CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: LISTEN UP: STREAMING AUDIO, VIDEO MAKE SURFING FUN (COLUMN 86)

Some of the biggest changes we've seen since we started surfing have been improved sound and animation.

Used to be, you had to wait while things downloaded, which took a while. Boring. Web surfers just don't have that much patience.

These days, new technology brings music and animation to your computer instantly.

Joni: I went back to the Disney's Animal Kingdom site last week and thanks to RealPlayer 5.0 I was able to take a look at video clips. Some were up to 7 minutes long. It took just a few seconds to start, but then you just saw it streaming.

Peggy: There are a lot of places you can go online to hear things as they happen. If you need to download RealPlayer or learn more about it, go to

www.real.com/products/player/index.html

Joni: RealPlayer is free. You can get a jazzier version for $30. We got the free one.

Peggy: RealPlayer provides live and on-demand audio and video. Because I don't get a chance to listen to much music, lets take a look at MusicNet, with more than 1,700 clips of the hottest music.

www.musicnet.com

Joni: Here are the choices: alternative, blues, country, dance, hip hop, jazz, pop, R&B, rock, and world.

Peggy: World? OK. Joni clicked on Rock. Here's Bonnie Raitt. You get a few minutes of some songs off her "Fundamental" album.

Joni: They have three featured artists, or you can cruise the archives. They also have links off to fan sites for performers.

Peggy: The archives aren't searchable. You have to browse through three choices at a time. The choices are updated every two weeks.

Joni: Another big site for your listening pleasure is Live Concerts

www.liveconcerts.com

You can check the upcoming online concert schedule and cruise through the archives. Let's click on Neil Diamond.

Peggy: The concerts are recorded across the country, but cybercasts can be heard at your computer. My sister sometimes attends cybercasts with her friends. In other words, she is at home listening to the concert while her friends are at their homes listening to the concert. I guess it's a lot cheaper.

Joni: It's not as much fun. I guess they compare notes online.

Peggy: At least my sister didn't have to worry about what to wear.

Joni: Virtual clothes. Hmmm. In the archives, we clicked on a concert by The Cure from 1996. We could listen to 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Peggy: The site has 167 concerts. The most recent one was recorded this month. You can search by artist or musical genre. Here's James Taylor, 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Joni: A concert was held Sunday with Blues singers Marcia Ball and Susan Tedeschi. The site will send you a reminder if you like. Also coming up is Cheap Trick Live and Jefferson Starship. I thought they were dead.

Peggy: For movie clips, interviews, trailers and reviews, take a look at Film.com

www.film.com

Joni: Hey, we can take a look at the trailer for "Scream 2." The image is small, about 2-inches square, but it sure comes in fast.

Peggy: I noticed that the sound is a little out of sync from the pictures, like an old movie. But you know it didn't really matter as we watched the trailer for "City of Angels."

Joni: You can also view movie shorts from almost every genre in the Midnight Theater. I just wish they told us how long it is.

Peggy: If you see the name of a movie in the newspaper and don't know what it's about, you could go here and find out. They have about 50 movie trailers in the archive.

Joni: You can also read reviews and submit your own reviews. For something a little different, head to Timecast, a RealAudio and RealVideo guide.

www.timecast.com

Peggy: You can get to more than 500 live radio and television stations. It also gives you guidance on finding the best Real sites. And you'll never miss a live concert, game or event.

Joni: More than 50 television stations live in Real from around the world, Japan, Brazil, Ohio, Istanbul. You can also follow sports online. If you want to hear any of the playoff games -- basketball, baseball, hockey -- it's all here.

Peggy: If you can't get the Cubs and Dodger game on radio or television, you can get it online. You can also get an e-mail reminder of the game time.

Joni: If you can't find your favorite radio talk-show host, you can look through 500 radio stations from around the world. The list is searchable.

Peggy: Take a look at the site guide to find even more choices. Here's one for the World Wrestling Federation.

www.Wrestling-Online.com

Joni: You can find full wrestling matches and interviews. They have a couple different theaters you can enter.

Peggy: Our husbands are mega St. Louis Blues fans, and now that it's playoff time, we hear a lot of hockey talk. Of course, the playoffs last about 10 months.

Joni: Through the miracle of RealPlayer, you can hear the game even if it's not broadcast locally. You can also go back and listen to all the scores from the past. They offer WAV files and RealAudio. The nice thing about Real files is you don't have to wait.

Peggy: You can also listen to postgame comments from all the players.

Joni: You can catch Wednesday night's game online. You don't have to have access to it on television or radio.

Peggy: But my husband takes over all the electronics in the house when hockey comes on. We have hockey on television, radio and Internet. You know, hockey season never seems to end.

Joni: Maybe we can find a site for hockey widows. What's your favorite RealPlayer site on the Internet? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in cyberspace.

~Peggy Scott and Joni Adams are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.