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Rating:  Summary: Too much verbose Review: It's not technical book. There is not any explanation about the mp3 format. Too much verbose.
Rating:  Summary: A very informative book. Must read for Mp3 fanatics Review: Ive been into mp3s since about 1996 and I must say this book taught me a lot of stuff I either didnt know or knew very little about. Justins creative talent took me by storm yet again with this book keep the good work up
Rating:  Summary: Excellent! Review: The best mp3 book I've ever red. Very complete
Rating:  Summary: Some Good Stuff But a Little Too Much Drivel Review: The book has a lot of good stuff on Winamp, SHOUTcast and the MP3 file format. Some nice details on configuring Winamp plug-ins and the ID3 Tag format. My only complaints were that the writing is a bit awkward and often tends to "hype" MP3 and Winamp. Also, about 10 percent of the book consists of mostly useless interviews with people from the MP3 community. All in all, it's a decent book if you are a dedicated Winamp user, like me, or a SHOUTcast DJ. But I definitely wouldn't recommend it to someone completely new to MP3.
Rating:  Summary: Top Book on Winamp MP3 Player Review: This book is an excellent guide to how to make full use of Winamp's capabilities. Using primarily the MP3 audio-encoding format, Nullsoft's Winamp is currently the most popular MP3 player. Although some of this popularity is due to its ease of use, it's also because of the incredible flexibility and capabilities of Winamp. Although the main focus of the book is on the Windows-only Winamp and related programs & utilities, the authors include information about comparable products for the Macintosh where they existed when the book was written.
Beginning with a brief history of MP3 and Winamp, the authors review how to download and install the player on a Windows based computer with step-by-step instructions (Instructions are also provided for the MacAMP player for Macintosh computers). They devote an entire chapter to Winamp's basic controls for listening and provide information about designing your own look for Winamp (called "skins"). There is an outstanding chapter on where to look on the Internet for MP3 files.
The advanced features and capabilities of Winamp are covered in some detail, with URLs of websites with additional information and plug-ins to enhance the Winamp player. Step-by-step instructions are provided for the most popular enhancements.
The authors include information for creating one's own MP3 files and webcasts. The discussion about computer sound cards and getting good sound from live performances is outstanding and includes links to relevant products. They also review how to get and use encoders for making MP3 files and how to create your own CDs from MP3 files.
The book describes Nullsoft's SHOUTcast streaming audio server and its use for webcasting. The information includes how to prepare Winamp to stream audio to the SHOUTcast server for webcasting over the Internet to dealing with some of the legal issues related to webcasting.
The book includes a CD with the Winamp player, music in MP3 format, "skins" and other enhancements for Winamp, and a copy of SHOUTcast server software.
Justin Frankel is the developer of Winamp and founder of Nullsoft, making him the best possible source of information about Winamp's capabilities. Dave Greely and Ben Sawyer are MP3 experts and technology authors/consultants. They've written several books about the World Wide Web.
Overall the book is very well written, although the transitions between some topics are sometimes abrupt and confusing.
The book is an outstanding source of links to websites about MP3 files and utilities. While it focuses heavily on Nullsoft products, Winamp and SHOUTcast, the authors do try to include information for users of Macintosh and other computer platforms.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wishes to make full use of Winamp's considerable capabilities. I also highly recommend it for those considering webcasting using SHOUTcast.
Review by Mike Powers, Radio Guide, September 1999
Rating:  Summary: It's actually a manual... Review: This book is essentially well-written and informative, but the title is somewhat misleading - this is not an introduction to MP3s in general but rather a manual for Winamp, the popular freeware Windows player.There's nothing wrong with that - Winamp is really cool and should take pride of place on your desktop. Because Winamp is freeware it doesn't come with a manual, and while there's nothing in here you can't glean from the winamp.com website, it's handy to have a real-world reference book - more practical, let's face it, than its virtual counterpart. Apart from the how-to stuff, there's a short history of the MP3 format, and the basics of MP3 technology are glossed over. There are a few references to competing players, but only really to affirm Winamp's superiority over the rest of the pack. Ultimately, the best reason to purchase this book is if you use Winamp already - Winamp is free, so think of it as your contribution to the continued development of this rather fine product - a sort of round-about shareware fee!
Rating:  Summary: cool Review: Your contributions to the internet is welcomed and encouraged. Please continue and we all Thank you in advance for taking the time to participate in the ongoing development of the internet's best tools
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