<s>
LinuxMCE	B-Application
(	O
Linux	B-Application
Media	I-Application
Center	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-Application
and	I-Application
open	I-Application
source	I-Application
software	I-Application
platform	O
with	O
a	O
10-foot	B-General_Concept
user	I-General_Concept
interface	I-General_Concept
designed	O
to	O
allow	O
a	O
computer	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
home	O
theater	O
PC	O
(	O
HTPC	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
living-room	O
TV	B-Operating_System
,	O
personal	B-Application
video	I-Application
recorder	I-Application
,	O
and	O
home	O
automation	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
includes	O
a	O
full-featured	O
VoIP-compatible	O
phone	O
system	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
LinuxMCE	B-Application
may	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
standalone	O
home	O
theater	O
PC	O
(	O
without	O
any	O
other	O
home	O
network	O
connectivity	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
may	O
also	O
serve	O
as	O
a	O
complete	O
home	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
system	O
in	O
a	O
server/thin	O
client	O
configuration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
such	O
a	O
configuration	O
,	O
a	O
central	O
core	O
server	O
(	O
a	O
standard	O
PC	O
running	O
Kubuntu	B-Application
)	O
does	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
storage	O
and	O
processing	O
functions	O
,	O
while	O
peripheral	O
PCs	O
(	O
and	O
other	O
devices	O
)	O
provide	O
input	O
and	O
output	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thin	B-Device
client	I-Device
PCs	O
can	O
netboot	B-Device
over	O
the	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
to	O
serve	O
as	O
"	O
Media	O
Directors	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
stream	O
media	O
content	O
from	O
the	O
core	O
to	O
audiovisual	O
devices	O
which	O
are	O
connected	O
to	O
these	O
thin	B-Device
clients	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
home	O
automation/multimedia	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
expanded	O
to	O
include	O
home	O
automation	O
systems	O
,	O
surveillance	O
cameras	O
,	O
high-tech	O
remote	O
controllers	O
(	O
called	O
"	O
Orbiters	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
telephone	O
PBX	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
server	O
co-ordinates	O
the	O
functions	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
devices	O
on	O
the	O
home	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advanced	O
networking	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
OS	I-Application
allow	O
this	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
network	O
co-ordination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LinuxMCE	B-Application
was	O
begun	O
by	O
Paul	O
Webber	O
as	O
a	O
fork	O
of	O
the	O
PlutoHome	O
home	O
automation	O
software	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
adapted	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
a	O
standard	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
,	O
Kubuntu	B-Application
,	O
as	O
its	O
base	O
OS	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
to	O
exist	O
as	O
a	O
custom	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
core	O
components	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Orbiter	O
(	O
remote	O
control	O
)	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
have	O
undergone	O
significant	O
improvements	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
licensed	O
under	O
the	O
GPL	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
setup	O
consists	O
of	O
two	O
parts	O
–	O
one	O
Core	O
and	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
Media	O
Directors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
Media	O
Director	O
is	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
screen	O
(	O
TV	B-Operating_System
,	O
computer	O
screen	O
or	O
projector	O
)	O
and	O
optionally	O
to	O
other	O
A/V	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
Core	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
Media	O
Director	O
(	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
TV	B-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
called	O
a	O
hybrid	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
modular	O
architecture	O
allows	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
to	O
use	O
and	O
control	O
any	O
hardware	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Core	O
and	O
Media	O
Directors	O
and	O
to	O
control	O
it	O
in	O
a	O
coordinated	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
if	O
a	O
movie	O
is	O
started	O
in	O
the	O
living	O
room	O
,	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
can	O
dim	O
the	O
light	O
in	O
that	O
room	O
but	O
also	O
switch	O
off	O
radio	O
playback	O
on	O
the	O
Media	O
Director	O
in	O
the	O
office	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
an	O
IP	O
phone	O
rings	O
,	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
can	O
show	O
the	O
number	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
and	O
pause	O
media	O
playback	O
while	O
the	O
call	O
is	O
answered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
package	O
is	O
installed	O
on	O
the	O
Kubuntu	B-Application
OS	O
,	O
and	O
utilizes	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
applications	O
such	O
as	O
Asterisk	B-Language
,	O
Xine	B-Application
,	O
MythTV	B-Application
,	O
VDR	B-Application
,	O
Firefox	B-Application
,	O
VideoLAN	B-Application
and	O
SlimServer	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
64-bit	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
package	O
are	O
no	O
longer	O
under	O
active	O
development	O
after	O
7.10	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
programs	O
have	O
been	O
given	O
wrappers	O
which	O
allow	O
them	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
Ruby	B-Language
scripts	O
that	O
control	O
the	O
home	O
automation	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
added	O
communications	O
layer	O
allows	O
trigger-command	B-Application
features	O
such	O
as	O
pausing	O
media	O
playback	O
when	O
an	O
important	O
phone	O
call	O
arrives	O
,	O
dimming	O
the	O
lights	O
while	O
playing	O
a	O
movie	O
,	O
and	O
allowing	O
media	O
playback	O
to	O
follow	O
from	O
computer	O
to	O
computer	O
whenever	O
a	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
enabled	O
remote	O
is	O
carried	O
between	O
rooms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DCE	O
communications	O
protocol	O
allows	O
a	O
single	O
program	O
to	O
present	O
a	O
standardized	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
the	O
Orbiter	O
UI	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
various	O
devices	O
and	O
applications	O
used	O
within	O
the	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
uses	O
the	O
SVN	B-Application
system	I-Application
for	O
collaborative	O
updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
active	O
development	O
community	O
for	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
has	O
provided	O
continuous	O
developments	O
in	O
2008	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
allowed	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
devices	O
to	O
the	O
current	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LinuxMCE	B-Application
allows	O
the	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
to	O
be	O
displayed	O
in	O
several	O
different	O
resolutions	O
,	O
to	O
accommodate	O
the	O
graphics	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
different	O
devices	O
(	O
PCs	O
,	O
mobile	O
phones	O
,	O
webpads	O
,	O
PDAs	O
)	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
display	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Context-sensitive	O
menus	O
allow	O
a	O
single	O
remote	O
control	O
to	O
control	O
not	O
only	O
LinuxMCE	B-Application
menus	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
audiovisual	O
device	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
