Microsoft has spent their time and money creating something “useless,” Justin Powell writes for The NET Results Blog. It’s a new digital photo format called “Windows Media Photo.”
“In case the folks in Redmond weren’t aware, we already have JPEG for Internet and consumer applications, plus RAW and TIFF for professional applications. Adobe Systems even threw their hat in the ring to create the Digital Negative (DNG) format for digital cameras and professional imaging workflows and lest we forget the essentially defunct PhotoCD format from Kodak. There’s also other raster image formats with varying degrees of usefulness: GIF, BMP, PICT, etc.,” Powell writes.
“I’m not exactly sure why Microsoft believes we needed another digital image format. I haven’t personally heard anyone complaining about the available formats or begging for Microsoft to step in and save them. Could it be that Microsoft didn’t control these other formats and likewise couldn’t make them exclusive to Windows users? Microsoft’s new Windows Media Photo will work in Vista and XP, but there’s no mention of making the format available to older versions of Windows or other operating systems,” Powell writes. “Microsoft calls the overall functionality ‘digital memories,’ but they didn’t mention that you’ll forget everything if you switch to a non-Microsoft product. No thanks, I’ll stick with JPEG and RAW.”
Full article here.
“Microsoft will need to get players such as Adobe Systems and Apple Computer on board to win over the graphics professionals, he noted. A major unknown is licensing, which Microsoft has not yet addressed,” Joris Evers reports for CNET News. “Windows Media Photo was developed by the same people who worked on Windows Media Video and Audio… Microsoft has finished the first official version of the “porting kit” software needed to build support for Windows Media Photo into devices and platforms other than Windows. It should be available soon.”
Full article here.
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“It’s all about DRM.
Microsoft will sell this format to content providers as a means to control their images. No more copying of photos for blogs or unauthorized redistribution of stories that include WMP images. Better still, treat all of your content as an image. Instead of PDF, use WMP and control your content! “
This would be my first reaction as well. Reading a news story that has a compelling image in it? – can’t save it because there will be a digital flag in it. It’s owned by the news service. Look, I’m all for protecting intellectual property, but, this is taking it too far (if indeed there is DRM in the WMP format). DRM only works to a point, and when you reach that point people won’t use the format because of it.
I would say yes, it would be good to have a better compression format for images – but it better be an open source standard. I am SICK of proprietary standards for video and audio – we don’t need one for photo compression as well.
Now we can have purdy pictures of viruses and worms!
Microsoft wants a lot of things…everything probably, notice they’re not getting much of anything these days but the bad press they deserve.
Don’t forget PNG!
“Windows Media Photo”
And the internal development project code name is:
SCREWU – System-wide Compression Reduction Enslaves Windows Users
It was Ballmer’s idea.
MW: audience, as in captive
It seems that Microsoft is the one that now doesn’t want to play in the universal sandbox. The wmv photo is the first brick in the wall. And as history shows us those that wall themselves in, eventually die. To be sure, at first it will seem so nice, people clammoring to get in, people pleading for a new edition, but then the silence will become defending as the crowds thin, and by the time it dawns on Bill, even giving it away for free won’t bring the masses back.
But more importantly, do you think Michelle Wie will promote the new Nintendo Wii?
Windows Media Photo-see it for sure.
What a farce.