Apple and Microsoft Have Teamed Up

No seriously they have and in a bad way.

They are currently violating what we here in the US call Freedom of Speech. Have you heard of Digital Rights Management or DRM for short? What you don't know is that we no longer have control of the music we pay for! Let me go back in time for a moment,

I remember turning on my radio back when it was free, and have an endless variety of music filling up any room I was in. I would then go out and buy that tape and it was mine I could play it until I was ill or until the tape broke.

Then the CD emerged, I knew then and know now that no good has come of it. Because you see we don't actually "own" our cd's, Apple and Microsoft do.

Like did you know that if you buy a cd and try to god forbid rip the tracks to play on your (insert mp3 player here) you just might get a nasty error that tells you that you don't have the "rights" to these tracks. OK so you find a workaround and plead with your computer that you do own them. Then the problem lies in which software you do use which is the second conundrum. If you use Windows Media Player then you probably can't put these new MP3's on your shiny new Ipod...

However you say never mind the dang cd's I get my music online at Itunes! Or Microsoft’s Urge. Which ever when you stop using their service then the ability to play your music stops and I mean right then, Game over.

With Apple being able to play purchases from the iTunes Store, you must authorize your computer using your iTunes Store with an account and password. Microsoft says to copy a packaged CD onto a CD-ROM or portable device, the consumer must have a license that includes the right to do so.

So I have conducted my own test. I put a cd I had purchased in a physical store, on my computer. Itunes popped up, I imported the disk no problem. I then used Windows Media player which I have the old version 8 to rip the tracks. So then I went and used my player of choice Creative Labs Media source player and I tried to play a song.

First Microsoft had changed the format to a wma, which is a format most mp3 players don’t recognize unless they have their own software installed. Then I couldn't find the songs that were ripped by Itunes, for some reason. I then had to open up the Itunes player to have them play because Itunes had changed the format also to AAC.

So that might be a problem if you try to copy these songs to a new cd, or better yet on your (insert mp3 player here) For now you have to convert them back to a standard MP3.

Ok now you need a 3rd party software to do this little chore. I recommend again Creative Labs Media Player software.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m assuming most of will know how to do this, but a majority will not, and that is what Apple and Microsoft are banking on.

Computer Tech Support and User

Ask-Compgeek.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katharine_Silvia

Audio Books And Recorded Books - Do You Know The Answers To These Questions?

You’ve heard of audio books, or recorded books before, haven’t you? Many people, even the ones who use them daily, remain tongue-tied when it comes to answering correctly the following questions.

Why? My guess is that audio books in general are so convenient to use. Many of us prefer to venture into the scenes of an audio book without delay more willingly. Spending our precious time researching every detail about its creation remains a distant “maybe”.

On the other hand, there are a few details about recorded books you want to know. What for? ‘Cause knowing them makes it easier for you to navigate around audio books with more confidence. Your improved “shopper’s education” to make the right choice is worth it.

I admit I used to be unaware of even the basic terms about audio books myself. So, I asked questions to get answers.

Guess what? I’ve found them. And I’d love to share them with you so you can save time researching the same questions. If you’d like to know the answers to the following basic questions about audio books, keep on reading.

What’s an audio book?

An audio book is a book in audio format. It is a “fun replacement” for a physical hardcover or paperback book you’d read from cover to cover. Instead, you grab-n-read books on CD, books on tape, or MP3 books versions.

What formats do audio books come in?

You can get recorded books on tape, books on CD, and MP3 books. From an old-fashioned cassette player to modern and sleek MP3 players, audio books keep you company on-the-go where traditional book reading is simply unsuitable.

What’s an MP3 book?

MP3 books are still audio books. But a clever compression technique reduces the file size to take up less recording space. Besides that, MP3’s are portable and easily downloadable. Storing them is a breeze when compared to piling up stacks of cassettes or CD’s.

How can recorded books in MP3 format be played back?

You can play MP3 audio books on any MP3 portable player. You can also play them on your home PC (need to have Windows Media Player or similar). Playing MP3’s on a laptop or MP3-enabled cellular phones is the latest trend. If you don’t have an MP3 player, but have a CD player, you can burn MP3 files to a CD using your computer. You’ll need special software to do that. Search Google for “free software to burn CD’s” :).

What does “unabridged audio book” mean?

Good question. An “unabridged” audio book is narrated (or told) word for word. It’s the printed book equal in audio format. Nothing’s missing. Nothing’s added. As a result, they are longer than “abridged” versions.

What’s an “abridged audio book” version then?

It’s similar to the printed original, but shorter. The word-for-word narration from the previous example is not exact. “Abridged” also means shortened, cut. Keep that in mind if you are looking for the original version.

What are “dramatized audio books”?

Dramatized audio books are stage-like, "play-life" versions of printed books. You get all the bells and whistles: full cast, music and sound effects. Some people prefer it; some would rather get a simple, told version by an experienced narrator.

Is there a difference between having the author of the physical book tell the audio version, or is it better to have a professional narrator do the job?

Some authors are gifted for both writing and telling their own book. Others are better off leaving it to professional “voice-over calibers”. If you can, listen to a sample of the recorded book that catches your interest. It’ll help you decide if the narrator resonates with you. Some people swear that half the beauty of an audio book is the voice-over quality.

Where’s a good place to start for a novice interested in recorded books?

An excellent place to start is to pick up a favorite story you already know about, but would like to “read” as an audio. About the length, pick “abridged” audio books to start with to cut down on time they take to play back. Once you become more skilled with recorded books, you got to check out “unabridged” editions as downloadable audio MP3 books as soon as you can.

Once a beginner, Lou Smith shares the riches he's found in Audio Books He offers you a special invitation to get free Recorded Books as gifts now. You can listen to MP3 books samples right away.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Smith

Buying a Home Theater Receiver

Buying a receiver is one of the most important decisions you're going to have to make when building your home theater. The receiver has a number of functions including; connecting and switching audio sources; connecting and switching video sources; decoding surround sound formats; amplifying an audio signal and sending it to your speakers; tuning in to radio stations; and acting as the interface between you and your home theater.

The first thing to think about is whether you want a receiver at all or would you be better off buying a separate decoder, amplifier, and tuner?

Despite being a more expensive route - not to mention the extra space needed - separates do have some advantages. You can pick and choose your own combination of components, can upgrade each component individually and won't lose all the functions if one piece develops a fault. On top of that, having each electronic component in a separate box does improve sound quality when compared with having them all on one circuit board.

However, the separates route is more expensive, more complicated and needs more space than buying a receiver. And for most people its uneccessary. Today's receivers do a very good job in all of their functions.

So what should should you look out for when buying a receiver? The first thing is to make sure that it has ll the inputs you need for the equipment you need to connect to it. Sounds obvious, but its very easy to overlook. As a mimimum it should have digital audio inputs (optical and co-axial) for Dolby Digital and/or DTS. It should also have analogue audio inputs for CD player, set-top box and possibly DVD-Audio or Super Audio CD player (the last two currently don't have digital outputs in order to make it less easy to pirate CDs).

You should also consider whether you want to route all your video sources such as TV, DVD player, and games console through your receiver. Doing so means you can switch between sources from one controller, very easily. But if you want to do this you'll need to make sure the receiver you're interested in has enough video inputs. These could be S-Video or component inputs are best, or if you're in Europe, Scart. You should also make sure the video output from the receiver is of high quality, so again, it should be S-Video, component or Scart.

If you can test a receiver before you buy, its worth comparing the quality of a video signal from a DVD player when its connected directly to a display and comparing it with when its connected via the receiver. There shouldn't be any noticeable difference in quality.

The power rating of the amplifier is also important. The bigger the room you have for your home theater, the more power you'll need. And makes sure that the power rating is quoted in Watts per channel - the last thing you want is to get home with your 100Watt receiver and discover that its power is split between eight speakers in you 7.1 set-up. It's impossible to specify how powerful your amplifier should be, but if your home theater is in a reasonable-sized room, as opposed to an aircraft hanger, 100Watts per channel should be fine.

Finally, don't forget the remote control. It's the key interface between you and the reciever and you'll spend a lot of time using it. So make sure it's comfortable and straightforward to use. The last thing you want is to have to spend ages wading through on-screen menus to get what you want.

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner, a site which aims to cut through the confusion surrounding HDTV and provide surfers with up to date, accurate and easy to read information on HDTV.Buying a receiver is one of the most important decisions you're going to have to make when building your home theater. The receiver has a number of functions including; connecting and switching audio sources; connecting and switching video sources; decoding surround sound formats; amplifying an audio signal and sending it to your speakers; tuning in to radio stations; and acting as the interface between you and your home theater.

The first thing to think about is whether you want a receiver at all or would you be better off buying a separate decoder, amplifier, and tuner?

Despite being a more expensive route - not to mention the extra space needed - separates do have some advantages. You can pick and choose your own combination of components, can upgrade each component individually and won't lose all the functions if one piece develops a fault. On top of that, having each electronic component in a separate box does improve sound quality when compared with having them all on one circuit board.

However, the separates route is more expensive, more complicated and needs more space than buying a receiver. And for most people its uneccessary. Today's receivers do a very good job in all of their functions.

So what should should you look out for when buying a receiver? The first thing is to make sure that it has ll the inputs you need for the equipment you need to connect to it. Sounds obvious, but its very easy to overlook. As a mimimum it should have digital audio inputs (optical and co-axial) for Dolby Digital and/or DTS. It should also have analogue audio inputs for CD player, set-top box and possibly DVD-Audio or Super Audio CD player (the last two currently don't have digital outputs in order to make it less easy to pirate CDs).

You should also consider whether you want to route all your video sources such as TV, DVD player, and games console through your receiver. Doing so means you can switch between sources from one controller, very easily. But if you want to do this you'll need to make sure the receiver you're interested in has enough video inputs. These could be S-Video or component inputs are best, or if you're in Europe, Scart. You should also make sure the video output from the receiver is of high quality, so again, it should be S-Video, component or Scart.

If you can test a receiver before you buy, its worth comparing the quality of a video signal from a DVD player when its connected directly to a display and comparing it with when its connected via the receiver. There shouldn't be any noticeable difference in quality.

The power rating of the amplifier is also important. The bigger the room you have for your home theater, the more power you'll need. And makes sure that the power rating is quoted in Watts per channel - the last thing you want is to get home with your 100Watt receiver and discover that its power is split between eight speakers in you 7.1 set-up. It's impossible to specify how powerful your amplifier should be, but if your home theater is in a reasonable-sized room, as opposed to an aircraft hanger, 100Watts per channel should be fine.

Finally, don't forget the remote control. It's the key interface between you and the reciever and you'll spend a lot of time using it. So make sure it's comfortable and straightforward to use. The last thing you want is to have to spend ages wading through on-screen menus to get what you want.

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner, a site which aims to cut through the confusion surrounding HDTV and provide surfers with up to date, accurate and easy to read information on HDTV.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenny_Hemphill

Unlimited Music Downloads – Tips On Downloading Music MP3

Unlimited music downloads was a dream to music lovers in the past. Today it has become a reality to us. With so many online music stores, we are able to find songs we love, download them onto our computer or portable media device such as the MP3 player. This article would share with you what are some of the benefits of downloading music online and why it will take over traditional music CD as the largest source of music for the world.

Benefits of Downloading Music Online

1. Convenience of Music Downloads

You can access to unlimited music downloads anywhere you want with an internet connection and media file players such as Windows Media Player, Real One Player, etc. You don’t have to hunt for a music store, nor step out of your house to get hold of a CD.

2. Ease and Speed of Downloading Music

Did you know that searching, finding and downloading can be done in double-quick time? In fact, once you have identified the list of songs you wish to download, you can leave your desk, and go for a short break. When you are back, the music downloads would have been complete and they are hot for playing. Forget about having to ransack the music CD store to look for your favorite songs and singer.

3. Choice of Music Downloads

Gone were the days when you are forced to buy a whole CD even if you only like one song inside. With an unlimited music downloads, you have a choice as to what song title you wish to download and listen. There is no need to skip those songs you don’t really want to listen to so you can relax and plug in only to your favorites.

4. Compact & Portable

With MP3 media, it is so simple to store your music. Nowadays, the prices of MP3 players such as iPod, iRiver, Creative, etc have become affordable even for those models with huge disk capacity. Remember those days when we have to carry large CD cases whenever we travel around, and those clumsy moments of switching from one CD to another? A matchbox size MP3 player can easily store a few hundred songs.

There is one beauty about unlimited music downloads that must be mentioned here. You no longer have to go through the tedious process of ripping songs from CDs and burning them either to a CD or transferring them to your MP3 player. Everything at the music downloads site is a simple zip and go. Music lovers who are keen on laying their hands on a lifetime access of unlimited music downloads, drop by and read more at my blog.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Learn where you can have instant access to unlimited music downloads - all your favorite hits, latest music videos, MP3s and more at unlimited-music-downloads.blogspot.com.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Davion_Wong

MP3 is Music to Ears

Making it that much easier for people to enjoy their favorite tunes MP3 players have revolutionized the music systems. All earlier musical formats, including records, cassette, and CDs could never give the sheer convenience of MP3 players. It enables a listener to create personalized music lists and carry thousands of songs along without having to be burdened by a number of discs in a pack.

The MP3 player, along with the hundreds of songs it can store, is a device tinier than a pack of cards. Compared to a CD player and a case to store the discs, this is more manageable and far more compact.

It is features and advantages such as these that have made MP3 players the toast of music lovers the world over. You could buy MP3 players from a variety of models in different shapes and sizes through which manufacturers try to build a wide and varied customer base. To make the deal even more attractive, players are integrated with some add-ons.

MP3 players makes a disc jockey out of you, letting you pick songs of your choice and arranging them in your preferred sequence the way you would like to hear them. It is the power of having thousands of songs at your fingertips. You can arrange songs in a play list in the order of genre, the singers, or simply mingled randomly. You could start creating a play list by first identifying the songs you want from a sea of sources available on the Net or around.

It is possible also to convert your collection of songs stored in audio CDs into MP3 files using the ripper and encoder software. Quite a few MP3 players available in the market are already equipped with the software required. Aided by a ripper, you could copy a song from the CD onto the hard disk of a computer. With the help of an encoder, the song could be compressed into the MP3 format. Encoded songs can be downloaded on the MP3 player and there you have a treasure of music to enjoy.

Copyrights protected article written by Andrew Stratton for Surveillance Technology. More articles and information about the Music and Entertainment can be viewed easily altogether at this location http://www.surveillancetechnology.com/entertainment-system.htm. Please be free to explore the website for more information on every surveillance products and their features.

Please be free to copy and paste the article in your website with resource box.

Note: Do not use the article without resource box.


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New Video Ipod Is Incredible

The new iPod is now lighter, slimmer and cooler looking, it has new features that surpass other mp3 players. The best new features of the video iPod concern the sound quality. The iPod video is small, compact and sleek, it is very easy to use, and it has tons of great features that are second to none and can only be found on iPods.

Taking portable video entertainment to a different level than it ever has been, it features a color screen and video playback capabilities. The new Apple video iPod is pushing the envelope with technology by combining mp3 music and video in one device.

Consumers embraced the new iPod, it allows consumers to keep all of their music and video in one place, the device is light weight and is portable so all the videos and music can go where ever you go. The iPod has a 5-inch color display that lets you take your music videos wherever you go. Unlike in the music versions, Apple did not include an option to rip movies to play on the Video iPod.

If your priority is storing music over video, get the iPod Video. Many automobiles have the normal AM/FM Stereo and CD player, but many automobile manufactures are including and jack so you can plug in your mp3 player. Most of the people who benefit from the iPod are those people who want to listen to music, watch movies or TV shows or who want to keep photos You can listen to all your music. You can do more than just listen to music. Many manufactures have created accessories so you are able to listen to your iPod in your car, these gadgets work very well and are worth the investment. Until just recently, you used to have to have an expensive CD player and a multitude of CDs with you in order to listen to whatever you want, whenever you want.

It is very exciting when you receive your new video iPod, you now have the ability to watch videos on a mobile video player. Once you download the movie or video you can simply transfer it to your iPod, however if you want to be able to watch the movie on your DVD player while at home then you might want to think about this. If you're like many new Video iPod owners, you are excited about the idea of carrying your movie collection along with you wherever you go.

According to the informational websites, the number of video downloads have reached and might have passed the one million downloads since it was introduced. There are many companies that have created software that will convert to the iPod format, some even come with extra software so you can view the pictures or videos before the conversion process starts, this comes in handy if you want to view the information before putting it on your iPod. You can download, convert and transfer and you have the ability to watch all kinds of movies, home movies and TV shows.

David Marc Fishman is the owner of Bornasuperstar. The online talent shows for dancers. Learn more about the law of attraction.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Fishman

A Look at the iRiver MP3 Player

Iriver introduced their first product, the iMP-100, a portable CD player capable of decoding MP3 data files on CDs, on November, 2000. In the number one global market, iriver was quickly displaced by the introduction of Apple's iPod. Founded in Seoul, capital of South Korea, iriver makes portable digital audio players, including USB mass storage, multiple codecs, FM tuners, recording capabilities, and upgradeable firmware. Microsoft helped test and market its latest product, the Clix, while specifying upgrades to its graphics engine and chips. Irivers initially dropped UMS support for several of their flash memory based players, in favor of Microsofts's MTP. The company later released an official "iriver firmware updater" that allowed the users to switch between the MTP and UMS interfaces.

Iriver has developed four models for the portable multimedia player, the audio and video market. They are capable of playing several digital video formats, in addition to playing audio and displaying still images, with two models. The G10 is in progress right now, and will play digital music, video, and games. Its hard drives will be available in a 4GB or 8GB, while its size is less than half of Sony's PSP.

There are several MP3 companies that are interested in designing and developing MP3 players, and are capable of supporting a user's entire music library, while others look to create a player that rivals the number one positioned MP3 player - the iPod. After this, a third type of manufacturer arrives, one that looks to create a usable and durable product. This is where the iriver MP3 player enters the picture. The iriver has three basic systems for people looking for a basic digital music player. The iriver T30 series comes in 512MB (120 songs) and 1GB (250 songs) formats with a 24 hour battery life. Both support subscription services, have a voice recorder, and can record directly from a source without using a PC. The T10 has a color display and an unbelievable 45 hour battery life, with the most useful tool on any MP3 player, the FM tuner and recorder.

In an even more dedicated effort to appeal to the athletic, "sporty" type, iRiver designed a MP3 player that the user can take to the pool! An MP3 player with a water-proof cover that retails at $99.99 that is just as compact and easy to use as the regular version. The system has a sleek design and, believe it or not, waterproof headphones that make swimming and enjoying your favorite tunes possible! But some complaints about the iRiver product stem from the lack of data storage and the unfriendly format. When trying to delete a single song it sometime deletes an entire folder or the entire collection altogether.

Check out http://www.mp3playertop.com/ for more articles on appple ipod and free downloads itunes.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Singh

Car Audio Connectivity

According to the US Census, the average American worker spends approximately 25 minutes per day commuting to work. While the number sounds reasonable in that context, multiply it out and in the course of a year, you see that you'll have spent over 100 hours inside of your vehicle. That’s a whole lot of time. When this much time is spent crammed inside a relatively small space, people are naturally antsy for some entertainment. Thus we have seen the evolution of car stereos, cell phones, and personal entertainment systems that allow us pass the time spent in traffic a little more quickly.

The car stereo system is by far the most widespread and universal of these creature comforts designed to make the trip bearable. Here's how the history breaks down: In 1929, the first car radios appeared on the American market, although they didn’t become popular until the 60’s. By 1970, people wanted to be able to dictate what music they listened to without having to rely on a DJ to hold their hand through the musical landscape. Thus, the 8-track was born. 1980 saw the advent of the cassette tape deck, which provided superior sound quality to the 8-track, and the cassette soon bowed to the CD in the 90’s.

In today’s digital world, however, the CD, while still in use, is taking a back seat to digitized audio content. With the popularity of downloadable and easily moved and formatted MP3 and WMA files, listeners now have nearly unlimited control over what they listen to. In addition, personal music devices such as the iPod play only digital content, meaning that music collections are increasingly stored on hard drives, rather than tapes or discs.

This creates a problem for the commuter with an older stereo system: how does one access this digital content on the road? Here are several options.

The first and probably easiest is to simply burn a CD with digital tracks formatted to play in a standard CD player. While this solution is fairly simple, many older CD players can’t read burned CDs.

Another option is to buy an FM transmitter. This is a great solution if you have a personal MP3 player, like an iPod or Rio. All you have to do is plug your player into the transmitter (which plugs into your vehicle's cigarette lighter), and select an FM channel to transmit on (generally restricted to lower channels between 88.1 and 88.9). The transmitter puts out a low powered FM signal which is picked up by your car stereo’s radio. Some FM transmitters also allow you to attach a USB flash drive (also called a thumbdrive or pen drive) to the transmitter. The transmitter decodes the music files on the drive and allows you to play, skip, and pause your music, all while transmitting to your car radio. This is usually an inexpensive solution, although audio quality sometimes suffers due to interference. One of the big benefits to the USB flash drive models is that you can be constantly keeping your musical selection fresh without always having to burn new media CDs. If you listen to a lot of podcasts, this is especially nice.

Yet another option is to install a Bluetooth car kit, which allows you to connect your iPod to your car stereo wirelessly. While some installation is required for this solution, the sound quality is fantastic and the hassle of plugging your iPod into the stereo every time you get into your car is gone, to say nothing of the coolness factor. Scosche makes one of these kits at a relatively affordable price.

Finally, you can spring for a new head unit, which is the part of the car stereo that you generally see in the dash of the car. Many newer car stereo head units can read burned CDs. What’s more, they can also read MP3 and WMA files, which, though you’re still required to burn a data CD with your desired music files, allows you to put a much higher quantity of music on the CD. In deference to the burgeoning popularity of the personal media player, some car stereo head units also have an auxiliary jack so you can connect your iPod or other similar device to your car stereo via a cable. And a select few car stereos, like the VR3 Car Stereo CD Player, come even more options. The VR3, for which I have found no alternative, can still read MP3 and WMA files and still allows you to connect your personal media player through an auxiliary line-in jack, but it also has a USB port built into the face which leta it access audio files from a USB flash drive without sacrificing audio quality. Again, if you listen to podcasts or are constantly updating your music collection, this is the solution for you.

In the end, however, it’s nice to look back and realize that car stereo entertainment is really the everyman’s entertainment medium. You can spend as much or as little as you want to get the kind of entertainment you want. You can get free radio, inexpensive FM transmitters to let you listen to your digital content without costly technology, pricer head units, which give the discerning audio enthusiast some respite in their travels, or, for the audiophile who accepts nothing less than the best, a world class entertainment system that’s worthy of any classy whip. Happy travels!

Nathan Kartchner is the Marketing Coordinator for Sewell Direct, a premium online retailer, where you can find the VR3 Car Stereo CD Player with USB Port and Auxiliary Connector, the VR3 Thumbdrive Player/FM Transmitter, and the Scosche iPod Wireless Bluetooth Car Kit.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nathan_Kartchner

Audio Books - Why Recorded Books On Tape And MP3 Books Win Over Books On CD

Audio books come in many formats. Also called recorded books, they come on tapes, CD’s, and now, as MP3 books. Surprisingly, people prefer the old technology of recorded books on tape over books on CD. You may be somewhat amazed to learn why.

Although CDs are great, but when it comes to listening to recorded books, books on tape are the long-term consumer’s favorite.

As a sideline, MP3 books are the new kids on the block. They offer even more flexibility and convenience. Above all formats, MP3 books cut out the fancy packaging, the mail carrier or extra shopping trips. How would an instant download at home suit your busy schedule? Overall, their superior storage, unnoticeable portability and better price make them superior above other formats so far.

But what’s with recorded books on tape being superior to books on CD?

1. Most audio books on CD are incapable of holding more than 75 minutes of content. On the other hand, books on tape cram 90 plus minutes of voice-over.

Sure, you can have the complete audio book copied out over several CDs. But who wants to haul around a heavyweight case with CDs, right?

So, a few tape cassettes will do you for a particular audio book. In contrast, you will need many more CDs for that same audio book.

2. Would you spend extra money for audio books on CD when you can get the same book on tape (or in MP3 format) for less?

Here’s a quick example to explain:

An unabridged version of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" slims down to nest in 12 audiotapes. It sells for a mere $31.96 on the Barnes & Noble. Ready for the CD numbers now? The same version there, on CDs, costs roughly double the amount - $55.96. And you’ll have 5 more items to handle ‘cause there are 17 sets of CDs.

Now, you are thinking … “What a rip off!” Whoa!

It’s far from being fleeced. CDs simply cost much more time and money to produce. Because of the extra outlays, the price tag is higher than the one for the tapes.

3. This one’s clear. When you turn off your CD player while listening to an audio book, often, you won't be able to carry on from the exact spot you left off. With a tape, you can continue from the exact track location you left off.

Imagine how annoying this can be if you are driving and you turn off your car. You’d need to kick-start the audio book CD and patiently locate the spot where you stopped at.

If you have a more advanced CD player that saves your location when you turn off your car, then it’s no problem until … You shut off the car and pull out the CD. Oops.

If you do the same with an audiocassette, the spot where you left off is waiting for you when you push the tape back into the player.

4. You may or may not agree with me here. Audio books, after all, are narrations. Many recorded books enthusiasts are smart. They say …”Why would I spend the extra cash to buy CDs because of recording quality level when I can snatch near enough the same quality on audiotapes for much less?”

It boils down to the reality that a human voice recording has little to gain in depth and clarity when recorded on a CD as an alternative of a tape cassette.

Recorded books are here to stay. You, too, may prefer books on tape over books on CD. The tape benefits clearly outweigh the ones of CDs. Have they surprised you at all?

And, when you are ready to discover the most convenient technology in recorded books and audio books in general, look for MP3 books. With the arrival of MP3 players and MP3-enabled cellular phones, you can be in good company of audio books of your choice wherever you go.

Lou Smith invites you to check out Audio Books in many attractive and popular categories of Recorded Books. As our guest, you can download free MP3 Books right now.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Smith

Why Not Enjoy Unlimited Music Downloads?

Downloading music online may be on the lips of many music enthusiasts nowadays but to the uninitiated, it can be pretty confusing and sometimes difficult for the individual. Let us look at what the whole idea of downloading music online at membership sites that offer unlimited music downloads is all about.

Listening to music on CDs is now passé. It is not meant to sound offending but this is especially true amongst the younger generation today. Teens and young adults born after the 80s are now turning to digital music in MP3 format rather than playing music CDs on the portable CD player, which some of us affectionately remembered as the CD Walkman.

The reasons for choosing online music are obvious. Technology is so advanced that you do not have to carry a whole CD rack anywhere you go just to enjoy all your favorite songs. If that sounds exaggerating, a CD player packed with your favorite CD can at most offer you 20 of your compiled songs at max in exchange for you lugging the 6 inch gadget around in a bag. Contrast this with a small little gadget with the size of a matchbox or cigarette box that stores hundreds of songs, it becomes blatant why flocks of people are downloading music online.

It is affordable for most folks to download music files at iTunes if you are looking for one or two of your favorite hits. Though the selection is marvelous, with tons of songs, music and music videos and seemingly unlimited music downloads, however, it soon became clear to music enthusiasts that buying music to beef up their collection is denting their pockets. Now the juicy news is that there are new download sites that have sprung up, offering unlimited music downloads, including the latest soundtracks, music videos etc to members at incredibly low one-time prices. Imagine being able to download unlimited music files for the price cheaper than 2 DVDs. Isn’t that awesome?

Human beings are creatures of dilemma. When the choices are few, we grumble about the lack of choices. But when the download sites are numerous, we complain about the difficulty to select the right membership download site. Fret not, as there are a few quick tips to select an ideal site for unlimited music downloads.

Downloading music online may be on the lips of many music enthusiasts nowadays but to the uninitiated, it can be pretty confusing and sometimes difficult for the individual. Let us look at what the whole idea of downloading music online at membership sites that offer unlimited music downloads is all about.

Listening to music on CDs is now passé. It is not meant to sound offending but this is especially true amongst the younger generation today. Teens and young adults born after the 80s are now turning to digital music in MP3 format rather than playing music CDs on the portable CD player, which some of us affectionately remembered as the CD Walkman.

The reasons for choosing online music are obvious. Technology is so advanced that you do not have to carry a whole CD rack anywhere you go just to enjoy all your favorite songs. If that sounds exaggerating, a CD player packed with your favorite CD can at most offer you 20 of your compiled songs at max in exchange for you lugging the 6 inch gadget around in a bag. Contrast this with a small little gadget with the size of a matchbox or cigarette box that stores hundreds of songs, it becomes blatant why flocks of people are downloading music online.

It is affordable for most folks to download music files at iTunes if you are looking for one or two of your favorite hits. Though the selection is marvelous, with tons of songs, music and music videos and seemingly unlimited music downloads, however, it soon became clear to music enthusiasts that buying music to beef up their collection is denting their pockets. Now the juicy news is that there are new download sites that have sprung up, offering unlimited music downloads, including the latest soundtracks, music videos etc to members at incredibly low one-time prices. Imagine being able to download unlimited music files for the price cheaper than 2 DVDs. Isn’t that awesome?

Human beings are creatures of dilemma. When the choices are few, we grumble about the lack of choices. But when the download sites are numerous, we complain about the difficulty to select the right membership download site. Fret not, as there are a few quick tips to select an ideal site for unlimited music downloads.

1. Selection of Music

Be sure to search through the catalogue and stick with the one that offers you the right songs you wish to download.

2. Ensure Format Compatibility

The format of music files offered must be compatible with your portable media player, ie MP3 player. Look for sites that offer MP3 ready music files to save you the headache of converting the music files into playable format ie MP3.

3. Compare Pricings

Look at the pricing of each download site. All sites offer millions of files, and it is not wrong to say that they provide access to unlimited music downloads. As a smart consumer, paying the same price for 20 million songs at Site A rather than for 10 million songs at Site B sounds like a better deal isn’t it? However, be sure to check the selection.

I believe that this article has given you a brief introduction to the online world of unlimited music downloads. You can pick up more detailed tips on how to select a great music download site that suits your preference and read a review of the most popular sites at my blog.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Learn where you can have instant access to unlimited music downloads - all your favorite hits, latest music videos, MP3s and more at unlimited-music-downloads.blogspot.com

Be sure to search through the catalogue and stick with the one that offers you the right songs you wish to download.

2. Ensure Format Compatibility

The format of music files offered must be compatible with your portable media player, ie MP3 player. Look for sites that offer MP3 ready music files to save you the headache of converting the music files into playable format ie MP3.

3. Compare Pricings

Look at the pricing of each download site. All sites offer millions of files, and it is not wrong to say that they provide access to unlimited music downloads. As a smart consumer, paying the same price for 20 million songs at Site A rather than for 10 million songs at Site B sounds like a better deal isn’t it? However, be sure to check the selection.

I believe that this article has given you a brief introduction to the online world of unlimited music downloads. You can pick up more detailed tips on how to select a great music download site that suits your preference and read a review of the most popular sites at my blog.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Learn where you can have instant access to unlimited music downloads - all your favorite hits, latest music videos, MP3s and more at unlimited-music-downloads.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Davion_Wong

Alpine Car Audio Systems - A Brief Overview

Get yourself grooving to your favorite tunes even in the car. Stay tuned to music 24/7. With the latest Alpine car audio systems, you can spice up those monotonous long drives.

A standard Alpine car audio system (Like any other car audio system) includes various components like amplifiers, subwoofers, head units, CD changers, crossovers and remotes.

I will talk about a few of them here. I hope this will help you make a more informed choice. That is, decide if an Alpine car audio system is the best for you.

Let's roll...

Alpine Amplifiers

Amplifiers basically amplify or boost an audio signal. There are mono, 2-channel and multi-channel amplifiers. Let's use the Alpine MRP-M650 for our case study...

It is a 400W mono subwoofer amplifier. It has the following features:

• It has a frequency response range of 20Hz-200Hz.

• It comes with gold plated screw terminals.

• It has built-in crossovers and a variable low-pass filter.

Alpine amplifiers are highly recommended for their high sound quality and value for money. This particular product has received amazing reviews from users. It is priced at approximately $200.

Alpine CD players/Head units

The Alpine CDE-9846 is a CD player with a built-in amplifier. It has the following features...

• It provides a maximum power of 45 watts.

• It has CD text. This means that the receiver can display song and disc title information.

• It comes with a detachable face and source tone memory.

On the flip side, this product does not come with remote controls. It also does not have CD changer controls and is not compatible with satellite radios. Nevertheless, it has received excellent ratings -- So it's worth giving it a look. It is available for around $140.

Speakers

The Alpine SPS-13C2 is a two-way 175W car speaker with the following specifications:

• The woofer has an Aluminum coated polypropylene cone.

• It has an RMS power range of 35 Watts. RMS stands for Root Mean Square, which is an accurate means of measuring and comparing the power of a speaker.

Car speakers are usually priced in pairs. These speakers are available for approximately $50.

There are other accessories like the subwoofers, crossovers, overhead monitors, headphones and CD changers that make an audio system complete. Go ahead, buy an Alpine car audio system. Your car deserves nothing but the best.

Visit car-audio-products-and-accessories.com to read more car audio articles or visit AddAcdChanger to get your Alpine car audio products. Chimezirim Odimba writes for CAP.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chimezirim_Chinecherem_Odimba

Get Music Free or for Fee

The Internet has several music sites which have a massive collection of songs. You can buy these songs, which means download them after paying a nominal fee. By following the method of ripping you could download the songs of your choice and store them to play on your MP3 player, anytime, anywhere. Ripping is a process that involves a number of steps such as placing the disc into the CD drive of the computer; selecting the soundtrack required to be converted into MP3 format; conversion of the track; copying the new MP3 file to the hard disk and finally, downloading the MP3 file to the MP3 player.

There are also some sites that allow you to download songs without charging any fee. It is to be noted, however, that the best things in life come at a price and so free songs are usually ones that are discards, less popular or ones that don’t find many takers even for free. It is possible also to subscribe to a site and get all the songs you desire for one flat fee. The catch here is that songs are for a temporary period and on rent. They are not permanent downloads, so once your subscription ceases, the facility to play the songs would automatically be disabled. This takes place due to subscription plans being encoded aided by the digital rights management technology and this clause is mentioned in your subscription agreement.

You could take heart from the fact that many MP3 players now come with the ability to record songs directly from your CD player. For those who can't avail of the facility of a computer, this makes the conversion process a lot easier and more convenient. It does away with the trouble of putting a CD into the computer. The song goes directly from the CD to MP3 format in the user's preferred play-list.

There are MP3 players with built-in FM radio tuners, giving users an additional feature. Radio listeners can also record their favorite songs being aired by channels in the MP3 format and add them instantly to their play-list. MP3 player lets you playback your MP3 music on the FM radio with frequencies that are unused.

Copyrights protected article written by Andrew Stratton for Surveillance Technology. More articles and information about the Music and Entertainment can be viewed easily altogether at this location http://www.surveillancetechnology.com/entertainment-system.htm. Please be free to explore the website for more information on every surveillance products and their features.

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Choosing The mp3 Player That Suits You

If you've been looking around for an mp3 player, chances are you're very confused with all the different specifications and the vast array of models out there. You've read that you can get your entire music collection on to one mp3 player and that's true - but not every mp3 player. You have also been told that you can throw them around, go jogging with them, climb a mountain with one and all this is true - but again, not every mp3 player will withstand this treatment.

Basically, if you want to get physical with your mp3 player then you need one with no moving parts. In this case, the iPod is not what you want. You would be looking for a machine which saves it's music to memory. Some of the most popular mp3 players which fall into this category are in the Creative MuVo range.

There are basically three types of mp3 player. Hard drive based, memory based and mp3 CD player based. The hard drive mp3 players allow you to store thousands of tunes whilst the memory based version sacrifices music volume for freedom of movement. You can even get waterproof mp3 players! The mp3 CD players read the mp3 music from a CD which you have pre-burned.

So now you have enough information to know what type of mp3 player you should be looking for. Now what about capacity? How much music can you get on the various players out there? Let's take a look ....

If you want your music to sound good you want to be using at least CD quality mp3s. One minute of CD quality mp3 takes up around 1Mb. The memory based mp3 players have a top limit of around 500Mb meaning you can get roughly 120 average length tunes on there. But the top end hard drive versions go up to as much as 60Gb which is a whole lot of music - an anorak's dream :)

Another consideration is battery life. The hard drive mp3 players plough through the batteries at a rate of knots since the disk has to physically turn. The memory based option uses a lot less battery power. Many of the memory based mp3 players use the AAA size battery which is very convenient since you don't need a re-charger and you don't need to search for hard to find battery types. You'll find that most hard drive versions use lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and if you use your mp3 player a lot, your re-charger will be in regular use. Many people simply leave the power lead plugged in when they are at home.

An important factor in your decision should be the size of the unit. If you want to use your player at the gym or while you're out jogging then you'll want the smallest player possible. There are some really tiny models on the market these days. You will usually have to sacrifice some storage with a very small mp3 players but you can usually get enough music on there to have a good long workout.

If you want to use your mp3 player more at home then size will not be such a great consideration. The iPod is still a very compact unit and most people will be held to fit their entire collection on there. Of course the iPod is not your only option and there are many excellent manufacturers out there. Just be careful of some of the cheap imports you see on ebay, often there is no support for these players.

As a replacement for the home hi fi system, the mp3 player is becoming more and more popular. High fidelity purists obviously will never be swayed but to most of us the quality of the mp3 is perfectly adequate for our everyday listening purposes.

In fact many modern players coming on to the market have been designed with both portability and versatility in mind. What better way to entertain your dinner party guests than to have your mp3 player randomly selecting music from over ten thousand of your favourite tracks? No more fumbling around in your CD rack trying to find the disk that lost its cover ;)

Now you know what to look for, go get yourself a player and join the digital music revolution.

Fabio writes for many niches and is an experienced researcher. He has written articles covering a wide range of human experience and enjoys plying his trade especially on the Internet. He is currently sponsoring iClick Info mp3 Blogs and News and can be reached on fabio@mp3.linkz-and.info


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fabio_Marcell