Scott,
It is true that in order for SCMS to apply to Rio, Rio would not be able to store "regular" MP3 files. The MP3 standard would have to be modified for an SCMS scheme to work properly with this sort of device in my opinion.
As for the rest of your argument, I'll address it point by point:
Personal computers are clearly exempted by AHRA. Rio cannot function without a PC.
Rio is not a personal computer.
There is no non-audio output from Rio, so it isn't likely to be construed a recording device. A recording device is one which takes output from one media and creates a new media which can be redistributed. Rio is a playback only device, just like a cassette player. The only difference is Rio's media is a digital data stream, where a cassette player's is a physical cartridge.
Rio takes an MP3 file (output) from the computer and stores it in Rio's on-board flash memory ("new media").
Rio is more like a tape recorder than a cassette player. Rio has the capability to record music compressed using the MP3 format and playback music compressed using the MP3 format. Rio's "media" is its on-board flash memory, which can be removed and inserted into other Rio recording devices.
Your position is that the computer does the recording, which is demonstrably incorrect. All the computer really does is the playback, albeit in digital form.
Rio does not, in itself, enable piracy. My ability to own Rio should in no way be a defense of any decision of mine to conduct audio piracy, any more than my ownership of a PC would be a defense of software piracy. This, of course, assumes Rio does not ship with a ripper.
Rio most definitely enables serial copying of pirated material. There is nothing to prevent someone with Rio from logging onto the Internet, downloading an MP3 from an FTP site, web page, or IRC session, and then storing that MP3 in Rio's flash memory.
A decision to eliminate Rio would deny consumers, like me, who have a large audio colletion the right to own a device like Rio which would further enable them to enjoy that collection. Your definition of SCMS would help me better understand this issue.
There are plenty of alternatives to Rio available that comply with AHRA. Rio itself can and should be made compliant with AHRA, but Diamond is evidently going to have to take a beating in court before management expends the effort to comply with the law.
Jonathan
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