Can a printed book successfully cover the topic of Internet audio? A
quick
trip to Amazon will net you a list of mp3
books that are trying. I've read most of them on the list, and I've
found
only a few that are worth the money. Far more valuable are
the online resources, which are more timely and can link you
directly
to the action. However, there are a few net audio books that are
worth mentioning.
The Ghost Of The Past
While not listed by Amazon since it is long out of print,
try to get your hands on an ancient tome called "Netmusic:
Your Guide To Rock And More On The Internet and Online
Services" (Random House, 1995). It will be well worth the 50
cents you'll pay at a garage sale to wander back through time
and marvel at how "when I was a kid we had to walk five miles
to get an audio file!" The book is still remarkably useful, and
most of the links are still working. It is an excellent
snapshot of what made up the Internet audio landscape at the time.
The Ghost of the Present
The best of the currently available books is Bruce Fries'
"The MP3 And Internet Audio Handbook" (TeamCom Books, 2000).
This handbook covers its topic admirably and is very well organized.
The thorough coverage puts it high on the list of first books to buy for
a novice who can handle a little jargon and who wants to
get her teeth into web audio.
The Ghost of the Future
Scot Hacker's "MP3: The Definitive Guide" (O'Reilly, 2000)
promises to be
the book worth waiting for. Its "beta chapters" (available at
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/mp3/) indicate the excellent depth and
breadth of
coverage typical of the O'Reilly catalogue. If you haven't yet bought a
single book
on the topic, it may lure you into spending the bucks on
an ancient medium's coverage of an esoteric and emerging one.
