After a recent three - workweek journeying ( see my September 2005 pillar ) , I was extremely well-chosen to return home . But I was taken aback by what I discover await for me there — agiganticstack of magazines , a TiVo bursting with show , the new Bob Mould CD , and the new Harry Potter Christian Bible . It was enough to overwhelm even a media freak like me .
It was a banquet for the locoweed , to be sure . But how would I observe the time to use up it all ? My spirit is already impregnate with media choice . I use my daily commute to read newspaper and cartridge clip , as well as the occasional playscript . After the kids are in layer , my married woman and I care to watch a spot of television . And now my Mac has added two more options : Podcasts and telecasting shows .
My Own Private Radio
Steve Jobs calls Podcasting “ TiVo for receiving set , ” and there ’s some truth to that . Just as TiVo ’s groundbreaking digital telecasting record-keeper and its competitors have give people unprecedented mastery over their TV showing , Podcasting lets you blame what kinds of audio program you require to hear to . And since Podcasts are distributed over the Internet , anyone can make a Podcast .
I really do n’t like the radio , mostly because I hate not being able to skip over stuff I do n’t desire to listen to . With Podcasts , you could not only pick the Podcasts you want to listen to , but also tight - forward through a Podcast or skitter it entirely if it starts to bore you .
Video in My Pocket
But Podcasts are n’t the only thing I ’m carrying around with me these days .
The latest piece of mephistophelian software system that is threatening to deflower my life-time is The Core Pocket Media Player , orTCPMP . TCPMP flirt various video formats on Palm and Windows CE machine , let in my Palm - powered Treo 650 cell phone . ( By the way , if you own a Treo , you should check out the excellentTreonauts blog . )
I ’ve got to admit that , thanks to TCPMP , I can sometimes be base on a northward evening bus watching reality TV show on my headphone . Is this a sign of the coming apocalypse ? I ’ll let you make up one’s mind .
What I’ve Learned
There are only so many minute in the solar day . By adding Podcasts and television set - on - Treo to my palette of culture medium options , I do n’t actually produce more time in my life to run through media . But these unexampled technologies have give me more freedom of choice , and that ’s a good matter . I can consume whatever suit my mood . I ’ve listened to that Bob Mould record album slews of time already , andHarry Potter and the Half - lineage Princesuccumbed in a matter of mean solar day . But I ’ve also mind to the lead scientist of NASA ’s Mars Rover missions interview on NPR , listen to Baseball Prospectus ’s Will Carroll deconstruct baseball game ’s steroid dirt , and , yes , watched the nefarious Team Guido seek to jockey their way to the top of the firstAmazing Race .
It has been a groovy media spread — and , I admit , my tummy hurts a piffling bit . As these applied science creep into our day-to-day lifespan , it ’s of import to keep that former expression in creative thinker : Moderation in all thing .
How have the connection , Podcasting , TiVo , and other technologies shift how you ingest media?Drop me a lineor visit our forums .
