I have an hour-each-way commute and find reading during this time to be a bit more problematic than listening to audiobooks on my iPod (through the car stereo, of course). I have no financial stake in PodioBooks.com or Audible.com, but they provide a nice, eyes-free alternative. There are lots of other sources, too.

Responding to "Frankly, I don't want Budweiser knowing when I choose to buy their beer versus another brands.": You must have an amazingly trouble-free life to go this far to find something to be unhappy about. You're buying beer in a public store, surrounded by video cameras (especially if you're walking down the beer isle), and maybe even paying for the stuff with a credit card (thereby volunteering the details of your purchase to whatever bank issued the card). But NOW you're concerned that the company who's product you purchase in this way might get wind of your having bought their stuff?! There is no shortage of genuine trouble in the world. To invent more out of thin air is just stupid. Grow up. Just grow up. [end of tirade]

Actually, it seems like this sort of product tracking has the potential to increase the economic efficiency of retail markets. I don't know of a purer or freer or more inherently fair large-scale democracy than a free market economy. Especially for luxuries like beer (And by the way, if we have Internet access, the vast majority of our take-home income is very likely blown on luxuries.), every time we buy something, we're casting our vote in favor of the product at the price we pay for it (and for the place where we buy it, and the time of day when we buy it, etc.). Better tracking of the products just makes the voting faster and more accurate. If you don't like it, don't vote for the product. Every dollar is a ballot, and we can vote until we run out of them, though most of us might do well to abstain more often. :)