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The convenient near-monopolization of the portable mp3 player industry by
Apple, backed up by their popular iTunes music application, has engendered
the interesting phenomenon of Podcasting. I resent the name, as I do the
majority of nifty brand-names for things that existed before in a more free
and independent (read: less convenient for the mindless consumer masses)
context. But the incorporation of Podcast subscriptions and browsing directly
into the iTunes music player application makes it painfully simple to find a
wide variety of audio entertainment. The Weekly
Bible Reading, for example, which I'm listening to as I write this (1
Chronicles 5-7, which I don't particularly recommend. "Ele-a'zar begat
Phin'ehas, begat begat begat etc. etc.). One can, of course, find more
compelling passages, or listen to something not Bible-related at all, like The Oyez Supreme Court
Podcast, which is hours on end of recorded supreme court proceedings, to
pique your judiciary interest.
Despite this stiff biblical and judiciary competition, my favorite
discovery is the History
According to Bob Podcast , which consists various 10-20 minute
historical tidbits and stories, told in a generally amusing way. One, for
example, entitled Aztec vs Cortez, tells how the Spanish guns "are
probably about one hundred yards away when you shoot, and it can take almost
a minute to reload, so that would mean that the natives would have 60
seconds to run a hundred yards. You could be an incredible obese individual
or one-legged and hop that fast." His tales of "Medieval
Torture", and "French Errors at the Battle of Agincourt" are
equally amusing, not to mention a wonderful resource for those who want to
feign knowledgeability.
To be honest, being the generally dull person I am, I haven't looked much
farther than the Educational section, and even there I've found ample
entertainment. The categories, however, for those of you whose idea of fun is
somewhat more à la mode, are numerous. Comedy, Technology, Music, News,
Politics, and much, much more!! Basically the sheer number of people with
too much time on their hands, and internet connections, and some basic
recording hardware, means that there will be at least one decent Podcast on
just about every conceivable topic.
Though the general theory of Podcasts is that you download them onto your
mp3 player and listen to them on the go, some of the one's I've found are
worth listening to on their own merits, not just because you're waiting for
the bus and have nothing else to do, and for a relatively new and undeveloped
phenomenon, that's quite impressive.
Note that despite Apple's immanence in the very name, (A portmanteau of
iPod and Broadcast), neither an iPod, nor iTunes is necessary to enjoy
Podcasting. There are many third party applications (iPodder Lemon, for
example, can be found at http://ipodder.sourceforge.net/index.php),
and the files, once loaded onto your computer can be played on most portable
mp3 players, or even burned to a CD.
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