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MP3: Face the Music Online
MP3 technology, coupled with the growing availability of broadband Internet access, is revolutionizing how we access and listen to music.
MP3 - short for the technology standard MPEG-3 -- is the computer-based format that lets you:
- Transform your computer into a digital jukebox without using a lot of hard drive space.
- Create customized play lists of songs.
- Digitally manage your music collection.
- Make your own CDs with a Mini-Disc player or CD burner.
- Buy music anytime, anywhere over the Internet.
In transforming the Internet into one of the world's most flexible and rich distribution channels for music, MP3 gives music lovers instant access to new, as well as hard-to-find-in-a-store, music -- including remixes, live performances, out-of-print albums, and new bands and performers distributing their work online. What's more, a cable modem, DSL or wireless broadband link significantly reduces the time you'd spend searching the Internet and then downloading MP3 files with a slower dial-up modem.
How it Works
To listen to MP3 files, you must purchase a portable MP3 player or download audio software you'll find on the Internet to your computer.
A lot of companies market portable MP3 players. Paramount among them are Sony and Diamond Multimedia, which makes the popular RIO player series. These units start at about $150 and can be bought online or at a consumer electronics retailer like Circuit City. The players generally store about 45 minutes' worth of music - more if you upgrade - and resemble Walkmans. They connect to your computer so that you can transfer MP3s to their memory banks. Most MP3 players come with software that walks you through the file-transfer process, and helps you create custom play lists for portable listening.
You also can use your computer's audio system to play MP3s by installing software that supports MP3 files. Among the free, downloadable MP3 software players you can find on the Internet:
Macintosh users can tap:
- iTunes
- SoundJam MP
- Apple's Quicktime
- Grayamp was a popular player created by the now vanished DigiThought. However the program can be found in many software archives.
When the software installation for your computer or portable MP3 player is done, it's time to find some tunes. First, some players let you record your CDs into the MP3 format from your computer's CD-ROM drive. (A word of warning: Turn off the automatic record feature that RealJukebox, for example, uses as a default, and turn it on only for songs or CDs you want to record.)
