Is it possible to just use Ubunto and the MCE portion of the install
without enabling the Pluto(appliance/security control) portion?
Just a Linux OS and Media Center application is what I'm looking for.
You should probably just use MythTV then.
http://www.mythtv.org/ (http://www.mythtv.org/)
or install it all and just ignore what you arent using now. it will be there if you want to do it later.