Audio apps include all clients on the 'net that allow you to listen to and/or create sound bits. Standard audio apps allow you to work with WAV, AU and similar sound formats and include WHAM and WPlany. In addition to these clients, a new type of audio app has recently emerged -- clients that allow you to download and run audio clips in real-time. Real Audio was the first app of this genre, but recently apps like VocalTec's Internet Wave and TrueSpeech have also emerged. These apps mark a very important transition for audio on the net -- gone are the days of waiting an eternity before finally getting to listen to a 30-second sound clip. The advantages of this new technology can already be found at many web sites, including sound clips at ESPNet, news broadcasts from ABC and NBC, songs from new groups, and more. It will be interesting to watch this technology evolve, especially as the speed and sound quality improve. Finally, we'll take a brief look at some of the new speech recognition programs. - Forrest Stroud