Downloading sound bites from the Web is great fun, but too often it's not worth the long wait. Now, thanks to breakthroughs in compression, you can listen to live, FM-quality music and sound with a 28.8 modem and an Internet connection. The most widely-used tool for live sound is RealAudio by Progressive Networks.

We'll show you how to configure Netscape Navigator, the most popular Web browser, to play RealAudio sound files. RealAudio files are commonly used to send long sound bites and broadcasts on the Internet without incurring long download times.

But before you start, we offer two cautions: If you're using a 14.4 modem, you won't be able to hear all RealAudio files. Unfortunately, most sites don't clearly label which ones you can download. And if you're accessing the Internet at work, your network might not be set up to receive continuous "streams" of data, such as RealAudio. Your network administrator may have to install a special proxy server to make it work. For more on this topic, see RealAudio's help area.

If you are using a PC, first create a temporary folder on your hard drive and name it "download." When your browser asks you where to save the installation file, choose this folder.

To get the player, go to the RealAudio download page. Once there, type in your name and e-mail address and select the highest version of "RealAudio Player" from the "Product" pull-down menu, and specify your computer type. If you don't want to receive junk e-mail from RealAudio, click on the "Please Notify" box at the bottom of the page so that the box is not checked.

1. Click on one of the download links to get the software. Depending on your computer type, you may be told to download version 2.0 of the player. Go through the steps the RealAudio site specifies, then download the installation file to a temporary folder. (If you have a Macintosh, download the program to your desktop.) Take note of the name of the file.

2. When the file is finished downloading, Winzip or Stuffit will unpack it. Click twice on the installation program in the "download" folder. When prompted, go ahead and install the player in a folder called "Raplayer."

3. If you are a Mac user and have Netscape 2.0 or above, the installer will also create a RealAudio plug-in, a program that lets you play .ra and .ram files without leaving the browser window.

Now you need to tell Netscape to activate the RealAudio player when it comes across Real Audio files.

1. Select "General Preferences..." from the "Options" menu and click on the "Helpers" tab.

2. Scroll down until you see an entry for "audio/x-pn-realaudio." Select it by clicking it once with your mouse.

3. Click on the "Browse" button, which will open up a window showing your hard drive's contents. Find the program "RealAudio Player" in the folder "Raplayer" and click the "Open" button.

4. Click the large "OK" button to keep your changes.

To give the RealAudio Player a spin, go to the National Public Radio site and click on the link for Morning Edition. You should hear today's NPR broadcast.

Wav/AU Tool for:
Windows 95
Windows 3.1
Macintosh

Real Audio:
Follow this tutorial for all platforms.

Windows 95

Windows 3.1

Macintosh

Real Audio:
Follow this tutorial for all platforms.