Ogg Vorbis is an audio encoding and streaming technology from the Xiph.org Foundation. Unlike similar proprietary technologies such as MP3 and WMA, Vorbis is open-source and patent-free, meaning that anyone may use it to encode and store or transmit audio media without being burdened with license contracts or fees. Also, Ogg Vorbis is considered to be one of the best audio encoders in use today, and typically provides better quality audio than either MP3 or WMA at a given bit rate. For more information, see the Vorbis Wikipedia page.

Because Ogg Vorbis is relatively new, the major media players don't yet support it as well as they do older audio data formats. So, you may need to install additional software (an application or plug-in) in order to play Vorbis files and streams on your computer. The Vorbis web page can help you determine what software you may need. To list a few options:

• Windows - the Quintessential or Winamp players, or the Illiminable Ogg Directshow plug-in for Windows Media Player. If your primary media player is Windows Media Player (it probably is), it might be simplest to install the plug-in.
• Unix/Linux - XMMS or mplayer.
• Mac OSX - XiphQT