The technology of recording, storing and editing sound is changing so quickly that the Internet is a perfect place to stay in touch with it. Here are some special files and links to make it even easier.

• Audio FAQ: Actually a collection of links to various FAQs in this area. Of major interest is the 13-part Usenet-based FAQ about audio in general, from pro to consumer.
• Working with Digital Audio is a Flash animation explaining that topic, offered by Northwestern University.
• The Music, Mind, and Machine Group at the MIT Media Laboratory "is a research group focusing on music and the cognitive investigations describing it" -- in other words, they're working on making machines and people use sound to communicate with each other. The MPEG Audio Web Page at MIT has lots of information about the many variants of MPEG, including MPEG-4.
• The MP3 File Format originates right here on The Online Communicator; it includes a brief overview of this popular MPEG technology, some sample sound files, and links to useful tools.
• The CWI Audio File Formats Guide, describing digital sound file formats, has been supplanted by a newer Audio File Format FAQ. The older guide is also available at this site.
• The BROADCAST FAQ List explains all about sending audio, and video, over invisible airwaves. (Y'know, radio and TV.)
• Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity is a magazine produced by and for home audio/video enthusiasts, with explanations of the audio recording and reproduction process, reviews, and much more.
• MSU Vincent Voice Library: 50,000 different voices, in recordings up to 100 years old.
• Download CoolEdit 1.53 shareware sound editing software. (860K self-extracting zip EXE file). Note This swell product evolved so much over the years that the professional version was purchased by Adobe and renamed! So, as of 2009 there may not be any newer shareware versions available. In any case, this one was the latest that would run on both Windows 3.x and Windows 95/98. I've heard that some folks are using it on Windows XP, but it may be a stretch. If it works for your system, you'll find it excellent!
• The Movie Soundtrack FAQ file contains information gleaned from rec.music.movies about film composers and related questions.
• SoundSite is "The online journal of Sound Theory, Philosophy of Sound and Sound Art."
• Audio Recording: History and Development is an archived copy of a useful history. It was part of a larger "Telecommunications Encyclopedia" that is no longer accessible to the public.

Jump to the Talent Section for a variety of Voice Performance Samples, including downloadable sound files in Mac, Windows (WAV), and Unix formats. Listen for yourself and compare those file formats to MP3 versions of some of the same samples on the MP3 Demo Page.