Podcastplayer.org news

One complaint – nay, suggestion – for Lehrer: Don’t JUST put up podcasts; also put up MP3s so we can download any show without necessarily subscribing to a podcast feed. Please.

Read more at Podcasts grow like dandelions

Makes me think that the whole “RSS enclosures” setup would have been better replaced by something simple like one or more <a href=’..’ rel=’enclosure’>…</a> tags in the body text of a blog. That way all podcasts would automatically appear as individually downloadable links. And search engines would know what to do with the links.

I didn’t know such services existed, but apparently you can go to someone like Conference Calls Unlimited and they’ll arrange a conference call, record it, and send you the MP3. Instant podcast!

Read more at The Invent Blog | Nipper’s Patent Blog: Podcasting lesson #1 – don’t do work someone else has already done for you

I’ve still not sorted out areview of Sparks! myself, but in the meanwhile, here’s one from Lloyd Davis.

Perfect Path: Sparks!, Odeo, Podshow - the phoney war continues

Looks like the popular RSS reader “feedDemon” has been updated to better support podcasting. There are even a couple of videos which show how to use the new features.

I’ll take a more detailled look soon, but from a brief glance at the videos they don’t seem to be breaking any new ground, just coat-tailling on ideas from existing podcatchers. I guess if you already use feedDemon, this might make things a little simpler.

In version 1.5 (released in February 2005), FeedDemon adds support for podcasting with a built-in utility named FeedStation. The powerful podcasting tool enables you to download audio files and automatically sync them to your media players (applications and devices):

Read more, and watch the video clips at: Podcasting Download and Scheduling with FeedDemon 1.5

Wikimedia Commons looks like another free-media resource I didn’t know about.

The Wikimedia Commons is a project that provides a central repository for free images, music, sound, video clips and, possibly, texts and spoken texts, used in pages of any Wikimedia project. Unlike images uploaded on other projects, images on Commons can be embedded on pages of all Wikimedia projects.
The Commons was launched on September 7,2004.Currentlyitcontains 8108 collections.

Read more at Wikimedia Commons

I love these strange ideas that push the limits. “Whole Wheat Radio” has set up a phone line linked direct to a live audio feed. The idea is that anyone can call and leave a message which will be “broadcast". No censorship, no rules. Feels like an audio version of all those (pretty lame) “guest book” scripts you can add to a web site. Maybe it will have more “zing” (and less spam) with audio?

Just a reminder that the “Wheatgram” telephone is available and does work. What is it? It’s an answering machine plugged directly into the webcast stream. When you call and leave a message, that message goes out on-the-air after the current song that’s playing is done. The message is also archived and will play randomly at various times too.

Why mention it yet again? Because it’s your chance to be creative with audio and reach an interested audience without having to set up a podcast or a webcast or know anything technical except how to talk over a telephone. The phone has taken over 1,000 calls but it still hasn’t come close to reaching its potential.

I’m interested in what happens when you give out a phone number that is attached directly to audience ears. Are people able to differentiate between what is ‘appropriate’ (i.e. creative) and what isn’t (i.e. advertising)? Given a forum with a particular slant (our listening audience) how long will it take before the public abuses a priviledge to the point that I have to start screening the phone ins? Can it be self-policeing?

Read more at Whole Wheat Radio Blog, Talkeetna - Alaska

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