As reported last week, Microsoft has been working on an update for Windows Media Center that adds support for international users and removes the restriction on the number of TV tuners you can use. The update, which has often been referred to by its codename, Fiji, has been veiled in secrecy. Now it looks like there's good news and bad news.

The good news is that Fiji has shipped. A Microsoft knowledge base article refers to a "Windows Media Center TV Pack," which was released on July 16th. The bad news is, the update was released to OEMs, not to end users. In other words, there's no way for you to download and install the update on your Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate computer. You'll have to wait until Microsoft either issues a wider release or until you purchase a new computer with the software preloaded.

[via Geek Tonic]

There's good news and less good news and then some more good news on the Windows Media Center front. The good news is that Microsoft will be releasing an update soon, the bad news is that it won't include support for things like the H.264 codec or the upcoming DirecTV tuner. The good news (again) is that EngadgetHD reports those features are on their way, they just won't be ready by the end of July, which is when Microsoft plans to issue the next update to Windows Media Center.

A tipster also sent EngadgetHD a few screenshots of the upcoming update, which adds a few new features like the ability to use as many TV tuners as you want, and to use a combination of tuner types such as NTSC, ATSC, QAM, CableCARD, DVB-T, PAL, or DVB-S. The update includes additional features for international media center users, such as support for ISDB-T and BML standards in Japan, and DVB-T and DVB-S in Europe.

Microsoft has reportedly begun testing the next generation of Windows Media Center, which bears the codename Fiji. There's not a lot of information about the beta test. We can't say for sure how many users are involved, or if and when Microsoft will expand the beta.

It's likely that the update will add support for the upcoming DirecTV tuner. But other than that, it's not entirely clear whether Fiji will sport any new features, or whether it'll just be a refined version of Windows Vista Media Center.

Microsoft is on track to release Windows 7 sometime around 2010. Windows 7 is the codename for the operating system that will eventually replace Windows Vista. Fiji, on the other hand, will be an intermediate update that will basically bring a new version of Media Center to Vista users. There's no official word on when Fiji will be released, but it could be out by the end of this year.

Participants in the private beta are bound by a pretty strict non-disclosure agreement, which is why it's been difficult to get any real information about the beta. But if anyone feels like sharing some info feel free to hit the tips link at the top of this page.

(S14E14) Oh my. Yau-Man made this season one of the most interesting to watch right up until the final episode. This was nearly the season that proved to me that Survivor should just be retired. But then we got to see some very interesting twists, not the ones by the editing team, which were haphazard and ineffective but by Yau-Man as he became one of the most loveable longshots the game has ever seen.

(S14E13) Will the car curse last another season? Certainly anyone who is a student of Survivor has seen the effect that the car reward challenge can have on the game. But this season, figuring out who would get the curse is tricky. You see, it depends on who you think would be cursed - the person who won or the person who ended up with it. This unique situation along with the fact that Yau-Man was in jeopardy made this episode one of my favorites of the season.

(S14E12) Episodes when there is one member of a decimated alliance still struggling to avoid getting voted off can either be fascinating or a snore. This one is actually a bit of both. I generally have a soft spot for the underdog but Alex is flatly unlikeable. Case in point, early in the episode, the increasingly needy Stacy approaches Alex to try and be friends after the show, his response, later to the camera is to say "like I care." Nice.

(S14E11) Some of you took me to task for only giving last week's episode a 5 rating. And perhaps rightly so, after all it was easily the best tribal council of the season. But I had my hopes set on tonight's episode because the most interesting thing is often the fall-out from a big shakeup. And sometimes players that are outnumbered and cornered suddenly become brilliant strategists. Not tonight.

(S14E10) After last week's rather blah episode this week redeems the season with some very interesting last minute machinations. This may be a season with a really good last few weeks because unlike in some other seasons were alliances were set in stone, this crowd tends to be flighty and unsure and neither core team has enough votes without trusting some of the fringe players.

OK, some shows have false Idols; we call him Sanjaya and admire his ability to have luscious locks or closely resemble Marvin the Martian who lives with an inexplainable immunity from getting voted off American Idol island.

On other shows, false idols take a whole other meaning.

On Survivor: Fiji, contestant Yao-Man scored himself the coveted immunity idol which protects him from being voted off the island. He brings to the show a brand new strategy never seen before on the show. Perhaps he is enabled to come up with such a scheme because for the first time ever, Survivor has given the contestants large buckets of paint?!

(S14E06) For Ravu, the starved and perpetually losing tribe, hope springs eternal. After all, a change-up turns Ravu into the He-Man Woman Haters club. What could possibly go wrong with all these muscle men around? I think I have a clue, he's loud, he's obnoxious and he's from my hometown.

(S14E05) Just when I think, maybe, maybe I can enjoy this season we get more Ravu humiliation. This could be the season that breaks my Survivor love. Last week offered a tiny reprieve but mainly this is just relentless misery. Underdog stories are great. Aitu's wins last season made some of the best Survivor viewing ever. But you had some very physically and mentally adept players on that team and they seem to have had better access to natural resources. Here we have less hardy players who look like emaciated players from Survivor Australia or Survivor Africa and they are just being beaten. And worst of all, being beaten doesn't even make them likable for the most part.

(S14E04) One of the reasons I still remain interested in Survivor is because it is fascinating to see how people react in various situations. So far this season hadn't really been too interesting to watch on that level despite the allure of the premise. It's been more painful than fun, Tonight changed that for me with a twist that asked a rather simple question, if you had to choose between your tribe and your comfortable camp, which would you choose?

(S14E03) This season's concept is rapidly getting boring. Not just sort of pointless the way last season's was but boring to the point of making me wonder if Survivor has, at long last, finally lost its appeal for me. We've had underdog seasons before but when the underdogs aren't particularly likable and they are only underdogs because the game is rigged against them I have to wonder what the fun in this. There was not an element of tonight's game that held any sort of surprise or joy for me. Has Survior run out of twists?

(S14E01) A friend and I had a debate last week on whether or not the posh pad would be a liability for the Moto tribe and for Survivor as a game. First of all, the experience shifts for the viewer, it is impossible, for me at least, to be happy for a tribe that has everything without really working for it. Often inequality happens organically over the course of a season. It often seems that the one tribe has string of wins for reasons of teamwork or brute strength. But when one team is purposely handicapped the game is a bit different and it highlights the fact that these are people being tortured for our entertainment.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• In hopes of creating some extra friction, Survivor: Fiji kicked off the season by separating tribes into the "have's" and the "have-not's" ... but the real force to be reckoned with here is that couch.
  
• I'm hoping to see my favorite side of Jeff Foxworthy, as the host of the new game show Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
  
• We're still reeling about the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

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