Podcasting

I think I'd have to agree. It seems Cell phones and PDA's have a brighter future. I just can't see myself sitting down at my computer and transferring files every time I wanted a new Podcast. I guess it has it's advantages, such as choosing only the casts that interest you, but still doesn't seem worth it. I'm sure cell phones will soon have the capanility to store mp3 files, and then what becomes of Podcasts? It will be interesting to see what's ahead of us.

That is quite cool. Is it expensive to use those features? Do they use airtime? Can regular speakers or headphones be plugged into the phone for better listening quality?
I'm intrigued.

I get a weekly podcast from the Bluegrass Preservation Society through an RSS feed using Opera's newsfeed client. It's a recording of Ewell's hour long radio show but it's not the highest quality, I guess they do that to keep the file size small enough to be practical. I download the podcasts to a file on my computer and listen using Winamp, no iPod needed. Ewell doesn't have the licensing problems discussed above, he records all the music he plays himself at little concerts he puts on with mostly local bands in the Gassaway, West Virginia area. The bands get free world wide exposure and Ewell gets free content for his programs, everybody wins.

As for an iPod, I have no plans to get one. I don't like using those little ear buds, I can't enjoy music like that. If I need music for the road, I just take along some CDs.

Sprint Vision (unlimited data when used with the device) is $10 to $30/month--mine is a grandfathered $10 plan. Vision is an add-on to any voice plan and does not use minutes. The biggest expense is the device, which retails for $630, but is frequently discounted to $300 to $350.
I use either wired or bluetooth stereo headphones, and can also plug it into the radio in my car. With a 1GB SD card, I can also load several CD's of music on the device for listening when out of range of the Sprint network (which for me is rare) or when the network gets too congested for streaming without excessive buffering.

The latest newsletter from RAIN has some late breaking news on podcasting. As I feared, the RIAA is considering music played on PODCASTS as a download which means you must have an agreement with the license holder.

Here is the email excerpt:


Even though record labels and webcasters have a blanket licensing agreement for
streaming, no such agreement exists for podcasting. And that's frustrating to
those who'd like to produce podcasts using major label music.

RIAA attorney Steven Marks explained to USA Today that podcasting, because it is
a download, must be licensed by individual copyright owners (as opposed to
collectively licensed). Podcasters say to do so is logistically impossible.

Read more from USA Today in today's issue of "RAIN: Radio And Internet
Newsletter," online now at http://www.kurthanson.com.

I'd love to figure out how to get Aaron Drake's podcast. I have an iMac, with Tiger, and an iPod, but I'm more technically challenged than I thought. i learned about his podcast in one of Marc Gunn's newsletters.

If I knew how to download Aaron's, I'm sure I'd listen to it in the truck. I hardly turn on the stereo tuner anymore--I have my iPod hooked up through the truck stereo system, that's all I listen to while driving. I'm thinking of getting satellite radio, it depends on if there's any Celtic stations available. I'm just tired of listening to all the commercials and the radio "personalities" on the FM/AM stations.

When I'm driving I want to here music.