Welcome Winecast Listeners

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.