> I vastly prefer offline media players to browser-based tools

Why don't browsers provide some way to play local video files, for example by typing "file:///c:/my_video.flv" into the address bar. After all, the browser certainly includes the ability to play the video being downloaded off the web.

If you try "file:///c:/my_video.flv" with Firefox, it opens a dialog box offering to pass the video file to whatever external media players you have installed.

In what seems inconsistent to me, "file:///c:/my_notes.txt" and "file:///c:/my_pic.jpg" will be rendered correctly by Firefox -- it won't offer to open an external text editor or photo viewer. Why is video different?