Is it very common for internet to run faster than it is advertised?
No, it usually runs slower than the advertised speed, or if you have a good ISP, about the same speed as advertised. But I have seen it occasionally run faster than the advertised speed. If it does, don't complain!
The exception is if you live in Lithuania (IIRC), where on average Internet speeds are slightly faster than advertised.
I have two questions
1. If memory serves, it is legal for me to make a back up of a game that I own. If memory serves, an iso image is a file that is an exact copy of the contents of a cd. My question is could I make a copy of a disk iso and use this to make a backup copy of a game/movie? I'm not going to distribute the backup copy and I own a legal copy of the game, I just want to back it up. If this is legal/possible, is there a computer program that I can use to do this? I've looked but I couldn't find any programs that can do this.
(PS: if you need an example of what I would do this for, I have the game medieval 2 total war and I want to make a backup copy of it so I can still play it if the disk gets broken/lost)
Your memory serves you well. I use CDBurnerXP to make ISO backups. There might be slicker options out there, but it's free and has worked well enough. It also runs on Windows Vista and 7, in addition to XP. You'd want the "Copy or grab disc" option when you start it to make an ISO of a game. Note that some games, such as Civilization III, employ copy protection that make this more complicated. I have M2TW, but haven't made a backup of it since it's kinda large with two DVDs, so I don't know if it'll work smoothly or not.
Movies, it depends on where you live. If you live in the U.S., you officially can't unless the movie doesn't have copy protection, which is unlikely if it's a commercial movie. In many other countries, you can. Since CFC is based in the U.S. I can't make any recommendations, but there is software out there that does this reliably, and without too much hassle - at least one from a (legit, 100% legal) company that even has its own Wikipedia page. I don't know about easy, reliable
free options, though.
2. I need a free program that can convert avi movie files into mp3 audio files (I don't care about the video part, I'm using fraps to record my spanish class assignments and I want to stick the recordings on my mp3 player to listen to later). Does anyone know of anything that can do the trick? Thanks.
If you are running Windows XP (2000, ME, and 98 might also work), try
Audacity. Set it to use the Stereo Mix input to record, hit record, and then play the AVI movie in another player such as Windows Media Player. I recommend setting the volume in Windows and Audacity to the max so that the volume stays the same in the recording, but you can mute it so it isn't actually blaring loud, and Audacity will still pick up the sound. They set the volume back to normal after it finishes playing, and hit the play button in Audacity to hear what it recorded - should be the same as the AVI sound. Now, use the
LAME for Audacity (version 3.98 is the latest, I think - nope, 3.99 now) plugin to export to mp3. And voila, it works!
If you are using Vista/7, and the Stereo Mix option isn't an option, it's probably due to the RIAA (ask Google). In that case, you'll need a male-to-male audio cable that you can run from your headphone jack to your microphone in jack, and then you can use the Line In option instead of Stereo Mix. In my (limited) Vista experience, Audacity worked fine using this (admittedly less convenient) option.2