Boxee desktop getting big fall update

Boxee swung its focus back to the desktop on Monday with a promise of a major update for the Mac, Ubuntu Linux, and Windows versions of its media front-end app. The new version will bring the reworked browser and content options that have been present on the Boxee Box in recent months. The code would also be more closely in step with the dedicated box in the future.

A new interface appeared to be likely based on a screen cap.

The release should be available in the fall, Boxee said. Its open-source code base would also be simplified to make modifications easier.

Company founder Avner Ronen explained the lack of recent attention to the desktop app as a combination of low resources and the fundamental shift in technology. The startup had to write a "completely new OS" with a more advanced setup process and its own special hardware requirements. Supporting it was actually harder than if the company had started fresh, he said.

The app has been considered one of the go-to shells for home theater computers but has faced a tough fight against Plex and other equivalents that have come since.

By Electronista Staff