Hi Folks.

Although I am not much of a computer audio guy, I know that a number of you
are, based on the discussions I have lurked over on this mailing list.
However, I was watching the news the other day and I saw some interesting
stuff about MP3, the new compressed audio format that all of the music
companies are arguing over.  There is a product(s?) that you can buy that
lets you download and play these new files.  It occurred to me that this
whole concept could easily be embraced by Squeak.  Squeak runs on
everything, it has web accessing capabilities, and it already has
significant audio and multi-media extensions.  I wonder if you audio-philes
are aware/interested in adding an MP3 extension to Squeak?

---==> Chris

PS>  For those of you who may not know what MP3 is, I looked it up on the
web and this is the definition I found:

"MPEG3 MP3 (MPEG Layer 3) is a method of compressing audio samples with
minimal loss of quality, in fact compression of up to 12:1 is possible with
no loss of quality. What this means is that a 3 minute song on a CD which
would take up 30-40 Mb in normal .WAV format can be squashed down to 3-4Mb
in Full 44khz Stereo. It will take about 15-20 minutes to download a file of
this sizes, based on 28k Modem speed."

[Quotation "borrowed" from:  "Universal MP3 Links" at
http://members.tripod.com/~ump3links/index.htm]

PPS>  On a related subject, has anyone looked into Squeak and DVD support?
DVD (digital versatile disk, or digital video disk) promises to combine new
compression techniques for both audio and video signals.  Versions of DVD
drives are already shipping with new PCs in the US.  Combining the ability
to decode and play DVD signals in Squeak with the exciting concept of
running Squeak on a web page, could provide for a new, exciting kind of
multi-media web page....   The future is getting brighter!