Back around 2002 or so, I was convinced that Windows Media Audio (WMA) was the future of digital audio: It offered better compression, better fidelity, and smaller file sizes than the industry standard but ancient MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) audio format....
But then Apple happened........
And its iTunes software, not coincidentally defaulted to plain vanilla AAC for CD ripping whereas Windows Media Player defaulted to WMA....
Technologically, AAC and WMA are very similar, and superior to MP3....
The problem for Windows users--i.e. "the world"--is that AAC doesn't play nice with products made by Microsoft and its partners....
WMA actually met these requirements before the iPod rocketed to success....
Fortunately, we have that age-old standby, MP3, waiting in the wings. MP3 is everything that AAC and WMA are not:
As of this writing, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com are both offering millions of DRM-free MP3 audio tracks for sale online. Even Microsoft has gotten into the game: In November, it will relaunch the Zune Marketplace with over 1 million "pure" MP3 tracks....
The game's over, folks. MP3 won.
