As you may know by now, Microsoft recently released Windows Media Player 7.0 and this incarnation is absolutely packed with new features that simply blow the lid off of the all-in-one multimedia player category. Media Player 7.0 allows you to play all kinds of streaming and downloadable digital audio and video. A virtual media jukebox, Media Player 7.0 allows you to copy tracks from audio CDs onto your hard drive, removable media or to your Palm PC. It even allows you to burn custom audio CDs from your music collection. And that's only the tip of the iceberg!

In this article, I'll explore some of the coolest new features in Windows Media Player 7.0's—there are so many attractive details, it would be hard to cover them all in one article. I'll begin with a look at Windows Media Player 7.0's system requirements and tell you where you can download your copy.

System Requirements

Before you download Windows Media Player 7.0, you need to be aware of its system requirements. To begin with, you have to be running Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows 2000—this latest version of Windows Media Player doesn't support Windows 95. Next, your system has to be at least a Pentium 166MHz or faster with at least 32MB of RAM. These are the bare minimum requirements, of course; Microsoft recommends at least a 266MHz Pentium with 64MB of RAM.

Wizard Tip: If you're running Windows 95 and yearn for some of Windows Media Player 7.0's features, you can find similar features in other products. For example, you can check out the features in Winamp, RealPlayer 8, or MusicMatch Jukebox, available from ZDNet Downloads.

Next: Getting Your Copy