Setting Your Privacy Options

If you're concerned about revealing too much personal information to Microsoft and its commercial partners , Media Center provides you with a set of controls to limit how much data you send across the Internet. You can also tell Microsoft whether to automatically acquire copyright permissions, or to access online media identification databases, for content on your Media Center machine.

caution

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Should you check the box to acquire licenses? Microsoft warns that if you don't, you may be prevented from playing "protected files." If you are worried about the ability to play these types of copyrighted media files without interruption, you may want to make sure that Acquire Licenses is checked. Then again, you may want to wait until this actually becomes a problem before changing your selections.


The Privacy Settings screen (see Figure 21.14) can be accessed from the General Settings menu. It allows you to configure the following:

  • Send Usage Data ” If you uncheck this box, Media Center will not automatically transmit your personal usage data to Microsoft. The company states that by providing this data, you can help Microsoft design software and services that serve you better ”but it's your call.

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    If you want the lowdown on Microsoft's privacy policy, you can read the Media Center Privacy Statement in its entirety by choosing it from the Privacy Settings menu discussed previously. One of the key points Microsoft stipulates is that when you agree to send usage data, it will be collected anonymously . In other words, Microsoft will gather information about your hardware configuration, and how you use its software and services, but it promises not to connect that information back to you personally . Instead, the data is aggregated, or pooled with that of other users, to provide statistics and usage patterns that can help guide future improvements in the design. If you don't mind letting Microsoft use the data in this fashion, and you have confidence that the company will keep its word in regard to respecting your privacy and anonymity, then you should have no objection to checking the box to send usage data.


  • Acquire Licenses ” This tells Media Center to automatically acquire licenses to play specific content, as required by digital rights management (DRM) information encoded within the content.

  • Work Offline ” Checking this box tells Media Center not to automatically connect to the Internet to retrieve information from online sources. This includes retrieving CD or DVD data from the Internet every time you insert a new disc with commercial content.

Figure 21.14. If you're not interested in giving Microsoft an intimate view of your viewing habits, you can disable the sharing of usage data.

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The Absolute Minimum

Personal computers are, well, personal. Media Center PCs have their personal side ”the so-called "2- foot " experience ”but they also contain a more public persona. They are deliberately designed to be shared with your friends and family. That's one of the things that makes setting up your Media Center interface so different from setting up your personal desktop: The choices you make directly reflect on who you are and what you like. So when you're placing the final touches on the look and feel of your Media Center display, here are a few things to remember:

  • You can customize the background color of your video playback screen, choosing between the default black background and several shades of gray, or a white background.

  • It's worthwhile to take the time to optimize Media Center for your display device. Choosing the right output settings and running the Display Calibration Wizard can make an enormous difference in your picture quality.

  • Maybe you don't want any distractions when you are entranced by a great TV show or movie, but if you're concerned about missing an important phone call, Media Center 2004 ( otherwise known as Harmony) has an integrated Caller ID/phone call notification feature that provides onscreen alerts for incoming calls.

  • Another way to customize Media Center is by activating parental controls. Using the Advanced tab lets you micromanage which shows can be displayed on your system.

  • Media Center allows you to choose whether to share your usage information with Microsoft. You can also configure Media Center to automatically download licenses for copyrighted content on your system.




Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Windows XP Media Center
Absolute Beginners Guide to Windows XP Media Center
ISBN: 0789730030
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 159
Authors: Steve Kovsky

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