All about MP3

Do you throw parties often? Go on long picnics? Listen to music all the way to and fro driving to work? Well, there’s good news for you! You don’t have to carry loads of music CDs .Compressing and converting the music to MP3 format, all you have to do is to carry a couple of CDs! For example, a regular audio CD holds between 12 and 16 songs whereas a Mp3 CD has about 120- 150 songs in a single CD.

What is MP3?

MP3 files are actually MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) files. MP3 is a compressed audio format that is much smaller in file size and has similar sound quality to WAV format, the format found on normal music CDs that you buy in a store.MP3 shrinks the size of audio data while preserving sound quality, so music files can be easily distributed over the Internet. Sounds stored in the MP3 format have the extension .mp3.

Why is MP3 is Popular?
1. A song in MP3 format can be up to 10 times smaller than the same song on a regular audio CD.

2. MP3 is still very close to CD quality. Smaller does not mean smaller in playback time, but smaller in needed storage space.

3. Mp3 enables you to download songs quickly, with a broadband connection, it only takes minutes.

4. Since an MP3 is a lot smaller, sending or receiving MP3 takes lesser time and is faster too.

5. The format is popular for turning your PC into a jukebox of hundreds or thousands of songs.

6. You can load thousands of songs into a portable mp3 player and carry your music collection wherever you go.

7. MP3 has become the standard for exchanging music on the Internet.

Free downloadable MP3 music are available on the Internet from file sharing tools like Limewire, KaZaa, Bearshare, eDonkey and many more. These tools allow you to download entire CD's in MP3 format.
If you would like to download and listen to MP3 files on your computer, then you need *

A sound card and speakers for the computer.An Internet connection.An MP3 player (a software application you can download from the Web in 10 minutes)

How to play MP3?

To play MP3 files you need a MP3 player! These players are available in two types * portable players and software players. The portable players are hardware devices like Apple's iPod, MP3 portable players, Walkmans etc. Software players are programs you install on your computer like iTunes, Winamp, RealPlayer etc. PC users will already have Windows Media Player installed and if not, it can be downloaded from Microsoft. Once you have the player installed, you can download music from many sites on the net .You can either listen to the downloaded music on your computer or transfer the songs from the computer to the hardware device or mail it as an attachment in your messages to anyone!

Converting music to MP3?

Music can be converted from CDs which are in wav format to mp3.To convert songs from your CDs into MP3 files, you have to use a ripper and an encoder software to do that. A ripper
copies
the song's file from the CD onto your hard disk. The encoder compresses the song into the MP3 format. By encoding the songs, you can play them on your computer or on your MP3 player. The CD burning software Nero is the most popular advanced tool to convert music to MP3.It has a built in encoder for easy conversion. Windows Media Player also has provision to rip songs from CDs to MP3 format. There are many free soft wares available on the net to rip music!

Is this not cool? :)

Copyright © 2008 Laila Rajaratnam. All Rights Reserved

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What is Multimedia?

In this tutorial you will learn about different multimedia formats and how to use them !

Multimedia refers to everything you can hear or see in the computer like text, graphics, music, videos, sounds, CDs, DVDs, animation, interactive games and more. Different browsers handle multimedia in different ways. Some browsers handle multimedia online by supporting a number of multimedia formats. To experience multimedia online, you'll need a computer with sound and video cards and special software programs called plug-ins. Plug-ins, also known as players, extends the ability of your web browser, turning your computer into a radio or TV. Plug-ins may be already installed with your web browser but when a web page requires a special plug-in, you will be prompted to download it from the Internet.

Multimedia elements like sounds and videos are stored in media files and come in many different formats while the file extension determines the media type. Though there are many formats in use, AAC, MP3 and WMA are the big three formats used by digital music services. Your personal computer probably play songs encoded in any of the formats, but most portable music players cannot. For instance, iPods play MP3 and AAC files, but not WMA files. Thus, your portable player may determine which service you can use.

Sound can be stored in many different formats.

1. The MIDI Format - cannot store songs, only tunes. MIDI files can be extremely small and a 23K size music file can play for nearly 5 minutes. MIDI files are supported by all the popular Internet browsers. Sounds stored in the MIDI format have the extension .mid or .midi.

2. The RealAudio Format-The RealAudio format which supports video and allows streaming of audio (on-line music, Internet radio) was developed by Real Media, with low bandwidths. Because of the low bandwidth priority, quality is often reduced.

3.The AIFF Format -The AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) was developed by Apple, but unfortunately these files are not cross-platform and are not supported by all web browsers. Sounds stored in the AIFF format have the extension .aif or .aiff

4.The WAVE Format - is one of the most popular sound format on the Internet and developed by Microsoft . It is supported by all the popular browsers. Sounds stored in the WAVE format have the extension .wav.

5.The MP3 Format -MP3 files are actually MPEG files.MP3 is one of the most popular sound formats for music recording. It shrinks the size of audio data while preserving sound quality, so music files can be easily distributed over the Internet. Sounds stored in the MP3 format have the extension .mp3 or .mpga (for MPG Audio).

6. AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) has improved on MP3 by requiring less data to reproduce the same sound quality. Songs downloaded from Apple's iTunes Music Store are encoded in this format.

Videos too can be stored in many formats

1. The AVI Format -The AVI (Audio Video Interleave) format developed by Microsoft is supported by all computers running Windows and popular web browsers. It is not always possible to play on non-Windows computers. Videos stored in the AVI format have the extension .avi.

2. The Windows Media Format-The Windows Media format ,developed by Microsoft Windows Media is a common format on the Internet, but Windows Media movies cannot be played on non-Windows computer without an extra (free) component installed. Videos stored in the Windows Media format have the extension .wmv.

3. The MPEG Format-The MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group) format is the most popular format on the Internet. It is cross-platform, and supported by most web browsers. Videos stored in the MPEG format have the extension .mpg or .mpeg.

4. The QuickTime Format-The QuickTime format , by Apple is a common format on the internet, but QuickTime movies cannot be played on a windows computer without the plug-in installed. Install QuickTime, a plug-in for playing video clips on Macintosh and PC computers and watch movie trailers and other multimedia with this useful little program. Videos stored in QuickTime format have the extension .mov

5. The RealVideo Format- This format allows streaming of video (on-line video, Internet TV) with low bandwidths. Turn your computer into a radio or television with the RealPlayer. Once you install the RealPlayer, you can listen to the latest newscasts from National Public Radio, CNN, BBC and hundreds of other sites.This format has the extension .rm or .ram.

6. The Shockwave (Flash) Format-This format by Macromedia requires an extra component like Flash to play and to add pizzazz to a website. This component comes preinstalled with the latest versions Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. It turns your computer into an interactive animation machine.Shockwave format has the extension .swf

Some multimedia content, called streaming media, are embedded in a web page and begin to play when you access the page.

There are many more exciting ways to use multimedia options in the computer as well as on the Internet!!

Copyright © 2008 Laila Rajaratnam. All Rights Reserved

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Files and File Extensions

Hi!! Understanding Files and its extensions will make opening those files with the programme that identify with it a real snap!!
All the documents, pictures, music or games that are stored in computers are files. Files can only be activated by programs that recognize them and are able to use it. Like, for instance, you cannot use a music program to open a letter document. Each program on your computer understands what type of file it can or cannot use by the fact that every file has a filetype given to it. These filetypes have a few extra letters added on to its name after the full stop. For example, 'mycomputer.doc' is a file, named 'mycomputer' with the filetype '.doc', meaning that it can be opened by only a program that understands doc or document files like Microsoft Word.

There are many different filetypes. The following are the common Filetypes opened by the appropriate programme.

• .avi - video file. Open with Windows Media Player
• .bmp -image. Open with Paint
• .cfg - configuration file.
• .dat - data file.
• .doc - document file. Open with Word
• .exe - program file. Double-click to run
• .gif - image file. Open with Paint
• .htm - web document. Open with Internet Explorer
  
• .html - web document. Open with Internet Explorer
• .ini - text configuration file. Open with Notepad
• .jpeg/jpg - image file. Open with Paint
• .mov - movie file. Open with Quicktime
• .mpeg/mpg - video file. Open with QuickTime
• .mp3 - audio file. Open with Windows Media Player
• .pdf - secure document file. Open with Adobe Reader
• .pps - slideshow presentation. Open with PowerPoint
• .ppt - presentation file. Open with PowerPoint
• .sys - system file.
• .txt - text file. Open with Notepad
• .wav - audio file. Open with Windows Media Player
• .xls - spreadsheet file. Open with Excel
• .zip - compressed file. Open with WinZip

If a file does not appear to have a filetype extension, open the folder it is stored and click Tools from the menu, then Folder Options. Click on the View tab and un-tick Hide extensions for known file types. Read more Entry>>

Understanding Files And File Extensions

Hi!! Understanding Files and its extensions will make opening those files with the programme that identify with it a real snap!!
All the documents, pictures, music or games are stored as files in computers . Files can only be activated by programs that recognize them and are able to use it. Like, for instance, you cannot use a music program to open a letter document. Thus, each program on your computer understands its file types . File types are the few extra letters added on to a name after the full stop. For example, 'mycomputer.doc' is a file, named 'mycomputer' with the filetype '.doc', meaning that it can be opened by only a program that understands doc or document files like Microsoft Word.

There are many different file types. The following are the common Filetypes opened by the appropriate programme.

* .avi - video file. Open with Windows Media Player
* .bmp - image file. Open with Paint
* .cfg - configuration file.
* .dat - data file.
* .doc - document file. Open with Word
* .exe - program file. Double-click to run
* .gif - image file. Open with Paint
* .htm - web document. Open with Internet Explorer
* .html - web document. Open with Internet Explorer
* .ini - text configuration file. Open with Notepad
* .jpeg/jpg - image file. Open with Paint
* .mov - movie file. Open with Quicktime
* .mpeg/mpg - video file. Open with QuickTime
* .mp3 - audio file. Open with Windows Media Player
* .pdf - secure document file. Open with Adobe Reader
* .pps - slideshow presentation. Open with PowerPoint
* .ppt - presentation file. Open with PowerPoint
* .sys - system file.
* .txt - text file. Open with Notepad
* .wav - audio file. Open with Windows Media Player
* .xls - spreadsheet file. Open with Excel
* .zip - compressed file. Open with WinZip

If a file does not appear to have a filetype extension, open the folder it is stored in and click on Tools from the menu, then Folder Options. Click on the View tab and un-check Hide extensions for known file types.

That's it!


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Guide to sending Money Online.

Hi again comp noobys!! Online money transfer is one of the easiest and quickest ways to send money via the Internet!Here's a simple guide to send money online!!

With the world shrinking into a global village, with the advancement in technology and with the extensive use of Internet, sending or receiving money online is just a snap! There are times when we need to send money, and send it real fast. What do we do? Send money order online. They are quick, cheap, convenient and safe and can be sent to anywhere in the world. There are two options for online money order, by bank and by Internet.

What is online money transfer by bank?
Online money transfer is the electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another. The recipient should also have a bank account and the money is transferred electronically within minutes direct into a bank account of the recipient. By this bank-to-bank account transfer, no actual cash is exchanged, but the electronic balances are adjusted accordingly in their respective accounts.

What if one does not have access to a bank account?
A cash wire transfer is possible. The money is paid at the bank and the recipient produces identification at the time of disbursement of funds. Cash wire transfers are expensive and has certain drawbacks. During a purchase transaction a seller can provide false information to the sender of the cash wire transfer,collect the cash at the receiving end under the false ID, and vanish without delivering the merchandise.

What is online money transfer by Internet?
There are popular reliable financial providers like Western Union, which does not require you to have an account with them to transfer money online. It has outlets worldwide and money is transferred electronically between these outlets. A person can pay the transfer fee and money at a Western Union and the recipient can collect the fund from the nearest Western Union branch within minutes. The advantage of this method is that there is no need for Internet access or bank.For either transfer by bank or by internet,the only criterion is to provide the name of the person or firm the money is being sent to and the recipient's account number, the address and phone number of the bank.

Other reliable companies like PayPal, E-gold, and Xoom also offer the option of transferring money on line in a matter of seconds from one email id to another. Pay pal is the world's largest online payment service which allows people from all around the world to buy and sell off the internet. All one needs is an email address. The fees for such transactions may be a percentage of the money being transferred or a fixed fee, irrespective of the amount being transferred.

Ultimately,there are the nationalised Bank's International Credit and Debit cards like Visa and Mastercard ,as well as ATM cards which enable online money transfer within minutes.Whenever these cards are swiped at a retailer,wire transfer is authorised from the bank account of that card to the retailer's bank account.

Online money transfers are quick paperless transactions and furthermore,as precaution, during money transfers, details like the name of the country, bank,regional location and customer account number are facilitated by use of the IBAN that is,International Bank Account Number.

Hope this was sort of clear! :)

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What is Downloading and Uploading?

What is Downloading and Uploading?

When you receive a file to your computer, you download the file or bring it down to your computer and when you send a file from your computer, you upload the file or send it up.

Downloading

Every single thing that is done on the web like accessing a web page and browsing is some sort of downloading as you are actually downloading the text document and all the connected graphics from a web server.

Downloading Files

Downloading files mean that files are saved locally on your computer's hard disk. When you download, you copy a file from another computer to your computer. When you download a program from the Internet, it is delivered to your computer. The program you download is a bundle of files. Each file makes up the entire program you download. A program can be anything - software, an electronic book, or a game. There are many useful free or inexpensive programs found on the Web.

How do you download a file?

The process of downloading files is fairly easy. First you connect to the Internet and start your Internet browser like Internet Explorer, Firefox etc. Then locate the file that you want to download.

· If you are using Internet Explorer, click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As”.

· If you are using Netscape, click with the RIGHT mouse on the hyperlink and choose “Save Link As”.

The browser normally prompts you for a folder to which to save files, and it provides a default filename. You can change the folder and filename if you wish. Make a note of the location and name. Once the file is downloaded to your hard drive it can be viewed by double clicking in Windows Explorer.

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