Herb Alpert Mp3 Articles & Resources

But we don't need to be uninformed. So here, thanks to the efforts of a 16-year-old research assistant, is a primer on the technology that is reshaping the way we work and play. Because my research assistant doesn't remember a world without personal computers and the Internet, he assumed everyone knows and understands how they work, and focused his energies on more recent innovations, the portable devices that are the jewelry of the 21st century.

CELL PHONES

In his notes, my research assistant advises: "The most important part of buying a cell phone is that you get a good plan where you live and work." The plan is the calling plan, the details of your service. Typical plans cost about $40 a month plus charges for long-distance calling.

Some plans limit the amount of time you can talk on your cell phone. Exceed the minutes and you pay a premium. Some offer unlimited night, weekend and holiday time. Plans typically limit the calling area. There are roaming charges to consider, as well. Different companies have transmitters on different towers--roam out of network and face the penalty. Some companies offer global plans, usually at a much higher monthly rate. If you are looking for a way to stay in touch with your teens, consider a family plan that offers unlimited time for calls among the phones enrolled in the plan. Each extra phone usually costs an additional $20 a month.

The options can he overwhelming. If you are Internet-savvy, you can enter "compare cell phone plans" on your search bar and come up with dozens of Web sites that will help you compare different cell-phone plans. If you are not, magazines such as Consumer Reports and advice from friends and neighbors are the best way to choose a plan that's right for you.

When you have selected a plan, it's time to choose a phone. There are straight phones and flip phones, phones with color displays, phones with built in games, phones that are also digital cameras, phones that play music, phones that accept text-messaging (a variant of e-mail sent and received over the cell phone network), phones that are also hand-held computers (we'll get to that next.) Unless you know you need these extras, ask for a basic phone that is well made. And remember to ask about a trial period so that if you find your phone difficult to use or do not like the sound quality, you can return it and try another. Prices range from free, where the phone is included in the plan, to $1,000 and up.

PDAS

Remember the first time you were in a meeting and somebody said, "Let me check my schedule," and then she pulled out a device, about the size of a vintage-1980 pocket calculator, and began poking at it with a small stick? That's a PDA, a Personal Digital Assistant. It is a small computer without a keyboard, useful for organizing data and contact information, such as your customer database, travel itinerary, or address book. Some PDAs are Internet-enabled, using radio waves to access the Internet.

Not all that long ago, when folks talked about blackberries, everyone knew they meant the purple cousins of raspberries. But over the last few years, people have gone nutty over another kind of BlackBerry, a PDA that is a combination cell-phone and radio-enabled (called wi-fi) computer. With a BlackBerry, you can call your kids to find out if they're home from school; e-mail a grocery list to your spouse; or check your stock portfolio while you are waiting for a lunch table.

PDAs vary in power and options, and can range in price from about $200 to $2,500. Again, check the pages of Consumer Reports or enter "compare PDA" on your browser bar for shopping advice.

DIGITAL CAMERAS

Digital cameras are the biggest revolution in photography since the invention of color film. Digital cameras can significantly cut the cost of taking pictures because they do not need film or expensive processing. The drawback is also the lack of film; digital pictures still do not equal the beauty of fine-art photographs, but they are improving all the time. Because most of us are not of the caliber of Ansel Adams or Elliot Porter, this is not that big of a problem. And the technology is rapidly being embraced by professional photographers, although it will still be a while before most give up their film cameras.

Because the pictures are stored as a computer file, there is no negative. You can tinker with them in a good photo-editing program, removing red eye or the pole sticking out of Uncle Bob's head, balancing lighting and creating fixes that were only possible in custom photo-shops a few years ago.

When buying a digital camera, there are a number of things to consider. First is picture quality, which means how much digital information--called megapixels--your camera records when you take the picture. Most quality cameras are about 3 megapixels, enough to make high-quality 5 x 7 prints, even good 8 x 10 prints. High-end cameras are 5 or 6 megapixels, and the newer professional cameras are 8 megapixels. But more megapixels mean bigger files, which are slow and cumbersome to use on the Internet because they take too long to download. Most cameras can record smaller files simply by choosing a lower quality setting on the camera. You can also reduce the quality and size of the picture in your computer so that you can take a high-quality picture for printing and make smaller files to e-mail to friends. Just remember to save the files under different names so that you don't lose that beautiful wedding portrait of your daughter that you want to have professionally printed.

Prices for digital cameras range from about $150 to thousands of dollars, depending on the features. For example, both Canon and Nikon have digital cameras that can use the interchangeable lenses from their automatic single-lens reflex models.

It is best to try cameras out, hold them in your hands and be sure the controls feel comfortable. Controls that are too small or clumsily located may mean missed shots and unnecessary frustration. As with all electronic equipment, you may find better prices on the Internet, but buying without trying is a recipe for a camera that does not fit your hands.

The final consideration is the type of memory the camera uses. Some use compact-flash cards; some use memory sticks. These are like re-usable film, where the digital pictures are stored until you download them to the computer. Memory can be expensive; large capacity cards with high-speed writing ability can cost $200 and up, but having extra memory, just like having an extra roll of film, is a good idea.

MP3 PLAYERS

Remember the Walkman, the small cassette players with headphones that everyone wore jogging 20 years ago? They have been replaced by MP3 players, digital music recordings. Yes, folks, this is the technology that has the recording industry up in arms. Although it probably would not be that difficult to find the complete recordings of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass online, catching the download bug is usually not only illegal, it can be a great way to introduce a host of unwanted viruses onto your computer. But there are legal downloading services. There is also a wealth of music that is free, although it's probably a bit more obscure than Herb, and it is legal to copy music you already own for your own use.

Once again, however, the computer is necessary. Most MP3s are downloaded; rather, the service is legal or black market, and then written to the player's memory. Some MP3 players use Compact Flash (this is also a common form of memory for digital cameras). Some players, including the Apple iTunes (the legal subscription service that has caught on like wildfire), use hard drives. Compact Flash MP3 players can range in price between $80 and $250, and typically are smaller and lighter, appropriate for the athletic set. Hard-drive MP3 players are between $200 and $450, and can hold a larger selection of music.

DVD AND TIVO