14 DAY TRIAL // Following the same strategy that it applied with Windows Vista as the operating system was making its way through the development process, Microsoft is now releasing the developer tools and resources designed to permit building on top of the Windows Media Center component in Windows 7. Made previously available via Microsoft Connect, the Windows Media Center Software Development Kit 6.0.2009.0106 Beta for Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 can now be accessed by the general public. It is important to note that as far as the actual application programming interface goes, the latest release of Windows Media Center SDK 6.0 for Windows 7 Beta is similar to what the company already delivered to developers for the Milestone 3, pre-Beta Build of Win 7.
Speaking on the Windows Media Center Software Development Kit for Windows 7 Beta, Charlie Owen, product manager on the Media Center team said: “This has been available for beta testers via Connect for a while now and we finally got it posted for everyone.”
Back in October 2008, Owen revealed that “the Windows 7 release of the Windows Media Center platform focuses primarily on small, targeted improvements to the Windows Media Center Presentation Layer and additions to the managed code object model to make all applications (with greater emphasis on the web paradigm) a first class citizen in Windows Media Center and help them act and feel more like locally installed applications in terms of perceived performance.”
However, what the new release of Windows Media Center SDK 6.0 does manage to bring to the table is more complete documentation for the API features. Still, developers will find that Microsoft still has to deal with undocumented sections. At the same time, the company has added a new sample application labeled “M” which is designed to explore the development of add-ons for the iTV (Interactive TV) Framework.
Windows Media Center SDK 6.0 for Windows 7 Beta is available for download here.