I’m a little late on this one. Apple has made it’s Keynote from last Tuesday available on iTunes. If you are subscribed to Apple’s keynote podcast, then you should already have it. If not, you can follow this link [iTunes Link] and download it. Like I’ve said before, it’s about an hour and a half. If you’re a developer, I especially recommend viewing it.
I have always been a big fan of iTunes-U which it the part of the iTunes store that focuses on learning and educational institutions.
Usually I spend time browsing around places like MIT and Stanford to pick up some of the classes from a college i would never be able to go, recently i came across something i find way more interesting as a learning tool.
The Florida Center for Instructional Technology (here) has several podcast available that provide teaching aids and professional development for teachers. The best part is that they have audiobooks available and categorized by grade levels. Additionally you can find lesson plans and professional development podcast on math. Now those parents that have been out of school for a little too long can go and brush up a bit before trying to help the kids with their homework.
The grade appropriate material is a great idea for the kids that want to listen to an iPod because their sibling gets to but is a little too young to listen to teenage music. Now they can be cool and maybe learn something too.
Today the long-awaited iPhone/iPod Touch 2.2 firmware became available through iTunes, just as previous rumors had suggested. The new update includes everything we expected plus a little more.
Street View is now a feature of the Maps application and this is something I was looking forward to. I had chance to play around with it for a bit earlier today and it’s certainly quite impressive. It’s cool to take a walk around New York when you’re thousands of miles away. As well as routes for driving, Maps now also offers public transport and walking routes.
Podcast downloading is another feature included in the update. You can now download podcasts directly from iTunes on your device. The Safari bar has changed and now displays both the address and search bars side by side, just like the Safari browser for Windows & Mac. Other features in the update include improved sound quality for visual voicemail, fewer call drops and decreased call set-up failures, the option to turn off auto-correction when typing, plus lots more.
One thing that was rumored that hasn’t materialized was the ability to tether the iPhone and use it’s connection to access the internet on a computer. Some believed this would be another feature we would see in 2.2 however its absence is a disappointment.
The download weighs in at around 250MB but is certainly worth the wait. For more info, visit Apple’s software update page for the iPhone.
Podcast downloads enabled in iTunes
Since the iPhone 2.2 firmware has been seeded to developers, several leaks have surfaced that have given us some things to look forward to with the new software release. We recently posted an article that contained details on Google Street View, but we now have something else to get us that little bit more excited — podcast downloads!
German blog Schimanke.com has published pictures that show the new firmware downloading podcasts within iTunes on the iPhone. Over-the-air podcasts are something many users have been looking forward to, me included. I often find I’m not in the mood for music and fancy a good podcast, but chances are the ones I have on my iPhone I’ve listened to already, so the ability to download new podcasts on the device itself, I think, is a great feature.
It seems we have a lot to look forward to in the next update however, we are still yet to hear anything about the background push notification service that Apple promised in September. The service is designed to alert the user of various things without the need to have the an application running. For example, if you currently receive a message in Facebook, unless you have specific applications open, you would be unaware — but with the push notification feature, it’s possible you can be alerted of a new message without having the application running.
Apple seeded the Beta 2 of firmware 2.2 to developers in October, however we are yet to hear when the update will be released.
[ Source ]
I walk my dog three times a day and that gives me the opportunity to listen to lots of technology and Apple/Mac-related podcasts.
I’ve given up on most of the Leo Laporte ones – they seem to talk about nothing for over an hour and the people on them don’t portray that much knowledge. I get more accurate information from the web than I pick up on Leo’s podcasts (sorry, netcasts). The exception may be MacBreak Tech but the presenters of that are so pretentious I can’t stand listening to them.
However, that’s not to say I don’t like some podcasts. The MacCast is a favorite of mine. I also like the Macworld podcasts. However, the one I like the most is Mac OS Ken – it is the first podcast I listen to when it is available.
Ken Ray (the presenter and producer of the podcast) is trying to monetize the show by offering a members-only weekend edition for $10 per month. Now, that may be a bit pricey for some but there will still be five free shows per week.
So, do you have a particular Mac related podcast that you love (or hate?) and what do you think about paying for a podcast?
I’ve subscribed to Ken’s weekend edition and will let you know what I think of the show after the first month (when it will be time for me to decide whether to continue subscribing or cancel).
Recent Comments