Microsoft to abandon Mac Media Player
Apple and Microsoft may have just inked a pact to guarantee that Redmond will continue to update Office for the Mac, and ensuring that Apple won't actively prevent Windows from running on Intel Macs, but that doesn't mean Microsoft is committed to developing a full range of Mac software. Microsoft plans to halt development of Media Player for the Mac, leaving Mac users with Media Player 9 (circa 2003), along with third-party products such as Flip4Mac, which lets QuickTime play Windows Media files. While many Mac users may not care whether Media Player is available on their platform, the decision could mean that media services and portable players that are dependent on DRM functions built into more recent versions of the program will never make it to the Mac -- at least not under OSX. (Which, of course, is probably just fine with Apple, since it keeps iTunes as the sole source of DRM-secured media for OSX users.)
[Via Download Squad]
