laptop microphone recorder program for meeting notes?
 

I'd like to record an upcoming meeting, probably about 2 hours in duration, on my laptop. Can anyone recommend a microphone recording program that will write to mp3 or some other format than wav? Thanks!

Since you said you're looking for a program other than .WAV, I assume that you're aware of Microsoft OneNote, which records to .WAV. You could always convert the output file to MP3 after the fact.

Won't 2 hours of wav be a really huge file?

Not with OneNote. Probably less than 20mb. I use it all the time for recording meetings at work.

Cool, thanks! I'll try it.

OneNote is probably well-suited to this, but if you're just looking for a simple and flexible sound recording tool, Total Recorder is a good option. It's not free, but it's not expensive either, and a purchase includes lifetime updates (I bought Version 3 or 4 I think, and now it's on 7.1).

OK, so the OneNote idea worked well, except... I can barely hear the people talking when I play the wma file back. I did the tuning wizard before the meeting, but it is difficult hearing people far away from the computer. This is true even when I turn up the volume on my PC. How can I amplify the volume of the wma?

Thanks!

This is largely going to be a function of the quality of the mic on your laptop. You could try positioning the laptop more centrally between everyone, or purchase an external mic.

True.

Any solutions to the current issue of trying to hear this past meeting?

I have not try it with wma. Perhaps Adobe Soundbooth (a paid program) or an open source program named Audacity may do what you want.

A free program you might want to check out is Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). Easy to use, great for quick editing, and works with multiple formats.

If you can get a PZM "Pressure Zone Microphone" then you will probably get better results.