The sound clips are mostly coded in Windows Media Audio (WMA) format at 64kbps density. This gives relatively good sound quality and relatively small file sizes, and can be played by most Windows users without downloading any special software. Most clips last about a minute, are about 500K in size, and download in 2 to 3 minutes on a typical system. (The Windows download program is usually very pessimistic about how long it will take. Don't believe it!)
Sometimes we advertise a track coded in MP3 format at 128kbps ("CD quality"). In this case each minute of music takes about one megabyte of disk space. It can be played by the Windows Media Player and many other programs.
This is provided as part of Windows 95 and later systems. You can find it by clicking Start, Programs, Accessories, and Entertainment (Windows 95 calls this one Multimedia).
To run the player click on it, then File, Open and Browse to find the file you want to play.
Why won't the clips work on my Mac or Linux system?
Windows Media Player is a Microsoft program, so if you use another platform such as Mac or Linux, you will need to download a general program to play it. A good one (there is a Windows version too) is MusicMatch Jukebox. It has a Library facility for cataloging sound clips and deleting them when you've finished with them. It can play and record both WMA and MP3 files (it was used to create all our clips). It can be downloaded free from
www.musicmatch.com. Or you can use the latest free product from Real Player, RealOne Player, though it may need a special download the first time you use it for WMA.
Why won't they work on my Windows 95 Media Player?
Your version of Windows Media Player may be too old for the format, but you can download an updated version free from Microsoft. It's called Windows Media Player 6.4 (later versions don't work with Windows 95), and it's 3.5 Megabytes to download. Then when you run it, it automatically replaces your old version. If you want to go ahead, a click here will take you to the relevant page on Microsoft's web site.
Why do they only work once? Can't I store them?
This is either because your system is playing the clips directly off the net ('Streaming'), or because it is downloading the clip into a temporary folder. In either case, click for download with the right mouse button, then click (left mouse button) on 'Save Target as', and it'll suggest a folder to save it in. Choose a suitable one (e.g. 'My Music'). You can then play it from there by double-clicking on it, and delete it when you have finished, like any other file.
Why do they start all right, but suddenly stop in the middle?
What's happening is that your system is trying to play the music directly off the net ('Streaming'), but data isn't coming down your line fast enough; so after a while it stops and waits for more to accumulate. This process, called buffering, completely ruins the music. The answer is to force your system to download the music first by clicking on it using the right mouse button. See the answer to the previous question for what happens next. Return via your browser's Back button