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Monday, June 1, 2009

Portable Audio Player History

By Sampson Zelder

Portable audio players are mobile devices able to play digital music. There are several varieties of portable audio player that include MP3 players, cell phones, boomboxes and mini-disk players. Technically a digital voice recorder might fall into the portable audio category as well, but its a term generally considered for musical accessories.

Portable audio players are taken for granted by todays generation who havent known any of the predecessors that led the way with portable audio players. It was only during the 1970s that music lovers got their first chance to bring music with them in their cars, with the 8-track cassette. Prior to this, people were limited to AM/FM radios. The bulky 8-track resembled a VHS video tape and slotted into a car stereo system fitted for them specifically. They would play music tracks, but between each song as the player moved from one track onto the next there would be several seconds of laborious silence as the reader shifted. The audible clunking of the reading spools on the player were also unwelcome additions to the music.

By the time the 1980s was underway, the cassette had developed into the smaller cassette tape. These quickly took over the 8-track as they were able to fit more music tracks and offered better quality sound. Able to fit into a protective case no bigger than a pack of cards, cassette tapes were also used in the first truly portable audio players. These were called walkmans and allowed people to listen to music anywhere they went by attaching headphones to the players. Boomboxes were also popular during the late 1980s, which were portable stereo systems with inbuilt cassette players.

In 1988 compact discs arrived in force on the market. People quickly realized that these digital discs didnt need to be rewound or fast-forwarded to find a track you wanted and the digital recordings meant higher quality music enjoyment too. Compact discs also didnt suffer from the tape damage that cassettes were prone to, nor could they wear out or unwind off the cassette spools.

The only real drawback to the compact disc was the fact that sporting enthusiasts couldnt enjoy portable music with the CD walkman as the laser light reading device was easily jolted, causing the music tracks to skip or jitter. For people wanting to jog or cycle or skate, then the cassette player, like the walkman, remained the portable audio device of choice.

Throughout the 1990s as advances in computer technology leapt ahead and the capacity of flash memory drives increased, the advent of the MP3 file made its way into portable audio players.

As MP3 files grew in popularity and flash memory sticks became more common, the first portable MP3 players were created as a direct result. With some MP3 players as small as a pack of gum, people were now able to listen to portable audio files from gadgets that fit within their pockets. They no longer needed to change the CD or the cassette after every album, but were able to store multiple songs on a tiny flash memory drive that also didnt have the problems of breaking or jolting during activity. In order to add or remove music files from the MP3 player, a person only needed to transfer files from a computer to the portable MP3 player, which has the memory capacity to store an entire music library. Now thats convenience! - 18762

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Blink 182 Music: The History

By Greg Shuey

Blink 182 music is historic! Blink was one of the biggest pop punk bands back in the day. The band, made up of Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker is most known for their music that was made up of juvenile and toilet humor. This type of music helped catapult the band into the mainstream in the early 2000's.

Blink 182 originally formed in 1992 when Tom DeLonge met Mark Hoppus through a mutual acquaintance and they started writing and composing music together in Tom's garage. Their original drummer, Scott Raynor was also a high school friend of theirs. He eventually left the band and was replaced by the more hard - radical Travis Barker.

In the early 90's, Blink 182 released two albums, Buddha and Cheshire Cat. They were both independent records. In 1997, the band released Dude Ranch and shortly thereafter became a mainstream pop punk band. Dude Ranch was the stepping stone from playing music as a hobby or for fun to playing music as a career. They were ready for the big game!

Blink 182's biggest break was when they released Enema of the State in 1999. Hit songs that emerged from that CD were "All The Small Things", "What's My Age Again?", and "Adam's Song". These songs were played on radio stations across the nation and became theme songs for young teens and adults who followed the band from the early days.

In less than two years time, Enema of the State turned gold and platinum five times over. The music created by Blink 182 portrayed common emotions that are often experienced by the younger generation and was highly relatable to their target audience. Less than a year later, the bank released a live album that was called The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show. It sold almost as many copies as Enema of The State

The next year, Blink released one of the most remembered pieces of music that they created, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. From this album came well known songs like "The Rock Show", "First Date", and "Stay Together For The Kids". This album went double platinum.

Unknown to Blink 182 at the time, when releasing their untitled album, Blink 182 it would be their last piece of music made together as a band for almost seven years. Unfortunately for them, this was one of their least popular albums released, although I did turn platinum eventually.

So here we are, 2009 and Blink 182 has announced their reunion. Blink 182 is back together again, making music and putting together a world tour. It will sure be interesting to see what kind of music they create when their new album is released later this year. All I can say is... Long Live Blink 182 Music!! - 18762

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Downloading Movies Is Better

By Anna Hill

Has this ever happened to you? You waited and waited for an exciting new movie to come out on DVD and then you hurried over to the DVD/video store and it was out of stock so the movie that you waited and waited for you now had to wait even longer.

So we tried a mail subscription. It sounded like it might work well. Just fill up your queue and pick up your movies at the mailbox. The only problem was that if the first movie that you wanted wasn't available then they would mail the second movie or the third movie on your list instead.

So what happens when you are in the mood for a romantic comedy and a horror movie shows up in its place? Also with the mail-in subscription that we had it did not always include the new releases. So if we truly wanted to see the new movies we ended up going to the dvd/video store anyway and then of course, it wasn't there and we had to wait.

But now we have found the answer to all of these troubles. We found a way to download full-length, high quality movies, games and software with the convenience of our own computer and in the comfort of our own home. We pay a tiny membership fee and we made sure that we chose a reputable site so we can avoid any troubles with computer viruses, adware and malware but it is working out great for us.

The rates are very practical and comparable to any of the other ways that we got movies in the past. They offer monthly, annual and even lifetime membership plans and they are all at a reasonable cost.

Nowadays it is possible to download the movie that you've been waiting for instantly and they are the full-length, high quality movies that you are used to seeing. There is even special software that you can get from the sites that permit you to burn the movie on your own disc so that you can watch it on TV instead of your computer.

But the convenience of the download service is remarkable. I can get whatever movie I want, right away, in full-length and high quality. It can be early in the morning or in the middle of the night or even Christmas Day. I never have to leave my home and the movie I want is always in stock and accessible.

My family really appreciates this service and we all love movies! It is working out fantastic for us and it is much better than video stores! - 18762

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Sonic Producer Review - Hip Hop Beat Makers

By Chris Jensen

There are a lot of music production machines now made available. However, only a few of them can be considered efficient like Sonic Producer.

So far, among the few of the music production machines which can be considered as efficient, it's the Sonic Producer that is above and prevailing. It is the most efficient. It is a distinct music production machine that has the most efficient tools for producing music and beats. It can do so many things. It can produce music in high quality and all styles. It can produce beats from thousands of sounds. And the beats can be exported to mp3, which then can be saved in laptops, iPods, and the likes.

Also, it is fun and so easy to use. And it comes with software lessons, and tutorials. Users won't find it hard to produce their music or beats. They will have a guide all throughout the entire producing process. They will know what exactly they have to do. Efficiently, they can produce the music or beats that they want.

Sonic Producer also has the information about how to play piano and other musical instruments. Users can learn how to play piano and other musical instruments in no time. Hence, they can be able to make more beautiful music and beats.

Anyone interested in producing music or beats differently must only go for the music production machine that is considered as the most efficient. Right now, it is the Sonic Producer. It is really worth trying and it is now at a very affordable, reasonable price. It is very accessible, it is available online. - 18762

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Tips for your piano lessons

By Lynn Lopez

You can never be too old to learn how to play the piano. It helps if you already own a piano or have ready access to one because buying a piano can be very expensive. You can always buy a used piano or even borrow from someone who is not using the instrument. In fact, since you are still a beginner at playing the piano, even a simple keyboard might be adequate for your purpose.

The next important thing is that you should be committed in learning how to play the piano. It takes time and persistence. You can not learn it overnight, nor can you learn it well by playing it from time to time. You need time to learn and to practice. You might have to schedule your practices around your other duties. Be patient with yourself.

If you have the budget for it, sign up for music lessons with a piano teacher in your area. Once again, choose the right piano teacher for you. If you choose wisely, you will be reaping great rewards from it. You can also check out nearby schools and colleges that offer piano lessons at a discounted cost. Remember that learning how to play the piano is not only limited on learning about the piano itself. You will also learn about music, note reading, chords, and other relevant theories.

When you are learning a new piece, keep in mind that you cannot learn the whole piece in one sitting. Therefore, try to break it down into manageable parts. Or you can learn with the right hand first, then the left hand, and finally play the piece with both hands. Playing the piano demands mastery of the piano pieces. Play slowly if you must. When it comes to piano playing, repetition yields mastery. Play the music over and over until you can play the entire piece perfectly.

Always warm up before you practice. Practice every day for at least thirty minutes or more. You practice to minimize or eliminate mistakes. Pay attention to your mistakes and try to avoid doing them again. You can, of course, take short breaks from piano playing. Remember that knowing how to play the piano, much like any skill depends on how often you practice. Do not shy away from difficult piano pieces, especially when your teacher believes you can handle it. Your progress literally lies in your own two hands. Be open to challenges. Your teacher would not give you a difficult piece if you cannot learn from it or if you are not up to it. With patience and time, you might be playing the piano for other people's entertainment soon! - 18762

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