Re: [ARSCLIST] MP3 patent dispute

[Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger and Allison Kulp wrote:
> The past damage argument is completely bogus,I can 
> see the case being thrown out in the future.
> As for paying future royalties,it seems to me,
> that websites could just get around it,by using a
> different format.Don't Real,and iTunes use something
> other than MP3 ? I stream a lot of stuff off the
> web,and about 60% of the sites do use Real or iTunes exclusively.

There is an open-source, patent-free file format that has been around
for about five years, called Ogg Vorbis. Its website is
http://www.vorbis.com ; it is cross-platform, meaning it works in
Windows, Mac, or *nix. Vorbis is also claimed to sound better than MP3s
but at smaller bitrates. Most modern media players will handle Vorbis
files natively; plugins are available for those that don't.

I rarely, if ever, use these types of formats myself, preferring
lossless compression such as FLAC. But if someone wants a royalty-free
audio format with fairly wide support, Vorbis might be worth watching.

MS