Overview
The Farrell article is pretty upbeat, though thankfully she touches on some of the frustrations we have all had with OverDrive. I have coached students, staff, and MYSELF downloading books from OverDrive, and have found it awkward to use and difficult to make "play well" with my SANSA and my iTouch.
Feedback and experience
Installing software (including the OverDrive Media Console) is not allowed on the college's network, so students and faculty must download onto their home computer. This also means we do not help or hear about any problems they have.
The files themselves to not separate into chapters the way a CD book will, so the playback is in HUGE chunks. This was not popular; users wanted small, organized chapters to help them track their reading.
I consider myself a pretty proficient computer user, but it took me about 2 hours to download a book and transfer it to my device, much of it spent in confusion and cursing. If it is not intuitive to me, how is a less confident user going to feel? Are they going to make it work--or just give up?
Remote services are helpful; offering things online is great for independent learners and listeners. Maybe OverDrive gets rave reviews....that we never hear!
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