Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, Software, Blogging, iTunes, Open Source
End of the day iTunes podcast review
Now that we've all had some time to get cozy with iTunes+podcasting, it's time to look at what's really going on here. I really like the idea of incorporating podcasting support directly into iTunes. It's a neat feature to have so many casts all in one place, and to be able to subscribe to the directly from within iTunes; this really streamlines my audio management. My eyes and my ears are very, very happy.My heart is a little bit more foreboding. iTunes 4.9 doesn't support the increasingly popular bit torrent casts. We can hope this functionality comes along later, but if it doesn't, a lot of little guys are going to get forced out. Commercial sites will be unaffected, but people paying monthly badwidth fees out of pocket aren't going to be able to handly the kind of traffic the iTMS is capable of delivering. Of course, no one has to opt into the iTMS in the first place, but the setup is, shall we say, somewhat less than egalitarian. More troubling, as Kevin Tofel over at Droxy pointed out, is the fact that people who don't do podcasting according to Apple's Podcasting Specification sheet* are cut out of the iTMS.
Dave Winer, the creator of RSS has taken issue
with the duplication of tags already included in the RSS 2.0 standard,
and the inclusion of trademarked names in the in tags specs. What this
means for individuals who would like to make use of these trademarked podcasting tags
remains to be seen. Ed Durnbill has also done a nice run-down of the various features of iTMS podcasting and I think his conclusion is well worth repeating:
What could have been a useful and reusable addition to the world of RSS is really rendered only fit for the single use of adding content into Apple's own iTunes store. Apple prove they know how to be cool, but they've got no idea about making friends on the web.
From the point of view of XML and the web, iTunes RSS extensions are somewhat disappointing. From a professional point of view, I'd say this looks rather embarrassing: Apple clearly don't have enough people who really understand XML.
All of which is to say that, while I'm digging on podcasts in iTunes, I hope iTunes 5.0 makes some radical changes.
* Warning: it's a PDF. And no, no one knows why an internet-savvy company like Apple consistently publishes its most useful specs in non-hypertext formats.
What could have been a useful and reusable addition to the world of RSS is really rendered only fit for the single use of adding content into Apple's own iTunes store. Apple prove they know how to be cool, but they've got no idea about making friends on the web.
From the point of view of XML and the web, iTunes RSS extensions are somewhat disappointing. From a professional point of view, I'd say this looks rather embarrassing: Apple clearly don't have enough people who really understand XML.
All of which is to say that, while I'm digging on podcasts in iTunes, I hope iTunes 5.0 makes some radical changes.
* Warning: it's a PDF. And no, no one knows why an internet-savvy company like Apple consistently publishes its most useful specs in non-hypertext formats.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lee said 7:15PM on 6-28-2005
Bandwidth? Are you sure that Apple doen't feed the casts from iTMS themselves? All they have to do is grab the latest fom the author and then feed it out thru iTMS
Reply
tf said 7:14PM on 6-28-2005
"We can hope this functionality comes along later, but if it doesn't, a lot of little guys are going to get forced out. Commercial sites will be unaffected, but people paying monthly badwidth fees out of pocket aren't going to be able to handly the kind of traffic the iTMS is capable of delivering."
boo hoo: if they don't have the bandwidth, they don't want the distribution. If they want the distribution, they should get the bandwidth.
"More troubling, as Kevin Tofel over at Droxy pointed out, is the fact that people who don't do podcasting according to Apple's Podcasting Specification sheet* are cut out of the iTMS."
Boo hoo: you're getting free promotion from Apple. If you don't want it, don't upload. If you do, comply with their standards.
"What could have been a useful and reusable addition to the world of RSS is really rendered only fit for the single use of adding content into Apple's own iTunes store. Apple prove they know how to be cool, but they've got no idea about making friends on the web."
This is both exactly right and a half truth. There's no reason others couldn't use Apple's namespace. But who the hell said this was to promote some other site's directory or to make someone feel warm and fuzzy.
Winer's complaints are virtually useless. They duplicated two categories on purpose: so that Apple's would strictly fit within their interface and requirements and so that the feed could still contain your categories for wider distribution: this is a smart and good thing.
(Your warning about pdfs is stupid. Some of us prefer a spec in pdf. Probably most of us.)
Also, read the Reg's story on the features. Apple is possibly exposing itself to censorship issues, slander issues, and copyright infringement. They should not host: this is the right decision. They should have standards and restrictions. They should have their own namespace categories.
Reply
Lee said 7:16PM on 6-28-2005
hear hear tf. Im totally with you.
Reply
Robert Knight said 7:29PM on 6-28-2005
As far as the torrent support goes, I think bitTorrent has to shed some of the bad rep it has earned from the MPAA and RIAA. I think the technology is amazing in keeping bandwidth costs down for individuals. But the aforementioned all-powerful media entities have succeeded - for now - in painting torrent technology as a tool for media pirates. And anyone who shares music on a network with iTunes knows Apple has been more than willing cripple good technology with pitiful DRM protection.
Secondly, I think Apple wanted to jump on Podcasting and thus, this first incarnation of Podcasting support has "first release-itis." The affliction that comes from offering something to the public before you get it right. I expect Apple will listen to the chorus and make appropriate changes (torrent support) for iTunes 5.0.
Reply
Robert Knight said 7:40PM on 6-28-2005
tf,
If someone is getting paid exactly nothing (that's 0$) to do a podcast that has an enormous niche following, bandwidth becomes an issue. Everyone wants a wider audience, but if the advertising world doesn't pay any attention, the bandwidth costs are going to have to come from somewhere. That is an issue for small-time podcasters who do wonderful work for free. Pinching them off when the technology exists to help them out isn't fair.
And...
I like to think tuaw.com is a place where those of us who leave comments do so in a respectful way. Please keep that in mind. It's fine to disagree, just be nice about it.
Reply
LD said 7:55PM on 6-28-2005
Does TUAW really not understand why Apple uses .pdfs? Or why anyone does for that matter.
Reply
tf said 7:57PM on 6-28-2005
Robert, no one is pinching anyone. How is Apple pinching someone by offering them wider distribution and exposure?
If they can't cope with that, then they simply do not want it. Never Apple's fault.
I;ve shown no disrespect: get a sense of humor -- "boo hoo" is not going to hurt you; the pdf warning is stupid.
Reply
danb said 8:06PM on 6-28-2005
I'm concerned about the vetting of podcasts by Apple but I really do see where they are coming from.
We were never going to see full support across the board because the potential for Apple to be sued is so great. I like podcasting but Apple will never be able to fully support it's development and use.
Reply
brett said 10:52PM on 6-28-2005
Come on. It's not some conspiracy to keep the little guy out of podcasting. What are they supposed to do, build a bittorrent client into iTunes? Right. Someone will soon make a helper app that will interface with Azureus or whatever. But Apple sure as hell can't step into that legal nightmare. And of course they have a specification - standards are the best way to make sure everyone's podcast is *included* in iTunes, not excluded.
Not everything is a conspiracy against the little guy. Oh, and this comment-confirmation system really sucks.
Reply
LarriveeJP said 11:46PM on 6-28-2005
I think it's a little early to assume they won't use BitTorrent at all. They are aiding content delivery regardless of the tool used to do so. Most users probably don't know or care how the Podcasts get delivered in the background (at least in the beginning). To them, iTunes IS the delivery system. It's a safe bet that the geniuses at the MPAA and RIAA will see it this way as well if it suits them to do so.
BitTorrent and a 30-second skip are all that is missing to make this truly great in my opinion. BitTorrent keeps the indie casts in the game and a 30-second skip allows us to bypass the dreck that is sure to come along with the corporate podcasts.
Reply
Andrew Kaufmann said 12:39AM on 6-29-2005
Apple hosting podcasts is just way too big a legal nightmare, they'll never do it. I can't see any scenario where they would.
What I think will happen is tons of users wondering why it takes so long for their podcast to download when it's coming from a bandwidth-strapped server in Korea. Sooner or later, I think we'll see the Podcast page filled with disclaimers and warnings rather than content ;) I doubt we'll see Torrents -- even legal uses of it have been given a black eye by the publicity. Even if Apple were to support ways to spread out the bandwidth usage, it wouldn't be a "torrent." Too much negative pub on that word. They'd probably just come up with a similar proprietary system.
But I doubt that. How would user-friendly, virus-free, newbie-friendly Apple explain to a technophobe that when they download a podcast, other people will connect to their computer to download it? People would have a fit.
It's an important step for Podcasting to go mainstream -- get it into software that has widespread use. I think the kinks will work out eventually -- or at least, I hope they do.
Reply