Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system (MCE)

MCE provides DVR and other multimedia features wrapped in an attractive 10-foot interface. Armed with a couch and a remote, you can record TV shows, pause live TV, view photo slideshows, listen to your music collection, tune in FM radio stations, and so on.

With these seven plugs-ins, most of which are free, you can trick out your MCE PC like never before.

MCE Customizer 2005 (Free)

Designed specifically for MCE 2005, MCE Customizer lets you tweak the OS to your heart's content. You can change the skip-forward and skip-back intervals; raise or lower TV-recording "padding"; choose different file names for recordings; hide or show Start Menu items; adjust the schedule for program-guide downloads; and much more.

MCE Portal Basic (Free)

Regular visitors to My MSN or My Yahoo know all about portals: They're sites that aggregate personalized news, weather, RSS feeds, and other information. MCE Portal brings this idea to MCE, giving you all that plus games, movie times, restaurant listings, even a daily horoscope. You have to use the developer's web site to add RSS feeds—kind of a hassle—but otherwise this is pure portal gold.

MSN Remote Record (Free)

Forgot to set up a recording before you left on vacation? No problem: Just head to any web-connected PC. With MSN Remote Record, you can schedule recordings from just about anywhere. You'll need a .NET Passport account, which you can get free if you don't already have one. Then head to your Media Center's Online Spotlight section and select MSN Remote Record Service. Follow the instructions to configure everything. When all that's done, find another PC and surf to MSN TV. Sign in and you'll be able to schedule recordings. I've even seen people do this from a Pocket PC!

mceWeather (Free)

Sure, you could just stick your head out the window, but then you'd have to get off the couch. Christoph Buenger's mceWeather adds real-time weather data to the MCE interface. Just install the plug-in, navigate to the More Programs screen, and select Weather. After you choose your city and preferences, you'll be able to view the current weather conditions (temperature, humidity, UV index, and so on), a 10-day forecast, and even satellite images.

My Movies 2 (Free)

Every time you insert a DVD movie, My Movies 2 indexes it. It downloads a description, cover art, actor info, MPAA rating, and all that good stuff. But even better than that, the plug-in can automatically rip movies to your hard drive (though you need a decrypter like AnyDVD or DVD43). This is outstanding for my kids, as they can pick any movie to watch just by sifting through the covers—and never actually have to touch (or scratch beyond repair) a DVD. Anyone who appreciated Adam's recent DVD-ripping tutorial will appreciate this MCE alternative.

TVTonic (Free)

With TVTonic, you can subscribe to nearly any video podcast. The plug-in comes with a wealth of preprogrammed "channels" to get you started, including some exclusive content. CartoonCow, for instance, plays classic cartoons, while AP-associated The News provides full-screen news clips.It's free!

Yougle (Free)

Yougle brings not only YouTube videos to the couch, but also Google Video, Grouper, and DivX Stage 6. It is free, try it out!