The CDDB provides the identification of CD content based on track set characteristics. This is how your Winamp program can provide you with the CD track titles when you put a CD in your computer and are connected to the internet. CDs get scratched and damaged, and are cumbersom to travel with. With a large single centralized database of CDDB data and the associated MP3 files, a CD could act as a key to gain access to a set of MP3 files - available from anywhere. A user account could store a list of authorized CDs for any user. Each account would not require additional storage of MP3s - rather, simply a list of unique keys. Even damaged CDs could be converted to high quality (undamaged) MP3 files in less than a few seconds with this system. Barrier to entry is high, but marginal costs for volume users is low. User accounts would provide users with access to their CD libraries from any networked device.

Labels: Tech