Date: Fri 04-Dec-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

iinfo-Linda-Tripp-Tapes

Full Text:

INTERNET INFO FOR REAL PEOPLE: The Linda Tripp Tapes

By Bob Brand

Like the OJ Simpson trial, the Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton scandal does not

go away.

The audiotapes made by Linda Tripp of her conversations with Monica Lewinsky

(the "smoking gun" evidence) were released on November 17. While the written

transcripts had been released in mid-September, hearing the actual recorded

voices adds a personal dimension to the entire spectacle. Although it seems

much longer, in January 1998 the public first heard the name Monica Lewinsky.

Having been muzzled by Ken Starr, the world may now hear her voice over the

Internet.

Technical Problems

Numerous news websites have available voice snippets extracted from the 22

hours of the Tripp recordings. The Judiciary Committee made the entire

material available. One of the few places archiving the complete set of the

audio tapes can be found on the CNN website.

In all likelihood, government sites do not have the software, hardware or

sufficient bandwidth to offer Real Audio streaming found on the larger

commercial news sites. By listening to complete tapes, a fuller prospective of

the conversations emerge. The popularity of these sites coupled with current

limitations resulting from the present state of the Internet's infrastructure

poses several significant problems. Here are some tips, suggestions, and

observations that may improve the listening experience.

The CNN site streams the tapes using Real Audio format. This means the Real

Audio player must be installed on your system. By clicking on the hotlink (I

chose the 28.8 connection), the streaming files are sent over the Net and

launch the Real Audio player. The voices arrive smoothly and clearly over my

56k modem connection. Although Tripp used a low cost Radio Shack tape

recorder, the quality is remarkably good. Before long, however, problems set

in. The greatest frustration results when "dead spots" occur -- all sound

stops. Often, the cause is not readily apparent. The tapes (and the written

transcripts) were edited to remove offensive words and names of individuals

whose privacy should be protected. In some cases, such as on tape 15, large

chunks of the recording were erased resulting in long periods of silence. The

best way to reduce the frustration is to display the transcript (or print it

out while listening) of that tape and estimate when the next segment will

commence.

Too Popular

Another significant frustration results from overloading at the CNN site. When

too many visitors attempt to download a Real Audio stream, the sound stops. It

is not obvious when this occurs. As a check, view the number of bytes

sent/received by the Windows 95/98 dialer by clicking the icon found on the

lower right side of the screen. People connected to the CNN site via a LAN

connection do not have this tool available.

In my experience, visiting CNN in the evenings provides better performance

than daytime connections. In other words, people listening during working

hours will run into greater frustrations than listening after dinner. As the

popularity and hype die down, daytime access should improve.

Other Tips

Listening to all 37 cassettes (tapes 31-37 are "body wires" Tripp made while

equipped with a FBI recording device) would take 23 to 25 hours under ideal

conditions. Experienced surfers will multi task --for example, read and answer

e-mail while listening to the tapes. Best results may occur on weekends when

the packet load on the Net is down. Even experienced surfers with a fast

computer and high-speed access to the Internet will be frustrated should they

attempt to hear all 37 tapes. If the pain is too great, you may have to wait

for the conversation to become available on CD -- which should be soon.

While hearing the voices coming through the speakers on a PC, the listener

feels a sense of eavesdropping on the private lives of ordinary people. Shock

sets in when one realizes Monica Lewinsky's friend, "the creep," is the

President of the United States. As one listens a sense that the lives of the

people captured on the tape will change forever. While the tapes are laced

with chitchat, even with the redactions made by the Judiciary Committee, the

tapes make for compelling listening. Even the most hard-bitten anti-scandal

haters who claim to be totally bored with the whole sordid affair will find

something unexpected. Only the Internet brings this dimension.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/resources/1998/lewinsky/tripp.tapes/index.html

(This is the 131st of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the

Internet. Next, Last Minute Shopping on the Net is the subject on tap. Stay

tuned. Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of

Internet Info for Real People (including links to sites mentioned in this

article) can be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and

suggestions to: rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)