MP3 is the algorithm standardized as ISO-MPEG Audio Layer-3 , which was jointly developed by the Fraunhofer and the University of Erlangen. It is basically a file format for storing digital audio computers. This format is so popular among music fans because by using compression, MP3 files occupy only 1:12 of the normal space required by uncompressed audio files, without any loss of quality. Recorded in normal conditions, a standard track will require a minimum of 30MB. Using audio compression, the same file will take up less than 3 MB with the same audio quality.

And unlike other file formats, -*.doc for instance - that can only be viewed on a computer where MS Word is installed-, MP3 digital-audio files can be transferred from your computer to a portable player, PDA (Personnal Digital Assistant), hand-held computer, car player, or home-stereo component.

From the legal battle between RIAA and. Napster, you might unconsciously associate MP3 with illegality. In fact, it's what you do with the files that may or may not be illegal, not the files themselves. It's analogous to owning a car - driving it is fine, driving it drunk, or speeding, is not. Remember that MP3 is only a file format, and the legal issues arise from the content in the file. If you don't have the copyright to distribute a song, but do so anyway, that's when it becomes illegal.

Anytime you create an original work, you hold the copyright on it, whether you state it or not. If you create a song that runs," Wilfrid is explaining MP3!", and save it as a MP3 file, you have a copyrighted work. Anybody distributing this file without your permission is infringing your rights. Illegality arises through what you do with MP3 files rather than through creating or copying them. It is legal to rip your CDs to have an MP3 catalog of your favorite songs assuming you own the original CDs. So you can quite legally listen to your favorite tunes in MP3 format wherever you like. But it is illegal to send these files by email to your friends, whether free or for money, because the law allows you to make copies of your CDs for your own use only.

To find some free and legal MP3 music, make a query on any search engine or check out these web sites; Audiogalaxy.com (many unsigned bands, bands reviews and images); mp3.com (unsigned bands, sorted by genres); unsigned-music.com (a large database of unsigned artists); and Music Match mp3.musicmatch.com/artists. These are just a few of the many legal MP3 sites out there.

To create MP3 files from your favorite CDs, you will need both ripper and encoder software. The ripper copies the songs you want to your computer, and the encoder compresses the songs into MP3 format. Encoded songs can then be played on your computer, or any MP3 player.

To clear some space on your hard disk if you are a big music fan, you may want to save your files on CDs. If you have a writable CD drive in your computer, you can write the MP3 files directly onto a CD (you will only be able to listen to them from another computer or MP3 player). Or you can convert MP3 files into full-size CD tracks, and save them to a CD (you will then be able to listen to these songs on any computer or CD stereo component).

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled that as longer as Napster doesn't offer software with 100% reliability in preventing pirated songs from being exchanged through its network, its servers should be shut down. Napster has said in its defense that files downloaded through its software are personal files that people maintain on their own computers, and that the company should not be held responsible. But the music industry pointed to the fact that Napster's software had allowed thousands of copyrighted works to be copied and exchanged without the artists getting a penny.

There are many alternatives to Napster, the best of which is Gnutella. Napster has been ordered to shut down its services, and this decision was easy to take because of the central Napster server which maintains a database of available members. Gnutella doesn't use a central server. It works more like the Internet, in that people who install Gnutella can establish their own connections to one another, building a virtual network which reinvents itself every time a user logs on or off. This makes Gnutella harder to shut down, because you would have to ensure that every user logged off. Another good point is that while Napster can only share MP3 files, Gnutella can be used to share almost any type of file.

Gnutella can be downloading at gnutella.wego.com. The tutorial on the site is handy for new users.

You can check also these websites for more information: Audiogonme (http://www.napster.co.uk), Cute Media eXchange ((http://www.cutemx.com), iMesh (http://www.imesh.com), SpinFrenzy (http://www.spinfrenzy.com). These sites list some of the softwares available.

Wilfrid Matanga