Unless something changes dramatically, the

Unless something changes dramatically, the MPEG-4 streaming media format is starting to look as good as dead, and Microsoft will own most of the streaming media market (except in the even more unlikely event that RealNetworks beats Microsoft). Oh, for Streaming Out Loud! tells the story so far, which hinges on the system's patent holders charging not just for encoders and decoders but putting a tax on streamed media. Given that Microsoft's system is or soon will be better than MPEG-4, consumers will have the choice of using that for nothing or paying more for an inferior result. It is a safe bet that almost no-one will choose MPEG-4 except the ones who are not given a choice -- people with mobile phones, perhaps, who are used to being ripped off, and are paying enough for the MPEG-4 tax to be subsumed into their connection charges.