How to use MP3Written by Ross MacIver
MP3 is most popular compression format for audio files. In this article, we will take a look at how MP3 works and how you can make your own MP3 files.Uncompressed audio files are very large. A 1-minute CD quality stereo song requires approximately 10 MB of hard disk space. Without compression to reduce this size, relatively few songs would be able to be stored on a computer hard drive, and compact devices like portable MP3 players would not exist, or would cost thousands of dollars. The same one-minute audio file can be encoded in MP3 format and only require about 1 MB of disk space. This amazing reduction in file size is accomplished by discarding some of audio data that is outside hearing range of typical listener. An MP3 file will sound almost as good as original CD but file size will be about one-tenth. There is a balance between how much audio data can be removed and quality of sound. The most common MP3 compression uses 128 kilobits per second (kbps), but many people claim there is a noticeable amount of distortion at this setting. For people with critical listening requirements, 160 kbps is minimum setting – it produces files which are slightly larger than 128 kbps but sound is closer to CD quality. Lower settings such as 96 kbps or 64 kbps introduce noticeable noise into audio. They are suitable for spoken voice recordings but not for music.
| | The Hitchhikers Guide to the GalaxyWritten by Tamika Johnson
'The Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy' had potential to be best movie of year. And yes, I sincerely mean that. Really, look at all it had going for it: it’s based on a classic book that has a cult following that could rival 'Lord of Rings' trilogy. A very funny and talented cast that includes Tim Freeman (BBC hit series 'The Office') as everyman Arthur Dent, Sam Rockwell as two headed, split brain, charming President of Galaxy Zaphod Beeblevrox, Alan Rickman as voice of paranoid android Marvin who incidentally resembles an oversized storm trooper and Mos Def as quirky and lovable, towel wielding alien and author of guide, Ford Perfect. Throw in fact that Jim Henson’s Puppet Shop created all of aliens and creatures in film so none of them end up looking like bad CGI you should have a innovative, funny, and ingenious movie on your hands….but that’s not what happened, not quite anyway.'Hitchhiker' ultimately gets bogged down in its own grandness. There’s just too much stuff. There are too many aliens, too many crazy sets, too many gadgets that have to be figured out and just too much going on to really have time to digest it all. The obvious meticulous care that was taken to bring this visually stunning world to life happened at expense of true character and plot development. We don’t get opportunity to know more about Ford Perfect, or why Zaphod has such a problem with Humma Kavula (John Malkovich) or even why Humma Kavula wants gun he sends Zaphod after. We get very brief explanations as to why Zaphod has two heads and how he managed to become president of galaxy given his questionable intelligence quotient. And movie spends an excessive amount of time explaining Vogons a very bureaucratic and disagreeable species of aliens that spend much of movie chasing heroes but not enough screen time to warrant all details on who they are and what they are like. I would have rather more explanation of relationship between Arthur and Ford or perhaps Arthur’s love interest Tricia (Zooey Deschanel) and her relationship with Zaphod.
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