mp3

Technological advances have brought audio recording a long way over the past several decades, but, as with so many things, microphone recording is limited by the very technology that has pushed it forward. In this particular case, that limit is the diaphragm that converts sound into electrical signals by measuring vibrations made by incoming sound waves. Because each diaphragm has its own characteristics, all microphones are not created equal; and because the sound waves are converted by these diaphragms, there is always some degree of mechanical interference with the sound.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports today on an Aussie man who traveled all the way to Beverly Hills to receive bone-anchored hearing aids, which are implanted behind the ear and use conductive technology to transmit sound more effectively than regular in-ear aids. But here's the real bonus--these let you plug in your MP3 player or cellphone directly via a standard headphone jack.

Nokia indicated today that it intends to release a bunch of new phones through U.S. carriers in the next few months. The Finnish manufacturer sells 40 percent of the mobiles worldwide, but only accounts for about 10 percent of the U.S. market. But a daily paper in Finland quoted a Nokia chief designed as saying that the company plans to ramp up its U.S. presence.

Until it went on sale last November, Microsoft's Zune was heralded as the first true iPod-killer. But with its overly aggressive copyright protection and the odd, self-imposed limits to its most innovative features (like built-in Wi-Fi), it has so far failed to make even a dent in the iPod's shiny white-and-chrome armor. It's likely the Zune will improve with version 2.0 and beyond, but until then, here are three easy Zune tune-ups to ease the pain of waiting for a better model.

Last February, PopSci added a new name to its list of contributors: Jonathan Coulton, Contributing Troubadour. So who is this guy, and what is he doing to earn that unique title?

Slideshow:


The Assistant
The Polymath
The Photographer
The Musician

Files. That's what the mp3 format turned music into: digital files that are compressible, reproducible, sharable and, of course, stealable. The technology is no longer new—several generations of machines have yielded the nifty, powerful devices at right. But neither the music industry nor the government—whose copyright laws protected the industry through the analog age of cylinders, vinyl and tape—have adapted to the MP3 age. Now Congressional action looms.

The music industry is taking the first small, yet irrevocable, step toward changing how you listen to and share digital music. After years of teeth-gnashing and spitting in the wind, all the major record labels have finally gotten serious about their digital music initiatives, namely by entering into agreements to sell the best stuff from their top artists, including new releases, on the Internet. In fact, the services may be up and running by early fall.

Life just got easier for those who buy compact sedans and turn them into tuners -- street rods with ground-shaking sound systems. Now Mazda has done the work for them, creating a 'factory tuner' named after a popular music technology.

The 2001 Mazda MP3, a hopped-up edition of the Proteg sedan, is the first-ever car with a factory-installed MP3 player. That means owners can listen to more than 10 continuous hours of personalized music programming without changing a disc. The system plays MP3 files copied on recordable CDs, as well as conventional CDs.