Microsoft Unveils Windows Media Player for XP

In Microsoft's last major operating system release, Windows ME, it bundled a new easy to use video editing software called Windows Movie Maker. Not only did it have basic editing features, but users could also host and stream their videos online through partners. Despite the hoopla about Windows Movie Maker, consumers didn't take to it immediately. Microsoft said that usage of Movie Maker is low, overall, because most consumers didn't even knew it existed. Microsoft said that it has improved Movie Maker for Windows XP, with performance enhancements including an option to save movies for use when creating DVDs.

Not All Good News

Even though Thursday was a banner day for Microsoft, not everything is going well. Last week, a hacker calling himself "Beale Screamer" released software that was said to have cracked Microsoft's DRM 7 system. The DOS utility does not crack WMA files protected with Microsoft's original DRM 1 system, however. Most of the protected WMA files available on the Internet now use the original DRM system, so the number of potentially affected files could be low.

According to Microsoft, it has been on the phone talking to content partners trying to assure them that its system is still inherently safe for content. Ever since its DRM systems were released, Microsoft has insisted that no DRM system is 100% secure. Also, the software needs a valid DRM license to work, since it essentially erases the protection from a file. Microsoft said it had already released a fix for the hack via an auto software update.

In other bad news for Microsoft, InterTrust announced it was expanding its lawsuit against the company, which was filed earlier this year in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. According to a statement from InterTrust, Microsoft's .NET implementation infringes on InterTrust's patents. The suit now claims that Microsoft infringes on 7 InterTrust patents and about 50 separate patent claims, including some digital rights management technology.

InterTrust is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction prohibiting further infringement, which may limit the distribution of its .NET implementation, the Windows XP and Windows ME operating systems, Office XP, Visio2002, Windows Media Player, Microsoft Reader, Digital Asset Server products and other products.

There are other companies gunning for Microsoft. A month earlier, RealNetworks unveiled its newest media player, RealONE, which comes with a streaming player, jukebox, and browser. Still, RealONE doesn't support DVD playback and lacks other features that are designed around the XP operating system. For its part, RealNetworks isn't worried about the new Windows Media Player, saying that Microsoft has bundled a media player into its operating systems since the early 90s with Windows 3.1.

Even worse, Microsoft is still embroiled in court battles in the U.S. and Europe regarding its bundling of software with its operating systems.

Even More Announcements

The launch of Windows XP may have overshadowed other news from the company this week. At Streaming Media Europe 2001, Streambuster Technologies, a European services company, showed off time-shifting software that lets users record television programs and view them later.

"The availability of broadband access is growing throughout Europe, and Streambuster's new Version II solution is designed to help provide new levels of entertainment and convenience in the home using broadband technologies,'' said John Jensen, managing director of Streambuster.

Streambuster's new Version II on-demand solution can be accessed via a normal television connected to an intelligent set-top box or via a PC connected to the Internet. Through a dynamic interface, users select the movies they want to watch, pay for the digital content online, and stream or download their selection. Movies are encoded as 500Kbps Windows Media files, and include digital rights management (DRM) technology. Streambuster has already begun to deploy Version II with telecoms like Cirque, Bredbandsbolaget Denmark, Telia and Semco, which reach up to 200,000 broadband users across Denmark.

In other announcements, BTopenworld said that it chose Windows Media to create a secure music subscription service. BTopenworld Music (music.btopenworld.com) is currently running a trial in the United Kingdom, along with the help of record labels like BMG, Warner Music, and others.

Microsoft is taking the media experience outside the PC, too. Trans World Entertainment announced that it was using Windows Media technology for its listening and viewing stations in its 700 music and video retail outlets in the United States. It will also become the premier online music and video retailer on MSN Shopping.

Despite all the hype today, Microsoft has another big launch coming in a few weeks. Its Xbox consumer gaming system is set to launch in November 15 with its own big budget marketing campaign well underway, just in time for the holiday shopping season.