[linux-audio-user] ogg for Windows made really easy

[Lee Revell]

On Sun, 2006-01-15 at 17:14 -0500, Dave Phillips wrote:
> Lee Revell wrote:
> 
> >Personally I think it's a losing battle to ask Windows users to use
> >anything but WMP.  Like it or not MP3 is the standard.  We need to make
> >MP3 "Just Work" on Linux.
> >  
> >
> What's the problem ? Is there a lack of MP3 players for Linux ?
> 

Install a random Linux distro, simple MP3 *playback* is usually not
enabled OOTB (Mandriva seems to be the exception).  They make you deal
with external package repositories to get the packages needed for MP3
support which means editing /etc/apt/sources.list or whatever.

Every time there's a Linux story on /. this is one of the complaints
that comes up.  And rightly so, MP3 playback is up there with email and
Web browsing, they can't believe that any system where this does not
Just Work could be worth a damn.  Many of them give up at that point,
and we've lost a potential Linux user for good...

If there were a "New Linux User FAQ" I suspect "I just installed Linux,
why can't I play MP3s?" would be in the top 2 or 3.

Lee