Chapter 12
PC Audio Abilities
In This Chapter
Understanding sound hardware
Configuring speakers
Setting up sound in Windows
Changing the volume
Playing sounds for certain events
Recording sounds
Using Windows dictation
Originally, a computer’s audio was a simple bell. Ding! When the first microcomputers came out in the 1970s, they had small, tinny speakers to emulate the bell. Beep. Your computer’s audio system has moved far beyond that primitive beep. Built into the chipset on the PC’s motherboard is specialized sound circuitry, including a complete music synthesizer. [Insert symphony sound here.] The computer can talk, sing, and even ding like a bell. It can also listen to your utterances.
The Noisy PC
All PCs include sound-generation hardware on the motherboard. This hardware ...
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