In case you missed it, yesterday there was an announcement of a new plugin for Media Center called MadeForMediaCenter.com. The concept is less than revolutionary--having an online repository where you can download apps for your Media Center as simple as the App Store works on the iPhone, and basically how Meedio had their plugin store--but for one reason or another, Microsoft has never accepted this idea and taken it anywhere.
This is where the guys behind MadeForMediaCenter have come through! Launched by fellow Media Center MVPs Ian Dixon and Andrew Cherry, this really got my brain churning and wondering! So what better way to get answers to this new product than to ask the creator itself! Andrew took the time out of his busy schedule to answer some Q&A I had for him, and he even promised to check in at our forums if there are more questions!
Good Morning Mr. Cherry (or good evening). Can you tell us a little bit about yourself for starters?
Andrew Cherry: Well, I've been a fan of Media Center since MCE2005 came out, and a developer of Media Center addins almost since then. I run a company called Digital Living Solutions which develops Media Center add-ins and related apps for OEMs and third parties. I'm also a Microsoft MVP for Media Center, based on my contributions to the Media Center development community.
Who thought of the idea and why?
AC: It's an idea I've been
kicking around for quite a while - since the end of 2007 in fact (that's when I
registered the domain name), but it's something that I'd not done much about
other than talk about it to various people until Ian Dixon contacted me about
setting up an "app store" for Media Center.
At the time I was in the
middle of a big development project so couldn't do anything with it, and we both
kind of let the idea slide for a month or two.
However, that was really
the catalyst I needed, so during my "down time" at the end of my project I took
a weekend out to put together the basics of the add-in that you can see the
screenshots for on the site. I passed this on to Ian and he wrote the website to
go with it, and the back end database which drives the add-in and the
website.
Read the full Q&A at MissingRemote.com