Podcasting Links

Post ImagePreparing for and traveling to the Portable Media Expo last week meant that I fell behind on my usual tracking of what’s happening with podcasting (well aside from what I learned about at the expo itself). So I’ve been slowly catching up lately. Here are some of the highlights from my del.icio.us feed:

As I come across new items, I’ll of course add them to my feed.

Read: Podcasting Links

The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists

Post ImageBusinessWeek has once again come up with their annual list of the 50 most generous philanthropists, and for the first time in a while, Bill and Melinda Gates do not top the list! They were unseated this year by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife Betty. From the Drudge Report:

The Moores, like a growing number of big givers, take a businesslike approach to philanthropy. Rather than throwing money at problems, they try to ensure the most productive use of their dollars by funding projects they believe can produce “significant and measurable” results. This desire for accountability is one of the most important themes in this year’s top 50 individual donors list.

The complete list and associated articles will be available in the November 28th issue of BusinessWeek which hits newstands on Monday. Looking at the top 26 on the Drudge Report page, I see that seven of them are technology-related like Microsoft, Intel, and eBay. Some of the other companies represented include Home Depot, Wal-Mart, CNN, and Bloomberg. It’s interesting to juxtapose this list with the Forbes ranking of the wealthiest people in the world. Some individuals are on both, while others are quite notably absent. I guess philanthropy isn’t for everyone though.

Read: BusinessWeek

Hand-crank powered laptop

Post ImageThere are some very creative and serious efforts underway to bridge the so-called “digital divide.” One such effort is a hand-cranked laptop developed at MIT that will hopefully be available to schoolchildren in poorer countries a year from now:

In principle, the project seems simple: Design a laptop with built-in wireless and minimal power consumption, find manufacturers willing to build it for about $100, convince governments to buy it in quantities of at least 1 million as an initial order, and give it to schoolchildren to keep as their own property. (The goal is tens of millions produced and distributed within two years.)

But negotiating with governments has proved to be strenuous–Negroponte called it “very hard”–and the price quotes to build the machine remain closer to $110 than $100. “We’re not even going to promise they’re $100,” he said. “They may be $115. What we’re promising is that the price will float down.”

There are other concerns that must be overcome as well, such as the desire to resell the laptops. I hope it works out though, because it’s a very interesting project that would likely make a real difference. There are roughly six governments that have shown great interest thus far, including Brazil and Thailand.

Read: CNET News.com

Interview with CJSR tomorrow

Post ImageTomorrow afternoon sometime between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM MST I’ll be doing a live interview on CJSR, which you can find on your FM dial at 88.5 or online at their website. I’ll be answering questions and talking about Humanities 101, the non-profit started by my friends Sharon and May to help promote and make post-secondary-style education available for people in Edmonton’s inner-city. I joined the group a little over a year ago, and have quite enjoyed it! I really think we’re doing something great for the city, and I hope we can continue to do so.

While we have had much success thus far, we want to improve and move things forward, so we’re holding a “Town Hall” event at the University on Monday to brainstorm and share ideas. If you’re interested in attending, please email us. Or if you’re unsure, listen tomorrow as I try to explain why it’s a good idea for you to come! We’re always looking for volunteers, instructors, and feedback from interested individuals and organizations.

As an aside, I realize that our website is very simplistic at the moment – it’s on my todo list! Hopefully we’ll have something much better up there soon.

Read: CJSR

Ready to Rock the Launch!

Post ImageToday was Edmonton’s turn to host the Launch Event 2005, Microsoft’s big push around the release of Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006. The completely booked event took place all day today at SilverCity in West Edmonton Mall with TechNet leading the morning sessions and MSDN taking over in the afternoon. All in all I’d say that things went very well!

There are so many new technologies and features in the three products that cramming them all into a one day event is impossible. I think the speakers (both from MSDN and TechNet but particularly from MSDN) did an excellent job of sharing just enough. It wasn’t fluff, but it wasn’t over-your-head crazy either. Over the next few months there will be many more events around these technologies so that developers and IT professionals can dive in a little deeper. Fortunately, everyone received complimentary software today too, so there’s no excuse not to get your feet wet if you attended!

Edmonton is only stop #3 on the ten city tour, so I wish the MSDN and TechNet teams luck as they continue their trek across Canada. I know the snow last night probably wasn’t the warmest welcome we could have given them, but that’s what you get for hosting an event in Edmonton in November!

I took a one picture today, which you can see in my Flickr stream – lots of developers! There are more pictures and info up on Sasha’s blog too. For members of the Edmonton .NET Wizards, or for anyone who’s interested in joining, please share your feedback on the wiki!

Read: MSDN Canada

Another Reason Why Apple Sucks

Post ImageThere are many reasons to love Apple, and yet many more to hate them too. An article I came across today falls into the latter category (and actually, I noticed this at the Portable Media Expo over the weekend):

iPodder Lemon was a free application distributed under the General Public License, or GPL, that allows users to manage their podcasts–audio and video programs downloaded from the Internet to an MP3 player.

The application’s developers say Apple’s legal team asked the open-source group to drop the name of the software because it suggested a connection to the company’s flagship iPod device. The developers have changed the name of the product to Juice.

What is happening here? Apple is not protecting their intellectual property. I don’t believe the average user would confuse the iPod with iPodder Lemon. I also think that iPodder Lemon probably contributed to some sales of the iPod, in fact helping Apple. What’s happening here is that Apple is using their big-company muscle to try and own the idea of “podcasting” in the minds of consumers. Anything related to the iPod, they seem to want to control.

There is a fine line between protecting your trademarks and brands, and bullying applications, devices and services that are part of your ecosystem. I think Apple crossed the line this time! In any case, Juice will continue to be a great application I’m sure, despite the name change setback.

Read: CNET News.com

California Trip Recap

Our trip this past weekend to California was definitely what I would call a “business trip” as we didn’t have much time to do anything vacation-like. After the expo was finished on Saturday, Dickson and I drove into Hollywood and Beverly Hills for some sightseeing. The drive also meant more time on the busy and very fast freeways! Actually, I think the reason they seem so fast is the cement walls on either side, the large number of lanes, and the incredible number of vehicles.

The houses in Beverly Hills were quite amazing! We also drove down Rodeo Drive, and saw some of the fancy stores like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Lots of fancy cars too. Sunset Blvd was very busy, making it almost impossible to change lanes without cutting someone off! For a late dinner we went to IHOP and had, what else, breakfast! The pancakes were very good, I must admit, though very filling. We didn’t have too much time though, as we had to return the rental car, which meant some fast driving on I-10 to get back to Ontario.

As for the conference/expo, it was great! We definitely had one of the most simplistic booths, but that’s okay. We were there to talk with people, both to learn and share, so a flashy booth wasn’t required. We met a lot of great people, and learned about lots of new projects. Exciting! We definitely want to something more for next year, but we’ve got almost a year to plan it.

Traveling home was long! Fortunately we met Dave Slusher and rode with him to Denver. We chatted about quite a few things, it was great! We also departed Denver at the same time, although in different locations, so we hung out til boarding. Thanks Dave!

In Calgary we stopped at Earls for lunch and then at Krispy Kreme to pickup some donuts. No trip to Calgary is complete without getting one of the hot, fresh original glazed donuts while waiting in line to buy four dozen! Finally we were on our way home. I realize now that I actually did a lot of driving over the weekend, and it just tired me out. Fortunately I slept longer than a few hours last night 🙂

For my pictures of our trip and the Expo, click here. Dickson will have more posted soon too, so check out his blog.

Portable Media Expo Day 2

Post ImageTraveling has a way of making the old schedule go a little nutty, so I didn’t get a chance to post much over the weekend. Well, that and the fact that Internet access was not as abundant as it should have been! Overall, the Expo was great – both for Paramagnus and for podcasting in general. My only complaint about the entire event would be that there was no wireless Internet. I don’t believe that any technology-related conference in the year 2005 should be without Internet access! That’s one thing Chris Pirillo has absolutely correct with Gnomedex.

In any case, the second day of the Expo went very well. I’d say it was the busier of the two days. We were the first to present in the morning, and despite the fact that the stage Internet did not work, it went very well. I hope the people who were in the audience gained some value out of my presentation. I know some of them did, because they came by the booth later. We also got the chance on Saturday to take a look at some of the interesting things the other exhibitors were doing. It’s a very exciting time for podcasting!

Thanks to everyone who came by and spoke to us during the two-day Expo! It was great to meet you, and we look forward to helping you with podcasting. Thanks also to Tim and everyone at TNC New Media for putting on a great show! We’re looking forward to next year already.

Read: Podcast & Portable Media Expo

Portable Media Expo Day 1

Post ImageOverall I’d say that today was a very productive one for Paramagnus! We didn’t arrive at LAX until around 9:30 AM, which meant it was near 11:30 AM by the time we made it to Ontario – an hour and a half after the Expo opened. We rented a car in Los Angeles to drive into Ontario, and I must say, it was an experience! Once I did the first merge onto the freeway it wasn’t so bad, but that initial merge was a little scary – so many lanes, so many cars, such fast speeds! The freeways really are a good idea though, as it doesn’t take long to get where you need to go.

This is the first year for the Portable Media Expo, so we didn’t know exactly what to expect. As it turns out, the event has been a huge success! There were lots of people roaming the floors of the exhibit hall today, so we got the chance to introduce ourselves and our podcasting stuff to a pretty sizable audience. The feedback we have received thus far was all very encouraging – so much so that all we really want to do is go back to Edmonton to continue coding!

We’ll be in the exhibit hall all day tomorrow, and we’ve also got the stage for thirty minutes tomorrow morning starting at 10:15 AM. We’re planning to give an overview of the company and our products, and do a couple of quick demos. Unfortunately we won’t have the Podbot on hand – the robot is in need of repairs that we just can’t do in the hotel room.

I posted up a quick sample episode tonight to my podcast, so you can take a look at some of the features we’ve got working. Obviously there is much to be done, but you can see the audio conversion and the dynamic segmenting, for example. More to come soon!

Paramagnus Podcasting

Post ImageI just posted an introduction to our podcasting solution over at the Paramagnus Blog, so go check it out to find out what we’ve been up to for the last few months! I am glad that we’ve finally released some bits, but there’s still so much more to come. I can’t wait until we get everything finished – it’ll be great for podcasting!

So far we’ve released Podcast Tags and Podcast Spot. Both of them are in beta, though Podcast Spot is really more of an alpha and Podcast Tags is closer to completion. We wanted to release something though, to demonstrate what we’re working on and where we’re going with it, and to hopefully get some feedback. So take a look and let us know what you think!

If all goes according to plan we’ll be posting some demos and other information tomorrow to better explain the two products, so stay tuned!