When music files start flying between cyberspace, your computer, and out into your portable MP3 player, the integrity of your hardware and software can either make or break the experience. To better understand the state of the art, let's look at three software players: RealOne Player, iTunes, and Windows Media Player. Each player is constantly supplied with an endless channel of upgrades and updates, some free and some at a price. To keep things simple, and to keep things as equal as possible, I used the current basic players, without any purchased upgrades. But be warned, by the time you read this the software will have changed! I use three computers in my daily life — a Dell Latitude C400, a Dell Dimension 4100, and an iMac. I tried out the programs on all three computers, except for iTunes. I ran iTunes on an iMac with OS9.2 (I know, it's time for an upgrade!). They are all excellent players, but there are some important differences. Here's a breakdown of the players.