patents

[Chanchao]

On Thu, 2006-03-30 at 08:38 -0500, Andy Anderson wrote:

> > mp3 really is the biggie, this is one that users EXPECT.  
> 
> While I agree that mp3 is a biggie - it's even supported on most
> portable CD players as well as standalone, home DVD players these
> days - I think users also are beginning to expect support for
> the Windows formats (.wmv and .wma); probably more than 75% of
> the video clips I get from friends via email are .wmv files.

I have to say it's an excellent format.. Credit where credit is due,
file size is super small relative to the quality/length of the video..
And as long as you're sure the person you're sending it to uses windows,
it's guaranteed to play.  (Codecs for Divx, Xvid etc, etc can be hell on
WIndows too, and not everyone can play those.)

What's Microsoft's policy on use/distribution of the format? They make
it available free for Apple I saw.

Cheers,
Chanchao