Tag Archives: iPod

Public radio and podcasting

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Mark Ramsey points us to an interesting piece by “The Long Tail’s” Chris Anderson on how his listening behavior to public radio has been transformed by podcasting.

“I realized that I don’t really support my local affiliate. I love some of the shows it broadcasts and hate others. My attachments are to individual shows, not to a broadcast station. My engagement with public radio is at a more granular level than the affiliate.

Now that I get my radio via podcast, I don’t have to take the bad shows with the good. I’ve got an a la carte menu, and I assemble my own schedule with what I want and when I want it.

But look at the arc of history here. The podcast model is getting cheaper and more ubiquitously available (who doesn’t have a cellphone?), and it serves individual needs and taste better. Meanwhile the broadcast model, which is all about one-size-fits-all taste, is based on human labor costs and costly transmission equipment and is only getting more expensive. You can see how this story ends.”

I’ve had the same guilty thoughts about my own listening habits. I like a lot of NPR programs but listen to them as podcasts. And I would be willing to pay for the best shows (This American Life, for example).

IpodspeakerAnd my morning listening routine has improved with the purchase of a small speaker/doc for my iPod nano. Each evening iTunes downloads any new podcasts to which I’m subscribed, and syncs to the nano. In the morning I pop the nano into the speaker dock and listen to a perfectly customized line-up of progams.

nano upgrade: A+

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Nano_video250The new iPod nano looked great at the product launch up on the big screen behind Steve Jobs. It looks great on the Apple website. And it looks great in the TV spot. But it looks/feels/smells even better in my hot, sweaty little hand.

How does video look on that wee screen? Amazing. I keep turning the nano over, tying to figure out how something that thin can play sharp, bright, crisp video.

I’m looking forward to watching more video podscasts and maybe a TV show or two.

In closing, a word about the iPod UI. I thought it was damn near perfect before but I must say they’ve improved it.

HD Radio looking for iTunes hook

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“Polk Audio will announce the next generation of HD Radio tuners that will establish a direction connection between HD and iPods — and in the process bring e-commerce to HD. In an alliance with Apple, Polk’s new I-Sonic ES2 HD Radio will include an iPod docking station that features a “tagging button” which will allow listeners to buy songs they hear on HD Radio stations via iTunes. The advancement requires HD stations to encode their signals and insiders say eight radio groups have committed to encoding.” –

– INSIDE RADIO

iPod Nano

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Ipodnano_2I love my sleek black nano iPod. Works great in every respect. Couldn’t be happier with it. And I didn’t like the new nanos, based on the speculative images I’d seen on the rumor blogs. But when Uncle Steve pulled the new nano out of his pocket and put it up on that big screen… I was done. New nano on the way.

Here’s my rationale: I’m playing with video more and more and, well, obviously I need a way to watch/share my little projects.

I admit to being tempted (but only a little) by the new iPod touch. But I’ve got the MacBook with me at all times, so…

More on the nano once we test drive. Watch the TV spot.

Hide your iPod in a gutted Zune case

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Hideapod“You made a smart choice in choosing an iPod. And now you can protect it from theft and still enjoy using it in public with the new Hide-a-Pod anti-theft case.

It’s really very simple. Just tell us what iPod model you want to protect and we provide a gutted and hinged Zune with our custom molded iPod casing adapter.”

And they “only use brown Zunes for the maximum anti-theft protection.” Ouch.

Playing with George’s iPhone

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“The iPhone will flop because it doesn’t work with corporate email.” Yep, that’s a problem. For some folks, not for me. I don’t use Outlook outside of the office. If I want to check  my corporate email from home or on the road, I log in to our Exchange server from a web browser. At tonight’s Mac user group, George logged me in from his iPhone and –while you can’t sync– you can check your corporate email from the iPhone.

MiPhone

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Dave Morris took the plunge and writes an excellent review of  his new iPhone:

“How many phones do you have, and am I too late?” It was 5:55 pm, a full FIVE MINUTES before the doors opened. He gave me this little wink that was simultaneously geeky and cocky… and one of those dorky tongue clicks. The only thing missing was the finger-as-pistol “Shooter McGee” motion. He fished around in his pocket. This was his moment to shine!

“Here ya go.” He handed me a voucher that guaranteed me the right to purchase a phone. A little quiver passed through my body… much the same feeling as when you find out your application for auto financing has been approved.”

Unexpected uses of iPods

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Like all good lists, there are 10 of these but my favorites are:

  • Train Doctors to Save Lives: iPods can double interns’ ability to identify heart sounds
  • Bring Criminals to Justice: using iPods to hold copies of wiretap transmissions in a large drug-conspiracy case.
  • Record Flight data: iPods as flight data recorders in light aircraft.
  • Flashlight:  For about $13, you can purchase Griffin’s iBeam, an attachment that will quickly turn your iPod into a combo flashlight and laser pointer.

One hundred million iPods sold

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“Apple today announced that the 100 millionth iPod has been sold, making the iPod the fastest selling music player in history. The first iPod was sold five and a half years ago, in November 2001, and since then Apple has introduced more than 10 new iPod models, including five generations of iPod, two generations of iPod mini, two generations of iPod nano and two generations of iPod shuffle. Along with iTunes and the iTunes online music store, the iPod has transformed how tens of millions of music lovers acquire, manage and listen to their music.”

iPods help doctors recognize heart problems

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Doctors can greatly improve their stethoscope skills and therefore their ability to diagnose heart problems by listening repeatedly to heartbeats on their iPods. Previous research has shown that the average rate of correct heart sound identification by physicians is 40 percent.

In a new study, 149 general internists listened 400 times to five common heart murmurs during a 90-minute session with iPods. After the session, the average score improved to 80 percent.