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Tech doesn't work with children and animals
It's a tale as old as time: Kids and animals don't mix with tech. Whether it's little Billy turning your new flatscreen on and off until it burns out or Rover chewing through another pair of fancy headphones, you'd think we'd know better by now that letting pretty much anything that isn't capable of voting near technology is a bad idea. But as you're about to find out, sometimes it just can't be helped.
NPR won't push its podcasts or app on the radio
NPR is far from oblivious to the growth in podcasting. The organisation puts out a bevy of shows that people can subscribe to, download and stream, like From the Top and Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! So it's all the stranger that upper management has advised local stations against promoting them. In a note titled Guidance on Podcast 'Back Announces', Chris Turpin, VP for news programming and operations, says DJs can mention a podcast "but not in a way that explicitly endorses it."
Public Radio Player app redesigned in latest update
Some of my favorite radio programs are from National Public Radio here in the States, including Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Car Talk and A Prairie Home Companion. Fortunately, most of those shows are now available in podcast form, so that's primarily how I listen to them. And of course NPR stations broadcast terrestrially around the country, so if you want to listen to them the old-fashioned way, you can do that. But occasionally I need even more NPR. Sometimes I want to listen to classic stations in Boston or Chicago, or I just can't be bothered to scan around the dial and find my show. For those instances, the Public Radio Player app comes in very handy. It's just been updated with a brand-new design, and it allows you to tune in to more than 500 different NPR stations from around the US, wherever you happen to be. You can now also download your favorite shows (including some of those mentioned above), view news headlines from NPR, even follow stations on Twitter or donate directly to your favorite stations from within the app itself. It's a very impressive update to a really comprehensive app, and of course it's completely free. NPR consistently presents some of the best radio programming out there, and the new version of this app provides another great way to listen in.
Daily iPad App: NPR Music is a treat for music fans
Everyone knows about NPR's quality podcasts, or at least they should. All Things Considered, Car Talk and Whose Line is it Anyway routinely top the charts on iTunes. But I'm also a fan of NPR's music. They do a great series of podcasts called All Songs Considered, and they often release great live performances, available as free downloads in iTunes. Now, NPR Music has released its own iPad app, and as you can see above, it's very snazzy. Most of the content in the app is simply what's available on the NPR Music website, but it's all been redesigned for a touch interface. And while you can play new music straight through the website, playing it in a browser isn't always as easy as through an iOS device. The iPad version also has a very excellent playlist and a live radio, so there are tons of great ways to listen to awesome new music, all completely free. There's a lot of other stuff in here too -- articles, reviews and other videos. But honestly, the music is enough: the app offers a great, curated experience of hours and hours of great free content and tunes. NPR's Music app is one of the best gifts I've gotten all year (paid for, of course, by our tax dollars). If you're a fan of new music, especially indie or alternative, definitely give it a download.
NPR, WSJ prep Flash-free sites for iPad
Both National Public Radio and the Wall Street Journal are preparing Flash-free iPad sites in time for the device's April 3rd debut. MediaMemo cites a blog post over at NPR, letting us know that NPR fans can either download an updated app for NPR (once the iPad ships and the app is ready), or visit an iPad-optimized version of NPR.org that contains no Flash. The Wall Street Journal is also going with a Flash-free site, although visitors can expect to hunt through the site and find some pages which still have Flash. Having non-Flash sites exist alongside their Flash siblings will probably be the solution for many publications in the near future. However, we know that Steve Jobs hopes that Flash will go the way of the PowerPC and the floppy disk, and developers will turn to alternatives such as HTML5. [Via MacDailyNews]
NPR takes on This Spartan Life
It seems like every other day there is a news story about how those newfangled games are becoming, like, culture or something. Elitists that we are, we stare at the screen and snicker as Al Roker waves his arms around, trying to understand the madness before him. We laugh heartily as an unknowing reporter asks the lone girl why she is waiting in line for the latest "game" (AKA the PS3) with all those boys. Sure, it's funny, but we have to give credit where credit is due. NPR has been fairly consistent in its coverage of videogames as an actual (God forbid) cultural medium. NPR has explored e-commerce in MMORPGs, reviewed Katamari Damacy, and even started a gaming podcast, Press Start. Luckily, someone at NPR seems to like all the videogame coverage, as more stories keep popping up.On the latest episode of Studio 360, host Kurt Anderson interviews Damian Lacedaemian (Chris Burke) of This Spartan Life. For those unfamiliar with This Spartan Life, it's a talk show filmed exclusively inside Halo 2. The host invites guests to chat inside the game. The show, despite its frag-friendly locale, is actually quite serious. Some readers may remember This Spartan Life's video about net neutrality for example. In the latest Studio 360, Damian and Kurt discuss Halo's gaming space as well as the community that games (and Live) have created. Of course, there are still a few things that will make the average gamer snicker. Kurt's "newb" status is definitely apparent as he struggles to come to grips with the game and its mechanics. Still, the fact that he cares to even try speaks volumes. Frankly, we wish more people from the older generation would take the time to understand and appreciate games and the culture surrounding them. You can watch Kurt's interview session with Damian after the break.
NPR starts a gaming podcast
National Public Radio in the U.S. has started a fortnightly podcast on the topic of video game culture called Press Start. Kyle Orland, the guy that runs VGMWatch, is one of the hosts of the show along with Ralph Cooper, an ex-NPR staffer and current stand-up comedian, and Robert Holt, NPR's server guy who also reviews games for All Things Considered. Their first show, which runs for a short but sweet 15 minutes, covers that time old topic "video games as art". Some choice quotes:Kyle - "You really need to know what art is before you can determine whether video games are art".Ralph - "I feel like a lot of video games, at least right now, they're not really trying to make statements".Rob - "When I was in Grand Theft Auto... I was driving through the city and listening to the radio and I drove over a hill and I saw... this huge moon rise over the horizon, I was just in it at that point. I just knew that this was not your normal game. Of course, I could have just been beating up hookers..."If you're up for some interesting and to-the-point video game culture commentary but want to skip on the usual "I like to hear the sound of my own voice" crap from the host(s), then make sure to add Press Start to your player of choice (iTunes link, My Yahoo! link, generic podcast RSS feed).
