26th May 2000
How many of you have taken a look at Microsoft's new Media Player beta (v7.0)? Sure, it's nifty on the outside, but... that's not enough for hardcore geeks. I was put off by v6.0, but grew to love it. Now, I'm starting to wax nostalgic. Did you know it still exists, even after you've installed v7.0? And, for that matter, the classic Media Player is still on your computer as well! Click on the Start button, select Run, then enter: MPLAYER2 (for v6.0) or MPLAYER (for the classic version). You may like the features in one player over the other; your multimedia files will always remain the same, but you can view or listen to them in any given (capable) program. To piggyback this tip, WiMP can handle older RealAudio files, but not newer ones. I suggest upgrading your RealPlayer; customize your installation to only get the bare essentials. That means: no plug-ins.