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Microsoft has released the latest incarnation of Windows Media (code-named Corona), after touting its abilities for almost a year. Windows Media 9 is certainly an upgrade to the popular Windows Media Server and Player that have been mainstays on the Microsoft-dominated desktop, but in many ways Microsoft is merely playing catch-up.

The most talked about new feature of WM9 is FastStream, which uses the extra bandwidth in a connection to buffer extra data from the beginning. This means that streaming video can start playing almost instantaneously. Microsoft is not the first to market with this technology: It was beaten by Apple's Instant-On technology introduced with QuickTime 6 last February.

Microsoft has also added an Auto Playlist feature, similar to Apple's iTunes application. The Auto Playlist lets users organize their music and cross-fade between songs, making a smoother transition.

Microsoft does have something that no one else is offering: digital rights management. DRM lets creators control their content and where and when it can be viewed. The Recording Industry Association of America is probably foaming at the mouth at the thought of being able to control content. In the vendor's ever-increasing effort to have everything run on Windows, Microsoft has once again placed its eggs in its proprietary basket, effectively shutting out all others.

Both Apple and Real Networks have been working hard over the past year to make their products more standards-based, allowing more people and industries to access the data while the folks in Redmond continue to build walls around their technology. DRM will certainly be built into Apple and Real Networks products, but you can bet that it will be based on open standards that anyone can use.