Dr. Gizmo: Recording record albums onto a PC, a good fax program for Windows, icons in the Start Menu

Stand-alone CD recorders cost about 10 to 20 times as much as a computer CD recorder.

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Dr. Gizmo: Recording record albums onto a PC, a good fax program for Windows, various icons in the Start Menu

Jan. 24 , 2001

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2001 Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2001, The Syracuse Newspapers

   I have about 600 albums, many of which I would like to record onto CD. Are there pluses and minuses of the stand-alone CR recorders that will plug into my stereo & allow me to record directly from the turntable? Is it somehow possible to connect a turntable directly to the PC to do the same task? -- E.T., Baldwinsville
   The doctor enjoys making audio recordings on PCs, using Sound Forge recording and editing software. (Sound Forge is in the Beverly Hills league, but there is a "lite" version of the software for those who don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for an audio editing program.) The doc prefers recording directly to a good PC equipped with a good sound card and then editing the recording before making an audio CD or MP3 CD from the edited file.
   No, you can't connect the output of a phono cartridge directly to the sound card of a PC. You connect the phono cartridge to an amplifier, receiver or preamplifier, then route the and the line output of that device into the sound card. The doc likes to think of the sound card as just another tape recorder, and that makes it much easier to understand how to use it. (In fact, one of the doctor's PCs has the computer connected to the tape monitor loop of a hi-fi system.)
   Stand-alone CD recorders are easier to use than computer CD recorders (also called "CD burners") but cost about 10 to 20 times as much as a computer CD recorder. They also have no software functions, so you can't just go out and buy a new audio editing program or download a new free one off the Web. So the doctor sees these as turkeys until the technology of recording CDs improves.

   Is there a fax software program that you recommend for home use? I just bought a new computer and I can't find any fax programs on it. I thought Microsoft works 2000 would have fax software but I have yet to find it. -- M.T., via Dreamscape
   The doctor has worked with many different fax programs. Some were OK for receiving faxes but not for sending. Some sent faxes fine but had problems on the other end. Some were just plain bad. Only one fax program meets the doctor's prescription, and that is Win Fax Pro. You can buy it at stores that sell Windows software.

   Why are there two different types of icon in the Start Menu? One looks like a file folder and the others are nice little icon pictures that represent the program. -- D.W., via Road Runner
   The icon that looks like a folder is a folder icon, representing a storage folder where program launchers and other folders are stored. The Start Menu icons that look like icons for various programs are launchers for those programs.

   Dr. Gizmo launches programs on Al Fasoldt's PC. You can send an icon or just a note to either of them at Technology, Box 4915, Syracuse, NY 13221, or send e-mail to afasoldt@twcny.rr.com.