Running Windows Media Player and iTunes on the same computer. Possible?

Apple Store - Sydney
Originally uploaded by sHzaam!

I wonder if it's possible to run iTunes and Windows Media Player as the music players of choice on the same music, in different accounts, on the same PC.

Ever since W won a iPod Touch at a conference, she has had to use iTunes to organise her music and transfer tunes to her device. I, on the other hand, have always used Windows Media Player. So we both built up music collections in our own accounts on my PC, with the added complication that I started ripping my CDs as .wma files, then changes to .mp3 and W started out with .aac before I changed it to .mp3 in an attempt to at least have some consistency between our collections.

However the collections ended up a mess, with both of us having the same music ripped in different formats, so I decided to wipe both our music collections and start again.

I thought that if I set both iTunes and Windows Media Player to rip tunes to the shared "Public Music" folder, then both programmes would be able to read and use the music. Then anything one of us ripped in our own account would be available to the other.

However, it seems that unless iTunes did the ripping, then it won't acknowledge the music is there. Windows Media Player will, but you have to tell it to look in the folder again to realise there is more music there. (I think that is how it ended up - I actually tried this a few months ago) So it didn't work, and my dream for a gloriously harmonised music collection embracing both Apple and Microsoft and bringing them together like quarrelling cousins, has failed.

So my question is: what should I do to arrange my music in two different accounts on the same PC. Is it not possible to do this using different programmes? Should I just swallow my pride, become an Apple fan-boi and start using iTunes? If I use iTunes should I "future-proof" my collection (or rather "Apple-proof") and rip it all as mp3? What do people do?

Any advice would be very welcome. No suggestions for WinAmp please!

btw I listen to my music on a Nokia N95, and intend getting a Nokia N97 when it comes out. I can't deny being tempted by the iPhone though, but I still don't want to be a fan-boi...

The ultimate vision is to have all the music running on one computer, and having a nice Squeezebox system set up.