Wired 2/98: Hype List
Deflating this month's overblown memes.
By Steve G. Steinberg
MiniDisc
Ranking: 3
Life Expectancy: 1 month
On the Rise/Decline: Decline
If you fail once, remarket and ... fail again. That seems to be Sony's
strategy with its beloved MiniDisc, anyway. Having accepted that the
audio format won't replace the CD, Sony is now marketing MiniDisc as a
cheap, recordable alternative to the cassette tape. This is not just
a sign of diminished expectations - it's serious ignorance. The real
cassette tape and CD killer is already out there. Just ask the
thousands of college-age music pirates who daily download
MP3-compressed tunes form the Net for free.
[email protected]
[MD meme on the decline with one month until fadeout!? Steve,
do try and avoid that American penchant for
provincialism. -eaw]
