Microsoft making better music?

C|Net | at | by Mike

news analysis When it comes to music, mighty Microsoft is the underdog.

For the company that dominates PC operating systems, desktop software suites and e-mail software and has a darn good business in everything from databases to video games, it's an unaccustomed label.

Can the latest version of Microsoft's music software, Windows Media Player 11, be the first in many steps to dropping that underdog tag? While there's little question that Apple Computer is the company to beat in digital music, technology critics and analysts say Microsoft is starting to get its act together.