by cameron | Jun 4, 2007 | Podcast, Uncategorized
For years now I’ve had people ask me about podcast transcriptions. So I’m pleased to announce that TPN has just started working with UK company Pods In Print to provide transcripts for some of our shows. We’re going to start with a couple to test out demand – G’Day World, Digital Photography Show and Napoleon.
Tom Price, the guy behind Pods In Print, has real live human beings doing the transcriptions, which is important. I haven’t found a software solution yet that could even begin to handle TPN’s range of dialects – my Aussie accent, Ewan’s Scottish accent, Dave’s geek accent….
Anyway the first transcript available is the Vint Cerf interview. Get it here. Access to the transcripts requires a subscription. It’s US$12.95 for one month or $120 a year.
Would love to get feedback on the service.
by cameron | Jun 2, 2007 | Podcast, Uncategorized
… I learned from Wikipedia and The Podcast Network.
You know you want one.
Buy one now.
by cameron | Jun 1, 2007 | Australian media, Iraq
James Packer is selling down another 25% of PBL, taking his ownership to a minority share. I predicted this last October when Packer first announced he was selling off PBL.
As I pointed out back then, you probably won’t hear the mainstream media talking about the real reason Packer is selling down. They will focus on the his interest in gambling. Sure sure. Gambling is swell. But Packer doesn’t need to sell off PBL to get into gambling. He is James Packer. This isn’t like your university drop-out brother selling his PS2 so he can upgrade. The real reason (IMHO) that Packer is selling off PBL is that he wants to get out while he still can! He knows what we know, what Buffett and Gates and Murdoch know. The old media business is dead in the water. It’s a floater, just waiting for CSI to come along and fish it out with a long gaff so someone can autopsy the corpse.
Murdoch is the only guy who is still buying old media assets (apart from the vulture PE firms who can’t wait to pick the flesh off the bones… oh and Sam Zell). That’s because Rupert thinks he can just buy EVERYTHING. This is his last great gasp before he shuffles off to the Great Satellite Network in the Sky. He’s like Kane, buying all of the antiques of Europe, and then stuffing them into a warehouse somewhere in New Jersey, where a few years from now, a handful of guys will be sorting through them, chucking them into a great oven. I wonder if Rupert’s last dying words will be “Advertiserrrrr….”??
So anyway… I guarantee you won’t see a single mainstream media article in this country talk about the real reason why Packer is getting the hell out of dodge. Why? Because no-one wants to admit that their industry is on its last legs. The only old media guys I’ve met who are able to admit that are the ones that have resigned and walked away before the crash. Like Hugh Martin. I’m pretty sure Mark Jones would, but he’s still apparently counting on them for a pay cheque until he’s earning his keep from Yahweh.
And you won’t see Today Tonight, the kids that LOVE to throw the book at drunk drivers, talking about how their boss, Peter Meakin, has been sentenced to 18 month jail (on weekends) for trying to dodge a booze bus while he pissed behind the wheel. Nice one Pete. Nice to see his former colleagues at Nine News dancing on his grave as well. Classy, fellas.
And I doubt you’ll see any of them talking about the privatization of Iraq oil that I mentioned this morning.
Prove me wrong.
by cameron | Jun 1, 2007 | Uncategorized
A big THANK YOU to Mick Hanna in TPN IT. The G’Day World feed is now unborkified. Turns out it was just one of the many problems we’ve had as we’ve tried to install PodPress. Dan has built a great app and it works great with new installs, but every time we’ve tried to install it over the top of one of our existing shows, all hell breaks loose. Enclosures break, feeds breaks, it’s a nightmare. Especially on a show like this with 300 podcasts in it’s archive. The idea of rolling it out across all 100 TPN shows is terrifying.
If anyone out there has managed to install PodPress over the top of an existing show and not run into major issues I’d love to hear from you.
by cameron | Jun 1, 2007 | Uncategorized
Filmmaker Brian Flemming (GDAY WORLD #210) had a interesting post on his blog today about Uri Geller. Those of you born after 1980 might not even know the name, but he was pretty famous in the 70s and 80s as an Israeli guy who had the power of telekinesis.
Now – I’ve always been a fan of Geller’s. I even read his autobiography when I was a kid. I never had any doubts that he was a simple magician – a prankster, a trickster. But he was so good at it! I love to be amazed. It happens so rarely.
That doesn’t mean I totally discount that telekinesis might be possible. Who doesn’t want the force pull? Damn, I have spent countless hours over my life trying to make that shit work. One day – with the help of aliens or AI, I intend to have it. I won’t rest until I have it. I MUST HAVE IT.
But I don’t think Uri has it. And Brian pointed me to a list of fabulous videos by famed skeptic James Randi which are on YouTube and totally blow all of Geller’s techniques. They are stunning viewing. I still didn’t pick the tricks until Randi would stop the video, explain it, and THEN, when you watch it again, it is so obvious, it’s silly.
But goddamn, this guy is GOOD!!! You have to appreciate that. Magic on TV for all these years and he is still (almost) getting away with it.
