Rip It Good 374 If you change the storage folder for ripped files, WPM can apply those changes — as well as a change to the naming style — to any files already in place. To change previously ripped files, follow along: 1. Display the Classic Menu toolbar. 2. Click Tools ➪ Options ➪ Rip Music tab. The Options dialog box appears. 3. Click the Library Tab. 4. Select the following check boxes: • Rename Music Files Using Rip Music Settings • Rearrange Music in Rip Music Folder, Using Rip Music Settings Once you rip a file, you can’t use Windows Media Player to change the file format between .wma and .MP3, or make an alteration to the bit rate. You must instead either rip the file again or use an audio-editing program. Figure 1-3: To rip a file in Windows Media Player, click the Start Rip button at lower right; you can select individual tracks or copy the entire disc. 25 140925-bk05ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 374 Book V Chapter 1 Walking Through Windows Media Player Managing Rights 375 Managing Rights When you buy an operating system or a program or a piece of music, you’re purchasing the right to use the product. In most cases, squadrons of lawyers stand at the ready to come after you waving lawsuits if you try to use the digital information in ways not intended by the seller (such as making unau- thorized copies or incorporating part or all the information in a product of your own). Some companies don’t even sell you the product. Instead, you’re licensed to use the product in certain specific applications but aren’t given ownership. Microsoft Digital Rights Management Microsoft, which is also in the business of selling intellectual property in the form of software, has included Microsoft Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology in WMP version 11. The protection rights are for content owners; if DRM is applied to a track on a CD or on a file you downloaded from an online store or other source, you must have media usage rights to play, burn, or sync the music. This area is in the process of being defined. If this particular form of licensing takes hold, sellers of music or video may sell unlimited or limited usage rights along with the files. Figure 1-4: The Options menu for Windows Media Player allows a wide range of custom settings for the ripping, playing, and burning to CD or DVD of audio. 25 140925-bk05ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 375 Managing Rights 376 If Windows Media Player tries to use a protected file that’s missing rights, or if the rights have expired, WMP will attempt to acquire the rights by commu- nicating with the seller online. If you tell WMP not to automatically check for content rights, the program will stop and ask you to obtain them anytime it doesn’t find permission to play or repurpose a media file. Follow these steps to turn off automatic rights acquisition: 1. Click the arrow below the Now Playing tab. 2. Click More Options ➪ Privacy tab. 3. Clear the Automatically Check If Protected Files Need to Be Refreshed check box. Rights management for downloaded content Online music sellers, an industry that seems on the path to replacing most, if not all, traditional CD sales, have also experimented with various DRM technologies. Some sellers have added DRM, then taken off the restrictions; a few have experimented with selling songs with and without the limitations at differing prices. As a user, be sure you understand what rights you’re buying, and be aware that (at least in theory) it may be possible for a copyright holder to track down the source of pirated music all the way to the first violator. WMP also works with a Microsoft service intended to assist users who pur- chase media usage rights for files licensed to one computer or device that the owner wants to migrate to a different computer. The program communicates with a Microsoft server that, in effect, unregisters the link to the original computer and reregisters it on another machine. The DRM seller can limit the number of migrations; in some designs, the user may enable a file on more than one machine, provided only one copy is in use at one time. IP Intellectual property (IP) is a product of the mind. For example, the book you’re reading was con- cocted by your humble author and the copyright on that intellectual property is held by the pub- lishing company. When you buy this book you’re paying a small amount of money for the paper and ink, but the largest portion of the expense goes to pay the author, the editors, the design- ers, and the publishers for their creative efforts. As a buyer you own the paper and the ink; you can recycle it as papier mache if you like. But you don’t own the ideas and research within. 25 140925-bk05ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 376 Chapter 2: Feeling the Music, Seeing the Stream In This Chapter ߜ Bringing music into your laptop ߜ Upgrading your laptop to work around audio limitations ߜ Plugging into external headphones and speakers ߜ Streaming some media C urrent laptop computers are extremely capable multimedia devices: They can play CD audio, DVD movies. They include inputs for external audio sources and outputs that send signals to stereo systems and other devices. That’s the good news. The not-quite-so-good news, as noted in Book I, Chapter 1, is that a laptop’s small boxes don’t have a whole lot of real estate. Designers have managed to squeeze an amazing amount of hardware onto a laptop motherboard, including integrated sound-adapter circuitry that generates a broad range of audio signals. The quality of a typical laptop’s audio signal is generally equal to that generated by a desktop machine with a sound card. A few shortcomings exist: ✦ Even the most high-end laptops don’t have enough room for a decent set of speakers. The Toshiba Satellite P205 demonstration machine used as this book’s example includes an above-average system: a pair of recessed speakers labeled Harmon/Kardon, a brand name that should impress many audiophiles. The speakers themselves, about the width of a quarter, are pretty impressive but no one’s going to confuse their sound with a decent desktop speaker system, especially one with a subwoofer unit that sits on the floor. ✦ A motherboard with built-in audio circuitry performs well in playback but is extremely limited — or utterly incapable — when capturing certain incoming audio sources (as it is for many desktop computers as well). For example, on most systems, you can’t capture streaming audio or video and in some configurations you’re also limited to capture sound coming into your laptop from a line source (such as an external CD player or stereo). 26 140925-bk05ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 377 What You See Is What You’ve Got 378 What You See Is What You’ve Got On modern laptops, the trend is to offer more and more all-purpose inputs and outputs — primarily USB but also FireWire ports — while minimizing the number of dedicated connectors such as serial, parallel, and media input and output ports. The advantages of all-purpose ports are many: ✦ The port functions at higher speeds than older connections. ✦ You only have to worry about one type of connector. ✦ The wiring supplies power as well as data interchange. The Toshiba Satellite P205, an example of a very well equipped, middle- of-the-pack laptop, comes with just two audio jacks: ✦ A headphone output, which can power headphones and earbuds as well as external speakers that have their own power source to amplify the sound. ✦ A microphone input, which can accept input from a compatible external microphone. And in certain designs (including Toshiba’s), the mike input also works with most line inputs, including the low-level amplified output of an external CD player, a tape recorder, a television set, and the line output of a stereo system. A line input is a constant-level signal provided by an amplifier that the laptop can adjust. This is different, for example, from a microphone input, which accepts a signal that varies in strength based on loudness or other characteristics. Don’t send a high-wattage, amplified signal into your laptop. (A stereo system, for example, usually offers both an amplified and a line output; use the line option.) Although laptop designers claim to the computers can accept most audio signals, you don’t want to damage your machine by testing just how strong a signal is too strong. When in doubt, get an external sound card with a line input. Working Around Audio Insufficiencies What do you do if your laptop falls short when it comes to audio features? 26 140925-bk05ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 378 Book V Chapter 2 Feeling the Music, Seeing the Stream Working Around Audio Insufficiencies 379 The first thing is remember that with a laptop — any laptop — comes a compromise: You’re buying a lightweight, portable, and highly integrated device. That means designers have squeezed a whole lot of stuff into a very small space, and usually little — if any — provision is made for internal electronics modifications. By contrast, most desktop machines are much more versatile. They’re designed to be taken apart, and they include extra expansion slots for devices — like a high-end sound adapter — that you can plug directly into the system bus. But workarounds solve many problems. Any of the following solutions adds line input and output plugs, bringing in sound from other electronic devices or sending output to them. Some of the expansion devices add bells and whistles, like support for 5.1 channel surround-sound speaker systems. Rounding out with a sound card You can purchase and install a sound card that plugs into the PC Card or Express Card slot on your laptop to replace the limited sound circuitry on the motherboard. Sound cards add features, quality, connectors for different types of devices, and enhanced software to capture sound. (This home- theater specification places speakers at left and right front, left and right behind the playback device, one center channel speaker at front, and a separate nondirectional subwoofer speaker for bass effects.) As an example, the SoundBlaster X-Fi notebook adapter plugs into an Express Card slot and brings a full blast of features. A slightly less capable sound card that uses a PC Card is the SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS. Get back jack Some older laptops (and a handful of current machines specifically intended as multimedia processors) include a dedicated line input to allow you to bring all sorts of audio input into the machine. Some of these laptops also had old-style red, green, and yellow circular RCA jacks — like the ones on the back of a VCR — that let the computer output a signal directly to a stereo system or a television set. (Red and green were left and right audio signals, and yellow was the composite video signal.) 26 140925-bk05ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 379 Adding Capture Software 380 Speaking of a USB sound device This solution isn’t quite as elegant because the device is external, but it’s every bit as effective. The USB sound adapter, about the size of a deck of cards, draws its power from the laptop and exchanges data over the USB cable to the laptop. If you install a sound-card upgrade to an Express Card, PC Card, or USB slot, you may have to disable the built-in sound circuitry on your laptop’s motherboard; this avoids conflicts between resources and software. In most cases you can disable the built-in circuitry through the setup screen for the system BIOS. (Check the instruction manual for your laptop or watch for a brief message on its screen as it boots to learn the key to press to display the BIOS setup. Common choices include F10, F2, or the Esc key.) Adding Capture Software Most laptops with audio circuitry built into the motherboard are deficient in one important area: Music-capture programs often can’t grab the audio stream. There’s no particular technological reason for this; I’ve owned laptops with no such restriction. However, modern laptop marketers have sought to come up with a reason for buyers to pay several hundred dollars (or even a few thousand dollars) extra for a premium machine. One of the things they’ve done is place artificial limitations on some built-in facilities. Solutions exist: ✦ If you’re adventurous you may find software or hardware drivers that unlock the capabilities of built-in hardware. Take care before experi- menting with any such unauthorized alteration to your system; set a System Restore point for the operating system and keep notes about any changes you make so you can undo them if your efforts make things worse than they were. ✦ If you’re not as adventurous, buy an add-on sound adapter that includes its own software suite. These adapters may install in a PC Card or ExpressCard slot or attach to the laptop by cable to a USB port. As an example, most sound hardware from Creative Labs includes utilities that capture any sound passing through the adapter. (Creative calls this set- ting the “What U Hear” option.) Other software elements include a wave editor that lets you enhance, edit, or sample portions of any recording stored in one of the recognized sound formats, including .wav files. See Figure 2-1. 26 140925-bk05ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 380 Book V Chapter 2 Feeling the Music, Seeing the Stream Plugging into External Speakers and Headphones 381 Plugging into External Speakers and Headphones If you’ve listened to an Apple iPod pumping music through a tiny set of ear- buds, you realize the incredible power and clarity that can be delivered to your ears when they’re nearly in direct contact with a set of headphones. No distortions are caused by the shape of the room, furniture, or the television playing in the next room; you also can’t hear the horn of an oncoming car . . . which is one really good reason not to use headphones of any kind while driving. You can purchase just about any set of headphones that matches the plug size. (Typically laptops have a 3.5mm mini-phone stereo jack; 3.5mm is also sometimes described in English measurement as 1 ⁄8 inch and the two specifi- cations are interchangeable.) And more and more headphones have USB port connections, which allow them to draw a bit of electrical power along with the audio signal; you will likely have to install a device driver to instruct your laptop to send music or sound through the USB channel instead of to the headphone jack. Figure 2-1: The Smart Recorder from Creative Labs is an element of a very capable suite of sound- capture and editing tools that come with sound adapter hardware from that company. 26 140925-bk05ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 381 Poring Over Streaming Media 382 Any well-stocked electronics store (Radio Shack, Best Buy, and Circuit City amongst them) should be able to sell you a converter that allows you to insert plugs of one size or shape into a port of another design. Among the common converters are 1 ⁄4-inch to 1 ⁄8-inch (3.5mm) plugs. You can also pur- chase extension cords that allow headphones to operate at a distance from the source of music. Old-style studio headphones with earmuff-sized cans on each ear generally require larger connectors and require more power to operate; in any case, you’ll have a hard time finding these old-school devices at your basic home electronic shop. If you’ve got the space in your carrying case, or if you use your laptop at your desktop when you’re off the road, the best solution may be to purchase a set of external speakers. These plug into the headphone port on your laptop or into the USB port. External speakers require electrical power to amplify the audio signal to an acceptable level. The more sophisticated the speaker system, the more power they generally require. External speakers can get power three ways: ✦ Through the USB port. This delivers a maximum of about 5 volts and as much as 1 ⁄2 an amp of power, although all devices sharing the USB chain also share the power. And even more significantly, this draws power (and shortens run time between recharges) any time the computer is running off its battery. ✦ From built-in replaceable or rechargeable batteries. External speakers can be powered by their own batteries, which typically deliver a few hours of use. ✦ From power supplied by a separate AC adapter. If you’re using external speakers at your desktop or on the road, the best solution is to use speakers that draw power from their own AC adapter. These speakers can be larger, louder, and offer better sound quality. Poring Over Streaming Media Streaming audio or video is a signal that comes over the Internet or other network on request; for example, you can listen to a radio station by con- necting to a streaming site. This is different from downloading a package of music or video, sent to you as a file, that you store on your laptop and then play. You can subscribe to streaming video of baseball games, audio of radio stations from around the world, or listen to Internet-only music stations. 26 140925-bk05ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 382 Book V Chapter 2 Feeling the Music, Seeing the Stream Poring Over Streaming Media 383 Pointing to ‘casting Streaming media uses the still-evolving and still-expanding Internet to let you use all three means of transmission. (See this section’s “Radio days” sidebar.) ✦ Point-to-point ✦ Narrowcasting ✦ Broadcasting Instant messaging is an example of point-to-point, and video conferences are available from laptop to laptop (through the services of companies like AOL as well as specialized business service companies). Web sites like YouTube let you request a point-to-point feed of a video (produced by an amateur or professional or even a commercial or political organization seeking to sell a product, candidate, or idea). Subscription services sold over the Internet are an example of narrowcast- ing. For example, you can purchase a subscription to listen to “radio” cover- age or watch video coverage of Major League Baseball games, or you can subscribe to music services like XM Satellite Radio, which comes down off the satellite, onto the Internet, and into your laptop. And broadcasting is becoming more and more popular on the Internet. Most of the major television and cable networks now let you watch their productions on their laptops. Some of these shows are offered on demand, meaning a signal is being sent from point to point; other shows are simply made available to any computer user who does the Internet equivalent of tuning into a live feed of a news or entertainment feed. Radio stations also put their broadcasts on the Internet — a great way to keep up with events in your old hometown or to monitor the local coverage of a major event from far away. And we’ve begun seeing a number of cus- tomizable radio stations that allow you to select particular artists or genres and receive a stream of music to your laptop. One example is Pandora, which delivers free music accompanied by onscreen ads; another example is AOL Music, which delivers music occasionally interrupted by commercials. Knowing the nuts and volts of streaming Here’s what you need to receive, listen to, or view an Internet stream: ✦ A modern laptop computer running • A current version of a media-capable operating system, such as Windows Vista or Windows XP. • A fully updated Web browser such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla’s Firefox, or other software. 26 140925-bk05ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:48 PM Page 383 . small amount of money for the paper and ink, but the largest portion of the expense goes to pay the author, the editors, the design- ers, and the publishers for their creative efforts. As a buyer. generally equal to that generated by a desktop machine with a sound card. A few shortcomings exist: ✦ Even the most high-end laptops don’t have enough room for a decent set of speakers. The Toshiba. utterly incapable — when capturing certain incoming audio sources (as it is for many desktop computers as well). For example, on most systems, you can’t capture streaming audio or video and