December 6, 2005

Another re-design and a DRM primer

Just a day after we announce Audible’s new re-design I notice that Simply Audiobooks now has a brand new site and that they are selling downloadable audio books. There’s certainly a lot going on in the audio book space. This brings the number of major audio book sites that have undergone significant re-launches/site re-designs in the last couple of months to three: Audible.com, SoundsGood.com and Simply Audiobooks.

Simply Audiobooks is selling downloads using the Microsoft Digital Rights Management (DRM). Unfortuately this means that they won’t be compatible with the Apple iPod. Here’s a quick primer on audio book DRM (for those that care):

-Digital Rights Managements or DRM refers to the technology that makes it difficult to illegally copy or share an audio book. For instance, you might be able to listen to an audio book you’ve purchased on two different computers but not on three. That would be an example of DRM in action.

-Apple’s DRM is called FairPlay and they do not license it. The only company that can use Apple’s DRM for spoken word audio is Audible.com and that arrangement is in place through 2007. What this means is that if you are looking to purchase an audio book with DRM you must go through Audible. Of course if the audio book does not have DRM (e.g., an MP3 file purchased here at LearnOutLoud) then you can play it on the iPod with no problems.

-Microsoft’s DRM is called PlaysForSure. Anything you purchase with the Microsoft DRM attached does play for sure…unless you happen to have an Apple iPod. This is definitely a downside of the Microsoft DRM since 75%+ off all portable media devices are iPods. The companies utilizing the PlaysForSure DRM include SoundsGood.com, Simply Audiobooks and Jiggerbug.

-While DRM does offer protection to publishers and content producers it isn’t without its downside. There can be compatability issues and other usability problems such as not being able consume your legally downloaded content as you would like to. There’s also an additional cost to implementing DRM.

Anyway, I’ve probably told you more than you ever wanted to know about DRM so I’ll stop for now. If you’ve got any thoughts or questions about DRM let’s continue the discussion in the forums.

December 5, 2005

In Today’s Audio Learning News…

A few quick newsworthy audio learning-related items to pass along:

AmigoFish Launches – Dave Slusher has launched AmigoFish, a new service to help you find podcasts you’ll like based on your ratings of podcasts you’ve already listened to. It’s about time something like this came out. I’m very surprised that Slusher beat Yahoo, Odeo, Podcast Alley and others to the punch on this. I hope he does well with it. It’s definitely a much-needed service that becomes increasingly valuable as more people use it.

New Audible Re-Design – Audible.com has unveiled a fairly significant site re-design. I don’t what to make of the new look. I think I liked their old site better. It was more inviting. And adding to “Beta” moniker to their logo is just a bit too trendy. If you have a brand new service you’re launching telling everyone it’s still in Beta is kinda cool but I’m not sure you need to do this just because you’ve redesigned your site…

Bookchips to Be Available in Airports – Audiofy announced a deal with Airport Wireless Rental to make their Audiobook Chips available in airport stores. This makes a lot of sense as it’s a great way to business travels and others to grab portable audio to listen to while in the air. I think they’ll do real well with this.

Zaadz Daily Wisdom Podcast Launches – OK, one internal item of news. 🙂 Today we started sending out the Zaadz Daily Wisdom Podcast, a daily podcast of inspirational quotes and teaches. Check it out when you get a chance. We think you’ll dig it. To subscribe go to https://www.learnoutloud.com/wisdom or search the iTunes directory for “zaadz”.

OK, that’s the news and I am outta here!

December 2, 2005

E-Magazine #7 – December 2nd, 2005

Holiday Gift Ideas

Audio books make great holiday gifts! Rather than giving someone a book they may never read or another piece of clothing to stuff an already full closet, why not get them something you know they’ll use. Just about everyone has a good amount of time in their vehicle and a well-chosen audio book is an excellent way to help them enjoy that time.

We’ve combed the Catalog at LearnOutLoud (rapidly approaching 10,000 titles) to pick out a few titles that make great gift ideas. Here are some of our recommendations:

The Chronicles of Narnia CD Box Set – By now you’ve probably seen the commercial for Narnia, the new Walt Disney movie that will be released in a couple of weeks. This movie is based on the Chronicles of Narnia series of books by C. S. Lewis. This box set contains all seven unabridged recordings (31 discs in all!) at a very reasonable price.

Freakonomics – If you’re the type who views economics as a boring and stuffy subject, Steven Levitt’s bestseller Freakonomics will shatter those myths. Levitt offers an informative and enlightening look at society through the lens of an inquisitive economist. Highly listenable and a great gift for just about anyone on your list. Other similar titles include two from Malcolm Gladwell: Blink and The Tipping Point.

Titles that are religious or spiritual in nature and that make great gifts include Joel Osteen’s popular new audio book Your Best Life Now, Eckhart Tolle’s classic The Power of Now and the The King James Bible read by James Earl Jones (we like to refer to this one as the “King James Earl Jones” Bible!).

Finally, a great audio book that just about everyone will enjoy is David McCullough’s “Biography of a Year” 1776. It’s also available in an abridged version here. If you’re interested in getting a little taste of 1776 for free, check out the free WGBH production of David McCullough’s presentation Biography of a Year: 1776.

That’s just a small sampling of what’s available. We have over 2,000 titles discounted 20-40% off. Visit our On Sale Section to find that perfect holiday gift.

We’ve Been Dugg and Delicious’zed…

It was a pretty exciting week here at LearnOutLoud headquarters. We ended up on the front page of technology news site Digg.com which led to prominent placement on social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us and Furl and brief write-ups on Lifehacker (don’t worry, it’s a site about personal productivity, not hacking…) and Yahoo! News. We experienced traffic levels that were almost 10 times the norm which explains a bit of the sluggishness that you may have noticed.

Welcome to all of the new people who visited and those of you who subscribed to our newsletter and are reading it for the first time. It’s great to have you onboard at the start of the Audio Learning Revolution!

Zaadz Daily Wisdom Podcast To Launch Monday

On Monday we’ll be launching the Zaadz Daily Wisdom Podcast, a daily podcast consisting of inspirational quotes from philosophers, psychologists, spiritual teachers and optimal living gurus along with related commentary. The Zaadz Daily Wisdom Podcast is hosted by Brian Johnson, Philosopher & CEO of Zaadz, Inc. It’s a great podcast to subscribe to and listen to first thing in the morning or on your way to work. Some of the individuals profiled in the first month of the Zaadz Daily Wisdom Podcast include Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Martin Seligman, Socrates and Marianne Williamson.

We’ve had a chance to preview the first month’s worth of episodes of the Daily Wisdom Podcast here and you’re in for a treat. We’ve reviewed thousands of podcasts and we haven’t come across anything like what Brian has put together. To subscribe to the Zaadz Daily Wisdom Podcast go to https://www.learnoutloud.com/wisdom or search the iTunes Directory for “zaadz”. While you’re at it head on over to zaadz.com and check out their hot new site.

Announcing the Winner of the Nano Contest

We’re proud to announce the winner of our Nano contest which is Brad Rhoads of Winfield, IL. Brad won by linking to us from his blog here. Congrats Brad!

Titles Under $10

A few titles under $10 from our Sale Section:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (CD for $9.80, Cassette for $9.10)
Acres of Diamonds (Digital Download for $2.98)
The Magic Story (Digital Download for $1.98)
Unlimited Power (CD or Cassette for $9.80)

Latest Resources, Articles and Blog Posts

Resources:

• 
  Sounds True Publisher Page

Articles:

• 
  Recording a Lecture or Seminar

BlogOutLoud.com:

• How to Become an Audio Learning Junkie, Part One
• Bono Out Loud
• Wiki Out Loud: Wikipedia Entries on Audio
• The “Tepping” Point Part One and The “Tepping” Point Part Two

Visit our blog at:
www.BlogOutLoud.com.

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LearnOutLoud.com Forums.

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays everyone! Cherish the time you
have with your friends and family. Count your
blessings. Remember the important things (hint:
it’s not stuff…) this time of year.

Best wishes,

The LearnOutLoud.com Staff

December 1, 2005

Audio and Video Learning Around the World

So I popped on in to Google Analytics tonight to check on our stats and found the map of our vistitors fascinating. Each of the dots on the map represents a city from where at least 30 people came to our site in the last week. Where did we receive the most visits from? Taipei. 710 visits this week. Gives me chills just thinking about people in China firing up their web browser and listening to audio and video learning content, improving their English skills, etc.

I exchanged e-mails today with a sweet lady from China who explained to me how grateful she was to have found LearnOutLoud.com. Here’s a bit of what she said:

maybe its main idea is not to practise one’s listening, but obviously it’s a big potential benifit to english learner, especially who want to improve their listening.

The potential for audio and video learning and podcasting is amazing. It can open up new worlds for people in places like China. And there will be an incredible demand for ESL and other english language programs in these countries. Likewise there will be a lot of demand for programs to learn languages like Mandarin. A prime example of this is the fact that the third most popular podcast on Yahoo’s podcast directory is ChinesePod, a podcast out of Shanghai that teaches Mandarin Chinese through daily audio lessons.

The most apropros sign might have been the title that my new friend in China originally e-mailed me about. What was it?

The World is Flat

Yes, indeed it is.