Microsoft has constructed two model homes packed full of computers, sensors, digital media player/recorders, and scanners, all designed to showcase the technology of the near future. But “these two homes represent two futures. The first is what consumers want: digital media their way, in whatever form suits. The second is what Hollywood wants: media lockdown, with every use subject to permission and often then only for a fee. In the middle stands Microsoft, determined to navigate these extremes.”