Windows Media Player 10 Reviewed 484
An anonymous reader writes "Paul Thorrott reviews Windows Media Player 10 and notes that unlike Apple's iTunes Music Store, which offers music that is only compatible with Apple's iPod portable player, WMP 10 will work with songs from virtually any other online music store. There are more screenshots here with a download link." Reader Thomas Hawk writes "I wrote my Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 Review today the first day the software was released and one of the first reviews on the product. I basically give it good marks but there are definiately some things that they can still improve upon."
An anonymous reader writes "Since I'm somewhat wary of Microsoft's new software (particularly DRM-laden Media Player types,) I was paying attention to the EULA and privacy agreements provided when downloading the software. Ironically enough, the privacy page linked from the installer (at time of writing) merely said "TODO: Privacy policy goes here". Most certainly an honest mistake, but in the meantime it appears there is in fact no policy on privacy (or it has not yet been taken into consideration) in WMP10."
TODO: (Score:3, Funny)
First Post goes here
Re:TODO: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:TODO: (Score:5, Funny)
TODO:
- write security policy
- remove testuser/testpass backdoor
- refer javascript and url holes to developers
- prepare blanket denial of security problems for press
Re:TODO: (Score:3, Funny)
They've had the last one ready for years.
Testimonial (Score:5, Funny)
Clearly it's a superior means of enjoying musical content over having that annoying 100 gram iPod Mini which you can actually forget you have with you, because it requires no bulky computer or extension cord and that insidious battery will last for up to 8 hours.
Microsoft Windows Media Player 10, because your not going anywhere anyway.
Re:Testimonial (Score:2, Insightful)
What does WMP have to do with an iPod Mini? Did you realize that there are other portable music players out there- some of which play WMA files? In fact, me and my friends were just talking about one of them yesterday [slashdot.org].
Personally, I use a Pocket PC for my portable music player. A could of 1 gig SD cards, and I can carry plenty of music- while 'jogging through the park'. But then when I am
Re:Testimonial (Score:5, Insightful)
He got it out of a box called "humor".
Re:Testimonial (Score:5, Insightful)
Absolutely correct. Unless of course you are one of the ~90% of the people out there who do run their PC on Microsoft products.
But for that OTHER 10%- you hit the nail on the head.
Too bad 90% is just a niche- what the heck are they thinking when they release products to support that 90% niche?!?
Re:Testimonial (Score:5, Informative)
It looks like the summary is comparing iTMS to WMP 10 (rather that iTunes and QuickTime Player to WMP 10). The author could be comparing "Apple's iPod portable player" to "virtually any other online music store." Again the comparison makes no sense.
I'm going to try to respond anyway, since it might make the grandparent post's joke make more sense to you. Here we go:
The iPod can play many formats including MP3, but not WMA.
The iTMS sells songs with drm that only works in QuickTime enabled applications residing on the same computer as an authorized instance of iTunes and on the iPod right now.
iTunes (the audio player) can play many audio file formats and has really nice organizational features.
QuickTime Player is a media player that can play virtually anything you throw at it given the appropriate codec plugin.
WMP 10 is a media player that supports many formats including protected WMA files. I don't know if it plays FairPlay protected AAC from the iTMS, but it could easily enough, the API is simple.
MOMS is Microsoft's IE based music store. It sells protected WMA files.
There are many players that support protected WMA.
Now back to the summary: "... unlike Apple's iTunes Music Store, which offers music that is only compatible with Apple's iPod portable player, WMP 10 will work with songs from virtually any other online music store. "
iTMS doesn't work with other stores -- neither does MOMS.
iTMS doesn't work with any portable players other than the iPod (and that upcoming phone). MOMS doesn't work with the iPod, but it does work with others.
The iPod doesn't work with WMA. It does work with AAC, MP3, AIFF, etc. iPod users can get music from any source that provides audio in those formats.
WMP 10 supports many formats, but requires you to drag a pc around with you. -- that was the funny part.
I think I've covered all the angles, but damn that sentence is hard to parse.
No Privacy Policy? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No Privacy Policy? (Score:5, Funny)
TODO:
Conspiracy theory goes here.
Re:No Privacy Policy? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:No Privacy Policy? (Score:5, Insightful)
Recall that WMP 9 was probably MS's first instance where they started to make people's privacy important. During install, there is an explicit privacy step you have to go through, checking a number of boxes on whether to allow net connections to search for things, whether to use your media player's unique id, etc. And it wasn't set up like Real and all their hidden check boxes visible if you only scroll down. Very much visible and meant to be taken seriously. There's a very clear and visible "Privacy" tab in the options menu.
Re:No Privacy Policy? (Score:4, Funny)
No. You don't know if they've gotten around to writing it, you only know if they've gotten around to putting it into the code.
If you were a 'glass is half full' type of person, you might think "Oh neat, they're writing a new one. Maybe they'll make it less spooky." Of course, that's not as likely to shoot you up to +5 around here.
5 years ago, who would have thought... (Score:4, Funny)
gasp
gasp
gasp
Or napster cards (Score:3, Interesting)
We live in strange, restrictive times..
iTMS vs. WiMP10? (Score:5, Insightful)
Wtf does that mean? What does iTunes Music Store have to do with WiMP 10? iTunes (not the music store) can play mp3s, which means it's compatible with almost every other online music store too. It's just MS's WMA format that iTunes can't play, but neither can any other player anyways.
Re:iTMS vs. WiMP10? (Score:5, Insightful)
They're comparing a Media Player to an Online Music Store
My Stereo is so much better than that music store over there because it plays tapes, cds, minidiscs and vinyl - but the store only sells vinyl.
Re:iTMS vs. WiMP10? (Score:5, Insightful)
not sure about DRM'd Songs though.
Re:iTMS vs. WiMP10? (Score:2, Interesting)
That would actually be an interesting thing for Apple to do- pick up that it's a DRM'd file they can't let you play, look up whether iTMS carries it, and offer you a considerable discount to buy it from the iTMS.
Re:iTMS vs. WiMP10? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:iTMS vs. WiMP10? (Score:2)
Re:iTMS vs. WiMP10? (Score:3, Interesting)
Hey Ya! from iTMS is the same as Hey Ya! from Napster is the same as Hey Ya! from Musicmatch...
...is not the same as Hey Ya! from Walmart.
ogg (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:ogg (Score:5, Insightful)
It does not and it never will. Infact, I wont be surprised if they totally drop the support for MP3. MP3 encoding has been intentionally crippled to force the users to encode in WMA
Re:ogg (Score:5, Insightful)
Or it was to save on royalties that MS would have to pay for every single copy of Windows sold or Media Player that's downloaded.
Re:ogg (Score:3, Insightful)
You have to pay royalties if you include an MP3 encoder (not decoder) with your software. I'm not sure if you mean "shouldn't" as in "the license doesn't say that" or if you mean it like "patents shouldn't be used like that". If you mean the latter, then I'm curious how you think those dudes should fund their research into stuff like that.
Re:ogg (Score:3, Informative)
Bullshit. WMP 9 only had MP3 encoding in the form of an addon. In WMP 10 it's there by default, and other than the lack of some bitrates, it's not crippled. And removing MP3 playback? What the hell?
By the way, my lil' brother said that he was playing ogg files on WMP 10 using a codec/plugin or something. I'll ask him where he
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over? (Score:4, Informative)
Translated from geek to English: "Other than it being crippled by restricting it to low quality encoding, it's not crippled."
WTF?
Re:Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over? (Score:5, Informative)
FYI: A quotation from TFA:
You can now rip music to MP3 format from WMP 10 directly, without needing an add-on (Figure [winsupersite.com]). There's just one problem: Microsoft's MP3 encoder only supports 128, 192, 256, and 320 Kbps MP3 ripping. Because I prefer to rip songs to 160 Kbps MP3 format, I still need to install a third party MP3 encoder. Hey, it's better than nothing, and it's certainly better than the crippled MP3 ripping in RealPlayer 10.5 Plus.
Sure, VBR support & free bitrate selection would be nice, but I as the author said, it's better than nothing.
Re:Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:ogg (Score:3, Informative)
MS will never support ogg. Howver, you don't need MS for that. You can get Ogg Vorbis DirectShow Filters [everwicked.com] to play ogg in WMP. You can also get Ogg Quicktime Components [sourceforge.net] that allows Ogg encoding and playback in all MacOS and Win32 apps that use Apple Quicktime.
Re:ogg (Score:3, Interesting)
However, there are two problems:
1) it *always* asks me if I'm sure I want to play the file, no matter how many times I tell it to remember that I said yes
2) oggs won't show up in the playlists or media library
It was that second point that the OP was asking about, I think.
Why bother (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's take the typical Windows Media Player user and say they want to play some ogg files.
1) serach for ogg on google and you find vorbis.com. "Cool, I can't wait to play these ogg files I legally obtained."
2) Try figure out where the "ogg" codec is and then click on the "vorbis" link.
3) Select OS and to come to a page which doesn't list WMP and only seems to have some old versions of winamp and some media players they have never even heard of.
4) Click "other software" because you can't find anything that will just let you play ogg files on WMP.
5) Scroll through through over 30 programs and then give up because you can't find what you need. Those with more patience will keep scrooling till they find "OggDS Direct Show Filters" which is something like the 40th program on the page. Install the codec and then realize that WMP doesn't support ogg very well and avoid ogg files in the future.
For whatever reason the people at Vorbis do everything in their power to keep people from using ogg in WMP and your asking why Microsoft doesn't do a better job at supporting ogg? Its a two way street.
The link to the DirectShow version of the Format should be 2 clicks away from the front page listed right under playes. If the Vorbis people want to see ogg marketshare grow among enduser they need to do a much better job at A)enabling them to play ogg files in WMP and B) adopting and advocating a GUI win32 encoder and c) explaing why ogg is better than mp3. Saying its not patent encumbered and saying its as good or slightly better than mp3 is't going to cut it. I don't envy them for that hard a task but I'm also not the one putting out the software.
I've said many times in the past that ogg is great for content producers. That does't change the fact that for all intended purposes ogg is very much a solution in search of a problem with regard to the idea of replacing the mp3 with consumers.
That's nice and all... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:That's nice and all... (Score:2, Insightful)
About 90% of the stuff I run on a computer doesn't run on my Mac. Thats why it sits in the corner next to my Sun and SGI systems feeling lonely.
Re:That's nice and all... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:That's nice and all... (Score:3, Insightful)
only 1/3rd of the apps in my dock have a windows port
Re:That's nice and all... (Score:3, Interesting)
Doesn't install on Windows Server 2003 (Score:3, Informative)
go fig.
Re:Doesn't install on Windows Server 2003 (Score:3, Interesting)
Unbelievable! I mean, what Sys Admin should be denied the ability to listen to Paula Abdul in the server room, surrounded by cooling fans moving about 500 CFM? Microsoft just doesn't get it. tsk tsk tsk.
FWIW, we actually had a guitar speaker mounted i
Ya know... (Score:5, Insightful)
WMP 10... yay... (Score:4, Insightful)
Its not like I need the playlist stuff, Winamp (2.9) handles music, I only use WMP for video, which rarely needs a playlist, and even then, if I need a playlist for video, I do it with Winamp.
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:2)
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:2, Informative)
Personally I think you can't been vlc [videolan.org].
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:WMP 10... yay... (Score:3, Informative)
I still like iTunes and WinAmp (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I still like iTunes and WinAmp (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm tired of manually choosing albums to update/sync.
No privacy? (Score:3, Insightful)
anyone else? (Score:5, Interesting)
Not impressed already... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Not impressed already... (Score:5, Insightful)
I am a Windows Media Player junkie. Having used the program for a number of years I think it is quite simply a brilliant piece of software - a masterpiece developed by extremely talented engineers in so many ways. Even more spectacular is that is free. Microsoft gives it away. If Microsoft didn't give this software away I'd gladly pay money for it. I love it.
Ugh. I feel so... dirty... after reading that.
Mp3 ripping. It's admirable that Microsoft finally listened to their users on this one and gave in. In all of the previous versions of Window's Media Player Microsoft forced you to rip your tunes to WMA. [...] Windows Media Player 10 fully supports mp3 ripping and high quality encoding at that. Kudos to Microsoft.
Something that iTunes has had... lemme see... forever?
The new "Composer" menu on the left hand window is a handy feature. Check it out. It's new and I love it. Want to create a Bob Dylan covers playlist? Select Dylan under the composer menu then sort the window by artist and select all but Bob Dylan as a performer and save it as a Bob Dylan covers playlist. Very simple, very easy.
More gushing + feature stolen from iTunes.
Ratings. WMP 10's rating system is first rate. [...] Microsoft developed a fine ratings system. How does this work? Rate each song you hear from one to five stars with a stroke of a right mouse click. Later when you are relaxing you can listen to only your favorite tracks.
That sounds great! Microsoft really outdid themselves by copying from iTunes^W^W^W innovating this really amazing feature! (end sarcasm)
Crossfading. In the past one of the things I hated most was that long silence between songs. One song would end and then prior to the next one there would be more silence.
WinAMP, iTunes, etc? Nope, it's a Microsoft invention don't you know.
Improved interface. Microsoft provided a much improved cosmetic overhaul to WMP 10. One of the things I like a lot in the libraries is that they color code (light blue and a lighter blue) between lines now making it easier to follow the data on a track across the screen.
Look at the screenshot on the page. It looks like crap. Usable, sure, but definitely not attractive.
Anyway, this "review" just hurts, so I'll stop there. I just wish we could rate this review '-1 Microsoft Leg Humper'.
Re:Not impressed already... (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course it's not perfect! Is any GUI? But it certainly is the best media center design to date. I used to use MediaMatch, and I can say that I was not impressed. Options were in the oddest of places, interfaces were confusing, error messages were unhelpful, etc., etc., etc.
Can't you see that the whole article is a satire of the breathless worship of iTunes? I mean, you go on about how WMP10 has 'stolen' features from iTunes, even though Apple never invented them in the first place.
Well, lemme see. I said "WinAMP" for the crossfade, because AFAIK, they were the first to have it. As for the playlist design, that was an iTunes invention. WinAMP handled playlists through the use of playlist files.
One way or another, my point is that Microsoft copied iTunes, and now this guy is shouting from the rooftops that Microsoft is so amazing! I'd be just as disgusted if someone gushed as hard about Safari. "Ooo! It's got tabbed browsing! A 'leet feature not seen anywhere else!" Ugh.
"Honest Mistake" (Score:3, Insightful)
Coming from a MegaCorp, I would expect something more like...Whoops, sorry, we accidentally sold your information to interested third parties including the DHS. We sincerely apologize for the honest mistake.
But you're right, this does look like an honest mistake. But it's more like a sign of the future to come.
Re:"Honest Mistake" (Score:2, Insightful)
i'm sure someone decided that it was more important to release the product than wait for the PP to be finished.
welcome to the prroduct release process in a large company.
Open source? (Score:5, Funny)
napster? (Score:2)
Re:napster? (Score:2)
Re:napster? (Score:2)
Um. (Score:5, Informative)
Songs bought from the iTunes Music Store work in and only in Quicktime applications such as iTunes.
Songs bought from mp3 based music stores work anywhere.
Didn't we all know this already?
Re:Um. (Score:2)
Songs bought from the iTunes Music Store work in and only in Quicktime applications such as iTunes.
Songs bought from mp3 based music stores work anywhere.
-------
Songs illegally downloaded off the net work anywhere as well. Sheesh, they could at least TRY to compete...
Re:Um. (Score:2)
I have a set-top DVD player that I bought from Costco for $49. It plays WMA audio files just fine!
Many new DVD players play WMA, for example this mid-range Toshiba model [toshiba.com]. How many DVD players can play Apple's AC3 format? I'll give a gmail account to anyone who can email me a link to a commercial set-top DVD player that can play Apple AC3 files.
Re:Um. (Score:5, Informative)
Many newer DVD players can play MP3s on a CD-R/CD-RW but can they play MP3s on a data DVD?
I want to put gigs of songs on a DVD and play it on my TV/Stereo.
The SPECS *never* state this. They only say "it plays DVDs" and "it plays MP3s" and "it can read a CD-R/CD-RW". They never explicitly state if it can play MP3s on a DVD-R.
The good, the bad, the really, really ugly (Score:5, Insightful)
Somebody was commenting on the interface in an earlier thread but I had no idea... MSN's opposing gradients from hell clash with the XP Luna scheme really, really badly.
Go look. [thomashawk.com] Can you read those tabs at the top-right? Music... ra... radio... movies & tv?
Also - find the transport controls! They are hiding in the worst place possible, at the lower-left corner, which is exactly the last place your eye goes to when scanning the sea of text in the main window. This decision probably hinges on simply not making the thing look too much like iTunes.
God, I get angry just looking at this thing.
What is wrong with them? More money than God and they still can't manage to find a visual design that isn't completely retarded. Reversed text mixed with plain. Tabs - which don't look like tabs - separated by an arbitrary hierarchy. All controls with meaningful functions crammed into a too-small area at the bottom of the window, which sits mashed nicely against your taskbar, which is usually crammed with widgetry as well.
To say nothing of how the MSN Music Store works, I can say that iTunes (and WinAMP, and Audion) knock the shit out of this.
Re:The good, the bad, the really, really ugly (Score:2)
Can you read those tabs at the top-right? Music... ra... radio... movies & tv?
Err...I didn't have any touble reading them. Sure, the white text is a little light, but it probably goes dark when you click on it.
Re:The good, the bad, the really, really ugly (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The good, the bad, the really, really ugly (Score:5, Insightful)
Nail on the head, there, my friend. This has to be the best example of bad UI design I've seen come from Microsoft.
You need look no further than iTunes on Windows for a counterexample. Apple does a better job of making a UI work in Windows than MS does? Heh. I might agree that iTunes' interface clashes with Windows overall look, but at least it's not as ugly as this, and to me it actually fits in better.
Re:The good, the bad, the really, really ugly (Score:3, Insightful)
Millions upon millions of people have used Windows Media Player. They have had the transport controls in the lower left for at least a couple of versions now (read several years). Why should they arbitrarily move it around now?
Plus, you seem to be assuming that the primary way that people get a song to play is to click the "Play" button, but si
New Icon? (Score:2)
Looks like... (Score:2)
they forgot to use their own "invention" [slashdot.org].
Anyone? Bueller? (Score:2)
Re:Anyone? Bueller? (Score:5, Insightful)
Smart playlists, shared music, the native ability to burn/rip CDs, and iTMS come immediately to mind. Not to mention the fact that Winamp has security holes and is in general far more clunky. WA4 pissed me off; WA5 is better, but iTunes is still far and away the sleeker player. I started using WA with version 2, used 5 for a while, then tried iTunes and dumped WA about 2 weeks later.
I could care less about skinning or plug-ins. IMO when developers brag that their apps are skinnable or support plug-ins it tells me that they probably haven't paid as much attention to the core functionality, and have opened the app up to security vulnerabilities and instability. As a general rule I avoid skinnable apps.
Plus a whole bunch of people in my office (including) use iTunes and share their music; I can listen to their playlist with a single click. I've been able to check out music I hadn't been exposed to before when it is convenient for me.
Works...? (Score:3, Insightful)
I guess "work" has become a very subjective word.
Re:Works...? (Score:5, Informative)
I guess "work" has become a very subjective word.
I'll second this. Read Walt Mossberg's WSJ review of the store [wsj.com] -- he couldn't get music purchased from other WMP-based stores to play in WMP10.
This means that not only is WMP10 incompatible by definition with the vast majority of music sold online (70-80% of all music sold is through the iTunes Music Store, which is in protected AAC format not supported by WMP), it apparently won't play what little music is sold in protected WMA format, either.
Given that WMP10 apparently doesn't play any music ever sold online, I'd say that they have an uphill battle. I'm sure that MS and the MS-based retailers will eventually fix the problems that keeps WMP10 from playing the 20-30% of purchased music in MS-based formats. But since Microsoft's store isn't better than Apple's, and MS-based players aren't better than Apple's, about the only advantage that MS has is the ability to pre-install WMP on every copy of Windows. Of course, since Apple is doing deals with PC manufacturers to pre-install iTunes and iTMS on PC's as well, with any luck the market will at least stay competitive, to the benefit of customers...
Re:Works...? (Score:3, Informative)
Please, slow down with the FUD.
From the article (that YOU linked):
He was unable to get purchased songs from some stores to work on his device. That is not the same as WMP10 being unable to play them. He mentions that you h
It's not just the DRM... (Score:2)
Software makers: Get it through your head. DONT RUN YOUR DUMBASS SERVICES ON STARTUP JUST SO I CAN UNZIP A FILE
Did they fix the time move video pan thingy? (Score:2)
WMP never did this. If you move the time marker around, it just shows the time you are at, but the video stays frozen.
Wish they would fix that.
All in one (Score:2)
Upped the anti? (Score:2)
I agree!
They are comparing a media player to a music store (Score:3, Insightful)
Is it somehow significant that WMP 10 can play various flavors of music file and the itunes music store sells songs for ipods/itunes?
Are those two things not mutually exclusive?
Screenshots show Privacy... (Score:2, Funny)
Music Store vs. Media Player (Score:2)
Ironically, 'virtually any other online music store' does not include the Itunes music store. And why are we comparing an online music store to a software application anyhow?
Itunes will play AAC, and MP3, but not WMA.
WMP will play WMA, MP3, but not AAC.
Seems both software apps are equally limited in regards to what f
Upped the anti? (Score:2)
Huh... Is that anti as in Antitrust?
Finally (Score:2)
Seriously, this is the first thing I've ever read by him that wasn't annoying.
Doesn't work with market-leading player and store (Score:4, Insightful)
iTMS sells over 70% of online music.
Who cares if WMP10 works with the wanna-be players and music stores? It doesn't work with ones most people are actually using.
I'm sick of the iTMS comparison (Score:5, Informative)
Well, all the other stores, be they MSN Beta, Napster, or buymusic.com all provide songs in WMP format, which I believe is a PROPRIEATRY PATENTED FORMAT, last I checked.
The reason why iTunes and the iPod don't use WMA is because Apple DOES NOT want to give Microsoft a cut every time a Mac or an iPod is sold.
People seem to forget that the iPod and iTunes happily play MP3 files, as well AIFF, and WAV files as well as AAC.
There was also a note about the MP3 decoding chips inside the iPod. The exact same chip is used in a number of other players that are Windows only. That chip will happily decode, MP3s, AACs and WMA files. Apple pays the licensing for AAC, but refuses to pay to license WMA. Well, the makers of the other players don't want to pay Dolby a license to be able to play AAC files, hence why their firmware doesn't use the AAC. They could easily turn on AAC and write a plugin for iTunes and the thing would work with iTunes then (at least the non DRMed stuff).
Since I have an iPod, I started ripping stuff to 192K AAC, but have since switched to 256 VBR Lame MP3 files. My iPod has no issue with these files whatsoever and iTunes plays them happily.
If Apple and Microsoft wanted to use a REAL open standard (just because most PCs ship with WinXP, and WMP is FORCE BUNDLED with them DOES NOT make WMA a standard), they would offer songs in MP3 or Ogg Vorbis format.
Check again (Score:4, Informative)
Also they cannot use a format like MP3 or OGG, without adding DRM which kind of defeats the point. The record industry requires the use fo DRM, hence Apple's FairPlay shit.
Windows Media Player will also happily play MP3 files, as well as any other kind of file Windows has a DirectShow codec for. Want OGG support? Install the OGG DS codec and it's there.
Please: Educate yourself before you argue against something. It weakens your argument and makes you look silly when you harp on things that aren't true.
Paul Thruott is an enormous asshole (Score:5, Insightful)
blakespot
He's probably a nice guy... (Score:3, Informative)
Although he has his own stand-alone pundit site, he also works for Windows IT Pro [winnetmag.net], which delivers "News about Windows and Microsoft. No fluff."
Asking him to talk in reasonable terms about a battle between Microsoft and Apple is like asking Guy Kawasaki in 1986 to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of PCs and Macs. Just look at what puts bread on the table for Thurrott.
Basically Thurrott seems to believe that Windows is "all about choice
WMP != ITMS (Score:3, Funny)
Huh? Why is WMP being compared to ITMS? Apples to Oranges (no pun intended). WMP = iTunes/Quicktime. MSN Music = ITMS. Either somebody meant to say iTunes somewhere (but it still doesn't make sense), or this is an attempt to misinform the reader.
Given that Paul Thorrott is behind this, I'm not suprized.
(go ahead and search for him. Find something where he hasn't found some way to manipulate things to put MS on top. If he isn't on Microsoft's payroll, he should be)
Sheltered life (Score:3, Insightful)
Jeez, I can think of many many programs that "Spectacularly" for free, are even more "Amazing" and they really are free, you even get the source code! If you want to see some really spectacular stuff that comes for free, why not try one of the many great linux distro's that are out there!
Where has this guy been the past few years? Seriously though what is so "Amazing" about Microsoft giving the program away? It would be "Spectacular" if they were giving away a product that were truly free, and free from DRM mechanisms, and isnt aimed fair and square at attacking the iTunes brigade.
Choice is good, as long as you choose Microsoft (Score:3, Insightful)
John Gruber unspins the inanity [daringfireball.net] much better than I can.
This "choice" nonsense that Microsoft is FUDing is shamefully disengenuous.
Re:Reboot? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:no mistake (Score:2)