Interesting press release from Embedded Automation, great to see the whole system based around Windows Media Center:

As part of the keynote speech by Robbie Bach, President of the Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division, at the recent Microsoft Mobile & Embedded Developers Conference 2007, Embedded Automation’s mControl Digital Home Software with support for Web Services on devices was demonstrated. This technology is based on the Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS) specifications.

The Devices Profile for Web Services technologies allow distributed devices, such as lighting, security and thermostat controls, to plug-and-play into the "digital home" over the standard home network. mControl provides a platform for managing all digital home devices and presenting them in easy-to-use interfaces. By adding support for DPWS-enabled devices, mControl automatically discovers and presents the devices to users for inclusion in their system. All that is required is to attach a name to the device and it is ready for viewing and control. mControl provides many user interfaces for managing devices, including:
>> Access via web browser, for local or remote access
>> Media Center interfaces for television and touch screen operation – this is available on both Windows XP Media Center Edition and on Windows Vista
>> Windows Mobile devices, including Smart Phones and Pocket PCs (PDAs)

"mControl has supported Web Services from day one and so it is a natural progression for us to support the Devices Profile for Web Services ", said Ted Singh, Business Development Manager of Embedded Automation. "The combination of DPWS devices and mControl means that the task of adding and using these devices is now near-transparent. As DPWS-enabled devices proliferate, mControl becomes the natural destination for controlling the home."

The DPWS adapter for mControl will be included in an upcoming release of mControl.

For a transcript of the keynote by Robbie Bach, please visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/rbach/05012007MEDCRobbieBach.mspx

For a picture from the keynote demo, please visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/medc2006team/480526821/

For a screen shot of the mControl Vista Media Center user interface, please visit:
http://www.embeddedautomation.com/images/…November%2014,%202006).jpg

  

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