Comments on: Recipe for a Killer Podcast Application

By: Bryan Haardt

Bryan Haardt — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:55:00 +0000

By: RichardQuerin

RichardQuerin — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 17:14:00 +0000

..err.. well that was somewhat more than “two issues” to think of now wasn’t it.

By: RichardQuerin

RichardQuerin — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 17:12:00 +0000

Hi Kent,You're reading my mind. See this post I wrote a while back. Two issues to think of:1. An audio CD can only hold about 80min. Barely one podcast in many cases, sometime not enough for a single one in others.2. Screw the IPod connector for cars! Give us 1/8" minijacks!! ANY mp3 player would be great and easy for car use if the manufacturers simply provided a 1/8" minijack to connect an auxiliary source. If I had of known more about podcasts when I bought my Pioneer deck I would have bought a model with a 1/8" jack believe me.3. I would be wary of overcomplicating the issue of podcast details, titling and labelling etc.. I simply gather up my mp3's and burn 'em to a CD-RW. I have 4 discs in circulation which I then rotate in and out as they get listened to. Podcasts are transient by nature. It's a consumable. They are all archived online anyway. I'm not sure if messing around with a second layer of storage would help or hinder it for the mainstream.4. The main problem with my system is in a lack of aggregating/burning/deleting automation. Currently I use Ipodder Lemon and manually drag the latest files into a folder for burning. Fine for me. Yecch for the mainstream user.5. It honestly boggles my mind that more people aren't listening this way already. When I switched from earbuds to listening on my car deck the change was incredible. Much much better.

By: vonDirschl

vonDirschl — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 03:48:00 +0000

I agree that it is all about the car. When we can get the ‘net in the car, radio is finished. Podcasting does that. All the technology is there, and it is easy as hell.Subscribe to podcast. Set up Itunes to automatically download and transfer recent episodes to Ipod. Bring to car. Use $40 Ipod transmitter that allows you to listen to podcast on your radio. Available at all electronics stores.Listen to podcast. Plug in Ipod at night for latest updates and to recharge battery. Repeat. I am currently doing this everyday and I can’t keep up with all the great content. Make no mistake, this is a paradigm shift. Why archive all the podcasts when they are already archived on the ‘net or on your hard drive? Why fill up landfill with plastic discs when you don’t need to? Podcasts are an episodic experience, not repetition.Those folks you talk about that don’t have one or don’t use one are not early adopters, plain and simple. Be it Ipod or thumb drive, the concept is the same. And now with video podcasts that use compression ratios that look good on even big screen tv, look out for the next paradigm shift in the living room.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:17:00 +0000

iTunes and the iPod already solve this problem in a *much* simpler manner. Basically, you only need to subscribe to a podcast in iTunes and then its automatically copied to your iPod if you haven’t listened to it (or removed if you did). So, as long as you can connect your iPod to your car (which is a trivial modification even for old cars) – you’re all set. No need to worry about burning CDs, the costs associated with that, etc. I think that your solution is really assuming that people don’t want iPods – which I don’t believe is true (literally everyone I know has one and uses it at least every day or two). It may be your point of view, and that’s fine, but for those that do have an iPod, the functionality you seek is implemented and the integration is braindead simple.

By: Ken Yarmosh

Ken Yarmosh — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:55:00 +0000

I have said before and I’ll say again, that as long as podcasting is technologically or psychologically tied to iPods and other portable music players, it will never reach the mainstream. Nobody I know, either socially or professionally, uses an iPod or other portable music player. Not one person. A couple of people I know have iPods, but they tell me that after the initial thrill of having one wore off, the iPods got relegated to a drawer somewhere, rarely to see the light of day.Wow. That is so off, I think you need to look beyond your peer group. As a 20-something, I don’t see people put down their iPods down. That’s even truer for teens and the like.Podcasting would take off more if the podcasts could actually be managed by the players (i.e., they’d require Internet connectivity). The problem is the way that people need to subscribe via a computer and then sync. As a podcast subscriber, that is the main reason I don’t regularly keep up with my podcasts – it requires too much effort.Still, I agree with your underlying premise, which is that consuming podcasts needs to be simpler and more accessible.

By: Tom Reynolds

Tom Reynolds — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 21:00:00 +0000

It’s something that I’ve been thinking of as well. However I think that your solution is a ‘halfway house’ solution.More and more vehicles are being built with iPod integration as standard. In the UK I’ve seen car players that will take a memory stick.The problem is this, and it’s one that you touch on. It takes effort to burn some podcasts to a CD. I’ also guess that a lot of people don’t archive the podcasts.Every time you get into a car you’d have to spend ‘X’ amount of time in chosing the right podcast.I wish I had the solution – I’m guessing a radio player with a built in removeable flash memory, coupled with syncing software is the way to go.Either that or a WiFi in the car that can link to your home network. Something for the geeks only though – but where the geeks lead others will follow.All of which have the disadvantage that your idea doesn’t have – the need for new hardware, a slow purpose.If I had the right iea I may well make a large amount of money from it. As I’m still poor…well…work it out…