Microsoft Set to Take Lead in Streaming

As Microsoft ratchets up the war over formats for transmitting audio and video over the Internet, a group of high-tech heavyweights has joined forces to seek peace. At the Streaming Media West conference in San Jose today, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer plans to unveil a new version of Windows Media Audio software that delivers near-CD-quality sound in a 30% smaller file than the previous Windows version. That means consumers can store almost three times as many songs in Microsoft’s format as they can in the popular MP3 format with no loss in quality, said Dave Fester, general manager for marketing of the Windows Media division.