MP3-Also known as MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3, a standard technology and format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file (about a twelfth the size of the original file) while preserving the original level of sound quality. MP3 files, identified with the file name suffix of ".mp3," are available for downloading from the Internet. They also come in CDs, packing in songs several times that which you could find in ordinary commercial audio CDs. Many Windows 98 users will find that they have a player built into their operating system. Those who don't can download a player from one of several popular MP3 sites. MP3 files are usually download-and-play files rather than streaming sound files that you link-and-listen-to with RealPlayer and similar products. Still, streaming MP3 is possible. Winamp (PC), MacAmp (Mac) and mpeg123 (Unix) are popular MP3 players, but there are many others. To create an MP3 file, you use a program called a ripper to get a selection from a CD on to your hard disk and another program called an encoder to convert the selection to an MP3 file. Most people, however, simply download MP3s from someone else and play them.

MP3.com (www.mp3.com) and Napster (www.napster.com) might be the most popular (and controversial) MP3 file sharing networks and/or search engines, but a number of related alternatives are out there.

Napster-The software, website and community which provides a way for users to find and download MP3s from the Internet. Napster users are part of the Napster Music Community and all interaction is done on a user-to-user basis. By creating a virtual community, Napster collects a vast collection of MP3s for download. Napster also eliminates the problems of conventional FTP transferring by using cutting-edge technology to ensure the completion of each MP3 transfer.

Gnutella-Download a client from a number of independent sites, including http://gnutella.wego.com and www.zeropaid.com. Originally developed under Nullsoft, a subsidiary of America Online, which pulled the plug on the project but not before users had already downloaded the controversial peer-to-peer file sharing software. Different developers have come up with their own versions of the client, which can be used to search and distribute different file formats apart from MP3. Original developer was Justin Frankel of Winamp MP3 player fame, who named it after GNU (GNU's Not Unix) and Nutella, the hazelnut spread to which he is reportedly addicted.

Riffshare-The software, which you can download at www.riffshare.com, turns all computers on a local area network into an MP3 file-sharing network.

Scour-Get the Scour Exchange client at www.scour.com. Besides MP3 files, it also lets you search and exchange MPEGs, JPEGs and other file types.

SongSpy-Check out the website www.songspy.com for this new music sharing program. Offers a "give-and-take" philosophy for unselfish music enthusiasts.

Swapoo-Formerly RomNet, Swapoo (www.swapoo.com) allows you to exchange files of a selected extension using peer-to-peer transfer over a client-server network.

Wrapster-Version 2.0 of this Napster clone/enhancement is available at http://members.fortunecity.com/wrapster/. Meant to be "a file-sharing software for the Napster community that cloaks files in a legitimate-looking MP3 header."