The Chronic Consumer

My local public library has a terrific program whereby patrons can “borrow” ebooks and audiobooks online. This is all done through the library’s website, where a valid library card number allows me to access a decent-sized collection of electronic material.

The only problem is that a majority of the library’s audiobook collection comes in WMA format — which is unreadable by Apple iPods. Since I have an iPod, there were only a few ways I could listen to those files. I could buy a different device, listen while sitting at my computer, or burn the files to audio CDs. None of those alternatives is very attractive, so I decided to get some software to handle the WMA to MP3 conversion process.

It has been a looong time since I’ve purchased software, because most stuff is available for free on certain websites or as free trials. But all of the free WMA to MP3 conversion programs only convert the first 3 minutes of a file — completely useless when dealing with audiobooks.

So after checking some reviews and looking at affordability, ease of use, and effectiveness, I purchased the Daniusoft WMA to MP3 Converter program for $25 plus a buck and change in sales tax.

The Daniusoft converter is quite simple to use. After getting a registration key via email and installing the program, I was ready to start converting files. All I had to do was find the appropriate WMA files on my computer, import them into the Daniusoft program, select my output file choice (MP3, MPEG-4, FLAC, WAV, and a bunch of others), and hit the start button. Piece of cake!

The Daniusoft program works flawlessly to convert even digitally protected DRM files to MP3, so now the books I check out from the library can be loaded onto my iPod. I kind of feel bad that I have to strip the DRM in order to listen to audiobooks that I’ve legally checked out from my library, but what else can I do in order to listen on my iPod? There are other workarounds, including burning the files to audio CD (which the library site actually recommends) and then re-ripping those audio CDs to my computer to get MP3 files. But that would not be very cost- or time-effective, especially when dealing with 22-hour long audiobooks!

The only drawback to this Daniusoft WMA to MP3 Converter is that it’s a total resource hog. I can’t do anything else on my computer during the conversion process, which takes about 30 minutes for a 5-hour audiobook (or six minutes per hour-long file). But that’s ok, I just hop on my netbook until everything is squared away.

Overall, I think this Daniusoft WMA to MP3 Converter was well worth the money spent. It will pay for itself after just two or three book rentals from the library, as I would spend far more than $25 to get these same books on iTunes or Audible, or on burning the files to audio CDs. If you’re in the same boat, I highly recommend Daniusoft!