One Canuck's Radio Weblog

  Tuesday, 8 June 2004

.< 11:09:13 PM >
Big Damn Heroes (Tech)
If I were choosing an RSS app based upon fit and polish, FeedDemon would be the winner without question. It's a slick, professionally designed app that is smart enough to steal from the best... namely, Outlook 2003. It gets all the small things exactly right.

There's a poll at this page which is also showing FeedDemon as the top choice.

< 11:00:51 PM >

In addition to unveiling AirPort Express this morning, Apple executive Greg Joswiak said on Monday that the iTunes Music Store has topped 85 million downloads. The iPod and iTunes Music Store have been market-leading products for Apple, leading the company to set up a new iPod division late last month. [MacCentral]

< 10:59:18 PM >

If you think clock speed is the most important measure of a processor, IBM's Bernie Meyerson wants you to reconsider.

Meyerson, who heads research and development efforts for Big Blue's semiconductor group, says processor chip speed is old news. Instead, he's focusing IBM's work on other areas, such as on-the-fly reconfiguration that will let chips automatically adapt to different jobs. [CNET News.com]

< 9:53:58 PM >

Aha. A Windows client reccomendation.

< 9:40:43 PM >

The new AirPort Express portable Wi-Fi base station doubles as a wireless receiver for home stereos. It's an intriguing package of electronics, analysts say. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] 'The new version of iTunes will automatically detect AirPort Express stations within range and stream music to them. Multiple base stations can be strung together to create a wireless music network, or to bridge a connection to a stereo in a remote location.

Music is streamed in Apple's lossless format and encrypted to prevent copying.

The AirPort Express' stereo jack is a combination digital and analog connector, which supports home stereos, stand-alone powered speakers and digital 5.1 surround-sound systems.'

< 9:33:21 PM >

Gawker Media, a small company that operates snarky Web logs on culture and politics, like Gawker and Wonkette, has begun blogging on behalf of major advertisers. [New York Times: Technology]

< 9:31:40 PM >

Two-Way RSS for Bloggers

If your job--or passion--is to keep up with the news and comment on it, you'll appreciate an application like Userland Software's $40-per-year Radio Userland, which puts a full Weblog system on your desktop. Radio Userland (or Radio) descends from an aggregator that helped launch the RSS format in 1999, but it's much more than a feed reader. Its subscription price covers, among other things, hosting at Weblogs.com. All feed reading and blog editing are done in your browser. [snip] You can subscribe to a blog from another Radio user with a single click, instead of performing the multistep process of copying and pasting into the subscription page required for outside feeds. With RSS 2.0, Radio supports feed attachments. For example, early adopter Adam Curry, a former MTV VJ, has been experimenting with many-megabyte video clips in his RSS feed. Radio sets the clips to download after midnight. [PCWorld]

< 9:27:34 PM >

Commercial Wi-Fi networks haven't had an easy time convincing customers to pay daily or hourly fees for broadband. Following the closure of one of the industry's larger players, survivors may need new pricing schemes. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News]

Too many free options available at this point.

< 12:57:26 AM >

The world’s first 802.11g mobile base station, Airport Express also features analog and digital audio outputs that can be connected to a stereo and AirTunes music networking software which works seamlessly with iTunes, providing a simple way to wirelessly stream iTunes music on their Mac or PC to any room in the house. [Jun 7] [Apple Hot News]

< 12:52:17 AM >

This is an excellent overview of RSS and the software available to make use of it.

< 12:49:10 AM >

Let's not wait for the cable and content companies to lead us to the promised land, we'll just create our own network, like we did with weblogs, and share with the pros when they're ready. [Scripting News]

< 12:35:31 AM >

Now that it's on my machine and config'd, I'll never have to think about it again, just watch my favourite TV shows roll on in.

.< 12:28:14 AM >
Doc Searls says RSS could be...

Doc Searls says RSS could be a big deal for public radio. [Scripting News] 'First, somebody here in the computer industry needs to tell folks in the radio industry (starting with NPR and PRI — 'cuz they might listen and they've already gone pretty far downstream with making their programs ready for this, and they have a business model that makes money from listeners rather than advertisers) to send out RSS notifications with every single program they put on. Hell, every advertisement too. Might even create some demand for appropriate messages. RSS can be really, really huge for the industry.'

He uses the US model of public radio as an example but there is a real opportunity for us as well. Tie it in to iNews and it's brain dead easy. Build a script to generate the feed and the work is done. Negligible cost to maintain and you've provided a huge service to your listeners and made your product more relevant and available.