Archive for April, 2006

Mobile Interviews in Flash

Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

FlashMicThis week, I had a chance to look at HHB’s FlashMic DRM85.  This microphone is all you need to record quality interviews for you podcast.  With 1 gigabyte of built in flash memory, you can get up to 18 hours of audio recorded (depending on your chosen record format) and then easily transfer the content to your PC or MAC using the built in USB port.  Additionally, the actual microphone capsule is a high quality Omni-directional unit designed by Sennheiser, who have a proven record in the professional mic market.  A pair of AA Batteries will power this mic for approximately 8 hours.

I would be a little worried about having all of your eggs in one basket – ie, if the mic capsule breaks, you have a useless tube of flash electronics.  If the Fash drive fails for some reason, you would be left with a high quality microphone that is rendered useless.  At a price of $1399, that is cause for concern.  You might need to have a couple decent sponsorships before this mic makes sense in your podcasting budget, but its convenience can’t be ignored.

 

Posted in Miscellaneous | 3 Comments »

Share the Seattle Podcasting Love…

Friday, April 21st, 2006

Several have asked if Seattle Podcasting Network taglines were available for use in Podcasts.  There are some great bites available in the forum (click here).  Thanks to Michael Stein and Eric Weaver for providing them. 

The SPN badge is also available for use by Seattle Podcasters and search directories.  We only ask that you link it back to http://www.seattlepodcasting.net. 

SPN Badge

 

http://www.seattlepodcasting.net/images/SPN_Badge.jpg

Thanks for helping to promote the great Seattle podcasts and the Seattle Podcasting Network. 

 

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April ’06 SPN Meetup – Your Podcast is Calling

Wednesday, April 12th, 2006

Thanks to all who came out to the April Meetup at Pyramid Alehouse in Seattle. As usual, a lot of great information was shared and it’s amazing to think about all the exciting podcasts, technologies and services coming out of Seattle. Thanks to Rob Greenlee for spending some time discussing Melodeo’s Mobilcast and for answering many of the great questions put forth by the group. Mobilcast appears to be another great way for podcasters to deliver content to their audiences. Click here to listen to the Podcast or subscribe to the SPN Podcast feed.

 

Attendees included:     

 
 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Posted in Meetup Notes | 1 Comment »

Seattle Podcasting Network April Meetup.

Tuesday, April 11th, 2006

Thanks for coming out to the March Meetup. A summary is available on the Seattle Podcasting Network website. The April Meetup will take place on Tuesday the 11th at Pyramid Alehouse. Rob Greenlee, Sr. Marketing Manager of Melodeo Mobilcast and founder of WebTalk Radio, will be sharing information about using Moblilcast to deliver and listen to podcasts. We look forward to seeing you in April, but until then, happy podcasting!

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Seattle Mind Camp – April 29, 2006

Monday, April 10th, 2006

Mindcamp-Sm
This isn’t really podcast-related, but I wanted everyone to know that registration has opened for Seattle Mind Camp 2.0, the second semi-annual geek “unconference.” [Disclosure: I'm on the planning committee.]

Seattle Mind Camp is an opportunity for some of this city’s smartest forward-thinkers to get together for a 24-hour, self-structuring, multi-track confab. SMC2 will take place from noon to noon, April 29th through the 30th at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle.

Registrations are filling up quickly, so don’t wait too long to sign up. I’d love to see a strong presence from the Seattle Podcasting Network.

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Turn Your Knowledge Into Income

Monday, April 10th, 2006

New media presents new opportunity, at least that is Michael Geoghegan’s premise in a presentation that was recently featured on IT Conversations.  Recorded at the Podcast Academy last year in Ontario, Califorinia; Michael suggests looking beyond just monetizing your podcast to actually leveraging the knowledge you’ve obtained for financial gain.  There is money to be made in consulting since many companies are looking to get involved with podcasting but don’t necessarily know how to do it.

Geoghegan points out that experienced podcasters now possess a valuable set of skills which they can leverage with companies and organizations who are looking, or should be looking, for help. Many marketing and public relations pros know they need to do something, but know next to nothing about audio recording, RSS enclosures, 1-click subscription chicklets, or how to tap into the web audience through podcast directories.

The twenty-five minute presentation is available here.

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Summa Cum Louder

Sunday, April 9th, 2006

191861 Drinking Up
The Seattle Times reported last week on the rise of podcasting at Washington state colleges. Professors and students alike are discovering the convenience of making lectures available as study aids.

Last fall, the UW was the first college in the state to formally offer podcasts — audio recordings posted online that can be downloaded to computers, iPods and other MP3 players — and the trend is spreading, officials say, because it meshes with students’ busy, tech-savvy lives.

Bellevue Community College launched a pilot program this month that will allow students to listen to interviews, lectures and class recaps online and record their own podcasts as class projects.

At least nine other schools around the state — including Washington State, Seattle Pacific and Pacific Lutheran universities and Tacoma, North Seattle and Highline community colleges — are either offering or planning podcasts for students.

A couple of interesting points in the article: 1) attendance has stayed steady or improved in classes that are podcasting, and 2) 80% of students are listening to the podcasts on their computer, instead of downloading them to an MP3 device. My guess would be that the podcasts are addressing the needs of auditory learners. In any case, the rise of podcasting in academe only points to continued growth of the phenomenon as a whole.

Now, the Dub may be ahead of the curve in the Pacific Northwest, but they’ve got nothing on Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. That college is using podcasting to alert students of their acceptance to FSC, and features no less than the president of the college delivering the good news.

What next? Podcast commencements? Podcast report cards? iPod-based frat hazing? (Can you imagine… 18 hours of John Tesh? The horror!)

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Audio Engineering for Amateurs

Monday, April 3rd, 2006

I’ve been using Audacity for editing the Seattle Real Estate Talk podcasts. It’s not as robust as a professional sound editing package, but it’s plenty powerful for my needs. One reason I like it over simpler software such as Garage Band is that Audacity has a variety of filters and effects that I can apply to my audio.

Audacity's compressorI have been using Audacity’s Compressor filter on the default settings. I knew that I had to lower the peaks and raise the valleys in the waveform, but I didn’t really understand what I was doing until I read this article on NewsForge. Johnathon Williams manages to demystify the process and give some good rules of thumb for using the Compressor filter. (I’d still like to get a hardware compressor/limiter; doing all this post-processing leaves a tinny, mechanical ringing in my audio.) Make sure to read the comments, too, for more tidbits of audio engineering wisdom.

Another vital and basic audio technique that I have yet to master is eliminating the popping of Ps. I have a homemade wind screen for my studio mic, but I still sometimes get more mouth noise than I’d like. This article from Biz Podcasting reminded me to play with the placement of the microphone, as well as to try regulating my voice when speaking plosives (‘p’s and ‘b’s) and fricatives (‘f’s, ‘s’s, ‘z’s and ‘v’s).

I come across these articles from time to time and I’ll try to post them here when I find them. Does anyone know of a trove of audio production tips and tricks for amateur sound engineers?

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Posted in Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »

New iPod peripheral is a busy parent’s dream come true

Saturday, April 1st, 2006

IpoodAs reported in MAKE magazine, Danish company Tanterflügn has come up with the ultimate iPod enhancement for busy mommies and daddies. The iPood (patent pending) is a unique, interactive toilet training device for toddlers. When properly outfitted. any child’s iPod can become not only the perfect entertainment device for all ages, but a truly useful companion in the child-rearing process.

When a Bluetooth-enabled strain gauge is attached to a child’s tummy, the iPood starts analyzing the youngster’s muscle contractions for signs of movement. “All children’s bodies give off some signal that elimination is imminent. Our software can detect those subtle signs far faster and with more accuracy than a parent can,” said Tørd Gustavsen, CTO of Tanterflügn. “Tests have shown that our device can help shorten the toilet training process by as much as 35%.”

Using gentle words of encouragement recorded by some of today’s most popular fictional children’s characters, the toddler is prompted to “make like a big boy” (or girl… the iPood’s software can auto-detect gender differences based on the pitch of tummy rumbling). For any successful toilet session, the child is treated to cheers and rewarded with snippets of audio, from Elmo giggling and saying “Way to Go!” to Barney the Dinosaur bellowing “You’re a sooper-dee-dooper pooper!”

The iPood is already available in Europe and should be on shelves in this country next month, pending final FDA approval. The iPood comes with a washable silicone rubber gasket in a variety of playful colors, and Tanterflügn will offer a “family pack” for parents of twins or siblings close in age.

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Posted in Miscellaneous | 6 Comments »