The biggest difference in this last format and in podcasting is that if LiveIreland podcast, I could simply download the file, and listen to the program from the beginning at my convenience. It is definitely the next logical step in the evolution of audio programming. And as such, copyright holders for material that is "podcast" will view it in the same way as they do "live" radio broadcasts, as well as "live" or prerecorded programming via the Internet - another revenue stream. The NAB is not going to look at this any differently than they did Internet broadcast, or that traditional journalists viewed bloggers. It's simply a percieved threat to the "pros", at least until they figure out a way to make money off of it themselves. Congress will undoubtably side with the lobbyists and special interest groups as well.

Legality wise - I don't know; I'm not a lawyer. I am interested for my own reasons. I'm a DJ on a Hawaiian language radio program that broadcasts weekly in Hilo on KWXX, called Alana I Kai Hikina. We used to do a live stream of the show, but because of the cost and lack of a way to generate revenue, the owner had to shut the stream down. If we could podcast it without having to pay exorbitant licensing fees I'd look into doing it.

FWIW, I'm a voting member of both The Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts and The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, so I'm not unsympathetic to the creative community that generates some of the material that is being podcast. I'll keep monitoring developments to see if it is feasible for us to do.

The International Council For Traditional Music will be holding their world conference there in August, 2005. I have submitted a proposal to present the research I conducted for my MA Thesis. If it is accepted I will be jetting there, both to attend and present at the conference, and to meet with the faculty of Sheffield's program. Keeping fingers crossed.

Our own College's proposed Ph.d. program (in Indigenous Language Perpetuation) is going to be discussed and may be approved at the UH Board of Regent's meeting in Hilo in the week coming up. Fingers crossed for that, too.

I'm teaching HAW101 (Elementary Hawaiian Language) this semester, and will be teaching a class in Polynesian Music in the spring, in addition to all of my ongoing technology duties.