Ok, nothing works basically. I'm aware that they've taken the MP3 capabilities out but I've downloaded XMMS and Winamp for Linux and Realplayer for linux and everything and nothing works. Winamp is an exe??, Realplayer installs but doesn't launch and XMMS plays them silently at about 10x their normal speed.

What on earth do I do??

google for 'fedora core 4 MP3 support' maybe? :)

Anyway this should answer your questions:

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

Winamp is for Windows only.

Yes, you need MP3 support for FC4, whatever, and you need to D/L xmms-mp3... sheesh... I am really tired of this .mp3 junk...

I personally will not use a Linux Distro that does not have MP3 support... It's just a con-job...

KC

I wouldn't be too harsh - its just caution in a country (USA) where they have a lot of stupid laws regarding intellectual property.

Anyway the solution is easy - just download Mandriva, Ubuntu, SimplyMEPIS, PCLinuxOS, Gentoo etc etc. - any distro that doesn't exclude MP3 support (or other things like NTFS support too).

I think soon the USA will become known as a place that produces second-rate software simply because US software makers (both open and closed source) will have to start stripping so much out as patent lawsuits and threats start to bight. Luckily Europe-based software makers are not in such a bad position since the rejection of the SW patent bill over there, although the threat remains to some extent.

Not being harsh just practical... the RIAA/MPAA are on a rampage and it's getting out of hand... The Internet was founded on the FOIA, as becoming more hypocritical of the fact...

I don't want to get into a political discussion here but it's jsut an RIAA BS JOB....

KC

I agree - its bullshit. Although its not the RIAA that has anything to do with it (they don't own any significant amounts of patents) its the big US software companies - Microsoft, Adobe, HP, IBM etc.

I disagree, The RIAA is a very powerfull industry in the US and has International influence...

I am not one to push web sites, however the following I believe stands for what the Internet was specifically designed...

http://www.eff.org/

KC

I never said that the RIAA didn't have a lot of influence but you've confused the 2 different issues surrounding Mp3s. One is the piracy issue to do with the easy music copying enabled by P2P networks combined with MP3s that the RIAA goes on about. The other is the fact that the MP3 algorithms are patented in some countries, which the RIAA has nothing to do with and cares nothing about. Its the patents which stop US-based organisations like the Fedora project (and recently Novell with Suse 9.3) from including MP3 support by default.

See:
http://www.fedoraproject.org/wiki/ForbiddenItems
http://www.eff.org/patent/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3#Lic..._patent_issues
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3#MP2...d_the_Internet

pacificred--

This will make life much easier for you. Just follow this guide from beginning to end and yo will have a really nice Fedora Core 4 Linux box with mp3 and the works:

http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_cor...ion_notes.html