0 9 0 0 The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc 40 - The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazine - Thursday, April 15, 1999 Record houses beware: MP3s catching on, becoming norm Top 10 Albums (The nation's top-selling albums for the week) By Matt Lurie Daily Arts Writer Some supporters of MP3 say the tech= nology will revolutionize the way we lis- ten to, buy, and create music. Naysayers say the recording industry is too strong and powerful to let a measly file-com- pression technology hurt it. Both, though, are in agreement on one thing: MP3 is RICHARDSON'S O P T I C A L Student discounts on eye exams and eyeglasses Great Brands Polo TommyHilfiger Calvin Klein here to stay and its use can only get big- ger. So, what is MP3? MP3 is a file compression technology that can take a CD-quality sound file and compress it to 1/11 of its original size with no noticeable difference in quality. Wav files, the most basic audio files, are notoriously large when obtained at CD- quality, making it impossible to reason- ably store, send, or manipulate more than 10 tol5 typical songs on one's com- puter. By compressing the size so greatly, MP3 allows users CD-quality sound files without having to take up unruly amounts of hard drive space. On the Internet, millions of people are putting up MP3s on Web and ftp sites as we speak. One quick search on Lycos's MP3 search (wwwlycos.mp3.com) yields several possible sites to download the Beastie Boys' entire latest release "Hello Nasty." While not every artist has the promi- nence of the Beasties, it is safe to assume that if any artist's single has made it into the Billboard Top 200 in the past 20 years, you will be able to find it somewhere in MP3. They are all free. Around the University, one of the most common places to find users of MP3s is in the dorms. With Ethernet providing extremely fast connections to the Internet, .akes less than a minute for dorm users to download the one to three megabytes of space that an MP3 requires. Each dorm has its own network, which provides a way for all Windows users in the respective dorms to connect to each other. Allowing your computer to be con- nected to, or "shared," is a voluntary process. In South Quad, for example, close to 60 people currently share files from their computers. Countless others who choose not to share their computers can still use the network resources to get software, watch movies, play games and most commonly, listen to MP3s. So, is this a revolution? The implication of MP3 technology is staggering. Never before has it been so painless to obtain music, let alone CD- quality music. While previous changes of the guard in music technology (records to tapes, tapes to CDs, later minidiscs or DATs) have always had bumpy starts, the C~ourtesy of Chevrolet The new Chevrolet Silverado replaces the aging C/K, but unfortunately looks suspiciously like its predecessor. CHEVROLET SILVERADO: 1500 LT Courtesy of Capitol Records The Beastle Boys is a band that has done well in the MP3 world. Their latest album, "Hello Nasty" is all over the Internet waiting to be downloaded. PLUSH POWER sole difference in MP3 technology is that there is no physical object involved, such as a tape or CD. All that is needed is a computer and an Internet connection. Some believe this is a death knell for the recording industry and a liberating return to an appreciation of the music itself. For if an artist has the wherewithal to make their own recording and then simply put it into MP3, the Internet allows anyone from around the world to down- load the file. There are numerous web sites helping out with this task. The site wwwimp3 .com is probably the most pres- tigious and well-known of these sites. For no fee they allow a band to send in a pic- ture, a description, links to the band's webpage, occasionally a link to buy their CD, and, of course, the MP3s the band has made. The beauty of the Internet, as many would agree, lies in its democracy. LSA sophomore Jeremiah Sim has put up MP3s of his band, Ego Trip, on the South Quad network. In one sense, "I put a lot of time into those songs and so I don't want Jo see them just rot;' Sim said. "It's also nice to have another (digital) copy of the music and it's convenient for me. Besides, this can't hurt anybody." Others on the campus will use it to find international artists who are not readily available here in the states. Simon Yeh, an ITD employee, gets MP3s of his favorite Chinese songs through Metacrawler, another search engine. The entire point of signing to a 1zbel for many bands is the opportunity for more exposure. While more money certainly will get you more advertising, it is just as easy for some 14-year-olds out of Mom's basement to set up a fancy Webpage with their MP3s as it is for a record company representative. LSA first-year student Nate Forster said he finds the MP3 phenomenon use- ful for more than just its democracy. He uses them for previews of albums he might later buy on CD, because the Real Audio examples most online stores pro- vide are of poor quality and short. In addi- tion, it was through MP3s that he discov- ered one of his now favorite bands, Depeche Mode. "I found (Depeche Mode's) 'Violator' See MP3, Page 12B Trucks don't interest me. I don't have anything to tow or any wood to haul, most of my road trip cargo fits nicely in the trunk of a Jetta, and I like tight steer- ing and more horsepower than torque. But, there's finally a truck available in the American car market that's pretty good at appealing to the car-lover. Chevrolet's Silverado, formerly known as the C/K, is surprisingly car-like with all the appointments of a fire-breathing pickup. This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to beautiful Iowa with the newly improved Silverado. Iowa is full of long stretches of two-lane highways that lead to other long stretch- es of two-lane highways. Each highway starts off a quick turn, then there's just flat, straight road for miles until the next sharp turn, : then more of the same.} Imagine a wall covered with knot- ted, latticed Charleston Chews - you have your- self a map of Iowa'sf roadways. The Silverado's biggest REILLY improvement is its BRENNAN on-road prowess, so 1,600 miles of highway driving was a good environ- ment for some testing. The best thing about the new Silverado might be the interior. It's big- ger than the older C/K model, and there's a gigantic collaboration of stuff going on in between the two front seats. A huge center console, big cupholders, and two ample armrests make the front passen- gers feel like they're in different environ- ments. In fact, my passenger had a hard time hearing me speak during the trip. My test model was the ultra-luxurious LT trim with the optional Z71 off-road package, which comes shod with plush leather 4-way adjustable seats with elec- tronic lumbar support and two-stage butt warmers, cassette and CD player, the 5.3 liter 16-valve V8, and power everything. Of note should be the 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS standard on every Silverado. A ride in a truck will never be exactly like a car,, and we did get bounced around a bit on the road. However, the ride is softer, and when the bumps are transferred through thick leather seats, they affect you less. Step-in height was lowered an inch for the new Silverado, which makes the experience less big-rig like, but ground clearance is a decent 8.5 inches. Somewhere before our Silverado's final assembly in Pontiac, Mich., the passenger side weather-stripping was overlooked. It was there, but poorly attached and producing a loud howling sound nears the top of the window. Noise was actually reduced by opening the window at 90 mph. This is one of those sounds that isn't noticeable on a quick test drive at the dealership, but cer- tainly a thorn in your side for a long road trip. While I do not normally have any- thing to tow, I did indeed thisweekend. Iowa isn't exactly a hot destination unless you're there to pick someone or something up, after all. I picked up a gigantic, 2,500 lb. trailer for a vintage racecar. The length of this beast was about one-and-a-half times a Silverado, and probably a foot wider on each side. This red behemoth proved a weak challenger for the Silverado's big 5,300 V-8 with toe/haul package, which tops out towing capacity at 8,000 lbs. in the 4x4 model. The toe/haul feature is a but- ton on the end of the shifter. When enacted, it allows towing in overdrive and also makes for smoother shifts and acceleration if you've got a heavy load behind you. I couldn't really notice the difference on shifting, but the ability to drive easily in overdrive is nice for the long haul. The 4x4 package is quite nice to shift on the fly when conditions can change on the road. There are four settings -2- wheel drive, auto 4-wheel drive, 4-low, and 4-high (the latter two are not shift- on-the-fly, and require stopping the car and putting the transmission into neu- tral). Normal driving is rear-wheel (2- wheel), and the auto 4-wheel drive is for 1500 LT / Base Price: $30,939 / Price as Tested: $32,413 / Et e: 16valve 5.3 liter V-8 / Power: 270 hp @ 5000 rpm / Performance: 0-60 in 8.8 sec. / torque: 315 @ 4000 rpm variable road conditions like snow or rain. We came across some serious wind and rainstorms on I-80 on Friday, and it was nice to know 4-wheel drive would kick in if we got into trouble. I've been scratching my head since the new Silverado launched as to why they didn't change the styling that much. The exterior is a bit more rounded, but essentially it's the same boxy design as the old C/K. However, it seems to fit right in between the monster Dodge Ram and the soft Ford F-I5O. Chevy reports that their customers wanted it that way, but when you redesign a big selling unit like this only every 10 years, why only go halfway? Can you imagine this same model competing against the F-150 and Ram when they're redesigned in a few years? My roommates were shocked when I told them the sticker price for this thing: More than $32,000. I can't imagine choosing this over a German sedan for the same price, but I guess if you've got the need to tow and haul a bunch of stuff, it's nice to do it in style. Then again, if that were the case I'd wait around for the Lincoln Blackwood for a few more bucks and have the best of both worlds. - I hope you've enjoyed reading this column all semester Most people will agree that cars and trucks are far too interesting to be ignored, and I'm thankful Ihad the chance to be the man to delfver the information to you. I won't be back next semester in this space, but you'll see my fat head and wide tie pop up in car magazines in the coming years. Thanks for reading. You can reach me at brennanr@umich.edu. 1. Britney Spears, . ... Bab More Time" 2. TLC, "Fan Mail" 3. Eminem, "The Slim Sha 4. Andrea Bocelli, "Sogno 5. The Offspring, "America 6. Shania Twain, "Come or Over" 7. Various Artists, "Family Val Tour" 8. Lauryn Hill, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hi 9. 'N Sync, "'N Sync" 10. Dixie Chicks, "Wide 01 Spaces" Source: Bilb Top 10 Books (The week's best-selling hardcover 1. "Bittersweet," Danielle 2. "The Testament," John G 3. "Vittorio the Vampire," A 4. "Tara Road," Maeve Bin 5. "River's End," Nora Rob 6. "Ashes to Ashes," Tami1 7. "Single & Single," John 8. "Abide With Me," E. Lyn 9. "Hush Money," Robert E 10. "The Poisonwood Bible Wha lppn. "awot';Cet: Ri A fal SDonna, Who a dislilsetht lrtheater... o ers th at moraey can sove all physical fght and +end p En t lover;; but decides to et herg an then ut ealies that try impotence -'and tha' S a "IFiendsP achel gets a and picks up a sm ing *embarks on a rnew ;career dato over a surrise ib! "5R": Mark and Moafag~ *ekees, Caroil s rea~tl a soccer player.Heis, Ede 'theSlpw ns:Hoer becoJ *an adoring, if sghtiy anoreXic *trash mnged-byrage turned o f his repeitive work.,fIn rep oreative expession. "T'ihe X lies":Moose and Sqt walls and turn anytifng he wa able foront.Saeis All Mc f a': (R)Rnebe attempts to defend her poor yoruca-et sread at Od(o actuire the rght to vote ati happens unessl mIft:an Pfrablyin ether Fli ity"t: () Noel's ex-gir mrer [guy who-can doanwon (tihe e is for artistic aldity the dady ' The Michigan Daily Finance De artment is hiring for Fall/ inter 1999-2000. -Gain valuable experience -Work ten hours a week -Fun working environment Please call Debbie or Courtney at 763-3246 for more information, or stop by 420 Maynard to pick up an application.