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Technology Stocks : Diamond Multimedia -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stock talk who wrote (4601)	7/25/1999 5:24:00 PM
From: steve patagonia	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4679

Everybody, think about this: Is downloading music off the web that important when one can make mp3 files from their CDs? I could take an hours worth of some of my favorite songs off some of my CDs, convert them to mp3 files, put the mp3 files in my Rio and go for a jog. When I get tired of them I could delete them from the Rio and convert more songs from my collection of CDs into mp3 files and download them into my Rio and go workout in the gym. Remember that while I'm converting these songs to mp3 I'm creating a growing library of songs on my hard drive. So it's not like I have to re-convert any songs from my CDs. Convert once, and download to Rio. Let's just forget about the web with download for a while. When you see the advantages of mp3 in the above scenarios, you see that it's a revolution without the web. Think about this; No moveable parts(Won't need a head cleaner,rubber cleaner, CD cleaner etc.), Don't have to worry about scratching skipping CDs or worn out bad quality tapes(We can kiss cassettes goodbye), no tapes or CDs lying around in your glove compartment or in the wrong cases, or a CD here and a case there. It's just a box with RAM. What's more I believe the Rio will come in a waterproof model so that one could go surfing or windsurfing with it. So imagine that. You could be listening to tunes while you wait for the next set. The Rio is the size of a cigarette box and light. Yeah, it's a revolution alright without the web!! But Diamond's got to take advantage of their lead before the competetion gets heavy. Creative is the only one out there right now. Sony seems to be so concerned about piracy that Sony electonics hasn't been given any real green light. I think a lot of the other Japanese companies are waiting for some form of go ahead too. And they should be. Can you say Betamax? And what is a pirate proof format? Does that mean that once you've paid for and downloaded a particular song from the web you can't make copies of it? Or does it mean that it can't be downloaded again after the initial download? Well who really needs or wants a format like this? As for the RIAA, they need to create an MP3 police or team that seeks out illegal sites where people are downloading mp3 files and inflict heavy fines. Because the cat's out of the bag and it's MP3.

To: stock talk who wrote (4601)	8/4/1999 5:35:00 PM
From: Jan A. Van Hummel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4679

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Aug. 4) -- The music industry settled its federal lawsuit against Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc., marking the end of a campaign to block the company from selling its portable Internet music players. Terms weren't disclosed. The Recording Industry Association of America and the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies went to court in October, seeking an injunction to stop sales of Diamond's Rio, the first commercially available portable device for playing songs downloaded from the Internet. The injunction and a later appeal were both denied by federal judges. The RIAA, whose members include the world's five largest music companies, and the AARC had claimed that Rio, which went on sale in November, is a tool for Internet music bootleggers who exploit new technology for copying, distributing and playing compact disc-quality music converted into computer files. Since the lawsuit, Diamond has said it will incorporate security technologies in future players and software. The security technologies, made by Intertrust Technologies Corp. and Microsoft Corp., would allow music sellers to track the online distribution of their songs and prevent illegal duplication. The San Jose, California-based company also has participated in the Secure Digital Music Initiative, a standards group that includes record companies Time Warner Inc., Sony Corp., Seagram Co. Ltd., EMI Group Plc and Bertelsmann AG and top technology companies such as Microsoft Corp. and America Online Inc. The group's aim is to develop standards for encryption and so-called ''watermarking'' of digital music so it can't be duplicated and distributed by music pirates.