More Updates to the Mobile Blog Reader
Isn’t it great when you invent something on your personal website that you can use on a project at your new job so you basically get to spend a day working on improving your personal project while getting paid?
Here’s the changes to our Mobile Blog Reader:
I gutted the MagpieRSS core and poured in a new SimplePie core. SimplePie does somethings I had to write myself in the first version all by itself, plus gives us more flexibility for the next feature. That and development is actually moving forward as opposed to lifeless and cold like a CSI extra.
We now support the reading of podcasts! Try the Naughty Sheets feed, its a podcast of erotic stories, found it on Google today. For each post that has an associated mp3 file, it loads an instance of a flash player and allows you to play the podcast right there on the page. Very cool.
I also changed socks half way through finishing this up tonight. I was walking in the linoleum closet I call my kitchen and I stepped in some water. I hate it when that happens.
If any of those changes bothered you, let me know. If you find a bug, let me know. If you love it, let me know. If you hate it, let me know. If you are hungry, here’s a suggestion…make a bread pizza.
Adam Curry Likes Himself, What a Shocker
No way! You mean to tell me that Adam Curry, former MTV VJ and one of the pioneers of Podcasting, was busting editing the Wikipedia entry on Podcasting to make himself look more important?! I know, I can’t believe it either! I think the real question here is: Why does anyone give a crap?! In fact, if there is a “side” to choose, I’m with Curry. Let me explain.
So you make a encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Very hippie, very peace and love, very cool…and also very dumb if you can honestly tell me that you never thought this would happen. Of course this is going to happen! This isn’t the first time, this won’t be the last time, and in fact, its probably happening right now. People are going to want to get themselves in the world-renowned Wikipedia, what a shocker, and if they are already in it, people will want to get a bigger piece of the pie. I thought this was known, I thought this was assumed, but for some reason, someone busted Curry editing the Podcast article a few times and now people are whining and making lame titled blog posts about it.
Isn’t the great Wikipedia able to handle this? What do you do if someone changes the Chicago Cubs page to read nothing but: “The Cubs suck!” (Well thats a bad example, being thats actually true and all.) ? You catch it and change it. That system goes on all the time everyday, and no one hears about it. This is no different. If the system is as great as everyone keeps telling everyone else, this should be a non-issue, a mere blip, nothing. Fix it, add Curry’s name to the list of millions of people that like themselves and go have a Coke.
So the guy tried to change a post. So what? I say good for Adam! He rolled the dice a few times and edited an article that pertained to him. If he did it and most people agreed with the changes, then they stay and until someone deletes that post and replaces with a picture of a girl with her top off get seems bigger and everything is fine. If no one likes his edits, then the big Wikipedia gods change it back and everyone goes on with our lives. Thats the way Wikipedia works: People change things, everyone discusses, actions are taken or not. You can almost here the Lion King soundtrack start to amp up…”Its the circle of life!!!” Curry rolled the dice and this time it came up craps. Oh well. Who cares. Let move on and let the Wikipedia guys worry about the kid in Tulsa that keeps editing things so that he co-stars in all of Hillary Duff’s movies.
Mike Is Hooked On DriveTime
I’m not that into Podcasts. I have one that I listen to regularly: This Week In Tech. And to be honest I really don’t do much in the way of exploring for new Podcasts because I feel like the pool has been too diluted with 16 year old Jimmy doing one about his Dungeons and Dragons games that it isn’t worth the effort to dig through the crap to find something good. Pretty much the same goes for Vodcasts (or whatever it is you call them), though to a lesser extent, I really don’t have the desire to go trolling around looking for stuff to watch. Now if the suggestion is made to go check something out that is known to be good, I will check it out. Such is the case when I read about DriveTime on BoingBoing the other day. I don’t know what it is, but I’m hooked on DriveTime.
What is DriveTime? Well, to quote the information in iTunes about it: “A video blog talk show produced during a driving commute through the streets of Boston.” It has guests that he picks up on his was to and from work and at times there is a co-host (his wife) when he picks her up and drops her off a work. Its exactly the type of fun little program that can come in a time where creating, editing and now publishing video content is something anyone with a desire can do.
Too bad I don’t live anywhere near Boston…it would be great to be a guest.
iTunes meets Podcasting
Apple has finally unveiled their latest update to iTunes. iTunes 4.9‘ only real new feature is its integrated support for podcasts (Don’t know what podcasting is? Click on the last link and Apple will be glad to tell you.)
I’ve already downloaded the new iTunes on my work PC and its not bad. Podcasts are directly integrated into iTunes just as you would think Apple would do it: Very smoothly. But the question is does anyone care? For those that are very serious podcast listners, and there are plenty of them out there, iTunes’ upgrade might not be enough power and have enough features for them. For me? I really only listen to the occasional podcast so this is great. Being able to deal with all of that in one application is what I was looking for. We’ll have to wait and see if Apple tries to make this into more of a business model that just the current model which is just making you pass through their store to get to the ‘casts.