• if you have a CD collection and would like to convert songs from your CDs into MP3 files, you can use ripper and encoder software to do just that. A ripper copies the song's file from the CD onto your hard disk. The encoder compresses the song into the MP3 format. By encoding songs, you can play them on your computer or take them with you on your MP3 player.
• If you have an internet you can download MP3 file from it (but this one is not legal!!!).

If you would like to download and then listen to MP3 files on your computer, then you need:

• A computer
• A sound card and speakers for the computer (If your computer has speakers, it has a sound card)
• An Internet connection
• An MP3 player (a software application you can download from the Web in 10 minutes)

Knowing about the MP3 format isn't half as interesting as using it. The MP3 movement -- consisting of the MP3 format and the Web's ability to advertise and distribute MP3 files -- has done several things for music:

• It has made it easy for anyone to distribute music at nearly no cost (or for free).
• It has made it easy for anyone to find music and access it instantly.
• It has taught people a great deal about manipulating sound on a computer.

The MP3 movement is one of the most amazing phenomena that the music industry has ever seen. Unlike other movements -- for example, the introduction of the cassette tape or the CD -- the MP3 movement started not with the industry itself but with a huge audience of music lovers on the Internet. The MP3 format for digital music has had, and will continue to have, a huge impact on how people collect, listen to and distribute music.