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June 28, 2005
FeedBurner Announces Support for iTunes Namespace
FeedBurner just announced support for both the new iTunes namespace as well as Odeo's. This is great news for both FeedBurner customers as well as podcasting in general (the better the meta-data, the better the user experience)
Posted by davehod at 04:25 AM | Comments (0)
iTunes - Podcast Subscriptions
A few thoughts about the new subscription functionality in iTunes
As a contributor on a (small) piece of jPodder, I am pretty familiar with the "podcatcher" category/vertical and the surrounding UI/subcription management issues. I think Apple has done a great first pass with their UI. I'm not sure how they derived their top-level directory categories (different than iPodder.org), but useful nonetheless.
Here's a screen shot of Adam Curry's Daily Source Code podcast:
A few things of note:
1. Apple has given the DSC link some primary real estate. Not sure if Adam is renaming it to "Podfinder"?
2. Subscription is easy - a simple click and nothing more. Hopefully the PSWG spec can do the same outside of iTunes.
3. The running time is "Unavailable". Adam populates his feed with the enclosure attributes like so:
<enclosure url="http://mp3.dailysourcecode.podshow.com/DSC-2005-06-25.mp3" length="15893494" type="audio/mpeg"/>
However, the enclosure spec does not include a run time, only file size.
4. Release date is not shown
5. The price is "Free" - looks like moving to a micro-payment model won't be very hard. It could even turn into the old Netscape model where you could download the browser for free or purchase it from a retailer. It was amazing how many people chose to purchase rather than download. This could turn out to be the same as iTunes becomes a user's central app for subscriptions/downloads.
Numbers 3 and 4 above are due to the fact that Adam's feed does not support the iTunes namespace yet. That seems like something Apple would have pushed for the launch.
Posted by davehod at 01:21 AM | Comments (0)
iTunes - Podcast Directory?
Does anyone know if Apple is going to open up the iTunes Podcast directory (via OPML, etc)? I've been digging around their site and reading various news articles, but I have yet to see any mention about them opening the directory. (Adam Curry said during the Gillmor Gang panel that he "hoped" Apple would open it up)
If Apple does open the directory up, it would be a boon on many levels.
There are a few major issues with the ipodder.org directory including:
1. Updates/additions - I've seen quite a few emails complaining about the lack of responsiveness on updates and additions.
2. Stability - My personal experience has been that the directory is pretty unstable.
3. Duplication - the decentralized hierarchy of the directory can mean that there is duplication in different nodes. This makes it difficult to get a "true" picture of podcasts in the aggregate.
I am not aware of the infrastructure running the service (maybe it just needs another server, etc) but it is unstable enough that I'd welcome the stability Apple could bring. Having a centralized data repository could certainly help the tools/analytics vendors that are sure to pop up.
Posted by davehod at 01:12 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2005
Grokster - Oh the Irony
Oh the irony - courtesy of BoingBoing, here's a torrent link of the Grokster decision.
Will the entertainment industry ever get it or will Steve Jobs become the leader of their world (or is he already?)
Posted by davehod at 05:26 AM | Comments (0)
Google and Podcasting
Seth has an interesting take on the Google rollout of video.
In particular, Seth states
This is exactly where I see podcasting going. If there was an easy and cheap (and possibly subscription based) way to pay for podcasting, there'd be a dramatic increase in the quality and quantity and accessibility of the stuff available for a listen
Isn't this what Apple is doing with iTunes? They already have a micro-payment model in place and working. Seems to me that charging for a podcast available via iTunes will do just this - "provide an easy and cheap ... way to pay for podcasting"
Posted by davehod at 02:49 AM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2005
Gnomedex - Thoughts
Gnomedex 2005 - what a conference/un-conference. So many people from the AO 100, startups (Michael Tippett from NowPublic, Greg Linden from Findory, the guys from litefeeds), citizen media (JD Lasica, Our Media), Scoble, Scoble, Scoble, Scott Rafer, Mark Fletcher, serveral guys from Yahoo and large scale movement (MSFT RSS).
Special mention has to be made about Robert Scoble - I made sure to track him down and let him know what an impact he has made. He has worked tirelessly to help bring transparency to Microsoft and I think he has succeeded in a BIG way. While he took no credit, I for one, think that the release of the MSFT RSS cf extension under Creative Commons would not have happened without him.
I made one serious mistake at lunch that I have to cop to - embarrassingly, I thought Mark Fletcher was Mark Cuban. Sorry Mark!
And to Chris Pirillo especially - what a great experience. Thanks! Your challenge (should you accept it) is to have Gnomedex 2006 be at least as good as this year.
Posted by davehod at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)
Clear Channel Expands Podcast Offerings
Clear Channel has announced that they are expanding the number of stations offering Podcasts. Interestingly, they provide an actual download metric:
In less than two weeks of the "Phone Tap" segment being available, 20,500 pieces of content have been delivered via podcast, download or stream from America's most listened to radio station's Web site
Based on the quote, it would appear that Clear Channel includes streaming in its' podcast counts. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but it does seem odd.
Additionally, Clear Channel is going to offer more content, rolling it out faster than they had planned
Clear Channel Radio's accelerated roll-out of its podcasting initiative will provide nearly 20 new feeds of popular on-air content from 12 more stations, with an additional 10 expected to launch later this week.
The one year chart for Clear Channel (CCU) looks like this:
As many people are aware, Clear Channel is facing a number of challenges on the revenue front. They have been moving aggressively in several areas, including HD Radio and podcasting. The fact that they are accelerating their rollout shows that they consider the potential growth and future revenue worth pursuing.
Posted by davehod at 05:44 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2005
Gnomedex - FeedMesh
I attended the Feedmesh BOF tonight (after Gnomedex ended for the day). The BOF was led by Bob Wyman and the audience consisted of folks from Technorati, Feedster, Google and various others. There were quite a few items discussed. Midway through, Jason Calcanis spoke up and presented a publisher-centric view of the Mesh. He really made us rethink our positions, specifically, the value of full feeds. IMHO, it was great, something we might not have encountered on the email list.
Later on, we headed over to the Seattle Public Library. I spent some time with Dave McClure of simplyHired, the team from PodcastNetwork, Doug Kaye, Steve Gillmor and many other folks.
The highlight of the night was meeting Greg Stein from Google, also the Chairman of the ASF. Greg provided some fantastic insight on the ASF and his role in the organization. His insight on Open Source and the Feedmesh were very interesting - I learned a lot about the current structure of the ASF and the value it adds.
Overall, a high-quality night. Special thanks to PubSub and Bob Wyman for leading the Feedmesh discussion (and t-shirts!)
Update: Looks like Greg Stein has an interview at Podtech.net on the way.
Posted by davehod at 05:07 PM | Comments (0)
Gnomedex - MAKE Demo
PT from MAKE just gave the demo I've been waiting for - how to get video running on your iPod. He burned Podzilla onto several iPods, detailing how to record on an iPod and other items. The thing I found most interesting was the ability to view video on a Mini. Granted, the quality was not top-notch, but still very interesting.
How long until FireAnt/iPodder/jPodder can handle this? How long until the iPod/iRiver support this?
Good stuff.
Posted by davehod at 07:10 AM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2005
Gnomedex - First night
Gnomedex 5.0 began tonight - what a crowd! Steve Rubel, Dan Gillmor, Doug Kaye, Adam Curry, Chris Pirillo (of course), Bob Wyman...a lot of folks.
Besides the fire alarm going off, it was a great night. In general, the conference is fantastic. The mindshare around blogs/podcasting/vlogs is pretty incredible. My personal highlight was talking to Adam Curry about the next release of iTunes and the impact it will have on media. The fact that an iTunes user can download the Daily Source Code as easily as the new 50 Cent single is going to introduce a sea-change in media.
The Rocketboom folks were there also, check out their site for some video of the night.
Posted by davehod at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2005
24 Hour Laundry
Gotta say I agree with Russell on this one
Posted by davehod at 04:57 AM | Comments (0)
Gnomedex This Week
I'll be attending the Gnomedex 5.0 conference this week. If you are going to be there, drop me a line.
In addition to the "plenty of cool sessions" schedule, I'm really looking forward to the FeedMesh meeting
Posted by davehod at 04:43 AM | Comments (0)
North Olympic Discovery Marathon - Finisher!
Last week, I successfully ran the North Olympic Discovery Marathon (NODM).
Getting there
NODM starts in tiny Sequim, WA and ends in the just-a-bit-larger town of Port Angeles. We set out from SeaTac and drove for about 2.5 hours to Port Angeles, our stop for the night. The 3 or 4 block downtown area was nice, with plenty of local fare (food is always an important thing for a carbo-loading junkie).
Pre-race
We checked out several parts of the course, mainly the 20 mile area and the finish. We had been warned about the ravine (yes, ravine, not hill) at mile 20 and wanted to check it out. The area around Mile 20 seemed fine, so I figured, "how steep could the ravine be?" Boy, would I find out in the morning.
The finish line area was beautiful as it was right along the water in the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. In the distance you can see Vancouver Island. One problem though, the finish was going straight into a 40 mile an hour headwind. Hmmm, that might make finishing tough. After lunch, I asked the cashier what the weather would be like on race day. She told me it would either be windy or rainy. If the wind died down, it would rain. If it didn't rain, it would be windy. I couldn't decide which was worse, a 40 mile an hour headwind for the last 5 miles or rain for 26 miles.
Race
The race started at an incredible 9am. Most of my long runs started at 5:30ish, so am usually enjoying a mocha by then. One of our worries was the race support. If the race only had 1600 entrants, our thinking went, would we be able to depend on the water stops that are so crucial in a marathon? There were shuttles to the start and a building to wait out the start of the race. People were very friendly overall; I met people from Seattle, Alaska and more than a few locals.
Once the race began, we chatted with quite a few people. I met my first 50 Stater (plus DC), a woman who had run 15 marathons in 12 weekends and more than one Canadian. Overall, things went great until we hit the first of 3 ravines. To say they were steep (both down and up) doesn't do them justice. Imagine running 17 miles and then encountering a 200 foot drop and rise in the space of 1/8th of a mile. OUCH! By the third ravine (at mile 20), my quads were fried (coincidentally, mile 20 is also the steepest of the three ravines) and I had to turn my iPod on extra loud.
The final six miles were incredible - two miles of dirt trails in a forest and then four miles along the Strait. The threat of wind/rain never materialized and I cruised to a solid finish. My IT band seemed no worse for the wear, although I had the appetite of a hiberating Grizzly that had recently awakened.
Post-race
After an extended eat-everything-you-can-lay-your-hands-on session, we quickly showered, packed and drove back to SeaTac. A short 2 hour, completely overbooked flight on Alaska Airlines, and we were home.
Lessons learned
1. Make sure your iPod has both London Calling and Clash on Broadway. Listening to London Calling is just a great, motivating experience. Clash on Broadway has some great early punk, which always gets your feet moving. Just by chance, Complete Control was cranking when I saw the finish line a mile away. Talk about an adrenaline rush.
2. Get a good massage after your long training runs (20+). Going from a really bad case of ITBS to finishing a marathon pain-free (ok, relatively pain free) is a great thing.
Posted by davehod at 04:42 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2005
FeedBurner support One-Click Subscriptions
FeedBurner announced yesterday that they are now supporting the newly created "One-click Subscription" spec for podcasts.
If you aren't familiar with this spec, the Podcast Subscription Working Group (PSWG - wiki is here) spent quite a bit of time going over different options. Several rounds of voting were held on the ipodder-dev email list. The "winning" spec is what FeedBurner is now supporting.
Personally, I'm glad that *any* decision was made. Removing the difficult aspects of listening to podcasts is an important step. The PSWG is not an IETF group, so there are of course some grumblings about it all. It is too early to tell if the spec will be widely adopted, but FeedBurner quickly adding support is a good first step.
Posted by davehod at 12:53 AM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2005
Podtech.net: CTO InfoTalk Series
John Furrier invited me on his PodTech show last week. We discussed quite a few things including Open Source and RSS.
One thing I found very interesting is the gear John used. His setup consisted of an iRiver, a laptop, two mics and a mixing board. Minus the cost of the laptop, he was able to record and produce the show with approximately $500 worth of equipment. At that price point, I continue to believe that Podcasting will continue to grow at a torrid pace. (Having Apple add Podcast support in iTunes certainly won't hurt)
Listen to the first segment here
Posted by davehod at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)
June 06, 2005
North Olympic Discovery Marathon
6 days to go until the North Olympic Discovery Marathon. This is the first year this race has been a Boston Qualifier so it will probably have quite a few more participants than in previous years.
Training for this marathon was injury-free (no ITBS like last time) and overall went pretty well. I didn't quite stick to the schedule, but I learned at the Phoenix RnR that the long runs are what matter the most. This time I ran two 20's for my longs (one at Crystal Springs) and was ready to knock out a few more miles at the end.
Posted by davehod at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)
Open Source and IP -- Legal Advice
The second post in my series on IP and Open Source - obtaining and using legal advice.
You've decided to use Open Source in your project or prototype. You've learned a lot about Open Source and licensing. Next up (if you can afford it) is to obtain some sound legal advice to ensure you are taking the correct path. Sounds straightforward, but in my experience, it is not.
Open Source is still very new to a lot of people in the legal world. Your challenge is to find the best resource you can afford, making sure that the person is at least as up to speed on things as you are (trust me, not as easy as it sounds). The last thing you want to do is spend what little seed money you have on an attorney that learns the ropes on your dime. One suggestion for finding a knowledgeable person is to look at the law firms that are used by groups like OSI, Sourceforge (OSTG), etc. Check out their press releases and "about us" type links. (Full disclosure - my previous company MessageCast worked with Mark Radcliffe from DLA Piper, who is the General Counsel for OSI)
Once you select an attorney, strive to make the most of your time with them. Come prepared for any and all meetings. Do as much prep work as possible to put the relevant info at their fingertips. A good agenda item for the first meeting is to discuss the different Open Source licensing schemes (GPL, LGPL, etc) and make sure that your understanding of each is correct. Ask the attorney to walk through different scenarios ("what happens if we use GPL on our website, but don't distribute?", "what happens if we modify Apache 2.0 code and distribute", etc etc). Be clear what your business model is/will be - will you be distributing code or running it all in a SOA framework? In my experience, the two major issues to work through will be distribution and modification.
Since you have already done some homework on the licensing issues, you should be able to wrap-up an initial session in as little as two or three hours. Your total costs might be as high as $3000, but the up-front work you do now can literally be a primary determinant on whether or not your company moves forward.
Once you are in agreement with the attorney on the nature of the different licenses, document what you have learned. Boil down the major points into an easy to understand table, making it easy enough to post on your Dev Wiki. Review the Wiki entry with everyone involved, making sure that they understand the big picture view. Most of all, make sure they understand that licenses differ and the future of your company depends on them.
Posted by davehod at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)