Anyone who reads any of my blog posts should know by now, that I am quite enthusiastic about Amarok2. I think our initial release, Amarok 2.0, is going to push the boundaries of what a music manager is, and how it can integrate with some of all the great internet services out there.

Historically, Linux was unable to play files intended to only be playable with the Windows Media Player. However, with the help of codecs, Linux can play both audio and video files that were previously incompatible. Jack Wallen introduces the major players in the Linux multimedia party.

Last year, while running Ubuntu, I decided I wanted to watch a video, so I opened it up in the built-in Totem player. What happened next took me back to the dark era of codecs and computing. The XviD video I was watching became pixelated, the video became out of sync; within a few minutes it was unwatchable.