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Toonbots message board: Microsoft vs. anybody else

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Michael Mon Aug 27 10:45:11 2001
Microsoft vs. anybody else

So I finally got around to downloading the new version of WinAmp for my new box (which I bought in April, remember?) Up to now it's been M$ Media Player. One of the great disappointments for MSMP was that it couldn't put all my MP3's on one playlist because of the usual careful Microsoft quality testing (the maximum size of a playlist in verbose XML format was exceeded by my MP3 collection, which is close to 500 tracks).

So WinAmp, of course, has no such limitation, plus if I don't want it to check in with the Mother Ship, it won't. Thus no annoying messages telling me that my software has a new version, do I want to upgrade? (NO, dammit, it works already, and the new version will just have *more* bugs and probably more license-enforcement "standards" built in.)

Now I have all 493 tracks of my MP3 collection on one playlist. It makes for really, really, *really* disturbing transitions, because my collection is really, really, *really* eclectic. But I kinda like it. It does keep me surprised.

gopherdave Mon Aug 27 15:52:15 2001
Re: Microsoft vs. anybody else
> Now I have all 493 tracks of my MP3 collection on one playlist. It makes
> for really, really, *really* disturbing transitions, because my collection
> is really, really, *really* eclectic. But I kinda like it. It does keep me
> surprised.
I don't keep all my mp3s on one playlist. Merzbow to Raffi would probably make my head explode. Actually, Merzbow at all would probably make my head explode. I think the Japanese do those noise albums to sell more speakers, or something. I use it as a weapon.
MSMP gives up before 500? That's terrible.. Do they assume that no one using windows is going to have a music collection? Or perhaps it all magically works if you convert it to .wma?

Michael Mon Aug 27 16:21:54 2001
Re: Microsoft vs. anybody else
> I don't keep all my mp3s on one playlist.
Neither did I, until now. I'm not completely decided as to whether I really like it, but I am hearing tracks that I otherwise haven't heard in a while. (But Croatian pop to bluegrass to Monty Python *did* make my head explode today...)
> MSMP gives up before 500? That's terrible.. Do they assume that no one
> using windows is going to have a music collection?
It gives up somewhere around 250. I don't think the number of tracks is the limit, but rather the size of the XML data structure or something. And of course, it doesn't fail gracefully.
They don't assume anything, gopher. Whether their software works after you buy it is just completely and utterly beside the whole Microsoft point. All they care about is making the clueless think there's no need for their competitors. Haven't you been following the court news lately?

gopher Mon Aug 27 16:57:44 2001
Re: Microsoft vs. anybody else
> They don't assume anything, gopher. Whether their software works after you
> buy it is just completely and utterly beside the whole Microsoft point.
> All they care about is making the clueless think there's no need for their
> competitors. Haven't you been following the court news lately?
Silly me. I must have had one of those moments of optimism. Don't worry; it's gone now.

gopher Mon Aug 27 17:26:24 2001
Re: Microsoft vs. anybody else
> (But Croatian pop to bluegrass to Monty Python *did* make my head
> explode today...)
Glad to see that it didn't affect anything.