Dear Simon,
You asked where to find information about using audiobooks from
Audible.com and the Mac.
SC:
Thanks very much for this information, Esther. Where is such a
wealth of knowledge to be found? Does it come with experience, or
does it exist in a particular location I am not aware of?
I tried to summarize information related to your question about using
audiobooks with iTunes from previous discussions on the list.
However, here are some general sources of information:
1. iTunes Keyboard Shortcuts under the Help Menu
For a list of general shortcut keys in iTunes, check "Keyboard
Shortcuts" under the "Help" menu on the iTunes menu bar (VO-keys+M;
then press "H" to navigate to the "Help" menu and arrow down to
"Keyboard Shortcuts"). The Command-Shift-Right Arrow or Left Arrow
commands to navigate by chapter markers are now listed, somewhat
confusingly, under the heading of "Spoken word shortcuts".
2. Audible.com Help Page "Everything iPod and iTunes for Audible
Content (Mac)"
The U.S. Audible.com site has information guides about using Audible
audiobooks. Use the "Help" link on their web page. In the Search
field enter terms like "iTunes" "iPod" and "Mac" (without quotation
marks and with words separated by spaces) then press return. The
most comprehensive current answer will be the first item in the
results, and will be a page titled "Everything iPod and iTunes for
Audible Content (Mac)" that contains links to most of the other
specific Mac-related questions at Audible's help site. Make sure you
don't choose the page with the same name but with "(PC)" at the end
-- this comes up as "Recommended reading". The answers include screen
images, but the text can be read for the content. The UK Audible
Site seems to have it's own help site with a search category for
"iTunes and Mac" that seems to include both Mac and PC-specific
answers. However, they have a "Getting Started" category, and if you
type "Mac" as the search term, the first result is "Configuring
iTunes for Audible Content for Mac Users". Interestingly, they
suggest that you create a smart playlist for all your Audible content
with the rule: "Kind is Audible File". Remember to delete downloaded
Audible files from your Downloads folder after they've been added to
your iTunes library, since iTunes copies this into the iTunes Music
folder.
U.S. Audible site: http://www.audible.com
U.K. Audible site: http://www.audible.co.uk
3. AppleScripts for iTunes web site
This site for AppleScripts that add functionality to iTunes is
maintained by Douglas Adams, the author of nearly all the
AppleScripts found there. The "RestartAt" AppleScript that allows
you to resume playing a track in iTunes at any point is modified from
Doug's "ReplayLastBit" AppleScript that rewinds your playback point a
fixed number of seconds. These donationware AppleScripts provide
excellent accessible use of iTunes. The web site is somewhat hard to
navigate, because of the numerous links on the sidebars. Either use
the "printer-friendly" link or simply use the Command-P shortcut for
"Print" and VO-right to either the Print button (and save the file
as a PDF) or to the Preview button and press (VO-space). You can read
through the page content free of sidebar links in Preview and decide
on items of interest, then navigate to an AppleScript or search field
using the item chooser menu. Group mode works well here to VO-down
through the different AppleScripts. The download links follow each
description; just interact with the group and use Control-click at
the link to download the AppleScript. (The VO-shift-M context menu
works to display the download option from the link if you use the
nightly Webkit builds instead of Safari.) Downloaded AppleScripts
com with instructions about their use and how to create shortcut
keys. AppleScripts that have been discussed on this list are:
Super Remove Dead Tracks
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=removedeadsuper
(Removes missing track entries from the iTunes library)
Make Bookmarkable
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=makebookmarkable
(Makes AAC tracks appear in your iTunes and iPod Audiobooks library,
with playback position remembered.)
Description of MakeBookmarkable in the archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40macvisionaries.com/msg24377.html
Web site: http://www.dougscripts.com
4. Audiobook Builder software
This shareware software ($9.95 US) was recommended on the list as a
way to turn audiobooks ripped from CDs into joined files with chapter
markers that can appear in the Audiobooks section of iTunes. Web site:
http://www.splasm.com/audiobookbuilder/
Recommending post in the archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40macvisionaries.com/msg34947.html
5. Aldo on Audiobooks Blog
A web blog about listening to audiobooks using iTunes and iPods.
Technical details along with general discussion about audiobooks,
sources, and related topics.
http://aldoblog.com/audiobooks/
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Esther
