File extentions, compression, and conversion

A constant problem I have is converting file formats from one to another to satisfy the powers that be. This is especially a problem with audio files. I don't want .m4p files from the iTunes store because those are DRMed, which restricts my fair use rights. I don't want .ogg because iTunes can't play them. (As you can see, iTunes causes a lot of problems, but I still have an iPod so... well, my next mp3 player will not be an iPod, for sure.) I've settled on converting all my music to .mp3 as a good compromise. The first step in converting files, my personal choices aside, is to find out what you want to convert to. Here are some sites with some good information:

• http://www.rockymountain.com/ref_extensions.htm One-page list of file extentions
• http://filext.com/ Probably more data than you'll ever need on the subject; has a helpful search box for getting info about a specific file extention, including what programs use it
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_data_compression Wikipedia page on Audio data compression
• http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/learningcenter/home/fileformats_glossary.html Good summary of different audio formats and their features

Now for audio conversions. There's tons of stuff to do this for you on sourceforge and that you can pay for. But, if you don't want to take that route, there are a few key programs that you should know about. The big ones are mplayer, faad, and lame.