Music

SLUG device allows for copying of any streamed audio

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The SLUG is a device that allows users to record any streamed audio off of a computer or other device
The SLUG is a device that allows users to record any streamed audio off of a computer or other device
The SLUG is a device that allows users to record any streamed audio off of a computer or other device
The SLUG is a device that allows users to record any streamed audio off of a computer or other device
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Perhaps you've experienced this frustration before. There's a piece of audio on a website that you want to use in a project of your own, and it's playing right there on your computer, yet you have no way of copying it - short of holding a microphone up to your speakers, that is. Well, Kenneth Gibbs and Seena Zandipour want to change that. They've invented a little gizmo called the SLUG, that can reportedly obtain lossless recordings of any streamed audio being played back by a computer or other electronic device. The music labels will no doubt be about as happy to see the emergence of this thing as they were when blank audio cassettes first hit the stores.

The SLUG has two 3.5mm plugs, that go into the computer's headphone and microphone ports. It then takes the audio that is being output from the headphone port, and redirects it into the microphone port - an adapter is included for devices with irregularly-spaced ports. From there, users can save the music (or other audio) as MP3 files. If they're recording a playlist, the SLUG software will automatically detect breaks between songs, so it can save them as separate tracks. Additionally, users can take advantage of a feature that deletes files under a certain length, to avoid saving commercials.

The SLUG is a device that allows users to record any streamed audio off of a computer or other device

Should users wish to rip audio from an external device onto their computer, the SLUG also has an incorporated 3.5mm jack on a short cable, which can be run into the headphone port of that device. Users can monitor their recordings using earbuds, which can be plugged into a dedicated port on the SLUG.

To their credit, Gibbs and Zandipour have stated that they don't condone the recording of copyrighted material. Additionally, the software won't work until users agree to the terms and conditions of its use, which include only using it to record content that is public domain, or that the user has the rights to. That said, it's pretty hard to believe that a lot of users won't be heading straight to YouTube, Pandora or countless other sites, to score themselves some free tunes.

Kenneth and Seena are currently raising production funds from prospective buyers, on Kickstarter. A pledge of US$25 will reserve you a SLUG, once they're ready to ship - they should retail for $30.

Just remember, if you get one, only use it for the forces of good.

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11 comments
William H Lanteigne
Great. The reason streaming files are \"free\" is because they can\'t be recorded- unless a strategy/device like this is used. Now the sites streaming files will have to have \"streaming copy device\" detection protocols, and...
EyeMars
There\'s nothing lossless about sampling the analog output of the sound card back into its microphone input...
Jon A.
Or you could just use an open source audio recorder program like Audacity and set it to record directly from your system audio, no hardware required.
mrhuckfin
Yup Audacity works quite well but it would be just that much simpler if I could plug this thing in and get it. Everybody always acts like things like this are going to be the undoing of the audio industry and in the end it makes people go buy the music more then not, I never bought so many CD\'s before I started to down load off the internet back in the early 2000\'s because I wanted more pristine versions of what I found and wanted more from these artists than what I could find on the net. :-)
Andrew Rockefeller
Turn on stereo mix... http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/39532/how-to-enable-stereo-mix-in-windows-7-to-record-audio/ ...then use any audio program to record directly from the system to file.
The solution shown is a Rube Goldberg machine by comparison.
Dénes Sebestyén
Well, you\'re absolutely right, easier to buy and plug a big loopback, than downloading a free and simple program to do the work. You\'re right. :)
Facebook User
Great idea but software already exists to do this, eg Applian Technology software captures both video and audio by setting a capture window onscreen for the podcast, vid, etc. Pretty well foolproof too - Replay Video Capture does it all.
Tarek Ali
well i have a better trick that i always use. just open your temporary folder for internet explorer and you will find the audio track that you would like to copy. Sometimes you need to do it simultaneously as some website delete after playback.
kenny gibbs
Hey guys Kenny from Sound Slug here,
Love to see all the input, The Rube Goldberg comparison especially gave me a good laugh. I have used all the methods listed here in the comments and invented the SLUG for its ease of use. It is actually a lot simpler than software out right now, and has no noticeable quality difference. Not to mention it has a variety of uses, like recording audio from external devices. I can\'t wait until the first review comes out on the product because we have added in a few surprises customers will receive with the purchase of the SLUG.
Thank you for all the comments and to Gizmag for the great review. Hope you guys can support us! -Kenny
jjsmail
I can see that this fulfills a need, but there is a very simple way - Total Recorder software. Since you have to start the recorder anyway, Total Recoder is so incredibly simple and records any sound your computer plays - audio, video, Skype calls, etc.
For Slug users - I hope that they don\'t find that the distance between the 2 jacks varies on different computers. And, - as mentioned, this is not lossless - first D>A than A>D back. It is only as good as your converters on the competer.