Computers 101

Q:
Is there still a way to LEGALLY hear music online for free?

A:
Online music currently sails in turbulent water, but the ship has not sunk. In fact, the very cause of the storm can also be a safe harbor.

Huh?

Sorry, it's an old poetry slam injury that flares up now and then. If you go to record company websites you can usually find free music—either as "streams" (you can hear it but not save it), samples (under one minute), but occasionally as a downloads. Granted, you won't find that song they played all last summer, but you can get some new stuff, often before you start hearing it on the radio twenty times a day. Many even offer streaming video in QuickTime, RealAudio, or Windows Media. Check your CD liner notes to find the record label website of your favorite performers.

Another place to find free music is at the artist's official web site or fan club. You might find a live track, an unreleased song, or the latest single. Again, check the CD liner notes for websites. Try running some of your favorites through a search engine and you may be surprised what you find.

MP3.com is the king of free music sites, where artists and record companies make songs available to stream and download. The majority of downloads are by independent artists from around the world, but you'll find stuff in every style from Bebop to Byzantine chant. I have discovered so much awesome music that I never would have heard if it weren't for this site. You can listen to a "stream" of the song before you download, which encourages exploring new music.

The Internet Underground Music Archive is another place where independent artists can offer their songs for download. Again, you won't find super-stars, but you will find great music by unsigned artists, independent bands, and local talent that you might not hear otherwise. Every music style can be found here too, including Pop/Rock, Classical, Jazz, Country. Like MP3.com, you can listen to a "stream" of the song before you download. Unlike MP3.com, it is not owned by a media giant.

For fans of Folk, Bluegrass, Celtic and old-timey music, be sure to stop by eFolkMusic.org. Some songs can be downloaded for free by registered users, while others will cost you just under a buck. Since radio stations still ignore this kind of music (despite the popularity of the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou"), this is a valuable website indeed.

Amazon.com has a free music download site too. You'll find a few major stars along with thousands of independent artists. It's not as easy to navigate as the previously mentioned sites, but it is worth a visit if you have not filled up your hard drive with music files yet.

Sure, the days of file sharing mp3s a'la Napster are over. Illegal music downloads can bring the recording industry lawyers to your door like wolves to fresh meat, but that doesn't mean online music is dead.Record companies and artists are aware of the benefits of online music—they mainly just want their cut of the action.

In a few years the storm will calm down. Of course, by then, every music lover will probably think nothing of forking out $1 per song or paying a monthly subscription fee to download music. While the storm rages on, you can sail into some of the safe harbors mentioned here today.

~ David

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Tip of the Day

Fix "Read Only" Files

When you copy files from a CD to your computer, the files copy as "Read Only." As far as I know there is no way around this, presumably since most CD-ROM drives only read info, not write it.

What's the fix? Once the files are copied to your hard drive, change their attributes so they aren't "Read Only" anymore.

To do this, right-click the file and select Properties from the resulting menu.

Next, uncheck the "Read Only" checkbox on the lower part of the Properties screen. Hit OK and your all set.

Note that if you have a bunch of files sitting together that are all read-only, you can un-read only them en masse. Hit CTRL-A to select the bunch, then right-click any file and follow the steps above.

You can also use this process to make files you want protected "read only" so that no one accidentally modifies them.

~ Steve

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Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

Computer Sounds

Do you like those sounds on your computer? You know the generic ones it came with? Well if you haven't turned them off, why not get a better option. At Computer Sounds you can choose through many different sounds for all the different applications on your computer.

There are Email sounds, Start Up sounds, Shut Down sounds, Recycle Bin sounds, and a whole collection of miscellaneous sounds for you to choose from. Now, with all those options do you still want to waste time with all those boring sounds that came with your computer?

There are instructions on saving them to your computer and they aren't very hard to install, just go to your control panel and choose "Sounds", which brings up a window where you can scroll through all the applications that currently have sounds. Browse sounds and Apply. It's really easy.

Enjoy.

http://webcanada0.tripod.com/sounds.html

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com