| Author |
Message |
    
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 3193
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 5:35 pm: |     |
What are the pros and cons? A found a legal site that allows you to download 100 songs for free during the one month trail period. You're allowed to burn them to disk at no extra cost. They then have several monthly plans beginning at 40 songs for $9.99. Theonly problem is the downloads are in MP3 format. Not a real problem for me because the CD player in my car has the ability to play disks in MP3 format. But I was thinking this would a much better plan then the $1 per song my nephews pay through iTunes.
One of my friends tells me I should get this plan, but get an iPod or somethingsimilar. He says there is legal software that will easily convert the MP3 format into the format that will play on regular CD players. Is this true? Thanks... |
Gatica
Citizen
Username: Katracho
Post Number: 186
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 6:13 pm: | |
"One of my friends tells me I should get this plan, but get an iPod or somethingsimilar. He says there is legal software that will easily convert the MP3 format into the format that will play on regular CD players. Is this true?"
Yes Virginia, it is true. CD Burner software comes with the capability to burn any MP3 file to a playable track that can play on a regular CD Player.
Also, you can use an iPod to play your MP3 files. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 10929
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 7:15 pm: | |
iPods can play mp3 files. And iTunes can convert mp3 files and burn old fashioned audio CD's.
But where is the master copy of the music you downloaded? On your hard disk which will crash one day? Or on your homeburnt CD's which don't last long, either? This is one reason I don't download much music. Maybe I'll build a system that has redundancy and backups. Then it would be more attractive.
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sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2842
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 8:21 pm: | |
I thought that an iPod WAS an mp3 player ... or should I say THE mp3 player.
Did I miss something? |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 10931
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 9:07 pm: | |
Just a small detail. mp3 is a specific format of an audio file. Apple prefers m4p format and uses that as a default, which might lead one to believe that iPods don't play mp3's, but they do.
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Rick B
Citizen
Username: Ruck1977
Post Number: 903
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 8:39 am: | |
Another note...when you buy tunes from itunes, and you download them, they are in apple's proprietary format. I didn't think it was m4p though but haven't done this in a year or so. Tom probably knows better.
However, if you buy from itunes, your mp3 player (that is not an ipod) won't be able to play the songs if they are in apple's format.
If you buy from other sites, like emusic, or musicmatchbox, napster, and many more, you can get the songs in mp3 format for your mp3 player.
One other note that might be of interest. On cnet.com, on friday (after thanksgiving) they are holding a 12 hour marathon about holiday shopping for tech gadgets. Might be worth tuning in to find out more. No doubt they will go into detail about portable music players. They said you can send in questions and they will answer live. |
JMF
Citizen
Username: Jmf
Post Number: 171
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 11:37 am: | |
Rick B,
A protected AAC file from iTMS is stored in a file with the extension .m4p
btw, to convert those files to mp3 for use on other mp3 players, you can brun them as an audio CD and then re-import them as mp3.
I don't know of an app to do that without buring back and forth, but I am sure there is one.
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Politicalmon
Citizen
Username: Politicalmon
Post Number: 40
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 11:43 am: | |
The Ipod is a digital music player - with a nice user interface (Itunes) loaded on your PC or MAC. The Ipod will play or convert various music formats MP3, AAC, Wave ect. There are many other formats that exist in the real world. MP3 in general are inferior to AAC or Wave formats but the others require more data storage. You can download your MP3s to your hard drive - install ITunes (free) and manage your music library - this beats the pants off the compitition (Musicmatch, napster ect) - the key is finding downloadable music at a good $$$. I use a service called EasyNews it cost $10/month and allows for 10GB of downloads per month and if your don't use the 10GB it will accumulate and be added to your next months capacity. They have many music libraries and you will over time find any and everything your looking for, believe me I was amazed. As far as the Ipod goes I've owned one for 26 months now, it's beem replaced 3X but I use it practically every day - I purchased the extended warranty which gave me a 2 year replacement warranty. So all the repairs were covered. I don't believe the high failure rate is indicative of poor workmanship, but instead I probably pushed these devices to the edge. I run 2-3X per week and noticed a relationship between the constant thumping of the pavement/sweat and Ipod restarts, hard drive skips ect. I've decieded to be a little more carefull now that the extended warranty is out and am planning on purchasing the 1Gb Ipod Nano since there is no hard drive and the skipping problem should resolve. I will use the Nano strictly for jogging and the 20GB model will be used at home either in one of the varios docs connected to the multiple stereo systems or in the Bose Ipod unit which is the best of the small portable base units. Another plus with the Ipod is the software interface allows you to set up differnt equilization environments based on user preference, the playlist feature allows you to store various playlists for ones many musical moods. And lastly with constant firmware upgrades to your Ipod things will just keep getting better. There are also third party applications at the Ipod Lounge on the Internet which allow you to back up your music library from your IPod to your PC, thought I found a way of doing it that really doesn't require a third party application. But you can also store your Outlook contacts in case you don't own a PDA on your Ipod. The problem I find with most MP3 players is the inadequate user interface - if you want ease of use and simple - pay the extra $$$$ and get the IPod. |
monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 1603
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 11:59 am: | |
JHymn used to be able to convert protected AAC files, but since Apple updated iTunes to version 6 it hasn't worked, but I hope that it will.
Until then I just haven't bothered buying anything from iTunes, if I purchase a song I should be able to listen to it on what I please.
Of course you can do what JMF suggests & burn them to a CD and then rip them from that, but I don't want to have to do that.
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Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 3204
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 12:50 pm: | |
Oh wow now my head is spinning! Thank you all for the responses. I have to read through this again slowly so I can understand it better. For now I have an account with iIunes as both the kids have those ipod shuffles.
I joined emusic for the free month membership because it allows 100 song downloads and will allow you to burn them into a cd for FREE. They don't seem to have a lot of the songs currently played. I'm going to check out the other sites mentioned.
Drawback is they are in MP3 format. Well I can play them in my car, but won't be able to on my home cd players because they are something like 17 years old and 15 years old! (I still use the cd player I got for Christmas in 1991)
I didn't realize ipod was a fancy name for an MP3 player. At least I have some time to decide. It's going to be one of my Christmas presents... |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 10949
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 3:29 pm: | |
Yes, there are lots of other brands making digital music players. The Apple iPod is worth the money for the user interface and because so many add-on gadgets are available for it.
But if money is important, there is a wide selection available. If you're going to stray from the fold, consider one that will use a standard battery you can get at any drug store. These are rare.
The Mobiblu cube is intriguing. My cow-orker's daughter has one and likes it.
http://www.everythingusb.com/mobiblu_dah-1500i_cube_1gb.html
It's $129 at Walmart.
And here's a large list of available players: http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=MP3
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Bailey
Citizen
Username: Baileymac
Post Number: 93
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2005 - 10:03 pm: | |
Just The Aunt...
emusic gives you unprotected mp3 files.. iTunes and the iPod play mp3's, and if you want to burn cd's to play in old cd players, iTunes lets you do that too.
Just import your emusic files into iTunes, make playlists, and burn your cd's as audio cd's. It's really VERY easy. |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 3223
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Friday, November 25, 2005 - 12:33 am: | |
What are 'unprotected mp3 files?' The selection on emusic stinks anyway. I still have 88 soungs left. I wish I could somehow transfer some of my albums and tapes onto cd's...
I was able to create a library of about 97 songs from cd's my nephews and I had, then create a playlist for each of them to take to Florida. One wanted them on his ipod, the other a cd. both seem to work fine. But no matter how hard I try, I can 'buy' music! |
Brick Pig
Citizen
Username: Brick_pig
Post Number: 42
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Friday, November 25, 2005 - 9:57 am: | |
I'm assuming by context that in the message above you truly mean to say you "can't" buy music.
In the left panel of your iTunes window (where you see your Library and Playlists) there should be an item that says "Music Store". If you click that while you're connected to the internet, it will take you to the iTunes Music Store. This will appear right there in your iTunes window, where your song list normally is. To buy music, you'll have to set up an account, establishing an identity, and including credit card information. I'd be more specific about this, but it has been so long since I set my account up that I can't remember precisely what all the questions are or what the screens look like. I do remember that it was very simple and straightfoward.
Anyway, as far as buying goes, at the top of the window, there is a search blank where you can enter the name of a song or artist. You can use this search to locate whatever music you're looking for. When you find it, the song title will be written out, probably at the bottom of the screen, and there will be a button beside it that says "Buy Song". Click that button and follow the prompts to download your new tune. (You can also purchase entire CDs at, usually, a bit if a discount over buying each song individually.)
I realize this overview is pretty simplified, but iTunes really is very easy to use. Once you find your way around the Music Store a little, things will come into focus rather quickly for you.
I see that a number of people have pointed you to several different music services. All of those services will behave somewhat differently in minor ways, but in a very general sense they are all the same. Once you figure one out, the rest will be easier.
Good luck.... |
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