June 29, 2005
Podcasts
Are people really clueless? Is there some reason why the use of prerecorded audio files to serve as information feeds has been named “Podcasting”? As we all know, there are thousands of portable audio players on the market. Apple’s iPod isn’t the only way to listen to digital audio on the go, and it is even in many ways not the best; other players have superior battery life, voice recording, and so forth.
But let’s ignore competitors’ players and pretend that the iPod is the only portable music player in existence. The name “Podcasting” is still inherently idiotic because “Podcasts” can be listened to on your computer. In fact, I’d probably listen to them more on my computer than not so I’d not have to hook up my portable audio player and transfer the data.
Now that “Podcasting” has caught on, Apple is of course going to attempt to take credit for this poorly named innovation. To quote the latest Apple update email I received:
There’s a reason it’s called “podcasting.”
iPod gives you the ultimate control over podcasts, letting you listen to them anytime, anywhere.
Yes, today is the launch of Apple’s new color iPod, along with firmware updates to have a special menu item for “Podcasts.” But is that the reason why “Podcasts,” which have been around for months, are called “Podcasts”? No, it’s not, Apple.
Comment by theplustwo — Posted July 4, 2005 at 00:30
Yeah, there’s no separate iPod Photo any more. And yeah, Podcasts have been around a long time, they just updated iTunes and the iPod firmware to have Podcasts menus built in now. I don’t really get what the difference is between a Podcast and a Shoutcast stream. Podcast is just a marketing buzzword that doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s catchy (apparently).
Comment by I-H8-Computers — Posted July 15, 2005 at 16:41
Well, Podcasting is different from an audio stream because you have more options with a Podcast.
With a Podcast you can save the file to your computer or MP3 player and listen to it at a later time, whereas streaming only gives you the option to listen live.
Now you may be thinking: "Well, what if I download a stream recorder?" amd I’ll admit that if you have such a thing, you can record your favorite stream and save it to whatever device you own, however, if the stream you like to listen to is always running, you’re most likely not going to be able to record it right from the beginning and right to the end. Also, streams are generally done at bitrates that most potential users will be able to support regardless of connection speed (28k, 56k, and maybe 128k) and Podasts are usually 128k or higher so they sound better than streams. Personally, I’m interested in sound engineering and recording technology so I prefer to hear a more detailed sound.
Wow, I just wrote a long paragraph, but the points I just made still stand.