< MP3's >

To play ".mp3" files, you'll need a player capable of playing them. MP3's are a highly compressed form of audio file, superb for transfer through the internet because of their (relatively) small size. There are a lot of available players, but I have my favorites.

Winamp is a wonderful MP3 player, and is consistently viewed as the best around. It has a few little "features" that I'm not terribly keen on -- mainly that it tends to want to take over all your file associations for sounds files. If you are general user, this should pose no problem. However, if you compose with MIDI or something like that, beware of it taking over your .mid file association. At least the program gives you the option to select which files you want associated with it right after installation though. Winamp will also play .mod files, which is real kick. This is an old Amiga file format that a lot of old video game music is written in. Plus, Winamp allows you to use "skins" and "plugins" -- ways to modify the player to look different, process the signal, or give you a graphical representation of the sounds going through it.

File Size:
529,924
0.51 MB
The new Windows Media Player is not so friendly. It mercilessly associates everything with itself. It's a great all-around multimedia player, capable of playing files of type .wav, .mid, .mp3, and .mpg, and it can even stream RealAudio 4.0. In fact, it streams .mpg and .mp3 as well, but if you're connected via a modem, forget about streaming those. It takes over the .wav association, which can suck, because the player takes about 5 seconds to load, so if you're trying to scan a bunch of little sound clips, it can get really tedious. Also, the Windows Media Player can have trouble playing some files that Winamp will play without a hitch.
File Size:
2,503,448
2.39 MB
If you want my personal tip (without the relevant technical details), here it is: Get them both. Let the Windows Media Player take all the video associations (.avi, .mpg, .ra, etc.), and let Winamp take the audio (.mp3, .mod, etc.). The big suprise here will be my support for the old Windows standby for .wav's and such. If you can do it, leave the .wav association with sndrec32.exe. Generally located in c:\windows, it is a wonderfully fast and simple player that gets the job done. And as for .mid files, let any player take them that wants them, unless you've got them associated with a sequencer or something like, for example, Cakewalk.

How about some Mudhoney?