There's music for free on the Internet. All you have to do is download it. While you're at it, download Hum's new MP3 player for your PC Companion.
The Sound of (Digital) Music
If you like to take your music with you, wherever you go, and you have a PC Companion, you're in luck. The new MP3 standard of digital audio has come to the world of Windows CE. Casio started the trend with their Cassiopeia E-100 Palm-size PC, which came with a stereo headphone jack and an optional MP3 player. And HP's recently-released Jornada 430se Palm-size PC follows suit. Interestingly, the MP3 player that comes with the new Jornada is available for all PC Companions.
MP3 has been in the news a lot in recent months. It seems the music industry worried that people would bootleg copies of music they owned and pass them around for free. They sued, trying to get MP3 wiped off the face of the earth. But they lost and it looks like MP3 is here to stay.
MP3 is a way of storing and sharing music electronically, taking up less file storage space than it does on the original CD. They do this by filtering out super high and low frequencies "that you don't hear anyway." Needless to say, this annoys some audiophile purists, but the sound is pretty darn good.
Hum MP3 player
The MP3 player found on the new Jornada and available to any Windows CE user is the Hum Player from Utopiasoft. You can download a free demo of Hum at the Utopiasoft Web site: www.utopiasoft.com.
Utopiasoft's Web site lists the PC Companions they've tested and certify to work with Hum. However, because some only have mono headphone jacks, or nothing more than the built-in speaker, the quality varies tremendously. Utopiasoft ranks them for performance, from 5-star (best, in stereo), to 2-star (least adequate performance):
5-Star (in stereo): Casio Cassiopeia E-100/105/500 series (the Jornada 430se hadn't been tested but will probably go here)
Utopiasoft's Hum MP3 player shown on the color-screen HP Jornada 430se.
4-Star: Casio Cassiopeia E-10/11/55 series, Vadem Clio, Compaq Aero 2100 series, Compaq 2010 series, Everex Freestyle series, IBM WorkPad z55, NEC MobilePro 770, Philips Nino 300 series, Sharp Tripad PV6000
3-Star: HP 620LX, HP Jornada 820, Sharp HC-4500/4600
2-Star: HP Jornada 420, Philips Velo 500
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