Those of you who have long memories and an unhealthy obsession with my personal life may recall this post:
http://www.byond.com/members/ Gughunter?command=view_post&post=26968
...in which I said of the iPod, "I like it plenty." That was true and still is, unreplaceable battery notwithstanding. Yet, within a month or two of that post, my iPod was relegated to a career of lying unused on a countertop somewhere. Why? Probably because I still had my old NEC Ready back then, and it took about half a minute to open iTunes, and something about iTunes just bugged me. (I think what really soured me for good was that I wanted to use the iPod both at home and at work, and it wouldn't let me transfer my files between the two computers.)
Yesterday I discovered that Winamp includes iPod support (both to and from the iPod). I was suddenly stricken with the urge to download an audiobook. A quick Google search showed me that an ever-increasing number of classic books are available for free in audio format here: http://librivox.org/
I visited Best Buy to get an adapter cable for my car stereo, which has an earphone jack input -- the appropriate cable has the same connector on both ends. Here's an important MONEY-SAVING TIP: I found the cable I wanted in the audio cable section (I think it was called "6-foot 3.5mm stereo") for about $4.50, tax included. On my way out I stopped by the MP3 player section, and they had the same type of cable there... starting at around $15.00. Trust me, the $4.50 cable works fine, even if it doesn't have the cool color options.
Since librivox is a volunteer project, the quality of the voice talent may vary from chapter to chapter; many books are collaborative works, which is understandable, but less than optimal in a medium where the transcriber makes such a difference. Still, it's quite listenable, and you can't beat the price. Once I've listened to a few books, I may even finally get around to trying some of Deadron's podcast links.
P.S. If your iPod's orange light is blinking and it never seems to reach the "green light" state, try using the "disconnect hardware" icon near the clock on the Windows task bar. The orange light will become steady and will eventually turn green.
[Edit: should that be "number of classic books are" or "number... is"? Probably the latter, but I prefer "are" here.]
ID:45706
 Jul 23 2008, 4:00 pm
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Gughunger wrote:
Yesterday I discovered that Winamp includes iPod support (both to and from the iPod) My laptop (which is what I booted my iPod on) was unusable for a while because my adapter died on me and I was unable to get a new one. I had only ever kept with iTunes because of indifference, but when I saw the audacity of Apple telling me I could put my songs from my PC onto my iPod, that feeling of indifference changed rather quickly. I've been using Winamp ever since. :) | |
In response to your edit--trivial though it may be--, "number of classic books are" is the correct phrase. I believe the "number of" bit is a determiner, and the real subject is still "books," so the plural verb form "are" should be correct.
I know I hate second-guessing myself on this sort of thing; the one that sounds better should just always be right. | |
Might I recommend the Ricky Gervais show? Most downloaded podcast in history, and easily one of the best things invented ever.
http://www.rickygervais.com/podcast.php You can torrent 'em though, too. | |
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/consider-the-elephant Sold! I remember you recommending that site and that book. I'll try it next. Elation, thanks for the suggestion, but mine is audio-only. | |
Lord Raven wrote:
In response to your edit--trivial though it may be--, "number of classic books are" is the correct phrase. I believe the "number of" bit is a determiner, and the real subject is still "books," so the plural verb form "are" should be correct. Hmm! I will have to look into these determiners you speak of. Thanks! | |
Oh, I should clarify: those are just extracts of the show*, uploaded to youtube then given a nice picture.
Unless that was just a nice way of letting me down gently. I think a girl used that very same excuse on me recently, in fact. :( *actually they're extracts from the radio show they used to do- but it's basically the same format: them 3 talking about monkeys and hairy chinese kids. | |
Elation wrote:
Oh, I should clarify: those are just extracts of the show*, uploaded to youtube then given a nice picture. Ah, very good. Worth a try, then. I enjoyed him in the GTA IV comedy clubs. Unless that was just a nice way of letting me down gently. I think a girl used that very same excuse on me recently, in fact. :( That paints an interesting picture... Elation: Gimme some sugar, baby. Girl: Thanks for the suggestion, but mine is audio-only. | |
In particular (this is a repeat to Gug, since I believe I mentioned this in email), my favorite from there so far is "Consider the Elephant", a fascinating, well-researched, novel about the family involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln. The narration and sound effects are excellent also:
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/consider-the-elephant
Also highly recommended is the collection of audio essays called "Lessons From a Geek Fu Master":
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/ lessons-from-a-geek-fu-master
Finally, for Gug, the podcast you really must get (I should do an updated podcast list) is the most educational, eye-opening yet totally accessible podcast I've ever encountered, EconTalk:
http://www.econtalk.org/
I better stop now, or I'll really get going...