[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Tidybuoy

Ok, I was going to record some cd's for my up coming vacation but after reading some of the posts on this board, I decided to join the 90's and get an MP3 player.

Here's a few questions:

1) I know I can buy songs on Amazon and elsewhere but this can ad up $ quickly and I need to fill this player with at least 100 or 200 songs in the next week or so.

2) If you have a friend who has already downloaded MP3 files, can these be loaded onto my player (without taking permanently from his computer)?

Generally Yes. As long as they are not DRM protected. But thee are ways around that.

3) Are there free sources for MP3 files that are somewhat reliable?

Eh, yes but most will not be legal.

4) Can you copy songs from an existing CD onto an MP3 player - I tried to copy from a cd to my computer but the file extension is not mp3

You can't just copy, CD's are AIFF format. You need to RIP, convert them to MP3.

5) What about charging the mp3 battery? Most that I have seen look like they come with a usb cable (but I don't see a charger). I assume that the device charges thru your computer via usb - But, I'm not taking a computer on vacation.

Yes, they generally charge via USB. You can buy a an adaptor that plugs into a wall socket and accepts a USB cable pretty cheap.

6) I'm not going to get an ipod (another brand instead). Are ipod files the same as mp3?

Yes and no. Depends on the original source. If ripped from a personally owned CD then they are interchangeable. If purchased from iTunes store without the DRM option removed then there is a little work to do to remove the DRM and make useable on another brand MP3 player. The easy way is to burn them is as an audio CD, AIFF format which does not support DRM then rip the cd back.

That's all for now - thanks in advance for any advice. Sorry for my lack of knowledge but I will catch up quickly.

Enjoy the vacation.