They did actually touch on it, but I don't believe with the programming guide.  However, if you look at the patents they have received, it is the direction they are likely going.

Although I kept a good eye on the patents, I didn't really follow the TV related ones since they appeared to be MediaRoom features.  However, that said, Microsoft appears to be working hard behind the scenes on something big TV related.  The programming guide is a simple step, but it looks like you'll have greater integration between services and even more advanced stuff like in-video searching.  So, for the latter say "Where she says 'I'll have what she's having'" and it'll take you to that scene in that movie.*

* Ten points if you know that movie and scene.

I will comment on the last part...

The difference between what Microsoft is doing and what everyone esle is doing is this:

Apple, Google, Rokku...they all want cable to become IP based. Their offerings are all primarily IP based, with live TV inserted on the side. This does not work for cable companies for several reasons. Online advertising revenue model and TV are drastically different. There tools are totally different, people who do those jobs don't have the same skillsets, technology to deliver videos and stich ads is different... Most cable companies don't have the rights to show the new episode or sports event that airs on TV more than once in the first 7 days. This doesn't work as IPTV...it needs to be linear.

This solution would be allowing cable work the same way as usual and slowly transition to IPTV. Linear stream through cable service would still be how their content is delivered through a subscription which you would have to pay for...however that would integrated with IP TV and other types of video streaming seamlessly to a user. They wouldn't see a difference between..."Xbox watch NHL Playoffs" and "Xbox watch epic fail videos"...despite the fact one is live, and coming from NBC sports channel through cable and the other is coming from IP based streaming service like Youtube.

I kind of dont get it. If Microsoft is so determined to go into television why dont they just make their own channel and productions and go from there? I am not interested in some set top box or whatever they are called. The Xbox was a games machine i thought, but all we get is television this, block that, big brother is watching.
I get the feeling they are in the wrong market for this.

Do you ever get to a point where you realize that people are either incapable of seeing or just too caught-up in their own mindset of how things are to see what both the author and you are envisioning?

Some people won't get it, and others will ceasingly try to never get it.

It's about a providing a multi-sourced, single-point content delievery service where the source and delivery are ubiquitous and transparent.

You as the viewer simply ask for content.  The Xbox One serves up that content.

If xbone had an intergrated dvr feature for your cable tv, then they may be on to something. But as it stands now, what i heard was a bunch of voice activated bs, and basically switching between sources which you already do with a tv remote, ms is not adding anything compelling to the multimedia tv equation.

i guess i dont' get what you mean when you say google wants to be IP based and MS doesn't.  maybe i just am not familur with google TV enought.  honestly none of this works for me.  I use rabbit ears for tv 'cause i honestly don't care about tv all that much.  if xbone needs an HDMI in i'm SoL.   ..but it will be interesting to see what this morphs into.

..i just wonder how many really cross the tv/gamer divide.  if ms makes decent grounds here i think the smartest thing they could do is spin off a much much cheaper tv only box if they want to atract non-gamers with this service.  $400 (assumed) just seems waaay too much.

To be honest I had to google this to find the movie... Is it  from "When Harry met Sally"? :)

Otherwise yeah I did expect some people not to see this...my very first post said: 

"...I do realize some of this stuff people may not be familiar with and may not understand. "

The way I see it, It is what it is and we are having a valid discussion and educating people. I was on this site arguing with guys like PSRock and VKing over 6 months ago saying that Xbox One is going to be a all in one set top box based video game console. This is because we spoke with Microsoft who were telling us that they plan a big integration with TV for the next Xbox. I was told that this idea is the craziest thing they ever and that I am smoking drugs... Back then I certanly didn't know how this is all going to work (I still dont). But more examples are starting to present themselves, and they look awesome...

I think I'm there.  Dis is more patient with people here than I am, so he's the right person to nurture a thread like this.  All I see is the usual suspects doing their thing.  MS having something disruptive just can't happen to them.

The reality, though, is that the X1 will game and game hard for us (we'll see in less than a week) but a feature like this will capture the mainstream media's attention and your average joe will be interested in it too.  My sister is not a gamer at all but her sons LUST for a new game console.  Show her this and she would be more inclined to buy one for them because she'd want to use this feature.  Granted that's extremely anectdotal, but I'd be extremely surprised if it was a minority reaction to when the mainstream catches on.

I personally wish the Wii U and PS4 had a similar feature, as it would ensure this next generation of consoles would find bigger success ...

It is being aimed at the minstream audience for sure. The regular media has been all over the xbox one, even if the gaming media hates it. Other companies can try and copy it, but they may have patent or licensing issues. Microsoft has made some great partnerships over the years in the TV and Media world. They have an exclusive partnership for rebox instant(will most likely be the service to take down netflix, and gamefly) for home consoles, which they have also partnered with verizon(a huge cell phone, home phone, internet, and cable company) . They have a deal with pandora also right now I believe. People may be forgetting that MS started all of this with the 360, it will be hard for others to play catch up with all the deals that have to be made for this kind of stuff. With all that said, I dont think any company can provide all of those features, and voice control hardware and software for 99-150 dollars. At least we haven't seen it yet, do google or apple tv have voice controls or gesture input? Yes TV will eventually have all of this built in, but that will be down the line and will not be cost effective for most consumers who already have a TV they like.  Sony is actually at a disadvantage in this area as they also compete with other media producing companies. If I made movies I wouldn't want my compititors company to control the distribution of my media.

Microsoft has been "in" television for years.   Over 23% of the set-top box market was theirs until they sold MediaRoom to Ericcson.  They've been doing IPTV since 2001.  Many services that provide Internet-based television/movie content delivery use Microsoft software and services to do so.

They don't want to be a "Channel", though they do have a division called coincidently enough, Channel 9.  Essentially, the video production service for Microsoft.  They don't want to own the content.  They just want to build and provide a layer to access it.  That layer being software integrated into the Xbox One.

The Xbox One is still a video game machine.  Nothing added to the capabilities of the Xbox One prevent it from offering gaming services.  Your smartphone (if you have one) is still a phone, but doesn't it do more than just make phone calls?  Doesn't that extended feature set make it more useful?  You probably aren't old enough to remember or even had a black book.  Or later a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) and a mobile cell phone (aka a bag phone).  Or a Pocket PC Phone which offered the capabilities of a Pocket PC, a PDA, and a cell phone.  See, technology evolves to add features that are useful (sometimes some that aren't) to things we think are fine the way they are. 

For most people (the majority of people) the console is in the living room, family room, or media room.  A place where people congregate to do more than just play games.  Enhancing the capabilities of a device, so it is used more often, increases the importance in the use and daily lives of those people.  Anyone who had the opportunity to be in 77m homes would do what they can to position their device so that not only are the people who bought it for gaming using it, but the rest of the family has a use for it too.