Want to try out XBMC (Xbox Media Center), but don't have an Xbox or a Mac lying around? No problem, because now there's a port of XMBC that lets you run the media center suite from a USB flash drive.

In theory, that means you can boot XMBC on pretty much any computer, whether it runs Windows, Linux, or OS X. In practice, there are a few limitations. First, you'll need to make sure your computer is capable of booting from a USB flash disk. Second, there's a halfway decent chance that your hardware won't be supported out of the box. While this version of XMBC does include support for NVIDIA drivers, if your PC has an ATI or other graphics card, you'll likely have a tough time getting to the main menu.

Creating the bootable flash disk using Windows is as easy as pie though. So if you've got some time to kill and a spare USB flash disk, you can find out whether XBMC will run on your hardware in just a few minutes.

All you need to do is is download the LiveXBMC image and builder files and unzip them to the same directory. Insert a 1GB or larger USB flash drive (it will be reformatted, so back up any data you need to save first), and then click the LiveUSBBuilder.exe file and follow the on screen instructions.

[via Lifehacker]

The Xbox Media Center team has released the first beta version of XMBC for OS X. If that's a lot of abbreviations for you, let me break it down. Xbox Media Center started off as a software project to turn the original Xbox into a home media center. But over the past year or so, some of the project's developers have decided to port the excellent media center interface to other platforms, including Mac and Linux.

XBMC 0.1 for OS X is still an early release, as the name would suggest. But it already presents a full featured alternative to Front Row for anyone who wants to enjoy their movies, music, and image libraries while sitting more than two feet away from their computer.

[via TUAW]