Today’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference keynote just kicked off… there’s been a ton of speculation (planted and lovingly watered by Apple’s secrecy) leading to this morning’s unveilings. Not sure if anything will impact podcasting or other new media, but rest assured I’ll post my thoughts later this afternoon if Jobs lowers the boom on anything like that…
Author: Tim
Podshow’s Suck Less bashing
I definitely don’t want this blog to devolve into Podshow bashing, but they seem to keep tripping over themselves lately. The latest innovation from the network is a listener feedback system called “Suck Less” (as in… “help us suck less”). It’s basically a demographic questionnaire that gets users points for gift cards and the like. In promoting this, Podshow has slapped a pre-roll ad to every one of their podcasts, and that has met with grumbling from a lot of podcasters. Check out the latest Podcast 411 for some thoughts on that… including one author who decided not to go with Podshow because he did not like the preroll ad. It’s even come to the point where some enterprising individuals have posted instructions for listeners on how to use iTunes to automatically trim the preroll ads from Podshow podcasts…
I’ve never been a fan of preroll ads… 60 seconds is a long ad for something that presupposes that some members of the network (apparently) suck at what they do. Not something I’d want my listeners to hear before my shows start…
Podshow hacked (?)
Apparently someone got into Podshow’s mailserver and wreaked some non-damaging havoc. Not cool, but they definitely have made their share of enemies over the last couple of years. Bizarrely enough, since the hacker only sent an email and did no other damage, some people are skeptical that there was a hack in the first place. Ahhh… the drama of podcasting.
iPhone hype
Is the iPhone hype approaching “kiss of death” stage? The NY Times weighs in….
Also… is there a new, secret application in the iPhone that was revealed (sort of) in the tv ads? Let the crazy speculation begin!
Blog World Expo
The Blog World Expo in Vegas this fall bills itself as “The first and only tradeshow, conference, and media event dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media.” Something tells me there are some other heirs to that title, but no matter. Looks like this one has a lineup of big hitter companies sponsoring it, and frankly… Ontario, CA…. Vegas…. Ontario, CA… Vegas. Hmmm.
I’m tentatively hitting the New Media Expo in Ontario this September, but if the buzz on this show builds up, I might just be heading to Vegas too.
It’s official: iPhone in stores June 29th
Apple’s made it official… the iPhone drops June 29th. Check out the new iPhone ads… judging by the hype alone, Apple will likely sell as many iPhone s as it can get into stores in the first week or so. If the supply creates waiting lists, this could be an interesting summer. However, if the iPhone isn’t a decent product, I can see Apple taking a serious beating. We shall see starting June 29th…
Jobs and Gates: Cats and dogs livin’ together
Last night Steve Jobs and Bill Gates sat on the same stage together and had a virtual love-in over their competing product lines… full coverage here… nothing earth-shattering to report, however. Earlier in the day Jobs revealed that the Apple TV will soon sport a new source of content… some fly by night operation called YouTube. Yeah, like THAT’LL work…
(sarcasm off)
Hooking up with Google for the iPhone seems to be paying off in other ways… YouTube, as you may recall is owned by Google. This new option gives every Apple TV owner a whole new universe of content… some good, some not. It also firmly entrenches the video podcaster as a major contributor to Apple TV entertainment since many (if not most) video podcasts have a home on YouTube as well. Ninjas and Tiki Bars for everyone!
iTunes revamped
Apple is launching a tweaked version of iTunes today (version 7.2)… it doesn’t appear to contain any upgrades or changes to the podcasting platform, but since it is by far the most used podcatcher out there, it’s good to know there’s some changes coming down the pike! Apple says the main feature in iTunes 7.2 is the ability to buy the new DRM-free tracks from the iTunes Music Store… that’s worth the upgrade for a lot of people! If you’re interested in seeking out those unlocked MP3s in the store, check out the how-to guide from MacUser.
Podshow adds Dvorak
Podshow has added on “controversial” John C. Dvorak to its tech podcast lineup. I say controversial because I think he decided long ago to try to tick off every Mac owner in everything he says or does. Fine by me… it gets him mad coverage. Of course it makes him the butt of a lot of flack (mixed metaphor?), particularly from Valleywag. It feels like Podshow is the network that’s easy to rag on… perhaps as far back as the big contract revelation on Keith and the Girl. It continued when they had the strange notion that having their own unconference during last year’s Podcast Expo would be a good idea for community relations… it didn’t. In fact it backfired. We’ll see if adding Dvorak will add numbers through the tried and true method of adding a “controversial” podcaster to the mix…
Apple: Don’t Buy Audiobooks from iTunes
Ok, file this one under, “weird.” Apparently a bunch of recent audiobooks sold in the iTunes Music Store play just great in iTunes, but refuse to play on iPods. It’s come to the point that Apple has reportedly recommended that iPod owners not purchase any additional audiobooks from Apple’s own iTunes Music Store! If only Microsoft would say the same thing about not buying the Zune, then maybe we’d all sleep better…
Apparently the snafu is a result of something that Apple’s audiobook partner Audible has in these new versions. One of the books is Al Gore’s newest, The Assault on Reason. Since we know Steve Jobs is a big Al Gore fan, we know he can’t be behind the sabotage. Maybe the culprit is a pro-Obama coder over at Audible? Hmmmm… stranger things have happened…