Take a finger. Any finger (no, not that one!). What can you do with a single finger? Not much. But, pair it up with its other finger buddies, and you've got a formidable weapon - a fist!
Now, what can you do with a fist? Well, of course you can punch people in the nose to get them to comply with your wishes. But an accomplished fist-maker knows that the true value of the fist is not in its use, but in the threat - or perhaps promise - of what it can do. It's not so much about physical, as about psychological, intimidation. When people see that you're "serious" about matters, they tend to take your opinion much more seriously than they might have, had you attempted to sway them with intellectual or other arguments.
In other words, a fist is about effective marketing.
Don't get me wrong here; nobody from Microsoft or its partner companies is going to come around and "take care" of you if you don't become an enthusiastic cheerleader for Vista Media Center Edition (at least for my sake, I hope they don't!). But MS Israel's sales strategy for the coming Media Center marketing onslaught seems to be that the products involved - whether the computers themselves, the digital media services, or even the furniture the hardware rests upon, are the best, and maybe only legitimate and/or legal, solution to managing digital media. If Microsoft tells consumers that Media Center is indeed all that, and gets big name companies like Acer, Samsung, YES Digital Satellite TV, and even furniture giant Ikea, to back them up - well, that's a mighty big fist to wave in consumer's faces. It's certainly going to be hard to ignore.
Once again, and for the Nth time, I must reiterate that I personally am a fan of Windows; at least three computers on my home network run either Windows 2000 or XP; and that my next computer purchase is likely to be a PC with Vista pre-installed (now that I already have the full line of Macs - the Mini, iMac, and Macbook!).
The Microsoft Israel fist is going to be a good thing for many consumers who have heard about MP3s, digital video downloads, torrents, wireless distributed media, etc. - but have been too confused or fearful to try it out for themselves. For many people, only the Microsoft imprimatur means that a technology has "arrived." They trust MS more than they trust themselves to download the various software components and/or purchase the necessary hardware to set up a home media center; if Microsoft says something is "kosher," in that it has been checked out by the company, and is guaranteed to work as an easy solution - that's good enough for them. There are many, many people out there who, even at this advanced stage of the digital revolution, have no idea where to begin, and for them, the Vista Media Center solution is going to be a boon.
In order to expand Vista Media Center's appeal, Microsoft has undertaken partnerships with a number of organizations you might not have expected to see in a computer deal. Among the partners MS is working with is the Clalit Health Fund, which will provide a number of "health entertainment" type programs to system subscribers (think Dr. Phil meets Dr. Ruth). The most interesting and innovative partner in this mix is none other than furniture giant Ikea, which is designing a full line of furniture it says will enhance the digital experience provided by Vista Media Center. This could include acoustically designed furniture (that bounces audio signals to the center of a room), bookcases and tables sized for Media Center hardware, and other features. Ikea has actually set up a sample Media Center equipped home outside its Netanya outlet - and the public is invited to see the system at work.
Going in, I was definitely hyped - I figured there would be special bookcases that were designed to fit the Acer computers that the Media Center solution is based on, or special cable housing at the back of armoires or TV stands that would incorporate both electrical and network cables, making for a neater setup (loose cables are always the worst problem in any digital media setup!). In other words, I expected to see some new, innovative designs that were made for the "Media Center lifestyle."
Instead, what the model home featured was good old Ikea furniture - the same stuff you see inside the store. Why, then, were these particular pieces chosen as Media Center lifestyle pieces? "They look nice with computers and stuff on them," said the fellow in charge. And indeed they did - but wouldn't furniture from, say, ID Design, look just as nice?