Microsoft cranked up the volume Tuesday with a demo that could turn out to be
a real pain for one of its competitors. As part of Microsoft's ongoing efforts
to wrest the streaming video software market from RealNetworks, the Colossus of
Codes premiered a new version of its Windows Media system that it says will be
able to stream DVD-quality audio and video to homes with high-speed Internet
connections sometime next year. Assuming that movie studios are cooperative and
some programmer comes up with an acceptable business plan, Microsoft's
next-generation streaming media technology appears to be an attractive medium
for transmitting a home-theater-caliber video to people's houses over the
Internet.
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