Degrading of WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER by Microsoft [WMP]

[#1]

Those of us with PC's running Windows 10 or earlier may well use WMP on a regular basis.

However I've discovered that the useful feature whereby your CD's meta data/images could

be updated on M/S's servers is no more; they closed them down quietly at start if year...with ZERO publicity.

I accidentally stumbled across the downgrade as I saw one album in my WMP library had dupe

tracks, so I simply deleted album from WMP.

Previously you'd just go to to your MUSIC folder, right click to ADD TO WMP, and bingo it appeared

in your WMP Folder of albums.

No more- that functionality has also been removed.

A solution is to use i tunes, which has all the original features of WMP, even for those of

us not using Apple products. Trying to establish an Apple id; tried 4 times so far!

[#2]

Microsoft are not alone in this.

I have a Sony Blu-ray Player, when new used the Gradenote service to display CD album track names and data,
an automated firmware update came some years ago and boom track info was gone for ever, now tracks just have numbers.

Last time I ripped CDs using iTunes it did recover album & track names but album cover images I had to do that manually.

[#3]

I think VLC Player may do what you require?

[#4]

Moderator's note(s):

Thread moved from Everything Else to Tech Help.

[#5]

Already use VLC, but i tunes seems best; still failing to establish an Apple id.

[#6]

Purely for ripping CDs (and importing the relevant metadata) I can recommend Exact Audio Copy ( https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/)

[#7]

Thanks; I see that M/S Publisher is being dropped soon too.

[#8]

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@Gel wrote:
I see that M/S Publisher is being dropped soon

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Unable to fathom why on earth they would do this.  MS Publisher has/had so many features that MS Word just isn't capable of.

I have Publisher files here dating back to about 1993 (kids' school stuff and much else) and when I started building the HappyChild site, Microsoft kindly donated MS Publisher 1997. 

I dug the disk out recently, to re-access lots of files via a Windows7 PC (separate from main desktop) and discovered that I could access files from quite a large range of years - up to early 2000s I think - though it wouldn't read files after that, which had to be accessed via whatever version of Publisher is in MS Office 365 (on main desktop).

I'm guessing that MS Publisher 97 will continue to work for the early stuff (on the Windows7 PC), but now wondering if a *disk* version of Publisher would still work for the later files.  Something to be explored later, maybe 

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[#9]

@Penny  (and others who used MSPUB ) I still use MSPUB for some of the features that are not available.. you can get Publisher 98 CD on ebay.. and maybe at car boot sale.... 

It is possible to "read" .pub files  ( MSPUB documents) using LIBRE OFFICE which is compatible with Windows 11. 

No conversion needed. 

It will open the original .pub file, as a "drawing"   and will save it is a    .odg  file 

It is possible to edit .pub files before saving. ( as .odg )

It is possible to edit the .odg file after saving, and re-opening, as a normal text edit

e.g. myhome description.pub   saved in Libre Office  as  myhome description.odg is an example of how a document would appear in your document folder. .... 

to save it as a text file.and you can, by adding .odt after the file title myhome description.odt 

when you "save as " the file that has been saved, will appear in your folder as    myhome description.odt.odg 

then delete the .odg from the file name listing ....

Does not make any real difference... just mentioning that it can be done !.  

Either version will be fully editable in Libre Office. 

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/

For those who don`t know libreoffice... it is  full suite of office apps similar to MS office and others. 

I am not sure if Open office will do the same thing... 

[#10]

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@paul_blitz wrote:

Purely for ripping CDs (and importing the relevant metadata) I can recommend Exact Audio Copy ( https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/)

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@paul_blitz   I looked at that page - (quote)

Exact Audio Copy is a so called audio grabber for audio CDs using standard CD and DVD-ROM drives. The main differences between EAC and most other audio grabbers are :

• It is free (for non-commercial purposes)
• It works with a technology, which reads audio CDs almost perfectly. If there are any errors that can't be corrected, it will tell you on which time position the (possible) distortion occurred, so you could easily control it with e.g. the media player

(/unquote)

However the https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ page is so full of graphics/adverts - all saying 'download' - that I wasn't sure which link would actually download the Exact Audio Copy software.

If you could possibly advise the correct link/download address, that would be appreciated, thanks.

.

[#11]

https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/download/

[#12]

• It works with a technology, which reads audio CDs almost perfectly. If there are any errors that can't be corrected, it will tell you on which time position the (possible) distortion occurred, so you could easily control it with e.g. the media player

Yes, if it has a problem reading a CD, then it tries it again many times, doing things like changing the spin speed and so on. The fact that it TELLS you is important. Often it's caused by a dirty CD, and works fine after careful cleaning.

Sorry about the adverts, I use an advert blocker, so never see any of the ads!

[#13]

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@Protech wrote:
https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/download/

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@Protech  Thank you 

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[#14]

Affinity is much better than MS Publisher and is free. Recommended.

[#15]

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@spile wrote:

Affinity is much better than MS Publisher and is free. 

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Thanks    I was going to ask (a) what it is, (b) where to get it from, but thought I'd first look on duckduckgo.

Found this.  https://www.affinity.studio/download 

(quote)

Affinity gives you pro-grade photo editing, vector design, illustration, and layout — all in one app, for free.
*
Desktop macOS
Fully optimized for macOS. Runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel.
Desktop Windows
Affinity runs fast even on mid-range machines, but loves a dedicated GPU.
*
Is Affinity really free?
Yes, Affinity really is free. That doesn’t mean you’re getting a watered-down version of the app though. You can use every tool in the Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios, plus all of the customization and export features, as much as you want, with no restrictions or payment needed. The app will also receive free updates with new features and improvements added.
*
Can I import my Adobe files into Affinity?
Yes! It’s easy to import PSDs, AIs, IDMLs, DWGs, and other file types into Affinity, with structure, layers, and creative intent preserved.

(unquote)

... whilst the Adobe-type capabilities looked wonderful, wasn't entirely sure that this software had much in common with MS Publisher.  Then saw *this*:

(quote)

What’s new in the ‘all-new’ Affinity?
This is a brand-new product that gives you advanced photo editing, graphic design, and page layout tools under one roof.

(unquote)

@spile  So I'm guessing this was the Affinity you were referring to (?)

Just checked out their page https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/affinity-free/ "Why we made Affinity free, and how we’ll keep it that way".  Interesting page for background to how/why originally-chargeable software is now free for everyone. 

Seems a pity firms like Microsoft don't just make their outdated software available to everyone for free, rather than removing access to it even from within paid-for packages like Office 365.  Or degrading stuff like Windows Media Player.

Though I guess without that, we wouldn't be exploring alternatives.

Seems there's an increasing amount of good/free software out there, just a question of finding it 

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