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Podcasting Officially a Word
goldseries writes "The BBC is reporting that the New Oxford American Dictionary is
adding podcasting to the dictionary. A year ago it was rejected because not enough people were reading it, but, in a ode to the speed of technology's growth, it is being declared the word of the year. Podcasting has been in the Oxford Dictionary of English since last summer. Podcast beat out words such as lifehack and rootkit for inclusion in the dictionaries. I guess no one needs to know what a rootkit is."
What the fuck is a webcast?
If you're going to be cynical, be properly cynical and stop using words that sound like buzzwords but mean absolutely nothing.
A podcast is an RSS feed with the URL of an audio file in each entry.
Aspirin, escalator, elevator and zipper were all trademarked words originally, but are now considered generic names. Kleenex is another good example, though "facial tissue" is their way of trying to keep their name from becoming genericized.
it's kind of funny listening to your rant... You've never used iTunes to get podcasts before. This is an obvious statement, else you wouldn't have made such a silly comment.
Apple really did do something good when they added podcasts into iTunes. Since iTunes is basically the only "official" way to get music onto an iPod anyway (and the one used by most people who own one), the whole podcast thing is made completely simple. You find a podcast in iTunes.. anyone can get their podcast in there, it doesn't take a license agreement or anything with apple, just an available feed that you tell them about. Every time you load up iTunes to resync your iPod, it automatically goes and downloads any new episodes of all of your podcast subscriptions. No bookmarks, no checking back on each one at different web sites for each one (imagine checking 20 websites a day, all for a different podcast, just to see if one updated). Just load up iTunes, update all of your podcasts, update your iPod, and you're good to go. I know on a mac anyway just plugging in the iPod will do all of those steps for you, as usually the default action to an iPod being plugged in is to run iTunes and update it.
Now granted, the end result of automatic podcast updates through iTunes will get you the same as if you went to those 20 different sites and downloaded sperate mp3 files from each and manually put them all onto your iPod (or other mp3 player I suppose), but it's not as easy. And this is where you sound the most silly.
It's exactly the same thing with a distribution method tacked on.
Well DUH! That's the key! Distribution methods are super important, that's what the grandparent was pointing out! Who wants to go and download each element of all web pages you travel to as all of their seperate components and put them together themselves when you can just use a web browser that does all of that for you? An easy distribution method will make a technology go from something that's "neat" that a bunch of geeks will toy with, to something that the general population will jump on.
Oh wow, I thought it was just a low-bitrate audio file, but apparently it will magically appear on my iPod without my knowledge! Oh, what's that? You still have to figure out how to find it the first time, (evidently some people have never heard of bookmarks) download it, you still have to check back periodically, barring an RSS feed (which AFAIK still wouldn't get the file for you, just give you notification and/or a link), and copy it to my iPod...
No. You don't get it. You don't have to go find it and download it, You don't have to check back periodically, you don't have to copy it to your iPod, you don't have to bookmark anything, yes it does magically appear on your iPod. You do have to figure out how to find it the first time, but hey. if you can't find something by typing in a search term on the iTunes Music Store and clicking "subscribe" you've probably already been institutionalized.
As you hinted at by saying "barring an RSS feed" that's just what the xml side of a podcast is. an RSS feed that podcasting software (like iTunes) takes, and then does everything you need automagically.
Plugging the iPod in to charge it kickstarts all the syncing behind your back. Yes, magic, once you've done that first step of finding a podcast you like and going "ooh. I like that" and clicking subscribe. Done. Nothing else to be bothered about except listening to it.
1. Rhymes with broadcast. The idea behind most podcasts was that it was a way for people to distribute their audio content (music, opinions and other ramblings) without having access to a radio station.
Broadcast, podcast, webcast all rhyme, they all end with cast.
2. Many people download podcasts so they can listen to them on their portable music player.
I agree - but so what?
3. The most popular portable music player today is the iPod
Riiiiiiight. But again, so what?
4. iTunes is one of the most popular delivery methods for distributing podcasts
Raises eyebrows in astonishment!
Are you sure about that? I thought iTunes was a client?
5. Finally, it is easier to say "podcast" than it is "audio webcast you can save".
Erm, my point was why not just call it a webcast?
My pics.
audio download? how lame. why not call it what it has been called for over 7 years now...
internet radio or webradio.
podcasting is kind of funny to me. 2600 and other have been doing it for much longer than podcasting has even been thought of.
what kills me is the lamer Adam Curry still tries to claim ownership of it. Yay a washed up hasbenn VJ that is trying to hijack something that has existed for a long time now.
It's an RSS feed that links to audio files instead of articles, if you subscribe to it with a compatible client it automaticly downloads the audio files.
Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
Then you have a pretty old version of iTunes. Podcasting support was included with Version 4.9, and it's now up to version 6. It's also simpler than "importing the XML RSS document", as every podcast I've ever had an interest in was already listed in their directory, and getting it was simply a matter of clicking subscribe. After that, yes, it's as automatic as you suggest. To be fair, I don't know if there's any convenient method for subscribing to a podcast that's not listed by Apple.