When I first started using XBMC in my XBoX (the first version, not Live, not 360), I quickly saw that it was also available for my Linux box too, so I wanted to give it a shot. The installation was fairly easy for my Ubuntu distribution, the packages are readily available and it just adds the XBMC repository. Thus, giving Synaptic a refresh, it is simply a click and install process to your system. If you are not using Ubuntu or derivatives such as Linux Mint, third-party packages are available for download here.
After the installation, you can start your newly installed media center through Sound and Video - > XBMC Media Center. As you will immediately realize, XBMC is easy to use with your computer. You can move around and manipulate everything on the program with your mouse or your keyboard.
Before going on, I especially want to congratulate XBMC for their support in reading non-Linux partitions. If you have a dual/triple boot system with different partitions, XBMC can read data from NTFS, FAT, ext3 partitions and USB drives. So in order to watch a movie that you have in another operating system, you do not have to reboot your computer to change OSs. Furthermore, HD displays and various other resolutions are supported.
As you would expect from a media center, XBoX has options for viewing images, watching videos, listening to music and checking weather in the default installation. If you have XBMC on both your XBoX and your computer, then you will realize that the “Programs” menu item present in the XBoX is not available on your computer. This menu item is for accessing XBoX programs and therefore is not included in other releases.
Starting from the top menu item, “Pictures” as you guessed gives access to your Pictures. All common file types JPG, BMP, TIF, TGA, PCX GIF files are supported so I do not expect you to have problems with viewing images. There is however one big plus here, XBMC can read and display EXIF information and can be configured to automatically rotate images.
Read on for music and videos management, changing themes and our opinion.