Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

music and video players, digital 327had paid for any online video content. This may graduallychange, particularly as more users move from basicbroadband connections to enhanced, higher-speed ones(see broadband). Already video sales through iTunes andAmazon’s new Unbox (and smaller services) are expectedby Forrester Research to generate $279 million in revenuefor 2007. However, some analysts believe that the businessmodel for selling video will soon shift to something morelike that of premium cable channels, with streaming videoavailable by subscription.Further ReadingArnie Street. Available online. URL: http://amiestreet.com/.Accessed October 3, 2007.Bove, Tony, and Cheryl Rhodes. iPod & iTunes for Dummies. 5thed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2007.eListeningPost. Available online. URL: http://elisteningpost.com/.Accessed October 3, 2007.iTunes. Available online. URL: http://www.apple.com/itunes/store.Accessed October 3, 2007.Madden, Mary. “Artists, Musicians, and the Internet.” Pew Internet& American Life Project, December 5, 2004. Availableonline. URL: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Artists.Musicians_Report.pdf. Accessed October 3, 2007.———. “Online Video.” Pew Internet & American Life Project,July 25, 2007. Available online. URL: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Online_Video_2007.pdf.Accessed October3, 2007Madden, Mary, and Lee Rainie. “Music and Video DownloadingMoves beyond P2P.” Pew Internet & American Life Project,March 2005. Available online. URL: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Filesharing_March05.pdf. Accessed October 3,2007.Muchmore, Michael. “New Ways to Get Music.” ExtremeTech.,December 10, 2006. Available online. URL: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2070636,00.asp. AccessedOctober 3, 2007.Rhapsody. Available online. URL: http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html. Accessed October 3, 2007.• creates a music library that can be searched or reorganized• can create playlists and queues and can play backsongs in order, shuffled (randomized), or according toother preferences• can obtain additional information about media(tracks, albums, and so on) onlinePortable PlayersFirst unveiled in 2001, the Apple iPod is the best-sellingexample of a portable media player (often called a “digitalaudio player”). Its compact, stylish design and simple userinterface quickly caught on, even though the first model wasonly compatible with the Macintosh and it used Apple’s AACformat rather than MP3. Later iPods added capacity, largerscreens, and features (such as being able to play video), whileApple also offered the inexpensive iPod Shuffle. A competitoris the Microsoft Zune player and music store, which, however,as of mid-2007 had made little headway against marketleader Apple. A third well-reviewed choice is the CreativeLabs Zen series. A variety of other portable players are available.Higher capacity units use tiny hard drives (up to 160 GBcapacity or so), while smaller capacity models use flash memory(2–32 GB) instead. A variety of other handheld devicescan play music and video (see PDA and smartphone).With the ubiquitous use of iPods and other players,particularly by young people, some health and safety concernshave been raised. If played too loudly for long periodsof time through headphones or earbuds, the devices maycause hearing damage. Drivers and pedestrians may also bemusic and video players, digitalOne characteristic of the rapidly evolving digital worldis the ability to play a variety of media (music, photos,video) on many devices, ranging from desktop PCs to smartphones and, of course, iPods and MP3 players (see digitalconvergence). The ability to organize and play mediarequires suitable software and hardware.On desktop and laptop PCs, media-playing software isavailable for all operating systems. Examples include WindowsMedia Player, Apple iTunes, and RealPlayer (whichalso has a Linux version). This software typically includesthese features:• plays most types of media files (see graphics formatsand sound file formats)• plays content on CD/DVD, files on the hard drive, orcontent being received directly from the Internet (seeCD-Rom and DVD-ROM; music and video distribution,online; and streaming)• controls are modeled on those found on DVD players,with customizable appearanceThe Apple iPod is the most popular portable digital media player,featuring a simple, effective interface and the ability to play musicand show video. (Apple Corporation)