Windows Media Player 7 has come out of beta

[Frank Marshall]

The new version 7 is available for Win98/2000 users only at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/download/default.asp

It's a 10MB download which I've just done but I haven't used it yet.

[IM_Riktar]

Please let us know how the install and product works. I for one have been burned too many times by anything from Microsoft that ends in 0

Once I see a 7.1, or 7.0a I will be sure to try it out.

Please don't let this scare you into not trying out what I'm sure is another fine Micro$oft product

[Dr Mordrid]

Ditto here. I installed the beta and it screwed my system up royally. I'll wait for you lab rats to try it first

Dr. Mordrid

[paulw]

Comments from a user in another news group

"First, 7's installed size is about 9MB larger than 6's on the same
machine.

Second, 7 uses more CPU time to decode a MP3 file than 6 does on the
same machine. It seems to vary, but I get around 7% CPU for 6 on one
machine and about 17% CPU for 7 on the same machine.

Third, what is it doing with the Internet?! Set up a machine with both
DialUp networking, and a LAN connection to the Internet. Disconnect the
DialUp connection and disconnect your firewall. Doing *ANYTHING* in 7
takes about 15-20 seconds before it realizes it's not connected to the
Internet. I mean anything - scrolling a list, refreshing the window.
Anything. That is completely unacceptable. More worrysome is - what
information is it sending/receiving from the Internet when I decide to
play a file on my computer!?

Fourth, I can use a third-party program and copy MP3 files from a CD to
my HD. No problem, no hassle. With WMP 7 I have to keep track of the
licensing files and let "Big Brother" know exactly what I'm doing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning music piracy, but this MS
solution is terrible.

So, like the man said, I'm sticking with WMP 6. It's small,
unobtrusive, low memory, HD and CPU % footprint and it's all I need to
play WAV and MP3 files. WMP 7 is a sad example of bloatware. Has anyone
really stopped to think - do I need 11MB of software just to play a WAV
file off my hard drive?!"

[Pertti]

paulw,

Never mind those comments, he obviously doesn't have a clue...
In this day and age, who still has HD:s in their Internet Terminals

Brother Bill knows the best

[dchip]

I downloaded wmp7_beta last night but have not installed it. I too will wait for more folks to report back their experiences with it. I did read a post on the Ulead MSP WWUG from a fellow who said playback of DV coded files on his computer was "crappy" until he opened them in this new media player, wherein they looked great. We'll see.

[Dr Mordrid]

I think this is yet another example of Microcrap shooing mosquitos with a 20mm cannon.

Dr. Mordrid

[Frankie G]

Hang around on alt.binaries.multimedia.utilities and someone
will no doubt upload a cracked version without licensing or
internet connection. (Then hang around a week or so
and watch for virus reports before you try to run it!)

On that Internet connection... I have Blackice Defender,
which watches out for incoming connection attempts, but is
there anything that will warn me (and block) attempts by
renegade software from contacting the home office or
wherever it feels like?

[SteveC]

Microsoft respects your privacy and designed Windows Media Player to give you control over the transfer of your personal data. The following features of Windows Media Player transmit data with servers on the Internet in order to provide you with full functionality. You may choose to disable any or all of these options after installation. For more information, click the "More Info" button.
Unique Identifier:

The Windows Media Player uses a unique identifier to represent a unique connection to the server. This identifier is necessary to enable services such as pay-per-view. The unique identifier can be turned off in the Options dialog from the Tools menu.

Music License ID:

The Windows Media Player facilitates your purchase music and other media. When you purchase media, you will receive a license with a non-traceable ID. You can disable this feature in the Options dialog from the tools menu under "Attempt to automatically acquire licenses."

Media Library:

The Media Library lists and manages your collection of audio, video, and links to audio and video. This information can be accessed by other applications on your computer and Internet sites. You can control access in the Options dialog box.

CD ID:

When playing an audio CD, Windows Media Player attempts to locate information associated with that CD such as artist name and title of the CD by sending the CD ID to the Internet. You can prevent Windows Media Player from sending the CD ID and locating the information by choosing Work Offline from the File menu.

Cookies:

Windows Media Player uses the Internet as a networking and information source. When accessing the Internet, cookies may be downloaded to your computer. Cookies can be turned off in the Options dialog of Internet Explorer.

Security Upgrade (Individualization):

Some companies are providing licensed audio and video files that may require you to upgrade the security component in the Windows Rights Manager system. To decline the security upgrade, choose Cancel when presented with the Individualization dialog.

Restore Service

Windows Media Player allows you to back up your music Licenses should you need to restore them at a later time. When you restore these licenses, a unique identifier is stored on a server for security purposes. This information is not shared outside of Microsoft. To prevent the creation of this ID, do not click Restore Now on the License Management dialog under the Tools menu.

For more information on these features and Microsoft's privacy policies, please click the "More Info..." button.

How's about that then?

------------------
Cheers,
Steve

"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"

[cjyo~]

Frank:

This does the trick for me:

http://www.zonelabs.com/

and it's still free...

Personally, I stay away from most MS upgrades. I only upgraded to 98, when I got new hardware that 95 was choking on. When I upgraded from IE5.0 to 5.01, it ROYALLY F**)^% UP my system. I ended up rebuilding from scratch, and re-installing IE5.0. At which time, I couldn't reinstall Outlook 98 for some reason, so I had to put Outlook 2K on. Very annoying. Beware Microsoft...

I did just break down and install the WIn98 update "shutdown crash with shared drives" patch, since my system was freezing 9 times out of 10 on shutdown.

------------------
Please visit http://spincycle.n3.net - My System: Celeron 300a(@450/2v),Abit BH6, 128mb RAM, Win98SE, Marvel G200TV, Diamond MX300, Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 20g system drive, DiamondMax Plus 40 capture drive, IBM 8g Deskstar program drive, Adaptec 2940UW SCSI, 9gb Barracuda UWSCSI video drive, Hitachi GD-2500 DVD-Rom, UltraPlex CD-Rom, Plexwriter CD-recorder, Viewsonic PT775, Soundworks 4.1 speakers

[Pooh]

Does anyone know how Zonealarm compares to Norton Internet Security V2. Is it better or worse ?

Pooh

[MB_Darren]

I've been using ZoneAlarm since getting my cable connection, it was recommended by a little hacker friend of mine in the US.. He'd also been using BlackIce.

I find it very good. Reasonable control over connections/software. A bit of a pain when trying to use VPN connections... oh, something else to remember, a software firewall is never 100% safe.

[Dr Mordrid]

That's why when I updated to a cable modem the first investments made was a Linksys Cable/DSL router/switch. One of its extra features is a hardware firewall.

Worked great from the first minute out of the box...

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 21 July 2000).]

[xortam]

Dr Mordrid, Will the Linksys box allow you to open up ports? Would like to be able to use it for on-line gaming like Q3A.

As far as WMP7, I suppose everyone has heard about all the problems its created with Adaptec software.

[Dr Mordrid]

The Linksys box can either redirect a port or use what it calls the "DMZ" mode, where one system can be removed from behind the firewall. It also supports IPSec Passthrough (tunneling) with the latest firmware upgrade.

Yup. That's right. The firmware can be upgraded and features added. This has happened several times in just the few months I've had mine.

Once installed you set it up by way of its own internal "web site". Here you can play with all kinds of settings.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 24 July 2000).]