Bob Soron writes:
>I have to admit some curiosity. One of the reasons Sony's MiniDisc has
>been met with disdain is that it uses a lossy format. MP3 doesn't strike
>me as all that different, and I do wonder why many people seem to feel
>so differently about the two. (I'm not implying you have, Brad, just
>taking off on your comments.)
My theory is that its popularity has to do with the fact that the
technology isn't proprietary (that is, Sony, Seagrams, Panasonic,
Microsoft, etc. doesn't get a cut of each sale) and that it's
software-based, not hardware based, so it requires no outlay of cash,
unlike MiniDisc, DAT, DCC, or the other digital consumer formats. The
resistance from the major labels certainly hasn't hurt, either, giving
the format a Robin Hood-esque aura. No one particularly minds seeing the
majors squirm a little.
--Jon Johnson
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Wollaston, Massachusetts
