tech+tip+19

The physical existence of music-containing mediums like analog records as well as digital compact discs is swiftly becoming a thing of the past. Everyone from casual music listeners to devoted fanatics is switching over to MP3s.

What some folks may be unaware of is that the audio playback of MP3s is not a constant. The sampling rate that any given MP3 software uses to create a file can vary from relatively-low (iTunes' standard 128 kbps) to audiophile-worthy (off- the-charts kbps).

I personally prefer purchasing MP3s from Amazon because its sample rate is 256 kbps. This rate offers noticeably more vivid sound reproduction than that of iTunes.

VERY IMPORTANT: When importing music from store-bought compact discs to an MP3 player, I strongly urge consumers to instruct their players (via Edit, Preferences, then Import Settings) to import said music at the same rate as compact discs' playback (320 kbps). The difference in sound reproduction (as compared to 128 kbps) is easily discernible. The resulting files will be larger than ones created at a lower bit rate, but the pleasure of hearing one's most treasured tunes at full aduio quality makes devoting the required hard drive space the obvious choice. Google Translate, www.google.translate.com, provides free online translation services. Not only does the site allow for the translation of text, but for web pages also. By simply typing in a web address and defining the parameters (i.e. translate English to Spanish), a translated version of the page instantaneously opens. One click of the mouse easily allows the user to view the original page. The user can move the mouse over the translated term to view the original language. This site is addicting. The students at school are on this site everyday. They compete to see who can get to the highest level or highest score. It has brought so many students into the media center who otherwise wouldn't darken our doors and sometimes they actually check out a book or use the computers for a project. If nothing else it lets us build a repoire (sp) with them.
 * www.coolmath-games.com
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