Apple, as part of its new podcasting initiative, has added extra metadata for iTunes to use. Naturally, when you touch any existing “open” standard as a corporation, you get a shitstorm of criticism. That’s not to say that sometimes it’s not deserved, but a lot of the time resentment forces out more criticism than is necessary or real. Dave Winer and Edd Dumbill both had some beefs. I know, I know. It’s a real shocker that Dave is pissed. Edd seems to be a little more balanced, but still misses some important points.
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I went through my list of podcasts last night, transferring them from NetNewsWire to iTunes. One of my absolute favorites is the Winecast. Check it out. Even if you don’t drink a lot of wine or know pretty much nothing, this podcast is a pleasure to listen to. I can’t speak for experienced wine drinkers, but for a novice like me, the show is a godsend. It explains the origins of various wine varieties.
I was really dismayed to find when I first added it to iTunes that iTunes choked on it, displaying that infuriating exclamation point symbol. I couldn’t figure it out. NetNewsWire dealt with it fine, so what was iTunes issue? It turns out, iTunes will whine about podcasts if all audio attached entries have slipped off the feed. This is what happened with the Winecast.
I got in touch with Tim, who makes the Winecast. He explained to me the issue. I noticed that he was using WordPress. I also use WordPress (though I don’t make it as obvious as most people) and I knew that one could configure the syndication (RSS) portion to publish more entries. This mitigates the risk of adding enough text entries to bump all audio attached entries. Sure, it’s not perfect (you can still post text entries and bump audio enclosures by adding the number of entries contained within the feed itself), but it works well enough and Winecast was restored to working order in iTunes.
Tim was kind enough to thank and link me, a gesture I very much appreciate.
I woke up this morning and was alerted to the availability of the much discussed 4.9. Really, it’s the most feature-rich update to iTunes I can remember since version 4 debuted with the iTunes Music Store capability. Every release since has been pretty lackluster.
iTunes 4.8 added the capability to play music videos, but really, there haven’t been any really compelling new features added, in my opinion. I’ll be taking screenshots later as well as reviewing how I’ll be using it. Really, this should have been iTunes 5.0, but maybe Apple has some other really compelling feature(s) to add beyong this, but I doubt it. Here’s a breakdown of what iTunes has added starting with iTunes 4.0.
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In yet another landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled against Grokster. Now, upon first examination, I thought this was a very bad thing. However, reading the Groklaw article on the ruling has put some of my fears to rest.
In fact, the Sony decision isn’t infringed upon. From the decision:
We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promotion its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.
Basically what sets this case apart is the fact that Grokster was marketing specifically for illegal activities. It wasn’t just turning a blind eye; it was assisting in the act.
I revisited PimpMySafari and one of the three must have utilities was Safari Stand. I wasn’t sure I would be impressed and I’m always afraid of slowing down Safari with more stuff. I’ve been keeping it pretty lean with just PithHelmet and AcidSearch.
So far, I like what it brings to the table. It has a lot of neat features, like adding keyword searching, auto download window closing, and my personal favorite, source editing. You can visit a web page, tweak the source code and see the result of your change right in the Safari window.
You don’t really think they had the following headline at CNN, did you?
Well, it’s not entirely unbelievable, but I doubt it’s front page news. Anyway, at the low, low price of free, Safari Stand is worth a download.
