Digital Music Downloads essays

Digital Music Downloads essays Digital music, in combination with the internet, has allowed people all across the world to download any song they desire completely free of charge. This is great for consumers, but it is a frightening problem for all involved in the music industry. Illegal downloads have taken the online world by storm. One hundred percent of the music down loaders polled said they have downloaded music illegally. Only 25 percent have downloaded music legally, and only 14 percent of those people have a predominantly legal digital music library. That means only three and a half percent of the music down loaders polled actually have paid for most of their music. It is statistics like that the have the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) scrambling to fix this problem. The catalyst of this whole problem is the MP3. MP3 stands for Motion Picture Experts Group, audio layer three and has been around since 1991. It is a music codec that was created by a German research firm for use in the broadcast industry. The format compresses a song to 1/12 its original size by striping away the audio signals not audible to the human ear. The small file size of the MP3 is what allowed Shawn Fanning to write a program that brought the RIAA to its knees. Shawn Fanning is a college dropout who brought free music to the masses. He is the creator of the file sharing program Napster. Shawn began attending Northeastern University in the fall of 1998, but soon dropped out so he could focus on the creation of Napster. In May of 1999, Shawn and his uncle John Fanning, with help from private investors, started the company Napster (Man). Practically overnight Napster was a huge success. People began sharing songs by the millions. But soon the RIAA realized the threat of Napster, and on December 7, 1999 the RIAA sued Napster. The lawsuit asked for damages of $100,000 every time a song was copied. In April of 2000, rock group Metallica followed the RIA...

Spelling Tips 8 Words with Variant Spellings - Get Proofed!

Spelling Tips 8 Words with Variant Spellings - Get Proofed! Spelling Tips: 8 Words with Variant Spellings Spelling isn’t easy. It’s bad enough we have words that sound the same  but are spelled differently and have different meanings. On top of that, we have words that are spelled differently but mean the same thing! These are known as variant spellings. What Are Variant Spellings? Variant spellings occur when a word has more than one accepted spelling. This shouldn’t be confused with regional spellings (such as when the British spell â€Å"color† as â€Å"colour†). Nor is it quite the same as when a word has an old-fashioned, archaic spelling (such as when â€Å"jail† was spelled â€Å"gaol†). A better example is â€Å"donut,† which is a modern variation of â€Å"doughnut.† The older spelling is still more common in American English, but â€Å"donut† has been catching up in recent years (primarily thanks to the success of Dunkin’ Donuts). Importantly, though, both are â€Å"correct† spellings of this word. You cant go wrong with a doughnut (or a donut). 8 Words with Variant Spellings Other examples of common words with variant spellings include: 1. Among/Amongst This word has two accepted endings (similar terms include amid/amidst and while/whilst). The â€Å"-st† ending is much less common in American English. 2. Archaeology/Archeology The older spelling here is the â€Å"ae† one, which is also more common (especially outside America). There are other words in American English that allow the â€Å"ae† variation (e.g., esthetics/aesthetics). But with most similar terms, American English prefers the â€Å"e† version (e.g., encyclopedia, not encyclopaedia). 3. Axe/Ax â€Å"Axe† is the most common spelling of this word, especially outside North America. But, in American English, â€Å"ax† is a common variant. 4. Collectible/Collectable These spellings are both accepted in American English, but â€Å"collectible† is by far the most common. 5. Dialog/Dialogue These are variations of the same word, but â€Å"dialog† is more common in relation to computing (e.g., dialog box) and â€Å"dialogue† is used when referring to two people talking. Similar spelling variations include analog/analogue (with â€Å"analog† more common in all contexts) and prolog/prologue (with â€Å"prologue† most common). 6. Disk/Disc â€Å"Disk† is generally more common than â€Å"disc,† but there are some cases where this is reversed. For example, in computing, magnetic storage devices are spelled with a â€Å"k† (e.g., floppy disk), but optical storage devices (e.g., a CD or DVD) are â€Å"discs.† 7. Flyer/Flier â€Å"Flyer† is the most common spelling here, but â€Å"flier† is also used (especially when referring to something that flies rather than a leaflet advertising something). 8. Usable/Useable â€Å"Usable† is by far the most common spelling of this word, but â€Å"useable† is also accepted in all regional dialects of English. Nobody is quite sure why. How to Handle Variant Spellings The list above isn’t comprehensive, but it should give you an idea of what to look out for with variant spellings. Consistency is key with words like these, so pick one spelling and use it throughout your document. It’s also vital to proofread your work to make sure everything is consistent (you can use the ‘Find’ function in Microsoft Word to look for variant spellings). Beyond that, there are two things you can do when confronted with two spellings of the same word: Check your style guide (if you have one) to see if it specifies a preferred spelling Use Google’s n-gram viewer to check which spelling is more common You can then use this to guide your choice about which spelling to use. A doughnut-based n-gram.