Microsoft Media Player draws praise
Yahoo | at | by Mike
Microsoft's Windows updates have often been a mixed bag, fixing one problem and causing others, but there's one available that deserves a look. Windows Media Player 9 Series is available for Windows XP (news - web sites). Me, 2000 and 98 SE. and it's a free download that accomplishes three goals not always met:
- It works as advertised.
- It doesn't mess up anything else.
- It's kind of nifty.
The look is less boxy and certainly slicker. And it will go full-screen for both video and music. If you're into playing music from your PC, the player works with just about every available medium, and, for audio, has a sophisticated queue manipulation for multiple playbacks. Cross-fading and auto volume level let the end of one tune blend into the beginning of another and adjust the volume between tracks so the output volume is constant.