Media.io Gets .3ga Support, Other Updates
Last Updated on Sunday, 29 April 2012 11:32 Written by Alan Sunday, 29 April 2012 11:32
One of our favorite web apps, and one of best ways to convert music files, is Media.io. Today the author announced several updates, including support for .3ga files. .3ga files are a modern music file type for mobile devices, frequently used with Android handsets. It’s an audio-only variation on the 3gp format.
Along with conversion support for .3ga to mp3, Media.io also added support for a Japanese language version of the service and a few other improvements and bug fixes.
- Usability improvements. While the jQuery Impromptu plugin is awesome for what it does, putting the amount of information in an overlay that media.io did had one or two usability problems.
- Support for Internet Explorer’s partial downloads. media.io now correctly supports Internet Explorer’s partially downloaded files – files that look like
foo.mp3.d1234567.partial. Support for DownThemAll partial downloads will also be implemented. - The “Start over” feature never actually worked. “Start over” has now been implemented in a different way that is guaranteed to work.
Google Music Now Has a Labs
Last Updated on Monday, 9 April 2012 10:04 Written by Alan Tuesday, 10 April 2012 07:00
Those familiar with Google are likely also familiar with their “Labs” which feature beta add-ons that they may or may not ever make a part of the programs. As Google themselves put it, ”Google Play music labs are a testing ground for experimental features that aren’t quite ready for primetime. They may change, break, or disappear at any time.”
At the moment there are only three add-ons available – HTML5 Audio, 5 Star Ratings, and Desktop Notifications (requires Chrome). The HTML5 Audio “works in all browsers that support MP3 playback with HTML5 audio: Chrome, Safari 3.1+, and IE 9+”. The “Desktop Notifications” will display title, artist, and cover art whenever a new song begins playing.
If you aren’t yet using Google Music you get it for free (with online storage of up to 20,000 songs) by visiting music.google.com. You can visit the new Labs to get the add-ons.
Antenna Finds and Records Internet Radio Streams in Windows
Last Updated on Friday, 9 March 2012 11:26 Written by Alan Sunday, 8 April 2012 06:00
Online radio has become one of the most popular media applications on the internet. There is no shortage of ways to tune in and listen to stations from all around the world, but recording streaming media usually requires a separate application. Now thanks to Antenna, an Adobe Air application, there is a way to find, tune in, and record internet radio all in one app.
To install Antenna, you’ll first need to have the Adobe Air framework installed. Think of this as similar to Microsoft apps that first require Silverlight or .NET installed. Download Adobe Air and then Antenna to get started.
The Antenna app comes with a unique user interface that integrates a world map to display the location of stations from all around the globe. If the map is problematic, you can locate stations by country flag as well. You can locate channels by country or genre, and double click a channel name to begin streaming it.
Once you locate an internet radio station you like you can begin streaming it. Once streaming click the “Record” button and it will go from white to red to indicate that recording has begun. Click it again to stop recording. From here you can also rate internet radio stations.
Antenna is an easy to install app that that doesn’t take up a lot of space. There are alternatives available, but none are as feature-rich as the Antenna internet radio app. It’s compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7. You can download it, along with Adobe Air, from this website.
