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Will the official online music gates finally stream open and flood us with non-pirated tunes? Perhaps. One important step in the process has finally been taken. The National">http://www.nmpa.org">National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), the Harry Fox Agency (HFA), and the Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced last week that they have come to a "breakthrough" agreement on the licensing of musical works for new subscription services on the Internet.

Many audiophiles agree that dedicated AC circuits can make notable improvements in the performance of hi-fi equipment. If you are planning to run a dedicated AC line, JPS">http://www.jpslabs.com">JPS Labs has a product for you.

It's a Mac attack! First up is Jonathan Scull's take on the McIntosh">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/428/">McIntosh MC1201 monoblock power amplifier. Festooning his listening loft with a pair of the "Great American Icons," J-10 is ready to rumble with "the biggest power meters you ever saw this side-a Milwaukee."

Napster may be down for the count, but audio file-sharing is more popular than ever, according to a study released October 10 by research firm Jupiter">http://www.jmm.com">Jupiter Media Metrix Inc.

Do good things come in small packages? Audio technology over this past half century offers pretty good evidence that they do. Fifty years ago, the long-playing record amazed people with a half-hour of music per side, compared to the 78's few minutes. Thirty years ago, the cassette tape replaced bulky open reels, ushering in a new era of recording capability—and portability—for millions of people. Twenty years ago, the CD began to push the LP out of the way because it packed a little more music into a much smaller and more durable package. Personal radios have long been hugely popular, and portable audio players are consistently among the industry's best-selling products.

The final numbers aren't in yet, but all indications point to an astounding show of support from the audiophile community for the Audio">http://www.audiogon.com/charity.html">Audio Charity Auction conducted by Audio">http://www.audioasylum.com">Audio Asylum's Rod Morris and Audiogon's">http://www.audiogon.com">Audiogon's Arnie Chinta. The numbers are still stacking up, but as of Sunday, October 7, the benefit had raised $173,738 from over 400">http://gonmain.iserver.net/cgi-bin/auc_ch.pl?charity&1&c">400 closed auctions.

Last week, Napsterhttp://www.napster.com/">Napster; announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with US songwriters and music publishers to settle a class action lawsuit currently pending in federal court in California. The beleaguered company says the agreement includes terms under which the songwriters and music publishers will license their music to Napster's new membership-based service.