TOURBUS: Thursday, December 26, 1996

DRIVER: Bob Rankin

TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP:Hear the Net!


Greetings one and all!  This is (almost) the final TOURBUS posting
for 1996.  I do plan to send out a special year-end message on Dec.
31st, but let me just say it's been a great year on the World's
Largest Bus.  I do enjoy hearing from riders whether it's just a kind
word or another reminder that I used "it's" incorrectly.  ;-)

Today, we're going to explore audio on the Net, but let me first put
in a plug for the sponsors who've helped to make TOURBUS possible this
year.  If you didn't get what you wanted for Christmas, check out their
wares and buy it online!
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Wave To Me, Midi
My sound card died about a year ago, and I finally got a new one this
month.  That was the best $35 I've spent in a long time, because it's
really made the Web a lot more fun and interesting.

The Net offers a bewildering array of sound formats - AU, WAV, MIDI,
RealAudio and more.  You can hear sound clips, music or radio broadcasts
if you know where to click, but getting it all to work can be tricky.
Here are a few tips I've picked up in my cyber-audio journey.


The Hardware


  This might seem obvious, but you do need a sound card in your computer
  to hear music or other audio sources.  I got a Gallant 16-bit sound
  card from Surplus Direct (http://www.surplusdirect.com) and it sounds
  decent even with the cheap speakers that came with my PC.

  Installing a sound card and getting it to work with your CD-ROM
  can be a bit tricky.  If you have trouble, these web sites might help:

  http://www.sunworks.com/computer-craft/instasou.htm

  http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Hardware/Components/Cards/Sound_Cards/

  Playing audio is compute-intensive, so a '486 or a fairly recent Mac
  is going to help a lot.  You'll get by with a 14.4 modem, but 28.8
  is strongly recommended since most sound files are pretty large.

The Software


  Most sound cards come bundled with audio software, but your best bet
  is to upgrade to either Netscape V3 or Internet Explorer and use the
  built-in sound players.  Configuring a web browser to use your own audio
player
  is possible, but not fun.

  But if you're going to download sound files and play them while you're
  offline, you might want to check here for a bunch of links to audio
  software:

  http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Browsers/Plug_Ins/Sound_and_Video/

  http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Computer_Generated/MIDI/

  One sound plugin I highly recommend is the RealAudio software
  available for free at http://www.realaudio.com - it's a nifty
  technology that allows you to hear "webcasts" from radio stations
  and other online sources without waiting for the entire file to download.


Finding Sound on the Web
More and more Web pages have sound files embedded so they just magically
start playing when you arrive.  But if you're looking for some cool
sound effects, music or broadcasts, try http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Multimedia/Sound/ or check at http://www.TimeCast.com for a listing of RealAudio broadcast
sites and times.  My favorite: CNET Radio at http://www.news.com/Radio

Can I Get Sound Files By E-Mail?
You can get anything from the Web using e-mail!  Find out how in my
free guide "Accessing The Internet By E-Mail".  To get the latest
edition, send e-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu and enter only this
line in the BODY of the note:

send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email
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Stupid Computer Joke of the Week
--------------------------------


   Enhanced DOS: "File not found. Should I fake it? (Y/N)"


See you all on the 31st!  -Bob