Good Grief - Two (MORE) ?? Please ...

Got rid of Windows Media Player 11 today (and its "Runtime") - opted for "Zoom Player", but really don't have much of a clue (yet) about how to operate it (I simply haven't "worked with" [used] these Multimedia-type of progs much) - however, my first question(s) is (are):

After uninstalling/removing MP11, I went to an internet "radio" station ("Pandora.com") and was able to listen to music on the PC w/o MP11, and the music didn't seem to be (wasn't) loading into ZP ... what the HECK was being utilized to play the music (oh, just remembered, according to my "Add/Remove Programs" list, I do [currently] have "Rhapsody Player Engine" AND "RealMedia"-"remove only" installed ... are one of those playing the music (?) - and if so, now with ZP, can I use it (ZP) for most things as opposed to those other two?

The other question is (and I "think" that I "may" know the culprit), however:

In attempting to set-up/install some bells and whistles with "Windows LIVE" in order to use MSN Messenger 8 (IM), I also installed some things such as "Live Writer" that I just went back and UN-installed ... now my Hotmail is like just DEAD ... it won't allow me to move emails into folders, though I haven't yet tried much else to see what else "might" be wrong with it. Any clues??

Thanks,
g ...

 

Real Player was probably playing the music from the online radio, it may have been Rhapsody, but my money is on Real Player. I haven't used Zoom, but I have used VLC, GomPlayer, MPlayer, Media Player Classic, and I like 'em all. VLC can be configured for all your multimedia tasks including on line video and audio. I'm pretty sure Media Player Classic can do the same thing as it is basically the Windows Media Player from older versions of Windows (at least graphically, it's the same) but it has been heavily tweaked. It installs alongside many of the codec packs which are also a real good idea if you're going to jump into the multimedia pool. I like the Storm Codec Pack, the KLite Mega Pack, and the Vista Codec Pack (which also works with Windows XP). However, VLC Media Player can handle most media tasks without needing codecs as it has it's own decoders and filters built-in. Here's links to all the programs I mentioned:
GOMPlayer http://www.majorgeeks.com/Gom_Player_d5595.html
Mplayer http://www.majorgeeks.com/MPlayer_d5663.html
VLC Player http://www.majorgeeks.com/VLC_media_player_d4674.html
Storm Codec Pack http://www.majorgeeks.com/Storm_Codec_d5491.html (includes Media Player Classic)
KLite Mega Codec Pack http://www.majorgeeks.com/K-Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack_d5230.html (incl. Media Player Classic)
Vista Codec Pack (works w/ Win2000/XP) http://www.majorgeeks.com/Vista_Codec_Package_d5326.html

I hope this doesn't add to your confusion about media too much. It may be a good idea to remove RealPlayer as it is considered adware and is borderline malware. You can keep it around until you're a bit more familiar with what's going on, but removing it eventually is highly recommended. I don't know much about Rhapsody except that when I come across a PC with it installed, I ask the owner if they use it and they have all said "what the f**k is Rhapsody?" so I remove it.

Feel free to post any other questions and we'll do our best to clear things up for you!

[dlb]
:major

BTW- only install one codec pack! Multiple packs can lead to conflicts and PC lock ups when trying to open certain media files.

 

Again, a veritable plethora of info from good ol' dlb.

Tanks!

It may take me almost a week to reply-back on this with any results/questions as I have to go on the road for a few days, and it may take me a couple or three days to sort through the "plethora"! :-D

Thanks again!
g ...