The name is derived from one of my favorite beers, Three Floyds Alpha King Pale Ale. The design makes heavy use of Alpha channel transparency, allowing every button and panel to take on the color and texture of the main background image. This allows a user to completely change the look and feel simply by changing one background graphic – zero button modifications required. The idea is to have quick and simple modification without having to redesign every single graphic. Included are multiple button designs (flat and rounded) in a large array of sizes and shapes. Shadow effects make the buttons appear to float above the panel; the buttons appear to sink when depressed.

The Alpha King Brew design also shows “the art of the possible” for the Pronto Pro should Philips decide to expand the feature set. This design includes mock-ups for potential features, such as 2-way control of Windows Media Center (with Cover Art download) and Sonos (through uPnP) as well as the ability to read RSS News Feeds from any Internet source. Also included is a mock-up of a PC application that parses Internet Movie Database results and sends them to the Pronto Pro (assuming that Philips releases 2-way communication protocols to third party developers.)