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iTunes 4.9 With Podcasting Support
eakthecat writes "Hot on the heels of the 4.8 release, Apple has released the next version of its popular iTunes jukebox software. Version 4.9 incorporates several new features, most notable of which is podcasting. The front page and iTunes webpages have not been updated yet, but you can get your greedy little hands on it or through the new podcasting link in the music store! !"
Is anyone else annoyed that their is no real Windows "updater" for iTunes, and each update basically requires iTunes to reinstall, sometimes clobbering my settings that tell Quicktime to stop bothering me?
I really wish that if Apple releases software for Windows that they actually put the work necessary into it to make it a good product. (Don't get me wrong, I still like iTunes, it just seems very unpolished in Windows).
Ouch!
Can someone explain why this is a waste of bandwidth and time? Wouldn't a major company with a massive userbase supporting podcasting actually help the genre?
Also, since (presumably) Rob hasn't actually *tried* the software, isn't judging it a little harsh?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting
Podcasting is an audio distribution system based on RSS with enclosures. This allows anyone to setup their own audio show and easily distribute it to subscribers. One of the pioneers of Podcasting is Adam Curry http://www.curry.com/
The podcasts are held on the server of whoever makes them. Slowness of teh podcasts is most likely due to the fact that Curry/Madge can't handle the bandwidth hit.
Perhaps more interesting.. there is also an ipod update available!
http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/
This means that your podcasts will FINALLY be organised on your ipod, and your ipod will treat it like an audio book: press pause, come back later and it remembers where you are!
BadApple Plug-in for iTunes Podcasts
At some point, Apple is going to add explicit support for podcasts to iTunes. Podcasts are really only long, often dull sound files, the 21st century equivalent of talk radio on cassette. Still, it's a fad, and since iTunes lets you look you for streaming broadcasts, why not podcasts, too? At least, so think the anonymous folks behind BadFruit, an outfit that just released the BadApple iTunes plug-in, ironically for the Windows version of iTunes only. The plug-in adds another link, called Podcasts, to the main iTunes window. Click on the link and you get a list of podcast categories. Drill down to download specific podcasts in iTunes and use them as you would any other iTunes sound file. BadApple claims to be pre-emptive insurance against any potential limitations Apple may place on the podcasts it may offer in future versions of iTunes. CNET speculates that MP3.com founder Michael Robertson, who now has a new site called MP3Tunes.com, is the anonymous author of BadFruit.
BadFruit: http://www.badfruit.com/
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5754227.html
MP3Tunes.com: http://www.mp3tunes.com/
"Even for Slashdot, that was a very obscure reference!" - Anonymous Coward
Some of it is news. Some of it's music. Some of it's audiobooks. And yeah, some of it's just personal life and ranting. But don't limit your perspective to just those. It's basically whatever you want.
My own podcast narrates science fiction short stories. We also do some reviews and commentary, but I've made a solemn promise on it never, ever to simply tell you about my day.
ESCAPE POD - The Science Fiction Podcast Magazine