iTunes 4.9 without the hype

Filed under: Audio, Fun, Windows, Macintosh, Podcasting

iTunes 4.9 without the hype

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Jun 29th 2005

It seems like only yesterday that podcasting was born. And then, it wasn't that long ago that iTunes was born either. Now we're blessed with the two together, like nougat and caramel. And it does taste good.

I'll have to admit when I was in the podcasting biz (chortle) my software of choice was iPodderX. I still highly recommend it. One of the developers (thanks Ray!) actually spent a couple of hours on IM with me troubleshooting an issue.

Apple's offering is what you'd expect from Apple: strict adherence to the laws of form vs. function. Here's a sampling of tidbits I've found so far (in no particular order):

As expected, the install process was seamless. Although for 4.whatever.before.this Software Update didn't see iTunes, I had to download it from their website. This time, SU installed it all in a few clicks. Mostly.
You get into podcasts via the iTunes Music Store. The interface is clean, no groundbreaking anything. Nice bright purple colors. Although Apple's podcasting logo looks positively XP-ish.

It's got the fit and polish you'd expect, but that's because there are rules to follow before you can publish on iTunes. It's pretty cool you can publish your own stuff though. Do it now before the bandwagon/floodgates thing happens. Apple even provides instructions on podcasting using GarageBand. Go figure.
The menu shown on the previous page is where you can arrange and manage your podcasts— just like a playlist, huh? Once you've subscribed to 'casts, they appear here. When you play them in iTunes, they "stream" (or load dynamically). Or so I'm told. When you put them on your iPod, well, obviously they are downloaded.
There isn't a "Tell a Friend" link, but you can right-click on the podcast picture link and copy it... For instance, you could send your Aunt Wilma the link to my 2nd favorite podcast: the Dawn and Drew Show. My favorite, and the one responsible for getting me into this mess, is the Engadget podcast.
It's terribly easy to use. Really. When you tend to fill all available HD space like I do, it's easy to go nuts on the podcasts and overfill. With this, I feel like I can just turn them on and off quickly, adapting to my mood.
Better management overall. But the killer feature here: a running tally of total MB for subscribed podcasts. Awesome.
Top it all off with Apple's market dominance in the downloadable music biz. They're bringing some high-end content to the game, which I hope will elevate the medium. It's win-win!

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Anthony Sigalas said 8:13AM on 6-29-2005

I live at the other side of the pond (Europe) and I had never tried podcasting before, although I am an RSS zealot! Yesterday I tried out iTunes 4.9 ability to download-play-sync podcasts and what can I say, I am impressed. One of the best moves to regain the ipod-interest - Podcasting is cool and what's more, it is a snap to use. The Podcast directory listing also helps first timers like me to kick in the new habit! Now bring on iTunes 5.0 with movies support ;)

Victor Agreda, Jr. said 8:52AM on 6-29-2005

Anthony, I think that's exactly why Apple did this. You've got the majority of internet users who are starting to hear about things like blogs, RSS, things you and I do all the time. Then there are folks way into RSS (or blogging or whatever), but not podcasting. This will open up doors for them, and then folks who've never heard of podcasting.

And yes, iTunes 5.0 would be nice.

Yann Crispin said 9:26AM on 6-29-2005

I didn't really go through all the podcasting functions but (at least in the WinXP version) the data is downloaded and not streamed even when listening to it on a computer. It might actually depend on the type of the audio file...

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