Diamond Rio real gem of a music device, Compact Modem from Pretec

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Published: 12:00am, 15 Jul 1999

I have been considering buying a Diamond Rio MP3 player for some time so that I can download and listen to music off the Internet while commuting. Is the quality of sound from this player really comparable to CD quality? Also, is it true that most of the music downloadable off the Internet is pirated, and therefore illegal to download? I don't really want to break any laws. Are there any sites from which I can download music legally? JOHN SINGLETON Happy Valley Even as I write this I am listening to a new song in MP3 format downloaded from www.mp3.com. It's as good a place as any from which to start if you want good music - new or old - downloadable for your personal, one-off (no copies made) listening pleasure. Among other things, the site uses individual songs to help promote sales of albums.

It is true that there is a thriving illegal trade in on-line music. At this time, there really is nothing to stop you from downloading music from any one of the major Web sites that put music on line without authorisation from either record companies or artists. Nothing save your own conscience, that is.

Agreements made - but yet to be implemented - between some of the biggest names in recording industry and top music associations in the United States, for example, will mean that soon a great many pieces of music will be available on-line for free download completely legally.

The originals will contain digital code that will prevent copies being made, thus theoretically eliminating piracy. Individuals will be able to download the music on to the likes of Rio players, but will not be able to burn CDs of compilations of songs.

To answer your Rio question: go for it. The Rio is a nice little device, and the quality of sound you get from it is good. Not quite CD quality, but with the background noise on an average Hong Kong MTR journey, you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Just bear in mind that a new Rio model is set to be launched soon. This one will hold up to a whopping 13 hours of music. It will sure beat going around with stacks of CDs or mini discs in your bag every day. Of course, downloading 13 hours of music off an average dial-up Internet connection in Hong Kong is not something you want to go about doing every other day.

I'm in the market for a Windows CE handheld device and have already made up my mind what to buy when I get round to it. The only thing holding me back is a small reservation regarding the connectivity of these machines. For example, how easily, and fast, will I be able to connect to the Internet with a Windows CE machine? And besides their ability to connect to a host computer, will I be able to connect directly into, say, my office LAN? ROGER WONG Hunghom If you have decided to spend money on a Windows CE handheld, you ought to have reservations. But the connectivity issue should not be one of them. With a device like the CompactModem from Pretec, for example, you can dial into the Internet at 56K, and even send and receive faxes at 14.4K.