Q. I was hoping … you would go into the fundamentals of music downloading. What program does one need? RealPlayer, MusicMatch, Windows Media, iTunes, etc?
I am generally a relatively sophisticated computer user. But I, and I think a lot of us, could use help here. Thanks.
— Haskel Levi
A. The concept is simple: Fill your computer with music to enjoy, then copy some of those tunes to a portable player so you can vibe to them at the gym or in the car or between classes.
You’ll need music store software (see “From the Artist to You” above) and Windows Media Player 10, if you’re not using iTunes Music Store.
Before spending your money, ask yourself:
How many songs do I need?
Figure out how many minutes of music you’ll need during a week. If you want a player to boost your 60-minute workout (including warm-up and cool-down) three times a week, you’ll want a player that can hold at least 180 minutes of music. Since most songs last about 3 minutes, we’re talking about a device that can hold at least 60 tunes. In that case, you’d like a music player with at least 256 megabytes of storage.
How do I do the megabyte math?
A digital song takes up about 4 megabytes on your computer. Once you know how much storage (also called capacity) a player has, you can figure out how many songs it can hold.
A 256 mb player, for instance, holds about 64 songs (256 megabytes divided by 4 megabytes per song equals 64). We say “about” because some of those 256 megabytes are used to store software.
The iPod has a 60-gigabyte version. A gigabyte is 1,000 megabytes, so a 60 gb player holds about 15,000 songs (60 gb x 1,000 = 60,000 megabytes; divided by 4 megabytes per song equals 15,000).
To find the player right for you, go to an electronics store and pick the one that looks the coolest to you and is the easiest to use with one hand. The major contenders are from Apple (www.ipod.com), Creative (www.creative.com), Samsung (www.samsung.com), Rio (www.rioaudio.com), iRiver (www.iriveramerica.com) and RCA (www.rcaaudiovideo.com).
Should I buy or rent?
You can pay 99 cents a song and own that song forever, burning it to a CD or copying it to a portable music player. In that case, you download 100 songs for $99. Renting means paying a monthly fee to download as many songs as you want, though you can’t burn them to a CD; you don’t own the song. But, you can download 15,000 songs or more (or fewer) for monthly charges of $6.99 (Yahoo! Music Unlimited) to $14.99 (the new MusicGremlin Direct). Because subscription services use Microsoft software to keep track of the music, most subscription services are not Mac-compatible. One exception is eMusic, whose MP3 files play in just about every portable music player.
– – –
1. FROM THE ARTIST TO YOU:
Shakira records “Hips Don’t Lie” featuring Wyclef Jean. You want to download it.
2. DOWNLOAD MUSIC STORE SOFTWARE: These free programs connect your computer to millions of songs. Five popular ones: iTunes Music Store (above; www.apple.com/itunes), Napster 2.0 (www.napster.com), Yahoo! Music Engine (www.music.yahoo.com), eMusic (www.emusic.com) and Rhapsody (www.rhapsody.com). Use this software to buy songs, which stay on your computer. If you don’t have iTunes, you’ll also need to download Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 (www.microsoft.com).
3. ORGANIZE YOUR TUNES: The music store software arranges your music so that you can hear all your ’90s songs in a row, for instance. Music purchased from one store will not play with another, however. If you buy “Hips Don’t Lie” from iTunes, you won’t see it when you open Yahoo! Music Engine (above, which for now has only a Shakira Tribute Band).
4. GET YOUR TUNES TO GO: Plug your music player to your computer, and copies of your songs will appear in your portable gadget. With some software, you might have to copy the tunes yourself the first time you use the program.
5. THE SATISFACTION: Play song. Enjoy
