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The best podcasting gear for beginners
Starting a podcast is easy. Making one that actually sounds good is another story entirely. We can't help much with the bigger problems facing would-be podcasters — finding a good topic and getting people to listen — but we can point you to the best gear to get started. With a few smart purchases, you too can sound like a podcast pro.
Federal court steps in to protect podcasts from patent troll
The venerable podcast is the bastion of broadcasters big and small, from major news outlets to DIY publishers. But, for the last few years, this hallowed ground has come under threat from patent troll Personal Audio -- which has tried to sue podcasters of all sizes. It claims it created the concept of the podcast. Thankfully, the U.S. Court of Appeals disagrees. A three-judge panel of the court just affirmed a previous decision rendering Personal Audio's patent invalid. The ruling declares the company was trying to protect an invention that already existed. Meaning podcasters and listeners can rest easy, for now.
Peripheral Vision 002: Marc Maron
In 2009, Air America relieved Marc Maron of his duties for a third and final time. He'd co-hosted the station's drive time show Morning Sedition before being given the reigns on his own titular evening program. By show three, he was relegated to the station's kitchen, joining fellow Boston comedian Sam Seder for the short-lived web video show Breakroom Live. Naturally, Maron did what any down-on-his-luck radio host would in his place: he started a podcast. "I think in the beginning, I just needed to talk to someone," he explains. "I was going through a very difficult time. I'd certainly been humbled by love and by show business." WTF wasn't the first podcast by any means, but over the last few years, it's become one of the most popular, thanks to Maron's frank and engaging conversations with comedians and other show biz types. More recently, the program has served as the basis for Maron, an IFC show starring the host as himself, which will enter its second season next year. On this second episode of Peripheral Vision, we sit down with the host to discuss the power of the medium, the trouble with Twitter and making a name for yourself from the comfort of your own garage.
TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT today with special guest Chuck Joiner
Every Wednesday, TUAW provides its readers with the best in state-of-the-art live Internet reporting through TUAW TV Live. Today is no exception, and at 5 PM EDT, scores of the Apple faithful will point their browsers to TUAW.com for another exciting episode of this landmark in Internet journalism. Today's show features a special guest who you're going to love. He's a man who needs no introduction, but we're going to introduce him anyway. It's Chuck Joiner, the host of MacNotables, MacVoices, MacVoices TV, The MacJury, and probably at least a dozen other podcasts that we don't know about yet. Due to all of his connections, Chuck is probably the most knowledgeable blogger in the Apple blogosphere. He's a lot of fun to talk with, and it's sure to be a lot of fun having him on the other side of the mic today. Come back to TUAW.com at about 4:50 PM EDT (1:50 PM PDT) to join in on the fun. We'll provide you with instructions on how to watch the show live on your iPhone or iPad as well.
Apple throws another curveball, approves Podcaster for the App Store with changes
Apple had already solidly cemented its reputation as the confused, identity crisis-stricken, moral dilemma-having lord ruler of the App Store with its recent approval of a number of browsers that would seemingly violate its "duplication of functionality" policy, but now it's doing some serious soul-searching with this latest move. Remember Podcaster? The on-the-go podcast downloader predated Apple's own mobile download capability by months -- but Cupertino struck the thing down for encroaching on iTunes' territory, seemingly dooming it to a life of ad hoc installs and jailbreaks. It's just been given a fresh lease on life, though, emerging as "RSS Player" and killing off Podcaster's built-in directory of casts; Apple's suddenly cool with the revised app, giving it two thumbs-up on the way to the App Store, but it's not clear if the directory functionality was the problem, there's a policy change in play here, or the name change simply fooled the App Store admins into giving the green light. At any rate, in case you're wondering why you'd shell out $1.99 for the pleasure of this "duplication of functionality," RSS Player will let you blow by iTunes' 10MB limit -- and, of course, you can download any feed you like. Thanks, Apple. [Warning: iTunes link][Via UNEASYsilence]
Apple adds OTA podcast downloads to iPhone firmware 2.2, continues to burn developers
Oh Apple. Is it that you can't see the things you're doing, or that you simply don't care how they look? If you'll recall, few months ago Jobs and co. kicked up quite a dust storm over a seemingly innocuous application called Podcaster, which allowed you to receive over-the-air updates of new podcasts when they were released. The company rejected the app based on the grounds that it "duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes," a claim that seemed unreasonable at the time, and should now feel downright criminal. According to a German blog which has posted pictures of the latest beta build of firmware 2.2, Apple has included functionality which allows you to download podcasts over-the-air. The new addition works with both video and audio, and over 3G / EDGE and WiFi, though the size of podcasts is limited to 10MB when using the cell network. Now we don't pretend to assume that Apple just got this idea after seeing Podcaster in action -- and it's clear that Apple is killing projects which are similar to its own -- but it's still hard to stomach the concept of the company outright refusing an application with nearly the exact same functionality, only to turn around and add it to their installed software. This kind of veiled violence against developers only serves to chip away at the support Apple has engendered in its community, and drive those hands and eyes to other platforms. C'mon Steve -- we know you can do better than this.[Via Mac Rumors]
Opera: Apple won't let us in the App Store
Opera Software CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner said in a New York Times interview yesterday that its engineers have developed a version of the Opera web browser that works on the iPhone, but Apple has rejected it for the App Store because it competes with Safari. This isn't unprecedented: Apple rejected an app called Podcaster possibly because it duplicates functionality in an upcoming version of the iPhone software. Podcaster was (for a time) available via ad-hoc distribution before that, too, was shut down. Daring Fireball's John Gruber suggests that Apple rejected Opera because the browser included its own JavaScript interpreter, something forbidden by the iPhone SDK developer agreement. Opera makes two flavors of its mobile web browser: Opera Mini for most mobile phones, BlackBerry, Palm, or Windows Mobile; and Opera Mobile, a more featured version for Symbian and Windows Mobile. A beta version of Opera Mini for Android is also in development. Update: Gruber used his massive Rolodex over the weekend to determine through an unnamed source that the app may not have even been submitted to the App Store. Huh.
Rumor roundup: iPhone 2.2 firmware details
Apple has given developers a taste of the new iPhone firmware, version 2.2 beta 2, and it includes a host of spiffy new features that are making the rounds online. A tipster shared with us some screenshots of the new firmware, including what appears to be the ability to download podcasts directly to your iPhone (and presumably your iPod touch). This could tidily explain why Apple rejected the Podcaster app last month. The option to "get more episodes" doesn't appear to work in this firmware build, however. MacRumors' Arnold Kim links to an iPhoneHellas.gr screenshot showing the iPhone software asking for a rating before you delete an application. Kim speculates Apple is looking to increase participation in the App Store rating process. Om Malik's Apple Blog is showing off screenshots from the iPhoneYap.com message boards, including new Maps functionality. Google Street View will apparently be available by rotating the device into landscape mode. Public transportation support and directions for walking also seem to be included. In the same report, the Apple Blog's David Appleyard also mentions location sharing via email and SDK support for manipulating line-in audio as part of the seed.
Podcaster dev can't provision any more licenses
Developer Alex Sokirynsky wrote a blog post this morning saying Apple rescinded his authority to provision new ad-hoc licenses for his software, Podcaster. The blog post has since been removed, possibly because it violated his developer NDA. Sokirynsky believes that the licenses already provisioned will continue to work, and expressed disappointment -- but not surprise -- that Apple shut him down. He also said he would continue updating Podcaster, even though it's unclear if he has a means to distribute it. Podcaster users can contact Sokirynsky if they have questions about their device's ad-hoc status. Sokirynsky did not say how many devices he provisioned, though we do know it's at least 1,300.
Apple rejects another app for duplicating functionality
Apple has rejected another app from the app store because it considers it too similar to one of Apple's own apps, and thus would cause "user confusion." The app is a front-end for Gmail, called MailWrangler, and allows users to check many Gmail accounts at once (unlike MobileSafari). It offers a similar interface as Gmail's iPhone-optimized web interface, which shows conversation threads in context, and allows for starring conversations (unlike Mail). The app developer says it works much like MailPlane on the desktop. Nevertheless, Apple rejected the app because of the similarity, in Apple's view, and also due to other issues related to editing account information. This app's rejection follows that of Podcaster for allegedly similar reasons. As we mentioned in the Talkcast two weeks ago, this could be related to the user backlash from I Am Rich. Whether it's too permissive or too strict, Apple will always have unhappy people when it issues rejections like this. [Via WebMonkey.]
TUAW Review: Podcaster
You've heard about the controversy surrounding Podcaster -- it's the iPhone app that was turned down by Apple for "duplicating the functionality of iTunes." The developer, Alex Sokirynsky, is now distributing his native podcast stream receiver app via ad hoc distribution. The iPhone development world & the Mac blogosphere (not to mention the mainstream press) is still loudly debating Apple's decision, but not much is being said about the application itself. Alex was kind enough to provide a review copy of Podcaster to TUAW, so we gave the app a workout. Read on for our review of this controversial and useful application.
Podcaster app distributed via Ad Hoc after Apple rejection
There was a lot of debate last week when Apple rejected the Podcaster app for inclusion in the App Store, saying that it "duplicated iTunes functionality." Rather than taking a stand against programming iPhone apps until Apple's policies shift, like Exposure dev Fraser Spiers, Alex Sokirynsky decided to bypass Apple and distribute the app via Ad Hoc App Distribution.Many developers use Ad Hoc App Distribution to insure that beta testers and reviewers get copies of their software prior to the App Store release. A developer takes the Unique Device Identifier (UDID) from your iPhone, does a little magic, and then sends you two files -- one contains the app, while the other is a provision file. You drag the provision file to your iTunes Applications window, followed by the app file. A quick sync with your iPhone installs the app, and you're ready to go. Alex has set up a website where you can sign up to get an Ad Hoc distribution of Podcaster. You'll need to "donate" $9.99 to Alex via PayPal to get the app. I think this is a great way for smaller developers to get their apps out there, particularly when Apple decides to shut 'em down -- although they are sharply limited in the number of licenses they can distribute this way, no more than 100 devices total are allowed.[via ReadWriteWeb]
Winterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online
Warp Drive Active podcaster Winterblink is a man who's got everything, apparently. And too much of it, scattered throughout his hangars in New Eden. It's a common problem in EVE Online, particularly for players who roam a lot throughout the galaxy. Mission runners, ratters, and adherents of most any trade or livelihood in the game accumulate a lot of random assets, individually of low worth but which can hold substantial value when seen as a whole. Unfortunately, what Winterblink describes in his blog gets even worse when a player uses containers to organize their possessions by category across multiple stations. The contents of those containers cannot be viewed remotely; one has to be docked in that particular station to see what's inside. Winterblink decided he couldn't handle the clutter anymore and shared the most efficient way he's found to deal with it all, step-by-step. He also had a good idea about having a container that only has the modules for his preferred ship fittings. Slowboating all over New Eden to consolidate his assets worked out for Winterblink. But this writer found that the negligible value of his junk and the time lost consolidating it wouldn't be worth the effort, and opted to ruthlessly destroy a fair amount of it, rather than collect and reprocess or resell the odds and ends. The slash-and-burn approach works for Tech I modules, but once ships and Tech II of anything enter into the picture, Winterblink's way is best. Especially in that he opted to reprocess the materials rather than trying to sell them all on the market.
CEntrance's MicPort Pro makes your podcasting dreams come true
You know, sometimes you want a preamp, but not too much preamp. Well, CEntrance has got you all-kinds of covered on that tip with its new, self-contained, microphone-attaching, USB-based MicPort Pro. The premise of the device is simple: it turns any single microphone or instrument into a self-powered, single channel, 24-bit / 96KHz audio interface -- all you have to do is hook it up to your computer with the supplied USB cable. The MicPort also features a headphone out, if you want to create the wackiest closed-loop situation ever, though it looks like the company is intending this for podcasters and the like, given that it allows any and all XLR-based mics to be plugged directly into your USB port. Shipping now (or so the company says) for $149.95.[Via Harmony Central]
