Get ready to flame me, everybody! Laurie asked everyone yesterday if TUAW should have a podcast, and I decided that I didn't care what any of you said, we shouldn't. To prove that we shouldn't, I went ahead and made one sans Laurie and Scott, but with some nice little sound effects here and there, some Smashing Pumpkins playing in the background, a few news clips, and me stumbling over words and saying 'um' and 'uh' much too frequently. The main topics are Tiger, Spotlight, Dashboard, and Automator and Quicktime 7, and I briefly touch on setting up an Automator workflow for creating your own podcast.
Check it out: TUAW Podcast, the First (14.4MBs / 15 minutes 46 seconds long).
One slight correction: In the middle of my unrehearsed ranting about Dashboard, I say that Widgets are made of HTML and Java. This is incorrect. They are made of HTML and JavaScript. Scott caught my mistake in his first listen through and ridiculed me at length for it. Feel free to join him, but I just thought I'd put it out there that this ground has already been covered.
Also, here's a direct link (28kb) to the Automator workflow that I mentioned in the podcast. Basically it launches Quicktime Pro 7, starts a new audio recording using the audio-in device you have set up in your System Preferences, waits for you to click "Continue" to stop the recording, and then automatically imports the file into iTunes, converts it into an mp3, and changes its name to "podcast." Have fun with it. I'll post a more detailed discussion of it later tonight, or tomorrow.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
J said...
Thanks C.K.
Loved the tuawcast.
Agree 100% about Quicktime. Just bought 2000 bucks worth of apple gear and I have to pay more to watch a movie in full screen? Lame.
Keep the casts coming!
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Laurie said...
You guys know that you CAN still use QT 6.5.x, right?
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Kristian said...
Nice, I liked it. Better than any other Apple Podcast. Just keep up the great news, and tips, and everything else. But overall so far so good. Thanks for the heads up on Tiger, I personally have not get it yet for that same reason of some bugs. I like to know when a software or hardware is stable then get it. Thanks again.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Kristian said...
Also, You can make the Casts a little more louder it was very hard to hear and I had my Shuffle at full volume.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
C.K. Sample, III said...
Hey, Don, we're working on the enclosure. Hopefully it'll be properly coded in a day or so and future podcasts will be podcasts proper.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
C.K. Sample, III said...
Kristian, will do.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Jonathan Schroeder said...
i think, the podcast was great, but i would rather not listen to CK rant for 15 minutes... key words: variety and brevity (flame). otherwise, i enjoyed it. i do a lot of walking with my ipod and woould love to get apple news and info for the long walks to and fro between classes.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Gary Allen said...
Hey, I thought the show was pretty good! Gotta buy a dedicated microphone and bump up the volume. But otherwise it certainly was better than lots of the other rambling audio that I've encountered on the Web.
One of the advantages of audio is that you can listen to it so many ways: directly from the Web page, later from an iPod or a CD, and either when you're ready to concentrate on the audio, or sorta while you're doing something else. It's a very versatile medium. So I don't so much mind the length of the audio--it's the content that matters. Is it something that's on-point and interesting? Yours meets that test.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
DT said...
CK: Great first podcast! I had a question, you stated in your podcast that a widget could execute a shell script that could erase your hard drive, is that really true? It was my understanding that the UNIX subsystem would prevent such a thing without proper authentication.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Jason said...
Very nice job CK. I liked it a lot for a first podcast. I think staying focused is the key, and as Jonathan said brevity.
Interviews would be cool as well.
I'm excited to hear the next one.
Can you guys put up a category for podcasts and a dedicated XML feed with enclosures so my Ipodder will download future podcast automatically?
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
C.K. Sample, III said...
DT, it would need authentication to do so, but there is that risk. I mean, how many programs that you've installed ask for your administrator password the first time you run them? Someone could simply make an installer that doesn't install anything but just erases your hard drive. A widget could call out to an Automator workflow or AppleScript that runs some nasty terminal code. This would need authentication first, but if someone who isn't computer savvy is presented with a "CLICK HERE TO PLAY THIS FREE WIDGET GAME" widget that auto downloads and then gets a dialogue saying, SUPER FUN GAME NEEDS TO INSTALL ITSELF AND NEEDS YOUR AUTHENTICATION" there's the risk that an un-savvy user is going to give it to the widget without thinking.
Again, this is a doom and gloom take on things, that I only mention to underscore how much i think the autoinstall is a mistake on Apple's part.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Stephen Sizemore said...
Nice Job. I hope to hear more podcasts from TUAW.
Geek USA!
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Good Looks Help said...
Good Job you guys. Maybe you should make it a bit longer, w/ a small segment of real music, maybe something new from the itunes music store! Keep it commmin
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Rob said...
Whether or not something is a 'podcast' is a semantic argument since the POD in podcast means 'portable on demand.' Thus anything you can download--enclosed in a feed or not--fits the definition.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Dave Schultz said...
Great job! Listened to it as I walked. Didn't mind the rant. Looking forward to the next cast.
The suggestion about music: not a good idea IMHO. Everyone tunes in for Mac talk, not music. I'm 47; do you think I wanna hear Smashing Pumpkins at length? (Answer: no). Otherwise, have at it!
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Jason said...
I agree about music... I would maybe do something light in the background at the start and end, but it alienates a large portion of the audience.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Kristian said...
I already had my comments about the new TUAWcast (Thats what I called it) but how about a Reader/Listener review? Someone can maybe put up a 1 - 2 minute audio review and you guys can play them on the air. Anyways.. this may be for future shows but I like the shows length, not too long and not too short. How many times are you guys to post one? once every 2 days, once a week... ???
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Kevin Crossman said...
Not bad. Take a few shows to find your place -- is it a "news" show or is it a "rant" show? Neither is preferrable but it should be one or the other. If you can do things daily that would be a reason for me to tune in -- since MacCast isn't daily.
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Casey Kelley said...
Maybe it's just me, but I could see TUAW as a downloadable video show every day, like a wrap-up of the day's Mac events. Sorta like The Screen Savers was on TechTV, before it became the bastard child of Comcast.
Too bad that requires people to you know, not have lives, or a lot of free time...
I'm up for it. :-p
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6-16-2005 @ 4:18PM
Dean Shan said...
I thought the podcast was good C.K. It would be nice if you added quick tips in the show (ie keyboard commands, hacks, etc). You did a great job and I am looking forward to the next show.
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