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Microsoft Businesses OS X Operating Systems Software Apple

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X Available 70

Posted by pudge from the whoopee dept.
corsa writes "I found Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X on Microsoft's site today. I downloaded it and have it running under Panther. It seems to play WMV9 files, at least the few I've tried so far."
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Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X Available More

Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X Available

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  • Ultimate in Downgrades (Score:5, Insightful)

    by michaelnz ( 701047 ) on Monday November 10, 2003 @03:16AM (#7432644) Homepage
    I've already downloaded and installed this and it is without a doubt one of the worse releases of a piece of software I've seen. In the past my copy of Media Player would at least run some of the videos that QuickTime wouldn't, now nothing. I've tried running every WMV file I could get my hands on and none of them play. It seems that Microsoft has chosen to go with less functionality, not more.

    It's an interesting move for Microsoft, especially after the release of iTunes for Windows. Apple is doing it's best to convert Microsoft users by offering them incredible software. Microsoft is offering Mac users shitty knockoffs of Windows software.

    I'm guessing this is a gambit to make Mac users realize they can't have the cross-platform operability that OSX seemed to bring about, that if they want to use Windows files they should run Windows. Ultimately I think the frustration that people will feel towards the new Media Player will cause even more resentment towards Microsoft. Apple's attitude that you lure more flies with Aqua than you do with water is definately the winning strategy.

    If you don't already know (and chances are if you're reading Slashdot you do), you should be using VLC [videolan.org]. It does everything this crappy Windows port does and more.
    • Actually, I read Slashot to get these sorts of tips.

      Does the old version (6.3?) still work after you install this?

      • Nope, the old version doesn't work once you've installed the new one! Don't bother upgrading is my suggestion. I've scoured the Microsoft site looking for an old install and can't find one. Of course WMP9 incorporates itself so much into the system I'd be worried if I installed the old version if it'd ruin things.

        Well, maybe I'll give it a try, anyone got a link to the old version? I have a feeling though hate I'll hate myself in the morning.
        • For me, this version (9) plays audio on some movies that were previously silent, so I like it [slashdot.org].

          The parent in this thread was asking about 6.3, available only for Classic. The installer left my Classic version of Windows Media Player 7 alone, so I can't imagine it effecting 6.3. Yes, after the install WiMP 7 for OS X disappeared, but that was the point wasn't it? I never followed the debate about 6.3 having advantages over 7.1, so I can't comment there.

          As has been pointed out by others, the Mactopia [microsoft.com] site

    • Apple is doing it's best to convert Microsoft users by offering them incredible software. Microsoft is offering Mac users shitty knockoffs of Windows software.

      Oh come on, even as a happy OS X user I have to say that this bit is slanted. iTunes for Windows doesn't follow any of the guidelines for Windows software - it is, to use (some of) your phraseology, a knockoff of Mac software. Not integrated into the Windows look and feel at all.

      So Microsoft made similar decisions for their media player under OS

      • Re:Ultimate in Downgrades (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Domini ( 103836 ) on Monday November 10, 2003 @05:17AM (#7432905) Journal
        Actually I tend to agree with the previous poster.

        I've installed it and I cannot even seem to play an AVI. Ok, let's see... integration with look and feel: iTunes for windows has ALL the functionality that the Mac version has. It is not a crippled product.

        WiMP for Mac on the other hand does not play the same files as WiMP for Windows. It does not have the visulisations, library support, options, enhancements (audio/video... not UI), it's UI is sucky... all the things that make WiMP for Windows a killer app is not present in the Mac version!

        Argh!

        I love WiMP for Windows (Check out the Media Player Classic project on Sourceforge!) I love iTunes (even for Windows). But as excited as I were about WiMP9 for Mac.... it sucks.... a real disapointment!

        I do not think I'm biased... I love MS for Games/Video, Mac for Mail/Web/Music/Work and Linux for Programming.
        • we're getting into a really bad situation here.

          Windows users have software that Mac users have, like iTunes, and it works perfectly.

          Yet Mac users do not have the software that Windows users have. IT's as if Windows is a better platform?

          LEt's not get into Logic Audio and Final Cut Pro and Shake arguments. I use them daily on one of my Macs, and I don't run Windows anymore, ever since OS X came out.. but if this trend continues, it makes me worried.
          • Windows does not have a free development environment. Windows does not have ease of use. I really don't care if Windows have more software than Mac if I do not need that software.

            I basically use something if I have a need for it. I never owned a Mac until recently... and I was quite impressed. As a person who has used AmigaOS/Linux/BSD/Windows/OS2 and many other OSes, I have no real loyalty... each one of the have their plusses and negatives. It just seems that OSX has more plusses these days... ;)
            • agreed. I only have one loyalty, and that's to myself and my family. If a platform lets me do what I wish to do, then that platform is it for me.

              Currently OS X lets me write music and edit short films, while at the same time allowing me to work on unix code.

        • iTunes for windows has ALL the functionality that the Mac version has. It is not a crippled product.

          Almost true, but it's got the exactly the same problems as Quicktime for Windows, mainly that it doesn't behave like a normal win32 app.

          Firstly, it's got a shiny metal skinned interface which goes again the Windows interface guidelines. Pretty it may be, but it doesn't look like a normal app.

          More importantly, click on the maximise button and it.... doesn't maximise. Double-click on the title bar and

          • I do not really expect any products to hold to the interface design guidelines of the destination OS. It would be cool, but it's not ideal. The biggest thing that bugs me about iTunes for windows is that it does not minimize when I double click on the titlebar... (used to iTunes on OSX)

            Other than that it's just the tray icon which could have been done better. They did not remove anything though.

            PS: CDex rocks... been using it for ages. I just find that iTunes does exactly the same as CDex with a lot of co

            • It's basically a killer-app version of MP 6.4 with plug-in support to play realmedia (with subtitles!) and quicktime... It's awesome... check it out!

              Thanks for that, will go take a look :)

              Only one problem with CDex: it doesn't do AAC encoding very well, requiring external encoders, and they're not that good apparently - the PsyTel one is the better of the two but not as good as the encoder that comes with Nero (which is by the guy that coded PsyTel), or the Quicktime/iTunes one (according to the posts

      • iTunes for Windows doesn't follow any of the guidelines for Windows software - it is, to use (some of) your phraseology, a knockoff of Mac software.


        Don't forget Quicktime for Windows. Recent editions are better, but only some versions will play some movies, and so forth.

        Also, I wonder if the poster saying that Microsoft is offering sucky programs for Mac users knows about Office X. I haven't heard bad things about that, yet.
      • I think you misunderstood the point of the parent poster. He wasn't complaining that the new version didn't integrate with the Mac look-and-feel. In fact, that's Microsoft's selling point -- that it features that nifty brushed-steel appearance.

        View the software on its merits. It might still fail, but at least you'll have tried the correct approach.

        I'm not sure what you mean by trying the "correct approach" here but if I'm judging a piece of software, I generally judge it by what it can do. Unless the p
        • I'm not sure what you mean by trying the "correct approach" here but if I'm judging a piece of software, I generally judge it by what it can do.

          Which was my point, yes. The parent poster dismisses WMP's ignoring of Mac interface standards with the comment that it is "just a Windows knock-off" whilst simultaneously calling iTunes ignoring of Windows standards "great software". That's double standards, to me.

          Now a number of people replying to my post have talked about functionality - that's not the point

          • Right, but I still think you misread the parent poster. I don't think he mentioned the appearance of the program, once. I don't think it was the Mac interface standards that he was having a problem with. It was the bad functionality that made it a bad "Windows knock-off". In this case, it is a "knock-off" because there was a primary Windows version first, and a secondhand Mac version next, which didn't work as well. Interface had nothing to do with it.

    • Re:Ultimate in Downgrades (Score:4, Funny)

      by Artifex ( 18308 ) on Monday November 10, 2003 @05:14AM (#7432900) Journal
      I've already downloaded and installed this and it is without a doubt one of the worse releases of a piece of software I've seen.


      Wow! So it's like Quicktime for Windows?

    • Conspiracy? (Score:4, Informative)

      by ZxCv ( 6138 ) * on Monday November 10, 2003 @05:46AM (#7432960) Homepage
      Maybe Microsoft is just out to get you. I installed this new version on Saturday, and while its interface could use some work, I found the media support to be a million times better than the last version of WMP for OS X. It not only played the files that the last version wouldn't, but several files that had audio or video glitches when played with the last version now played flawlessly. Perhaps your installation got screwed up? Try reinstalling it, and more importantly, deleting its existing files from ~/Library/Preferences before you reinstall (this second part actually fixed an issue on my friend's machine).

      And, while VLC is great, I have still come across a number of files (Windows Media in particular) that it won't play correctly or won't play at all. My best solution has come down to keeping updated versions of QuickTime, RealOne, Windows Media Player, VLC, and Mplayer around. In my experience, this has been the only way to make sure I can play every media file I come across.
      • My best solution has come down to keeping updated versions of QuickTime, RealOne, Windows Media Player, VLC, and Mplayer around. In my experience, this has been the only way to make sure I can play every media file I come across.


        I keep a Windows build of mplayer, patched for Tivo files, around for that reason, also. Amazing how many video compression schemes have been abandoned in the last few years.
  • It seems to me that microsoft might only be releasing this as just another piece of software for the MacOS, unless of course, they will be using it as part of a music store like the itunes version, just crappy and with a bad file type. We all know how that would go over within the mac community. It also does not seem like they would be releasing this to steal the thunder from another product's new release, so here is the question...WHY BOTHER? Quicktime already exists, and there are many other better fil

  • Eventuality (Score:3, Insightful)

    by HebrewToYou ( 644998 ) on Monday November 10, 2003 @03:29AM (#7432681)
    The true goal of MS is to only write for only one platform. They will soon cut off the Mac BU's ability to update Office v.X and force users to purchase the *new* Mac Office suite: Virtual PC and Office for Windows. Windows Media Player 9 ain't that bad, but the fact that MS refuses to update the UI just reinforces what I wrote above. WiMP is just a horribly media application for the Mac....and for good reason.
    • They will soon cut off the Mac BU's ability to update Office v.X and force users to purchase the *new* Mac Office suite: Virtual PC and Office for Windows

      I think you meant to say "Microsoft Word 6.0"

  • Application folder change (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CoolMoDee ( 683437 ) on Monday November 10, 2003 @03:45AM (#7432721) Homepage Journal
    I installed it yesterday and the installer changed the icon on my Applications folder from the default to the stuffit exapnder icon. This release is truely rushed. The wmv file i threw at it, it couldn't even play it. MPlayerOSX had no problems playing that same file.

  • if it doesnt work for porn... (Score:4, Funny)

    by redwood2 ( 179115 ) on Monday November 10, 2003 @03:58AM (#7432742) Journal
    I downloaded this this afternoon and every chunk of porn I threw at yielded the same results:
    mozilla launching to a page about media rights or something...
    hmmmm...

    It has since been deleted.

    Cig? Don't mind if I do...

  • Die, die, die (Score:5, Informative)

    by Squozen ( 301710 ) on Monday November 10, 2003 @04:17AM (#7432797) Homepage
    WMP for OS X sucks, pure and simple. On a 1.25Ghz CPU with 1Gb of RAM running a fresh install of Panther, WMP 9 started struggling on a local file after 20-30 seconds, stuttering and skipping frames. Use VLC and hope that they integrate all the annoying Microsoft proprietary codecs soon.

    Interestingly, RealPlayer isn't bad at all on the Mac. I held off on installing it for quite a while after seeing all the baggage that came with a Windows install, but it's pretty clean and seems to stream video well.

    • Re:Die, die, die (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Have you tried copying a 17 meg file while it is playing?
    • I agree, RealPlayer has done a great job with their Mac player. It's small, doesn't hog system resources and an easy install. Everything that WMP should have been.

      Isn't it odd when RealPlayer comes off as more professional than Microsoft... Well, maybe not that weird.
      • "Isn't it odd when RealPlayer comes off as more professional than Microsoft... Well, maybe not that weird."
        "
        Its because Real _has to_ sell Realone subscription, or Realplayer to live...

        Wmedia's plot is to takeover entire streaming scene...

        Also, Real is really professional, if they weren't, they couldn't race with OS bundled wmedia AND wmedia server.
    • will vlc play wmv files? This is the only thing I seem to be missing.
  • Welcome brothers to the DRM "revolution"!
  • I don't hate this program as much as some of you, but it's a big disappointment. No wonder there's no mention at all of its release on the Microsoft Mac site [microsoft.com]. Strangely, some of my files which version 6.3 final (for Classic OS) can play just fine, are a no-go with this new version. According to the discussion [macrumors.com] on MacRumors.com, OS X lacks support for a particular audio codec used in a lot of WM files, which is causing some of the incompatibilities.

    However I'm not complaining too much, because some WMV f

    • I was mad because the last WiMP file I wanted to play [servstream.com] didn't have audio on the Mac. I couldn't be bothered with the uninstall instructions [microsoft.com] as my "Open Recent" list (in WiMP/File) was a collection of problematic links, and I was too lazy to write them down! I only used WiMP as a last resort, but if QT couldn't open a file, usually 7.1.3 wouldn't either, or the movie would play but without sound. Still, I kept it around.

      I just ran the Installer over 7.1.3 (the latest previously available for OS X). No r

  • Seeing as how WMV9 was only available on Windows and Microsoft is pushing it as a format for many media industries... doesn't this seem like a minimum effort to fend off claims that they are once again using Windows to establish a monopoly, this time on DRM media consumption?

    IF they use their market penetration to convince vendors, ie: force vendors, to use WMV9 as their preferred format for streaming and DRMed media then they could be accused of monopolizing that industry through anti-competitive means.
  • i still can't play my drm porn files. wtf?!?! the faq basically says "tough luck." blah. that's ok, i've plenty of drm free porn! speaking of which... it's time to box the clown.
  • Although according to some the developers and install (www.linuxworld.com/story/32880.htm) are not the best things in the world Mplayer has done a lot of good work with the codecs (for instance VLC doesn't play a lot of my WM movies). Thankfully for Mac folks devros javol klokan-pp and team have trimmed the install to that magical DMG mount, drap, drop. Check it out at VersionTracker (_much_ easier than sourceforge website) www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/16623 P.S. Sorry about not using but
  • I give it a B+

    I did not have a previous version of Windows Media Player installed on my Mac so I did not experience any of the upgrade annoyances that seem to be plaguing some of the posters. The reason for this is because the previous version's installer kept crashing and I never managed to get it to work. The current installer seems to actually install. Microsoft has already exceeded my expectations, which were not very high to begin with.

    The Good: So far, it's played every single .wmp file that I've

  • If you've installed OS X on a UFS filesystem, the Media Player installer hangs.

    The release notes do say Media Player doesn't work on UFS, but I was hoping to install it on the HFS+ partition I keep around for such things. There's no way to tell Media Player to install anywhere other than the Applications folder, and apparently no way to move the Applications folder to another drive, so I guess I'm stuck.

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