Vista's Media Player coming to XP this summer

If you can't wait for Microsoft Vista's release early next year, would you consider a piece of Vista this year? Microsoft appears to be running a little damage control over the delayed operating system and expects to release a watered down version of Windows Media Player 11 for XP this summer. My personal beta testing of Vista has focused mainly on the Tablet PC and voice recognition functions, but from the little I've seen of WMP 11, I've been impressed. One key feature in the new app, which may or may not be in the XP version, is reverse synchronization of media files with portable devices. Theoretically, if you've got a "Plays for Sure" device, you can transfer content from that device to your PC through Windows Media Player. WMP 11 has many additional advance features, but it's still unclear which features will be in the expected XP version. Given the mobile revolution we're in the midst of, the more functions that enable mobility and file control in WMP, the quicker we'll see adoption of the new application.

Comments

[Josh Einstein]

I haven't used WMP since I got Media Center Edition. That's gonna be in Vista too. It's really much nicer. Especially if you have a remote.

[Kevin C. Tofel]

As a daily WMCE user for streaming free HDTV over WiFi via the Xbox 360, I'm with you Josh. WMCE is really maturing as a home entertainment platform; still a ways to go, but it's heading in the right direction.

[WOM]

I myself won't upgrade to Vista 'till late 2008 so I'm looking forward to this XP release of Windows Media Player 11. I love it, I have all my music and videos organized in it and it's been great for me.

This summer won't be bad for my software expectations......Firefox 2.0 and WMP 11.