I downloaded a new version and it completely froze my PC. I tried several times, same result. I tried deleting the old version and got scary messages about the end of the world if I delete this or that …ended up putting audacity on my husband’s laptop and it worked fine with all theses podcasts.
I have a dinosaur PC which still runs on Windows XP. My old PC has a horrible generic video card (suitable for not much else than Adobe Flash Player videos), but it still has an excellent sound card, Sound Blaster.
I don’t download anything. I just record audio of whatever it is I want to listen to — from videos or podcasts or what-have-you — through my computer’s stereo mix using Creative Recorder.
This records everything in .wav files. I then use Creative WaveStudio to convert the files to .mp3.
Once the file is converted from . wav to .mp3, which usually takes just a minute or so, I can play the .mp3 file on good old Windows Media Player at whatever speed I want to, down to half-speed.
I’m still not where I want to be with Dutch yet, but this method has helped improve my listening proficiency to such a degree that now I can listen at speeds between 80 percent and normal speed, depending on the clarity and speed of the speaker, at a reasonably high level of comprehension. Now when I’m listening and I encounter a word or phrase that I’m not familiar with, like ‘uitgangspunten’ or ‘er een flinke schep bovenop te doen,’ I can, in most cases, still decipher what the words are, even while still learning what the words or phrases mean.
Sometimes, once I’m familiar enough with a recording, it’s even fun (depending on who’s speaking) to listen at an increased speed (140 percent), and then go back and listen at normal speed. This helps reinforce certain phrases and speech patterns.
I can also re-record the files at whatever speed I want and then load them onto whatever audio device I want to carry with me.
THANK YOU ! MERCI BEAUCOUP ! MUCHOS GRACIAS ! MULTUMESC ! СПАСИБО ! KIITOS ! धन्यवाद ! KÖSZÖNÖM ! ՇՆՈՐՀԱԿԱԼՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ ! ĎAKUJEM !!! I love information like this !!!
(You’re lucky to still have Windows XP)