Yes, (Rose and Ellis), MP3 and WMF are amazing. I recently transferred some classical music to DVD in WMF format at 128Kbps. There are 105 complete pieces, plus 353 of my favourite tracks. That's about 4.34GB; but I notice that I'm out of touch - there are already tiny mp3 players with a capacity of 2GB. I've seen much larger, but some, maybe all, have hard drives.

The data is compressed, though, which means that quality is lost (unless the files are WMA recorded at 940Kbps). In most situations that's not noticeable, but anyone who is, or was, a hi-fi nut, and has had the opportunity to use very high quality equipment in a suitable acoustic environment, the superiority of the mid-20th century 12" acetate LP over the 21st century mp3 is all too clear.

Currently, we still rely mainly on the old fashioned spinning disc system as the bulk data storage medium. This mechanical equipment is pretty reliable, but it's bulky, uses a lot of power, generates a lot of heat, wears out, and has data access and transfer delays. What I'm really seeing in my crystal ball is the total obsolescence of moving parts in data storage technology, and the obviation of compression for audio data. When that happens, the real audiophiles will take a second look at solid state music.

"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once" - John Wheeler