An up-to-date overview of free software and its makers
Projects on the Move
© parisod@snowmelody, Fotolia
If you want to convert a bunch of audio files into another format and prefer to steer clear of the command line, the Gnac graphical tool might do the trick. Also, the Gourmet Recipe Manager helps out in the kitchen.
People with a good sense of hearing often cringe when forced to listen to MP3-compressed music files, and this is understandable: MP3 is a lossy compression method. Converting an audio file to MP3 format can save up to 90 percent disk space, but it will affect the quality. Although the MP3 format theoretically only loses sound components that are inaudible to the human ear, you might still miss them if you listen carefully.
Of course, there are many alternatives to MP3. AAC and Vorbis files save more disk space while giving you the same or superior audio quality. Vorbis has the additional advantage, compared with MP3 and AAC, of being patent free. Today, many portable audio players support the Vorbis file format. The Xiph.org foundation [1], which developed the Vorbis format, also has a lossy compression method for voice recordings dubbed Speex. If you prefer to avoid quality loss of any kind, a loss-free compression approach like Flac will fit the bill perfectly.
Audio formats thus exist for almost any application you can imagine. But choosing from one of these formats can pose a problem for users. How do you convert your painstakingly digitized CD collection to the right format?
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.