Others seemed focused on the video side, I don't use WMP for video's so I couldn't say if it works on that or not but if you have problems with MP3's maybe it's something to try.
With MP3s (didn't try any other audio formats), this does seem to work.
But it does not change the functionality for
videos.
While re-installing might, in some instances, fix the problem, that is an unacceptable solution.
- It is a work-around, not a solution.
- Not everyone who uses WMP does so on a computer they own.
- Not everyone has a convenient copy of their Windows DVDs.
- The amount of labor that solution requires for the end-user is MASSIVELY disproportionate to the problem.
- Not everyone is tech-savvy enough to re-install Windows. (You can make fun of people all you want, but insulting someone's lack of knowledge and expertise is also not a solution--computers are used by more than technophiles.)
This dumbing down of the UI is something I'd expect from Apple, not Microsoft. It is not the only dumbing-down that occurred in Windows 7. (Windows picture viewer ... no right click > Send To option anymore. Other people have mentioned more.)
Yup, that's right, I went there... because it is true.