I don't mind mp3 files being embedded in the browser as long as they are high quality mp3 files. I'm not going to keep a browser window open if the mp3 file is poor in quality. I like real audio files, but it doesn't always work on some older crappy computers very well.
True... but if you are streaming music in your browser and you are also surfing (in other tabs) the web, your browser will obviously is use a lot of memory. Check task manager and watch the mem usage on Firefox or IE when streaming music. I would rather let RealPlayer stream the music, while I can open pages quickly... or at least quicker.
;-)