Report Claims Microsoft Seeks To Eliminate MP3 - Product Development

Computer Technology Review, May, 2001 by Joshua Piven

A disturbing report published in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal in April seems to indicate that, far from altering its controversial business practices, Microsoft Corp. is up to its old tricks once again. The article claims that Microsoft--with the support of the recording industry as well as rival RealNetworks--is attempting to eliminate or severely restrict the use of MP3 technology in its new OS, Windows XP, expected later this year.

The story contends that Windows XP will favor Microsoft's proprietaiy Windows Media Format (WMF) over competing formats, and that MP3 files on an XP system will have degraded audio quality and inflated file sizes in comparison to the same files stored in WMF. WMF includes technology for copy protection support, which MP3 lacks, and thus is more appealing to the recording industry.

If true--and it should be noted that Windows XP was still in beta testing at press time--the report is a clear indication that Microsoft continues to engage in the business practices that made it the target of federal and state investigations. Redmond appears to continue to use its monopoly position in the OS market to control other markets, in this case the market for digital music (and its associated hardware and software products).

Some would surely contend that MP3 technology is so widespread and well entrenched that any move to eliminate it is doomed to fail. But such was the case with Netscape Navigator when Microsoft integrated Internet Explorer with the Windows shell in 1997. Netscape (now owned by AOL Time Warner) currently has only a slim percentage of the browser market; Microsoft owns the vast majority. Without good (read: equitable) support for MP3 on the world's most popular operating system, use of it will certainly wane, as users search for formats that are better supported.

Of course, Redmond is under no obligation to support any open standard in any of its products. And the company can certainly make a reasonable case for not supporting audio technology that lacks copy protection. But its reputed drive to kill MP3 smacks of its well known industry tactic of "embrace, extend, and eliminate." The strategy seeks to add proprietary features to open standards, making them easier to use with Microsoft products but at the same time eliminating their universal application. In this case, there's a new twist: support the technology, but degrade it to such an extent that it becomes less appealing than Microsoft-owned alternatives.