Donavon West, Sidebar Gadget-maestro, is at it again! He just released a brand new Windows Sidebar gadget designed to let users keep track of Olympic Medal wins from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Download: 2008 Beijing Olympics Medal Count Gadget

This is a great gadget for people who aren't following the Olympics very closely but want to keep tabs on Olympic Medal wins. I'm not following the Olympics as closely as I'd like due to several things I'm working on so this Gadget is very helpful in at least keeping me "in the loop".

You can also watch encore videos of the Olympics at NBCOlympics.com thanks to a partnership with MSN Video and are presented in Silverlight. Also: don't forget you can also watch Olympic content directly within Windows Media Center on PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate. I posted about NBC Olympics On The Go a few weeks ago here. I hear TVTonic has released a 64-bit version of NBC Olympics On The Go as well.

NBC is further expanding its coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with an Internet-delivered catch-up TV service powered by TVTonic on Windows Media Center on PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate! With NBC Olympics On The Go and Windows Media Center, you will be able to create a customized channel lineup of your favorite events for automatic download to your PC. Download NBC coverage of the Games overnight, and take them with you to watch online or offline in up to HD quality.

 

In Windows Media Center on PCs running either Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, you'll find a new graphic under "Online Media" called NBC Olympics. Click on "Install Now" to install the NBC Olympics service for Windows Media Center.

 

When I went to install, I was given two options: Easy Install and Full Install. The Easy Install requires no keyboard or mouse and sets everything up for you to begin watching content. However, more advanced users (and users with plenty of bandwidth) can choose to do a more comprehensive Full Install. As you could

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The Windows SideShow Team has announced the availability of 4 BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets that let you control Windows Media Center from a Windows Sideshow device. You can sign-up via Microsoft Connect to gain access to Beta Test these new Windows SideShow Gadgets:

 http://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse.aspx?ProgramID=2380&SiteID=312&InvitationID=GPB-79MM-RFJ2 

I believe this link works 1 time per Windows Live ID (You must sign-in with your Windows Live ID to access Beta Programs on Microsoft Connect). You can submit feedback to the team working on these Gadgets on Microsoft Connect.

Here is the breakdown of the 4 Windows Media Center BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets and what they do:

• Now Playing: View what is currently playing in Windows Media Center (includes playback controls)
• Pictures + Video: Browse your Photos and Videos folders
• Music: Browse your Music folder and play any song
• TV: Look at what is on TV via the Windows Media Center Guide, Schedule Recordings, and View Recordings (in a Thumbnail view)

I downloaded and installed the Windows Media Center BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets on my Dell XPS 420 which has a built in Windows SideShow device on the top front of the system (the XPS MiniView). It's pretty slick to

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Yesterday, the 1st of 4 webinars on the HP MediaSmart Connect took place with special guest Ed Bott from ZDNet. You can register to watch the session on-demand here. The HP MediaSmart Connect is a brand new Extender for Windows Media Center device that enables you to "extend" your Windows Media Center experience to any HDTV in your house. I took a look at the device myself and posted about it last week.

There are 3 more webinars for you to attend - with the next one being tomorrow June 26th, 2008 at 1:00pm PST with Ian Dixon from The Digital Lifestyle.  Click here to register for the webinar.

I'll also be posting reminders for the webinars coming on July 8th and 10th.

Last week I had blogged about upcoming webinars from HP and Microsoft on the new Extender for Windows Media Center - the HP MediaSmart Connect (you can register to attend those webinars here). Today I'd like to take a more in-depth look at the HP MediaSmart Connect with an overview of the device.  

But first, take a gander at today's Press Release from HP on the HP MediaSmart Connect...

Press Release: HP MediaSmart Connect Makes It Easy to Enjoy Digital Media from Any HDTV

Ok, now let's take a look at the device. First off - the form factor for the HP MediaSmart Connect is perfect for "extending" your Windows Media Center experience into other rooms in your home as it does not take up tons of room. Its exact dimensions (width x depth x height in inches) are 8.5 x 8.5 x 1.8. The unit would fit perfectly right next to a flat panel HDTV or on an open shelf.  I currently have my review unit sitting on a small shelf next to the entertainment unit that my HDTV sits on. It would fit within the shelves of the entertainment unit had they not been

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This summer HP is launching a brand new Extender for Windows Media Center device - the HP MediaSmart Connect. The HP MediaSmart Connect will let you wirelessly stream your Windows Media Center experience including content such as Live TV, Recorded TV Shows, Music, Photos and Videos to any TV in your home using your wireless or wired home network. And I've got some information below on how you can attend online webinars put on by HP and Microsoft giving you a first-hand look at the HP MediaSmart Connect! Read on...

Extenders for Windows Media Center are devices that are designed to "extend" the Windows Media Center experience from a centralized Windows Media Center PC running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate to any room in your home with a TV using a personal home network.

The HP MediaSmart Connect packs quite a punch. You can stream recorded or live HD content from your PC to your TV as well as take advantage of Windows Media Center's Internet TV Beta - which I blogged about here a few months ago. With Internet TV Beta - you can watch movie clips, movie

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