For All My Chums and Friends
Saving files, especially WAV or MP3, uses up lots of disk space on your computer. Large files seem to take forever should you want to upload or download them over the Internet. Users with cable or DSL service have very fast connections and are not especially concerned with large file sizes; however many of us are limited to slow dialup speeds and are very hesitant of downloading anything over a few hundred kilobytes.
File compression significantly reduces file size, which means you can share files much faster and more conveniently. For images, most of us have already learned that JPG images will usually be significantly smaller than BMP or TIF images. The same is true of audio files. MP3 is a common format used today, and produces excellent quality sound. You can also use WMA (Windows Media Audio) to further reduce file size, and the sound will probably be just as good.
For instance, today I spent about 1 hour changing 11 MP3 files to WMA format. The total file size of the 11 MP3's was 29.51 MB. Just imagine how long it would take you to transfer that much information over the Internet! After conversion, those same 11 files totaled only 2.075 MB, a savings of 93%!
You've never heard of WMA format? It is the format Windows Movie Maker uses to add audio to video clips. You can download Windows Movie Maker free by clicking on this link: New! Windows Movie Maker 2
Once you have installed Windows Movie Maker, how do you convert and MP3 to a WMA file? Follow these simple steps.
1. Open Windows Movie Maker.
2. Click on Import Audio or Music File. Browse to the folder with the file you wish to convert and click "import."
3. Drag the icon down to the left margin of the sound bar.
4. Click on Save to my computer.
5. Choose a file name for your file and enter it in line one.
6. Click on Browse on the right end of line two and navigate to the folder where you wish to save the file, then click Next.
7. Choose Other Settings and click on the small down arrow. Choose Voice Quality Audio (8 Hz) and click Next.
8. Your file will be saved in WMA format with the file name you selected.
Your new file can be used as background music for web pages and will download much faster than an MP3, though it will still take longer than a MIDI file. You can also enter WMA files into the chat room by typing /sound filename.wma and pressing enter. REMEMBER, the default for Filetopia is a WAV file. If you want to play any other sound you must type the 3-letter file extension. Naturally, the file must be in your sounds folder or the Filetopia program will not be able to find it.
I hope you'll have fun, both with the Windows Movie Maker and with your new WMA files.
Huggles to all!
