Press release, Microsoft Unveils Windows Vista Product Lineup.

What this means is that Media Center will no longer be a standalone SKU, instead it will be available on both the Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate SKUs. This is great because:

• You can now upgrade your existing PC so that it has MCE capabilities!
• 32 and 64 bit versions will now be available (I’m running 64bit at home)
• MCE and tablet, the two ‘out of band’ SKUs, are together at last
• You can now use MCE in a domain joined environment
• No more ’sonic encoders’, the burn engine is built in
• MCE will now have incredible reach

Fall 2006 is going to be when MCE crosses over into the mainstream.