I want to introduce a project that has been consuming a lot of my time over the last few weeks: MadeforMediaCenter.com. Made for Media Center is an app store for Windows Media Center. Developed with fellow MVP Andrew Cherry of Digital Living Solutions the app store aims to brings together the fantastic selection 3rd party Windows Media Center applications and make them available directly in the 10 foot UI.
As well as being available in the Media Center UI there is also a web based version where you can browse, search and download the applications. The site is in private beta at the moment and we are looking for developers to help test the system and start submitting apps, then we will open a public beta.
The first phase of the rollout will focus on free apps and we will look at paid applications at a later date
Here are some of the features:
- 10 foot native Windows Media Center UI for searching and installing applications
- Web based app store with category and full text searching
- Notifications of application updates
- Community rating and reviews
- Featured apps
- Application publisher accounts with stats
- Social networking features
The site is open for browsing and you can request a user account, we will be approving accounts over a period of time during the beta stage. You can also follow 4MediaCenter on twitter for updates and news
Here are some screenshots
Welcome to show number 356, this week Andrew joins me ... 
All three us are back for this weeks show and ... 
Back in the UK for this weeks show. Andrew was away ... 
Better late than never, a special show for you this ... 
been looking for something like this for a while, good luck! I’ll be digging through it soon.
great idea but I can not browse the site as stated until after the account is approved? It looked from reading I could browse now and maybe get approved later but appears have to wait on approval.
@bsieve that is just during this part of the beta so we can control the numbers. the release will not do that
This is great step forward and something, wanted to see for ages.
KUDOS!
Ian & Andrew,
This is something that MSFT should have done a long time ago, and is so needed, and congratulations on having the fortitude to develop such a key component to the WMC ecosystem.
This app needs to be baked within the code, so I hope you don’t take it the wrong way when I say that I hope MSFT buys it from you and integrates it as a core WMC component.
If we’ve learned nothing from Apple, it’s that App Stores are the best way to create new economies, add tremendous value to a platform, and, frankly, build walls around a platform.
I look forward to test driving it! Are you still open for usability/UI tweaks? I’ve done several UI/usability audits for other WMC apps in the past… happy to lend a hand to give it the strongest lift-off it is capable of having.
Jon Deutsch
http://capitalddesign.com
@jon all feedback is welcome!