The beta release of Ogg Vorbis sets up a possible showdown between proprietary vs. open source audio formats.

Two weeks after it was announced that copy-protected CD's had been released to the public in secrecy, a crack has already been developed.

An article on Wired.com ponders a similar idea that I had back in February: What if Napster was the answer for digital distibution?

Record stores have unknowingly been selling CD's to consumers that discourages converting tracks over to PC's for the past couple months.

Settling the rumors, Napster has decided to abandon the MP3 format in favor of developing their own proprietary/anti-piracy format, which they've dubbed .nap.

Microsoft strikes a deal with Vivendi Universal and Sony to offer Pressplay on its MSN network, pitting them once again against Real and AOL, who have partnered with Warner Music, EMI and BMG to form MusicNet.

With three music subscription services due to be launched this summer, P2P networks such as Gnutella, AudioGalaxy, and Morpheus look to already have the attention of the mainstream audience, making a subscription service even more of a tough sell.

After years of dot-coms falsely assuming that a limitless supply of advertising dollars attached to traffic would keep them profitable, many leading sites will begin experimenting with turning themselves into subscription-only packages.

Well, maybe not. But it sure seems they've sued everybody else involved in music technology after looking at the names that they have filed lawsuits against.

Wireless technology finally gets some good news, as Compaq's Evo will bring 802.11b and Bluetooth as a standard feature to their laptops.