podcasting

Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 7: the gearhead episode

by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – February 21, 2008 - 11:43am

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Bedtime with Rob and AlexBreak out the propeller beanies: it's a gear-heavy episode this time. It starts with Rob talking about the swishy new voice recorder that will soon be replacing the combination of a 4th-generation iPod and Griffin iTalk. That'll mean much nicer sound... and the end of that hard-drive-spinning-up whine that we're guessing you won't miss at all.

But Alex quickly sees Rob's bet and raises him an iPhone.... specifically, her quest this evening for a task manager she can carry around on her new favourite-toy-EVVVer. We touch on Central Desktop, the solution of choice for organizing Barack Obama volunteers on Super Tuesday (hat tip to the excellent TechPresident site).

We tweak the folks at 37Signals' Highrise CRM application for lifting Alex's likeness for their web tour (or as she's now known in these parts, Suzanna Cavatrio, copywriter for Enormicon).

And we issue three demands from Apple: the long-awaited software development kit for genuine third-party apps on the iPhone; the official arrival of the iPhone in Canada (maybe we can blame Ted Rogers for the holdup); and an Apple Store in Vancouver.

Oh, and there's one last thing: the Fake Steve Jobs turtleneck.

Enjoy. We'd love to hear from you - just leave your comments below.

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What's a podcast?

A podcast is a series of downloadable audio files that you can subscribe to on your computer. Your computer regularly checks an online text file – called the podcast's feed – that lists any new episodes along with their download locations. Then the software downloads the new episodes and tees them up for you to listen to... on your computer, on an MP3 player such as an iPod (which is where the word "podcast" comes from), or however you like.

By far the most popular software for subscribing to podcasts is Apple's iTunes, although there are many other choices. (Here are some of them.)

One of the reasons podcasting has gathered so much attention is that it's a lot like radio, ... but unlike radio, it can be produced very cheaply. Nearly anyone with a microphone, a computer and an Internet connection can create a podcast, and there is a wide range of free and low-cost software available for producing them. Free services abound as well for uploading and hosting podcasts.

The same way blogging opened online text publishing to the masses, podcasting has turned audio publishing into a grassroots activity. More recently, podcasting has expanded to include video content as well in what are sometimes called vlogs, video blogs, video podcasts or vidcasts.

You can find out more at the podcasting resource library at Net2Learn. You can also check out the Wikipedia entry or the O'Reilly book Podcasting Hacks (a few years old, but still very good). 

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CBC dips the whole foot in the podcasting waters

by Rob Cottingham – May 4, 2006 - 12:50pm

Okay, so it isn't the revolution. But it's a big step forward for the CBC as Radio One unleashes a whole bunch of new podcasts on an unsuspecting public.

Every day will bring a new edition of a particular podcast:

  • Monday - The Best of Ideas
  • Tuesday - Dispatches
  • Wednesday - The Best of Outfront
  • Thursday - The Best of The Current
  • Friday - The Best of As It Happens
  • Saturday - Quirks & Quarks
  • Sunday - The Best of DNTO

That enough for you? Wait, don't answer – there's more, updated with varying frequency:

  • CBC Radio 3
  • Sounds Like Canada: The Digital Extra
  • CBC Radio Editor's Choice
  • Words at Large
  • Word of the Week

Still got some room on that iPod? There's also a weekly roundup of stories from every region of Canada.

The upshot is a dramatic multiplication of the CBC's podcast offerings, with a promise of more to come. This has to be pretty gratifying for the broadcaster's in-house tech visionary and podcast evangelist, Tod Maffin, who's done a lot to make this happen. Online communities around each podcast would be a natural next step, but this is terrific progress.

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