With the exception of orchestral performances and truly "unplugged" concerts, today's music has evolved into a very hi-tech industry. It takes elements from many disciplines, including computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, mathematics, and physics. Because music technology encompasses everything from audio compression and encoding to advanced sound equipment, this Topic in Depth...

Speex is an audio codec used to compress speech-based audio, and is an open source product that can be freely downloaded at this site. "The Speex Project aims to lower the barrier of entry for voice applications by providing a free alternative to expensive proprietary speech codecs." Extensive documentation and the codec's source code are also available. In addition to the download, this site...