Wall St. Journal/Canoe.com: Tech Industry Aims to Render MP3 Obsolete

“MP3, a popular format for downloading music from the Web, is
encountering competitive pressure as leading technology companies
such as Microsoft Corp. work to subtly wean consumers away from the
technology.”

“…Microsoft, for example, plans to severely limit the quality
of music that can be recorded as an MP3 file using software built
into the next version of its personal-computer operating system,
Windows XP. But music recorded in the Redmond, Wash., software
company’s own format, called Windows Media Audio, will sound
clearer and require far less storage space on a computer.”
“RealNetworks Inc. of Seattle also is encouraging consumers to use
proprietary software formats, such as its Real Audio 8, though
RealNetworks’ listening software can accommodate a variety of
different formats, including MP3 and Microsoft’s. Other formats
gaining popularity are based on the relatively new Advanced Audio
Codec created by AT&T Corp. of New York, Dolby Laboratories
Inc. of San Francisco, Sony Corp. of Japan, and the Fraunhofer
Institut Integrierte Schaltungen in Germany.”

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