On a recent Podcast Andrew H(I believe it was) was saying how he'd been converting his old dance music from vinyl to MP3. This is something that I'd started doing recently. There is a lot of dance stuff I have from the late 80s/early 90s which is either impossible to get on vinyl or would cost a fortune to do so.

I'd bought the Inport Deluxe from Xitel which basically links hi-fi to PC via USB and then you can record as wav files, convert, split, etc, etc. For some reason when connecting to my PC via the Tape Out of my amplifier I couldn't get it to work and after consulting technical help I tried the alternative of the headphone socket which did.

Ok, for anyone still with me, the recordings I made were good but somehow they just weren't as good as I was expecting particularly when they sat next to tracks I'd ripped from CD in my iPod. I'm not sure whether to persevere with this method or try a USB turntable.

So, the question is - are there any Word readers who have done much vinyl conversion either using this kind of method or USB turntables? I'm looking for some recommendation/guidance from the discerning Word readership or indeed Andrew himself. I've got a couple of thousand twelve inches which I'd like to convert.

Thanks!

I was sent this a couple of months ago...

Rap Lyrics explained with charts and graphs

This has now become a major Internet craze and there are some other great ones here starting with Rick Astley and Prince -

Never Gonna Give You Up

There are more here should you wish to kill some time at work...

More

And more

Very funny!

After dropping some Father Dougal-style hints about a Word subscription to my wife, Christmas (and, of course, she)was kind to me and I am now the proud owner of a brand spanking new Word subscription. I have confessed with shame before that I used to read the mag in its early days but apart from the odd appealing cover I hadn't been a regular for some time. I'm happy to say that the Podcast reignited my relationship and this time I promise to remain faithful to Word!

Of course, the icing on the cake was a letter through the post from Mr Mark "three reviews" Ellen thanking me and congratulating me on my impeccable taste (anytime!). The letter mentions not having to brave the newsagents anymore and frankly, this can only be a good thing. It seems that it is almost impossible to buy Word in the newsagents these days. The best place I've found is the WH Smith on New Street station. Every other newsagent/supermarket I've been to over the last couple of months seems to have every music magazine but Word. Borders is a good bet but when I can't get into Birmingham my quest ends in disappointment. Luckily, I've only got to get the current issue before my subscription kicks in so this won't be a problem for much longer.

Is it just me that has had this problem?

Matt(aka Subscriber No:WOR 15066)