Thing 17: Spring is Upon Us, and My Break Is Over.

So last week was good, but on to Thing 17. POD CASTS (echo echo echo)

These are basically a lot like You Tube without the visual element. I am familiar with MP3s, and yes that is a loss compression file format, and I would like to see the rise of FLAC, but we are not hear to argue that thread of thought.

I looked at Podcast and liked the format. It provided the user with on online streaming utilities, which is ideal. There is no need for a specific software to handle an one extension or another. There have been countless times where I have been stopped from listening to an audio clip because I didn't have Quicktime or RealAudio or whatever. I do happen to have the Windows Media Player, and it is okay, but not everything will play in it. MP3s will though. FLAC will not.So I like the online streaming utilities some sites provide. For better information about the pod casts, I did find out that a subscription is required, and since I am not that interested right now in setting up another account, I have no idea if it is a pay thing or not.

Next I looked at Podcast Alley. It did not provide the streaming utility. Instead it only allowed me to download the file, which played through my Media Player. The access was a little more limiting than Podcast for that reason, but the site was fairly easy to navigate, so I don't think I have too much of a preference between the two, other than the streaming.

Last I looked at Yahoo. I liked this least of all. It really seemed more like a store than a web 2.0 utility. It's ok.

So, what do I think about these? Well, if a student, and lets remember that my focus is academic, was looking for primary resources such as an interview, I think these are an excellent resource. It might be very possible to find interviews in some of these podcasts that are not available anywhere else. I really like the utility. As for creating podcasts for students to use, it could be useful. I'll have to think on that.

Next, Thing 18.