Q: I have a MacBook Pro and a Power Book.  How do I record the voice of somebody sitting in front of the computer.  We need a slop track of a narration for editing a cgi production

In Soundtrack, open up a new audio project

Over in the right window where a tab says Recording, make sure the input is set to Built-in Microphone

On Track 1, select the red R to set the track as the target for the recording.

With the track set into record mode, you should see the meters moving as you talk.

Then, push the Record button at the bottom of the window and have at it.

or

If you have Quicktime Pro 7, just select New Audio Recording

After the window with the Red Recording Button shows up, from the menu bar select Quicktime Player 7>Preferences

In the Preference pane, select the Recording>Audio>Built-in Microphone

Close the preferences

To start recording - hit the Red button on the Audio Recording window and have fun.

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Edit - additional thought - make sure your sample rate is 48khz and bit depth is 16 if you are going to use this material in a video editor.