As a photographer, I like easy ways of storing, editing and producing digital pictures. As a moderate user of Adobe Photoshop, I have now discovered Picasa (http://picasa.google.ca), Free Software from Google that allows you to simply catalogue, store and perform some post production enhancements to your digital pictures.
Like many Digital Photographers, you may want duplicates (multiple versions) of your digital pictures, to which you apply various enhancements - cropping, B&W, softening, etc. If you are using Picasa, then you will need to apply some file renaming to ensure your pictures are grouped together: picture original, picture copy1, picture copy2,,,picture copyn. Currently, duplicating a digital picture within Picasa does not produce a filename which preserves the desired filename sequence (ascending sort - alphabetic order) - "Original, OriginalCopy, OriginalCopy (2),,OriginalCopy (n)"
Do not despair. Here is a simple fix that will ensure that your 'CD of JPG images' will playback properly on an inexpensive DVD player ($29.95 at Walmart), which is capable of playing back (like a Slide Show) stored JPG images.
A little background on how Picasa creates JPG file copies on your computer. When you copy/duplicate a file in Picasa it creates the copied file with the following prefix - “Copy of IMAGEnnnn.jpg”. Since alphabetic sequencing has "C" coming before "I", this means that all of the prefixed files with “Copy of” are saved in your computer [picture] directory ahead of the original JPG images, which all start with “IMG” or “IMAGE” - Ouch! But you want all your JPG picture files to start with "IMG" or "IMAGE", just like they were originally created on your digital camera.
Apply a simple and consistent renaming of these "Copy of" JPG files and you will get the desired playback sequence. Rename these “Copy of” files so that the original filename prefix is preserved - “IMG” or“IMAGE”. Just remove the “Copy of” prefix and add an appropriate ascending numeric sequence suffix to each of the copied files. For example, IF your original JPG file and the Picasa two copies were: IMG_2787, Copy of IMG_2787, Copy (2) of IMG_2787 THEN you would rename the TWO Copy files to get this grouped sequence: IMG_2787, IMG_2787-2, IMG_2787-3
Now you will be sure that the filename sequence will match your desired Slide Show sequence.
You can submit an enhancement request to Picasa to fix the way they name copied files (Adobe has is right!). You can submit your request to: Picasa Help Ticket Submission (http://picasa.google.ca/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=contact). The more requests the sooner they fix this inconvenience.
Carl Chesal is a business development consultant, trainer, photographer, and avid snowmobiler. He owns Bizfare Enterprise Inc.(http://www.bizfare.ca) and Foursight Marketing and Consulting (http://www.foursight.on.ca)providing business, marketing, and internet marketing consulting services. He also owns a number of e-commerce web-sites, MyLeatherExpressions, CoolComfortWear, and PewterExpressions, which sell custom leather bags, casual apparel and pewter collectibles.
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Create-a-Quick-Slide-Show-for-Your-DVD-Player-Using-a-CD-of-JPG-Images&id=168058
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Learn Conversational Spanish Audio CD Methods
The easiest way to learn Spanish today is through an interactive audio course on digital media. The reasons that this is the best way are numerous: here are 5 of them:
1. Since the learning lessons are on digital media, they can be downloaded immediately, 24/7, and you can start immediately.
2. The fact that the learning program lessons are on digital media means that you can offload them from your computer to your iPod or other portable device. You can burn the lessons into CD's to take with you anywhere and playback on any CD player.
This gives you complete control over when and where you choose to listen to the lessons, when you stop, back up, replay, how many times you repeat, etc.
3. You can learn from expert native Spanish speakers who speak without regional accents and without using regional dialect. Think how hard it is to find English speakers who speak in pure 'radio news announcer' English! Well the same thing is true in Spanish. But you want to learn the pure, unaccented form, get it right the first time!
Most Spanish teachers are nowhere near as good or clear as those used for recorded lessons. Most are unconsciously imparting their regionalized accents to their students.
4. The best way to learn Spanish is the same way you learned English. You learned English through the conversational method. You started with a few words, typically nouns, names of people or things. Gradually you added phrases, built sentences. You learned to communicate your ideas, questions and observations.
Learning Spanish through interactive audio methods is very close to the same way. You learn spoken words, gradually build these words into phrases, sentences and conversation. You learn how to use the new language to communicate, just as you learned English.
You go from thought in your mind to expression of that thought through spoken words. You remember it not because of grammatical rules but simply as the way you say it when you express that thought. The rules and niceties of grammar come later, after you learn to communicate.
5. The cost is much less. Traditional classroom learning methods are inherently expensive. Costs include the space involved, the time of the trained professional teacher, the electricity, the guard for the facilities, the printing costs for the books, etc., etc.
You can get an excellent learning course in conversational Spanish for around $100. The most popular are Rocket Spanish, Learn Spanish Like Crazy and Fsi Spanish.
The most expensive, which will take you through formal university Spanish as well as what you need for everyday conversations, can be bought for $500 or less through Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone.
No university or city college course of study is likely to come close to those cost figures. And how many college students, even in their 3rd or 4th course, can actually speak the language? Not many will even be close to speaking Spanish as well as someone who has finished a 30 lesson 'learn conversational Spanish audio cd' course!
So there you have it. The reasons are effectiveness, quality of accent, ease of learning, convenience of hours and location and low cost. The conclusion is, if you want to learn conversational Spanish, get a learning course on audio CD's or digitally down-loadable, in MP3 format!
To learn how to get the best Spanish-learning course available visit: Learn Spanish To read reviews of Rocket Spanish visit: Review
Jorge Chavez Learned Spanish after he was 30, now is bilingual, with clients, friends and family who only speak English, and others who only speak Spanish. http://rocket-spanish.ya23.com
http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-Conversational-Spanish-Audio-CD-Methods&id=559916
1. Since the learning lessons are on digital media, they can be downloaded immediately, 24/7, and you can start immediately.
2. The fact that the learning program lessons are on digital media means that you can offload them from your computer to your iPod or other portable device. You can burn the lessons into CD's to take with you anywhere and playback on any CD player.
This gives you complete control over when and where you choose to listen to the lessons, when you stop, back up, replay, how many times you repeat, etc.
3. You can learn from expert native Spanish speakers who speak without regional accents and without using regional dialect. Think how hard it is to find English speakers who speak in pure 'radio news announcer' English! Well the same thing is true in Spanish. But you want to learn the pure, unaccented form, get it right the first time!
Most Spanish teachers are nowhere near as good or clear as those used for recorded lessons. Most are unconsciously imparting their regionalized accents to their students.
4. The best way to learn Spanish is the same way you learned English. You learned English through the conversational method. You started with a few words, typically nouns, names of people or things. Gradually you added phrases, built sentences. You learned to communicate your ideas, questions and observations.
Learning Spanish through interactive audio methods is very close to the same way. You learn spoken words, gradually build these words into phrases, sentences and conversation. You learn how to use the new language to communicate, just as you learned English.
You go from thought in your mind to expression of that thought through spoken words. You remember it not because of grammatical rules but simply as the way you say it when you express that thought. The rules and niceties of grammar come later, after you learn to communicate.
5. The cost is much less. Traditional classroom learning methods are inherently expensive. Costs include the space involved, the time of the trained professional teacher, the electricity, the guard for the facilities, the printing costs for the books, etc., etc.
You can get an excellent learning course in conversational Spanish for around $100. The most popular are Rocket Spanish, Learn Spanish Like Crazy and Fsi Spanish.
The most expensive, which will take you through formal university Spanish as well as what you need for everyday conversations, can be bought for $500 or less through Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone.
No university or city college course of study is likely to come close to those cost figures. And how many college students, even in their 3rd or 4th course, can actually speak the language? Not many will even be close to speaking Spanish as well as someone who has finished a 30 lesson 'learn conversational Spanish audio cd' course!
So there you have it. The reasons are effectiveness, quality of accent, ease of learning, convenience of hours and location and low cost. The conclusion is, if you want to learn conversational Spanish, get a learning course on audio CD's or digitally down-loadable, in MP3 format!
To learn how to get the best Spanish-learning course available visit: Learn Spanish To read reviews of Rocket Spanish visit: Review
Jorge Chavez Learned Spanish after he was 30, now is bilingual, with clients, friends and family who only speak English, and others who only speak Spanish. http://rocket-spanish.ya23.com
http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-Conversational-Spanish-Audio-CD-Methods&id=559916
Advantages Of DVD Duplication
Did you know that duplication is the best for quantities up to a thousand and for faster turn-around time?
The master disc is duplicated onto a high quality media to ensure that the end product is compatible with the most number of electronic hardware. All master copies should be tested in a lot of playback devices prior to DVD duplication.
Multi-session is the term used for the ways of writing information in different increments. This is not recommended, though, since many CDR and CDRW drives do not have the proper support for multi session CDs. On the other hand, almost any CDR drive, CD player, or CD Video player will play the recorded CDR.
There is no truth to the rumor that CDs and DVDs that are duplicated are not as reliable as CDs and DVDs that are replicated. In many cases, DVDs were invented for the storage of audio, video and data, despite the current issues on incompatibility with recordable DVDs. Audio CDs are the byproducts of the data CD. Similar to many new technologies, there were kinks to iron out when the CD-Rs were mass produced. To place their products in the marketplace quickly, some manufacturers produced below-par products which have trouble loading audio and keep the CDRom spinning in an audio only player.
Today, CDRs are manufactured under stricter guidelines. Although there are still inferior brands of CDRs and DVDRs, choosing a reputable duplication company that uses only professional equipment and high-quality media will result in a quality product. Here, the finished product is verified with the duplication equipment to completely match the master copy.
CD/DVD duplication and replication both have their advantage in terms of cost and quality. The customer will choose the best method of manufacturing their products. Sales people are there to help customers choose the best method for their quality demands and budget restrictions.
DVD Duplication provides detailed information on DVD Duplication, DVD Duplication Services, DVD R Duplication, CD DVD Duplication and more. DVD Duplication is affiliated with DVD Duplicator Printers.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Advantages-Of-DVD-Duplication&id=274116
The master disc is duplicated onto a high quality media to ensure that the end product is compatible with the most number of electronic hardware. All master copies should be tested in a lot of playback devices prior to DVD duplication.
Multi-session is the term used for the ways of writing information in different increments. This is not recommended, though, since many CDR and CDRW drives do not have the proper support for multi session CDs. On the other hand, almost any CDR drive, CD player, or CD Video player will play the recorded CDR.
There is no truth to the rumor that CDs and DVDs that are duplicated are not as reliable as CDs and DVDs that are replicated. In many cases, DVDs were invented for the storage of audio, video and data, despite the current issues on incompatibility with recordable DVDs. Audio CDs are the byproducts of the data CD. Similar to many new technologies, there were kinks to iron out when the CD-Rs were mass produced. To place their products in the marketplace quickly, some manufacturers produced below-par products which have trouble loading audio and keep the CDRom spinning in an audio only player.
Today, CDRs are manufactured under stricter guidelines. Although there are still inferior brands of CDRs and DVDRs, choosing a reputable duplication company that uses only professional equipment and high-quality media will result in a quality product. Here, the finished product is verified with the duplication equipment to completely match the master copy.
CD/DVD duplication and replication both have their advantage in terms of cost and quality. The customer will choose the best method of manufacturing their products. Sales people are there to help customers choose the best method for their quality demands and budget restrictions.
DVD Duplication provides detailed information on DVD Duplication, DVD Duplication Services, DVD R Duplication, CD DVD Duplication and more. DVD Duplication is affiliated with DVD Duplicator Printers.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Advantages-Of-DVD-Duplication&id=274116
Stay-At-Home Mom's Be Prepared To Join The Music Revolution With The Age Of The MP3 Player
These lightweight, economical portable jukeboxes are showing up everywhere. The MP3 player is the newest rage first among electronic enthusiasts, or electrophobes but now the MP3 is a must have everybody.
The need for a MP3 player is escalating among joggers, stay-at-home moms. The MP3 craze has reached the masses who want more and more music. They want to download their entire collection of music into their player. A music junkie can have thousands of songs stored in one MP3 player. These portable, wireless wizards of entertainment have the ability to store organize and play digital music on demand.
The MP3 player has created so much mass appeal that the introduction of the MP3 player created an entirely new industry of highly profitable paid download sites. The popularity of MP3 players has exploded forcing manufacturers to become alarmed and jumping to find new uses for these products. Podcasting is one of the newest applications for the MP3. Some manufactures have incorporated an mP3 player into a telephone.
Podcasting is like a radio program or even TV like feeds are automatically downloaded into the MP3. The word Podcast refers to the most popular MP3 makers. That is the Apple Ipod. All MP3's can store several hours of podcasts to be played at the owners discretion. You can find thousands of podcasts in dozens of categories. You can download a Podcast on almost any subject because there are podcast about art, comedy, academic subjects, entertainment and politics and this is just a partial list of what is available.
There are three main types of digital audio players:
1) MP3 CD Players
A MP3 CD player (Philips Expanium) devices play CDs. Often they can play both audio CDs and homemade dataCDs that have MP3 or other digital audio files.
2) Flash-based Players (iBox Mediaman)
are solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal or external media like memory cards.
3) Hard Drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes
An embedded hard drive-based player (Apple iPod) These devices read digital audio files from a hard drive. These players have higher capacities, ranging from 1.5GB to 100GB, depending on the hard drive technology.
The Apple iPod and Creative Zen are examples of the popular digital jukeboxes. Of course, the Apple's iPod is the most popular MP3 player. But there is a surprising new competitor for this market.
Surprisingly, a Korean company by the name of Cowon American, part of a Korean multimedia giant,was chosen as the second most popular MP3 player in a gallup poll like survey. It looks like Cowon may be a big player in the MP3 market. Their MP3 players are sold under the name iAudio. Some of the iAudio. The popularity of the iAudio was contributed to the fact that the player is compatible with some of the music subscription services.
Hower, a CNET review of the Cowan system seems to think that the Ipod may still win the MP3 war. "The bottom line states the reviewer, "The great-sounding Cowon iAudio X5 looks like an iPod killer on paper, but this palm-size music and video player suffers from mediocre music browsing and some key design missteps".
For more information and ultra hot deals on MP3 players please visit Hot-Deals-On-MP3-Players.info located at http://www.hot-deals-on-mp3-players.info where you will find money saving offers on MP3 accessories, cases, batteries and an Apple iPod overview.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Stay-At-Home-Moms-Be-Prepared-To-Join-The-Music-Revolution-With-The-Age-Of-The-MP3-Player&id=326781
The need for a MP3 player is escalating among joggers, stay-at-home moms. The MP3 craze has reached the masses who want more and more music. They want to download their entire collection of music into their player. A music junkie can have thousands of songs stored in one MP3 player. These portable, wireless wizards of entertainment have the ability to store organize and play digital music on demand.
The MP3 player has created so much mass appeal that the introduction of the MP3 player created an entirely new industry of highly profitable paid download sites. The popularity of MP3 players has exploded forcing manufacturers to become alarmed and jumping to find new uses for these products. Podcasting is one of the newest applications for the MP3. Some manufactures have incorporated an mP3 player into a telephone.
Podcasting is like a radio program or even TV like feeds are automatically downloaded into the MP3. The word Podcast refers to the most popular MP3 makers. That is the Apple Ipod. All MP3's can store several hours of podcasts to be played at the owners discretion. You can find thousands of podcasts in dozens of categories. You can download a Podcast on almost any subject because there are podcast about art, comedy, academic subjects, entertainment and politics and this is just a partial list of what is available.
There are three main types of digital audio players:
1) MP3 CD Players
A MP3 CD player (Philips Expanium) devices play CDs. Often they can play both audio CDs and homemade dataCDs that have MP3 or other digital audio files.
2) Flash-based Players (iBox Mediaman)
are solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal or external media like memory cards.
3) Hard Drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes
An embedded hard drive-based player (Apple iPod) These devices read digital audio files from a hard drive. These players have higher capacities, ranging from 1.5GB to 100GB, depending on the hard drive technology.
The Apple iPod and Creative Zen are examples of the popular digital jukeboxes. Of course, the Apple's iPod is the most popular MP3 player. But there is a surprising new competitor for this market.
Surprisingly, a Korean company by the name of Cowon American, part of a Korean multimedia giant,was chosen as the second most popular MP3 player in a gallup poll like survey. It looks like Cowon may be a big player in the MP3 market. Their MP3 players are sold under the name iAudio. Some of the iAudio. The popularity of the iAudio was contributed to the fact that the player is compatible with some of the music subscription services.
Hower, a CNET review of the Cowan system seems to think that the Ipod may still win the MP3 war. "The bottom line states the reviewer, "The great-sounding Cowon iAudio X5 looks like an iPod killer on paper, but this palm-size music and video player suffers from mediocre music browsing and some key design missteps".
For more information and ultra hot deals on MP3 players please visit Hot-Deals-On-MP3-Players.info located at http://www.hot-deals-on-mp3-players.info where you will find money saving offers on MP3 accessories, cases, batteries and an Apple iPod overview.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Stay-At-Home-Moms-Be-Prepared-To-Join-The-Music-Revolution-With-The-Age-Of-The-MP3-Player&id=326781
About Car Audio Installation Training
I found myself getting interested in car audio installation when I had to make some changes in the existing audio system in my car.
There were hundreds of things I wanted to know about and the little manual that came along with the new units just did not seem to be able to answer most of my questions.
I found out that most experts in this line are those who have learnt more by research and trial and not by attending some regular training classes.
Yet, there are many people like me who would rather get a formal training in the installation of car audio systems. This quest for knowledge led me to the discovery of such training classes in and around the area where I live.
What can you learn in a training class?
Firstly, when you have made up your mind to start attending classes, it is obvious that the teacher would be someone who has handled a great many car audio installations himself. This is rather important because only he would be in a position to answer most of your questions, even the silly ones.
Secondly, you would learn to install a system under the supervision and guidance of an expert which would definitely make the learning a lot easier. Thirdly, you would be encouraged to do the installations by yourself after a certain number of days.
Lessons taught in a car audio installation class
• The best and the most compatible audio system depending upon the make of the car.
• Tips and tricks to install components
• How to achieve more clarity and power for best audio or video.
• Servicing existing systems
• In-depth knowledge about each and every part used in the system
• Get to know the latest gadgets available and their specifications
Visit car-audio-products-and-accessories.com to read more car audio installation articles. Check CarAudioPlus for your car audio products.
Chimezirim Odimba writes for CarAudioPlus.
http://ezinearticles.com/?About-Car-Audio-Installation-Training&id=376582
There were hundreds of things I wanted to know about and the little manual that came along with the new units just did not seem to be able to answer most of my questions.
I found out that most experts in this line are those who have learnt more by research and trial and not by attending some regular training classes.
Yet, there are many people like me who would rather get a formal training in the installation of car audio systems. This quest for knowledge led me to the discovery of such training classes in and around the area where I live.
What can you learn in a training class?
Firstly, when you have made up your mind to start attending classes, it is obvious that the teacher would be someone who has handled a great many car audio installations himself. This is rather important because only he would be in a position to answer most of your questions, even the silly ones.
Secondly, you would learn to install a system under the supervision and guidance of an expert which would definitely make the learning a lot easier. Thirdly, you would be encouraged to do the installations by yourself after a certain number of days.
Lessons taught in a car audio installation class
• The best and the most compatible audio system depending upon the make of the car.
• Tips and tricks to install components
• How to achieve more clarity and power for best audio or video.
• Servicing existing systems
• In-depth knowledge about each and every part used in the system
• Get to know the latest gadgets available and their specifications
Visit car-audio-products-and-accessories.com to read more car audio installation articles. Check CarAudioPlus for your car audio products.
Chimezirim Odimba writes for CarAudioPlus.
http://ezinearticles.com/?About-Car-Audio-Installation-Training&id=376582
MP3 Players - Must Read Before Buying
Often when looking for an mp3 player people get confused and are unsure on what they should be looking for in the product. There are so many different types of mp3 players out there, they come in flash memory, they come with a built in hard drive and you also have the option of using CD to make mp3 playable disc. On top of this you will also have to choose what sort of brands you want, the capacity of the mp3 player and how much it will store and are there any extra features that you want. This is no easy task so lets answer some of these questions now.
When we talk about types of mp3 players there are currently 3 categories on the market. Flash based players, hard-drive based players and mp3 CDs. Lets talk about these.
Flash Based Players
Flash based players are the tiniest mp3 players. They contain a built in flash memory chip and contain no moving parts. Because of there portability, size and the fact that they house no moving parts means that they are the perfect solution if you are going to be listening to your music sport activities. There is one major problem however with these types of mp3 players, they come at a high cost per megabyte of storage. There storage capabilities range from 32MB to 2GB and the most popular models seem to be those from the iRiver iFP series, Creative Muvo line series and the iPod Shuffle series.
Hard-Drive Based Players
Hard-Drive based mp3 players use a 1.8 inch hard disk drive to store music. The hard disk drives can hold huge amounts of data, most come with well over a 20 GB capacity, some will allow you to store up to 60 GB. If you want to be able to store large amounts of music on a portable device (i.e. 1000s and 1000s of songs), than a hard-drive based mp3 player is the way to go. There is however one thing you should be aware of, hard-drives contain moving parts - because of this hard-drive based mp3 player are not suitable if you want to listen to your music while involving yourself in sport. These types of players also come as micro hard-drive players which are smaller but larger than flash based players, there storage capabilities are around the 2 GB to 8 GB range. One of the most popular hard-drive based players is the Apple iPod, the best selling hard-drive based mp3 player.
MP3 CD Discs/Players
Another option if you are looking to have a large amount of music in one unit is to burn your mp3s from your computer onto a mp3 disc. An mp3 disc is a regular CD with mp3s burnt onto it as data. You can normally fit about 150 - 200 mp3s on an mp3 disc and than place it in a CD player that plays mp3 encoded disc. The down side of mp3 discs is that they are of the larger scale and if knocked or bumped will tend to skip a lot.
Well there we go, you have just had a brief overview of the 3 types of mp3 players that exist and the pro and cons that they carry. Hopefully this has helped you a bit to understand the concepts of mp3 players a lot better.
To find out more information about MP3 players or other electronics visit our information and resources site. http://www.electronicsexpressonline.com/
http://ezinearticles.com/?MP3-Players---Must-Read-Before-Buying&id=217570
When we talk about types of mp3 players there are currently 3 categories on the market. Flash based players, hard-drive based players and mp3 CDs. Lets talk about these.
Flash Based Players
Flash based players are the tiniest mp3 players. They contain a built in flash memory chip and contain no moving parts. Because of there portability, size and the fact that they house no moving parts means that they are the perfect solution if you are going to be listening to your music sport activities. There is one major problem however with these types of mp3 players, they come at a high cost per megabyte of storage. There storage capabilities range from 32MB to 2GB and the most popular models seem to be those from the iRiver iFP series, Creative Muvo line series and the iPod Shuffle series.
Hard-Drive Based Players
Hard-Drive based mp3 players use a 1.8 inch hard disk drive to store music. The hard disk drives can hold huge amounts of data, most come with well over a 20 GB capacity, some will allow you to store up to 60 GB. If you want to be able to store large amounts of music on a portable device (i.e. 1000s and 1000s of songs), than a hard-drive based mp3 player is the way to go. There is however one thing you should be aware of, hard-drives contain moving parts - because of this hard-drive based mp3 player are not suitable if you want to listen to your music while involving yourself in sport. These types of players also come as micro hard-drive players which are smaller but larger than flash based players, there storage capabilities are around the 2 GB to 8 GB range. One of the most popular hard-drive based players is the Apple iPod, the best selling hard-drive based mp3 player.
MP3 CD Discs/Players
Another option if you are looking to have a large amount of music in one unit is to burn your mp3s from your computer onto a mp3 disc. An mp3 disc is a regular CD with mp3s burnt onto it as data. You can normally fit about 150 - 200 mp3s on an mp3 disc and than place it in a CD player that plays mp3 encoded disc. The down side of mp3 discs is that they are of the larger scale and if knocked or bumped will tend to skip a lot.
Well there we go, you have just had a brief overview of the 3 types of mp3 players that exist and the pro and cons that they carry. Hopefully this has helped you a bit to understand the concepts of mp3 players a lot better.
To find out more information about MP3 players or other electronics visit our information and resources site. http://www.electronicsexpressonline.com/
http://ezinearticles.com/?MP3-Players---Must-Read-Before-Buying&id=217570
Create Audio CDs from MP3 Files
Music has found a new way of storage in the form of digital files in the computer and other digital systems. The MP3 format is the most popular and widely used storage media for music. Many people store a database of music in the form of MP3s in their computer system. There is a need to create a back up of every file stored on the computer due to the fear of its crashing. Similar to the data files backup, MP3 backup is also necessary. The most convenient and intelligent way of creating MP3 backup is by converting them into audio CDs.
Converting MP3 files into audio CDs is very simple and relatively easier than creating a backup of a data file. There is an abundance of CD burning software which can burn or make an audio CD with the help of a CD writer drive. The user just needs to compile a play list of the MP3 song files which he needs to store and then the software stores them into the CD.
The burning procedure of the audio CD is easy to understand. In the burning procedure, first the Mp3 files are converted into Compact Disc Audio (CDA) format files. This process is internal to the software program and is not displayed to the user. The most popular CD burning program is Nero. Although Nero software can handle all the burning procedure and behind the scenes conversion, it provides additional customized options for advanced users. For instance, Nero has a simple audio editor which provides the advanced option of applying filters like noise reduction, equalization or stereo widening and splitting of files.
Not all the CD burning software comes with the advanced features. In these cases the MP3 can be processed manually before burning the CD using dedicated audio editing software. There are plenty of freeware and commercial software programs available on the Internet for this service. The most useful editing functions while preparing MP3 files for burning onto CDs is to 'normalize' them. The normalization process smoothens out the volume spikes or differences between the various tracks on the CD. This process ensures that the entire CD plays at the same relative loudness. After the editing procedure of the MP3 files they should be saved in the WAV file format to be burned to CD. Sometimes the MP3s are burned to a Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) format. The problem with this format is that although most modern CD players can play this CD format, the older CD players might not read them.
It is not essential for MP3s to be converted to another format. They can be burned directly to Audio CDs in the original MP3 format without any conversion. As MP3 files comes in a more highly compressed format than other formats, a large amount of song files can be stored on one CD - about 120 songs instead of 10 Wav type files. Moreover, the MP3 CDs can be played on a computer CD-ROM in addition to the compatible CD and DVD players.
There is one problem with MP3 CDs and that is looking for a particular piece of music among the huge file list is difficult, especially if the CD player doesn't have a display. The solution to this problem is to use a DVD player connected to a TV or home theater system and arrange the songs into logically divided folders - by artist, album etc. Also the name of the MP3 files should start with the name of the song rather than the artist to facilitate searching.
For more information on MP3 Music or MP3 Players visit http://www.mp3-express.com/mp3-players.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Create-Audio-CDs-from-MP3-Files&id=363854
Converting MP3 files into audio CDs is very simple and relatively easier than creating a backup of a data file. There is an abundance of CD burning software which can burn or make an audio CD with the help of a CD writer drive. The user just needs to compile a play list of the MP3 song files which he needs to store and then the software stores them into the CD.
The burning procedure of the audio CD is easy to understand. In the burning procedure, first the Mp3 files are converted into Compact Disc Audio (CDA) format files. This process is internal to the software program and is not displayed to the user. The most popular CD burning program is Nero. Although Nero software can handle all the burning procedure and behind the scenes conversion, it provides additional customized options for advanced users. For instance, Nero has a simple audio editor which provides the advanced option of applying filters like noise reduction, equalization or stereo widening and splitting of files.
Not all the CD burning software comes with the advanced features. In these cases the MP3 can be processed manually before burning the CD using dedicated audio editing software. There are plenty of freeware and commercial software programs available on the Internet for this service. The most useful editing functions while preparing MP3 files for burning onto CDs is to 'normalize' them. The normalization process smoothens out the volume spikes or differences between the various tracks on the CD. This process ensures that the entire CD plays at the same relative loudness. After the editing procedure of the MP3 files they should be saved in the WAV file format to be burned to CD. Sometimes the MP3s are burned to a Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) format. The problem with this format is that although most modern CD players can play this CD format, the older CD players might not read them.
It is not essential for MP3s to be converted to another format. They can be burned directly to Audio CDs in the original MP3 format without any conversion. As MP3 files comes in a more highly compressed format than other formats, a large amount of song files can be stored on one CD - about 120 songs instead of 10 Wav type files. Moreover, the MP3 CDs can be played on a computer CD-ROM in addition to the compatible CD and DVD players.
There is one problem with MP3 CDs and that is looking for a particular piece of music among the huge file list is difficult, especially if the CD player doesn't have a display. The solution to this problem is to use a DVD player connected to a TV or home theater system and arrange the songs into logically divided folders - by artist, album etc. Also the name of the MP3 files should start with the name of the song rather than the artist to facilitate searching.
For more information on MP3 Music or MP3 Players visit http://www.mp3-express.com/mp3-players.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Create-Audio-CDs-from-MP3-Files&id=363854
iRiver SlimX2 iMP-400
First Impression:
When I first received the iRiver SlimX2 iMP-400, I was astonished by the crisp and neat packaging. The box just screamed style. The simplicity of the design and colors of the box brings a certain aesthetic pleasure to the buyer. If the box can have such an effect on the user, it might make certain suggestions about the actual product. When I first picked up the SlimX2, I immediately noticed the lightness of the MP3/CD player. Putting physical weight aside, I also noticed the SlimX2's fantastic color and luster choices. The outer edging and inside cover of the SlimX2 are lined with a flashy reflective chrome-like material, adding more to the aesthetic appeal of the MP3/CD player. I highly commend iRiver's balance between simplicity and attractiveness in this product.
In my last review, I wrote about iRiver's SlimX iMP-350. Unfortunately, there is not much improvement between the iMP-350 and the iMP-400. Those who already own a iMP-350 should not go out and "upgrade" to an iMP-400 because there aren't that many extra features or changes. Both MP3/CD players support the same formats, and have the exact same amount of skip-free playback. Both players are equipped with a remote control that has ID3 tag support and M3U playlist support, however the styling is significantly different on the remotes. Both the SlimX and the SlimX2 have the same rechargeable NiMH batteries (which are quite convenient). The differences between the iMP-350 and the iMP-400 consists of a more attractive and modern styling, better headphones, a car kit, a custom carrying case, and an extra fifty dollars on the price tag. The CD player and the remote control look different, but that does not justify an "upgrade" from the iMP-350 to the iMP-400. Sure, this MP3/CD player is awesome if the buyer is looking for a brand new CD player, but current owners of the iMP-350 should stick with their current unit.
http://www.digitalinsanity.org/articles.php?id=1057655565
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