Windows Media 9 comes alive in LA
siliconvalley | at | by Mike
After months of teasing and dropping hints around its digital media strategy, Microsoft will finally showcase a beta of Windows Media 9 Series, a media player that looks to turn PCs into TVs. When Bill Gates officially lifts the wraps off the software formerly known as "Corona" Wednesday in Los Angeles, it will signal the next stage in the battle between Microsoft and RealNetworks to a share of the eyes and wallets of PC users worldwide.
Gates is expected to take the stage Wednesday morning to tell the gathering that Windows Media 9 Series had won support from consumer electronics firms and technology partners looking to jump on the Microsoft bandwagon. With a revamped WM9 player promising to virtually purge buffering delays when streams are launched, Microsoft is throwing down the gauntlet to RealNetworks that this is a genuine two-horse race in the space.