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

To: Jonathan Quick who wrote (3757)	10/23/1998 9:13:00 AM
From: Scott Garee	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4679

I guess our differences are what the court will decide, but here are my responses anyway: 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. Rio's on board flash memory is not media. It can't be transferred to another playback device. Even in the case of the removable expansion card it's not feasible. Am I going to give (or sell) someone a $100 flash card in lieu of them paying $12 for the original music? The transfer of data to the Rio's memory is no different than inserting a cassette into a cassette player. The existing selection is lost when a new selection is loaded. 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. Demonstrably incorrect? I don't need Rio to record or playback mp3 files. The computer can do it very capably on its own. Rio cannot record anything without the computer and cannot transfer it to another player, with the exception of the removable Flash expansion card which is clearly (and extremely) cost prohibitive. 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. Someone with Rio can do nothing which you describe. Someone with a PC can do all of this, regardless of whether or not they possess a Rio. Excepting the storing to Rio, of course. There are plenty of alternatives to Rio available that comply with AHRA. Plenty? Name them. Minidisc is close, but no cigar. Remember, this is non-mechanical, portable, digital playback.