I found a good use for the media sharing capabilities of Microsoft’s Zune and XBox 360 during the family gathering for Christmas this year: musical slideshows.
I have a Zune with the monthly subscription that allows me to play unlimited music from Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. However, if you also have an Xbox 360 connected to the same network as the system you have the Zune software loaded onto, you can play downloaded subscription music remotely through the 360 media player.
Additionally, you can share photos from the same system, so I had a slideshow going of old family Christmas photos on my HDTV in the family room, while a multi-hour playlist of Christmas favorites played through the home theater sound system. It made for a nice bit of background while we spent the holiday together.