Microsoft takes on portable video
PC World | at | by Mike
Having made itself comfortable on home and office PCs around the globe, Microsoft has now set its sights on mobile entertainment, releasing its new Portable Media Center software platform. The PMC software, created to power a burgeoning class of handheld music and video devices, is already available on one shipping unit, the $499 Creative Zen Portable Media Center. Devices using it can play audio and video (including TV shows and movies), and can display still images. Samsung and IRiver have promised to deliver their own similarly priced PMC units in time for the holidays. The software is based on Microsoft's Windows CE 5 mobile operating system, and offers digital media technologies found in the Windows XP OS and in XP Media Center Edition.