Microsoft ports Windows Media to Linux
Posted by Mr magoo on 11 April 2003 - 14:33 · 21 comments & 987 views
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(1 reply)
#1 Posted by ThunderRiver on 11 Apr 2003 - 15:00
- man, old news..and Microsoft is not taking over Linux yet! get your facts straight alright? They are just making it easier to Linux platform to listen to media in Windows Media Format. There is no port of Player to Linux at all..
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#1.1 Posted by YaddaMe on 11 Apr 2003 - 15:10
- [neoquote=#1.0 by ThunderRiver]and Microsoft is not taking over Linux yet! get your facts straight alright?[/neoquote] c'mon! Ya gotta ignore his comments when it comes to the news... and look at them simply for the entertainment value..... no matter how nutty they may be. Although a sperator from their comments and the actual news wouldn't be a bad idea.
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(8 replies)
#2 Posted by Cyco on 11 Apr 2003 - 15:12
- I'd really prefer if Microsoft kept their crap limited to Windows. As far as making it easier to listen/view WMV stuff, mplayer already does that superiour to their own WMP, don't know about actual quality or features that may differ, but performance wise you can watch alot higher resolution WMV videos in mplayer then you can in WMP on Windows without stutter on the very same configuration (highest quality), that strikes me personally as very screwed up. On low-end systems WMV is almost useless on Windows cause of the CPU required to render it, any any improvements in quality above other formats (divx, xvid, etc) is not noticable to me as a home-user.
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#2.2 Posted by insurgent on 11 Apr 2003 - 17:52
- [neoquote=#2.1 by Neobond]:: yawn ::[/neoquote]
Professional and inciteful as always.
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#2.3 Posted by Dessimat0r on 11 Apr 2003 - 18:59
- [neoquote=#2.2 by insurgent]Professional and inciteful as always. [/neoquote]
Surely you mean '[B]insightful[/B]'?
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#2.4 Posted by nacs on 11 Apr 2003 - 22:51
- [neoquote=#2.3 by Dessimat0r]Surely you mean '[B]insightful[/B]'?[/neoquote]
He may have meant [b]incite[/b]ful as in trying to start a flame war.
But really, you'd expect one of the site's admins to make a more insightful, worthy comment than that. -
#2.6 Posted by JaggedFlame on 12 Apr 2003 - 02:18
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#2.7 Posted by JaggedFlame on 12 Apr 2003 - 02:19
- [QUOTE]But really, you'd expect one of the site's admins to make a more insightful, worthy comment than that.[/QUOTE] Why? Just because he's the site admin? What does that have to do with posting comments? Going back to the main point, the root of the thread I'm replying to has a flawed opinion because WMP is not the sole component of Windows Media. Sure, maybe the programs are weird, but anyone can make a program and license Windows Media. People have done that, too (check out MusicMatch). On low-end systems, I have no problem playing WMV. I was watching some news streams from MSNBC the other day on a Pentium 200 MMX.
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#2.8 Posted by Quick Reply on 12 Apr 2003 - 03:01
- good ol' neobond, i love how he's always the one that posts the silly comments on his site keep em coming.. who said anything about professionalism? it clearly says "where [B]un[/B]professionalism looks better"
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(1 reply)
#3 Posted by myie2_user on 11 Apr 2003 - 20:43
- This good news for me (a newbie linux user: mandrake 9.1) but I would rather see IE6 with activex support so I can play my online games using mandrake, then I would have no more use for Windows
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#3.1 Posted by nacs on 11 Apr 2003 - 22:54
- Oh god no. IE may be ok for people who just can't switch off it (I personally love Mozilla with it's tabbed browsing, ad blocking, popup blocking, etc) but Activex?? Activex in theory was a good way to distribute plugins for websites but the amount of exploits that have occured because of it make me want to puke. And plus, Activex powered pages use win32 code which means that even if MS did implement Activex for a linux version of IE (I hope to hell not), it wouldn't work on sites that use it anyway.
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(1 reply)
#4 Posted by aleks on 11 Apr 2003 - 21:35
- Who will use it anyways??
Mplayer plays nearly all video and audio formats thats out there including sorenson 3, WMA/WMV 9!
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#5 Posted by TooPackShaker on 12 Apr 2003 - 01:51
- tis probably actually a virus for linux that will screw your system
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#6 Posted by warr on 12 Apr 2003 - 02:05
- if you can't beat them, join them.
this news just shows, microsoft can't beat hte force of open source. 
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(2 replies)
#7 Posted by Webgraph on 12 Apr 2003 - 15:09
- Never will use that crap! We have to keep the open source community free and the only way to do this is to never support Microsoft. It will destroy the integrity of open-source computing.
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#7.1 Posted by JaggedFlame on 13 Apr 2003 - 00:50
- No, the only way to do this is to compete. I hate these stupid-ass "Microsoft needs to die" comments. If they make good software, they deserve to be on top. If the Linux community doesn't fight back without constantly complaining about how Microsoft is evil and has no integrity, it deserves to be on the bottom. It's just a matter of competition, not arbitrarily choosing who wins and who loses.
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#8 Posted by madmike2112 on 14 Apr 2003 - 11:53
- The sky is falling The sky is falling! Sheesh! People need to relax lol.. Big deal! And last I checked, even if Microsoft came out with something you had to buy for slinux, no one forces you to buy it! lol
The day has finally come. Microsoft has acknowledged the existence of Linux by allowing one of its own applications to be ported over to the rival operating system. Earlier this week the software giant quietly announced that it had selected media player developer InterVideo to port its Windows Media technology to Linux for use in consumer electronics such as set-top boxes and personal video recorders. While this may not seem like a big deal, it does show that Microsoft has realised that it cannot afford to ignore Linux.
Steve Ro, chief executive at InterVideo, said that the open source software is popular for such devices because it offers a "stable low cost solution for multimedia functionality". Specific technologies involved in the deal are Windows Media Audio and Video codecs, Windows Media file container, Windows Media streaming protocols and, of course, Microsoft's Digital Rights Management. But users will not be able to download a copy of Windows Media Players for their Linux machines. The resultant technology will only be available to manufacturers for integration into their products.
However, Mike Davis, senior research analyst at Butler Group, suggested that it is not entirely unthinkable that Microsoft will offer a downloadable version for Windows. "The version of Windows Media Player you get from an initial installation is not the full product," he said. "If you register the player online, which involves answering some very personal questions and effectively allowing Microsoft a good look at your PC, then you get the full version. Otherwise you're left with a cut down version.
"If they applied this tactic to Linux users, imagine the information they could get their hands on."
The phrase, coined by former US navy pilot Harlan Ullman, was adopted by Washington to describe the fierce bombardment of Baghdad on the second night of the war - the military tactic designed to bully the Iraqi resistance into submission.
However, the crassness of the phrase was seized upon by critics of evidence of US arrogance in a war that the UN, and notably France and Russia, refused to support.
A spokesman for Sony PlayStation in the UK admitted the company might not stock the game in Britain and Europe owing to political sensitivities.
"Sometimes registering trademarks does not necessarily mean the product will be launched. But if it was deemed unsuitable then we might not ship it here," he said.
"If indeed it is related to the Iraqi war rather than just using that phrase then, yes, it might well be something we would be very sensitive to," the spokesman added.
However, the Sony game is only the tip of the iceberg as the US market is set to be flooded with goods ranging from T-shirts, toys, board games, train sets sunglasses, mugs and fireworks branded with slogans such as "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and "Battle of Baghdad".
But a British company is also planning a computer game, books, cards and magazines based on the war, called "Conflict Desert Storm II: Back to Baghdad".
SCi Games, part of computer games publisher SCi Entertainment, registered the title as a trademark in the US on February 25, having scored a hit with its original PlayStation and Xbox game, Conflict: Desert Storm.
Other goods planned for sale in the US include an "Axis of Evil" board game, "Iraqi Freedom" crockery and clothes as well as "Shock and Awe" trainers and dolls.
After September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, the US PTO was flooded with applications for trademarks for products bearing legends such as "the war on terrorism" and "remember the twin towers".
At the time applications were also been filed for products inscribed with the phrases "Osama, can you see the bombs bursting in the air?"; "Osama, Yo' Mama"; "9-11-01, lest we forget"; and "Operation Enduring Freedom".
The rush to make a quick buck from the attacks attracted widespread criticism from people concerned that companies were profiting from the tragedy.