Joel on Software

2001/06/17

Cool Toys Department

I've been playing with MP3pro, a new file format that is exactly half the size of MP3s, with higher sound quality. The even neater part is that you can play MP3pro's with your old MP3 player. It sounds great. And it eliminates Windows Media's technical advantage.

You can download an MP3pro encoder and player from RCA. (Remember RCA? I thought they were long gone.)

News.com writes: "None of the Big Five (record labels) are going to distribute without security," said Gartner analyst P.J. McNealy. "Unless that's there, (MP3 proponents) are unlikely to get any of the Big Five."

Hello? Who cares what record companies do?

One of my neighbors abandoned this cool stereo receiver. It's a Beomaster 2400 from 1980. In 1980, I really lusted after these kinds of things. So I took it home.

College students: my company has paid summer internships in New York City, including free housing, free lunch, and the chance to develop software people will really use, with great mentors on interesting projects. Don't miss this chance of a lifetime. We only have a few spaces and they always go fast, so apply today.

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You’re reading Joel on Software, stuffed with years and years of completely raving mad articles about software development, managing software teams, designing user interfaces, running successful software companies, and rubber duckies.

About the author.

I’m Joel Spolsky, founder of Fog Creek Software, a New York company that proves that you can treat programmers well and still be highly profitable. Programmers get private offices, free lunch, and work 40 hours a week. Customers only pay for software if they’re delighted. We make FogBugz, an enlightened project management system designed to help great teams develop brilliant software, and Fog Creek Copilot, which makes remote desktop access easy.