“IBM is the latest major company to embrace podcasting, the digital audio craze that allows consumers to take audio programming off the Web and listen to it on portable music players,” Eric Auchard reports for Reuters. “The world’s largest computer company said on Friday it plans to introduce a series of occasional podcasts on its investor relations site as part of a broader effort to communicate directly to its investors and the wider public about hot topics. ‘These are insights that our consultants get from conversations with customers into emerging issues,’ spokesman John Bukovinsky said of the conversations IBM plans to feature in coming months. ‘They are not IBM commercials.'”
“Podcasting has caught fire as a way for news and radio broadcasters to deliver recorded programming for listeners to play on their music players — allowing for a kind of radio programming on the go, but without the radio. The technology is not for everybody, however. Consumers need a digital music player, a broadband Internet connection and some technical proficiency to manage the quirks of moving large chunks of audio data between a PC and a portable music player,” Auchard reports. “Apple Computer Inc is offering a wide selection of podcasts to consumers via its iTunes online music site. Listeners can tune in and subscribe to audio updates of news, travelogues and other radio-like programming.”
Full article here.
Consumers, of course, do not need a digital music player at all to listen to a podcast. Just fire up iTunes, click “Podcasts” and listen to it right on your computer.
Related iPodDailyNews articles:
Apple’s iTunes causes struggles for indie podcasters – August 05, 2005
Apple clarifies podcast rankings in iTunes Music Store – August 01, 2005
McNamee: In one day, Apple won podcasting war, ‘Google whiffed on it’ – August 01, 2005
The next big thing? Apple’s iTunes 4.9 supports Video Podcasts (with example) – July 29, 2005
NY Times: Apple has just mainstreamed podcasting and put another feather iPod’s cap – July 28, 2005
NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ now available as podcast – July 28, 2005
Survey reveals 87-percent of U.S. internet users don’t know meaning of term ‘podcast’ – July 22, 2005
Apple’s iTunes Music Store offers erotic podcasts that some are calling ‘porncasts’ – July 22, 2005
Fortune: podcasting is a celebration of power of the Internet – July 12, 2005
Microsoft employees squeamish about ‘podcast’ term, try using ‘blogcast’ instead – July 11, 2005
The Economist: Apple’s embrace of podcasting ‘could have significant consequences’ – July 08, 2005
Research group: U.S. podcast audience will grow to 56 million by 2010 – July 06, 2005
I read a report from Reuters back in the 80’s about how newfangled shiny Disc were going to replace vinyl LPs. They explained that the Discs were invented by the Queen of The Fairies and made by magic elves.
The mass media will catch up. In this case, they had better hurry.
Apple needs to do a follow-up to their right-cross podcasting punch by releasing a new iLife app that specifically is designed to allow people to easily create, publish, and promote their podcasts.
Call it Podcaster or whatever, but such a consumer app would really throw gasoline on the podcasting fire.
newtype.. that actually sounds like a good idea
It could be a part of Garageband… or in the style of Garageband…
Garageband is already being used to create podcasts, but it’s too complicated for the casual user. GB is great for casual musicians and DJs (as well as professional ones!), but the average users needs something specfically made for creating and publishing podcasts.
For example, you don’t need GB’s ability to lay out hundreds of separate tracks. Podcaster (TM) would need two. Make it really, really simple to mix and add transitions. And make it a one-click affair to publish it directly to the iTunes directory.
Apple could totally take control of the way podcasting content is created and distributed to the point that it wouldn’t make sense to do it on any other platform.
yeah, that’s a good idea. But why not call it iCast? Or is that already taken?
What I’m still waiting for tho is too have the ability to use my iPod as a receiver/sender (WiFi) “tuning” into other iPods as I move around. Now that would be a new definition of radiostations. But then again all WiFi iPods would be banned from flights. oh well.
is Sony now working on ATRAcast or something?
Podcasting is stupid and useless. Who wants to hear all that crap? It’s easier to read stuff and skim over the unimportant parts. Podcasting will be dead in a year.
isnt ibm aware its called blogcast or what ? talkin about blogs – why isnt apple doing anything easy around the blog hype ? some iBlog app/util directly connected to .mac or whatever ?
i don’t think Podcasting will die, but I sure hope it will get better! It would be nice to see tutorials and tech stuff been made like this as well. Maybe if one made walk-throughs with still images for an iPod/photo it would make a cool alternative to normal trouble shootin or manuals as well. Oh wait, that idea is silly.
when the PodCast program comes out.. it will mean more podcasts with graphics, chapters, and potentially video, etc (which is already out) for pedestrian podcasts…
one of my pet peeves.. is you have something like ESPN.. and they DONT have chapters! I dont care about the Golf news.. and there are no transitions..
(Note.. those transitions would be ‘visible’ on an iPod (color) not an ipod mini)
Will Apple come out with this iCast program and then PodCaster Pro in a few years..
yeah.. probably…
(Pro for big businesses, etc.. like CBS, ABC.. or anyone trying to put advertising on their podcast..)
Thor—
Because Blogs don’t sell iPods!
I just had another thought. What could be better or more nature than having the podcasting software working hand-in-hand in the iPod?
That is, Apple could make audio recording a standard feature so the iPod becomes the primary means of recording audio. I know you can already buy a voice recorder accessory, but making it standard would make a big difference.
This would allow the iPod to begin a mobile extension of podcast creation software. People can use it to conduct interviews, record guided audio tours of museums and parks, etc. That would allow podcasting to break from the studio, where most people today sit in front of a computer in some room to do the recording.
The podcasting software would then sync with the iPod, grab all the recorded content and then allow the user to manipulate and edit it for podcasting.
That would further enhance the iPod-software harmony, making it even more difficult for competitors to come up with something that can dethrone the iPod.
Sluty bitch said, “That’s Hot”.
Podcasts are basically on-demand radio — who would want to “tune in” for any radio broadcast after getting the hang of this?
Video podcasts will begin on-demand viewing, utilized by the masses at their whim and without any commercial crap in the way. Unless the commercial crap is included within the content, which may turn off the “subscribers”.
“why isnt apple doing anything easy around the blog hype ? some iBlog app/util directly connected to .mac or whatever ?”
Could it be because there is already an app called iBlog that integrates with .Mac that Apple offers with a .Mac subscription?
“But why not call it iCast? Or is that already taken?”
Gee, that’s a good question. If only this internets thingie had some way of searching.
NewType, to record with Podzilla diectly into the iPod’s HD, all you have to do is plug in a mic and press record (play/pause) Of course, you must have Podzilla on your iPod, but it’s free.
Sorry, directly
I used modem and I can still hear podcasts.
“why isnt apple doing anything easy around the blog hype ? some iBlog app/util directly connected to .mac or whatever ?”
kinda annoying how the answer is in the actual question.
hype.
apart from a few tech/political blogs that have a huge following.. the vast majority of blogs are useless pieces of turd.
‘But what if my friends want to know what I’ve been up to?’
Um. They talk to you. Since when did ‘catching up’ mean.. ‘read my diary’ ?
MSN messenger and email seem to serve this purpose. Or in Apple’s case.. .Mac + iChat + Apple Mail.
Make no mistake, the ‘blog’ companies don’t think this is really useful.. it’s a one directional medium for the most part.. Blogger and MSN Spaces are still going to sell advertising…whether anyone is actually READING these blogs is irrelevant. The ad hits are coming from people writing blogs.
Why should Apple join in the fun, when they’ve never been in the media advertising market?
iCast:
http://www.google.com/search?lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=iCast
iBlab?
iWhine?
iPontificate? (too hard to pronounce)
iTalkTooMuch?
iDrone?