DIGITAL L.A. : MICROSOFT BECOMES THE LATEST PLAYER IN WIDE-OPEN FIELD.

Byline: David Bloom 

Trust me, it only seems like every technology company in America has come out recently with its own proposed software to allow you to buy, rent and download music (and ultimately video) from the Internet.

AT&T owns a2b. IBM just announced the Madison Project. Apple is coming out with QuickTime 4.0. RealNetworks came out with its next-generation G2 media player. The Recording Industry Association of America has been pursuing its one-size-fits-all Secure Digital Music Initiative. And don't forget Liquid Audio, Net fave MP-3 format, and a raft of lesser-known companies with their own alternatives.

All this interest suggests that someone thinks there's a market here to be tapped. That usually means one thing: Microsoft wants to control it.

And this week, the Big Byte in Redmond, Wash., jumped back into the fray with the release of the latest ``beta'' version of its multimedia software, now rather grandly called Windows Media Technologies 4.0.

To show it off, the company held a big bash - fittingly on the Sunset Strip in the heart of the entertainment capital of the universe - at the House of Blues.

Microsoft poobah Bill Gates addressed the mostly full house by video while Will Poole, marketing head of the company's new streaming technologies group, and senior vice president Bill Allchin did live comparisons of the player, more or less helped by slightly woozy rock drummer Mick Fleetwood.

To inject some real entertainment into the evening, bluesman Buddy Guy delivered a typically knockout show afterward, all of it being videotaped and Netcast using the player.

The technology itself holds much promise because it tries to be a can opener of digital media, handling virtually everything audio and video, whether it is streamed stuff like Internet ``radio'' and video, or downloadable files such as songs and programs you would keep on your computer hard drive.

Microsoft also has added ``digital rights management,'' which allows musicians and producers to control who uses their online material and how.

``This is a critical area our customers have been asking for,'' Allchin said.

Tied to that is a new system to allow online pay-per-view events, such as those by Titan Sports' World Wrestling Federation, which has been selling events online for some time.

Allchin also claimed that the new player offers ``unmatched video'' at any download speed from less than a 28.8 kbps modem on up. In other words, the player scales nicely.

``Most of our pay-per-view buyers are 28.8 (kbps modem users),'' said Titan's senior vice president of new media, Bob Mitchell. ``With the new release, they can expect to see a much better experience.''

The verdict: pretty good so far, though you should never completely trust demos from a company caught red-handed faking video evidence in its antitrust trial.

But its downloadable files sound as good as MP-3s while taking up about half as much room. And with streaming technology, it sounds much fuller and richer than the RealNetworks G2 player at the same streaming rates, and much closer to the original .wav-formatted file taken from a CD.

Creating media with the player is still a pain for producers, however, said David Hutchinson, senior manager and director of operations for CityInteractive, a Toronto-based music, fashion and culture site that is a content partner with Microsoft.

``From a programming perspective, the G2 has intelligent streaming'' that figures out the best level of compression to use when sending a browser some content, Hutchinson said. ``You still have to encode on three or four different streams with the MSN player.''

The player will have plenty of competition. But unlike all those other formats, this player has one big advantage: It's going to be part of the basic operating system for the dominant computer platform.

Because it's from the maker of Windows, it won't work for Mac, Unix and Linux users (while the G2 does). But all those Windows users out there can add it to their system with a quick pair of 70-kilobyte downloads from Microsoft's home site.

The fat lady may not be singing online yet, but she's definitely warming up just offstage.

Bonjour, Mademoiselle

Speaking of parties on the Sunset Strip, women's magazine Mademoiselle showcased itself Wednesday night at post-modern ironist hotel the Standard as the journal continues to evolve a reformed look that explicitly connects its readers to the Internet.

As of February's issue, every feature now has a little ``mlle.link'' at the bottom of the page that provides other information, a different viewpoint, a playful tangent or some other connection to the story at hand, said editor in chief Elizabeth Crow.

``I was spending a lot of time on the Web and it occurred to me that any magazine that tried to be the only magazine or source of information for a reader was digging its own grave,'' said Crow. ``To expect anyone to get all her information from my magazine was unrealistic. The Internet is a perfect complement to what we do, however.''

Crow will accelerate her approach in the June issue, when not only every feature, but every page of the magazine will have a mlle.link sending readers onto the Internet.

``We can send the reader anywhere,'' Crow said of the links. ``The idea is to add depth and richness to a story.''

Only a few of the links send readers to sites run by Mademoiselle's own site, or those of parent company Conde' Nast, such as Epicurious, Phys and Swoon.

Most are actually refreshingly offbeat and oblique in their selections, such as the one for a piece about Keri Russell of the TV show ``Felicity.''

As the mlle.link points out, felicity means happiness, and if you're interested in pursuing it, go to www.happyplace.com. Others are somewhat more straightforward, like a piece about votive candles with a link to a make-your-own-candles site.

``It's a wonderful way of flipping in more information,'' said Crow.