“Audio for the Internet is jumping out of the PC and mobile
player and into the home stereo as companies including Compaq,
Creative Labs and S3 prepare a generation of digital jukeboxes and
Web audio receivers. The OEMs are queuing up their first products
in this new category, despite the climate of deep uncertainty
surrounding copy protection for digital audio files “ripped” from
compact disks or downloaded from the Net.”
“Clearly, for new-generation MP3 players, “the new frontier is
the home,” said Michael Reed, vice president of marketing at S3
Inc.’s Rio Division.”
“Competitor S3 is also developing a jukebox slated for launch
within the next six months that will come with preloaded music. The
Rio jukebox system lets consumers insert a CD, then rip tracks and
store music files on its hard drive without the need for a PC.
The Rio, which is likely to be based on the Linux operating
system (although S3 would not confirm this), will also feature
Internet connection to let consumers download music off the Web.
The company does not claim that the system will be SDMI
compliant.“