Ask Bjoern Hansen wrote:
> it probably helps making CDs last that most people in the US are
> getting around in their big roomy cars and not commuting in busses
> and trains and such.
>
> I know that I've been using MDs much more in Europe than in
> California for that particular reason.
That's a very good point. With in dash players being readily available the CD
is just about the perfect thing in a car. While the CDs are a little on the
large size, without their jewel box, in a wallet, they are convenient enough
to use in the car.
But if you are going to be taking long trips on busses and trains as is the
case in Japan, having to carry around CDs becomes inconvenient. Even the
players are a little too big. Especially compared to some of the MD portables
that are available.
When I was in MD sales the owner of the company told me that CDs were very
expensive in Japan. I guess that renting CDs and copying them to MD is a very
popular way to go in Japan.
Don't people realize that many public libraries let you borrow CDs! You can
borrow a CD and copy it on to a mini disc just for the price of the blank. I
don't want to get into the legal issues.
With MP3s being "shared" on the net, it is just a matter of time before the
recording industry is going to have to work out some agreement. Napster may
have lost the battle but free MP3s aren't simply going to disappear.
People have been getting free music off of the radio for years. The recording
industry is just going to have to realize that to some extent the internet is
the "new" radio. They are going to have to work out some sort of royalties
arrangement like they have with the radio stations.
The other day one of the fine young list members gave me a new site to replace
Napster. There were almost 200,000 people "sharing" files when I went on the
other day. I only had time to look for and download a couple of songs, but I
had no trouble finding the titles.
Don't sell minidisc short. They are too popular outside of the US and have a
small but well established "cult" of followers even in the states. To some
degree I think that MD will continue to exist even in the US for years to
come.
Sony hasn't abandoned the medium. They are still working on developments.
LPMD isn't that old. And they are offering a select number of models for the
US market. I am still stupid and loyal enough to believe that MD may actually
rise up somewhat.
I think that a major mistake Sony made was bragging about ATRAC. If the
average person didn't hear the work compression, they would net hear a
difference between a CD and it's MD copy.
People like MP3 because it's free. They don't even think about compression.
They just think of it as a computer standard for storing music.
Until you can get 75 to 80 minutes of solid state storage for $2 or less,
static RAM is never going to be a realistic way of creating a music collection
(although I have to say that if the price were right, it would have it over MD
in 2 areas: 1-You don't have to worry about vibrations and movement, 2-There
are no mechanical parts to break down.
Larry
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word
"unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
