MicroSoft Has A Lot To Copy, Er, Learn

I've been using Windows Media Player to rip my CDs into MP3 format. I was quite happy with the way it was going and it did a reasonable job. I did hit a bit of a snag once I'd finished the albums and started on the CD singles as the track descriptions, composer, etc were found to be a bit wanting. Media Player would play the CD when ripping and then stop the music and eject the CD when completed. Slightly annoying but nevertheless.

I made a discovery lately that when ripping and not having the music played I could listen to iTunes playing something else instead. It was then that I realised the descriptions were so much more accurate on iTunes as well so I would use them when I had to update the garbage in Media Player. Editing track names etc was such a hassle.

Recently my computer crashed. The OS died and would't boot under any circumstance. It necessitated an in-place upgrade. In layman's terms that means I had to reinstall the operating system, or in my case a second instance of it, and it kept all my files intact.

An odd thing has happened. Windows Media Player refuses to install properly. What a blessing in disguise. Nero's Showtime will play all of my Windows-type files/videos and I've had to delve into the CD ripping capabilities of iTunes. Wow. It rips in mp3 format as well. The songs play as you rip but don't stop when you decide to eject the CD. I can save the files where I like and at the bitrate I want - nothing's changed there. The more accurate descriptions coupled with the oh-so-much better ripping experience has changed my attitude to iTunes.

Which lead me to think that MicroSoft have a lot to learn about the experience of users coupled with their products. And that will probably lead to a copying of the ideas of Apple and the usability of iTunes. Haven't we seen that before? Anyone know where the idea for Windows came from originally?

A funny aside occurred when I went to rip a Belinda Carlisle single. I know, I'm opening myself to ridicule but I was young and impressionable and she was quite attractive. Perhaps I thought that she could even sing. Anyway, iTunes recognised the CD as one of about eight different ones including something by Something Komeiny. I didn't think that the Ayatollah had put out any music of his own.

Hey Nick, do you remember The KLF: What Time Is Love? I'm listening to it at the mo'.