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What kind of software do you use to tap the sound going to your PC speakers? Preferably freeware.
A non-computer friend of mine considers me a guru for all sorts of computer issues. When I haven't had any similar need myself, I have no off hand answer to him (beyond 'Place a microphone in front of the PC speakers, and digitize that recording - that is not considered a viable solution anno 2024!). His immediate "need" is to capture an audio podcast that he wants to listen to when driving is car, but he asks me for a general solution for capturing any sound. This podcast is delivered through a web page that does not reveal any URL for each of the 109 chapters of the podcast, e.g. usable for yt-dlp. My friend is far from well-to-do, so he definitely prefers freeware. Certainly no huge, expensive software suite.
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
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streamWriter[^] should do the trick. However, you'll need standard podcast URL that you can post into an app like WinAmp.
/ravi
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trønderen wrote: 'Place a microphone in front of the PC speakers, and digitize that recording
Sound quality would suffer a lot. To do it with hardwarre then better to use a cable forwarding the jack of the loudspeakers to the mic input.
But almost every software out there to make video capture or edit audio has a setting somewhere to "record system sounds", check that, unplug the mic, start the stream, hit "record" and you will have the best quality your hardware can give you.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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trønderen wrote: His immediate "need" is to capture an audio podcast that he wants to listen to when driving is car, but he asks me for a general solution for capturing any sound.
So he wants to capture what's being sent to the soundcard? As in, play back the podcast and record it in real time?
I don't understand how this saves anyone any time, unless he's going to schedule this to take place at 2:00am.
Winamp had a Write to Disk option somewhere, which went as fast as it could (eg, it's not taking 2 minutes to convert a 2-minute MP3), but then, the problem is still, how do you point Winamp to the audio if the podcast doesn't expose the URL.
My suggestion would be to try harder to find said URL. Let me guess, his source is Apple?
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Check out VoiceMeeter. You can setup virtual sound sources and direct them anywhere you like, e.g. a DAW
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Can we have a link to the web page with these podcasts?
Someone might be able to figure out the stream addresses.
So old that I did my first coding in octal via switches on a DEC PDP 8
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VLC can convert direct to disk, using the "media->convert/save" option directly from the app menu.
Problem here however is one of automation.
That said, VLC does have an automation interface (I can't remember exactly how, it's been years since I did anything with it) but I remember once a very long time ago writing a .NET front end (Winforms app) which when put on a server could be used to save the currently playing iFrame under an ASP.NET web page to disk.
VLC does also have a stand alone library file of all it's main functions, it's documented on the VLC site I think, and there are certainly a few .NET libs on NuGet to interface to it.
If you just want an app that can rip anything your currently looking at/listening too on your desktop, then OBS Studio will do the job easily and quickly.
I have my OBS set up with a number of different scenes, one of which is full screen desktop + desktop audio, so all I need to do is start OBS, click a single line of text then press record.
failing that, if your ok with batch scripting and have a txt file with all the URL's in, then you can use the command line to itterate through the text file, and pass each URL in turn to a tool like yt-dlp.
This will work on windows, linux and mac, and if you use the '-f' or '-F' flag (Can't remember which) it will list all the available formats for the mentioned URL for you, you can then use the other '-f/F' with the format number and yt-dlp will ONLY pull down that format EG: audio.
By using the -F/f flags you won't need to do any post conversion on the file, you can simply just for loop over a text file, yt-dlp each url with the appropriate format and end up with a nice clean folder of MP3's/Wavs etc.
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trønderen wrote: Place a microphone in front of the PC speakers, and digitize that
Hmmm, I remember doing that when ripping vinyl onto reel-to-reel tape. The sound may have been a little crappy but that crappiness was nothing compared to tape wow, flutter, hiss, oxide shedding, and the poor playback system(s).
But there were some secrets revealed that in that recording method that might otherwise go unnoticed. Take, for instance, Steve Miller Band's album Number 5, side one. The last song is Tokin's and the final verses of the song repeat "And in a little while I know it's gonna change." Nothing to that, right? But when you listen to the tape the song ends and then you can hear the record changer look for the next record in the stack.
Dang! My '58 Renault Dauphine has another flat tire.
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This is something I wouldn't ever trust to automation. That being said, I'd do this in hardware. I used to be a tape-recorder-nut and did work with tape recorders of various formats, and I would first suggest using a common cassette recorder, except they are no longer 'common'. Likewise, a VCR can be utilized to make audio-only recordings of up to 8 hours long, just use the VCR's line-in jacks and 'ignore' the video. Of course, VCR's are no longer common either. Maybe one of those handheld voice recorders can accept a patchcord? The other thing is to attach a second computer, use the capture audio on the line-in of second computer. Use a free recording program such as Audology.
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I use multiple hardware systems with multiple VMs on them. It would be extremely useful to me for a tool that would allow me to login across all machines and share cut/paste information. Now, here's the caveat - I am not creating or logging in to a Microsoft account to allow me to do this. The MS ecosystem is such a disaster at this point, I don't want to bother. I'll throw apple under the same bus.
I'll keep searching. I don't know, maybe there is a website out there that does something like this?
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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Boxes under Ubuntu. Cut'n'paste between native and VM windows, no sweat.
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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will look into it. ty
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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Windows Server does that even between different users...
We found that out on the hard way, when working remote in our indian plant.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Interesting. I know I can do it if I have all of my "machines" logged in. I am not interested in binding my systems to Microsoft period. I get enough login requests from them as it is.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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I don't do this very often, but one tool I have running anyway on multiple desktops is Discord, and I have used it to share items between desktops. Just that there's an annoying bar on the Windows 7 desktops these days urging me to upgrade to Windows 10 or newer.
Another tool that works for me is Dropbox.
These are really both overkill for just sharing across my LAN, but the only other thing would be to write my own app to do this, then I wouldn't have to worry about content, size, and volume restrictions.
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hmmmm ty for the info...
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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My rule of thumb is that the best application or device is the one you don't realise you're using. We use things generally to get something else done, and not for the "using" itself (though obviously there are exceptions to this).
I'm finding, however, that software is becoming louder and more aggressive in its "look at me! Aren't I doing awesome??" way of being.
This whole trend was started with antivirus software which used to pop up every 15 mins to tell you how safe you are, and how scary the world would be if you didn't keep paying their subscription. Then Windows Defender came along and quietly destroyed that market and did the world a favour. It just sat there, doing its job, and letting you do yours.
But now it seems every time I open an app there's a splash screen for its new point release, or a modal dialog pointing out the new shade of turquoise in the toolbar, or a tour walk-through of a feature that you could care less about. More and more and more.
I'm wondering if this is because
- The economic climate is rough and so everyone is clamouring over everyone else for market share. As products get louder other products get louder and so others get louder. GOTO 10.
- We're all market fatigued so to get our TikTok-numbed attention you have to shout
- It's a marketing trend that everyone follows because everyone else is doing it, with no actual evidence it helps, and even if it does help, it's being done wrong by devs who don't actually understand what they should be doing. See also: cookie warnings.
- I'm old and crotchety and need to lighten up and understand software has insecurities too. It's just a phase.
I have another rant about advertising in Operating System (Hi, Microsoft) that I'll save till the chocolate kicks in properly.
cheers
Chris Maunder
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And this is just the beginning.
As AI becomes more prevalent the first to make full use of it, after DOD of course is the marketing crowd.
If you've ever been to one of those streets where the hawkers are in front of their place of business with the pitch to draw you in; hey buddy we got the coldest beer in town (not really what they're pitching but I'm being KSS) then you will understand what's coming.
Every time you pass a store you're phone will go crazy with the; hey buddy we got the coldest beer in town...
The marketers will research new ways to use AI to gain access to your wallet, to confirm take you deserve that cold beer.
Market fatigue?, Market Burnout!
Definition of a burocrate; Delegate, Take Credit, shift blame.
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - Release Version 1.3.1 JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: EventAggregator
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Chris Maunder wrote: The economic climate is rough
Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Peeps in power want to stay in power, so they'll tell you one thing (there's no recession) while actually doing another. Even Google is terrible with this now. I get ads in my Gmail... that I pay for. It's Google's own crap, so apparently that's cool...
If we don't resist it, and when the economy eventually turns around, it's not like tech companies will magically stop it either. As long as users let them get away with it.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: I get ads in my Gmail...
Wow! I've never seen a single ad in Gmail - and I only use the free version. Admittedly, I get less than 5 messages a week so I'm probably not ad worthy.
/ravi
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Yeah, it's for new Google "features"... come try this and that. It's not always free stuff either. It's in bad taste IMO.
Jeremy Falcon
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