MySpace launches online music service

Saturday 05th April, 06:46 AM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

3 Comments

smartacus at 10:30 AM JST - 5th April

I hope CDs will never disappear. There are generations of people over 40, including me, who still prefer CDs and even LPs. I have no idea at all how digital music downloading works. I don't understand how an MP3 works. How do you listen to downloaded music at home if you are relaxing with a book, entertaining or just want some background music? How do you listen to it through your speakers?

Help!
Nessie at 12:23 PM JST - 5th April

How do you listen to [downloaded music] through your speakers?

Smartacus,

I'm not an expert, but give this a try.

Step 1. Get a computer.

Step 2. Make sure you have a media player installed. This is a program that plays video and audio files. It usually comes pre-installed, or you can download it for free. Google seach for "Windows Media Player," "RealPlayer" or (if you have an Apple computer or an i-Pod) "i-Tunes." There are many others.

Step 3. Make sure your computer has audio capability. For this you need an audio card (sometimes called a sound card) which may have come with the computer or which can be purchased for a few thousand yen. If you can already hear video or audio (e.g., videos at the YouTube site), then you don't need to buy an audio card. Otherwise, install the audio card by opening the computer and sliding the card into certain slots. The card will come with instructions, or they'll install it at the shop if you bring your computer.

Step 4. Make sure your computer is connected to speakers. You can buy computer speakers and connect them directly to your computer through an eight-inch jack (the diameter of a typical headphone jack for a Walkman). Or you can connect your computer to your home audio system: Connect the speaker output of your computer to the auxilliary input or mic input of your sound system. (If you have a big apartment and don't want wires all over the place, you can connect them wirelessly, but that's another can of worms.)

Step 5. Insert a music CD from your collection into the CD-R drive of your computer. Use your media player to "rip" the music data to your computer. "Ripping" means copying a CD to your computer. Generally, you'll lose some sound quality as the computer converts the file to a format it can use.

Step 6. Now you have the digital data on your computer. Use your audio player to play the music.

Step 7. To buy music (Mp3 files) that you don't already own, visit a music download site (i-Tunes, Amazon, etc.). Register an account. Find the music you want and click on "download."

Step 8. You can also upload your audio collection from your computer to a portable audio player (sometimes called an "Mp3 player"), such as an i-Pod.

"Mp3" is a catchall for various audio file formats. Some media players will play some formats but not others. If you have trouble with some formats, you can download VLC Player, which plays almost all formats, although it has fewer bells and whistles than Windows Media Player. There are also free downloadable programs to convert one format to another. Good luck.
smartacus at 02:04 PM JST - 5th April

Nessie. Thanks but I doubt I'll be hooking up my computer to my home stereo system. My livingroom is pretty big and the distance between the two would mean wires all over the place.

I still don't believe the quality of sound would be as good, nor can I imagine downloaded music as a better alternative for background music while entertaining or just pottering about the place.