First Look: 11 Things I Love (and Hate) About URGE | Windows Media Player 11

6. I Hate the Insider Blogs
I think the concept of Insider Blogs is a great way to provide new music to a niche audience, but they shouldn’t be called blogs. There are no comments, no true RSS feeds (just a proprietary URGE feed that updates your player when new music is available), and none of the customization that makes blogs feel personal and relevant. If anyone who blogs could have an URGE feed that showcased their latest music list, that would be a true Insider Blog. Great idea, but needs some more tweaking.

Below: "Informers," URGE’s attempt at Insider Blogs.

5. I Love Music Videos
Seeing the latest Gnarls Barkley video on MTV makes me want to buy the song and see the video. Microsoft gets it. When you search through the songs on URGE, WMP11 places a small video icon beside the song if there is a video available. Watch a 15-second commercial, and then you can watch the latest video with a small banner ad on the side. Cool feature not available on other music stores.

4. I Hate "Like Humans Do" by David Byrne
This is one of those songs I cannot get out of my head even with a crowbar. OK, I know this is XP-related and not directly promoting URGE | Windows Media Player 11, but I want Microsoft to know that they should either ship a better variety of songs with Vista or no music at all. I hope this doesn’t affect how I feel about the Talking Heads.

3. I Love MTV, VH1, CMT Tie-Ins
When you watch I Love the 80s and The Best Week Ever you always find yourself humming a song and wondering where you can find a copy of "The Safety Dance." URGE | Windows Media Player 11 delivers with great playlists and song selections from all your favorite shows. They have even compiled a non-sanctioned list of songs for the hit ABC TV show Lost. Great TV tie-in, and another way to build buzz around URGE.

2. I Hate Not Knowing What to Call This Player
Officially titled the URGE | Windows Media Player, this piece of software is experiencing something of an identity crisis and I, for one, am confused. Is Windows Media Player 11 available without the URGE network? It says that it also works with other online stores. Why didn’t they take this opportunity to re-brand the player with a new name? It’s really easy just to add a version number to the end of the moniker, but with the fresh look and vibe I would have liked to see a little more of the design creativity reflected in the naming.

1. I Love and Hate URGE | Windows Media Player 11
While URGE | Windows Media Player 11 may not go to 11 in the Spinal Tap sense (incidentally, I downloaded both Spinal Tap albums off URGE) it at least shakes the cobwebs out of an old player format and tests new areas in music distribution. I love the wet black Lexus look on the design and the content tie-ins from MTV and friends, but I hate that I can’t keep my music and that I still have to wade through some of the old-school Windows style navigation.

Love it or hate it, the URGE | Windows Media Player 11 is coming soon to a computer near you and chances are--given Microsoft’s 90% market share--that computer will be yours.