Microphones for Podcasting

I know that with podcasting we now have an excuse to tell the missus that we need to go and buy more hardware. One of the things you will be considering is a decent microphone. Now while I think the headset mic in my Logitech 200 is just fine, there will be those who want a more professional setup. To get your head round the different types of mic are and what you should be using for podcasting, take a look at Scot McPhee's site.

BitTorrent of MPG version of BBC Culture Show Segment on Podcasting

I have created an MPG version of the BBC Culture Show segment on Podcasting (featuring Adam Curry of course).

I have created a BitTorrent to the file - first time I have tried this so hopefully it works. If it doesn't please let me know and we will find another way to distribute it.

Podcasting - Searching for Content

I really do like listening to podcasts, I find I am reading fewer blogs and listening more to podcasts because I can listen to the audio content while I work, or am in the car.

The problem is, you can't Google for the content of a podcast. That was a problem I had this week when I remembered I had heard something on a podcast about an add-in for instant messaging, but couldn't remember where I had heard it and had no way to search for it.

Maybe some really smart guy will offer a service where he runs all podcasts through a speech-to-text program and provides transcripts for all podcasts, or maybe it would be best for the podcasters to create the transcript at the same time they create the podcast, but if podcasting isn't going to just be about amateur DJs playing music, and rather it is an audio version of blogging then we are going to need a way to search the content.

Using the 7100t as modem - VPN Issues

It is good to see that you can use the BlackBerry 7100t as a tethered modem to connect your laptop to the internet. Results seem to indicate that throughput isn't that great, and it would have been nice if I could have used Bluetooth to connect the two devices rather than the USB cable.

The main proboem from my perpective is that I can't get a conection to my company's intranet using either of the two VPN solutions we use over this link.

Now it may be that somewhere along the line there is some proxy in use, and if someone knows how to clear that please let me know, otherwise the 7100t will just not cut it for me.

Convincing Your Boss You Need a BlackBerry

If you are trying to convince your boss that you need a Blackberry, there are some stats here that might make good ammo!!!!

For example:

• Ninety-six percent of the pilot users stated the device significantly improved their business effectiveness.
• Eighty-three percent of users stated the mobile service improved their responsiveness and customer service.
• Forty-four percent reported direct revenue gains as a result of their increased responsiveness.

Podcast Content

There are lots of arguments about how well produced podcasts need to be to keep their listeners. Look at Adam Curry's show, the Daily Source Code for example. Now One Aging Geek doesn't happen to like the way Adam moves from room to room and plays with his new equipment - but I do, I love it, in fact that is why I listen.

I'm not looking for the same production values as radio, I want a personal experience out of it and when Adam is toying with his equipment he is doing the things that I do, so I can relate to that.

When I want good production values I listen to the Steve Wright show on BBC Radio 2, and I am not saying that good production values aren't welcome in podcasting - just that they are not essential to the enjoyment of the experience if the content is really what you are looking for. Heck Russell Holliman records his entire podcast on a Treo 600 smartphone - it doesn't get any less "production values" than that.

RIP VHS

Well it is the beginning of the end for VHS. I remember my first VHS video recorder ......... actually that is a lie, I don't - that was years ago and I have trouble remembering what happened to me last month.

But the VCR occupying a slot in my home entertainment center has essentially been underutilized since I sprung for a Tivo a couple of years ago, occasionally used to dump a Tivo recording onto tape for a colleague who happened to miss a particular show. Even when there is a conflict and I can't Tivo two shows I will use Azureus to record a show I want via BitTorrent rather than set up the VCR.

The Democrats Bloggercon III

I have been listening to proceedings from the recent Bloggercon II as recorded by ITConversations.

Do me a favor, listen to the Election 2004 event and let’s play spot the Republican. Difficult isn’t it. OK I did hear one guy from ratherbiased.com, but other than that it was almost exclusively a Democrat event, and within that it seems the majority of the speakers were Dean supporters. Thankfully Bob Cox from the National Debate pointed this out at the end of the session, but his whole point that this session itself was definitely partisan was kind of glossed over by Ed Cone. And partisan it was with lots of use of the royal “We” in relation to us Democrats here is this session.

Why is that? It is the same in the Podcast space. Are the vast majority of bloggers and podcasters Democrats. Could this be why the bloggers were calling the election for Kerry and that even the mainstream media picked up on that and were totally surprised that the election went the other way. They didn’t discuss this at the session though a couple of attempts were made by Ed Cone to move in that direction.

If anyone has seen a good article on this please let me know.

Coffee Maker Hell

So I decided to buy a Senseo Coffee Maker and went to WalMart to pick one up.

After getting home and opening the box I noticed a plastic and a metal widget inside the water reservoir. Well apparently these parts are important because I couldn't get the coffee maker to work.

I took it back to Walmart and got a replacement. On getting it home and unpacking I noticed the same issue - widgets - coffee maker wouldn't work. My wife called Senseo and found out that those loose widgets are the sensors for how much water is in the machine and that it can't be fixed by hand and that we need to return in again!!!

So Walmart had their chance, I got a refund, reckoning that maybethe palette was dropped or something.

I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and with my 20% coupon I got it cheaper than in WalMart. This one worked and I am now enjoying great tasting coffee!!!!!!

iPod Bookmarks

OK, so I bought a 40 GB iPod and started to download audiobooks and podcasts and now my life has become so disorganized. The main problem? Lack of bookmark ability on the iPod.

With all the content I have downloaded to my iPod there is no way I am going to listen to a whole audiobook, or even a whole podcast without pausing, listening to something else, and then going back to the original audio.

In fact if I listen to part of an audiobook, then plug in my iPod to sync up new content, then when I unplug it I will have lost my place in the audio I was listening to.

This needs to change on the iPod - please on the next revision of the firmware/software can we have this capability on all content (there are bookmarks for Audible content. No doubt iPod competitors are building this in as a matter of course.