Microsoft Takes Aim on MP3

According to a News.com report, “Windows XP favors Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio (WMA) format, in part because the company did not want to pay Thomson Multimedia the licensing fee for MP3 encoding. Without the add-on packs, Windows XP will play MP3s but not convert–or ‘rip’–them from CDs.” It goes on to explain, “That means consumers buying Windows XP at retail could be forced to pay $10 to $20 extra for full MP3 support, unless they already have software with the encoder such as Real Networks or MusicMatch.” So although it sounds scary, all you have to do is install a third-party encoder and you’re fine.