Greetings one and all! This is (almost) the final TOURBUS posting for 1996. I do plan to send out a special year-end message on Dec. 31st, but let me just say it's been a great year on the World's Largest Bus. I do enjoy hearing from riders whether it's just a kind word or another reminder that I used "it's" incorrectly. ;-)

Today, we're going to explore audio on the Net, but let me first put in a plug for the sponsors who've helped to make TOURBUS possible this year. If you didn't get what you wanted for Christmas, check out their wares and buy it online!

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Wave To Me, Midi

The Net offers a bewildering array of sound formats - AU, WAV, MIDI, RealAudio and more. You can hear sound clips, music or radio broadcasts if you know where to click, but getting it all to work can be tricky. Here are a few tips I've picked up in my cyber-audio journey.

1. The Hardware
   This might seem obvious, but you do need a sound card in your computer to hear music or other audio sources. I got a Gallant 16-bit sound card from Surplus Direct (http://www.surplusdirect.com) and it sounds decent even with the cheap speakers that came with my PC.

   Installing a sound card and getting it to work with your CD-ROM can be a bit tricky. If you have trouble, these web sites might help:

   http://www.sunworks.com/computer-craft/instasou.htm
   http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Hardware/Components/Cards/Sound_Cards/

   Playing audio is compute-intensive, so a '486 or a fairly recent Mac is going to help a lot. You'll get by with a 14.4 modem, but 28.8 is strongly recommended since most sound files are pretty large.

2. The Software
   Most sound cards come bundled with audio software, but your best bet is to upgrade to either Netscape V3 or Internet Explorer and use the built-in sound players. Configuring a web browser to use your own audio player is possible, but not fun.

   But if you're going to download sound files and play them while you're offline, you might want to check here for a bunch of links to audio software:

   http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Browsers/Plug_Ins/Sound_and_Video/
   http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Computer_Generated/MIDI/

   One sound plugin I highly recommend is the RealAudio software available for free at http://www.realaudio.com - it's a nifty technology that allows you to hear "webcasts" from radio stations and other online sources without waiting for the entire file to download.

Finding Sound on the Web

Can I Get Sound Files By E-Mail?

send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email

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Stupid Computer Joke of the Week
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   Enhanced DOS: "File not found. Should I fake it? (Y/N)"