MP3 Insider

There's an entire hardware industry built of products that ease the pain of recording audio to a basic home computer. But the truth is, you really don't need things like USB turntables, USB cassette decks, or USB microphones in order to make decent digital audio recordings.

A willingness to experiment and $15 PC microphone or $3 minijack cable should be enough to get you up and running with computer audio recording. The trouble is, most people just don't know where to begin. I can't promise that he following How To video and slideshow will turn your computer into a full-fledged, multitrack digital recording studio, but at least it'll demystify a few things and get you pointed in the right direction.

How to record audio onto a computer

What, only Koreans need sexy voice recorders?

(Credit: Samsung)

Looking more like a remote control for the Batmobile than a voice recorder, the aluminum-clad Samsung YP-VX1 is way too sexy to record your memoir, much less a grocery list.

Announced today along with a handful of other Samsung portable audio gadgets we may never see in the U.S., the details surrounding VX1 are pretty scarce. There's no word on pricing or capacity, but this little beauty does offer MP3 playback with ID3 support, along with Samsung's DNSe sound enhancement technology.

But if you're feeling strangely compelled to buy a dedicated voice recorder, don't get your hopes up for this one. Both GenerationMP3 and PMP Today have stated their doubts that the VX1 will ever see the light outside of Korea. Hey, there's always the Sony PCM-M10.

When it comes to camcorders, I won't be abandoning my Flip anytime soon. But that doesn't make the iPod Nano any less attractive. The more camera-having gadgets, the merrier.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

The official CNET review of the fifth-generation iPod Nano is done, and I am officially exhausted. Someone please tell Apple to stop adding features to this thing. Remember when all an MP3 player to do was play music? CNET's first iPod review was only 600 words long. These days, you practically have to write a textbook to cover all the features that get crammed into a device like the iPod Nano.

An extra 0.2-inch really does make a noticeable difference when you're dealing with screens this small.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

Writer's exhaustion aside, the fifth-generation Nano is a fantastic little gadget that's one of the easiest-to-recommend stocking stuffers out there. The thing comes in a ton of colors, works with iTunes, helps you lose weight (pedometer), and might even get you to record the world's next completely unnecessary viral YouTube sensation. Sure, the earbuds are still garbage, but Sony seems to be the only manufacturer fighting that battle.

To prevent from boring you to tears, one area of the iPod Nano's performance I didn't go into exhaustive detail over is the video camera's image quality. If you're curious, I ran a few of tests over the weekend, shooting indoors and outdoors, and A/B testing the Nano against the Flip UltraHD. Aside from the obvious image quality differences, I also found problems with the Nano's tilt-sensor getting tripped-up on the camera's orientation and capturing videos sideways. ... Read more

Update: CNET's official review of the Apple iPod Nano (fifth-generation) is now available.

I'm holding Apple's fifth-generation iPod Nano, and it's feeling like deja vu. Here we are again with an 8GB and 16GB iPod Nano that bear the exact same shape and dimensions as last year's models, priced at $149 and a slightly more wallet-friendly $179, respectively. Sure, the aluminum is a little glossier, and the screen now stretches out to 2.2 inches (up from 2 inches), but most people would really need to have an Apple fanboy's eagle-eye to discern last year's model from today's.

But don't let looks fool you. Under the hood, Apple really juiced the fifth-gen iPod Nano up with a ton of tricks that serve to make the Nano better. I'm not convinced all of the Nano's new features were executed perfectly, but at least nothing about the fifth-gen Nano is a step backwards for Apple (unlike the third-gen Nano's awkward shape, or the button-less iPod Shuffle). For the sake of mentioning it, just know that everything found in last year's model is here as well, located in exactly the same place, with the same font, same everything. Music, photos, videos, podcasts, battery life, sound quality...same, same, same. Well, technically, rated battery life is up a little for video playback, clocking in a 5 hours instead of 4.

iPod Nano oddity No. 1: I can record video, but I can't snap a photo no matter how hard Antuan poses.

(Credit: CNET)

So what's new? Well, for starters, the iPod Nano now has a video camera. On the back of the Nano there's an eensy-teensy fixed-lens camera that runs flush with the body, capable of capturing 640x480 standard definition video at 30 frames per second. Files are recorded as iTunes-friendly .MP4 videos with h.264 formatted video with AAC audio. Video quality looks, well...decent. We'll have a better sense after more testing, but I think it's safe to say that it won't be crushing the Flip Mino HD anytime soon.

Part of the problem isn't so much the camera technology as it is the placement of the camera--located right behind the clickwheel where you can't help but rub your nasty hands across the lens each time you pick it up. After just a few minutes out of the box, video recordings became increasingly cloudy with screen grime.

Maybe I'm just filthy, but I have to think Apple would have done better to move the lens closer to the top and out of harm's ways.

On this week's episode, Donald and Jasmine discuss at length whether brick-and-mortar record shops are worth saving...or at least, Donald does, while Jasmine wonders whether he will ever get sick of talking about it. Also, Jasmine expounds upon the virtues of subscription music, or more specifically, Rhapsody. Plus, find out the deets on an excellent audiobook player for the visual impaired and the latest blah MP3 player to come out of Philips' warehouse.

(Credit: Thomas Perry)

By now you've read what I love about record stores, and what I could live without. In this third--and final--installment, I'm going to throw out some ideas for how to bring record shops into the 21st century. If record stores are to survive, what's the way forward? I'm sure these mom and pop shops are asking this question every day, so if you have any ideas beyond what I've outlined below, let's hear 'em.

I may be a romantic, but I still believe that in spite of our access to music downloads, fans need a physical space to explore and consume music, and to mingle with their peers. But to work, the High Fidelity throwbacks need to evolve.

The trick is to leverage digital music to give customers the best of both worlds, and to do it without losing what makes your store unique. If I could sit down with my old boss and give him some advice, here's what I'd offer:... Read more

A Virgin Records store closes in San Francisco. It's fitting that an Apple store is across the street.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)

Last week, I offered five reasons record stores are worth saving from extinction. As someone who's spent plenty of time on both sides of the music retail counter, I believe that the world still needs record stores; however, I also have a laundry list of record-store failures.

Many record stores are going out of business for perfectly good reasons that have little to do with iTunes or Amazon. In general, the brick-and-mortar music retail experience is antique and frustrating, and when it's bad, it's enough to make you swear off record shops for good. Consider my complaints below, and then click over to part three to learn what strategies record stores could take to stay relevant and vital.... Read more

Encore Records, Ann Arbor, MI.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)

Last Saturday, independent music retailers organized a national Record Store Day, complete with in-store freebies and exclusive releases from dozens of bands who want to see these business survive. As someone who spent two of the best years of my youth working at an independent record store, I have a nostalgic attachment to these mom-and-pop shops.

I don't know if I was motivated more by sentimentality or pity, but I felt an obligation to honor the spirit of the day and visit my local music store. The shop was ripped right out of "High Fidelity," and contained all the requisite elements for an indy music store: aloof, yet knowledgeable staff; equal ratios of vinyl and CDs; postered walls; a selection of local music; and a lazy pet cat. But nostalgia aside, I couldn't shake the reality that stores like this can't last much longer.... Read more

Click for a slide show of the Apple In-Ear headphones w/ microphone.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)

I've only been listening for a few minutes, but so far, it looks like Apple has delivered a worthwhile pair of headphones. They don't quite have the crisp, high frequency detail of the Etymotic HF2 headphones I had at my desk, but they blow away Apple's stock earbuds (not too difficult a feat) with a buttery low end and pleasant mids and highs.

We're happy to see that the headphones work just fine with the iPhone, despite the fact that Apple's online store doesn't advertise the product as iPhone-compatible. More specifically, we found that the headphones and microphone are compatible with the iPhone 3G (we'll have to dig up a first-gen model), but the clicker and volume controls don't seem to cooperate.

(Update: On the iPhone 3G and first-generation iPhone, the headphone clicker seems to work fine for playing, pausing, and skipping tracks, as well as answering/ending calls, however, the headphone volume control clicker is unresponsive. For the first-gen iPod Touch, the headphone's clicker, mic, and volume controls are useless, but the headphones themselves work just fine. The Apple iPhone 3GS is capable of supporting both the remote clicker and volume controls.)

We'll update this post after more testing and have our full review up by the end of the day. In the meantime, check out our Apple In-Ear Headphone photo gallery.