Microsoft to Announce WMP for Mac OS X

On Thursday morning, Microsoft will announce a version of its Windows Media Player built specially for Mac OS X. MacWorld attendees in New York will be able to catch a glimpse of a working prerelease demonstration, and experience the "carbonized" Windows Media Player for themselves.

Citing consumer demand for Windows Media, Microsoft has developed the player with Mac users in mind, featuring Apple's highly touted Aqua user interface. Built on Apple's Carbon API, Windows Media Player will run natively, taking full advantage of OS X's capabilities such as multi-processing. In short, Microsoft has programmed the software to look, feel, and operate consistent with other Mac OS applications.

According to Windows Digital Media Division manager Dave Fester, "Windows Media Player for Mac OS X brings together the excitement of the new Aqua interface with the high quality of Windows Media." He went on
to say, "This new player demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to providing the highest-quality digital media playback for users of Mac."

The player will feature the software giant's digital rights management technology, which has recently been the subject of litigation. Also included are Windows Media Player 8 codecs for audio and video playback. Two additional skins will be bundled, giving users the option to customize their player. A free download will become available this fall, supporting most Macintosh models.