The Mac Mini is getting lots of attention as a possible killer app in media centers. Engadget posted a blurb this week.. Robert X. Cringely pointed out that it’s already possible to use it as a HD video player without the need to wait for the dust to settle in the upcoming Blu-Ray/HD-DVD war. The troops are already mobilizing to make the software necessary to convert the little box into a killer media hub. The Mac Media Center project was started shortly after the release of the Mini, and got 150k members in their first 24 hours. Their GUI thread is up and running, and they’ve got some very impressive ideas. I think we’ll end up seeing a broad array of third-party options springing up in the near future. I really like it, because Apple’s approach to DRM and such is much more user-friendly than what’s being offered by Microsoft. Apple seems to take the side of the consumer, offering options that make me happy. Microsoft appears to be taking the side of content distributors, who would very much like me to pay as much as I can, and wouldn’t mind making me pay for the same media many, many times. I don’t like it. I’m really hoping that Microsoft’s DRM-infested Media Center flops and the third-party options for the Mac Mini take off. Competition will be a good thing, and if Microsoft gets trampled by the masses of people staying away from their product, it might send them back to the drawing board to come up with something that doesn’t suck.