Streaming and Downloading.
Steaming
is the most popular
because the music virtually starts playing straight away. It is
like turning on your radio. You listen while it plays
from "some distant location".
In the streaming process, a
very small text file with a file-extension of *.m3u downloads in
a couple of seconds and your computer system reads the data file
with instructions to the player to access the underlying mp3 and
play it as though it was on your computer. This means the whole
file does not have to download before you can play it.
.......... A
"ghost" copy of the mp3 "slowly" forms in a hidden system folder....
But
after you have heard the stream, the "ghost file" may disappear
- usually
if the publisher wants you to make a financial contribution for
his work.
The Windows Media files with
the *.asx extension, (more
about files extensions here) tells the
Windows Media player how to connect to the server to get the
media file being requested. This means that it contains a
URL that points to the server and the file that the user
wants to play. The *.asx
files are in fact a sort of "shortcut".
Original recordings are made in an uncompressed *.wav format and
when they have been mastered, they are converted into *.cda
format on a music cd. They are practically like the original but
are "smaller".
Usually computers are
pretty fast in these days; post 2009, and an actual media file download can occur
pretty fast indeed and so plays automatically as soon as the
download is
completed, using a player on your computer that is associated
with that media file. On fast systems this rapid downloading is practically as good or
is virtually the same as Streaming.
But if you want to end up
with a sample or song file on your computer for later enjoyment,
you need to know more...
Having the mp3 music file
referred to with a playlist file with a file extension, for
example of *.m3u or *.asx (there are others), the song just streams immediately.
If a download link is provided directly to the *.mp3 file then you have
permission to download it and save it wherever you want to.
There is a lot more I could say about this but this will get you
there for now.
Mp3s used to be easily saved or
retrieved from the browser cache, but new "security measures"
intended to prevent the listener from
retaining a permanent copy of a song on the computer for later use
is by giving you an m3u text file that doesn't actually tell
you
anything (like you can't read it) but which the computer can work with.. and when you
have listened to a file, the system may delete any trace of the file, that
could have been retained for later plays.
Of course there are always ways
around all of this... Experience will be your teacher.
About quality of music files
-
The point that the MP3
format is a "lossy file format"
and thus is poorer quality, might not be known by listeners who
wrongly judge the quality of a song - especially if it is playing
in 128kbps or less. In a higher quality bit-rate mp3 file, it is
quite noticeable what is missing from lesser bit-rate files.
When you hear the 192kbp files it is most noticeable.
Of course,
if the music is
good, listeners who prefer to get the highest quality
recording can find it only available on the original CD. What real music buff would settle for less?
The daunting step these days seems to be in making the decision
to become a paying customer.
Poor quality music is easily
accepted as there is so much music available these days - and so many
sources of "over stimulation", that it is only a true music lover that
chooses to get the best quality for themselves instead of
settling for "second or third rate". Investing in something that
really gives you what the music is now capable of with the level
of digital editing and mastering these days, the aim is for a
"super experience", and there are many artists who are now
providing that. I hope to follow in their footsteps and will do
the best I can with continuous upgrades of each song and album as I go along.
Where
possible, downloading a
music file from the net to your computer is really good
havingness. You can play a
file over and over and include it on a
playlist
(particularly using Winamp) or save it to CD
or DVD. Where and how to save files can present some
challenges but 'we keep learning'.
To access an audio file
on your computer, double-click on the music file
itself and it will open the program that plays it. You may need to
'associate' a player program for a particular type of media
file.... Or open the Player of your choice
first and then
trek for the music file yourself.
Finding Media Files -
To
find to your music or audio files that have gotten misplaced or are just deposited all over the place, do a 'search' as
follows....
With Windows XP:
Left click on the start button. Click on "search" and then
choose "files and folders".
Choose
either
1) "pictures, movies and video" and tick the "music
box" and hit "search".
or
2) Click "All files and folders" and
specify music files such as *.mp3, *.wma, *.wav, *.flac or even
*.ra.
Once they are found select files in a same location and
copy or cut and paste them to a desired folder.
With Windows 98:
Left click
on the start button. Click on 'find'. In the 'Named' field, type [*.wav] or [*.ra] or
[*mp3] (without the brackets) -and set the 'look in' to where you suspect the files might
be. Hit 'find now'. You can double click a sample file and it will activate a player and
you can listen away.
Incidentally. You can do the same for *.avi movie files
or
*.gif or *.jpg picture files etc.
File Management
-
As I am mainly using windows at the moment, and would like to
create separate texts for Linux on this website, I shall be
talking mainly in the case of a Microsoft Windows platform at
the moment.
There is a certain skill that
develops in managing files on a computer.
Of course the basic method is with
Windows Explore.
When ACDSee came on the scene it
produced a series of excellent file manager versions which was
an evolution and an expansion on the basic facility of the
windows explore accessory. But it has evolved into and seems to be
focused on photograph handling. In my opinion it has become a very different
style of software to what it was only a few years ago. The new
program style is ideal for management of photos and pictures,
but my love affair with version 3223 which is more a file
manager and viewer, is a position I wish to hold onto. The only
programs that compares slightly, that I am familiar with is
a rare old program called Commander or
Ashampoo's Photo Commander.
The latest version of the
ACDSee program I have found to work best for me is version 3223.
It is
the fastest, smoothest most
versatile picture and directory viewing and file management
program/tool I have discovered so far. Versions after that:
something seems to have gone all wrong and it has gotten too
complicated for me....
The official website for ACDSee is
HERE, but
you will not find V3223 there now.
So as they do not sell or deal with it
any more, I would like to see what you think of it too. Download
version 3223 by searching for the version
on Google.
Examine it and tell
me what you think. If 'no go' .
Go
here.
I hope all this has been of help.
TOP
