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WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER VS. XBMCHOW TO
Step-by-Step Guides to
HOW TO
Step-by-Step Guides to
HOW TO
Improving Your PC
SUBMIT YOUR IDEA Have a great
idea for a How To project? Tell us
about it by writing to comments@
maximumpc.com.58 ORGANIZE YOUR MEDIA
WITH XBMCTHIS MONTH
Diagnose Your Issue with the
Problem Steps Recorder
Even the most stalwart PC pro sometimes runs into
a problem that requires some expert assistance.
Unfortunately, it can be tough to explain exactly
what’s going wrong. That’s what the Windows
Problem Steps Recorder is for. Just hit Win + R,
type prs.exe, and hit record. The PSR will keep a
detailed log (with screenshots) of everything that
happens on your PC as you recreate the problem.
T
his month, we’re
bringing you a
how-to about our
favorite media front
end, XBMC. I realize
this could be a contro-
versial choice, so let me
give a little background
about why we picked
XBMC over the also-
very-popular Windows
Media Center.
Now, there are a couple of great reasons to
love WMC. For one, it comes with Windows.
Not that it’s that hard to download XBMC, but
being built into Windows 7 is a big plus. Also,
it’s a bit easier to get set up, and—let’s face it—
it looks pretty damn nice. Also, it works with
Netfl ix, which is almost a must.
That said, here’s why I prefer XBMC: For
one, it’s open source, which I always like to
support. Also, it has off -the-charts OS compat-
ibility—XBMC works in Windows, Linux, and
even OS X. And fi nally, the breadth of custom-
ization options available for XBMC is superior,
which means more choice. And more choice is
always a good thing.EXAMINING TECHNOLOGY AND PUTTING IT TO USE
R&DWINDOWS TIP OF THE MONTH
ALEX CASTLE
ONLINE MANAGING
EDITOR