| Mrs. Murfreesboro: iCan help improve UrLife through iPods, iTunes |
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By: JEANNE BRAGG, Post Columnist
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Posted: Sunday, October 5, 2008 7:17 am
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I have written previously that I own an iPod Nano.
iPods are small pocket-sized devices that enable you to listen to music that you download off of a personal computer. You can load CDs from your own library into your computer and transfer them for retrieval to your iPod and/or you can purchase songs off the iTunes Web site (www.itunes.com) to transfer from the computer to an iPod.
I had my iPod for a year and a half before I started using it, and when I finally started, I became addicted.
You know how when you fly they tell you to “at this time please turn off all portable electronic devices?” They mean iPods and MP3 players (a very similar device).
iPods have been around for several years, and as time goes by they get increasing smaller and more efficient. The newer models have small (approximately 2-inch square) screens where you can see covers of albums you’ve downloaded or graphics. In addition to downloading songs, you can download television episodes for $2.99 and watch them on the small screen. You can also download books on tape, but they are very expensive (about $14.99). Movies can be rented for a 24-hour period ($3.99), and most songs can be purchased for $.99, so one can watch a movie on an air flight to make the time pass quickly. Now you can see why giving a person with an iPod an iTunes gift certificate is the perfect gift.
On your computer, you can sub-categorize your own music in any manner you want (i.e., “workout,” “My Top Rated,” etc.) or put it on “shuffle” and listen to all your music all day long.
My favorite feature of iTunes is to download podcasts (which are free). I am currently listening to the NPR Book Tour podcast, The New Yorker: Fiction, and LSAT Logic in Everyday Life. There are many podcasts which center around science and the arts and iTunes has recently introduced iTunes U that delivers 24-hour access to education content from hundreds of educational organizations across the country. These are all free. And you don't need to have an iPod to access iTunes U. You can download it onto your computer any hour of any day and listen to it online.
Years ago when the economy was healthier satellite radio was introduced and my husband Tommy bought a lifetime membership to Sirius satellite radio. We have enjoyed it immensely. I like to listen to it when I sew or paint by tuning into pop songs or Broadway lyrics. Sometimes I listen to Martha Stewart Living for information (I learned a great tip about making pickles last week). Tommy enjoys hearing sports channels from major cities, especially when the other city’s home football team is playing against the Titans. Because the signal is detected through a satellite, it is always receivable, even when traveling by car through remote areas.
My daughter Anne recently introduced me to Pandora.com, a relatively new Web site that lets you “build” your own radio station. Gather a list of your favorite songs and/or artists and go to www.pandora.com. Follow the prompts and you can “build” your own radio station. You type in the name of singers and/or songs that are your favorites, and Pandora will find similar songs and make a station for you. If you happen to hear a song you like, you can enter a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” (if you don’t like it) and it will add or delete that song forever – and find other similar ones – according to your selection.
The new iPhone added Pandora as an application, and it is also available on other cellular providers.
iTunes has also added a new sidebar that says: “Select a song in your library to see related music in a genius sidebar.”
They’ve figured out Pandora was onto something big. The more songs you hear that you like, the more of them you’ll buy. It’s the American way, right?
Technology amazes me, and I fall behind every time it takes a step forward. But if you can “do” e-mail, you can type in pandora.com or iTunes.com in your toolbar and have this music at your own command. If you ever get “lost” in iTunes, click on “iTunes Store” under the Store Category and look for the icon that looks like a little house. It’ll take you back “home.”
I have truly enjoyed many of these free features. I hope you will have the persistence and enthusiasm to learn to enjoy them, too.
‘Til next week. |
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