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When “The King” Came To TownThe year was 1957 and hip, handsome Elvis Presley was dominating the American music scene. An excerpt from a brand-new book by legendary promoter and radio personality Tom Moffatt recalls the king of rock-and-roll’s first concerts in Hawaii. Helping Hands, Caring HeartsVolunteer work requires a little time and a lot of compassion. We spotlight five community leaders and their favorite causes, and explain how you too can brighten the lives of people in need. |
DEPARTMENT:
iPod:
Join the MP3 Mania
Every decade or so, an invention comes along that really changes our lives. iPod is one of them. There’s a reason why you may have heard so much about it; it’s a neat, easy-to-use product offering terrific value.
The iPod can lend unprecedented autonomy over how we leverage audio to improve our lives. For example, do you like Bob Hope? Johnny Carson? Bill Cosby? Sites such as Apple’s iTunes have huge libraries of stand-up comedy acts. Just connect your iPod to the USB port of your computer, go to the Internet and download what you want at prices that range from 80 cents to a few dollars for each item.
How about an audiobook like Stephen King’s Carrie or Thomas Freidman’s The World Is Flat?
Interested in a lecture by Dr. Phil, John “the football guru”
Madden or even the famed late physicist Richard Feynman? They’re
also available online. You can even download sermons by Billy Graham.
Filled with such choices, your iPod becomes your best buddy when you’re
strolling around the park, waiting for your spouse to finish shopping
or just relaxing at home.
And iPod isn’t the only option; dozens of similar players use the same standard MP3 audio compression technology. The iPod’s slick styling and ease of use, however, makes it one of the best on the market today. Even better, it works fine with either Macintosh or a Windows XP computer.
Apple offers three types of iPods. The least expensive, the Shuffle, is the size of a pack of gum and costs about $100. Ideal for the entry-level audio buff, it will hold about 240 songs and play 12 hours of audio between charges. It does not have a built-in screen.
The iPod Nano costs about $250 and is slightly larger than the Shuffle. It comes with a small color screen for slide shows and will hold up to 1,000 songs. If you like music videos, the iPod Nano may be perfect for your needs.
For $400, you can get Apple’s top-of-the-line device, simply called “the new iPod.” It will hold up to 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos or 150 hours of video.
That’s right, video. Think VCR meets Walkman. You can take your favorite TV show, movie and news broadcast anywhere! It’s like a portable TV; just download the videos you want from the Internet.
To learn more about Apple’s products, peruse www.Apple.com.
If
you’re interested in learning what kind of content is available
should you invest in a player, check out www.iTunes.com. This site
offers some 2 million songs; 2,000 music videos; 11,000 audio books;
and hundreds of popular TV shows on the SciFi Channel, NBC Universal,
USA Network, ABC and the Disney Channel.
Other useful sites include ptech.wsj.com (read Walt Mossberg’s reviews on players), audible.com (which is now giving away the Shuffle if you become a member), podcasting.com (more choices for download), Podcast.net (well-organized podcast directory), rhapsody.com (one monthly fee for unlimited downloading) and napster.com (it’s back — and legal, too).
James Kerr is President/ CEO of Super-Geeks, a Hawaii-based computer service and repair company (www.supergeeks.net). Con-tact him at 942-0773 or help@supergeeks.net.