dBpoweramp for music file format conversion

I had a problem. Years ago, I bought Microsoft’s now-discontinued Digital Media Plus Pack for converting my LP records into digital files. Because it’s a Microsoft product from back in the day when Microsoft was gung-ho about Windows Media, it only rips to Windows Media Audio. And of course, it’s Windows only. (Other than that, it’s a great tool–very easy to use, never messes up line leveling, and has a good algorithm for removing pops and scratches.)

Back when I used iTunes and my iPod exclusively, I’d simply rip the album into WMA, then import the folder from MyMusic into iTunes. It would ask me if I wanted to convert to AAC (the default–it can also convert to MP3), I’d accept, then delete the WMAs so as not to clutter my hard drive with duplicates.

dBpoweramp lets you convert just about any audio file format to any other.

(Credit: Screenshot)

But since 2006, I’ve been using a Zune (review unit) as my primary music player. Zune plays both AAC and WMA files, and it automatically reads your iTunes library. I got lazy and stopped converting my vinyl from WMA to AAC.

Now I’ve got a Shuffle. And a library full of WMA files that it can’t play. Of course, I could do what I used to do–import the folders from My Music into iTunes, convert to AAC, then delete the originals. But what if I want to convert those WMAs into MP3s to make sure they can play on any device with any software app? OK, I guess I could change the default on iTunes. But what happens when you add a bunch of downloaded FLAC files into the mix? Or Ogg files? What about converting AAC back to WMA–I can’t see any reason why I’d want to do that today, but who knows where Microsoft and Apple are heading with their file format support?

I needed to future-proof my music collection, while still maintaining the best quality-to-size ratio possible. (MP3 is one of the lossiest formats.)

dBpoweramp Music Converter is the solution. $18 for the regular edition. (The $28 reference edition has features for professionals and more serious amateurs.) You can download just about any imaginable codec from the associated Web site. By default it performs file conversion within the same folder as the original files, so you can easily keep track of what’s where. (Not like iTunes, which moves every converted file into the iTunes library by default.) Or, if you want to export directly to an iTunes folder, it can do that. It even adds a feature to the Windows Explorer so when you hover over a file, it’ll display full ID3 tag information for that file–useful for changing mysterious file names to match song titles.

Highly recommended.

dBpoweramp shows ID3 tags within Windows Explorer. So you can find out the real title of that Track 4.WMA file you've been carrying around..

(Credit: Screenshot)

Source: www.download.com

Killer Download: My must-have free downloads

(Credit: CNET Networks)

I download and review a lot of great software, but obviously I don’t keep everything. Some programs don’t make the cut simply because I have a better option on my computer already or I have no use for them at work. But other applications I’ve downloaded have withstood the test of time and remain useful on a day-to-day basis. I’m talking about my must-have applications.

I’ve already given you my Big Three free security applications which should be the first programs you download when setting up a computer. Clearly if you haven’t downloaded software to cover each of those security areas, you should do so right away. But today’s post is about the applications I can’t live without–the ones I download after I feel like my computer is reasonably secure.

Today’s programs are the workhorses behind the scenes in my everyday work life. One is a text editor that’s perfect for quick word processing and looking through HTML code. Another is a multipurpose screenshot and image editor that’s great for most basic graphics needs. The last is a Firefox extension which is great for a pro downloader like me, but I think it will be useful for you as well. The best thing about all three of these applications is that they’re completely free.

Syntax coloring makes working with confusing code much easier.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

NotePad++ is a HTML and text editor with several excellent features for writing HTML code, but is also perfect for jotting down or pasting text you’re going to use later. I really like the tabbed interface because NotePad++ automatically saves every tab until you close it–even when you quit the program. This makes getting back to a project the following work day extremely easy. When dealing with HTML code for Web pages or newsletters for Download.com, NotePad++ offers syntax coloring so sifting through code (something I would rather not do) becomes a lot easier.

Windows Explorer navigation on the left and thumbs on the right help you find the right image.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

FastStone Image Viewer is a solid free image-editing application that’s great for resizing, cropping, and converting images to different formats. An intuitive interface makes it easy to browse through folders of images using thumbnails, so getting the image you want is a snap. If your chosen image needs some editing, simply double-click the image to go full-screen and move your mouse to the sides of the screen to bring up pop-up toolbars for quick editing, cropping, resizing, and image conversion tools. I use this one often for editing and resizing screenshots for software (including the shots you see in this post). This one is so useful, you won’t believe it’s free.

Downloads show up as blue boxes across the bottom of your Firefox browser.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Download StatusBar is a Mozilla Firefox extension (apologies to non-Firefox users) which adds a bar to the bottom of your browser to let you know the progress of downloads. Mousing over a download pops up a window showing the download link, where on your hard drive the file is going, the file size, how much time is left, and the speed of the download. Once the download is finished, you can double-click the box to begin installing the file without leaving Firefox. A right-click lets you choose options like getting the source URL and the containing folder. Frankly, if you’re a downloader (and I hope you are) this Firefox extension is a must-have.

Not everyone uses the same kind of software in their profession so my workhorses might be different from yours. If you have use for any of these types of programs, I suggest you give my favorites a try. If you have other free applications that are worthy of everyday downloaders, let us know in the comments! What are your must-have applications?

Source: www.download.com

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