From the MacMaineiac mailbag: I’ve received many inquiries as to getting media players, especially as more and more people are watching world events from their web browsers.

There are three media player formats out there: Apple’s QuickTime, Windows Media Player, and RealOne Player. They’re all free in their Basic versions.

QuickTime Pro is a $29.99 downloadable upgrade (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/). There are several advantages to springing for the upgrade - export/import from the new powerful MPEG-4 video and audio formats, full-screen playback, simple slideshow creation, and the ability to edit audio and video (not as much capability as iMovie, but great for quick and dirty cutting and pasting), to name a few.

Windows Media Player is a free download from Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download/misc/winmp_osx.asp)

RealOne Player is also free, but it’s very hard to find. If you go to http://www.real.com from an OSX browser, you’re immediately taken to a page touting RealOne SuperPass, a subscriber service. If you look in the upper right corner of the page, you’ll find a link to the FREE RealOne player. You have to jump through some hoops to get it, but you can.
In order to see all three formats, you need all three players. No way around it.

From the rumor mill: Many news sources are reporting an upcoming Apple music download service, supported by the major record companies. The labels are looking for a way to stem the tide of music “sharing” through file transfer programs like Kazaa and the now defunct Napster. According to reports, the Apple service will allow purchasing individual songs or whole albums, with but a click of the mouse if you’re registered, at somewhere around $1 per song.

This is not a new idea – there are several similar services available right now, but only for the “Dark Side”. The music from the Apple site would be encoded using the new MPEG-4 AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) codec, and it’s unclear at this point how (or whether) the music files will be protected with Digital Rights Management technology.

Apple has not commented on the reports (as usual).

Finally, check out: http://www.sportsshooter.com/guygruber/war/index.html. Note the PowerBook on the front lines. Kinda gives new meaning to the term “road warrior”, doesn’t it?

Keep those emails coming to petez@macmaineiac.com, and, as always, Semper Mac! Take care.

© 2003 Peter F. Zimowski