your welcime ----- Original Message ----- From: "ANDREW GODWIN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 12:50 PM Subject: Re: [jaws-users] Downloading music sites
> thanks for the informative article. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "one foxy lady" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 12:56 PM > Subject: Re: [jaws-users] Downloading music sites > > > This might be helpful.. > > > AFB Accessworld > Friday, July 21, 2006 > > Can You Get the Music? A Review of Music Download Sites > > By Janet Ingber > > About 10 or 15 years ago, if you liked a certain musician or a particular > song, chances are that you went to a store to buy an album, cassette, or > CD. > First, albums vanished, and now cassettes are disappearing from the > market. > Thanks to new technologies and the Internet, it is now possible to > download > a huge selection of single tracks or entire albums directly to a computer > or > portable player. > > With the advent of music downloading a few years ago, several web sites at > which people could share music at no cost, including Morpheus, Kazaa, and > Napster, became popular. The recording industry objected and obtained > rulings that made the practice illegal. Napster transformed itself and is > now a legal, pay-for-music web site. There are still sites that say that > downloading music is free and legal, but do not be deceived. > > Legal Music Download Sites > This article reviews six legal music download sites: eMusic, RealPlayer, > Rhapsody, Napster, Wal-Mart, and iTunes. When you are looking for a legal > web site, there are several things besides accessibility to consider. How > are you going to listen to the music that you download--on your computer > or > on a mobile device? Will you want to burn the music onto a CD? What kind > of > music are you looking for--current and recent songs, classical music, > jazz, > alternative, or older songs? How much money do you want to spend? The > going > rate per song is usually 99 cents. Some web sites offer additional > options, > such as online radio stations and streaming audio. This article covers how > to navigate online music download sites, install their necessary software, > find songs, and download them to your computer. > > Words of Advice > Before you download any software or music, carefully review the site's > system requirements for your computer. This article gives the operating > system that is necessary for each site, but more detailed information is > available on each web site. Make sure that your computer is fast enough to > handle the software and downloads. Music files can take up a lot of room > on > a hard drive, so check to determine whether you have enough space. > > It is possible that you will need sighted assistance to install some > software or to fill out a web site registration form. Software > installation > and registration took only a few minutes on each site. > > When searching for music, be as specific as possible. Searching for a song > by title will yield fewer results to wade through than will searching by > the > artist's name. All the web sites use a search form to locate music. Be > familiar with edit boxes and combo boxes because you will need them for > your > search. > > eMusic < > www.emusic.com> > > System Requirements > Using the eMusic site requires Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP. The eMusic > home > page contains many unlabeled links, mostly consisting of the word go and > then a string of numbers and letters. Even with this problem, it is still > relatively easy to navigate. Once a registration form is completed, > unlabeled links do not appear on any other pages. eMusic offers a free > two-week trial and then has several payment plans if you want to continue > to > use it. The most inexpensive plan is $9.99 per month, which allows you to > download up to 40 songs every 30 days, or 25 cents per song. You cannot > roll > over your unused downloads. > > A big advantage of eMusic is that the songs download in MP3 format, so no > file conversion is necessary; songs can be burned onto a CD; played on a > computer; and be added to a portable player, including the iPod Shuffle. > Once you purchase the music, you own it. A disadvantage of eMusic is that > it > does not have as much current music or as many well-known artists as some > other legal download sites. However, eMusic's web site states that it has > "more than 1,000,000 tracks from the world's leading independent labels. > You'll find music in every genre from both established and emerging > artists." > > Registration > The registration form for eMusic is simple and straightforward. Once the > form is completed, you can download eMusic's Download Manager software, > which will allow you to download albums with one click. The software is > easy > to install. If you choose to download one song at a time, the special > software is not needed. > > Getting Music > eMusic's search form consists of an edit box, a combo box, and a Search > button. The combo box offers many options, including artist, track, record > label, and classical music. The search results are displayed clearly. To > find them quickly, just go to the last control in the search form and > arrow > down to Search Results. There are also links to search by genre, release > date, and editor's picks. Above the search form is an eMusic Shortcuts > combo > box. This combo box was not user friendly. When I turned off Window-Eyes' > Browse Mode to fill out forms, using the down arrow did not move to the > next > item in the box; instead, it took me off to another page. The way to stop > this from happening, with Window-Eyes or JAWS, is to open the combo box > using the Alt-Down arrow. Then it behaves normally. > > When I entered "Mariah Carey" in the edit box and chose "artist" from the > combo box, there were two results, neither of well-known songs. The first > result was "Mariah Carey, the Unauthorized CD Biography" and the second > was > "Mariah Carey Tribute Band." eMusic does have a lot of tribute-band > recordings of popular artists, so it is important to check if the > recording > you are looking for is from the actual artist or a tribute band. > > When I did an artist search for "Tim McGraw" without quotes, I got 111 > results. I realized that eMusic gave me every artist it has with the name > "Tim." "Tim McGraw" in quotes gave no results. "Beatles" did not yield any > results either. For "Black Eyed Peas," my one result was a "Black Eyed > Peas" > tribute band. > > I decided to search for Charlie Parker, the jazz saxophonist. I entered > "Parker" in the edit box and chose the "artist" option in the combo box. > My > search yielded several artists named Parker, and Charlie was one of them. > A > list of Charlie Parker's eMusic albums was displayed. Sometimes, even with > the window maximized, only part of an album's title is visible. When the > album's link is activated, the full title is read. For each album, there > was > a link labeled, Listen. Once that link was activated, brief clips of each > song on the album were played. > > When the album's Title link is activated, more specific information, > including the song title, artist time, and download links for each > individual track are displayed. At the bottom of the track listing is a > link > to download the entire album. The information on the album is presented > toward the bottom of the page. Above it are play lists from other members > and editor's picks. > > After I spent some time listening to clips of Charlie Parker's music, I > settled on "Koko," a track from the album, The Best of the Bird. When I > downloaded the song, there was no option to choose where the track went to > on the hard drive. I found the track by doing a search for the track's > name, > "Koko." The track was in a folder called, My eMusic. The actual MP3 file > was > buried several folders into the My eMusic folder. First, there was an > artist > folder, and opening that folder revealed another folder labeled with the > album's title. Once that folder was opened, there was the MP3 file. Once I > located the MP3 file, I was able to rename it to fit the format I use for > labeling my MP3 files and then move it to the folder that contains such > files. When I downloaded subsequent tracks, I then knew where to find > them. > > If you are a classical music fan, eMusic may be a good web site for you. > There are many classical tracks, and you can search by composer, name of > composition, album title, conductor, or ensemble. There are also many > classical music compilation albums. Jazz enthusiasts will also find many > choices. > > Getting Help > The Help link is located close to the top of the page. There are a variety > of help topics, including frequently asked questions (FAQ), general > questions, my account questions and technical questions. The information > contained in each link is clear. There is also a Contact Us customer > service > form. In the first part of the form, there is a combo box in which you > choose a specific topic. The options include "cancel account" and > "defective > tracks." This combo box had the same accessibility problem as the eMusic > Shortcuts combo box. After the combo box is a standard form to fill out. > At > the bottom of the form there is a message indicating that you will receive > an automated e-mail tracking number when your form is submitted. > > The Bottom Line > eMusic is easy to use once you learn where information is located. > Although > the web site does not have a large collection of popular music, it does > have > a lot of material from both known and unknown musicians and composers. The > MP3 format works with all CD burners and portable players. > > RealPlayer < > www.real.com> > > System Requirements > Although RealPlayer will run on Windows 98 or higher, for the most recent > player, Windows XP is recommended. On the system requirements page there > is > information about which versions of JAWS and Window-Eyes to use. There is > also a link to use an earlier version of the player if necessary. There is > screen reader information within the Help topics. RealPlayer also provides > a > specific e-mail address for screen-reader users to send feedback about > accessibility issues. > > Links on the web site are clearly labeled, and there is a wide variety of > material, including current and popular songs. RealPlayer uses its own > .RAX > protected format. This format will play on your computer, or you can burn > it > to a CD using RealPlayer's software. The .RAX format is different from the > .RA music files because they are protected, and all purchases from the > music > store are in this protected format. In addition, if you plan to transfer > your .RAX files to a portable device, check to determine whether your > player > supports this format. > > Registration > Before you download music from RealPlayer, the RealPlayer software must be > installed and an account must be created. Setting up an account is simple. > The standard questions include password, credit card number, and address. > > There are two different versions of the RealPlayer software. The free > basic > player lets you download and play music along with some other features. > The > RealPlayer Plus has more features, including the ability to convert some > file formats. However, purchases from the music store, which are in the > secure, protected .RAX format, cannot be converted. The fee for this > player > is $19.95. There is a link on the home page to get a 14-day free trial. > Either version of the player will play other formats, such as MP3 and > Windows Media. > > Although the installation process is straightforward, there are check > boxes > and radio buttons that you need to read carefully. By default, the radio > button for the free player is not checked. Also, the check box to have > RealPlayer as the default player for all media is checked. Later in the > installation process, there are also check boxes for receiving different > information, such as e-mail notification of new songs and product updates. > > Getting Music > RealPlayer uses a basic search form. There is an edit box and a combo box > with the following options: artist, track, album, and composer. The final > control is a Search button. Another option is to activate one of the genre > links, such as Pop, Rock, Country, or Alternative. > > When I typed "Mariah Carey" in the edit box and chose artist from the > combo > box, I received many results for performers named Carey. The top choice > was > Mariah Carey, and I selected that link. The search results were easily > located. > > I was presented with a list of Mariah Carey's popular albums, including > her > most recent, The Emancipation of Mimi. There was also a list of single > songs. Activating an album's link brings up its track list. This list is > displayed farther down the web page, below the album listings. Once you > find > a track that you want, there is a Click to Preview link and a Click to > Purchase link. I downloaded, "We Belong Together" from the album, The > Emancipation of Mimi. If I had put "We Belong Together" in the edit box > and > selected Track in the combo box, I would have gotten many fewer results, > and > it would have been easier to find that one song. > > The music downloaded into the My Music subfolder of My Documents. As with > eMusic, there were several subfolders before I got to the song, starting > with the artist's name. > > A lot of classical music is available at the RealPlayer music store. > Searching for "J. S. Bach" brought up a long list of albums. Jazz fans > will > also find a lot to choose from. My "Charlie Parker" search brought up many > album options as well. I found several tracks by the Beatles and separate > links for each of the group's members. In addition, many results were > displayed for Tim McGraw. > > Getting Help > RealPlayer uses a knowledge base, links, e-mail, and telephone contacts > for > customer support. Activating a Help link, such as RealPlayer or Music > Store, > brings up specific information that is relevant to that topic. > > The Bottom Line > RealPlayer is an easy site to use and has a wide range of material. Since > it > uses a proprietary format, not all CD burners and portable devices can > support it. If the file format is not an issue, then RealPlayer may be a > good choice for buying and downloading music. > > Rhapsody < > www.rhapsody.com> > > System Requirements > Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP. A high-speed Internet connection is > required > for streaming music. Rhapsody is available only in the United States. > > Rhapsody's home page does not have any unlabeled links. There is a Learn > More link on the home page. One of the options after the link is activated > is Take a Tour. Unfortunately, the tour is all visual and does not have > even > one word of audio. > > Although you can link to Rhapsody through real.com, they are separate > entities. While RealPlayer is a music store, Rhapsody is a music > subscription service where you can stream or download music, depending on > the subscription option that you choose. There is an extra fee for burning > Rhapsody music onto a CD. While RealPlayer uses the .RAX format, Rhapsody > uses the more common WMA protected format. > > Streamed music does not go to the computer's hard drive, but instead > remains > on Rhapsody's server. To listen to the music, you must be connected to the > Internet and log into your account. Once your subscription is canceled, > you > no longer have access to your music on the server. > > Rhapsody offers a free service called Rhapsody 25. With this service, you > can stream a total of 25 songs per month for no charge. If you stream the > same song more than once, it counts toward your 25 streams. CD burning is > not an option with this free plan. > > Registration > Registering for Rhapsody is simple. By default, the radio button for the > free account is checked. Rhapsody did recognize my e-mail address and > password from my RealPlayer account. To listen to streamed music from > Rhapsody, its player must be installed. I did ask for sighted help for the > installation. > > Getting Music > Rhapsody uses a standard search form. The first control is an edit box > followed by a combo box that includes artist, track, and key word. The > final > control is a Search button. It is also possible to search by genre, by > first > activating the Find Music link. > > I inserted "Mariah Carey" in the edit box and "artist" in the combo box. > My > results were displayed similarly to the display in RealPlayer. I selected > the same album and then the same track as I did with RealPlayer. I was > presented with the option to play the track, but although Rhapsody has a > music store, where you can purchase tracks or albums, I could not find an > option to purchase the song. > > Getting Help > Rhapsody's Help system uses a knowledge base and e-mail contact. Once I > submitted my question, "how to buy tracks," which required that I fill out > several forms, I received an auto reply e-mail saying that I should > receive > an answer to my question in 24 hours. In fact, I received an e-mail > response > in about 18 hours, but the response did not help me. > > Next I called Rhapsody's technical support. The wait time was less than > two > minutes, but technical support did not completely solve my problem. In > addition, I spoke to four people, three of whom had strong accents that > were > sometimes hard to understand. I was informed that I had the wrong version > of > Rhapsody, even though I downloaded it the day before. The last technical > support representative sent me a link to get the latest version. The > e-mail > that contained the link had three spelling errors in it. > > I then called technical support several more times and got a bunch of > different answers, but no one could tell me the correct way to buy a > track. > These technical support representatives had strong accents as well and > seemed to get impatient when I asked them to repeat what they just said. I > repeatedly had to remind several of them that I was blind. Trying to get > an > answer to this one question was extremely frustrating. After spending > hours > trying to buy a song, I finally gave up on Rhapsody. > > A couple of days later, I received a survey from Rhapsody wanting to know > how happy I was with its technical support. I did not give it a good > rating. > I e-mailed the form the same day, but have not yet received a response. > > The Bottom Line > If you just want to stream music, then Rhapsody is a good site to use. If > you want to try Rhapsody and buy tracks, I hope you have better luck than > I > did. > > Napster < > www.napster.com> > > System Requirements > Windows XP or 2000 and Internet Explorer 5.1 or higher. > > Napster is now legal and has a large selection of music, including current > songs. It offers a subscription plan by which you pay a given amount a > month > and can listen to an unlimited amount of music on- or offline, by > downloading the music to your computer. Your account can be accessed by up > to three computers. When you cancel your subscription, you no longer have > access to your music. Napster Light, which is an online music store, > allows > you to purchase songs at 99 cents per song. These are your songs to keep > with or without a Napster subscription. Songs are delivered in the WMA > protected format. Napster offers a seven-day free trial. > > Although there are some unlabeled links that start with the words, "duet > registration," most of the links are easy to read. The FAQ section > provides > many answers. There are two search forms on the web site, the first > consisting of an edit box and a Search button, and the second having a > combo > box and a Search button to search the top five songs by genre. The best > way > to use the edit box and Search button is to search by artist. The results > are displayed under the form. The top five genre results are displayed > under > that search form. These forms are good for finding out information, but > they > will not help get music onto your computer. Once you are registered, a > different search form is used. > > Registration > Before you can use Napster, you must download its software and set up an > account. The software was easy to download. I did have some difficulty > filling out the registration form and asked for sighted help. When the > Napster program is first launched, there is an option to sign in > automatically. Choosing this option will eliminate one task every time you > use the program. > > My initial response when I opened the Napster program was frustration and > disappointment. There were many links for songs, but it was initially hard > to find the search form. The Browse Mode controls for Window-Eyes did not > work. I eventually found a combo box with such items as artist, track, and > album, but the edit box for entering text was not clear. I finally decided > to call technical support and was surprised to find that I did not have to > hold for more than a couple of minutes and that the person who assisted me > spoke clearly and was eager to help. > > Window-Eyes does not see the entire screen. For example, on the top left > column of Napster, there are buttons for File, Account, and Help. On the > top > right of the program, there are buttons for changing the window size. > Maximizing the window did not make any difference in what Window-Eyes > spoke. > Window-Eyes also did not see the buttons for the Library and Radio > Stations. > Even with these problems, Napster can work well enough to play, download, > and purchase music. > > Getting Music > When the Napster program launches, you are placed one tab away from the > search form's edit box. Keep in mind that the edit box may not say edit > box, > but rather something else on the page. Type in what you are looking for > and > press the Tab key. The next control is the combo box to search by artist, > track, album, and so forth. After you make a selection in the combo box, > hit > the Enter key. Napster's search form does not have a Search button that my > screen reader could find. Using Ctrl-Tab will cycle you through the search > form. You may hear some other words, not related to the form, but after > one > or two presses, you will be back in the search form. Another option is to > close the program and then reopen it. You do not want to keep hitting the > Tab key because doing so can take you to unrelated links. > > I put the song title "We Belong Together" in the edit box and chose Track > from the combo box. My results were right under the combo box. It said, > "Most popular track results based on your search." Underneath was the list > of tracks and their artists. I found the track I wanted and, using the > Window-Eyes mouse keys, put the pointer on the track title and did a right > click. This brought up a Context menu with many options. The top option > was > Play, so I hit Enter, and the track quickly played. > > Another option is to download a track to your computer. The music will > stay > on your computer until you stop your Napster membership. Since the Library > button is not accessible with Window-Eyes, I had Napster download all my > tracks to the folder My Music on my C drive. By default, Napster will > download tracks to the My Music subfolder within My Documents. During > software installation, there is an edit box to choose where the files go > when they are downloaded or purchased. To download a track, simply choose > the Download Tracks option from the Context menu. You can play the > downloaded song as much as you wish, but you cannot burn it onto a CD or > transfer it to a portable device. > > It is easy to purchase tracks with Napster. As with playing and > downloading > tracks, right click on the track's name and choose, Purchase Tracks from > the > Context menu. This will open up a dialogue box, where you will be asked to > enter your password. The Browse controls do not work with this form > either, > so just type the password. After the password is entered, pressing Tab > will > bring you to an unlabeled button with a long name. That is the Submit > button. > > Another page comes up that shows your searches on the top and then farther > down displays the name of the track and its price. I needed to use the > Window-Eyes mouse keys to read this page. There is a picture link that > says > Buy. Activating that link will start the download process. Since this > track > was purchased, I own it. If I discontinue my Napster membership, I will > still own the track. Since the track was purchased, it can be burned to a > CD > or transferred to a portable player. > > Getting Help > Napster has a FAQ link for people who are thinking about signing up. There > is also a Quick Help link for Napster members. These links provide a lot > of > information. Within the Napster program, the User's Guide can be accessed > through the Help button. However, this button was not accessible to me. I > called technical support to ask if they could e-mail me the User's Guide, > but they were not set up to do that. The representative directed me to the > Quick Help links, but I had already tried that option. > > Napster has an e-mail form for obtaining help. There is also telephone > technical support. I had called them several times and never waited more > than a couple of minutes. One of the representatives I spoke to seemed > genuinely interested in how screen readers work. Without my asking, he > gave > me a verbal layout of the program and patiently walked me through how to > find and play tracks. > > The Bottom Line > Although some parts of Napster are not accessible, with determination and > possibly a little sighted help, it is relatively easy to find, play, > download, or purchase music. There is often a lot of extra information, > not > related to the search, so just be aware of it. Also, remember that part of > the page may not be accessible. > > Wal-Mart < > www.walmart.com> > > System Requirements > Windows 2000 or XP. Available only in the United States. > > No, your screen reader is not having a breakdown. Wal-Mart has music > available for 88 cents per song. The music comes in the WMA protected > format. The web site states that over 1 million songs are available. There > is current music and a good selection of other songs. The web site takes > some getting used to, but it is relatively easy to use. Besides, you can > do > some other online shopping while you're there. > > Registration > To download music, you will need to install Wal-Mart's Download Manager > software. You may need some sighted assistance with this operation. You > will > also have to create a Wal-Mart account. You do so through edit boxes and a > few combo boxes. Once you have set up the account, you are ready to shop. > > Getting Music >>From the home page, activate the Music link. When that page loads, >>activate >>the Downloads link. > > There are many links on the page, but just use form controls to find the > first control of the search form. Wal-Mart uses a standard form with an > edit > box; a combo box for artist, song, and so forth; and a Search button, > which > has a long link that ends with "search.gif." To find your results, use > your > form keys to locate the Search button and then arrow down. Depending on > your > search, you may need to arrow down through many links to find your > results. > If you arrow down too far or go to the bottom of the page and arrow up, > you > may see the words, "Thanks for your order, your songs are downloading > now." > This message is misleading. Until you have checked out, your songs will > not > download. If you did not install the software prior to checking out, your > songs cannot download. > > Wal-Mart had the Mariah Carey CD, The Emancipation of Mimi, as well as > other > albums by Mariah Carey. I was able to find many other current songs, > including, "You're Beautiful," by James Blunt, and "My Humps," by the > Black > Eyed Peas. Above the song's title there is usually an unlabeled link that > says something like "PR (0)." Selecting this link will play a clip of the > song. Another way to hear a sample is to select the song's album link, > where, above each song, is a more clearly labeled link to play a sample. > > If you find a song that you want, you will need to figure out how your > screen reader adds it to your shopping cart. There is a link that ends > with > the phrase, "add to cart," and clicking on those words with your mouse > pointer usually adds it to the shopping cart. However, I found that it > sometimes takes several clicks or a click on the price (88 cents), which > is > located right above the link, to put the song in my cart. Although there > are > inconsistencies, with a little patience, the task can be accomplished. If > you want to be sure that the song is in your cart, just arrow up the page > to > the shopping cart. > > Once you have completed your shopping, it is time to check out. Here, too, > the links may initially be confusing, but with a little practice, it is > not > too hard to navigate. Just below the search form is the information about > your shopping cart. You will notice that it is in Shopping Mode. When you > are ready to check out, just activate the link that says, Change. This > will > put you in Checkout Mode, and there will be a "log in" form. During the > checkout process, you will have the opportunity to remove any songs that > you > do not want. > > The songs will show up in the My Music folder in My Documents. They will > also be available in Windows Media player. The main folder will be called > Downloads, and then each artist will have his or her own subfolder that > contains the downloaded song. > > Getting Help > Wal-Mart has a FAQ section that provides many answers. There is also > technical assistance by telephone. When I started working with the site, I > called to check which file format Wal-Mart uses. The customer service > representative was helpful and answered all my questions. Live help is > available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is a separate number to > call > if you are having problems with checkout. > > The Bottom Line > Although there are some unlabeled links and many links that may get in the > way, this is still a good site. After a little practice, it is relatively > easy to navigate, and the customer service representatives are willing to > help. > > iTunes < > www.itunes.com> > > System Requirements > Windows XP is required for iTunes. iTunes uses Apple's proprietary .AAC > format. The iTunes music store is accessed through the iTunes software, > which is loaded onto your computer. This is the same software that comes > with the iPod, so no extra software installation is required. Even with > configuration files for Window-Eyes and JAWS, iTunes is not totally > accessible. > > Lists of top 10 songs in a wide variety of genres can be found at > <www.itunes.com >>. This site is the actual iTunes site and contains > information about various iPod products and software. It is a good place > to > start looking for songs if you are not sure what is current and popular in > a > specific genre. There are links for all the genres and a genre combo-box > form. > > Registration > Before you can start making purchases in the iTunes music store, you must > set up an account. This is not an easy feat. Window-Eyes did not read all > the information and edit boxes, and there were times when I thought I had > put the right information in a specific edit box, but it appeared in the > wrong place. Also, the Browse Mode in Window-Eyes controls did not work in > iTunes. I needed sighted help to set up my music store account. > Fortunately, > when you set up the account, there is an option to have iTunes recognize > your computer, so you do not have to enter anything but your password if > you > want to buy tracks. > > Getting Music > The iTunes music store has many current songs, as well as older material. > To > find a song, go to the Music Store item in the iTunes Source List and > press > Tab. You are now in an edit box. Type in the name of what you are looking > for. If possible, use the name of the song to get the most accurate > results. > There is no combo box in the search form. After you enter the search term, > press the Enter key. > > It was necessary for me to use the Window-Eyes mouse keys to read the > search > results. There was a lot of extra, unrelated information on the screen, > such > as the names of tracks that iTunes was featuring and a list of items in my > iTunes source list. I was able to find the Mariah Carey song, "We Belong > Together," mixed in with other search results. > > It is important to make sure that you are in the right place and on the > right song before you buy it. Sometimes the screen is cluttered, and it is > possible to click on a song with the same or similar title. iTunes will > show > the performer's name after the title and time of song. With Window-Eyes, I > was able to play a short clip of the song by first using the mouse left > click key to highlight the name of the track and then pressing Enter. > > Once you choose a song that you want to buy, you will have to locate the > Buy > button, which is not clearly labeled. To find it, move your mouse pointer > to > the last digit of a song's price, which is usually 99 cents so your > pointer > will be on the second 9. Next, move your pointer one space to the right. > Your screen reader may say the first letter of a different title, but > ignore > it and left click. If you are in the right place, you will be asked to > enter > your password. After you enter your password, tab to the Buy button and > hit > Enter. Your track will automatically download into your iTunes library. > > Getting Help > Within iTunes, there is a Help menu that can be accessed by typing Alt-H. > I > found many instances in which the help descriptions involved clicking on > graphics. Telephone technical support is also available. > > The Bottom Line > Because of the way information is presented in iTunes, it can be > cumbersome > to navigate. Setting up the music store account is difficult, if not > impossible, with a screen reader. The main reason to use iTunes is that > its > proprietary .AAC format can be transferred directly to an iPod. > > In Short > eMusic is easy to use and delivers material in the universal MP3 format. > The > site does not have a lot of current music and does not carry materials > from > the major labels. After the free trial subscription, you must have a paid > subscription to use the site. > > RealPlayer has current music and music from the major labels. The site is > easy to use but delivers material in its own proprietary .RAX format. This > format cannot be played by all portable players and CD burners or by > Windows > Media Player. This is a music store, not a subscription service. > > Rhapsody has current music and materials from the major labels. It > delivers > material in the WMA protected format. Rhapsody works well for streaming, > but > you must be on line to listen to your streamed music. It was impossible to > buy tracks, and the technical support was poor and not helpful. Rhapsody > is > a subscription service and a music store. > > Napster has current music and material from the major labels. Material is > delivered in the WMA protected format. Although Napster is initially > difficult to set up and not all features are accessible, it does work well > for downloading music to your computer and purchasing music. You can > listen > to your downloaded music offline. It is easy to purchase tracks. Technical > support is helpful. Napster can be used just as a music store, or it can > be > used as a subscription service with the ability to purchase tracks. > > Wal-Mart has a lot of current music, as well as material from the major > labels. Its tracks cost 88 cents each, rather than the usual 99 cents. > Wal-Mart's music is in WMA protected format. There are many extra links on > each page of the web site, but with some patience and practice, the site > can > be easily navigated. Technical support is helpful. Wal-Mart is strictly a > music store. > > iTunes has current music and material from the major labels. It uses > Apple's > proprietary .AAC format. When search results are displayed, a lot of extra > information is also presented. This can be tough to handle. iTunes is > strictly a music store. > > Unfortunately, no single web site is totally accessible, has old and new > music from major record labels, and uses a format that is compatible with > all portable players and CD burners. Of all the download sites reviewed, > however, my favorite is Napster. > > For More Information > To learn more about portable devices, not only the iPod, visit two pages > offered by Brian Hartgen: > > Portable Media Player Portal, <www/hartgen.org/portable.html>. > > On the page, you can find information about iPod configuration files for > Window-Eyes and JAWS and information about how to join the Blind iPod > mailing list. I found this list helpful. Some members of the mailing list > use other portable devices than the iPod. > > The Portable Player Portal Blog, < > http://portableplayerportal.wordpress.com> > > > This blog is for posting new information and updates. > > The iPod Experience, by Anna Dresner, available from National Braille > Press > <www.nbp.org >> is an interesting, firsthand account of the author's > experience with the iPod Shuffle. The book also contains some useful > resources. > > > http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw070407 > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Debbie G" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 11:21 AM > Subject: [jaws-users] Downloading music sites > > >> Hi all, >> >> Do any of you know of any legal sites that people can download music and >> are accessible with Jaws? >> >> I don't remember if I asked this question before. >> >> Thanks in advance. >> Debbie >> Owner of a new group: >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> >> >> >> Visit the JAWS Users list home page at: >> http://www.jaws-users.com >> >> For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the JAWS Users List >> send a blank email to: >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> Visit the new archives page at the following address >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> >> >> > > > > > Visit the JAWS Users list home page at: > http://www.jaws-users.com > > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the JAWS Users List > send > a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Visit the new archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > Visit the JAWS Users list home page at: > http://www.jaws-users.com > > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the JAWS Users List > send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Visit the new archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > Visit the JAWS Users list home page at: http://www.jaws-users.com For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the JAWS Users List send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Yahoo! 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