
Boxee Box (Media Center) - tortilla
http://www.boxee.tv/box
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icey
Blah. It looks nice, but I hate it when hardware manufacturers forget that
people have other hardware in their cabinets to consider. Now there's this
oddly shaped thing that you can't put anything on top of and won't fit in
standard shelves.

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tripngroove
It could be that you're just not Boxee's target audience.

It seems as though there's much less incentive for an individual with a rack
full of legacy entertainment equipment to purchase an all-in-one device.

Specifically regarding the visual cues we see in the design - the box is
literally breaking the plane of whatever it's placed on; the cube sinks into
or emerges from what's below it.

The aesthetics of the product seem to indicate that it's aimed at an audience
who doesn't own a collection of hardware it wouldn't "fit in" with; for these
folks it might function as a centerpiece, rather than a tumor in a homogenized
amalgamation of units.

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tvon
That's a lot of "design and marketing" nonsense.

What makes you think there is a "rack full of legacy equipment", or that
you're dealing with a "homogenized amalgamation of units"? You're just lining
up straw men.

What multitude of devices does the Boxee Device replace that makes it an "all-
in-one" device? It's one of many media streaming devices being released
(though one based on very good software, granted), but all-in-one means it
replaces a current multitude of devices. It does not.

I'd also like to point out that "literally" is not a term to be used when you
want emphasis, the word you are looking for is "visually". Unless the device
is a physical cube that you stab into the surface, it does not literally break
the plane.

I think there are legitimate justifications for the design, if only that it
needs to stand out in a market of plastic rectangles, but I don't think the
reasons you gave are at all valid.

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tripngroove
I take it from your tone, and from the first line of your response, that you
think "design and marketing" is nonsense. I'd like to introduce you to this
cool company I heard about called Apple (www.apple.com); learning about them
could be a fun and enriching experience for you.

I also think you must have missed the comment I was responding to, so I'll
excuse what sounds like a case of unbridled pedantry as mere ignorance. Take a
minute to read the parent comment and see if you can divine the logical
connection between my "straw men" and the context the comment came from. Is it
possible that "sensible female spouses" might inhabit a household that already
has an entertainment center?

I posit that if you can see past your nose, you can see that for people who
aren't already burdened with a hoard of physical media they want to continue
to consume, Boxee has the potential to stand-in for everything in an
entertainment setup except the TV.

And yeah, I'll concede that I should have qualified "literally" with "appears
to" - I just didn't imagine that anyone here would be douchey enough to
quibble :P

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tvon
_I take it from your tone, and from the first line of your response, that you
think "design and marketing" is nonsense._

No, I'm a big fan of design and find marketing very interesting. What I think
is that your comment is full of pseudo-design nonsense with infomercial-style
marketing, which is why I put "design and marketing" in quotes. It's not real
design and marketing, it's some kind of cheap knockoff.

You use vaguely negative terms to describe existing equipment ("legacy",
"homogenized amalgamation of units", that new devices don't "fit in" with) and
vaguely positive terms to describe what you're promoting ("all-in-one").

Your argument is vapid nonsense, it reads like a Snuggie informercial.

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jasonlbaptiste
Cool design. I absolutely love Boxee. My problem with THIS device is this:
just like all these media streaming devices, the box is another toy. I'd
rather spend something in the range of a mac mini that ran a real OS, had
boxee as one option, let me add other apps, and store all my media. There's a
_chance_ this has nvidia ion in it, but i doubt it does full 1080p.

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stcredzero
I wonder when we're going to have Android, Chrome OS, or another of its ilk
running TV sets?

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jrockway
The Archos 5 is Android-based and connects to a TV via HDMI. All the usual
Android apps are available on the screen, you can watch (and download) video,
and you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. So I think we are there,
actually.

(The device then detaches from the TV dock and is a portable media player /
Internet tablet. It was buggy at first, but I am liking it a lot now.)

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Tiktaalik
From a strict technical point of view it seems that my PS3 is capable of doing
most if not all of this. However, after watching the introduction video, I
think The Boxee Box might be worth picking up for the great interface and ease
of use alone.

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Periodic
That's always been the issue. Technically many computers can do this, from
AppleTVs, to custom Linux Myth boxes, to PS3s. Where Boxee shines is
connecting to web-based media through an easy-to-navigate interface. Have fun
trying to get Hulu videos to play fullscreen when your interface is only a
remote.

Boxee has done a terrific job making internet media accessible. All they're
doing now is giving you a pre-configured box so you don't have to do any major
hacking/configuration yourself.

I hope they do well. I think that disconnecting streaming media from the
browser will help move the industry along as a whole.

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sgman
I already have this. It's a $25 HDMI cable that connects my netbook to my TV.

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kierank
You have purchased an overpriced HDMI cable too.

