[Sugar-devel] Advice request: XO sound recording

[Art Hunkins]

My new activity, FileMix, encourages children to create their own "nature" 
recordings to mix and process in FileMix (i.e., create "soundscapes"). Files 
can be mono or stereo, any sample rate and duration, and most file formats. 
The files also need to be renamed and placed in the FileMix.activity folder.

The Record activity is a natural for recording audio, and I had thought it 
would be the appropriate vehicle. I've recently discovered that it only 
produces Ogg Speex files, not the higher-quality Ogg Vorbis variety. 
Unfortunately, Csound and libsndfile handle only Ogg Vorbis - not Speex. (It 
would be very nice if Record *could* output Ogg Vorbis.)

So I turned to eToys. I find it somewhat iffy to record in eToys (on an 
XO-1.5); sometimes it works, sometimes not. The main obstacle I face is that 
recordings seem embedded in projects, and I don't find where/how to access 
the recording by itself. (The sound editor, and variety of output 
resolutions [including WAV and VORBIS] are excellent.) The documentation 
(floss) isn't helpful here either.

I am able to record and save, but to where I don't know -not, it seems, to 
the Sound Library. The Library location is not given. It seems you can take 
something out of it, but not put something in? (Confusing.) I very much need 
a simpler procedure to save and transfer/relocate individual recordings.

So, my question: can someone please explain how to get eToys sound files 
isolated and copied to other folders, and/or which other activities might 
meet my needs at least as well as (or better than) eToys and Record?

Art Hunkins