|
| Podcasting Makes AirWaves | | Date Created: Jul 09, 2005, 12:15 AM |
One of the things I love about Apple Computer is how they try to think "one step ahead" of everyone else. They try to find solutions and uses for things that seem to be too technical and make them accessible to a grander audience. Take Podcasting.
Podcasts, in case you don't know by now, are sort of an audio blog, or an audio version of a magazine. Essentially, content is prepared by someone (anyone- even YOU can make your own podcasts), and then a feed is generated so that people can subscribe to it and listen in on their computer, or preferably on their MP3 Device, or specifically, an iPod. This is a dream come true for would-be broadcasters.
When I first started this site, I had intended on doing an audio segment (in fact, I did do one some years back -- and the microphone remains part of the logo on the main page!). I thought it would be a fun way to use my voice to tell a story or report on something, instead of simply writing about it. Unfortunately, up until now, the methods for doing this were a little clunky.
Now Apple has included Podcasting in their iTunes software, which is great because I can select from thousands of broadcasts and find the few that I'm interested in. Subscribe to them (for FREE!), and then let them go into my iPod. When I'm travelling to work, or searching for something to listen to, VOILA, I've got tons of new content, refreshed regularly, on my iPod to choose from. Sort of like and instant, do-it-yourself radio (With the exception being that you control the content you download).
There are a few problems with podcasts. Because everyone can do on, a lot of people who just don't have the knack for speaking on air have shows, and those can be a bit monotonous or ill produced. Others can be quite riveting. Many commercial institutions are now Podcasting (including Disney and ABC), so hopefully this will be a trend that will stick around for a while. For me, it's great to be able to listen to a wide variety of programming, covering a wide variety of topics, all on my way to and from work!
So far, the best podcasts I've found have been the news related ones, generally pulled from actual broadcasts, well-produced, and well voiced. These include ABC's Nightline (it is wonderful to listen to this show on the road), ABC's News Shuffle, CNN's broadcast, Beatles Trivia, TheForce.net, Inside the Magic, the BBC content *, and Your Mac Life's podcast. (Uh oh- I'm noticing a trend here. I once said that if you look around my apartment, you'll spot things I'm interested in, like Star Wars, Beatles, Disney, Apple, all over the place. It looks like my Podcast list has joined the frey.
The brilliant thing about these shows is that they augment my already enriched listening experience, particularly on long travel, and usually provide instantaneous results of the previous nightt (or day's) news. The BBC Podcasts, which are in trial at the moment have been amongst the most interesting selection of programs. In the past few days I've heard movie reviews, reflections on the past few days, a special documentary about the wizard Merlin, another about writer Christopher Marlow, as well as a few other goodies. The Your Mac Life Podcast features more fun with Shawn & Jay, as they shoot the breeze for a lunch hour.
So far podcasts have made an interesting impression on my listening habits. I keep wondering when I'm going to go back to the music, but for now, I find these free feeds to be astoundingly fun to listen to.
You will need iTunes 4.9 to tune in.
Read more about Podcasts here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
