iTunes 4.9 on the net

I'm seeing iTunes/4.9 for both Mac and Windows retrieving podcast xml and their mp3 enclosures from underheard.org. The IP addresses in question are: 17.201.54.74, 17.201.54.84, and 17.201.39.89 All three addresses are in address space assigned to apple. The first hit came on the 11th of June, and they've been increasing in frequency since.

Mike: Doesn't it make more sense for Apple to keep this as an exclusive content service that Apple controls? Aside from the potential tall weeds I mentioned previoulsy, why would Apple want to make it easy for iTMS customers to fill up their iPods with free crap? Isn't that like opening a CD shop and then letting people come there to trade CDs with each other for free?

Porchland, I reckon they'd be considered a common carrier and be legally safe from such. Of course, it probably doesn't make much business sense to allow hate speech to be associated with Apple.

I wouldn't put much hope on direct-from-iPod-casting, just because there's not much opportunity for editing. Amateur podcasts with no edits? Well why would you want to do that? And heaven forbid you record something stupid (roommate singing in the shower, the sound of you tripping and falling down the stairs) and have it automatically-uploaded for all to hear. Yes it will be interesting to see what podcasts Apple voluntarily carries; what will it consider to be acceptable? Sounds like a mess, but I'm not sure I'd want to try out a random podcast and find a graphic discussion of naughty bits, or some sort. Who knows...

I had my friend with a podcast just check and yep it is an apple IP.

Has anyone double-checked to see if these user agents are coming from Apple IPs? God knows you could have Steve's IP address on your hands :|

I'm glad to see iTMS moving toward podcasts. After music and audio books, it's the next logical step. I'm all for giving the little guy a forum to get his content out among the big players, but it seems risky for Apple to open this up to absolutely everyone. All it will take is one death threat or announcement of a neo-Nazi rally to make a mess of unfettered podcasting. What will Apple do when someone yells 'fire' in a crowded theater?

Gentlemen, begin your conspiracy theories: ASTEROID! (For recording)