Computer Info – April 17, 2002

 

This Week’s Program

            Internet and e-mail – using Internet Explorer or Netscape continues.  And what we learned about midi music files this week.

 

Special Notice

            The library will be replacing the carpeting in the main library area during the first two weeks of May – therefore, they will be moving all of the books to the auditorium.  So, there will be no meeting on May 8th and May 15th.

 

Midi Files

            A midi file is a mid file – right?  WRONG.  That’s what we learned this week. 

            A file with an extension of MID indicates a midi file – but you can not tell from that if it is a midi 0 (zero) or a midi 1 (one) format.

            We were contacted about converting some midi one files to midi zero files.  We didn’t know there was a different; but researched it on the internet and discovered this web page.

                                    http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/paullanc/music/music.html

This page mentioned that if you have a Casio WK-1800 keyboard (which uses a floppy disk); then you need to convert your MIDI 1 files to MIDI 0 files.  And this web page provided a small program to do that.  We called the person back and told him we would be glad to help him out.  He brought over his floppy disks – we put one in the computer and looked at the directory – and were amazed to find only WRK files on it.  So, what are WRK files?  Back to the internet.  We went to the Google search engine and typed in WRK and after browsing several pages discovered that WRK files are created in CakeWalk (a software program for recording and editing music).  Well, we don’t own CakeWalk – so now what?  More searching – this time for a program that would convert WRK files to MIDI files.  We found a number of sites like this one

                                    http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/Cake2MID/

that allow you to download a small utility program called CAKE2MID that will do this conversion.  It is an old program written in 1993 and run in DOS.

            But, we now had two programs that would allow us to convert these files so they could be played on the Casio WK-1800 keyboard.

            MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a protocol designed for recording and playing back music on digital synthesizers that is supported by personal computers and keyboards.

DVD Recordables

            DVD-RAM media is different than all other DVD media in that the disc is housed in a cartridge.  DVD-RAM media will only work in DVD-RAM drives.

            DVD-RAM drives allow drag-and-drop file copying, as if the DVD-RAM media were an extra hard drive.  DVD+RW drives required software to burn discs, so they are similar in functionality to CD-RW drives.

            There is an ongoing battle between two groups.  The first (  http://www.dvdforum.org ) supports the DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD-RW formats.  The second  (  http://www.dvdrw.com) supports the DVD+RW.  The good news is that all of these drives play the standard DVD-ROM and DVD-Video formats, and you can use any of them to burn video that plays back on most standard DVD players and DVD-ROM drives.

 

Newest version of Windows no whiz when it comes to CD burning

(Info from News Journal – 3-5-2002)  by Tony Briggs

 

            Windows XP, Microsoft's latest operating system, does a lot of things well; but burning CDs isn't one of them.

            In true Microsoft tradition, the company has opted for the slow, cumbersome, idiot-proof tools over those that are fast, flexible and efficient -- at least when it comes to recording CDs.                             Want to copy a Data CD for backup or archive purposes? Don't look for XP's native tools to help. They aren't designed for that.

            Want your CD-RW drive to work like just another hard drive, with the ability to transfer files directly to CD-RW discs? XP won't do that either. Files must be dumped in a folder first and then copied onto a CD-R or freshly formatted CD-RW disc. If you want to add more files later, you have to erase the disc and start over -- a ridiculous requirement that renders CD-RW discs nearly worthless.

            About the only thing XP's CD-burning tools can do well is copy individual files. And even that requires a multi-step process that is cumbersome and clunky.

            Thankfully, you don't have to settle for these shortcomings, if you've got the cash to buy a third-party program.

 

MacIntosh’s Extended Warranty in Florida

            According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel (written by Harry Wessel) – Apple Computers sells an extended warranty for about $250 that includes free repairs and free telephone support for three years.  To problem is ---- this extended warranty does not apply to Florida.  Apple has chosen not to get a license to sell extended warranties in Florida. 

            Other companies like Gateway sell extended warranties that are honored in Florida.