I am loving the Windows Live programs at the moment, I find I am using various Live Services more and more – Messenger through to Sky Drive!

However, As Windows Live is a big part of the Windows 7 experience (as Windows Live Essentials) – I would love to see some services being integrated with Mediacenter! Let me introduce you to my vision…..

In a months time, I will be selling my laptop – this will leave me with my WiMo Phone and my HTPC (Currently Running W7RC) – at present my HTPC only runs MC – all my web browsing/blogging and chatting is performed on my laptop.

When my laptop is gone, I want to be able to comfortably use my HTPC for all my needs – It powers a 37inch 1080p TV. I have a wireless Keyboard w/integrated mouse so I can operate it as a normal PC and I have my remote for the use of Mediacenter.

Ideally I would like to be able to perform most of my tasks using the remote and in the Mediacenter interface….

Windows Live for MC:

Email

  1.  Being able to see my inbox (maybe a list of 10 most recent messages)
  2. Open each email individually – full picture support – large text (custom options)
  3. Notifications for when Email arrives and from whom - (custom notifications – able to choose whether it can interrupt TV, how long the notification remains.
  4. Possibly an option to reply to emails via Keyboard still through the MC interface.

 

Calendar

  1. Ability to view Live Calendar – Month/Week/Day views
  2. Notifications of appointments (pop-ups) – again custom options for what to display and for how long.

Photos

  1. Friends Photo streams available to viewing through MC – Large screen viewing – able to navigate with the remote.
  2. Ability to sync MY photos to my Space directly through MC (either by “folder” or individual images)

Feeds

  1. I want to be able to see my RSS feeds in MC – List view – with the option to either mark for future reading.
  2. Ability to select individual posts to read in further detail – large text for easy readability.

Messenger

  1. There was once an idea of incorporating Messenger into MC- but that seemed to have died out.
  2. Notifications of people signing in – custom notifications (based on “groups” or “favourites” – key people rather than everyone)
  3. Instant messaging feature to be able to type (keyboard) – on the large screen.
  4. Video messaging – webcam input – video calling on the big screen.
  5. Similar to that of MCEPhone – (http://www.scendix.com/mcephone/) Check out the video:

Windows Live

  1. Being able to update my Live “Status” from within Mediacenter.

 

I would love to see more integration with MS products – it seems they are missing out on so many opportunities! All of the above options I feel are not out of the question – similar products have been created for Skype and MS Outlook – so why can’t the Live Team inegrate better with Live Mail?

The more I can do within the MC interface the better really – I feel it is such a clean and easy to use interface that I feel its a shame if I have to leave it in order to check my emails etc. Why cant this be a reality?

What would you like to see?