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Overcast app's big redesign helps it compete with Apple Podcasts
The Overcast podcast app has received a major redesign that could help it serve as a viable alternative to Apple Podcasts.
Overcast can skip podcast intros and outros
Don't like drawn-out podcast introductions, or just don't want to hear the same closing credits every episode? If you're invested in the Apple ecosystem, you might not have to endure them. Marco Arment has updated his Overcast app for iOS, iPadOS and Apple Watch with an option to skip intros and outros. You can tell the player to skip a certain number of seconds at the start or end of a podcast on a per-show basis -- if you know the first 30 seconds of a show is always fluff, you can cut to the heart of the podcast and save precious time.
Overcast can create clips from any public podcast
It can be a headache to share a favorite podcast moment with your friends. Unless you're willing to dive into the file with a media editor, you'll usually have to share the whole episode and make a note of the time. Overcast, however, might have just made sharing relatively trivial. An update to the iOS-only app makes it possible to create shareable minute-long clips from any public podcast, whether it's audio or video. Choose to share a clip and you'll get a basic timeline editor, complete with different aspect ratios to make video clips social-friendly.
Overcast adds a smarter way to dive back into a podcast
Marco Arment's Overcast has a reputation as the podcast connoisseur's iOS app of choice thanks to its inclusion of features you don't even find in Apple's official client, such as the automatic removal of dead air. That trend is continuing with the newly released Overcast 4.1, whose improvements might be extra-helpful if you find yourself lost whenever you return to a podcast. The new version adds a Smart Resume feature that not only skips back a few seconds when you hit play, but tweaks resumes and seeks so that they land on silences. You'll ideally remember the context of what was being said before you paused, and won't be as likely to resume playback in mid-sentence.
The best podcast app for iOS is now completely free
Overcast is widely considered to be the best podcast app on iOS, if not all mobile platforms. For many, its no-nonsense interface and slick features (such as cutting dead air and boosting voices) make Apple's official app seem crude. You've had to pay $5 to see everything it has to offer, though... until now. App creator Marco Arment (he of Instapaper fame) has released Overcast 2, which switches to a completely free business model. As he puts it, he didn't like seeing the majority of users (80 percent) miss out on the features he wrote -- he'd rather make sure you see everything. You can still donate $1 per month if you want to help, but that contribution is strictly optional.
Instapaper creator sets out to build Overcast, a better iOS podcast app
If you're wondering what Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, has been up to since he sold the read-it-later service to Betaworks, wonder no more. At the XOXO festival in Portland, OR, Arment announced that he's been working on a new podcasting app for iOS called Overcast. Why? The tl;dr reason is because "podcasts are awesome" (We can't say we disagree). The long of it, however, is because as a lover of podcasts, Arment was frustrated at the quality of the podcast apps that are out there, stating that Apple has been asleep at the podcast wheel for years and third-party solutions aren't that much better. So he's taken matters into his own hands with Overcast. He's currently about half-way done with the app and hopes to release it later this year. We don't really know that much more about it, but if Arment's previous work is any indication, we have high hopes for this one. In the meantime, you can head on over to Overcast.fm to sign up for updates. [Image credit: John Biehler, Flickr]
Gearing up for Season 5
Arena Season 5 is here, a completely different season from all the ones before it because of three critical things. First, there are ten new levels. Even though rated Arena play will still be available at Level 70, the real PvP endgame is at Level 80, with new spell ranks, new abilities, and ten more sweet talent points for wonderful PvP tricks. Second, there's an entirely new class to throw a monkeywrench into the equation. How does the Death Knight fit into new team comps? Will they be enough to curb Druid dominance in 2s and 3s? The metagame changes drastically with one more variable. Third, unlike previous seasons, there will be three tiers of Arena gear. Furthermore, there will be numerous sources of Season 5 gear, and not just Arena play. It will be quite possible for players to get entire sets of Gladiator gear without having to PvP at all!But if you would like to dive into this mini-game called Arenas, you'd have to be somewhat prepared. As with The Burning Crusade, the PvP stat in Wrath of the Lich King is still Resilience. Therefore, in order to be best prepared for Arenas and Wrath PvP, it's important to stack on Resilience. Even as many players get gear from heroic instances and raids, the name of the game is still survivability. The good news is that it is extremely easy to gear up in Wrath, and that includes PvP gear.
