Windows ME Goes Multimedia

Has the multimedia bug bitten you? Do you linger over those iMac commercials promising easy-to-produce home movies? Do your digital audio files outnumber your CDs, or at least your cassettes? And do you even know where your old-fashioned film camera is?

If so, then you might be ripe for Windows Millennium Edition, which offers new multimedia functions (with a decidedly Microsoft proprietary twist, of course). But if you don't need these digital media features and are happy enough with Windows 98, the new operating system may not offer enough to make it worth the trouble of an upgrade.

Microsoft is unveiling the beta 3 version of Windows ME next week and expects to ship the final release in the second half of the year. Microsoft says this will be the last member of the Windows 95/98 family.

The Lure of Multimedia

The third beta of Windows ME has come a long way from the last version. It adds a souped-up digital audio and video player, an improved digital camera interface, and a video-editing program. It's business as usual below decks, though. Interface updates make it look like the relatively crash-proof Windows 2000, but Windows ME still sits atop the same shaky MS-DOS foundation as Windows 95 and 98.

Unless you buy a new system with Windows ME preinstalled, you may not want to bother with this update. Windows veterans will likely be annoyed by many of the interface changes, wizards, and tools intended to help novices configure and debug their systems. Also, many of Windows ME's innovations--including Internet Explorer 5.5--are available as free downloads, or will be soon. The remaining bells and whistles may not justify the upgrade.

Calling All Media

Though Microsoft developers undoubtedly mean well, the real impetus behind Windows ME is the bottom line: Get a new product out there that reflects the spirit of the times. These days that means playing and managing digital media files.

The new beta's implementation of Media Player deserves an award for most-improved utility. The latest version cribs features from several leading free and shareware players, notably Nullsoft's Winamp (now owned by America Online). Like other programs, Media Player handles a range of file types, including .mp3, .wav, and CD audio files, as well as AVI, MPEG, and QuickTime video. Its jukebox function searches your drives for media files, and organizes audio files by artist and recording by using an online database.

Media Player is also a CD "ripper" that can convert CD audio to Windows Media files stored on your hard disk, but it does not create the more widely accepted MP3 files. Rather, Microsoft is promoting its own Windows Media Audio format.

And Media Player copies music files to selected portable players. It supports the Diamond Rio, RCA Lyra, and Creative Nomad II, as well as Windows CE devices and the upcoming Pocket PC. Sony devices will also soon support WMA.

You won't have to upgrade to Windows ME to get this version of Media Player, though. As with past versions, Microsoft will offer it as a free download. Media Player 7 is expected to be available separately in June, and you can download a beta version of it now.