Archive for the ‘saving’ tag
WMA or MP3 Formats: HELP!
WMA as opposed to MP3 formats. Really, this depends on the individual a lot believe it or not. Not too long ago I was trying to figure out the difference myself and I just couldn’t come up with any clear answers. I mean really, the format is the difference, but what does that mean exactly?
Windows Media Audio (hereafter known as WMAs) is the Microsoft proprietary software for recording and handling audio files. All the dings and whistles that come with Windows to alert you to things are WMAs. These audio files are pretty large, but boast a higher bitrate- or the amount of bits per given time that the program will run. Microsoft claims that these files are more accurate than MP3s and better quality. We’ll talk about that in a bit.
MP3, MPEG3 or Moving Pictures Experts Group-Layer 3 all describe the audio format we all use in our MP3 players. The biggest advantage that MP3 has over WMA at this point has got to be in the file size. MP3 formatting of a recorded piece involves the elimination of the bits that the human ear cannot hear anyway. This can greatly reduce the file size, though Microsoft claims this degrades the quality.
The difference in quality between WMAs and MP3s is miniscule, even at the same bitrate, but still it can be noticeable by some. Of course a bad audio track will sound bad in both, but be more noticeable in MP3 format. WMAs win for that sort of versatility.
MP3s are smaller files and have slowly become the standard over time, so that is something that definitely works in the MP3′s advantage. WMAs are still mostly used on computers, where bitrate and to an extent, size is not as much of an issue as a personal player. So on a player it’s advantage MP3 for storage capacity saved. On computer it’s WMA for versatility and performance.
As to whether your MP3 player will play a WMA, the answer is “most likely yes.” There’s no reason why most will not. The thing to consider is if you want a lot of WMAs and MP3s on the same device, it won’t hurt anything, but things can get kind of weird. It’s a personal choice really. Hard drive space has increased a lot since the first generation of MP3 players were marketed, so space isn’t an issue anymore, but still, sticking to one format is a good idea.
Converting from WMA to MP3 format is not a bad thing and can be done on nearly any home computer. The problem is getting a good conversion rate and speed. This process can take awhile. Converting from MP3 to WMA takes a little less time, but unless you have a WMA specific project, it’s kind of a silly thing to do. The more you convert any file, the more quality you lose. Like making a copy of a copy of a copy and so on.
So overall in the war between WMA and MP3 format we’d have to go with MP3 for size and not much of a drop-off in sound quality. However for musical projects WMA seems to be the preference as the range of audio frequency is higher. I think like most other formats, each serves a purpose, but unless you’re a musician, serious music lover or have the ears of a canine, MP3 will serve you just fine.
Zeeman Haus enjoys writing articles online on a variety of subjects. You can check out his latest website on Touch Screen Mp3 Players which provides top deals on touch screen MP3 players From Creative Labs, Coby, Visual Land and more.
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Entertainer or Financial Guru
“… You choose”
I hit the search button in my car a few days ago and stopped at “The Dave Ramsey Show”.
This is what the caller had to say:
“I own two houses in Florida, one worth $350,000 the other $250,000. Both are paid for.”
“I have a transmission shop that is worth $400,000 but I still owe $70,000 on it.”
“I own our current home which is worth $350,000 and owe $120,000 on it.
“My wife works and brings home $90,000 after taxes and I work at my shop but have not been able to bring home any salary due to the economic downturn for the past 6 months.”
“I owe $90,000 on credit cards trying to float expenses at the shop due to the downturn.”
“My wife does not want to sell either of our properties in Florida because we would lose over 45% by the time we pay listing and seller fees.”
“What is there, that we can do?”
After ranting and raving about the wife being unrealistic in a crisis situation, Dave advised this poor fellow to sell one of his homes in Florida and get out of debt! This advice is tragic for various reasons. Here are just a few:
By mocking the wife, it assumes this fellow values money over her advice and concern.
It assumes he can sell his property(s) in a very depressed market.
It assumes that by simply paying off his debt he will not continue to incur more debt in his business.
It assumes the financial crisis is over.
It goes against common sense by assuming that getting out of debt produces financial freedom.
But let us only examine the facts:
If it were possible for this fellow to sell his house for 55% of what he has into it then he will be the receiver of $190,000 from the home that was worth $350,000, and less than that on the home that was worth $250,000 ($137,000.) This money will be enough to pay off his current debt and leave him with $47,500. If he has to continue spending money at the rate which he has in his business, this extra money will only last him about 3 months. Then he would find himself right back where he was, only this time he would be worse off, because he would have no equity to liquidate so that he could “bail himself out.” Strike one Dave!
Secondly, to be debt free is just an allusion in society as we know it today. I only know a few debt free individuals and those are the people holding signs at intersections or parking lot corners. In our society you cannot be debt free unless you own nothing. Whenever you own something you face taxes, services fees, utilities etc. So guess what? This means that to live you have to have debt. Strike two Dave. Nobody wants to be a homeless beggar.
Thirdly, Dave this caller obviously has some financial acumen and you ignored this fact. Just consider all his entrepreneurial undertakings. This hack attack was absolutely unnecessary and totally of base. You employed the attorneys old trick, if you cannot find fault with the deed attack the person behind the deed. So, strike three Dave, you are out!
Now this fellow has actually made some very sound financial decisions as is evident by his business acumen and asset accumulation. And I would imagine that his wife was not just standing by as an onlooker at that time. To mock and insult her is totally assign. But what should you expect? If you call an entertainer for financial advice you will get exactly what you called for, entertainment correct?
So besides prolonging his bankruptcy by selling his personal property what is out there that could help this caller?
Well, let us start with a true but little known fact. Real estate equity has no rate of return associated with it! The wealthy have realized this for centuries and acted accordingly. And that is why the Infinite Banking Concept can become increasingly beneficial to you. By Becoming Your Own Banker you can keep your money in a very liquid and secure place, still use the asset(s) which your money purchased (or purchases) but not be penalized for using your money which made the purchase in the first place. Fact is if you use the money for financing current needs and capital ventures…you will end up with even more money and assets with only one little caveat…you will not have to work any harder or longer to make that extra money because your money will be working instead.
So even though Ramsey rants and raves against it, participating whole life insurance is powerful tool available for anybody who is spending money today. Do not be fooled by the entertaining gurus who tell you otherwise. Who pays those entertainers? Bingo! It is the ones who are currently making money off you by using your money instead of you getting to use your own money to make money for you.
Tomas McFie is a professional financial coach and is nationaly known for helping people recover the money they currentley spend. Don’t Make another payment until you have watched his Infinite Banking Video Then Contact him he can help you
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Discount Auto Insurance-Agents Can Help
Discount auto insurance is relative to the amount you are willing to pay for a certain amount of coverage. Many people do not understand that by purchasing the lowest policy you aren’t always protecting yourself right.
People should look more at the coverage’s that are available and what is charged for those coverage’s. The easiest way to do this is to talk with an agent. They will be able to give you different price break downs at different levels of coverage.
When dealing with agents you should know that there are two types. Independent agents, who can provide policies for multiple companies. Or captive agents who only provide policy for one company. An Allstate agent would be an example of a captive agent. Both have there advantages and disadvantages.
Once you decide to speak with an agent always ask what auto insurance discounts are available to you. If you weren’t aware most agents work on a commission basis, so they might not always add on all the discounts that are available if you don’t ask. Once they add the discounts for you be sure to ask if there are any additional discount you could get.
One other way to get cheaper car insurance is to increase your collision deductible. The standard most people have is a $500 deductible but if you increase it to $750 or $1000 you will probably save $100 if not more. Your comprehensive deductible isn’t worth changing since it makes up such a small percentage of your policy premium.
Comparison shopping between companies is another great way to save money. Like the rates that vary between coverages they also vary between companies. Each company has there own rating system, some offer discount to have higher limit some for lower limit. Each company tries to market to a small niche of the insurance buying public. The rates could vary greatly between companies.
On TV you are bombarded with insurance commercials stating they will save you hundreds of dollars. This makes it confusing to try to figure which insurance organization has the best insurance rates. All the insurance corporations have good rates for the market they are trying to insure. It’s your responsibility to try figure out if you fall into there preferred market so you get the best price.
It has become very simple to go online to compare insurance prices. You need to be careful though because some of the insurance corporations are having your state minimum coverage limits set as the defaults in there quote forms online. Make sure that before you purchase the policy you can speak with representative from the company providing the rates to discuss your options. Then you can use some of the tips from this article.
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