Recording audio started towards the end of the 19th century with Thomas Edison's phonograph. This was a machine (that consisted of a tinfoil cylinder and a speaker that resembled the megaphone) that he invented and used to make a recording of Mary Had a Little Lamb, the first song recorded. This moment was crucial in the history of recorded sound. Wax, metal and other materials are shaped into cylinders and disks were used for at least 50 years. In 1929 the vinyl records were made and dominated the scene for the next forty years. Amazingly enough magnetic tape was developed at the same time but it only gained popularity in the 1960s. In 1985, the Compact Disc was developed by Sony and Philips and instantly became a huge success and, 13 years later, the portable MP3 player then made its debut. It was a breakthrough that would change everything; we can now store and listen to a massive amount of music, not just a few songs that use up all the memory of the player. So, in order to be able to store much, we must get the file compressed. This is where the codec software enters the stage; it can convert analogue music to a smaller digital file which is then stored in the memory of the MP3 (the air pressure waves that we hear as sounds bear the name of ‘analogue audio' when they are recorded). MP3 files can be constructed at higher or lower bit rates, with higher or lower resulting quality. A mid-range bit rate setting of 128 Kbit/s results in a file of about 1/10th the size of the file created from the original source. When we listen to our music, the software that has been embedded in the player reads the file which then decompresses it, converts it to analogue, amplifies the signal and transfers it to the headphones. This, in a nutshell, is how it works. As for the hardware, there is a laser device that reads the CD's, just as the stylus works for the records and a magnetic head for cassette tapes. The idea no longer looks puzzling now that several types of MP3 players have been created and the future of the system is likely to store even more revolutionary devices of the kind. We will certainly see an increase in a wide range of products but, for the time being, there are only three types of MP3 players available. The smallest, cheapest and probably the most reliable of all are the Flash Players. Their batteries are long lasting due to the fact that they have no moving parts. The capacity of these players has already reached 4GB and will surely increase in the near future. The newest models are about the size of a credit card. Hard Drive Players can have a memory of 80GB so they can hold thousands of tunes, photos and videos. All this on a device that is about the size of a deck of cards. Last but not least, the latest generation of portable CD-players, the CD MP3 players, employ MP3, ATRAC and WMA formats; some of them can even burn CDs, and will hold 10 to 45 hours of music per disc. There are also Minidisk models, a little more expensive than the standard ones

By: Dale Martin

One of the best and cheapest ways to talk to people today isn't on a cell phone. A trend in many businesses is to utilize their existing Internet connections and use VoIP services like Cisco and Vonage to make their business calls. Doing so will save them big bucks if they can eliminate there need for a leased line for phone communications. Cell phones are limited in the areas they cover, and they typically cost more to operate than Internet VoIP aplications. To use your computer to make phone calls you will need VoIP software and a computer headset to allow you to talk over the Internet for free, if you buy a service such as Vonage you can make local and long distance calls for free. So, if you decide to go this route here are a few pointers when purchasing you new computer headset. Don't Buy the Cheapest When purchasing a computer headset it is not wise to go for the cheap, ten-dollar version sold by the generic technology companies. These may function well enough to suit you, but after a while you will be disappointed with there quality. Most of the cheaper models are generally fairly uncomfortable and will only give you lackluster performance. Paying a little more for a good quality computer headset will dramatically increase the audio quality of both inbound and outbound voice calls. Headsets have been popular for use with computer games for a few years now, the recent trend in Internet gaming as helped boost the market. Bluetooth computer headsets have also been growing in popularity over the past few years in the business world to help increase mobility and productivity. Computer Headsets for Business Use Computer headsets are providing the necessary interface to the computer to allow business users to make all of their contact calls over the computer and utilizing the Internet to make the call for free. Headsets can also be used in the business world in places like call centers to cut down on the background noise of having so many employees on the phone at the same time in a small area. This allows for more private communication as well. Gone are the days of shelling out huge amounts of money every month for cell phone plans for each employee. By using the computer to make phone calls the only items you need to by is the VoIP software and a reliable headset for the user to wear. This setup will save you money in the long run compared today's expense cell wireless carrier plans. Computer Gaming Headsets If you are into computer games for the Xbox, Playstation and Wii, the latest craze is to play against one another over the Internet. This allows users from all over the world to play against each other in a virtual space, the Internet. However, if you are going to stay competitive in this world of high tech gamers, you will definitely need at computer headset to connect to your Xbox or Playstation. These headsets are typically wireless, using Bluetooth technology. Of course if you are the traditional computer gamer, your computer headset will be plugged into your ultimate gaming PC and you'll be playing something like Counter-Strike or World of Warcraft. If this is the case, you may want to go with a USB interface for your computer headset. This style will be directly wired to your PC and will not require you to replace the batteries. This style tends to be more comfortable and offers a much high audio quality than some of the cheaper wireless models available. It is important to remember there are many different styles of headsets available and each with fit a little differently. If you are using the computer headset strictly for audio then you will need just the ear pieces, basically traditional headphones. But if you plan on using the headset to communicate for gaming of phone service you will need a headset with a mic in order to have two-way communication. Just remember, cheaper is not always better especially in computer headsets. There is a big difference in quality between the low to mid grade as compared to the more pricier higher quality headsets. My advice is to get a mid level priced headset to start out and then if you find yourself using it more and more, you can later upgrade to a higher quality model. (source :ezine3000)