Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
December 5, 2005

---

Volume 1, Number 25 -- Monday, December 5, 2005
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

---

4.  Firefox and MIDI Music Files

Reader Sam Boggs wrote with a question this week:

Terry:
Here's a computer question:

Almost every time somebody sends me an e-mail which is supposed to have music, I get the banner in Firefox "Additional plugins are required to display all the media on this page", and there is a button "Install missing plugins" It invariably brings up Apple QuickTime, which I've installed many times. But it never seems to "catch" even though QuickTime is successfully downloaded each time I do this.

What do I need to do to make it work? Do I need to tweak some settings?
As an example, I've pasted below a recent link which gave me that Missing Plugin message:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/singingman7/Twinkies.htm

Sam Boggs

First, let's clarify the issue. The email did not contain the music. The email had a link to a web site which should play music.

In this case, the music file being loaded from the web site is formatted as a ".mid" MIDI file. The MIDI player that should work in Firefox is QuickTime, and QuickTime is being correctly identified. However, by default, QuickTime is not configured to play MIDI files.

So, we have to configure QuickTime to play MIDI (.mid) music files.

Before we start configuring QuickTime, you need to make sure you have QuickTime installed. If you do not have QuickTime installed, you need to install it (even if you already have it, you can download and install over the other version). You can go directly to Apple's site, where you will find the option to download the combination package of QuickTime and iTunes. Alternatively, if you can find a link, you can download only the QuickTime program (here's a link for only QuickTime http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/standalone.html ).

Let's start the QuickTime Player

And we see the Untitled (no music or video file loaded) player appear

From the menu, pick Edit / Preferences / QuickTime Preferences...

Select the Browser tab and click on Mime Settings

Click on the "+" box to expand the "Audio - Audio only file formats" listing

Check the box beside MIDI and then click OK and close QuickTime.

Now, Firefox will play the file TwinkiesBless.mid automatically when you go to this web site.

---

Good Stuff, and you can use the Internet to get it

I recently found a small, fourth-generation, family-run toffee manufacturer that sells their fantastic almond toffee via the Web.  When I tried some of their Chocolate Almond Toffee, "My, oh, my!"

Greenmar Toffee was so rich that one piece was actually satisfying — no kidding and no exaggeration.  It is so good that you will come back for more, later, of course.  But, I did not reach for the second piece immediately because one piece satisfied my taste buds.

Greenmar says about their toffee:  "One gift everybody loves, every time you send it. Greenmar toffee uses the freshest all-natural ingredients and tastes more like home made. Simple, secure online ordering makes this gift easy to share."  The thin block of toffee with tiny, embedded almond slices is coated on top and bottom with rich chocolate.  Butter, chocolate and sugar:  those are three of the basic food groups, aren't they?  ;-)

After receiving my shipment and tasting the toffee, I promptly ordered a gift shipment for my mother.  She loves toffee and loves to get it at this time of the year, as do many people.

Greenmar's web site easily handles gift orders, including shipments to multiple recipients, and they offer discounts for volume purchases, too.

Try Greenmar Toffee — I like it and I think you will, too.

---

5.  Another Music "Problem" with Firefox?

Larry Braud wrote to ask:

http://www.ruthann1.com/RedneckChristmas.htm
Terry, this site has a song in it, I can't get it in Firefox, but it works in IE. Would you have any reason why?
Larry

Larry,

The music on this web site did not play in Firefox because the web site owner is either inexperienced or doesn't care about non-IE users. She created the site using Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft's web design product, which includes a number of easy-to-insert web design features that only work in I.E.

In this case, she used the Internet-Explorer-only command BGSOUND to embed the sound file in the web page. The standard supported by everyone else is the EMBED command.

There is a standard JavaScript, easily findable via the Internet, to determine which browser is being used and to execute different commands depending upon which browser is used.

Similarly, if she had used .wma music files instead of .wav files, it would not play in anything but Internet Explorer, since wma files are "Windows Media Audio" files and are supported exclusively by Microsoft products.

Finally, as a web site design issue: never design for automatic playing of sounds or music. Allow the visitor to click on a button to activate the sound. Otherwise, the website quickly becomes obnoxious to repeat visitors.

Music Once = cute. Music Twice = ANNOYANCE!

---

Continued in Part 3

Volume 1, Number 25 -- Monday, December 5, 2005
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Copyright © 2005 Terry A. Stockdale.  All rights reserved.