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Friday, September 21, 2018

Install Your Old CD Language discs - those items still lying around

Problem
Do you still have old CD language courses on your bookshelves. Going through my language courses, I found I have CDs with language courses enabling me to hear Indonesian but I never listen to them. My latest laptop has no slot for CDs. If you have bought a lightweight laptop it probably doesn't have a CD slot, although you can buy one to plug in.

Where would your old discs be? Probably inside the cover of books on languages. Or stored in an old shoe box in your store cupboard (Americans say closet).

The hoarders in your family probably have a few discs they don't need, or will loan them so you can copy them.

You could also look for discs in second hand shops or charity shops (in America called thrift stores), the bargain tables of discontinued books in book shops.

If you are using an old language book, you need the discs to hear the prononciation.

Answer
CDs can be transferred onto teeny SD cards which slot into the side of your newer laptop. If you don't know how to transfer your recorded material from the disc to the card, find a nerd and enlist their help.  Or google for the instructions.

Then you will be ready to learn, or, in the modern phrase, good to go.

SIM Cards and SD Cards
A phone has a slot for the larger SIM cards. Your phone has a limited memory so you stick in an supplementary card to hold more pictures and transfer them to other devices, a card which you can buy in various sizes at corresponding prices, a bigger card holding more photos costs more.

The size of discs has got smaller but the slot remains the same. So the new teeny cards come with a holder which fits the larger slots.

To eject your holder, look for the symbol which is like an oblong holder with a finger pulling it out. Clock on that and you will get options for all the devices which are plugged into your laptop.

TIPS
Transfer your discs onto cards.
Use an old laptop with a slot to listen to discs.
Check language course books - especially inside the back cover, to see if there is a downloadable version of the disc on the internet.

Glossary (dictionary)
SD - secure data - extra storage space for photos, videos .
SIM card - the one which has your phone owner details, linking your phone to the company from whom you rent the monthly allowance.
In theory you can change the SIM card to a new phone, for example, hiding your expensive Apple iphone and taking a cheap phone on a trek or to a market, transferring the Sim card from your expensive phone/camera to a cheaper one.
Alternatively, you might wish to swap the new SIM card into your better phone in order to take good photos on holiday.
However, some phones are fixed to prevent this happening so that thieves cannot switch their SIM cards into a stolen phone. So you might have to get the shop where you buy the phone or rent it to change the Sim card as they have the unblocking device or permission.
The best time to get this done is when you are renting the new phone, when they will gladly agree to anything to secure the sale.
 If you then later have to go back to the shop to reverse the SIM card swap, that means another journey, another wait for attention, explaining what you want and why, getting them to agree to spend time on something which is not benefitting their sales person, changing the paperwork.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

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