Website Sound

COMPUTER BOOK REVIEW  

489 words

Title: Website Sound;  Patrick Seaman and Jim Cline; 
New Riders; ISBN: 1-56205-626-3; Paperback, 
435 pages, US$44.99, CAN$63.95, UK£41.49

Reviewer: Glenn Darling, "Whether you want to broadcast 
to the world or add audio to your home based business 
website, Website Sound is a must read."

Voices on the World Wide Web change history

The reviews are in and Radio B92 from Belgrade is a world 
wide hit and a genuine lifesaver. When the voice of the 
people in that troubled land was silenced by its dictator, 
a new technology took up the torch, website sound. 

The voice of the downtrodden went world wide via the 
common computer, and it created a backlash that changed 
the course of history. The application of sound for your 
computer may not be as dramatic but it can be just 
as successful. 

Website Sound from authors Patrick Seaman and 
Jim Cline takes us to the cutting edge of today's live 
and recorded sound. As the business use of the 
internet charges full speed into the 21st century, audio 
will begin to play an ever increasing role. The end 
result should bring balance to a medium presently 
dominated by visual artistry.  

With this underlying assumption the authors spare 
little in explaining the necessary components. 
Quite a task when most computer owners aren't 
aware of the differences between sound audio 
and audio sound.

Seaman and Cline wisely begin by introducing 
us to the two major contenders in today's' sound 
wars, Content and Technology. What they do 
not do, much to their credit, is to attempt to 
pick a winner or loser.

The authors exercise much wisdom in transporting 
us to the contending camps to introduce, without 
bias, the methodologies employed. Then, in 
more than adequate depth, they allow us to 
discover how computer audio sound works 
and how to implement it on our website.

Patrick Seaman correctly asserts that computer 
sound is still primarily virgin territory. It is 
fraught with the growing pains created by the 
same combatants that fuel the fires of free 
enterprise, competition. According to Jim 
Cline web audio will run the same gauntlet 
that VHS and Betamax endured. 

One should keep in mind that the eventual winner 
isn't always the best competitor. What is vital, 
new, and exciting today will become obsolete 
tomorrow. The computer world knows this 
only too well.

If to do is to learn, this book is about as "hands 
on" as you're going to get. The wealth of 
information surrounding the application 
of audio sound is more than enough to make 
a web presence that is the envy of any site 
master.  

Seaman and Cline have an almost gleeful attitude 
about the possibilities of applying sound to your 
site. Which perhaps isn't so strange in light of the 
fact that two billion people are expected to be 
on the internet in the next century. If you're doing 
business, you'll need every advantage. 

This is where Website Sound shines. One could 
almost assert that this 435 page book is the 
definitive guide. It is certainly one of the most 
rewarding explorations into the vastly expanding 
world of sound for computers.

Whether you want to broadcast to the world 
or add audio to your home based business 
site, Website Sound is a must read.