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Roger and Allison Kulp wrote: > The past damage argument is completely bogus,I can > see the case being thrown out in the future. > As for paying future royalties,it seems to me, > that websites could just get around it,by using a > different format.Don't Real,and iTunes use something > other than MP3 ? I stream a lot of stuff off the > web,and about 60% of the sites do use Real or iTunes exclusively. There is an open-source, patent-free file format that has been around for about five years, called Ogg Vorbis. Its website is http://www.vorbis.com ; it is cross-platform, meaning it works in Windows, Mac, or *nix. Vorbis is also claimed to sound better than MP3s but at smaller bitrates. Most modern media players will handle Vorbis files natively; plugins are available for those that don't. I rarely, if ever, use these types of formats myself, preferring lossless compression such as FLAC. But if someone wants a royalty-free audio format with fairly wide support, Vorbis might be worth watching. MS