Subscriptions that are worth it to me:
Update: Scott Rosenberg has a post related to EMusic.
EMusic: I downloaded the fifty free MP3s a month ago -- in the first night -- and then subscribed, why? Because until a paid version of a Napsterlike service comes along I will pay a company that understands. I can download as many songs -- and comedy clips, interviews, etc. -- as I like, my selections remain in my account area of EMusic -- download them as many times as I want, they won't disappear. I don't have the disk space to keep all my songs on this computer. Finally, the files are in mp3 format and can be transferred to a mobile device like I got for free with my Audible.com Listener Plan. I'll stream Rhapsody -- the free radio stations -- for free -- I'm in Canada anyway so I couldn't subscribe to listen.com if I wanted to. The more intelligent internet users can play with IRC and newsgroups to steal songs but I'd rather support independent artists -- and some well-known artists at times -- so they get paid, The Big 5 can one day get the same service together, and the media can focus on other things. EMusic is $9.95/month if you agree to a twelve-month commitment, $15/month if agree to just three. Lots of music to explore: celtic, folk, meditation music, country, rock, punk, everything!
Audible: Also in my second month, I quit smoking cigarettes -- that's all I smoked by the way -- and cable teevee but wanted a new vice, the new vice for me is audiobooks. I have sensitive eyes -- operations too, not fun -- so this is a great way for me to explore literature. I love this because I can listen on the go, sure, I get distracted away from the books at times but that's okay because like the aforementioned EMusic.com www.audible.com offers the same sort of service. Same in that your downloads are yours forever. Audible has some free books -- click on FREE AUDIO in the top-center of any page on their site, the link is a mile long and may not work since I'm a member and you may not be. I get two books a month -- no matter what the listed price -- for $16.95 USD a month. That's a great price because last month one of my selections was The Emperor of Ocean Park and it alone was $17.95 Today I got two books which would have costs over $100 -- The Talisman and The Family, very long but classics -- but nope, only $16.95 I also subscribe to Fresh Air -- 5 days a week -- and Robin Williams' two monthly interviews. I love these guys, oh yeah, the Audible Listener Plan that I got was for an eighteen-month commitment. Here's a link to where you can choose RealPlayer or Windows Media Player to watch a three-minute video clip on Audible.com by techtv (my username for Audible.com is: {tenorman} so if you ever sign-up for a Listener Plan, enter it and we'll both get a free month)
Salon Premium: I love Salon.com even though I don't need to know all the political stuff for a neighbouring country. However, just after 9/11 Salon had many interviews so I subscribed, I'm still happy with it, hope others can support them so they survive the large Enronlike competitors -- hello Slate, yuck, nice spam there. Salon Audio is nice too and I wouldn't have discovered Audible.com had it not been for Salon Audio.
Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: I like this dictionary the best.
Salon Blogs: Happy so far. I'll remain for the free trial and then if the server is a lot better than blogspot, I'll probably sign-up. I've heard that if Salon ever folds we can move our blogs to another part of Userland People still link to Salon like crazy and those who criticize premium services are quickly getting reality checks these days -- other places are costing money now too or they put moving spams all over the fuc&(ng pages.
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