Why I need an HTPC front-end to GameEx...

[username1024]

In a previous thread Tom asked me why I use myHTPC as a front end to GameEx. Rather hijacking my own thread (is that possible?) I figured I'd start a new topic. And, don't get me wrong, GameEx is a great emulation front-end, so, please don't use this thread to whine to me about how its designed only for MAME cabinets. I like GameEx, and am hoping that this discussion helps.

In my HTPC start-up screen, this is my order of importance: 1. TV 2. Games 3. Music 4. Everything Else. The big problem is someone else is going to have an entirely different order. myHTPC has a 100% customizable menu'ing system. In GameEx, a tv program launcher would be buried under 'External Applications' and I have no clue how I could put it at the top of the first page. I need the flexibility to put menus and submenus wherever I want.

The 'External Applications' system also fails somewhat in my mind. I couldn't get BeyondTV to show up unless I use the 'show desktop' option. While its great that it works, it sucks to have to show a Windows desktop at all. It really defeats the whole integrated experience. Now, I've written a few DirectX applications myself, so I imagine a seemless experience would not be very easy to code.

The weather HTML app is OK, but again breaks the integrated experience by not using the exact same theme as GameEx. I haven't really explored Jukebox too much, since I haven't set my music up as a Windows Media Library.