Platform war between Apple and Microsoft. How retro.

EE posts a viewpoint from Brightcove on the digital media landscape:

"In one corner, we have the vertically-integrated Apple approach - armed with HD-friendly QuickTime, iPod and video-enabled iTunes, the Mac Mini, and Hollywood leverage from half-sister Pixar. The Mini could become, says pundit Robert Cringely, an Internet-enabled HD set-top box. In the other corner, Microsoft has Windows Media, a robust and almost-mature Media Center platform, XBox 360 and a well-supported ecosystem of hardware, software and digital media developers.

Thomas Hawk and Jupiter's Michael Gartenberg describe the XBox 360 as a Trojan Horse into the living room. By combining gaming with photos, music, HDTV, built-in home networking, and a rumored DVR, Microsoft can seamlessly extend it's platform from the home office to the living room.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say history repeats itself. Microsoft's open approach trumps Apple's closed system."