After making my mp3 collection available, I've noticed none of the audio programs that were installed with FC3 support mp3s. Downloading and installing things in FC3 has given me some trouble, probably just because I am unfamiliar with the new proccess. Anyway, I used to use iTunes while using windows. I loved the interface, and how it listed all of my songs. Is there a similiar mp3 player for FC3 ? How can I download it ? Thanks.

mreinecker: Look at Music Player (Rhythmbox 0.8.8) in the sound/video list. If you look in the Help Intro, the first item on the supported music format list is MP3.

When trying to play mp3 files in music player, I get an error message saying there is no plugin installed to handle playing an mp3.

Maybe it would be good idea to read up on the problem and how to fix it:

http://www.rhythmbox.org/faq.html

Q: I'm using Fedora, and Rhythmbox can't import nor play mp3 files. What's wrong?

A: Red Hat can't ship mp3 players as part of Fedora because of legal issues. Follow these instructions to get GStreamer packages with mp3 support.

How-To:

http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/download/fedora.html

If you search LQ for relevant terms, someone has probably already explained this in detail.

You could also try xmms, but again, Fedora doesn't come with mp3 support... unless you install it yourself. Google for xmms-mp3 and you'll have it working in no time. (If you're using yum, I believe it's in the Dag repository)

Thanks for the help, and having patience with me. I did do a search on LQ but didn't find anything. I appreciate it.

Go to http://rpm.livna.org and read the Configuration section. You can get the gstreamer-plugins-mp3 package there, which makes Rhythmbox and Sound-Juicer support mp3 files. Other mp3 packages are available there, too.

mreinecker: This is a followup on misc’s post.

Using Firefox, go to http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/3/i386/yum/stable/RPMS/ and select the package gstreamer-plugins-mp3-0.8.5-0.lvn.2.3.i386.rpm .

When the dialogue opens, select “Install package” (or something to that effect), as opposed to “Save to disk”. The rpm will be automatically downloaded and installed. You may need to be logged in as root.

If for some reason that does not install the package, repeat the process, but instead save the rpm to /var/spool/up2date. Open a terminal (right click) and enter:

cd /var/spool/up2date
rpm -i gstreamer-plugins-mp3-0.8.5-0.lvn.2.3.i386.rpm

Let us know if your mp3's play.

misc: Maybe you can explain something to me, but first, let me thank you for making me aware of rpm.livna.org. I was aware of repositories like freshrpms.net, but not one so closely associated with Fedora. I feel like it is the proverbial elephant standing in the middle of the room that no one is talking about.

Now for the question. It looks like you have to proactively install packages to support things like mp3's, but I see in the Configuration section, the need to include a link to the repository in up2date (sources.conf). Obviously, this functions for updating to newer versions of whatever you might install from rpm.livna.org, but is there a way to initiate a systemwide update/enhancement of installed Fedora packages which are missing something that is present in the repository?

I did some tests with up2date using the suggested links and could not find an obvious way to initiate a systemwide update/enhancement.

If you provide yum witht the repos you can do:

# yum update -y *

That will download and install all the available updated packages from the repo's you have configured.

You could also use the gui tool for yum: yum-extender. You'll find some useful links about this app (and also some good threads on configuring repos) at www.fedoraforum.org

Please rephrase your question. I don't understand it, I'm afraid.
I could guess, but I doubt you want all packages available at rpm.livna.org

http://heidelberg.freshrpms.net/

not exhaustive but worth using on demand -- I hot-bookmarked it and use it on the fly! like immediate post-installation time I needed mp3 support in FC3

It doesn't give you mp3 support for k3b or KDE, though.

I finally found xmms-mp3 and downloaded and installed it. It's up and running now, and I'm very pleased. I'm learning so much more about linux now, and completing tasks like this are becoming easier for me, as I am so used to windows. Also, (I don't know if I should make a new thread about this...) I noticed the quality of sound I get when playing music on Linux (as opposed to when I was using XP) is much worse. I attempted to find an updated driver for my soundcard, thinking that would solve my problem. I found this website ALSA
and I figured it was perfect, and it would solve my problems. However, I am SO confused as to what to do. If someone is kind enough to point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it. Thanks for all the help.

As a newbie, don't attempt at installing [kernel level] driver updates which don't come from your Linux distribution vendor.

And yes, it would be better to open a new topic for sound quality issues with ALSA. You may need to describe your "problems" in much more detail.