March 22, 2005
Skype Voicemail and Podcasting
03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (139) ~ Podcasting
The folks over at The techADDICTION Show are using Skype’s new voicemail feature (which is in beta… whatever beta means these days) to allow interaction with their podcast audience. Listeners of their show can skype the Skype user techaddiction and leave a message about the show. Read more about it here.
Skype’s voicemail feature runs € 15 for 12 months or € 5 for 3 months. A pretty inexpensive way to add interactivity to a podcast.
Oh, as mentioned on the techAddiction show is a bit about Skype Answering Machine which is a freeware client voicemail application for Skype (Skype’s voicemail service is server based).
February 03, 2005
aacPlus — Audio Compaction
03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (2) ~ Podcasting
I just read Doug Kaye’s blog post (Doug runs IT Conversations) about aacPlus a relatively recent audio codec. Here’s the Slate article that triggered Doug’s post.
Listening to music streamed at 48kbs in MP3 format would sound like… well, sheeeit. However, in aacPlus… deeeeaaamn. Apparently, aacPlus can encode 5.1 sound at 128kbs and CD-quality sound at 48kbs. To test out aacPlus for yourself, I recommend using the VLC media player, and tuning into Groove Salad on SomaFM.
January 24, 2005
Start Listening to Podcasts Now
12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (2) ~ Podcasting
Tired of broadcast radio? Don't want to go through the hassle of installing a satellite-radio receiver in your car? Bored with your music collection? Then podcasting is for you.
If you haven't heard of podcasting, it's going to be hot in 2005... if it isn't already. Podcasting is obviously a play on Apple's iPod - appropriate since podcasts are audio files (typically in MP3 format) similar to music you'd download. These audio files are attached to RSS 2.0 feeds as enclosures, and can be easily downloaded using a podcast client. Podcasts can be looked at as the audio form of blogging, and with the explosion of podcasts over the last few months, there's content available to interest almost anyone. And as with most blogs, the majority of this content is free (I can't think of any podcasts that you have pay for) and legal.
In order to start receiving podcasts you need to download a podcasting client, and subscribe to some podcast feeds (if you already use an RSS Newsreader, check to see if your current or a new version supports podcasts). From Adam Curry's first podcasting client (which was release only a few months ago), podcast clients have matured to the point where they will automatically download your podcasts based on a schedule you set, synchronize those downloads with iTunes or Windows Media Player, allow you to skip editions that you don't want to download, keep a history of your downloads, allow you to search for new podcast feeds, etc. The client I use is called Doppler Radio and can be found here. Doppler also has some links to help you find podcasts here.
I've been listening to podcasts since the early fall of 2004, and I've noticed that they have really changed my "radio" listening habits. Before podcasts, whenever I had the radio on in my car, I would be listening to music. Now I almost exclusively listen to podcasts. In addition, I've got a small MP3 player which allows me to listen to podcasts when I'm exercising... and even when cleaning up the house.
As with websites and blogs, you need to experiment a bit to find content that interests you. However, it didn't take me long to find several podcasts that I now really look forward to hearing. I think you'll find your experience will be similar.