Google Quietly Intros Media Server Gadget

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Google’s quietly introduced a (Windows-only) media server gadget:

Google Media server is about exposing content from your local compute(s) via UPnP protocol for devices on your home network. Google desktop is looking for content on you computer and network (if it is configured to do so). Google Media server uses Google desktop index.

Of course, being Google, they offer the ability to stream the web content under their control (YouTube and PicasaWeb) from PC to UPnP devices – in addition to the non-DRMed photos, videos, and music residing on your computer. As an occasional Connect360 user, this forum note caught my eye:

At time of development the only way to connect the XBox 360 to a UPnP  server, was to have a service that is only found on Microsoft services and for the server itself to be claimed to be made by microsoft. Legal would not allow us to pretend to be microsoft (although there are other servers out there that do).

It’s quite interesting to see Google dabbling in this arena – I wonder where they’re going to take it. In the current state, it’s purely a geek toy… (via Last100)

5 thoughts on “Google Quietly Intros Media Server Gadget”

  1. I would imagine the folks at MS and probably even the HTPC software makers are watching this development closely. It is just a “toy” for the moment, but the fact that Google is even dabbling in this is definitely a curious development.

  2. It’s a gadget for google desktop tho which, in my opinion, is a terrible piece of software. It’s also becoming more unnecessary since newer OS’s now feature built-in indexed file searching and widgets.

  4. I only briefly glanced at the widget, but iooks like you can only have one account. Meaning your YouTube and Picasa sign-ins should be the same?

    @Todd streaming media from my PC to my cell phone over WiFi within my home is of limited value to me.

  5. Eh, I wish Google would actually invest some time/$$$ into the sites/apps that they push out. It seems a lot of them stay in beta or half-baked. Take Docs for example — Adobe just kicked G’s behind by releasing their online suite.

    P.S. Do I recall correctly that UPnP limits the file types that could be shared? Or was it DLNA?

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