Flickr And Windows Media Center - Together At Last

Posted by John Goulden Categories: Home Entertainment, Microsoft

One of the things that makes Flickr so popular is its extensibility.  Leveraging that strength is Mobilewares, a software developer from Australia, who is in the process of crafting a Flickr plugin for Windows Media Center.  The plugin, known as Big Screen Photos, is in beta form and free to download for your perusal.  It should be noted that Big Screen Photos relies heavily on Microsoft’s WinFX technology (i.e., .NET v3), which also happens to be in beta.  A potential double-whammy if ever there was one.

Features are abundant in the plugin as evidenced by the following:

Flickr Functionality
* Browse and View Photo’s directly from Flickr online in the thumbnail viewer (no need to download any pictures) – and view them full screen or as a slideshow.
* Access your own Flickr account – and browse and view public/private photos from you and your contacts. (Multiple accounts are supported).
* Browse and Search Groups, Photosets, “Interestingness”, Recent Photos, Taglists, Contacts and more. (Virtual Onscreen Keyboard provided).
* Access Detailed User and Photo Information and drill down on metadata.
* User Consent Tool - provides an easy to use tool for adding and granting ‘Consent’ for accessing your Flickr user accounts.

Windows, Media Center and Xbox360 Support
* Runs as a Media Center Addin - currently supports Windows Vista Media Center.
* Runs as a “standalone” program on Windows XP and Windows Vista Beta 2- works on non Media Center machines when launched in Internet Explorer. (and can be operated via mouse/keyboard without a remote control).
* Works via Xbox360 Extender - when used in conjunction with Windows Media Center.
* Enhanced Support for Xbox360 Media Center Remote Control and Joypad. (Provides additional buttons that can be used as shortcuts within Big Screen Photos)

Enhanced User Experience with Microsoft.NET v3
* Developed using Microsoft WinFX technologies (which will be launched as Microsoft.NET Framework v3 for Windows Vista - and will also run on Windows XP).
* Attractive and Intuitive User Interface provides a fast/responsive look and feel - featuring Animated Menu’s and Buttons with realtime special effects such as fades, zooming and shadowing coupled with Multi-threaded Design.
* Scalable User Interface - via use of Vector Graphics, and on the fly graphics rendering (provided by WinFX) - ensures Big Screen Photo looks great at any resolution or screen size. (optimized for Letterbox and Widescreen aspect ratio displays).

Configuration and Themes
* UI Theme Support - allows you to customize the user interface with over 5 inbuilt color themes.
* Inbuilt Configuration – which allows you to change and Optimize your Experience for your machine/extender type.

Everyone has to make a living somehow, and once Big Screen Photos is released from beta, Mobilewares will be charging for the plugin, however pricing is TBA.

Read More | Mobilewares via eHomeUpgrade