file type will crumble when new formats with better compression and improved clarity appear. MP3 is a means, not the end.
Digital music distributed over the Net is as ideal as electronic mail over the Net, and smart, motivated people are experimenting with clever ways to solve legal and technical problems. But don't worship at the altar of MP3. Think of music the same way you think of e-mail. It isn't important whether you get your e-mail via a client program like Eudora, a Web-based system like Hotmail or a command-line program like Pine. What's important is that you get your e-mail.
Better distribution methods than MP3 will appear. Don't let hysteria over a file format prevent you from enjoying it.
Jimmy Guterman (guterman@vineyard.com) is president of the Vineyard Group, an editorial consultancy. He plans to sell his Rio player on eBay (EBAY).
