Stereophile Staff

Music file&ndash;sharing service <A HREF="http://www.napster.com/">Napster Inc.</A> appears to be losing its fight against the <A HREF="http://www.riaa.com/">Record Industry Association of America</A>. On May 8, judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the US District Court in Northern California rejected two of Napster's key defenses: that it is a "mere conduit" of information, like a telephone network; and that it had made serious efforts to prevent "repeat offenders" from using the site. Telephone companies, Internet service providers, and other types of information services are exempt by law from being responsible for the information transmitted over their systems, provided they make reasonable attempts to control abuses. Napster doesn't qualify on either count, Judge Patel found.

Digital downloading is all the rage with the major record labels. <A HREF="http://www.emimusic.ca/">EMI Recorded Music</A>, a unit of <A HREF="http://www.emigroup.com/">EMI Group PLC</A>, announced May 10 that it will make some of its massive catalog available as digital downloads beginning this summer. More than 100 albums and 40 singles will be offered on a trial basis, according to a company press release dated May 10. EMI's musical spectrum covers every genre, including pop, rock, jazz, classical, Latin, Christian, country, rap/urban, and dance&mdash;a roster of approximately 1500 artists. Labels under the EMI umbrella include Capitol, Angel, Blue Note, EMI, Priority, and Virgin.

The entertainment industry's worst worry&mdash;copyright infringement&mdash;just got a lot worse. A consortium of 12 major high-technology companies has been organized to promote a rewritable DVD technology developed by the Pioneer Electronics Corporation, according to a May 9 press release from Tokyo.

MP3 may be under constant attack by audiophiles, and by music-industry attorneys in the courts, but the format shows no indication of disappearing. Santa Clara, CA&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.s3.com/">S3</A&gt;, maker of the Rio portable audio player, has reason to believe that MP3 has plenty of growth potential. The company is going after licensees for the Rio to make knockoffs, and has plans to produce Rio-type players for home and car audio this summer.

Bothered by bounce? Jonathan Scull offers some solutions for turntable owners with problem floors in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//finetunes/226/">"Fine Tunes" No.20</A>. He also describes how impoverished audiophiles can make their own low-cost anti-vibration shelves. <I>Stereophile</I> readers respond with their own experiences&mdash;and a warning.

Progress toward a working digital radio technology took a big step forward in April with the addition of <A HREF="http://http://www.lowpassprototype.com/">Lowpass Prototype Inc.</A> to the development team. According to an April 27 press release, <A HREF="http://www.usadr.com/">USA Digital Radio, Inc.</A>, a privately held digital radio technology company owned by the nation's largest radio broadcasters, has added the manufacturer of radio-frequency systems for radio and television transmission to its coalition to develop and commercialize digital AM and FM radio.

Can Jah Atkinson believe his ears? The PS Audio Power Plant P300 touched an audio nerve with JA, who interviewed the designer, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//interviews/222/">Paul McGowan: High-End Survivor</A>, for the May 2000 <I>Stereophile</I>. As a bonus, we include <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/181/6">JA's follow-up</A> to Robert Deutsch's review of the P300, also from the May issue.