Openaudible

In the current day and age moving from Amazon is not unappealing. I wish that Audible.com had never been bought by Amazon because I love Audible but hate what Amazon represents. It represents a monopolisation of the way people shop and by content around the world. Luckily in Switzerland we have Galaxus as a practical alternative.

For several months, by now, I have migrated all of my books from Audible.com to Audiobookshelf via Openaudible. To be clear I am not encouraging piracy. I am encouraging a personal backup for the books that we have bought as individuals, to preserve as individuals. I have used Audible for years and want to preserve what I have invested in, for my own enjoyment.

As I write this I am waiting for my Apple Laptop to complete two tasks. The first task is to convert all my audible books from AAX to MP3 format. This is taking days to complete because I have over 500 books and my mac book pro is slow, due to it being from 2016.

Very Slow Time Machine

I’m also waiting for my mac book pro to backup to a one terabyte external HD, before repurposing a one terabyte SSD. It’s a waste to have an SSD working as a time machine backup when it could be used for more interesting tasks.

For a while I had been thinking of getting a device to play audible books that was not an iphone. The reason for this is simple. A portable MP3 player costs the same, or less than an iphone battery, and can play audio books, or music for 17-19hrs in a row, if you want to listen for that many hours in a row.

No Need For Constant Synching

With podcasts you want a device that can sync while you’re walking and listening. With books the experience is different. At most you may need to sync 12 times a year, or 24 times a year, depending on which Audible contract you have.