Windows Media Player release skips a beat

Microsoft had hoped to release the final version of Windows Media Player 11 on Tuesday, but the company said the jukebox software was not quite sounding the right note.

Microsoft earlier this month said it would issue the final version for download on Tuesday. But Wednesday, a day after that deadline, the software maker said its release has been "delayed slightly."

"As with any release, quality is our top priority, and we felt we needed a few additional days to bring Windows Media Player 11 up to the high quality standards we--and our customers and partners--demand."

The software maker did not go into the specifics of which areas didn't meet the bar. It only noted that the final version would be released "soon," with no mention of a specific date. Several enthusiast sites, including Neowin, said that the company is now aiming for an Oct. 30 release.

Windows Media Player 11, which is also being built into Windows Vista, adds a number of new features, including built-in ties to Urge, a music subscription service co-developed with MTV.

Microsoft has been publicly testing the new media player since May.

[doug526]

Bloatware

I'll stick with Winamp... Windows Media Player is getting just about as bloated as iTunes. And the DRM is just obnoxious. Who wants to wait 10 seconds for a memory/CPU hogging program to load and start playing an MPEG and deal with all that licensing BS?

[rapier1]

agreed

Winamp is a hell of a lot better. I despise iTunes (one either OS X or
Windows) and Media Player is just a pain in the ass. I want
something to play a song for me - I don't need it to do anything
else.

[Ryo Hazuki]

Ignorant

Given your comment, the reason why you'll stick with Winamp is related with an absolute ignorance regarding other media players and how they work. Every single review of WMP11 BETA I've read praise it a lot (which is already unusual for a Microsoft product). You don't have to worry/care about DRM if you don't buy MP3's and I can see you don't (you use Winamp). I use WMP10 and I've never had to wait 10 seconds for it to start playing an MPEG and deal with all that so-called "licensing BS".

[fred dunn]

I hate Vista but I kind of like WMP 11...

But like you said it is kind of bloatware. But the MP3 Tag editor and lookup is great. I have been running WMP 11 since Beta 1 and have had a few problems with it like it kind of "freezing" while it's spitting back all my private information to M$ but other than that I like it.

[Ryo Hazuki]

You say you like WMP 11 but you don't seem to know how to work with it...

Could you explain what do you consider it "bloatware" (if you even know what that is) instead of just jumping into the bandweagon and bash Microsoft because it's cool? It's normal that you have a few problems with WMP 11 Beta because it's a BETA and if it is spitting back all your private information to Microsoft it's because you don't know how to work with it, because you can disable that in the options.