By partnering with Crestron, Microsoft believes it is now in a position to deliver true automation services for the home and office that the traditional PC vendor has failed to do.
News leaked out that Microsoft is set to partner with automation company Crestron during an interview with Crestron executives. It now appears that the two companies have spent the last 12 months developing a new media centre standard that will see Microsoft's Media Center software embedded into a new suite of Crestron tablet controllers.
The new device will not only deliver portable entertainment but home automation capability spanning distributed audio, lighting control security and device control. It is expected that Crestron will deliver several versions of the controller as well as a Windows development kit that will allow installers and organisations selling into the home automation market to develop custom capabilities.
Fred Bargetzi, VP of technology for Crestron and his team have spent the last few years working on a portable tablet solution with their Isys I/O line of touch panels running an embedded version of the Windows OS.
