The development team behind Boxee, the cross-platform, open-source media center with social networking features, has finally announced the release of a public Alpha version for Windows. Boxee for Windows Alpha has been available for months now, but to private testers only; now anyone can grab the software and put it through its paces.

CEO of Boxee, Avner Ronen, comments: “We are finally releasing a public alpha of Boxee for Windows. We are looking forward to getting feedback from PC users, so we will be ready for beta later this year. Boxee is now available for Windows, Mac and Ubuntu users, and our goal is to keep the 3 platforms in sync as we release updates and upgrades.”

Even though the public Alpha version of Boxee seems to be more stable and responsive than the private Alpha, this is still an early version, and as is the case with every Alpha software version, you might run into a few glitches and errors. You can expect all bugs and problems to be worked out as the development process of the software moves forward – like for example moving from Alpha to Beta. Avner Ronen said at a Boxee event in San Francisco this week that Boxee will move to Beta this autumn, hopefully September. There is a chance though that the release of Boxee Beta could be pushed back to October, so do not be surprised if you don’t get the software this September, Ronen added.

Alongside the launch of Boxee for Windows Alpha, several other improvements to the open-source software platform that integrates personal media with internet media and social networking have been announced:
- A partnership with Major League Baseball to offer MLB.TV Premium to Boxee users.
- New streamlined navigation layout.
- Added support for Dig.
- Added support for tumblr.
- Added support for Current.tv
- Fixed a long list of bugs.