ATRAC is a wonderful compression algorithm, it's better than MP3 by quality and a big problem in MP3: the continue tracks have a little blank space at the beginning and produces a "puf" between tracks. Almost all the people ignore this and seems not important for they, but I hate this fault in the MP3 codec. If Sony stop the ATRAC development, then we are in a big trouble. I love MiniDisc for the versatility and the cool aspect of the discs. But Sony doesn't care about their customers. Well, we find a way to survive this electronic tsunami. Regards to all.