by Keith Richardson (first posted in June 2005)
MacSeniors Consulting Services
Report begins below the cartoon…..

Personally, podcasting a few stories for the grandkids has me intrigued.
Click the cartoon above to see what I mean….

Perhaps you, too, have a unique historical perspective to pass on?
Why not join the revolution?

(December 05): Click here to see an old ad that answers the question,
“Is that an iPod in your pocket?” where the response is, “Yes, actually, it is.”

Added December 6, 2005: ‘Podcast’ is ‘Word of the Year’
The editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary have selected “podcast” as their Word of the Year for 2005. This means the word – virtually unknown in June 2004 and now embraced by broadcasters large and small worldwide – will be included in next year’s dictionary.

The word will be defined as: “A digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.” It will be added to the next online update of the New Oxford American Dictionary, due in early 2006.

Erin McKean, editor-in-chief of the New Oxford American Dictionary, said: “Podcast was considered for inclusion last year, but we found that not enough people were using it, or were even familiar with the concept. This year it’s a completely different story. The word has finally caught up with the rest of the iPod phenomenon.”

British Media reported last summer that Queen Elizabeth is the proud owner of a £169 silver iPod, a pocket-sized digital music player that can hold up to 100,000 songs. A royal insider told the London Sun that she “loves music and is impressed by how small and handy the iPod is.” The 80 year-old grandmother has also used a mobile phone since 2001.

So what does HRH use her ’Pod for? Does she download from the iTunes Store? Can she program her VCR, too? Will she be upgrading to the iPod Video? Does she need a consultant-in-waiting? ”

The Queen’s iPod is not just another Walkman; it’s a hard drive with considerably more capacity than most music players. The Shuffle and the new iPod nano, on the other hand, utilize flash memory, a good feature if you’re not the most careful handler of hand-held devices.

Transferring files to our iPod requires that we have a computer with either a CD drive or an Internet connection. From our CD collections we copy songs to the music player on our PCs. With Apple’s free iTunes software (for both Mac and Windows), it’s a simple drag & drop process. Next we sync our iTunes library with the iPod to copy MP3 or other music files to the ’Pod (this is pretty much an automatic process on new Macs as soon as we connect the ’Pod to our Macs), and off we go.

For affluent techies there are dozens of iPod enhancements available, including Griffin’s iTrip that lets us play audio files wirelessly through our car’s FM radio. We can also download audio files from the Apple’s iTunes Store or other sources.

Some ’Pods can also store photo files and other PC documents or even serve as backup drives. My 40 gigabyte iPod Photo doubles as an easy-to-carry ‘brag book,’ filled with jpegs of family, vacations, business, and, of course, HRH. Connecting to a TV for a slide show is a snap, and for background music we can choose any of the songs in the ’Pod’s music library.

Gary Stager of Pepperdine University sees the iPod as “ the heart of the most recent high-tech revolution. [Its] elegant interface, large storage capacity, stunning industrial design and integration with iTunes have made it a must-have item on college campuses. ” Duke University recently gave every freshman an iPod loaded with important university information. The iTunes Store carries plenty of audio books including the entire Harry Potter collection.

Apple sold 10 million iPods last year; 4.5 million over the winter holiday season alone. Over 15 million more have been purchased in 2005. Apple’s recent announcement of the nano and the Motorola ROKR cell phone (already being re-engineered) will send iTunes downloads skyrocketing again, adding to the ‘halo effect’ that has raised Apple’s computer sales and stock value to record levels.

PODCASTING: What is it?

From the ‘iPod craze’ has come ‘podcasting’ which offers us the ability to access or even create radio-style programs syndicated for automatic download from the Internet to PC and music player. (You don’t have to have a ’Pod to listen to podcasts; you do need a computer.)

Frankly, you and I are more likely to be listeners than ’casters. Through our PCs, we subscribe to ‘feeds’ using ‘podcatching’ (aggregator) software that periodically checks for and automatically downloads new content. Some aggregators can handle video as well as audio files.

Wikipedia describes this innovation in information distribution this way:

“Podcasting is the distribution of audio or video files, such as radio programs or music videos, over the Internet using either RSS or Atom syndication for listening on mobile devices and personal computers.

The term podcast, like “radio”, can mean both the content and the method of delivery. Podcasters’ web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their files. However, a podcast is distinguished by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading RSS or Atom feeds.

Usually, the podcast features one type of “show” with new episodes either sporadically or at planned intervals such as daily, weekly, etc. In addition to this, there are podcast networks that feature multiple shows on the same feed. One can listen to a podcast either on a computer or on a mobile audio device (such as an iPod).
Podcasting’s essence is about creating content (audio or video) for an audience that wants to listen when they want, where they want, and how they want.” Read more….

Apple’s latest iteration of QuickTime Pro (7.0.2), however, makes recording podcasts on our PCs exceptionally easy (just look under the QTP File menu). eMacs and iMacs have built-in microphones (but feel free to add an external mike and a sound studio if you like). Hook up a Digital Video camera (preferably Firewire) and record video to send out in your email. Keep in mind, though, that the rules of netiquette apply to podcasting even more than email! And, if you have iLife ‘06, take advantage of the podcast creation capabilities of Garage Band!

To answer the question we started with, through podcasting, those who enjoy radio commentary, interviews, drama, and music, now have radio-like entertainment we’ve long wanted—sent to us automatically, available to play and replay whenever we like. I guarantee we’re going to hear a lot more about podcasting in the next few months! Even Microsoft is doing it—and using the word ‘Pod’ in the process!

Is this where we’re headed?