Everybody wants a new way to listen to music. One such way is through the MP3 format. There have been a few books out about this new compression format. I just finished reading a real good one. The title of the book is I Want My MP3 and was written by Bill Mann. The book was published by McGraw-Hill and copyrighted in 1999.
The book is broken down into five parts. The first part is Quick Start. It contains two chapters, 15 Minutes To Music and Just The Facts, Ma'am: A Paper-based FAQ. The 15 Minutes.. chapter is an introduction to the book and MP3. The second chapter is a quick Frequently Asked Questions segment that points you to the appropriate section of the book for answers.
Part Two is called The Software You Need. Chapter Three is called Players and Other MP3 Programs. It discusses stand-alone MP3 players and the ripper programs. It also covers a few all-in-one programs. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 cover specific programs that either generate an MP3 file or just play one. Chapter 7 gets into some of the utility programs available for this music format. And chapter 8 tells you how to find all of this wonderful software online.
Part Three is all about Looking For Tunes In All The Right Places. The chapters in this part cover the various web sites to get MP3 files from. The chapters also preach heavily about getting legal MP3 files. That is, MP3 files that have been approved by either the artist or the record company for download and distribution.
The fourth part of the book has chapters on the hardware involved in MP3. There is a chapter on what your PC is going to need in order to download, off-load or just play MP3 files. Chapter 13 gives you a quick hands-on about installing hardware on your PC so that you can play with MP3. Chapter 14 gets into burning your own CD's with MP3 files on them.
Other Gizmos For Making Music is chapter 15. This chapter covers the portable MP3 players like Diamond Rio and Samsung Yepp. They even cover a couple of in-car players like Impy3. And chapter 16 tells you how to find about and get hardware online.
Part 5 is called keeping Up With The MP3 Scene. The chapters in this part talk about the various ways to stay up on what's going on in the Mp3 world. From web sites specifically dedicated to MP3 to newsgroups and mailing lists, chapters 17 and 18 tell you where to find them and which are best.
One if the best parts of the book is that there's a CD included. This CD has a couple of MP3 players one or two rippers. There are also some sample MP3 files for your listening pleasure.
If you want to know all about MP3, then I Want My MP3 is the book to read. It offers up a world of information about the format and you get to sample some cool tunes from the CD.
I Want My MP3 lists for $ 19.99. It can be found at stores like Barnes and Noble. You can also check out this title and others from McGraw Hill at their web site, www.mcgraw-hill.com