On September 2, 2010, I asked the readers of the TechRepublic Microsoft Windows Blog this poll question:

Do you use the Microsoft Windows Media Center?

At the time, I was considering the purchase of a new media PC for my family room. I have had a media PC for years now, but very seldom used the Windows Media Center to display any of the various sources of multimedia I have to choose from. I wondered if I was alone in this shunning of the Media Center software.

Since the date of this poll, I have purchased a small PC from ZOTAC ZBox to fulfill the role of multimedia PC, and I have been pleasantly surprised. Advances in technology, especially when it comes to high-definition graphics chipsets, mean that a very small box can produce a very high-quality output. However, I still don’t find myself resorting to the Windows Media Center — the Windows Desktop seems to work just as well. Judging by the poll results I am not the only one.

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