Okay Geek Farm
iPodMeister - Donate CDs and DVDs for a Free iPad
Ricardo Trejo
iPodMeister’s site premise is this: donate cd’s and dvd’s to help entertain those in countires where they can’t afford to go digital yet, and in return you’ll be rewarded with nifty Apple products. What you get all depends on how much you’re giving away. For instance, an 8GB iPod Nano w/ video will cost you 220 discs, and a 16GB iPad w/ WiFi costs you 600 discs, which sounds like a pretty good deal to me considering you can’t do anything with CD’s once they’ve been ripped of their music.
iPodMeister reasons that:
• Selling CDs to a used record store is usually a humiliating experience and a waste of time and energy.
• CDs that are almost worthless in the U.S. often fetch higher prices abroad.
• Many people in the U.S. have “gone digital” and switched entirely from CDs to digital music. The overwhelming majority of people in many other countries still like to listen to CDs (see chart on left). Many people in developing countries won’t be able to spend $200 or $300 for an iPod for years to come.
• CDs do a lot of damage to the environment when thrown into the garbage. They are difficult to break down and there are no ways to recycle them.
• Many people are reluctant to part with their CDs even though they are just collecting dust and taking up space. It is easier to declutter if one knows that one’s CD collection will be appreciated again.
It’s a capital idea worth much more than just materialistic goods. You’ll be a part of spreading entertainment to those who don’t usually get the chance to, and that’s way better than having a tablet that can’t even use Flash…
