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Boxee used to make software that let you use your PC as a media center. Then the company started making its own TV box and stopped developing PC software. Eventually Boxee was acquired by Samsung, and pretty much never heard from again… until now. Sort of.
It turns out the former Boxee team had been working on a project for Samsung to reinvent the TV remote control. But that project has reportedly been scrapped and most of the former Boxee employees have left Samsung.
Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web.
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- Boxee is dead(er)
The project was reportedly called “Perfect Experience,” or PX, and it was to be a media tablet that would function in place of a traditional TV remote control, allowing users to find content and send it to a TV. Â [Variety] - Google waves goodbye to the 301+ views counter
When a video becomes popular, the view count often used to freeze at 301 while Google checked to see if the views were from people or bots. Now the company thinks it has a better way to continually check for view count fraud, and it doesn’t involve temporarily freezing the counter. [@YTCreators] - Microsoft launches Docs.com platform for sharing documents
Sure, you could also use OneDrive to share documents. But the new tools are prettier and focused more on sharing than collaborating. [Docs] - Xiaomi may be prepping its own processors
The company makes some of the most popular smartphones sold in China, thanks to a combination of high quality components, low prices, and custom software. Soon the company may also begin outfitting its devices with its own ARM-based processors. [GizChina] - Apple denies reports that it’s planning to launch a wireless network
This week we saw a report suggesting that Apple could become an MVNO and launch its own wireless network that would piggyback on cell towers from multiple networks and let iPhone and iPad users connect to whichever has the strongest signal. Now apple has responded… and says the report is not true. [Reuters] - Use Cortana to control your Android phone from your PC (and more)
Want to use Microsoft’s virtual assistant software to control your phone, web browser, or even home automation system by talking to your PC? You can do that… but you’ll need to install a bunch of apps first. [Android Police]
I totally forgot about this. To be honest, I find all these media player boxes confusing, but that’s probably because I don’t own a TV anymore. I simply watch TV show episodes on my notebook, and sometimes watch live local television through a USB tuner when the mood hits. I don’t see myself ever going back to owning a TV and it’s alien to me why most people want to go through the hassle of a living room TV. (But that’s just me being weird, I guess! 🙂 )
I still use mine as a media player. The online stuff stopped long ago. Great picture through upscaled HDMI.
Yeah I remember being really excited about this box (and hoped they would build one that didn’t look retarded and would actually fit in my entertainment center).
Unfortunately they had a lot of problems. Too bad.
To be honest the box was never bad. Aside from lack of support(updates), the box was a beauty for years (navix was the best included). There is still a small community of users that have been able to extend the functionality adding xbmc to it. Aside from boxee box, I have the fire tv, xbmc, plex and the apple tv. None of them has been able to deliver local content as good as the boxee.