“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
