| Windows Media Player 11 Misses the Podcasting Boat |
| 05.22.06 | No Comments |
One of the biggest kerfuffles in podcasting right now is about the lack of podcasting support in Windows Media Player 11. Some (like Geek News Central) were pretty scathing regarding the lack of podcast support after a year of iTunes support - saying that “their inaction will slow the growth of podcasting in a big way.” Others (like notably Robert Scoble) think that the lack of podcasting will slow WMP 11’s growth instead.
I have to agree with Scoble. I think that Microsoft may see WMP users who learn about - and want to listen to - podcasting switching to a player that does support podcasts. During my time off last week, I introduced someone to podcasting who has only ever used Windows Media Player - and was suprised to learn WMP doesn’t support podcasting. Their choice was to either not listen to podcasts, or to switch to iTunes in order to download podcasts (or use both until it gets to be too cumbersome).