[Nil]

On 09 Jul 2008, Mike Rivers wrote in
rec.audio.pro:

Nil wrote:
There are FLAC plugins/codecs available for many popular media
players. On my computer I can play FLAC files with Winamp,
Foobar2000, Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic, VLC, etc.
Yes, you may have to take that one extra step, but it's an easy
one.

It's only an easy step if you know what to do and that you have to
do it. I don't believe that out-of-the-box computers are yet
equipped with a FLAC codec plug-in. Remember, we're talking
mainstream users here, not people who have a clue.

I'm not saying it'll never happen, just not now, not yet.

Yes, but consider that an out-of-the-box Windows system won't play most
DVD movies, either. For whatever reason, it doesn't ship with an AC3
codec, which is used by most DVD releases. So, you may get picture but
no sound. Or consider Quicktime or Realaudio - I believe you have to
download those components from the manufacturers before you can play
them. So, despite what Microsoft would have you believe, their
operating system can't do everything.

The difference with FLAC might be that it doesn't have a commercial
marketing force behind it popping up ads all over your web browsing
journey, encouraging you to download it (along with a Free! Google
Toolbar!) And, of course, FLAC is a more specialized product - it's not
the best format for streaming or cramming a million songs onto your
iPod. But I use FLAC a lot for archiving and trading uncompressed audio
files. I think it's an excellent and useful format and deserves wider
exposure.