DearMYRTLE - WHY Myrt finally bought an iPod

WHY Myrt finally bought an iPod

DearREADERS & LISTENERS,
Eight hours ago, the Apple Corporation, makers of the iPod, reported a major breakthrough:

Apple Teams Up With Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM & United
to Deliver iPod Integration
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/nov/14ipod.html

CUPERTINO, California-November 14, 2006-AppleR today announced it is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the first seamless integration between iPodR and in-flight entertainment systems. These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the seat back displays.

"There is no better traveling companion than an iPod, and now travelers can power their iPods during flight and even watch their iPod movies and TV shows on their seat back displays," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. "We're excited to work with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to offer iPod users an even better in-flight experience."

In-flight iPod connectivity will be available to Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United passengers beginning in mid 2007. Additionally, Apple is working with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to bring even more leading airlines in-flight iPod connectivity in the future.

The iPod ecosystem continues to flourish with more than 3,000 accessories made specifically for iPod that range from fashionable cases to speaker systems, and more than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles currently offer iPod connectivity.

iPod and iTunesR are leading the digital music revolution, providing the best way to listen to music on the go, at home, in the car and now on an airplane. With nearly 70 million iPods sold, the iPod is the world's most popular digital music and portable video player and the iTunes Store is the number one online music store with over 1.5 billion songs purchased and downloaded worldwide. The iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) features over 3.5 million songs, 65,000 podcasts, 20,000 audiobooks, 5,000 music videos, 250 television shows and over 100 movies from Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online store."

SO, DearREADERS, OL' MYRT HAS FINALLY JUMPED INTO THE 21ST CENTURY. I just placed my order for an 80GB iPod (capable of playing audio and video content). I ordered through my favorite online retailer Amazon.com, with promises that I'll receive the unit in 3-5 business days.

You know I love producing podcasts, popularly known as DearMYRTLE's FAMILY HISTORY HOUR, which was the first of a wide variety of genealogy and history genealogy podcasts. I've been listening to everything on my personal computer, and can now see that podcasts have become a mainstream method for exchange of audio files. The reason I purchased the 80BG VIDEO iPod, is that I expect producers of genealogy video clips to make them available for download and personal viewing before too long. Wouldn't it be great if Roots Television charged .99 cents for a genealogy video track like iTunes does for a song track?

Since June, Ol' Myrt here has researched what to do now that her Sony CD player no longer works. Finally it dawned on me that I can merely transfer my classical music CDs to digital format, transferring them to my iPod when it gets here. Then I can plug my iPod into my car stereo system, or dock it on an iPod speaker system at home. I don't particularly plan to walk around with ear buds (iPod talk for those teensy-tiny earphones). It is nice to note that amid the shuffle of my favorite classical music, I can listen to the latest Dick Eastman or Genealogy Guys podcast.