries on a G5 screen. This simplified interface needs to be available on your TV.
Predictably, the software was pulled off of the iMac and made to run on machines it was for which it was not intended. To my delightment, this hacked version became available on bittorrent last night. Without the remote control which is included with the iMac G5, the functionality of Front Row was somewhat limited. I had to use the escape and arrow keys to move around the menus, but it was still nice to see the interface and play around with the movie trailers.
After mostly moving over to Stacey's place, I had been without dual monitors until I hooked up my G5 to her TV. We had been kicking off movies with the ol' double click until tonight.
Tonight, I found over on the Salling Clicker forum a nice little script that lets me use my cell phone to control Front Row... exactly what I was looking for. Even though I had pretty similar interface with my XBox, this is a really nice touch.
I was actually going to hit you up about this tonight. I too had the chance to test it out on my little iBook and had pretty much the same reaction you did. Got a couple strange iTunes errors here and there but all in all I was pretty impressed, mostly with the interface however. Kinda made me want to hook up my server to the widescreen and give it a real go but I ended up thinking twice about it.
ReplyDeleteReservations? Still a bit too clunky, unavailable (legally) for the mainstream, and essentially, it's just an interface widget grafted onto the core OS. Was it fun? Yeah, for about five minutes. Does it have potential? Hell yes, can't wait to see a real add-on version. And finally, is it practical? Sort of. While Salling Clicker is a great concept, it's not for everyone. End result: Try it out if you're curious but unless you've got a tight system (like Ryans) the benefits are few and far between... no doubt this is one to keep an eye on though.
And my non sequitur: hope things are going well man, take it easy.