I do not fear computers; I fear the lack of them (Asimov) Published 06-Apr-2000
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Welcome to Column for 06-Apr-2000

While we've all been concentrating on finding all types of information on the Web, sending and receiving email, and making new friends worldwide in the chat rooms, we've been missing out on all the sight and sound. So this week, webDotWiz would like to get you started with Internet music and radio.

Have fun.

The Net - Entertainment or Information?
So you're off shopping to buy a new computer. Are you going to look for a machine with a large hard disk so you can store all your wordprocessing documents, spreadsheets and database files? Or is your hard drive going to store all your music files? Do you want a writeable CDROM to archive your work, or will you be burning your own music CDs? And since when was it more important to know the output of the speakers and soundcard that come with a computer than the size of the level-2 cache and floating point unit?
Just a couple of years ago, such questions wouldn't have been thought of but now the computer is quickly becoming part of our entertainment scene. Windows 95 was probably the first time PCs finally had multimedia provided in an easy-to-use way for us all - sight and sound had arrived. And now with the availability of music off the Internet, a computer with high performance speakers and/or a stereo system has quickly become the norm.
Music and the Internet
Adding sound to a web site enhances the atmosphere for visitors. But to overcome the problem of download time, small files are needed and for a long time the only viable format was music or sound in MIDI format. The disadvantage of MIDI is that the sounds for various musical instruments can vary from machine to machine - one person's soundcard may have the sounds to faithfully reproduce a honky-tonk piano, for example, but another may not.
Why not just use ordinary audio files to maintain the integrity of the sound? The problem there is one of size - a CDROM holds about 650Mb of data or about 70 minutes of music. That works out at about 10Mb per minute, not at all practical for the Web. The answer came with devising a means of compressing a music piece, similar to compressing a data file or image. One of the most well-know compression techniques for music files is MP3 or, MPEG-Layer3 to give the full description. Music files in MP3 format are commonly about one-tenth the size of a CD audio file, resulting in a reasonable download time across the Net. For comparison purposes, about two hundred MP3 music files or ten audio CD albums can be burned onto a CDROM.
Playing MP3 Music
To play MP3 music, you only need a soundcard and speakers and the software that comprises the MP3 player. The most popular player is Winamp and it's a free download from the Winamp site (as a matter of interest, webDotWiz's installation number was close to 16 million). There are a number of other players, including Sonique, Windows Media Player and RealPlayer. If you haven't access to the Web, several of the monthly computer magazines feature them on their cover CDROMs.
These players not only provide the normal controls you'd see on any sound system, but include a graphics equaliser, a play list that can be added to over time, and play capability for audio CDs.
All the popular music genres are catered for with MP3: classical, jazz, folk, rock and pop, 50's and 60's, country, blues and soundtracks. One type deserves special mention: audio books which cover lectures, poetry, radio drama and short stories.
To help you find that elusive piece of music, a number of sites, such as MP3.com, MP3Now.com and Listen.com, help with search directories as well as giving most popular, top pick and recently released lists.
Downloading MP3s can become addictive, so it's advisable to watch your online time if you don't have an unlimited account with your ISP. As well, you might find a download program manager such as GetRight will alleviate the pain of interrupted downloads.
Setting up MP3 Players
Those of you with computers from the days of the 486 processor may feel you're missing out on the fun. The good news is that there are settings in the players, such as Winamp and Windows Media Player, to cater for older computers.
In Windows Media Player, you'll need to have loaded an MP3 file. On the View menu, go down to Settings and click on the codec item. Then click the streaming tab and check the downmix and 486 options. An annoying aspect with these settings is that you have to make them for each MP3 piece.
In Winamp, click in the top left to access the main menu and click on Options/Preferences. Choose Plugins/Input and in the right pane click on the Nullsoft MPEG audio decoder item. Click the streaming tab, and then choose half-frequency and 486 CPU type. If half-frequency doesn't result in smooth playing, you might need to choose quarter-frequency. Winamp remembers these settings once you've made them.
Internet Radio
When radios all had a shortwave band (and they were called wirelesses), it was fun to scan across the dial to see which countries could be picked up. Radio stations on the Internet have brought all that back in a much more far-reaching fashion. Besides many radio stations which broadcast both across the airwaves and through the Internet, there are now many stations which are Internet-only.
You can start finding Internet stations worldwide by going to the radio section of WindowsMedia.com. Internet Explorer 5 users have a radio station guide available on the favourites menu. Alternatively, click on the View/Toolbars and click "Radio" to see a list of Australian Internet radio stations. The list includes the ABC's Newsradio, TripleJ and Radio Australia.
Voicemail, GST, Fun
Keeping in touch with family, relatives and friends overseas with email has now become common. But hearing their voice through voicemail while they're away can lessen the tyranny of distance. ZDNetOnebox.com provides you with a free email, voicemail and fax address. When you sign up, you can choose a phone number where those overseas can leave voicemails and back at home you can listen to them from your inbox when you next check for mail. When webDotWiz signed up, most areas in the US had phone numbers available and the service was expanding so check if your family or friends are in an area where they can make a local call to your voicemail box.
With the GST not far away, there are some sites in this week's list that might help. After you've got your free webDotWiz email address, visit Another.com to get an email address with a difference. And after all that work online, take some time out to find an online game by visiting the GameCenter at www.gamecenter.com/Play/.
Brief Headlines
(to articles you really didn't want to know about)
  • Net companies go to extremes to be noticed
  • Island nation cashes in on ".tv" country code - gets $50m.
  • Legality of deep-linking remains deeply complicated

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