The only thing Bill & M$ are after is $ x $ as far as the skies can reach!

Try VLC a free player with in-built codecs which will play most things except the occasional wmv file. Its controls are not the best but at least it plays most things. Including the newest formats.

If you'd prefer to dwnld more codecs try these: http://www.divx-digest.com/software/nimo_pack.html