Recently, Microsoft has announced to the world that it will no longer be developing Windows Media Player for the Macintosh: 
 
http://news.com.com/Music+stops+for+Mac+Windows+Media+Player/2100-1047_3-6026715.html 
 
Most people would see this as a horrific thing for the Macintosh platform. I see it as a confirmation of Microsoft's imminent demise in the area of web based media. Let me explain. 
 
Microsoft has a long history of abusing its monopolistic position in the computer marketplace in an attempt to bolster their marketshare and lock out competition: 
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft 
 
This seems to be just another attempt of theirs to do that. Here's the catch. 
 
This recent move is actually a HUGE win for Apple. There have been many studies conducted about the demographic of people that use Macintosh computers, and how much time they spend online, and more importantly, how much money they have available for companies to entice them out of: 
 
http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/1403581 
 
Companies that suddenly find that the internet streaming media format that they use suddenly doesn't work with this valuable demographic will make immediate and important decisions. They will either switch to another media format, or risk losing customers. I believe that more and more companies will switch to Apple's Quicktime media format. Here is my reasoning: 
 
First, Apple makes Darwin Quicktime Streaming server available here: 
 
http://developer.apple.com/darwin/projects/streaming/ 
 
Darwin Streaming Server is absolutely free. This means that a company would not have to buy an expensive solution from Microsoft to stream their media. They would save thousands of dollars in the long run by switching over to this new format. 
 
Secondly, now that 42 million iPods are circulating in the world, with millions more to follow, there is a very important point that cannot be understated: 
 
EVERY PERSON WITH AN IPOD HAS QUICKTIME ON THEIR COMPUTER! 
 
Once Quicktime distribution reaches a critical mass of users that content providers can no longer ignore, they will have to decide in favor of Quicktime. The demographic data supports this. People who are willing to spend money on what is considered by many to be the best media player on the market will spend money on other things. Continuing to support Windows Media when the demographic data points to a different demographic of potential consumers wouldn't make sense. These content providers will switch to QuickTime. 
 
Microsoft is clearly acting in a defensive manner. To see them do so is a sign that things are not going well for them in the area of multimedia content, and more specifically, content delivery. It is just a matter of time before their marketshare begins to wane. 
 
UPDATE: 
While Microsoft has cancelled further development of Windows Media Player for Macintosh, they recently purchased a company that sells a QuickTime plugin that enables Windows Media Player files to be opened in QuickTime. You can get it here: 
 
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/flip4mac.mspx