Windows Media on Linux
This week we announced the immediate availability of the latest Windows Media audio and video technology for Linspire. It's an important first for Linux, since it means desktop Linux users can now watch the latest video news at Fox News and CNET, movie trailers on Yahoo!, and sample songs from sites like BMG Music with native, licensed and supported technology. The support spans Windows Media 8 and Windows Media 9, for both audio and video. It even allows for in-line web browser playback, which is how many sites now operate (where the video is played within a portion of a web page rather than a separate program). Linspire users can use CNR (click and run) to one-click update their computers to receive this functionality.
As excited as we are to be able to debut native Linux support for Windows Media 8 and 9, there is a darker side to the story. A story that began for me five years ago, back at MP3.com. In those days Real Audio was the king. MP3 was unknown and the dark horse. Microsoft was launching Windows Media and was a heavy favorite to dethrone Real and take over the digital music business. Over the years, Microsoft has persistently tried to convince entertainment and technology companies to use Windows Media. Most have been extremely wary of using Microsoft technology for fear that Microsoft would monopolize the digital music and movie industries as they have done with the PC software business. These companies have feared that Microsoft would start with reasonable pricing, then raise the rates once they've secured a monopoly or even worse, not license to certain companies at all.
