[vicsireland] Re: Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
- From: "Tim Culhane" <tim.culhane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 11:48:15 -0000
Hi,
You can contact Siobhán Birmingham in sout dublin Libraries and she'll
sort out a library number for you.
her email address is:
sbirmingham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As robbie says, these books won't work with Rockbox, since rockbox
does not supportWMA files, and also will not play books using DRM
(digital rights management) software. It is DRM which prevents you
copying the audio files and playing them on any device you like.
One possible way around this is to use the original firmware with your
player when listening to the audio books you get from south Dublin
library, but you'll have to do it without the help of rockbox.
Personally for me, this seems like a bit too much hassle.
Tim
-----Original Message-----
From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sandberg, Robert
Sent: 04 December 2007 11:40
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] Audio books from South Dublin Libraries
Hi folks!
I've downloaded several books from the South Dublin Libraries website since
it was introduced at the VICS Open Day. They have a good assortment of audio
books and, importantly, many new releases.
The process of downloading books is quite simple, once the OverDrive Media
Console has been downloaded and installed. This software is necessary to
manage the downloaded books. It looks a bit like the Windows explorer. In
the tree view you can select a title for instance and when you tab down to
the list view you will find the actual audio files.
The software uses Windows Media player to play the files and it requires you
to install a security update for the media player, without which you won't
be able to play them. This is done automatically after the OverDrive Media
Console is installed. You just need to confirm that you want this to happen.
It's possible to play the files in Winamp, but only on the same computer,
due to the copy right protection. And here we come to a wee crux. You can't
copy the audio files to another device using the Windows Explorer. That is,
you can, but they won't play. You need to do it in the OverDrive Media
Console using ctrl.t for Transfer. The software then searches for portable
media players plugged into the computer. Only it doesn't recognise Rockbox
as a media player. I reckon this is because Rockbox replaces the original
firmwhere and consequently the device is not identified as a portable media
player by the OverDrive Media Console. For Rockbox users this means you
can't listen on the move.
Apart from this little set-back I'm quite happy with the program and the
download process. The OverDrive Media Console is accessible and has easy to
remember key strokes for play and pause, transfer and burn ETC. Once it is
installed you just click on "Listen, Read, Digital Books" and use the
categories on the website to locate a book you want and click on "Add to my
basket". You can then either click on "proceed to check-out" or on "Continue
browsing". If you proceed to check-out the books are listed in individual
tables with a button for download underneath each book. When clicking on
"Download" you first need to confirm the target folder. Then the OverDrive
Media Console opens and you need to select which parts of the book you want
to download. The parts are simply the individual audio files. You can tab
down to the "Check All" button and press enter, then tab further to OK.
Note that if you have checked out a book, it appears in the "My Loans"
section and the 3 weeks count-down begins, even if you haven't yet
downloaded it.
You can find detailed installation instructions for the OverDrive Media
Console at the following URL.
www.overdrive.com/software/omc/download.asp
The URL for the library website is:
www.SouthDublinLibraries.ie
For those of you from the outer regions who weren't at the Open Day, you
don't have to be from Dublin to join. You just need to obtain a library
membership number and a PIN. The trouble is I couldn't find an email address
for either of the 2 ladies who attended the Open Day. Can the committee help
there?
Cheers,
Robbie Sandberg
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