.ogg playback.

My mac won't play the .ogg file from the syllabus.  The file downloaded fine,
but when i tried to open it i got a file format error.  I added it to my itunes
library; it looked like it worked (no errors) but it won't play.

  This is normal; stock macs and itunes don't understand .ogg files.  I have
  limited experience with macs and no experience with itunes, but, in general,
  you can do three things: get a player that understands .ogg files, add an
  itunes plug-in so it understands .ogg files, and transcode .ogg files to a
  file itunes understands (.mp3 files, for example):

    1:  I've used cog ( cogx.org ) to listen to .ogg files on macs.

    2: Having two different programs to listen to media is a pain.
    Alternatively, you can download the XiphQT ( http://www.xiph.org/quicktime/
    ) plug-in to enable .ogg playback from itunes.  I've never done this.

    3: If you've done 2, the claim is you can also use itunes to transcode .ogg
    files to .mp3 (or other format) files.  Even if you can listen to .ogg
    files with itunes, you might want to transcode the files anyway because
    many digital-audio players (ipods in particular) can't play .ogg files.
    I've never done this.

    If you don't want to mess with itunes, you can download a transcoder to
    convert the files.  I've never done this, but max ( http://sbooth.org/Max/
    ) seems a popular choice.

I have a PC for work that i try not to use for school, but if it is going to
make it easier, i can - let me know what you think.

  Macs and PCs are more or less the same when it comes to handling
  non-proprietary, no-drm media formats.  Unless it's already set up to handle
  .ogg files, you'd have to go through similar contortions on your PC.