Toll Booths and Speed Bumps

As soon as some people saw just how fast and flexible and useful the "information superhighway" could be, other people said "All right! Let's build toll booths and speed bumps." Anyone who has dealt with finding and installing the well-hidden "free" version of media players to listen to our live broadcast stream can testify on the matter. And then the relentless commercials pushed by the players--yuk. We have long felt that the intrusiveness and exclusivity of using proprietary players and audio formats to distribute public broadcasting on the Internet was a poor choice. Until recently, we saw no practical alternative. But now our streaming provider, Public Interactive, is offering a universally-playable stream in mp3 format. We are in the process of switching over, and will shortly drop our Real Audio and Windows Media format streams. Those of you who use and like the RealOne Player and the Windows Media Player will see little change; both players play the mp3 format. But then, so does the QuickTime Player, and the WinAmp player, and most of the non-commercial shareware and freeware players, and new PDAs, and cell phones. By next year, you will probably be able to find an mp3-playing necktie. One stream, one format, many choices, no charge. Cool.