Windows Media Player is NOT tracking usage
WinInfo | at | by Mike
After a reporter from the Associated Press discovered that Windows Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) is tracking the songs and movies that its customers play, the software giant announced late Wednesday that it would change its privacy statement in order to alert customers. But if this sounds like Microsoft is somehow tracking which music and movies its customers play, fear not: It's not that bad. Here's what's really happening.
MPXP, or Windows Media Player 8, as it is sometimes called, is a new component of Windows XP; you can't download it for other Windows versions, which are stuck at version 7.1. One of its many new features is online DVD information access, which allows the player to identify DVD movies as they are inserted and display the correct title and chapter information. This feature is similar to one that many media players now use for audio CDs, and it's a welcome addition.