goodbye patented .mp3
Finally I found a clean and easy way to convert those mp3 files I had ripped from my CDs onto my laptop (note the fair use) in those bad old Windows days to the free .ogg format. No more patent encumbered music formats for me. The mp32ogg package does just what its name says.
It’s a command line tool that could not be simpler to use. While I’m writing this, my machine does all this work in the background. Takes about five minutes for a full album of your average garden-variety .mp3 music. Just one minor caveat: This thing is so straightforward that it will simply convert any file in a directory to .ogg – be it a playlist or a cover picture.
Why didn’t I find this before? Probably never thought about it.