Vacation to Fiji Held Up
Fiji, the
suspected codename for the next version/upgrade of Media Center might be
held up by a lack of frequent flyer miles.
The beta program, which many of
you may have registered for isn’t exactly moving along. The invites that were supposed to be sent
out on May 31th have gone no where fast.
This leads me to think that the target ship date for Fiji is no where
close.
Typically, a beta program for a product as large as Media
Center is going to last for at least eight months to a year, and depending on
the features included even longer. As my
main feature predictions revolve around DIRECTV/Dish
support, and HD DVD playback/Managed Copy I expect the beta to be a long
one. Getting something like DIRECTV
tuners working isn’t going to be easy, just look at the current problems with
CableCARD.
Don’t expect Fiji this year.
Don’t expect Fiji early next year.
Based on water-cooler talk I‘ve heard, I wouldn’t expect to see it
released until around Q3-Q4 2008 which would bring the platform back to Sep/Oct
releases as has been customary since 2002. .
Date is highly subject to change if things like DIRECTV support are to
be included.
Speaking of vacations, I’m has not been held up and I’m
leaving tomorrow for part of it.
Blogging will be lite as Internet access will be too, but in the mean
time check out all the great Media Center blogs listed in my sidebar. Don’t run to far though, more interesting
Media Center news and notes are never far away.
