In Praise of Digital --

It started a few months ago, I was getting frustrated with my kids' DVDs because they would not play properly from all the scratches and smudges.

It isn't that the kids don't handle the discs properly because they do -- I think it just comes from daily wear-and-tear.

I decided to look online for solutions to this -- from using metal polish to fix the scratches to getting protective sleeves for the discs -- but I felt these solutions just added to the expense and weren't foolproof.

I don't know how the idea got into my head, but I started looking at digital copies of shows (from iTunes US) and discovered that:
a.  They were cheaper.
b.  I didn't have to worry about losing discs anymore.

We already had the iPod (and my husband's iPhone) so all we needed was a way to connect that to our TV.  My husband got an Apple Composite Cable in Singapore and, voila! -- we were in business.

So now my kids' shows are all stored on our iPod -- and it makes it easier for us to bring it around (I don't have to pack discs for trips anymore.)  Plus, I can have a variety of shows loaded and not have to worry about bulk. ^_^

Then, for Christmas, I wanted to give my husband a subscription to his favorite magazine SFX -- he asks people to get him the latest issues (when we know someone going abroad) -- and he hunts for older issues at Booksale.

The cost of subscription is GBP60 (about US$90+) -- ouch!

Thank goodness for Zinio!  We got the subscription for GBP20 -- so now he gets it as the digital version is released and I don't have to worry about his magazines cluttering up the house!



... I sound like one of those paid posts.  Hahahaha!