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  Our Digital Lifestyles
 

It amazes me how we have become asynchronous addicts; we want our information when we want it. I’ve listed some companies below that provide products and/or services to help us obtain digital media, when we want it.

Audible.com

Satisfy your immediate need to read by downloading audio books in MP3 format. Books can be downloaded instantly and played using your computer, iPod or other portable MP3 players. Audible.com carries most of the best sellers and offer subscriptions for the Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers. Audible.com also offers various monthly subscription services, such as the one I use, which is $10.95 per month, and includes two book downloads per month. This is a good deal, especially when the average book costs $20 to $30 each. Books can be archived in your library and downloaded as many times as needed, provided you are a good-standing member.
       
 

iTunes.com - TV Shows

Apple has made the jump into digital video replay. It’s a natural for Apple considering Podcasting has become such a huge hit. The menu however is somewhat limited. You can download older episodes of Desperate Housewives, Lost, Night Stalker, That’s so Raven and Suite Life for $1.99 each.

I’m not a fan of this service yet. The images are simply too small to enjoy. Apple has obviously created this service to go hand in hand with its latest iPod that supports a small video screen. This might be good for folks that ride the subway, but it’s not for me.

iTunes.com – Music

I don’t think we need to spend much time discussing this one. Get most music for .99 per song and $9.99 per album in most cases. The only downside is that the files are stored in M4P format, which is proprietary to Apple. To convert to MP3 format, you need some special software, or you can go through the painstaking process of burning your M4Ps to CD, then ripping back as MP3.

iTunes.com – Audiobooks

This service is similar to Audible.com, but much pricier. If you plan on becoming an occasional listener however, this is the way to go. The latest book by James Patterson “LifeGuard” can be downloaded today for $9.95 and “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner can be had for $18.95 and “Blink” by Malcom Gladwell which is one of my favorites can be had for $18.95

iTunes - Podcasting

If you own an iPod and use iTunes, there’s no doubt you are probably familiar with Podcasting. If not, Podcasts are typically talk radio shows converted to MP3 format that can be downloaded (or synchronized) to your computer or iPod and replayed at your leisure. iTunes makes Podcasting simple with auto-synchronization. Some popular Podcasts are ESPN and CNet News. There are literally thousands of Podcasts available.

Tivo

I don’t consider Tivo to be a true asynchronous service, because the media obtained by Tivo is recorded at a scheduled time. It is convenient and certainly helps us fine-tune our asynchronous lifestyles. With TivoToGo, you can download recorded TV shows to your computer. If you consider that Apple charges $1.99 per episode, you can store all of the episodes of Desperate Housewives and copy to your computer for less. Tivo charges $10.95 per month.

In closing, look for other services in the near future, and if you’re an entrepreneur, figure out a way for me to download my next meal ;-)

About the Author:
John Easley is the President of Imagine Systems, Inc.
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