By Staff Writer – John Federico (@gadgetboy)

I schlepped to Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY tonight to the Williamsburg Music Hall to get the scoop on the boxee beta.

Here’s what we know so far:

• The new application interface is a big step forward.
• The Clicker app for boxee almost makes me want to give up my cable box (almost).
• The boxee box will be produced by D-Link and will retail for around $200 with a second quarter 2010 release. They wouldn’t reveal the details of the hardware, letting D-Link have their fun at CES.
• The Windows version has been completely rewritten to take advantage of DXVA, enabling hi-def content to run on low-powered hardware.
• The boxee user base is made up of almost 85% Macs
• Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is now completely supported
• All registrants of tonight’s event will receive a download link for the beta and a boxee invite (if you don’t already have an account.)

I couldn’t get close enough to the stage to get decent video, but the embedded video from Livestream.com appears after the jump. Full review once I get my hands on the beta.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://dsclzr.us/0