Small but perfectly formed, the MP3 file format offers near CD-quality sound squeezed into a tight package. As a result, despite the death of Napster, just about every thrifter in cyberspace is downloading, swapping and burning examples of Mpeg, audio layer 3, via alternative file-sharing systems.
But soon it may be time to sing a swansong for the MP3. No, the music business, which is gradually being brought to its knees by the MP3's phenomenal popularity, has not devised a virus to wipe it off the Web. Not yet, anyway.
Rather, in the download-and-upgrade Darwinian climate of the new economy, a rival has emerged - one that is leaner, faster and meaner. Indeed, it makes the MP3 look no better than a discarded cassette lying on the pavement with its innards spewing out. It is called WMA (Windows Media Audio).
WMA's main edge is compactness - supposedly twice that of an MP3. This must be music to the ears of the average user saddled with a slow standard 56kbps modem, which means downloading an MP3 can feel like trying to get out of bed in the morning.
You might assume that to enable this the audio quality is as tinny as the ditties you hear when stranded on hold.
Wrong. The sound is 'deluxe', delivering crisp highs, discernible mids and bass thick enough to whack a baseball with.