While I was enjoying my Big Mac a couple of weeks ago, there on the side of the grease soaked box was a code. Looking at the rest of the box, there was something called Sony Connect on there. McDonald’s has teamed up with Sony to promote Sony’s new digital music store — Sony Connect. The code can redeem one 99 cent song for free. The food chain has suddenly become the one-stop-shop for grease and digital music.

I love grease. I love digital music. Perfect, yes? Not really. If you happen to possess any digital music, I’d bet Vegas odds that you have those files in MP3 format.

Sony, which happens to be the mega conglomerate with God-like presence, has decided to impose its own digital music format to those who want a free song in the form of ATRAC3. And to do that, you have to download their software.

From a business stance, it’s a brilliant move. The file format is only compatible with Sony music players like the Discman, the Mini-Disc, and their upcoming Walkman hard disc player, which will be a direct rival to Apple’s own iPod.

Of course if you use iTunes, Apple has their own music format — the AAC. Apple has thus far dominated the world in digital music player sales with their iPod and accompanying iTunes Web site where they sell songs.

One of the nagging points about all those online music stores aside from incompatibility is the limited choice of songs. Together, there’s a great deal to select from but separately, the selections are good at best.

There’s one more player joining the crowd — the 400-pound gorilla of the computer world known as Microsoft. They are, at the moment, setting to launch their own digital music store online. Do they have their own format, too? You bet. Microsoft uses the WMA format. To recap, that’s MP3, ATRAC3, AAC and WMA. There are other formats out there, but let’s stop with the big four.

Many people — it might even be safe to say most — have in their possession something that plays music. As those devices date and wear out, people tend to upgrade, albeit slowly, to newer and better models. Most people are comfortable with CDs but others move onto other toys, like the Mini-Disc and iPod, either for curiosity or status factor.

With each company outgunning the other in one way or another, this inevitably leads to cheaper songs for everyone. Microsoft will be offering songs for 89 cents as opposed to Sony and Apple who will keep their 99-cent songs. While Microsoft doesn’t have a player of its own on the market at the moment, its rivals do.

The iPod and its sibling, the iPod-Mini, have flooded the market with their posh style to the point of saturation among those who will buy one. With Sony’s new Walkman coming out in September, expect the price wars to follow. Being students, this should make everyone happy, right? Not really.

Depending on what program you might use, it means having to conform to one standard. It’s especially hard if you’re one who insists on buying your music from these Web sites. If you prefer one player over the other, you’re stuck buying their music — limited selection and all.

Apple boasts its product is everywhere, and I’m inclined to believe them. But the future is uncertain for them. They released a substandard product that has continuously been upgraded. While their latest generation of iPods now boasts a whopping 12 hours of battery life, the latest Sony players will last more than 30 hours on one AA battery.

Song selection, of course, is a very big selling point. All three of these companies have most of the same artists but what about in the near future? Will your favorite artist become exclusive to one company?

Neither Microsoft nor Apple produces their own music, but Sony does. Microsoft is the world’s biggest software giant and its impending presence will be noticed; Apple is the world leader in terms of players sold to date and has an established online service.

Maybe one day someone will decide to license all four of these big formats and make a player that plays them without conflict. I wouldn’t hold my breath for that to happen; until it does though, I’ll gladly sit on my laurels and download MP3s — daydreaming of world peace and rhythmic harmony.