How is it possible to do this you ask? Well, I won't get into the
technical details, but basically the MP3 encoder removes the parts
of the sound not audible to the human ear. This means that MP3 is a
'lossy' type of compression (comparable to JPEG in the graphics
area). This means that what comes out from your CD or Wave file is
NOT the same thing that comes out of the MP3 that has been created
from the CD/Wav. The sound data that has been lost will not be
returned if the MP3 is decoded back to WAV.
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Are MP3s legal?
The MP3 format itself is perfectly legal - but the compression
method can be used both legally and illegally. It is legal to
download an MP3 file from a website if the owner of the site has
permission from the song's copyright holder. It is also legal to
create MP3s from your own CDs and store them on your computer.
If are visiting an MP3 page and see music by artists like Madonna,
Pearl Jam or any other big artists, the songs are most likely
illegal to download. You won't have to worry about the police
knocking on your door if you do download them, but it's still
illegal. If you do download illegal MP3s then at least try to
support the artists you like by buying their CDs if you like their
music.
Some remixes, samples and live recordings are 'less' illegal than
normal songs, and some of them are even legal. If the artist has
given permission to their fans to distribute live recordings (for
example Pearl Jam and Grateful Dead) then it is legal to download
their music or even post it on your own web page. There may be
restrictions though, for example that your page cant profit from
them.
Many myths exist around what is legal and what is not. One of them
is that it is legal to keep an illegal mp3 for 24 hours if you
delete it after that. Many webmasters post a disclamier stating
this, but it it not true. It is however, part of the more
good-willed attitude towards artists and record companies that some
illegal MP3 sites have started to display to their visitors. If you
do download MP3s illegaly and like them then you should definitely
buy the CD. Another thing to remember is that just because you dont
do something for profit (like creating an illegal MP3 page) is still
illegal, but doing it for profit is even WORSE and MORE illegal.
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How Do I Download MP3s?
The easiest way to download an MP3 is to right-click on the link
that points to the file and select "Save Target As..." or "Save File
As..." (depending on which browser you use).
If you just left-click on an mp3, then the Windows Media Player
installed might try to start playing the MP3 file directly in your
browser, not letting you save the file as usual, or your browser
will just display heaps of weird text (this is likely to happen when
using Netscape). Use either of the tricks above to avoid this.
If you really do want to stream your MP3s (play while downloading),
and your connection is fast enough for this, then copy the link to
the MP3. Just right-click on the link and select "Copy Shortcut"
(IE) or "Copy Link Location" (NS) to copy the URL to your clipboard.
After that, open Winamp and press CTRL+L and paste the URL
(press CTRL+V) into the window.
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How Do I Play MP3s?
Software Needed
You will first of all need a MP3 player, players are available for
all computer platforms. If you are using Windows 95/98/NT we can
warmly recommend Winamp the most common MP3 player. It also supports
a lot of other audio formats, like WAV, MID, MOD and CD audio. Check
out our recommended list of MP3 Players.
Hardware Needed
To play the MP3s will need a soundcard (preferably 16-bit), speakers
or headphones (preferrably good ones) and at least a 486 processor.
For information on how to keep your MP3 player from skipping, and
playing MP3s on slow computers check How do I keep my MP3 player
from skipping?
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