Table of contents:
Introduction | Summary of Audio Plug-ins
| Assignment | Additional References
| Unit III
Plug-ins are software programs that extend the capabilities of the your browser in a specific way - giving you, for example, the ability to play audio samples or view video movies from within your browser.
For this short lesson I will not attempt to reword the manufacturers' advertising blurbs, but rather present a collection of the most common plug-ins here in one place for you. Please ignore any blatant marketing in their blurbs and just be aware that they're there and what services they provide.
Several of these, most notably Windows Media Player, QuickTime and RealPlayer, play video as well as audio and will appear in that section as well. You don't have to have all of them, but if you have none, then web audio will not play in your browser.
"The Apple QuickTime plug-in lets you experience QuickTime animation, music, MIDI, audio, video, and VR panoramas and objects directly in a Web page. The Apple QuickTime Plug-in's "fast-start" feature allows you to experience QuickTime content while it's downloading. It works seamlessly within firewall environments and requires no special server software."
Available for Macintosh PPC, Win16, Win95, Win98, WinNT, WinXP
"RealPlayer lets you play streaming audio, video, animations, and multimedia presentations on the web. Find and watch the best audio and video content including internet radio stations from all over the world. New RealVideo® 8 technology offers enriched video quality and smoother playback over both narrow and broadband connections. Plays RealAudio, RealVideo as well as the vast majority of popular media file types such as mp3."
Available for Linux, Win95, Win98, WinNT, WinXP, MacOS, AIX, HP-UX, IRIX, Solaris
"Nullsoft Winamp is the ultimate high-fidelity music player for the Windows Platform. Winamp supports MP3, CD and other audio formats, more than 20,000 skins and 150 audio visualization and effect plug-ins. Winamp is freeware. Supports file extensions: .mp3, .mp2, .mp1, .wma, .voc, .wav, .cda, .it, .xm, .s3m, .stm, .mod, .dsm, .far, .ult, .mtm, .669, .mid, .m3u, .pls, .mjf "
Available for Win95, Win98, WinNT, WinXP
"A very inclusive multimedia player that functions seamlessly with the Internet Explorer browser. Whether you ’re listening to streamed radio or a new single you just downloaded, Windows Media Player for Windows XP sounds great! With CD-quality audio at just 64 Kbps, half the bit rate required for comparable sound quality using MP3, you can store more music on your PC or portable music device and burn CDs that sound better than ever." WIndows media player also plays music videos. The version 7 series - which comes with a totally overhauled interface - finally supports the embedded playback of media in Web pages, as well as digital rights management (DRM) functionality, and sports a reasonable amount of stability.
Available for Macintosh, Windows
"MacAmp is a superb MP3 player that does something most other MP3 players for the Mac don't do: it plays streaming MP3s from the thousands of SHOUTcast and Icecast servers around the Internet, and it allows you to record these streams as well. (It also plays the MP3s you already have.) A very nice hierarchical tracker makes it easy to find programming that you'll enjoy. Don't overlook the Entheogen application that comes with the package; run it after you find a station you like, sit back, and enjoy the (trippy) show. See the AMP Radio home page for more information."
Macintosh only
A very nice, compact and flexible sound playing tool that works well with all web browsers, and supports just about every sound format imaginable, including (for PowerMacs only, as of version 2.3) MP3s; as a matter of fact, it's one of the most efficient, reliable MP3 players available. Version 2.7.3 fixes some bugs and brings back both 680x0 and PPC versions.
Macintosh only
"Make FREE calls up to five minutes from your computer to any phone within the US, and international calls for as low as 3.9˘ a minute. Upgrade to the latest version and save! "
Available for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 or later.
Find out what plug-ins you have installed. Email me your results. On Netscape there is a list (use help to find it). For Explorer, go to C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\PLUGINS\ and look at the .dll files for a list of installed plug-ins.
When you have completed and emailed these assignments, please take the quiz and then go on to Unit III.