Sneak Peek Preview: Yahoo! Player

In case you were looking for a tenth or eleventh media player to add to your arsenal, Yahoo has responded just in time with Yahoo Player, version 1. Before you cancel your lunch plans to download this new application and surf Koogle-style, let me give you the low-down.

This isn't the type of player interface you early-adopters will embrace with open arms. Like so many complacent AOL users bound to a web of keywords, the player is clearly aimed at the late-bloomer consumer who seeks a spoon-feeding of content.

Users can currently choose from one of six pre-set radio stations, surf and select from Yahoo! Broadcast content via the browser portion, or create playlists of supported audio and video formats--leaving RealPlayer files fending for themselves. Yahoo! has licensing to play Windows Media files with no clear indication of forthcoming RealNetworks file support. And like any player of limited merit, skins with goofy names like "Sonic Gear" and "Candy Blue" are available for download (in case you're looking to give this mediocre player a face-lift).

When installation is said and done, you're left with a Yahoo Broadcast and Windows Media perspective of entertainment available on the web. Internet veterans will know better, newbies may not.

I will admit the player does offer a unique look at the recent push to combine playlist, browser, and radio, a la Real's recently released Real Entertainment Center. In this respect, Yahoo is helping to blur the line between player and browser, regardless of what they call the application.

Unfortunately, my Orwellian alter ego sees glimpses of a web surfing future predetermined by ISP or portal-specific "players." It's never too early for conspiracy theories.

Yahoo! Player supported file types:

• MP3 - including Icecast streaming and VBR format, M3U, PLS, YPL
• Audio - .wav, .mid, .midi, .rmi, .au, .snd
• Windows Media audio/video - .asf, .asx, .wm , .wma, .waxVideo - .avi
• AIFF - .aif, .aifc, .aiff
• Indeo - .ivf
• MPEG - .mpeg, .mpg, .mpe, .m1v, .mp2, .mpv2, .mp2v, .mpa

System requirements: Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or above (although Netscape can still be your default browser)

Download here: Yahoo! Player