The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Microsoft to reveal details of home media center, costing $1,500 "Called Windows XP Media Center Edition, the software will run a class of computers built to record and play music and television shows, as well as process words, crunch numbers and surf the Internet. ... The software displays a simplified control screen on the computer monitor and may be manipulated by remote control. It's designed to allow users to sit on a couch with friends as they peruse digital photos or watch DVDs on the computer monitor, rather than crowd around someone sitting at a keyboard."