Of course I do.

I’ve just spent a few minutes at the UK Apple online store IMing with a guy called Paddy who was able to confirm that the new iPod touch can download podcasts over wifi but only if you create the subscription on the device. It would appear that the touch won’t import podcast subscriptions that you may already have setup in iTunes on your PC/Mac. Somewhat disappointing given that I’m going to have to create all my existing 42 podcast subscriptions all over again.

UPDATE (22.10.07): It seems pretty clear from the comments that the iPod touch DOES NOT download podcasts over wifi and I was mislead by the guy at the UK Apple online store. So, no iPod touch for me then!

I’ve been concentrating on my music show and a couple of stealth video projects using Blip.tv which IMHO is far superior to YouTube. Anyway, don’t expect too much in the way of action around here for a while.

Should you wish to keep up with what I’m up to you can find me here, here, here, here and here.

Well, I finally got me a Nokia N95 and it hasn’t disappointed. It does everything I could want and it has effectively replaced my iPod which I now view now as such a closed, dumb device (unless the next generation has built in wi-fi).

As a phone it’s predictably excellent but it really comes into it’s own when the wi-fi is activated. I download and play audio and video podcasts effortlessly. With the 2GB microSD card in place I have room for hundreds of tunes. I can upload photos and videos to the web using third-party app’ Shozu. The still/ video camera is superb. The 5 mega-pixel Carl Zeiss lens shoots wonderful stills and captures astounding 4 mega-pixel video.

I’ve installed Opera Mini to browse the web, the Gmail app for email and Jajah for Voip,  Fring for free Skype voice calls and messaging and Jaiku just for fun.

Really, some day all mobiles devices will be made this way.

Could the new Nokia N95 be the answer to my audio/ video podcast needs? It would appear so. Now, I’ve just got to get me one.

My iPod died yesterday. Initially I was really pissed off but then realised I used it mostly to listen to podcasts which I can do almost as easily on my Nokia N70 phone. Problem solved.

It also had over 5,000 tracks on which are stored in iTunes but what do I use to listen to them on the go now? Question is do I get a new iPod for all my songs and to watch all the video podcasts I now subscribe to but don’t get a chance to see?

I’m using Netvibes as a full-on media consumption and creation manager and as such it’s proving to be amazing.

I can upload, store and playback mp3s. I can do all my show preparation right up to recording (for which I use Castblaster) and then use it to manage all post recording managing and posting.

I also use it read all my RSS feeds as well as watch all the video content I subscribe to which it plays right in the page. I used to live in Google Reader but right now I can’t see me going outside Netvibes. Pageflakes is for geeks. Netvibes is for the rest of us.

I’ve been hankering after a video iPod for many months now as a way of watching much of the video content I subscribe to in iTunes. The thinking goes like this: I don’t have time to watch things like Rocketboom, Ze Frank or The Scoble Show at work or at home so the ideal time would be during my train commute to and from work. It is during this period that I consume most, if not all, the audio podcasts I download.

Yesterday I did a little experiment. I transferred a few videos on to my Nokia N70 to see how I enjoyed the videos in anticipation of a video iPod. Funny thing was I didn’t enjoy them at all. And not because of the relative quality of the screen but because it just didn’t feel right. The screen captured all my attention and this felt uncomfortable. I can’t really explain why but audio is in many ways more powerful than video. The only places I can comfortably dedicate all my attention to a screen is in a cinema or at home in front of the TV. But not out in the world where there are so many distractions. It’s interesting how audio lets you comfortably split your attention between the sounds coming in and whatever else might be going on around you. When I’m out in the world I like to interact with it and not ignore it which mobile video, alas, has a tendency to make me do.

For some reason, I still want a video iPod though. Damn you Steve Jobs.

Finally Google Reader embeds and plays videos from Google Video, YouTube and a few others. It only plays the video if it’s embedded in the original web page however and not if it’s an enclosure. Shame. I want Google Reader to play video podcasts in the same way it plays audio podcasts.

I love my iPod but it’s an ageing 4th generation version with no video capabilities. I need a video iPod to watch my videos on the go but I don’t want to buy the current version as it will probably be obsolete when the new version appears. I’m also on a budget.

Now this had made things very interesting. Seagate has just announced a new product called DAVE, which stands for “Digital Audio Video Experience.” Here’sthe lowdown from Robert Scoble who filmed the announcement.

What is it?

It’s a small black box. Costs less than $200. It’s thin, fits into a shirt pocket.

It has a small USB port on one side. And an on/off switch.

But, other than that, there’s no other interface on it.

This is no Apple iPhone.

But, here’s the rub. Inside is a small hard drive. 10GB or 20GB. That’s the “Seagate” part of this.

There’s also a Bluetooth and Wifi antenna.

That’s it.

“So, Scoble, that sounds really lame.”

I don’t think so — this is a new kind of wireless device that enables a whole bunch of new scenarios, particularly around cell phones, which is why I wanted Steve Jobs to see this — it’d be an awesome way to add on more music to the new Apple iPhone which I’m planning to buy in June (this comes out in May). Oh, I forgot something. There’s also a software API. They’ve already used that API to build an interface for Symbian and Windows Mobile cell phones. So, you get a new cell phone that only has 4GB of internal flash storage but you want to drag around more media? You’ll want D.A.V.E.

I can see a whole number of scenarios. Particularly for digital photographers, or people who want to carry a lot of stuff around with them in their pockets (this is far more useful to me than one of those USB memory drives, because I can keep a couple of these in my backpack and get to them via Wifi or BlueTooth (Bluetooth works up to about 30 feet from your cell phone or computer, Wifi goes even further).

As well as my iPod I also carry around a Bluetooth enabled Nokia N70 phone which could act as the visual interface to DAVE. Or I could use my Bluetooth and Wifi enabled Orange SPV500 Windows Smartphone as well.

The separation of the storage media from the interface seems so obvious it hurts. The next best thing to storing the date in the Cloud which is prohibitive because of mobile carrier date costs.

I’ll be watching this very closely.

I already use Google Reader to aggregate and listen to podcasts when I’m on other PCs  so how long will it be before I can watch video podcasts too? Not long surely given that Google already has an online video product. I just wish they’d hurry up!

googlereader, video

A great little movie made by Steph. Shot on an old Fuji Finepix digital camera and edited using Windows Moviemaker.

Dave Winer posits that Martin Scorsese’s latest, The Departed is possibly the best movie ever made. Mmm. It’s certainly very good but it felt like the kind of movie any half decent thriller director could have made. If I’d watched this film without knowing who had directed it I would never have known it was a Scorsese picture.

The star is Leonardo DiCaprio turning in a stunning performance making Matt Damon look a little wooden. Mark Wahlberg is excellent. Jack Nicholson is, well, Jack Nicholson and Ray Winstone is completely out of place.

Technorati tags: film, movie, cinema, thedeparted, martinscorsese

That’s the message from ex-president Jimmy Carter who is urging American Demcocrats living abroad to register to vote at www.VoteFromAbroad.org.

Technorati tags: vote, elections, politics, democrats, midtermelections, abroad, votefromabroad, jimmycarter