List of Media Centre Software for Windows and Linux

Here is a list of free Media Centre Software for Linux and Windows.

Windows Media Center Software

• Windows Media Center – http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/media-center.aspx (supports TV cards)
• XBMC – http://xbmc.org
• Moovida – http://www.moovida.com
• MediaPortal – http://www.team-mediaportal.com (supports TV cards)
• Freevo – http://freevo.sourceforge.net (supports TV cards)
• GB-PVR – http://www.gbpvr.com (supports TV cards)
• MeediOS – http://www.meedios.com (supports TV cards)

Linux Media Center Software

• XBMC – http://xbmc.org
• Boxee – http://www.boxee.tv
• Moovida – http://www.moovida.com
• My Media System – http://mymediasystem.org
• Entertainer – http://www.entertainer-project.com
• Freevo – http://freevo.sourceforge.net (supports TV cards)
• GeeXboX – http://www.geexbox.org (supports TV cards)
• LinuxMCE – http://www.linuxmce.org (supports TV cards)
• MythTV – http://www.mythtv.org (supports TV cards)

Starting a VM from the Command Line

Starting a VM from the Command Line (or via a shortcut on the desktop) is easy – just use the command: -

VBoxManage startvm name_of_virtual_machine

for example : -

VBoxManage startvm “Windows XP”

USB in VirtualBox

Here are the steps required to get USB working on a Linux host (tested with VirtualBox 2.1.4)

1. Create a group usbusers and put yourself in it.

sudo addgroup usbusers
usermod -a -G usbusers andy

2. Note down the vendor and id numbers for the USB devices that you want to enable after running the following command: -

VBoxManage list usbhost

3. In VirtuaBox’s USB section add both of these devices, making sure you have the vendor and id numbers correct.

4. Add the following lines in /etc/fstab (you can get the ID of the usbusers group by looking in /etc/group) : -

# usbusers is the USB group (id 1001)
none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=1001,devmode=664 0 0

5. A reboot is required.

DeltaCopy – rsync for Windows

DeltaCopy is a free piece of software for Windows that allows you to interface with other computers running rsync. Basically, it is a “Windows Friiendly” wrapper around rsync. It is fairly easy to use, and also allows you to run rsync from the command line without having to install CygWin.

Multi-Platform Applications

CrossPlatformApplications.org is a great little website that gives a summary of software that runs on a combination of Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Great for if you have different PC’s running different OS’s and want to use the same software.

Totally Free Burner

I’ve just found a great small new free piece of software : Totally Free Burner. This software burns audio, video, data, and ISO CDs and DVDs in just a few clicks. Great if you don’t need the bloat of Nero or Roxio etc.