No new Windows Media Center in 2005 (sorta)

According to PCWorld.com, Microsoft won't be releasing a new version of Windows Media Center this year. Microsoft announced this at the German computer show CeBIT, but also said that they will be releasing an update for MCE 2005. According to Product Manager Tom Laememel, the update will be "bigger than your standard Windows update, but smaller than a Service Pack."

Versioning pedants in the audience will notice that the current version of the platform is officially titled "Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005," which one would assume was a new version for 2005. However, this was released in 2004, meaning the next version released in 2006 might be versioned 2007 for the fun of it.

Confused? Don't feel bad; even PCWorld used the phrase "Microsoft plans to offer an update to Media Center" in an article titled Microsoft Skips Media Center Update, so it's not like they're sure where to draw the line. And don't get me started on the Windows 95 -> 98 -> 98SE (released in 99!) -> ME upgrade path (and Windows 2000 on a separate branch than the other year-versioned OSs). Now you see why I'm looking out for the pedants: I feel their pain.