Who Said Records Were Outdated...A Guide To MP3 ...First it was records...
What?!!!", I hear you say (not me I love my vinyl record collection!) ......Then came the humble cassette...
("Too Awkward!!!", you cry - I agree). .........Most recently came CD's and Minidisc...
("They're alright…", comes a murmur). But now, all hail the mighty MP3, an easy  way to listen to music of all kinds. All you need is a computer and you're away! MP3 is actually the method of compression (MPeg layer 3), which is used in the files, this makes the files small enough to be transferred over the Internet. Because of this, they have become increasingly popular amongst young people who use the Internet regularly. Just use any popular search engine (e.g., Lycos MP3 Search Engine: mp3.lycos.com) and you'll be able to find most current songs available for download.
Unless you had you ears shut recently, you'll have heard MP3's mentioned on the news. Because of the ease at which MP3's can be distributed, big music companies (TimeWarner) have tried to stop companies that make MP3 related software (Napster) and sources of illegal downloads. As well as this, hard-hitting, leather-clad, grease-laden 80's rock group, Metallica have joined the legal debate threatening to take people, who've illegally downloaded Metallica's music, to court for breach of copyright. Scary! Fear not though, you can download MP3's legally over the Internet thus removing any fears about anyone taking legal action against you. There are several pieces of software available upon the Internet that can be used to play MP3's. Most have to be downloaded and installed, but don't worry, if you are using Windows then you won't have to as it comes with a built-in MP3 player. However if you can download files, two of the best MP3 players around are WinAmp and Sonique, these two players both look great and can be customised to the stlye. To make MP3's even greater, portable MP3 players have been released, like miniature walkmans simply upload songs from your computer to the player and listen away. Early models were not really good value due to short battery life and small song capacity. Newer models that have been released have resolved these problems, with newer battery types and larger memory cards, although they are still relatively expensive when compared to other portable music systems. Models include Samsung Yepp, Diamond Rio and Sony MS Walkman.
Links to Check Out:
http://www.winamp.com - The Official WinAmp Site
http://www.sonique.com - The Official Sonique Site
http://mp3.lycos.com - Lycos MP3 Search Engine
http://www.mp3.com - MP3.com, one of the largest MP3 sites
http://www.mp4music.co.uk - A UK based MP3 site
http://www.napster.com - Share your MP3's over the internet
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