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Last week Microsofthttp://www.microsoft.com">Microsoft; entered the Internet audio fray by announcing the release of their Windows">http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia">Windows Media Technologies 4 platform, which the company claims introduces a "new standard for CD-quality audio" on the Internet. Windows Media includes Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools, and Windows Media Audio SDK.

It's no secret that audio publications around the world have been shrinking or disappearing of late. John Atkinson writes in his September 1999 "As We See It" that although the trend has certainly affected Stereophile's girth, steps have been taken to fatten the audiophile content of every issue. Read his analysis of the situation in "Closer">http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/135/">"Closer Together Covers?"

While all of the attention was on SDMI and watermarking earlier this month, Diamond">http://www.diamondmm.com">Diamond Multimedia, the http://www.riaa.com/"> Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies (AARC) quietly announced the settlement of all pending litigation related to Diamond's Rio portable Internet music player. (See previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10324/">previous story.) All three parties say they have dismissed their legal actions, and have announced the mutually satisfactory resolution of outstanding legal issues.

Wes Phillips explains that Adcom is one of those companies that is easy to take for granted. "To break through our complacency, Adcom would have to produce an outright unlistenable turkey—or a product that raised the bar so high that any audio manufacturer would get a hernia just thinking about raising it again."

The Internet offers unprecedented opportunity for manufacturers to bring their products directly to their markets, but many companies have been reluctant to embrace it for fear of upsetting their established dealer networks. This has been especially true of mid-to-high-end audio companies, who have traditionally sold their wares through specialty shops.

Westlake Village, California-based KnowledgeLINK has announced a mid-September debut for GetPlugged.comhttp://www.getplugged.com">GetPlugged.com;, its e-commerce website. KnowledgeLINK says that the site, presently under construction, will offer a wide variety of mid- to high-end home entertainment products, and "in-depth guidance" for consumers interested in buying them. The company also states that its site's network of affiliated dealers and custom installers will work with customers to ensure that they get the best use of their purchases.

Tonal accuracy vs. soundstage? "Achieving an optimum balance between the two philosophical extremes of recording is where much of the art lies. It also begs the question, of course, of why it's impossible to have both: a recording with a virtual-reality sense of imaging that also captures all the sound without any coloration." While recording the Sonata CD for Stereophile, John Atkinson wrestles with every recording engineer's dilemma. Read about the struggle to capture Robert Silverman performing Liszt's monumental B-Minor Piano Sonata and the ultimate solution in "Fate">http://www.stereophile.com//features/131/">Fate, I Defy You," added this week to the archives.