I'm amazed it happened considering, but say hello to your new Media Center MVP !

I mentioned last month I think, that I had been nominated for a Media Center MVP, Most Valuable Professional award from Microsoft. Not sure who nominated me other than it was an existing MVP, which I know a few.

I was informed yesterday that I have been granted MVP status as a result of my contributions to the Media Center community, which is normally just me moaning things aren't working as I want them too, to be honest hehe! But obviously it's not gone un-noticed.

But it's a great honour with less than 5000 MVP's across the world in the various Microsoft fields of expertise, it's quite an exclusive club!

So what does this mean? I'm not too sure right now, I get a shiny new MVP badge, free subscriptions to TechNet or MSDN an account manger at MS and other perks which I've yet to explore.

But I really hope I can voice my and more importantly your concerns directly to MS in some fashion and that as a so called "community leader" I can influence MS more than I might have been able to in the past. Which will be good for all of us Media Center enthusiasts as we all want pretty much the same things at the end of the day!

On a more personal note, I'm moving in to the Custom Installer game at the moment, having just started a new consultancy job on Koh Samui , Thailand with a Smart Home company called Techworx, who I've got a feeling are going to become the leading Media Center solutions company in South East Asia!

Hence the lack of my blog posts recently, but it's a dream job for me on a paradise island, so I'm having a turn of good luck! And I am really enjoying the challenge. I am also hoping I can bring you more information on the inside track from the other side of the fence that as enthusiasts we don't really get to see properly, but only read about in snapshots, I hoping to open some of that up if I can.

Some of the software I've been wanting to get my hands on like Casa Tunes and Autonomic Controls Mirage and Poly Tunes for integrated whole home audio with Media Center. I'm hoping to work on Media Center integration with Home Automation solutions as well.

So my blog posts might not be as often as I want, but I am hoping they will contain more content and insight in to Media Center from a custom installers point of view, bridging over that gap from enthusiast to installer..

OK I'm rambling again..................