October 17, 2005

An iPod with Wi-Fi?

Apple can’t seem to go more than a week or two without some hot new announcement or rumor. The latest, courtesy of Mac OS Rumors, is that Apple is developing a Wi-Fi equipped iPod that can directly interface with with Airport Express networking stations and allow for streaming and downloading of audio content. Here’s the complete story:

A Wi-Fi iPod

It would an interesting and amazing little device. Imagine sitting at the airport or in line at the bank and being able to browse and download content to your phone. Having said that, that’s something that is also on the horizon for mobile phones. The iPod vs. mobile phone battle will be one to keep a close eye on. My money is on the mobile phone to win out in the long run. Who the heck wants to carry two devices when you can just carry one?

October 14, 2005

Audio Books Are Cool

I don’t really know the precise demographic for audio books. They’re not like comic books where the people they draw in all look, dress, and smell the same. But I do believe that audio books aren’t necessarily for nerds and they might even fit into the status of cool. I witnessed something tonight that proves their increasing status as a cool medium. I was in Beverly Hills and a car pulled up to a stop light. It was a Ford Mustang Convertible and the guy was blasting an audio book! It was not radio. It was a definite mystery/thriller-audiobook-narrator-voice bumping from his sports car so that everyone on the block could hear. I caught a good portion of it and at that volume the guy really wanted the world to know that audio books are now cool. So the next time you’re listening to a killer audio book, roll down your windows and blast the treble so that all the world will know: AUDIO BOOKS ARE COOL! Or you can just keep them hidden from your friends and secretly pull them out when you’re alone in rush traffic.

October 13, 2005

Richard Feynman

I just put up a Richard Feynman author page. For those of you that don’t know of him, Feynman is quite possibly one of the most popular physics teachers ever. He worked on the atom bomb, came up with so many breakthroughs its hard to name them all in one space, and was an all around eccentric and cool guy. His lecture series is expansive, and is possibly the best place for anyone interested in physics to start. I hope this page is useful!

p.s. I also just found out that late in his life Feynman was a major player in the commission that was put together surrounding the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. His views clashed with the official transcript and he managed to get a footnote added to showcase his different opinion on what happened during that horrible incident. What an awesome life this guy had.

October 12, 2005

The New Video iPod Has Arrived!

OK, so less than 48 hours ago I’m bitching about how options for video learning are more limited than for audio learning because of the lack of ability to “space shift.” With the iPod and other portable MP3 players that are out there, audio is almost entirely portable (with the exception that it’s still a pain in the ass to connect iPods and MP3 players to many vehicles). Video on the other hand is much less portable…at least until today.

Apple just announced their brand new video iPod at their “One more thing…” event in San Francisco. They have a cool new commercial that allow you to see the new iPod. Check it out:

New Video iPod Commercial

I just wandered down to the Apple Store here in Santa Monica and unfortunately they don’t have any video iPods in the store yet. I’d love to see the quality of the video first-hand. I’m also curious to see the screen size and try to gauge whether this is a viable platform for viewing and what type of video content might work best on the video iPod.

Regardless of whether the video iPod takes off, I think that this will be the day that people will look back on and point to as the beginning of the portability of video. Imagine what this allows me to do. I can take some video content, throw it on my iPod and watch in anywhere. On the train on the way into work in the morning…hooked up to my PC or laptop…through my new hi-def television (OK, wishful thinking there…).

Just as the original iPod (and other MP3 players) made music and spoken word content portable (do you remember the days of lugging cases of CDs around with you?!), I think that the new iPod will absolutely do the same thing for video. DVDs? What are those? I think as soon as a few years from now people might be asking that question.

It’s a brave new world and we’re glad to be a part of it. We’re excited to bring you educational and self-development video content in the coming months. So when you do get that brand spankin’ new iPod for the holidays make sure y’all come back here to fill it up!

Before I go, here are some more cool links related to the new iPod:

“One more thing…” Special Event Video
Engadget’s First Impressions of the new iPod
How to get your own videos onto the iPod

October 11, 2005

Help us Change This!

There’s a cool website called ChangeThis.com that I’ve been a fan of for quite a while. They invite authors to write “manifestos” that propose new ideas and ways of looking at the world. In the past they’ve had some pretty cool manifestos from the likes of Tom Peters, Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin.

I have a proposal listed on their site right now. It would be a manifesto about audio learning and its ability to revolutionize peoples’ lives. If you have a minute (it won’t even take a minute), please cast a vote for the proposal at the following URL:

http://www.changethis.com/proposals/545

The more votes the proposal gets, the more likely that it will be turned into a full-blown manifesto.

Thanks in advance for helping to support the Audio Learning Revolution!

October 11, 2005

Podcast Show Notes: Oct 11th, 2005

Audio Learning Revolution Podcast for Oct 11th, 2005

• Intro Music – “Warning” by DJ Lennoxx from garageband.com

• Introduction
  – Direct Link to the show
  
  – Link to Feeds for Audio Learning Revolution podcasts
  
  – Link to LearnOutLoud.com Podcast Directory
  
  – Comments or Questions about the Podcast directory E-mail
  – Promo: Link to Animal Voices Podcast.

• Interlude Music – “Fast Jazz and Funky” by Larry Seyer from The Podsafe Music Network

• Science Podcasts
  – Link to Science Podcast Category Page.
  
  – Link to The Naked Scientists Science Radio Show Podcast
  
  – Link to Disaster News Network Podcast
  
  – Link to Slacker Astronomy Podcast
  
  – Link to Science@Nasa Podcast

• Social Science Podcasts
  – Link to Social Science podcast category page
  
  – Link to NOW – PBS Podcast
  
  – Link to the Here On Earth podcast
  
  – Link to A Time for Choices Podcast

• Interlude Music – “Run Rabbit/The Chase” by BRAIN BUCKIT from The Podsafe Music Network

• Sports & Hobby Podcasts
  – Link to Sports & Hobbies Podcast Category Page.
  
  – Link to Winecast Podcast
  
  – Link to Grape Radio Podcast
  
  – Link to Wine Making Radio Podcast
  
  – Link to Crushing Grape Podcast
  
  – Link to Endurance Radio Podcast
  
  – Link to General Aviation Weekly Podcast
  
  – Link to Rockets Away! Radio Podcast

• History Podcasts
  – Link to History Podcast Category Page.
  
  – Link to Speeches and Historical Audio Podcast
  
  – Link to History According to Bob Podcast

• Interlude Music – “Watcher of the Skyline” by m7 from The Podsafe Music Network

• Misc Podcast Categories
  – Link to Languages Podcast Category Page.
  
  – Link to Very Vocabulary Podcast
  
  – Link to Literature Podcast Category Page.
  
  – Link to Crackle Back Short Stories Podcast

• Outro – “El Puente Closing Theme” by Larry Seyer from The Podsafe Music Network

  – Link to Audio Learning Revolution podcast page

October 11, 2005

Space Shifting

I heard another great phrase today which got me thinking. I’ve had to explain podcasting to more than a few people lately and one of the words I often use is “timeshifting” which is essentially the TiVo-like ability that allows you to listen to what you want, when you want. But for me that didn’t really do podcasting justice. There was something else there…

Then I heard the phrase “spaceshifting” today and it fell into place. You see it’s not just that I can listen to what I want when I want. It’s also that I can listen to what I want where I want. With my iPod my content follows me around. I can be at the office or in my car or out for a jog and I’ll still have my same audio books and podcasts with me. I think that’s one of the things I’m most digging about podcasting and audio learning in general.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for video learning. With video, in most cases, I’m still somewhat tethered. If it’s a DVD course I need to be at a PC or TV with a DVD player. Then I have to load up the DVD (usually takes a few minutes), figure out where I am, etc. It’s not the instant gratification that we’re coming to expect in our society.

Let me give you another example of this. I was checking out Integral Naked tonight and was a bit bummed that most of the content was video (I promised I would tell you why…). If all of the stuff was audio I think I would be stoked. I’d download it all to the ol’ iPod and that would be the end of it. But with video I honestly don’t know if I’ll find the time to sit down and watch all of it. The files are short and since I have to be at a PC I can’t just crash on my couch and watch it.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the potential for video learning. There are many things that are so much easier to learn when you combine video with audio. But we’ve still got a long way to go. I want to be able to load all my video content on a portable device and be able to watch it on the device anywhere I am or plug it in to my laptop, PC, TV, etc. if I want a bigger screen. Give me time shifting and space shifting and then it’ll be off to the races.

Of course that’s probably a ways off…unless Apple decides to go ahead and announce the new video iPod at their “One More Thing” event tomorrow. 🙂

October 10, 2005

Integral Naked

David did a great job of highlighting some good sites for MP3 downloads of great authors and teachers a couple of days ago. I’ll add one more to the mix: Integral Naked. It’s an interesting collection of audio and video self-development material with interviews with such luminaries as Deepak Chopra and Tony Robbins.

In Integral’s own words:

Integral Naked is a multimedia doorway to the world of integral awareness. Conversations, performances, live events—all involving the most influential, provocative, and important thinkers and leaders in the world. Often these are moderated by Ken Wilber, considered the most influential integral theorist today, and his colleagues at Integral Institute.

It’s a $10 monthly subscription which is pretty cheap considering the wealth of material. I was a bit bummed that most of it is video rather than audio (more on that later…) but it’s still a pretty cool collection of content. I listened to a couple of interviews that Ken did with Tony Robbins today and was pretty impressed by what I heard.

Definitely go check it out as you’ll have some more good stuff to stick into your iPod.

(Kudos to my buddy Bri for the tip on this one.)

October 9, 2005

The Dan Millman Podcast

I’m proud to announce the launch of another new podcast. We just put the wraps on the first episode of the Dan Millman Podcast. Dan is one of our all-time favorite authors and an amazing teacher. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Dan, here’s a brief bio:

Dan Millman is a former world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor, and college professor. His books, including Way of the Peaceful Warrior, The Journeys of Socrates, and The Life You Were Born to Live have inspired millions of readers in 29 languages.

If you’ve read or listened to any of Dan’s book we’re pretty sure you’ll love the podcast. You can check out the first episode here:

https://www.learnoutloud.com/millmanpodcast

If you dig it make sure to subscribe to the podcast using iTunes, Odeo or your other preferred podcatching apparatus. We’d love to hear your thoughts as well. Please feel free to send feedback on the Dan Millman Podcast to suggestions@learnoutloud.com.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out our Dan Millman author page. In addition to the podcasts we have links to nine other audio titles and as well as his Peaceful Warrior Workout DVD.

We’re honored to be able to bring you Dan’s podcast and we hope that you have as much fun listening to it as we had putting it together.

October 9, 2005

MP3 Downloads of Great Lecturers & Speakers

We just put up three new publisher pages for What Is Enlightenment?, The Great Lecture Library, & iAmplify:

www.learnoutloud.com/whatisenlightenment
www.learnoutloud.com/greatlecturelibrary
www.learnoutloud.com/iamplify

These are three great publishers that offer downloadable lectures from leading speakers in a wide variety of fields. What Is Enlightenment? features speakers that discuss the latest trends in spirituality, psychology, religion, politics, science, and other topics. For $10/month you can subscribe to them and have access to all their streaming audio and video as well as the ability to download all their audio content on MP3. They’ve got samples of all their titles and they offer a free one month trial that gives you access to all their content.

The Great Lecture Library is a digital audio library of 1200 lectures and sermons from over 600 speakers that have been recorded at the Chautauqua Institution over the past 35 years. These lectures cover a vast array of topics and can be purchased a $5.95 per lecture or for an annual subscription fee you have access to all their lectures through streaming audio as well as a set number of audio downloads. They have a 15 day free trial that gives you access to all their lectures through streaming audio.

iAmplify features MP3 audio downloads from fitness professionals, lecturers, spiritual leaders, and self help speakers like Marianne Williamson and Barbara De Angelis. Users can browse through 24 different topics with downloadable programs on personal growth, yoga, parenting, and a wide variety of exercises. Once programs have been purchased they can be downloaded as MP3s or played through streaming audio.

So check out these publishers for great original audio content that you can download and take with you.