For those who haven't been following Windows 8 there is an interesting blog here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/09/02/reflecting-on-our-first-conversations-part-2.aspx

Myself, I have been wondering what the future is for Media Center and for now it appears it is safe. But, for how long remains the question. Very low usage stats according to Microsoft.

Overall it has appeared that enthusiasm has dwindled, a lot of the 3rd party plugin sites which sprung up with MC 7 have not had a lot of activity of late. Microsoft themselves stopped producing MCE hardware (remotes & keyboards) which made me wonder about the future.

I would love to see an apps store for MCE, support for Facebook, You Tube etc. Any plugins / apps require a lot of searching and in many cases are outdated or orphaned.

I really do love the product and friends who see the UI and what can be done with it love it ......

Anyway, just my thoughts.