"Eric Woudenberg, Minidisc.org Editor" wrote:
>Yes, it makes me wonder how much work will be involved to get an MP3
>track downloaded via NetMD. In theory, you should be able to convert
>a .wav file to secure ATRAC, right? (Or will you have to have your
>own real CD to make ATRAC files?). So, since you can make .wav files
>from MP3 files, why not an MP3 to secure ATRAC convertor and
>downloader, all running in software, with no change to the NetMD
>based recorder?
The thing that makes me worry about NetMD is that if the above is true (you
need software to do the conversion), MiniDisc will become
platform-dependent. That is, in order to be able to use NetMD, you need
software written for your computing platform.
It is my experience that MD is far more popular among Mac and *nix users
than it is among PC users (that's not saying there are *more* Mac or *nix MD
users... only that the proportions of use are larger in those groups of
people). The fact that for a time there were so many more MP3
encoders/players and Napster-like clients for Windows and so few for other
platforms probably had a big role in that (there are plenty now, but early
in the MP3 craze, there weren't). Regardless of the reasons, MD is quite
popular among non-Windows groups, especially Mac users.
Sony has historically been clueless when it comes to non-Windows products
and software. It took them over a year of saying "no, our MD recorders are
not compatible with Macs" before they finally plugged a Xitel in and
realized that it worked from Day 1. Likewise, the software for all their
"Music Clip"-type products (the ATRAC encoding/transfer tools) is
Windows-only. Now that they are moving towards MD equipment that looks like
it will need software, I hope they take their proverbial heads out of their
proverbial behinds and make sure that they make this new format/feature
available to everyone. The amount of time it would take them to write Mac
and *nix tools would be miniscule compared to the amount of return they
would get.
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