can anything play embedded windows media player plug-ins????
 

Hi, does anyone have a solution for those sites that are IE5/6-oriented, like Yahoo's Launch.com site, where WM pops up in a window? I can't get them to work in Safari or Camino! Much less IE for OS X or anything else, this is incredibly frustrating. Any advice would be greatly welcome. THANKS!

Safari uses Netscape style plugin architecture. Until Microsoft create a WMP plug-in for Netscape-like browsers, you and everyone else are stuck :( It sucks.

View page source and get URL, then play it in Windows Media Player.

When I go to a site like that, Safari asks me if I would like to open Windows Media Player and play the stream in the application itself, not Safari. Seems to work okay.

especially Lanuch.com
 

well, i too have been really frustrated about launch.com's use of browser checking to allow or not allow the playing of media. it's not a windows media problem, it's the actual way the site is written. even using safari's debug --> user agent feature is of no help at the site.

okay, i was half writing this reply, and i just checked launch.com. before, it would just say that the browser wasn't supported. i tried IE, mozilla, netscape, and safari with negative results. just now, however, safari _does_ prompt you to open windows media player, but instead of loading the actual video, it just shows some weird 'clip of clips' but not the actual song.

i have a feeling we just need to email launch.

launch
 

Thanks for the advice--does this actually work with Launch.com? I'm not sure it does, since Launch has a pop-up embedded window--how would you circumvent that?

ugh
 

The sad thing is that even IE for OS X doesn't work with it. I seriously think that Msft is messing with Mac users. That and the fact that Office X is just not the same as the PC version to throw off switchers like me. ARGH!

You don't say? I'd never suspect Micro$oft of doing something evil like that...

Yes I would. I switched last year... the best way to do it (IMO) is just like the best way to take off a band-aid. One swift, irrevocable RIP. I still have to use Windows at work, but I haven't touched a Windows machine at home in over a year. OSX and linux (gotta do something with the x86 boxes at home) all the way.

Yah, there's some things you'll miss out on, but stay away from them for a week or two. You'll find out you really don't miss them as much as you thought you would (unless you're addicted to some Win-only games).

Eric

I've switched for the most part, but there are tons of programs that I still miss a lot from the PC world. I don't want to open this debate up, but the real pain is sites like Launch.com and DCN.com, they just don't work, and that's so sucky! Safari help!!!

whoa--a little peaved--that's completely unnecessary; and further more, the process is hardly seamless or effortless. i still have no idea why we have to look at the view source in order to find the video; not to mention that the only video that seems to view is the intro clip, not the actual video.

I understand that you may have some vested interest in protecting the Mac reputation, but this sort of rebuttal isn't helping anyone. If you think that this attitude is helping attract more PC users, like me, to switch, then the Apple brand is doomed to stay where it is, marginalised by cheaper, faster, and more standardised pc's. I like my PowerBook, but as I mentioned earlier, there are some quite problematic issues with switching that Apple glosses over.


Safari does NOT view these videos correctly, unless I'm missing some WindowsMedia player option that allows for embedded medias inside windows. This fact has been reinforced by other posts in this thread already, and so I know it's not my own misinformed perspective. The same applies for the DCN.com videos, which just show up as little broken boxes, ala Mozilla.

Wow, now I'm stupid too. Anyway, if anyone else can explain to A Little Bit Peaved what is going on--esp. the bit about the difference between the bandwidth testing video that does launch and the actual videos which don't--without him or her biting your head off, that'll be great. But his completely nonconstructive epiphets and "help" are not really working, as one might imagine.

Does anyone know what's going on? I emailed Launch, and their only response is, "We're not planning any changes at this time. Sorry."

well actually...
 

juba and peaved...

let's not turn this into a screaming match.

i would like to add, however, that i as well cannot access most media content from launch.com. i have the most recent versions of both WMP and Safari. it does not seem to make a difference. as i said in an earlier post, visiting launch.com in safari makes the two events occur:

1. the window that contains the video that's supposed to be loading blanks itself out, then prompts me to download windows media player.

2. safari itself, however, drops down a dialog box that says
This page has plug-in content that Safari does not support. The application 'Windows Media Player' may be able to display this content. Would you like to try?

upon clicking "yes" WMP launches, and opens a clip. however, IT'S NOT THE VIDEO I SELECTED. it's just a little 15 second advertising clip that never advances to the actual video.

so i really think two things need to happen here. safari needs to support the embedded feature for WMP media, that way i don't have to open a separate application to see my content. also, launch needs to stop being so strict (or careless) with is browser checking software. it's too annoying to ever make me what to subscribe from a mac platform.

and peaved: there is absolutely nothing wrong with my system. i have ZERO third-party hacks or tweaks installed on my system. everything is updated to it's most current version (including fink and the developer's tools).

finally,
this is nowhere close to the truth and
this is not true either. i really think this is both a safari issue (which i don't mind... it IS BETA software) and a launch.com issue.

thanks!

my experience is the same as jdhorner. my sentiments regarding epithets is equal to juba's. peaved, dial down the vitriol.

whoop--somehow Peaved's vitriolic posts disappeared!

Anyway, the good news is, there are a few other sites that CAN play videos ok.

www.windowsmedia.com

and

www.hollywoodandvine.com

(Capitol Records)

and

www.video-c.co.uk

YAY!

Sorry! I did not check the launch.com video very carefully-- because played back Windows Media successfully many times from other sites.

Obviously, now juba is also able to do so.

The launch.com problem goes back to old discussion about whether website problems are responsibility of website developer or browser.

Well, looking at the system requirements at Launch.com, it appears they don't support any OS X usage, not just Safari.

Perhaps stuff like this is another reason for Apple to launch its own music service on the 28th, eh?

So I have another dumb question--is there any way to select the drop-down menus or the check-boxes in Safari using tab or any key command? I tried searching through the threads to no avail, and I've turned on that option in System Requirements. I'm thinking this is another weird thing about Safari. No?

well, if you're talking about the actual system menu stuff in safari, if you have the full keyboard access turned on, you can press ctrl + fn + F2 to activate the menus.

but i think you're talking about forms in webpages and such. i have never figured out how to do this in safari. i hate to bring it up, but you CAN do this in IE. it even has an option to cycle only through text boxes or all objects.

perhaps there is a safari option someone could enlighten us about?

Re: well actually...
 

Safari uses Netscape-style plugins. Microsoft have not made a Netdcape-style WMP plug-in and Safari therefore, cannot use it. It is very nice of Safari to show you that another application might be able to open it though.

The onus is not on Apple to change Safari to use a WMP plug-in. It's on Microsoft to make a WMP plug-in according to the Netscape specs. Will they ever do that? Well, I doubt it, since Netscape and Mozilla users would then be able to use it in their browsers, and the use of IE would probably fall.

That's right, but Launch.com case is one of bad coding, because other sites, like iFilm, can play embedded Windows Media in OS X (only in IE, obviously, but THAT's Microsoft fault). Anyway, if you want to play Windows Media in anything else than IE, tell Microsoft, but I doubt they'll listen to you :cool:

A couple of things....
 

1. Safari is BETA software.

2. Embedding browser-specific tags in HTML is an example of bad HTML and is not an Apple issue.

3. To clarify the original question, I think you want to play a file, not a plug in.

I don't mean to sound, well *sarcastic*, but it would be more helpful not to immediately assume that bad coding on the part of some busy launch.com programmer who probably doesn't know any better is a *Mac* problem, or that it's going to keep the Mac a marginal platform. Some of us have been getting by OK on Macs for a while now, Thanks.

I think the point of the matter is that I also have not seen a single site that can use the windows media file plug in. Both in osx and os9. I have tried in safari, netscape and even explorer. I opened explorer and changed the file helper apps prefs to use the plug in... still no.

As a web designer, I personally would never put this to use. I would prefer to use quicktime... at least it works. Yes, windows users will have to download quicktime (if they haven't already), but mac users have to download windows media player... then find out the limitations afterwards.