If you enjoy playing music in the background while you work, you'll be glad to know that virtually all computers in use today can play music CDs.
What you need
To play music CDs on your computer, make sure you have the following stuff:
- A computer. (Go figure.)
- A CD-ROM drive.
- External computer speakers that plug into your machine.
- If you have a Windows PC, a sound card, which is a piece of computer hardware that lets your computer play sounds. It probably came with your machine.
- A CD player application, which comes with either Windows or the Mac OS. Other programs can also play CDs on your computer.
Play it, Sam
To fire up your favorite CD, follow these steps:
1. Get a music CD.
Pick a CD, any CD. . . .
2. Press the Open/Close button of the CD-ROM drive, place the disc in the tray, and then press the Open/Close button again.
3. If your CD player application doesn't automatically start up, launch the program.
In Windows XP, choose Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> Entertainment --> Windows Media Player.
In Mac OS X, click the iTunes icon in the Dock.
If you're using another program for playing MP3 songs and audio CDs, go right ahead and launch it.
4. Click the Play button.
The buttons on the controller are similar to those you find on any car or home stereo. You can also stop, pause, move from track to track, move forward or backward in a track, and adjust the volume.
