If you buy a good sound card or capable multimedia computer today, it should last you several years. While hardware is constantly improving, software publishers have a stake in promoting consistent sound file formats that can be played with equipment that spans a generation or two.

You can expect to see continued improvement in sound cards, particularly in the quality of samples in wave table synthesizers. Partly because of cheap memory chips, software publishers can pack far better sound quality into affordable boards than they could a few years ago.

Also look for the development of multipurpose "communications boards" that include telephone, modem, fax and sound capabilities. The digital signal processing these boards require can increasingly be handled by common microchip sets -- or through your computer's microprocessor, with the right software. This will result in cheaper, more powerful circuit cards that can handle a variety of jobs and reduce the price of handling sound.