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.