Check this out....
Commenting on the Micro Drive:
"There are at least three different companies we are working with at the design level to ... evaluate [the drive's] functionality" in "MP3 type" portable player products, said John Osterhout, program director in IBM's storage systems division."
Thought I'd grab some attention before posting the full story & my comments ;) I found this article link at the bottom of the previous IBM story....how did we all miss this one?
Chris
wired.com
IBM and MP3? Maybe
by Jennifer Sullivan
3:00 a.m. 3.Apr.99.PST
Rio users sick of listening to the same few
songs by Tricky during their commute
may be getting some relief. At least three
companies are considering using IBM's
microdrive as a component in portable
MP3 player devices.
"There are at least three different
companies we are working with at the
design level to ... evaluate [the drive's]
functionality" in "MP3 type" portable
player products, said John Osterhout,
program director in IBM's storage systems
division.
Osterhout wouldn't say which companies
IBM was working with, how big they
were, or when (or if) the products would
roll out. But he said that any products
using the microdrive won't hit shelves
until "the middle of this year."
IBM's microdrive -- unveiled last
September -- allows for much more data
to be stored in a small drive the size of a
matchbook. This could give a boost to
the memory capabilities of all kinds of
handheld computers, cellphones, PDAs,
and portable player devices. The
microdrive could hold up to six hours of
CD-quality music in a music playback
device, or 300 hefty novels in an e-book,
or 1,000 compressed photographs in a
digital camera.
MP3 is a widely used audio compression
format that offers near-CD quality and is
used for distributing files over the
Internet. To date, the major music
industry labels haven't embraced the
format, which is also handy for pirating
music.
Read more MP3 Coverage.
The Recording Industry Association of
America is creating its own open
specification for a technology platform
with an emphasis on security, to be
released at the end of the year.
The existing Diamond Multimedia Rio MP3
player is the subject of a lawsuit filed by
the RIAA against Diamond last October.
The RIAA accuses the Rio of ruining the
marketplace for digital distribution online.
Diamond countersued last December,
saying the Rio player is protected by the
First and Fifth amendments.
Osterhout wouldn't comment on IBM's
potential liability around such an MP3
player product. "Basically, we are neutral
to all manufacturers of all types of
products. We are certainly encouraging
to make a number of things possible from
a technical standpoint. We are not there
to fight the legal battles."
"There are a number of companies looking
at [the portable MP3 player market]," said
Osterhout. "Once you create a new
category like this, suddenly the consumer
electronics companies come out of the
woodwork." |
