Aardvark Daily aardvark (ard'-vark) a controversial animal with a long probing nose used for sniffing out the facts and stimulating thought and discussion.

NZ's leading source of Net-Industry news and commentary since 1995
Headlines | XML feed | Contact | New Sites | Archives | Job Centre | MARKETPLACE | For Sale
Note: This column represents the opinions of the writer and as such, is not purported as fact
MP3 is Free Cheap 28 August 2002 Edition
Previous Edition | Archives

Please support the sponsor
Sponsor's Message
The MP3 audio format has been one of the single most significant breakthroughs in the distribution of music in a digital format.

By storing music in MP3 format it has become practical to transfer recordings around the world using the Internet -- even when those involved only have dial-up connections.

For those who don't know -- a typical digitally encoded 3-4 minute recording takes up as much as 50MB when stored on a traditional CD. Convert the same recording to MP3 format and it can shrink to as little as 3-4MB.

Once freeware and open source developers discovered the wonder of MP3 they began producing large numbers of programs designed to encode, decode and play music in this wonderful new format.

As is the case with open source and freeware, most of these programs have been free to download from the Net, much to the joy of those who were looking for a way to efficiently store music on their computers.

Once business saw how rapidly this freeware was driving the acceptance of the MP3 format, all manner of hardware-based MP3 players began to appear. Gone is the tired old cassette-tape based walkman, and even the newer diskman -- now we have the solid state MP3 player.

Just about the only people not pleased with the arrival and widespread use of MP3 are the recording industry.

They sit in their little ivory towers surrounded by the trappings of success and regularly make very public mutterings about piracy, lost revenues, eroded sales, etc.

What they're really trying to say however, is "Oops, we've been caught with our pants down. We've been so slow and complacent about our monopolies that we didn't plan for this. What's more -- we really don't know what to do now, after all -- when you've got a monopoly you don't have to be very smart do you?"

Readers Say
(updated hourly)
  • MP3... - Jas
  • <font>... - Anona
  • Ogg Vorbis... - James
  • HTML & Lynx... - Dave
  • Have Your Say

    Doesn't this sound like a rosy picture?

    Pirated music flows like water, the programs to encode and play it are free for download on the Net, and the fat cats in the recording industry are squealing long and loud.

    Well there are a number of problems with this scenario -- apart from the obvious observation that pirating music is not legal, not right, and not very sensible.

    It seems that the folks who came up with (and patented) the MP3 format are expecting developers to pay a licensing fee for use of those patents.

    If Thompson decide to enforce their rights, many of those little freeware and open source developers could find themselves facing a huge licensing bill -- likely backdated.

    So what does this mean to the future of MP3 as a format?

    Probably not a lot.

    Most people already have all the MP3 software they need and, since it's probably freeware or open source, they're entitled to make copies and give those copies to others without penalty.

    These fees are probably only really going to affect those vendors who are making commercial products or hardware-based units -- and even then the relatively trivial licensing fees will simply be passed on to consumers.

    I think Thompson have boxed very clever on this one. By previously allowing the use of their patents without charge by those who have been writing free software, they've allowed the standard to gain a critical-mass of acceptance in the marketplace.

    Now they can step in and make some very nice profits from all the commercial vendors.

    I hope a lot of other developers take note of just how smart Thompson's strategy has been. It's a nice model for those who are also looking to move a product from conception to critical mass at minimal cost, while also ensuring that the critical mass produces a strong revenue stream down the track.

    And of course, whenever one mentions MP3 these days there's also the obligatory need to mention Ogg Vorbis. Ogg is another digital audio format similar to MP3 but without the patent restrictions. I'm linking to a version of their website cached by Google because they appear to be having some website problems today.

    So, the music, or at least its most popular method of digital storage, is still free!

    Have your say.

    Linking Policy
    Want to link to this site? Check out Aardvark's Linking Policy.

    Did you tell someone else about Aardvark today? If not then do it now!

    Latest
    Security Alerts
    Microsoft plugs critical Office holes
    (ITWorld - 22/08/2002)

    Security flaw hits Windows, Mac, Linux (NewsFactor - 7/08/2002)

    PGP Outlook plugin has major hole (TheReg - 12/07/2002)

    IE scripting flaw uncovered (TheReg - 12/07/2002)

    Microsoft Reveals Still More Security Flaws (NewsFactor - 28/06/2002)

    Latest
    Virus Alerts
    Worm spreads through KaZaA network, again (TheReg - 22/08/2002)

    Apher worm: From Russia (ZDNet - 22/08/2002)

    Kowbot worm targets Kazaa network
    (VNuNet - 01/07/2002)

    Bookmark This Page Now!

     

    MORE NEWS
    NZL Sites
    IDG.Net.nz
    NZ Netguide
    NZ Herald Tech
    PC World NZ
    Scoop
    NZOOM Technology WordWorx

    AUS Sites
    ZDNet
    Fairfax IT
    Australian IT
    AUS Netguide
    NineMSN Tech
    APC Magazine

    USA Sites
    Wired.com
    CNet
    CNNfn Tech
    TechWeb
    Yahoo Tech
    ZDNet Tech
    USA Today Tech
    7am.com SciTech

    UK Sites
    The Register
    BBC SciTech

     

    My Jet Engines
    Check Out Me And My Jet Engines

    The Day's Top News
    Open in New Window = open in new window
    New Zealand

    Open in New Window 'Wi-fi' makes laptop net access a breeze in the Auckland CBD
    Downtown Auckland is set to join the likes of San Francisco and Seattle as a wireless internet hotspot where cafe goers flip open laptops rather than newspapers over their morning brew...
    NZ Herald

    Open in New Window Opposition to .bank.nz
    Opposition has been swift and almost universal to the Bankers Association's attempt to have the .bank.nz domain name re-considered following the success of .maori.nz...
    IDG

    Other

    Open in New Window Computer expert demonstrates Microsoft hack
    Software security widely used for Internet banking and e-commerce can be easily circumvented, and customer accounts at several of Sweden's largest banks remain at risk as a result...
    ZDNet/Reuters

    Open in New Window RIAA: Feeling Burn of Ripped CDs
    Recording industry executives have bemoaned the negative impact of new technology on profits since the Sony Walkman's arrival in 1979. Despite ups and downs, the music business isn't dead yet...
    Wired

    Open in New Window Study: E-piracy hurting CD sales
    It’s shaping up to be another downbeat year for the music business. Sales of music CDs tumbled 7 percent in the first six months of the year, according to the midyear survey released by the Recording Industry Association of America Monday...
    MSNBC

    Open in New Window Will Canada's ISPs become spies?
    The Canadian government is considering a proposal that would force Internet providers to rewire their networks for easy surveillance by police and spy agencies...
    CNet

    Open in New Window PlayStation2 goes online
    Gamers in North America can now battle each other online with the release of adapters to connect the Playstation2 to the internet...
    BBC

    Australia

    Open in New Window HMV Australia says 'no' to digital music plans
    HMV Australia has no plans to follow its UK counterpart in offering a subscription digital music service to its customers...
    ZDNet

    Open in New Window Telstra plays hard on ADSL
    It was supposed to be the thing that would finally break Telstra's death grip on the Australian broadband market. But more than six months after the telecommunications giant finally gave in to pressure...
    The Age

    Other

    Open in New Window MS plays volume licensing upgrade card against Naked PCs
    Businesses wanting to deploy standard configurations across a number of machines frequently take out one of Microsoft's volume licensing programs, set up their own standard distribution then use it to hose whatever OS the PCs they bought came with...
    The Register

    Open in New Window A New World of Internet Fees
    A few years ago, much content and many services could be had for free, even though the companies providing those services were not posting profits...
    NewsFactor

    Open in New Window Sony ejects Betamax at long last
    What VHS couldn't do, digital did. Sony's Betamax video tape recorder, which famously lost the 1980s video format war but held on for decades as a niche product, will finally be laid to rest after digital formats delivered a death blow ...
    CNet

    Open in New Window Mozilla 1.1 Hits the Scene
    Mozilla.org late Monday issued an incremental update to the major-version public release of the Mozilla 1.0 browser source code it released in June...
    Internet News

    Open in New Window When bright ideas bite back
    Next time you have a bright idea, keep it to yourself. Once it's on the net, your life may not be your own...
    BBC


    Looking For More News or Information?

    Google
    Search WWW Search Aardvark

    Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2002, Bruce Simpson, republication rights available on request

    jet engine page