Here's a story reached through CNN Interactive about MSFT purchasing technology from a company founded by former MSFT employees, Interactive Objects, which will allow users of handheld devices running Windows CE to play audio in Microsoft's Windows Streaming Media file format.
There is an interesting comment from Suzanne Miller, marketing manager at Interactive Objects, in the middle of the article:
(I've added the bold)
The player initially supported the MP3 compression technology for downloading music from the Web, Miller said, adding that she couldn't discuss the company's MP3 development plans. "There will be no development on MP3 with Microsoft, but that's not to say that we won't do development work with other people" on MP3, she said.
She's talking about Interactive Objects' future with MP3, but one could infer that MSFT has little interest in further work on MP3.
The article continues:
Meanwhile, under the ongoing contract, Interactive Objects will work with Microsoft to develop Windows desktop utilities, including Windows Media Rights Manager, that enable users to manage audio libraries between PCs and portable devices.
Users connect their portable devices to a docking station that connects to their PC and use their utilities to manage and encode their audio files on the PC, explained Miller. Encryption technologies will allow users to bundle together different audio files for playing on their portable devices without violating copyright protection, she said.
This is, of course, all speculation on my part, and TMM Inc. may play no part in any of this. But, it's food for thought as we try to understand how the technology TMMI has fits into the current move towards combining the music/video industries and the internet.
idg.net |
