mp3 and ipod

[Filbert]

I am very out of touch with these things and on a recent visit to a shop to buy a CD walkman (yes, I'm that far behind), I saw mp3s and ipods.

Can anyone tell me exactly what they are as the guy in the shop got very technical and it was way above my head.

Thanks

[liquoricemad]

An MP3 player is a device which stores and plays music, just the same as a CD player, but it stores it digitally, so there's no moving parts, unlike a CD player which whizzes around. Because it's digital, the music files take up very little space.  You connect the mp3 player to your computer, then copy the mp3 file (that you keep on your computer) - to the player. When you want a change you erase the files off the player, and put some different ones on. You can fit around 2 albums of music onto a 128mb sized mp3 player, depending on how long the tracks are. An Ipod is a make of mp3 player, (Apple makes them). There are two sorts of mp3 player - those with, and those without a hard disk. If they have a hard disk, they have a lot more space to store music tracks. But they will also break if you drop them on the floor! The cheaper, "flash drive" type of mp3 players have less storage space, and are cheaper, and more resilient. Hope that explains it better than the chap in the shop!

[Filbert]

Thank you liquorice. You've explained it much better. I may have to purchase one. Now you have me in the mood for "allsorts".

[liquoricemad]

Glad to help, Filbert. If you want affordable mp3 tracks to download, try this site:

http://www.mp3search.ru/

The tracks are cheaper here, try it!  It's Russian, so you have to click on the Union Flag in the top left.

[Mattk]

an ipod or similar player that uses a hard drive will,of course have moving parts !

[stevie21]

Also, you'll either have to pay for downloads or convert your existing CDs (illegally in the UK) to mp3 on your PC and then transfer these files to your iPod.
Or you can just download the tunes from one of the p2p networks such as WinMX. Again, illegal.

God, I'm a bundle of joy today!!

If you can afford it, I'd definitely get an iPod over a CD walkman. One potential compromise is that you can get a CD Walkman which plays data CDs of mp3 files so that one CD can hold hundreds of songs. I got my Momma one of those - it was dead cheap.

[liquoricemad]

Referring to the legality of converting your existing CD's to mp3 format - I believe it IS legal in the UK as long as you are not depriving the copyright owner of revenue.
Basically, if you buy something (a song, and album,
software, whatever) you are allowed to:
use it
make backup copies of it
transfer it to a different medium
loan it to someone
give it away
sell it
quote excertps, royalty-free, for the purposes of reviewing the media.

What you are not allowed to do is have the things (whichever it is) be
in use in two places at once, or by two people at once.
If I
download music, or buy a CD, I can copy it, 'rip' it to MP3, put it in
my MP3 player, transfer it to tape, and listen to it whereever I want.
I can loan the CD to a friend. I can sell the CD. I can't legally give
away the copy to a friend and keep the CD, or use the copies after
loaning or selling the CD.

That is what I believe constitutes the Copyright act - but please correct me if I'm wrong!

[stevie21]

liquoricemad, I am SO SO SO SO tempted just to be a git and be totally blunt and leave it at
"You're wrong".

I've looked into this a fair bit as I run a small file sharing network - I must add, only non-copyrighted material is allowed there.

Anyway, the BPI are repeatedly on record as saying that it's a common misconception that you can make backup copies or convert to mp3 legally. You can do this fine in the USA as they have a "fair use" clause in their comparable law but this is definitely illegal in the UK.
Have a look on google.

[liquoricemad]

Thank you for putting me right, Stevie21, and glad you didn't give in to the temptation to be a git!

We learn something new every day!