Audacity compiled for mp3 support

[pablo2340]

I am running Linpus Linux (based on Fedora) on an Acer Aspire One. I have installed Audacity 1.3.2-beta using the Package Manager. I can export to mp3 files, but when I try to open an mp3 file, I receive a message that this version of Audacity was not compiled for mp3 support. I have hunted everywhere I can think of for a compiled version of Audacity (I am not confident about compiling from source myself) without success.

Can anyone tell me where I can obtain a compiled version that is compiled for mp3 support?

I have tried to install, instead, a version called something like Audacity-freeworld, which I believe does have support for importing mp3, but I get an error saying that a certain file which it is trying to install, conflicts with a version of the same file from another package. I don't know how to deal with that... I'm pretty new to Linux - only been using it for two weeks.

Any help appreciated.

[steve]

In some Linux distributions, Audacity is available without MP3 support in the normal repository, and available with MP3 support in a "restricted" repository (for software that may not be copyright free in all countries). This is quite common for software that supports the MP3 format.

[pablo2340]

In some Linux distributions, Audacity is available without MP3 support in the normal repository, and available with MP3 support in a "restricted" repository (for software that may not be copyright free in all countries). This is quite common for software that supports the MP3 format.

Thanks. Yes, I am aware of that, but I have Audacity for Windows here in the UK, without any restiction on mp3 files (it uses the freely- and legally-available LAME encoder/decoder). What I need to know (among other things) is where to find a repository that DOES contain a version compiled for mp3 support - any help there?

[steve]

What I need to know (among other things) is where to find a repository that DOES contain a version compiled for mp3 support - any help there?

It seems that the Fedora team are very keen to keep their OS open source and free of proprietary licenses, so it may not be available for Fedora at all.

MP3 encoding and decoding support is not included in any Fedora application because MP3 is heavily patented in several regions including the United States. The patent holder is unwilling to give an unrestricted patent grant, as required by the GPL. Other platforms might have paid the royalty and/or included proprietary software. Other Linux distributions not based in a region affected by the patent might ship MP3 decoders/encoders or they might have included proprietary software. However, Fedora cannot and does not include MP3 decoders/encoders in order to serve the goal of providing and supporting only free and open source software that is not restricted by software patents by default.

Fedora Suggests: If possible, use patent unrestricted formats such as Ogg Vorbis (a lossy audio codec that has better quality than MP3), or FLAC (a lossless audio codec).

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ForbiddenItems

It looks like your options are to either build Audacity from the source code, or use a different Linux distro (such as Ubuntu or Debian).