PTA Technology Corner

Do you have an iPod? A Tivo or other DVR device at home? Is your schedule so crazy you have to find time for yourself? We have entered the world of timeshifting - the ability to do things when you want, how you want and where you want.

Tivo seems to be the start of it all - the ubiquitous device that has come to replace the old VCR on top of our television sets. Launched in 1999, a Tivo device (also called a digital video recorder) allows you to search for, record and watch television programming when you want. Sounds like a VCR, right? Two things make it stand out: (1) it’s recorded on a hard drive instead of on to tape and (2) you can subscribe to shows or shows with certainly keywords in the title so you don’t have to remember to record them or even know when they are being broadcast.

These days I can never remember what nights my favorite shows are on TV - Grey’s Anatomy, The Office, Scrubs, Jon Stewart, etc. And I don’t have to because Tivo takes care of it for me. While I’m writing this article, it’s 5am and I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy from last week that was recorded while I was out of town on a business trip. I’ve “timeshifted.” I don’t care when the television broadcast executives decided to place my favorite shows on the schedule - I watch it when I have time.

Did you know there is something similar that you can put on your iPod or other MP3 device? They are called podcasts and they are the fastest growing medium today. Currently, there are approximately 60,000 podcast shows available on the Apple iTunes network and they are all free. You choose a show you like, subscribe to it, and when a new show becomes available it automatically is downloaded to your computer in the iTunes application (which, is also free at http://www.itunes.com for both Mac and Windows). There are other places to get podcasts, but simplicity wins for me and iTunes is just that.

Podcasts are simply audio files (there are also video podcasts too) that you can listen to when and where you want. I listen to the podcasts I subscribe to while driving to and from work, when taking a walk, on the plane during business trips and while waiting for the kids to get finished with their activities.

Some of my favorites are provided by NPR - in fact they now have one called Shuffle that randomly records a different NPR show each day so you can sample what they offer. There seems to be a show on just about every topic. I challenged a group I was presenting to recently to come up with a topic that can’t have a podcast available. They came up with bowling. Would you believe there are three podcasts on bowling available? Go check it out by downloading the iTunes program and search in the iTunes Store for topics that interest you. Then subscribe and enjoy as new episodes become available.

Timeshifting - all the cool kids are doing it! Until next time, enjoy your newly liberated entertainment options - on your own terms!