Tag Archives: Podcasts

Spotify Word: Stream audiobooks, podcasts poetry and more for free

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If you are looking for free audio content, Spotify’s Word genre offers a diverse of spoken word materials, podcasts, audiobooks, poetry , short stories and more.  Right now the collection is somewhat small, but is growing.

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find:

  • A collection of public domain audiobooks including works like The Great Gatsby and The Secret Garden.
  • An interesting selection of poetry, including readings by Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost and W.B. Yeats.
  • A diverse literature and short story selection, ranging from Dickens to Russian and French literature.
  • Radio dramasand spoken word performances in crime, sci-fi and vintage categories. (There’s even an selection of audio dramas from the sci-fi classic, Blake’s 7.)
  • A collection of speeches, including famous speeches by Martin Luther King, Joseph Campbell and Noam Choamsky.
  • Want to learn a foreign language? There are lessons in audio courses in Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese and even Irish.
  • There are also playlists for self-help, spirituality and guided meditation

All of this content is available on Spotify’s free tier. The only downside is that while Spotify allows ad-supported on-demand listening for free on desktops and tablets, the service is shuffle only for smartphone users on the free tier. If you want to take full advantage of the content on your phone, you will need to be a Premium subscriber.

As audiobooks and more spoken word content continue to rise in popularity, the addition of  the Word genre is a big plus for Spotify. What do you think?

Daily Links and Deals: YouTube’s Content ID program finally provides for ad revenue during disputes

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daily_links_1Today, a breakthrough in the YouTube Content ID advertising money issue, news on how platforms are affecting digital publishers, Google podcasts and more. In deals, there a $50 Blue smartphone and e-reader and tablet sales from both Kobo and Amazon for Mother’s Day.

Daily Links for Friday, April 29, 2016:

YouTube’s Content ID program finally provides for ad revenue during disputes (PC World) It;s not nearly enough, but it is a first step in fixing a flawed system.

Why We Should Be Worried About Ancient Viruses Infecting Power Plants (Motherboard) A nuclear power plant infected by a virus sounds like something from a movie. Unfortunately, this really happened. Do we need to worry about more incidences like this?

The haves and have-nots: Small publishers are left adrift by shift to platforms (Digiday) Changes in the digital publishing landscape are making it harder for the small publisher.

This E Ink tablet is a cute way to manage meetings (The Verge) Way too expensive, but it is cute. 🙂

Windows 10 will no longer let you Google search from Cortana (The Verge) Is it just me, or is Cortana getting a little pushy? Back off, girl!

History of the Library of Congress (LOC) Fascinating piece on this institution and its importance to our history and as a world resource.

Google Play Music’s podcasts are convenient but lack features (Engadget) Don’t give up your favorite podcast app just yet.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes Shame by the incredibly talented Alan Russell for $1.99.

In Today’s Deals, there’s a white BLU Advance 4.0 Unlocked Dual SIM Cellphone, 4GB. for $50.

There’s still time for gifts for Mother’s Day! Amazon has some deals on both e-ink Kindles and Fire tablets. First, you can get $20 off the Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle for Kids bundle.  Amazon is also offering the Fire HD 10 for $50 off for a limited time.

Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6, and deals on pre-owned Fire tablets. I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order. Current delivery date is June 1, 2016.

You can also take advantage of a trade-in offer from Amazon on your old Fire tablet. The clock is ticking on this offer. Trade-in must be completed by May 9, 2016.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Beautiful, Dirty, Rich: A Novel by J. D. Mason for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is Owning Violet: A Novel by Monica Murphy for $1.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan for $1.99.

And for Mother’s Day, you can get $20 off the Kobo Glo HD.  Free shipping is included.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Incarnations by Susan Barker for $1.99.

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: Fair use prevails as Supreme Court rejects Google Books copyright case

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daily_links_1Today, The Supreme Court declined to hear the Google Books case, Tidal is getting sued, we are getting 360 video and Amazon is starting to unbundle its Prime subscription. In deals, we have Belkin surge protectors, Cuisinart grills and Fire Tablet  and Kindle deals.

Daily Links for Monday, April 18, 2016:

Android VS iOS: How They Compare (Tab Times) Nice comparison of the two systems.

Jay Z, Tidal & Kanye West sued for misstatements about ‘The Life of Pablo’ exclusivity (Techcrunch) In an age where every service is offering something different and exclusive, we may be seeing more of this kind of story in the tech world.

Amazon has built a subscription launchpad with Amazon Prime (Techcrunch)  Amazon Prime can now be bought by the month and so can Amazon Prime Video.  This article talks about what Amazon may really be trying to accomplish with the move.

Fair use prevails as Supreme Court rejects Google Books copyright case (Ars Technica) Agree or disagree – at least it is over!

YouTube introduces live 360 video, the gateway drug to virtual reality (The Verge) Here we go. The beginning of experiencing the world without leaving your house.

Google Play Music officially has podcasts for the Web and Android (The Next Web) Be aware that you probably won’t see all of your favorite podcast. It’s not on iOS yet. Google’s terms say they do not sharing revenue with podcasters, so a lot of people passed on enrolling.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes The Clockwork Scarab and The Spiritglass Charade, the first two books in the Stoker & Holmes YA series by Colleen Gleason for $1.99 each. There is plenty of vampire hunting and mystery solving for the protagonists who happen to be the sister of Bram Stoker and the neice of Sherlock Holmes.

In Today’s Deals, get up to 60% off select Belkin surge protectors, up to 60% off select Cuisinart Grilling products and a  SINGER 3232 Simple Sewing Machine with Automatic Needle Threader.

Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6, deals on pre-owned Fire tablets and savings of $15 on a Fire Essentials Bundle. I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is The Weird World of Words: A Guided Tour by Mitchell Symons for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Rogue’s Proposal (House of Trent Series #2) by Jennifer Haymore for $2.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is The Killing Game by Toni Anderson for $99 cents.

LAST DAY! Select Romantic Times winners & nominees are on sale for under $3 at the Kobo store until April 18, 2016.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder for $2.99.

Google has a limited time promotion that includes some interesting cookbooks, including BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery by  Erin McKenna for $1.99. (Also at Amazon, Barnes and Noble)

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.