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June 28, 2005
iTunes 4.9 with Podcasting - "Wayne's World Programming"
OK - so I'm surfing tonight and decide to see if the new iTunes with Podcast support is available - and voila - it is! I downloaded it just now, and here's my stream-of-consciousness experience:
I click the Podcast button. I see an empty list of Podcasts. I click Podcast directory. The Music Store opens. Where's the Podcast button? I have to click AudioBooks to find it. Not a great start.
Found categories, and search. So... any checking for dead Podcasts? I search for my favorite dead show, the Miller Report, and it's found! However, I'm not able to play any of the episodes listed, and it tells me so. Which is what I expect. Our Replay Media Guide checks all Podcasts daily to be sure they are working, and delists those that fail to have a valid MP3 file.
(Keep in mind this is a somewhat biased review, as I've spent a lot of time personally creating our Podcast client and guide.)
Search just looks for titles (descriptions) and authors. No show notes. We've done better with our guide. Also, substring searches don't work. Try searching for "urry".
Oh yeah - the presentation is really nice. Apple always does a nice job with this.
Show notes display is a little kludgy - lots of blank space in Daily Source Code.
Episode download works well.
Can't play an episode without downloading it. Major bummer. Most people listen from the Web.
OK - so I'm now exploring categories. I go to Technology, Podcasting. A bunch of Podcasts appear. I click Podcast 411. It starts playing the show from Dec. 31, 2004. What???? Maybe this is where the promo is supposed to go. It's the last entry in the RSS feed.
How about BitTorrent support??? I can see the RIAA raising a shitstorm with Apple if they include BitTorrent. Let's go try to download AirAmerica's Al Franken, which is BT. Tried Evil Genius, too. Can't do it. Not surprising.
I click the dang Podcast Directory button, and it brings me to the Music Store, with no link for Posdcasts. Annoying.
The category browser is weird - the column heading for Artist is actually a Podcast category.
There's no single click to a Home page for Podcasts. You always have to go through the Music store. It's like being in a hotel/casino, where you always have to go through the casino to get to your room. Also annoying.
OK - this is where it gets really bad. How the heck do you find these Podcasts on your iPod when you download them? Daily Source Code has a Genre of "Music". Huh? How am I supposed to set up a smart playlist for my Podcasts? Replay Radio automatically retags the genre as "replay radio" so they are easy to organize.
(Update: The Podcasts sync to a built-in Playlist called "Podcasts". I guess you just have to know this. On the plus side, the titles in the "Podcasts" playlist come out nice. On the minus side, there's no way to further manage these (like filtering if PlayCount=0 for unheard Podcasts.)
Looked at the preferences for Podcasts. Pretty basic. Replay Radio has more options.
Also - the directory isn't totally complete. Our 2 minute infomercial Podcast for Replay Music is nowhere to be found. Maybe there's some sort of editorial discretion going on.
OK - that's a pretty thorough run-through. I've seen enough. It's "Waynes World Programming".
I feel better about what we're doing now that the unknown is known. Quality tools for subscribing and listening will attract users. Apple's implementation is half-hearted, for sure. It's kinda like AOL. Replay Radio
and the Replay Media Guide is like the entire internet. People will start with iTunes, then wonder if there's something else out there, and hopefully they will find us.
(Plus, we can record radio broadcasts too. Apple can't/won't touch that!)
Posted by Bill Dettering at June 28, 2005 02:01 AM
Comments
The 'Apple experience' works when they have full control over the totality of elements. Podcasting is getting a lot of press. The casual reader would believe its fully formed. It is not.
So Apple is betting that Podcasting will become professional and polished. And, some of it will (ie NPR and ABC, etc).
But, to me, the real interest of a podcast is its unpredictability. As a kid growing up in New York seeing 'The Soupy Sales Show' with its unscripted comedy and 'anything-can-happen' attitude was what made TV interesting.
It will be interesting to see if Apple can deal with podcasting's unpredictabilty or try to homogenise it.
Posted by: giansky at June 28, 2005 04:51 PM
For your readers who want a visual tour of subscribing to a podcast within the new iTunes, I invite them to check out:
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_subscribe_to_podcasts_with_itunes.html
I didn't go as in-depth as you did, Bill, but it's a nice quick hit on the basics.
Posted by: Dave Taylor at June 28, 2005 11:12 PM
I think you got a real early start on the functionality. A lot of the issues you mention where from using iTunes 4.9 before the official announcement, so there was some functionality that wasn't turned on yet. There is definitely a dedicated Podcasts directory that you are taken to in the Music Store when you click on the link in the Podcasts entry. If I were you, I would edit your post above, or post again, now that everything is up.
And there is an update ot the iPod that puts a dedicated Podcasts entry under Music, but I turned it on as a top-level menu.
Posted by: Dave at June 29, 2005 07:42 AM
[Bill's repsonses in brackets...]
Your review is wrong in innumerable ways:
"Can't play an episode without downloading it." Not sure about your complaints. This is a perfectly natural way of working for iTunes; this isn't a dedicted podcast reader. Sounds like you've never used iTunes before.
"Can't play an episode without downloading it." Yes, you can. I'm having no problems.
[You're right - it works now. But I can't download just a single episode.]
"Let's go try to download AirAmerica's Al Franken, which is BT."
Al Franken is available. Downloaded fine. But no, Apple currently doesn't support BT.
[There are 2 Franken feeds. One is MP3, one is BT. How are users supposed to know which is which?]
"How the heck do you find these Podcasts on your iPod when you download them?"
There's a category separate from Music called "Podcasts" whether or not the category is "Music."
"How am I supposed to set up a smart playlist for my Podcasts?"
[I updated the blog.]
Easy, Podcasts are separated. Create a playlist of whatever criteria within Podcasts.
[That's cumbersome. There's no way to segregate just Podcasts.]
"Also - the directory isn't totally complete. Our 2 minute infomercial Podcast for Replay Music is nowhere to be found. Maybe there's some sort of editorial discretion going on."
It's not supposed to be a complete directory. Yes, there is an editorial process.
"I've seen enough."
Have you? It sounds like you didn't read any of the literature or specs. It sounds like you've never used iTunes. You apparently don't have an iPod. It sounds like you downloaded the app and checked it for about 2 minutes. Most people would consider that an inappropriate and highly lacking review and attempt to understand what Apple's doing.
[I've had an iPod for 18 months, and i do use iTunes. I spent about 90 minutes with the Podcast area when it was released on Tuesday.]
"I feel better about what we're doing now that the unknown is known."
You sound bitter: only comparing this: which is much more a marketplace for Podcasts with Podcast readers. Bad comparison even if you are only looking out for your own interests.
"I feel better about what we're doing now that the unknown is known."
I think you are seriously underestimating what this is. But feel safe and comfortable. Keep the geeks, lose the mainstream.
[This is really the AOL of Podcasting. If it builds suport for the medium, that's great. But the point is that Apple could have done a better job, and that we are filling a useful niche for people who want to enjoy the true potential of Podcasting, which isn't the corporate content.]
Posted by: Goebbels at June 29, 2005 11:01 AM
"But the point is that Apple could have done a better job." In the time available? How do you know that? Did you guys get every one of your products exactly right on version 1.0?
Posted by: cliff at June 29, 2005 02:44 PM