digital guerrilla

This tiny tale which I am about to relate is why I get a kick out of technology.

Those people who have known me for a long time, know of my fondness for the Charlie Rose Show. (For those that don’t know and don’t want to click the link, the show is broadcaster Charlie Rose spending an hour interviewing one person or several people about subjects ranging from baseball to Iraq to the New Yorker magazine to telecommunications in France. Hands down the best interview show on tv today.) As I don’t really watch tv much anymore, I’ve not really been watching the show lately. The few shows I do watch, I download (legally if available or, well, *cough*). While Google Video has episodes available for sale for .99 (used to be 1.99, they’ve wisely dropped the price since I last checked) and, as I’ve just learned, the previous day’s episode is streamed for free, I want something easier than having to check that site each day though.

Well, as I mentioned just a couple days ago, I’ve signed up for a trial membership at Audible.com. One of their offerings is a year long subscription to an audio version of Charlie Rose. At $50 (taking into account the discount I get with my trial membership), it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than paying a buck an episode at Google. When I first saw it the other day I hesitated though. I figured I’d have to log in to the Audible site each day to download the new episode, which isn’t how I think technology should work.

Quick aside, how I think technology should work. Short version: however the hell we want it to. Slightly less short answer: Technology should adapt to our needs and we shouldn’t have to alter our routine or life to accommodate it. I’m willing to go halfway, in other words, sit down in front of a computer or pull a phone out of my pocket. It should do all the rest of the work though, bringing whatever content or information I want to me automatically. It should also allow me to put out whatever content or information I want without me having to put a leg behind my head and stick a finger in my ear. I type a little and click and stuff should just happen.

So back to Audible and Charlie Rose. Turns out that Audible offers a podcast of any subscription content for which you’ve signed up. iTunes has built in podcast receiving capability. iTunes syncs with my iPod. Thus, I pay for a year of Charlie Rose. Click click. I then add the podcast to iTunes and, a couple more clicks later, that’s all I have to do. The technology does the rest. Each day, a new show is downloaded. It’s on my iPod or computer. I can listen when I want, where I want, without having to do anything more.

As for the show, go to the Google page for it and watch the most recent episode. Don’t worry if it’s not a subject in which you’re interested. He’ll either make it interesting or there’ll probably be something on tomorrow that you will like. Give it a try though. Your brain will thank me.