Tuesday, May 29, 2007
iProng Radio #37 with guest co-host Adam Christianson of the MacCast
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
On this week's show:
On iProng Radio episode #37, Bill Palmer and guest co-host Adam Christianson of the MacCast discuss the impending launch of DRM-free music and the Paul McCartney catalog in the iTunes Store and whether the two might be connected, as well as Microsoft's "iPod amnesty bin" for its Zune division.
Adam Christianson of the MacCast fills in as guest co-host
In this super-sized episode, Adam sticks around for the second segment as he and Bill discuss the forthcoming iPhone in depth, ranging from battery life to why some iPhone users may not give up their current carrier after all, and Adam makes his sure-fire prediction for the iPhone's release date. Dana Sanders drops us a line from Mexico, and iProng Radio's roster of guest co-hosts still has room for you if you think you have what it takes.
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
On this week's show:
On iProng Radio episode #37, Bill Palmer and guest co-host Adam Christianson of the MacCast discuss the impending launch of DRM-free music and the Paul McCartney catalog in the iTunes Store and whether the two might be connected, as well as Microsoft's "iPod amnesty bin" for its Zune division.
Adam Christianson of the MacCast fills in as guest co-host
In this super-sized episode, Adam sticks around for the second segment as he and Bill discuss the forthcoming iPhone in depth, ranging from battery life to why some iPhone users may not give up their current carrier after all, and Adam makes his sure-fire prediction for the iPhone's release date. Dana Sanders drops us a line from Mexico, and iProng Radio's roster of guest co-hosts still has room for you if you think you have what it takes.
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Studio 60 is back (sort of)
So I'm watching some kind of Genesis tribute, and for some reason Robin Williams is introducing them. He's just launched into full Robin Williams mode and I'm having flashbacks to Macworld Expo and fully expecting that any minute he'll once again reach over and rip off Matt Saye's scalp. But the real reason I'm laying fingers to keys this evening is the fact that, after a few months of being missing in action, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is finally back on the air.
Kind of anticlimactic though, seeing as how NBC just announced its fall schedule and Studio 60 ain't on it.
That could change, but I suppose only if the ratings for these six new episodes shoot through the roof and cause the NBC execs to magically see the collective error of their ways. So going into this evening's episode I was holding out some degree of hope that somehow it just might happen.
Then I saw the episode. Oops. It was loud, chaotic, messy, plotless, and all but entirely lacking in the intelligent dialogue that made Studio 60 so eminently watchable in the first place. Not to mention the fact that the show's two main stars didn't appear at any point in the episode. Alright, so I didn't hate it. It was cool to see Allison Janney referencing the West Wing, particularly the part where she couldn't remember the name of it and then had the name fed to her by the same actor her West Wing character ended up marrying. Okay, so it's like the Gage Whitney reference, you get that kind of stuff or you don't.
But for the most part the highlights of the episode were the sight gags, and that's just sad. This was the first time in the (admittedly brief) history of the series where the episode ended and I wasn't inclined to rewind it and immediately watch the whole thing over again. What bums me is that while I can live with one lame episode, tonight was probably the show's one chance to build a wider audience and somehow squeak its way into a second season. But I think those hopes died with this episode.
Maybe I'm being overly harsh on this episode because I know that in all likelihood these characters will cease to exist in five episodes, without any of them having had time to be fully developed, and I no longer want to put any effort into becoming emotionally vested in what will ultimately go down in television history as half-formed thoughts. There have been other shows I've liked but immediately stopped watching when I heard that the plug had been prematurely pulled. That won't be the case here, but these next five episodes just might be as painful as they are enjoyable.
This episode was written before the show was placed on hiatus, so I'm wondering if NBC had told Sorkin to start dumbing it down in order to reach a wider (dumber) audience in the hopes of saving the show. We'll see if it gets any better next week, but in the mean time this has me seriously bummed all around.
So I'm watching some kind of Genesis tribute, and for some reason Robin Williams is introducing them. He's just launched into full Robin Williams mode and I'm having flashbacks to Macworld Expo and fully expecting that any minute he'll once again reach over and rip off Matt Saye's scalp. But the real reason I'm laying fingers to keys this evening is the fact that, after a few months of being missing in action, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is finally back on the air.
Kind of anticlimactic though, seeing as how NBC just announced its fall schedule and Studio 60 ain't on it.
That could change, but I suppose only if the ratings for these six new episodes shoot through the roof and cause the NBC execs to magically see the collective error of their ways. So going into this evening's episode I was holding out some degree of hope that somehow it just might happen.
Then I saw the episode. Oops. It was loud, chaotic, messy, plotless, and all but entirely lacking in the intelligent dialogue that made Studio 60 so eminently watchable in the first place. Not to mention the fact that the show's two main stars didn't appear at any point in the episode. Alright, so I didn't hate it. It was cool to see Allison Janney referencing the West Wing, particularly the part where she couldn't remember the name of it and then had the name fed to her by the same actor her West Wing character ended up marrying. Okay, so it's like the Gage Whitney reference, you get that kind of stuff or you don't.
But for the most part the highlights of the episode were the sight gags, and that's just sad. This was the first time in the (admittedly brief) history of the series where the episode ended and I wasn't inclined to rewind it and immediately watch the whole thing over again. What bums me is that while I can live with one lame episode, tonight was probably the show's one chance to build a wider audience and somehow squeak its way into a second season. But I think those hopes died with this episode.
Maybe I'm being overly harsh on this episode because I know that in all likelihood these characters will cease to exist in five episodes, without any of them having had time to be fully developed, and I no longer want to put any effort into becoming emotionally vested in what will ultimately go down in television history as half-formed thoughts. There have been other shows I've liked but immediately stopped watching when I heard that the plug had been prematurely pulled. That won't be the case here, but these next five episodes just might be as painful as they are enjoyable.
This episode was written before the show was placed on hiatus, so I'm wondering if NBC had told Sorkin to start dumbing it down in order to reach a wider (dumber) audience in the hopes of saving the show. We'll see if it gets any better next week, but in the mean time this has me seriously bummed all around.
Monday, May 21, 2007
iProng Radio seeks summertime co-host for six episodes
Hello fellow iPod lovers,
My co-host Dana Sanders has left the country for the next six weeks, and thanks to an unexpected lack of reliable internet access where she's staying, she won't be able to co-host iProng Radio until she returns to the United States in July. So I'm looking for a "summertime co-host" to help me take the reins here on iProng's official podcast, iProng Radio, for the next six episodes.
With iProng Radio being focused on the iPod universe and entertainment industry, I'm looking for an iPod user who's keenly interested in the content that can be enjoyed on an iPod and the various ways you can put it to use. But equally important is the ability to express yourself clearly and give the audience something interesting to listen to. It'll help greatly if your on-air personality is sufficiently upbeat that you can keep me from sounding like the grumpy old man that I am :-)
If you have no experience in podcasting or journalism, there's no need to be discouraged, as we're always looking to develop fresh talent here at iProng. You can do this gig from anywhere in the United States (or the world, for that matter). All you need is reliable high-speed internet access and the ability be alone with your computer in a quiet room for an hour or two a week, from early June through mid-July. Any additional equipment that you might need will be provided to you.
While the co-hosting gig won't be permanent, if it turns out that you're good at this then it may lead to other future opportunities including representing us at podcasting events and tech conferences, helping us interview the occasional rock star, access to some of the coolest iPod gear on the planet, and more. If you think you've got what it takes, drop me an email at radio@iprong.com and let me know why you should be iProng Radio's co-host for summer 2007.
Much thanks,
Bill Palmer
Co-host of iProng Radio, voice of the iPod generation
Hello fellow iPod lovers,
My co-host Dana Sanders has left the country for the next six weeks, and thanks to an unexpected lack of reliable internet access where she's staying, she won't be able to co-host iProng Radio until she returns to the United States in July. So I'm looking for a "summertime co-host" to help me take the reins here on iProng's official podcast, iProng Radio, for the next six episodes.
With iProng Radio being focused on the iPod universe and entertainment industry, I'm looking for an iPod user who's keenly interested in the content that can be enjoyed on an iPod and the various ways you can put it to use. But equally important is the ability to express yourself clearly and give the audience something interesting to listen to. It'll help greatly if your on-air personality is sufficiently upbeat that you can keep me from sounding like the grumpy old man that I am :-)
If you have no experience in podcasting or journalism, there's no need to be discouraged, as we're always looking to develop fresh talent here at iProng. You can do this gig from anywhere in the United States (or the world, for that matter). All you need is reliable high-speed internet access and the ability be alone with your computer in a quiet room for an hour or two a week, from early June through mid-July. Any additional equipment that you might need will be provided to you.
While the co-hosting gig won't be permanent, if it turns out that you're good at this then it may lead to other future opportunities including representing us at podcasting events and tech conferences, helping us interview the occasional rock star, access to some of the coolest iPod gear on the planet, and more. If you think you've got what it takes, drop me an email at radio@iprong.com and let me know why you should be iProng Radio's co-host for summer 2007.
Much thanks,
Bill Palmer
Co-host of iProng Radio, voice of the iPod generation
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
"This really is getting more surreal all the time."
This phrase popped into my head this evening and I couldn't for the life of me remember where I'd heard it. Maybe on a TV show or a movie, or maybe I'd read it on a blog somewhere. So I googled it and it turns out that the phrase was uttered eight months ago by this blogger. Strange.
And for the record it's still true :-)
This phrase popped into my head this evening and I couldn't for the life of me remember where I'd heard it. Maybe on a TV show or a movie, or maybe I'd read it on a blog somewhere. So I googled it and it turns out that the phrase was uttered eight months ago by this blogger. Strange.
And for the record it's still true :-)
Nothing on TV this summer, and I'm glad
Brett Favre can't make up his mind whether or not attend offseason minicamp, Ricky Williams is getting high in the offseason, basketball is once again screwing up its own playoffs with suspensions that the fans can't identify with, and the four or five dramatic television series I care about are within a week or two of their season finales.
In other words, it must be the verge of summer. And I'm ready for it.
Growing up here in South Florida where "winter" means that it's cooled down by ten or twenty degrees, I've always been amused by the fact that the rest of North American society anchors its annual entertainment schedule around the idea of not wanting to go outdoors during certain times of the year. In the winter, when it's snowing or sleeting or whatever it is that happens in places other than here, the TV series offer up new episodes nearly every week. And then in the summer, when the northerners are aching to go out and do something, the TV shows go on hiatus and the big movies roll into the theaters.
It's all very logical. Just not in the kind of climate I've always lived in. Determining how inclined I am to go out and do something doesn't generally involve checking the calendar first. But we in the minority still have to play by the rules of the majority in cases like this, so we end up being force-fed the same seasonal motivation when it comes to mass entertainment.
And in this case the timing couldn't be better. There are four or five TV shows that I care enough about to catch every week, but lately that's meant recording them all on my DVR and then finally catching up, one series at a time, on the odd Sunday afternoon, all the while begging others not to ruin any of the forthcoming surprises. As much as I enjoy good dramatic television, a break right now might not be a bad thing. With the singular exception of Studio 60's triumphant return for six episodes on May 24th, I can't think of a reason to turn on the television in the month of June or July.
That goes for televised sports as well. I can't force myself to be interested in early-season baseball, the basketball playoffs are only made intriguing by the controversial player suspensions, and if the hockey playoffs are still going on I'm not aware of it (I've been to a few Panthers hockey games this year, but they haven't made the playoffs since I was...well, it was a long time ago). The only sport I find myself deeply interested in these days is football, and this is just not the NFL's time of year. When Brett's minicamp decision qualifies as "Breaking News" on ESPN, you know there's nothing doing (it also shows that football is the king of pro sports no matter what time of year it is, but that's another story).
Bottom line: beyond the occasional tentpole movie (why is every major release this summer the third part of a trilogy? does this mean there won't be any movies next summer? stay tuned), there won't be much in the way of mass-entertainment distractions over the next few months to keep me from focusing on more focus-worthy things.
That's good timing, because we're barely a month away from not only the launch of the iPhone, but the rise of the entire iPhone economy. And I can't wait.
Brett Favre can't make up his mind whether or not attend offseason minicamp, Ricky Williams is getting high in the offseason, basketball is once again screwing up its own playoffs with suspensions that the fans can't identify with, and the four or five dramatic television series I care about are within a week or two of their season finales.
In other words, it must be the verge of summer. And I'm ready for it.
Growing up here in South Florida where "winter" means that it's cooled down by ten or twenty degrees, I've always been amused by the fact that the rest of North American society anchors its annual entertainment schedule around the idea of not wanting to go outdoors during certain times of the year. In the winter, when it's snowing or sleeting or whatever it is that happens in places other than here, the TV series offer up new episodes nearly every week. And then in the summer, when the northerners are aching to go out and do something, the TV shows go on hiatus and the big movies roll into the theaters.
It's all very logical. Just not in the kind of climate I've always lived in. Determining how inclined I am to go out and do something doesn't generally involve checking the calendar first. But we in the minority still have to play by the rules of the majority in cases like this, so we end up being force-fed the same seasonal motivation when it comes to mass entertainment.
And in this case the timing couldn't be better. There are four or five TV shows that I care enough about to catch every week, but lately that's meant recording them all on my DVR and then finally catching up, one series at a time, on the odd Sunday afternoon, all the while begging others not to ruin any of the forthcoming surprises. As much as I enjoy good dramatic television, a break right now might not be a bad thing. With the singular exception of Studio 60's triumphant return for six episodes on May 24th, I can't think of a reason to turn on the television in the month of June or July.
That goes for televised sports as well. I can't force myself to be interested in early-season baseball, the basketball playoffs are only made intriguing by the controversial player suspensions, and if the hockey playoffs are still going on I'm not aware of it (I've been to a few Panthers hockey games this year, but they haven't made the playoffs since I was...well, it was a long time ago). The only sport I find myself deeply interested in these days is football, and this is just not the NFL's time of year. When Brett's minicamp decision qualifies as "Breaking News" on ESPN, you know there's nothing doing (it also shows that football is the king of pro sports no matter what time of year it is, but that's another story).
Bottom line: beyond the occasional tentpole movie (why is every major release this summer the third part of a trilogy? does this mean there won't be any movies next summer? stay tuned), there won't be much in the way of mass-entertainment distractions over the next few months to keep me from focusing on more focus-worthy things.
That's good timing, because we're barely a month away from not only the launch of the iPhone, but the rise of the entire iPhone economy. And I can't wait.
iProng Radio #36: iPod news of the week
On episode #36, iProng Radio co-hosts Bill Palmer and Dana Sanders discuss upcoming games for the video iPod, the launch of the first iPod stereo system with its own video screen, and the first combination iPod shuffle case/bottle opener. Also covered is the iTunes new music of the week including the new single "First Time" from Lifehouse.
iProng Radio co-hosts Dana Sanders and Bill Palmer
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
On episode #36, iProng Radio co-hosts Bill Palmer and Dana Sanders discuss upcoming games for the video iPod, the launch of the first iPod stereo system with its own video screen, and the first combination iPod shuffle case/bottle opener. Also covered is the iTunes new music of the week including the new single "First Time" from Lifehouse.
iProng Radio co-hosts Dana Sanders and Bill Palmer
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
According to a television commercial I saw today, there's also apparently an Orpheum Theater in Vancouver. I'm just saying...
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Celebrating one year under the "iProng" name
I almost missed my own anniversary. No, not my wedding anniversary. I'm referring to the one year anniversary of the name change that was supposed to kill us. And I almost let it sneak up on me without even noticing.
A few weeks ago my mother asked me how long ago it was that we first starting being iProng. Actually, in a testament to just how far cell phone technology still has to go, I initially thought she had asked me how long ago I started having eye problems, but that's another story entirely. But her spidey sense must have been tinging at the right time, because I looked up the date and it turns out that on May 8th it'll be precisely one year since we stopped being iPod Garage and started being the iPod website with the funny name that everyone still stops and asks us about.
It's a date that doesn't mean a lot to me. When it comes to this publication, the date of significance was in January when we celebrated iProng's third birthday in San Francisco with a few hundred of our closest friends (and for the record, I still have no explanation for what was going on in those photos from the party). The day we first started publishing this site was January 20th, 2004, and those who wish to do their homework will discover that we were called neither "iProng" nor "iPod Garage" on that day, so what's in a name anyway?
But now seems like a good time to take a look back and see how things have worked out in the past year, if only because so many people (including some close friends) told me that we'd never survive if we stopped using the word "iPod" in the name of our publication. But rather than try to do some kind of then vs. now comparison, I thought I'd just make a list of some of the more interesting things we've accomplished since we started publishing under the name "iProng" a year ago. In no particular order:
- Published our four hundredth hands-on iPod accessory review
- Exhibited at Podcast Expo and MacGathering
- Covered the Voodoo Music Experience as credentialed music journalists
- Sponsored, attended, and/or presented at four different PodCamps
- Covered iPod accessories from seventy-five companies at the 2007 Macworld Expo
- Launched a podcast which has included interviews with Grammy winners, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, and Olympic gold medalists
Looking over the above list, it occurs to me that much of the new territory we've covered in the past twelve months doesn't relate to the iPod directly, at least not from a technological standpoint. On the day we announced the name change I said that the iPod universe was no longer just about the iPod, and I meant it. And when I launched this site three-plus years ago I said from day one that the goal was to be at least as much about the content as it is about the technology. It's taken a little while to get there. But if I've got anything to say about the past year, it's that we're getting there.
The other day I was trying to explain to an old friend in layman's terms what it is I do for a living, and I ended up settling on saying that I'm a journalist who drifts between the tech and entertainment industries. Still not quite sure how we got here. Right now there's a link to iProng on the front page of the website of a music label owned by Kiefer Sutherland, and if you'd told me a year ago that it was going to happen, I'd have thought you were playing a game of MadLibs. Three of the guests we interviewed on iProng Radio in the month of April have made appearances on the David Letterman show in the past year. So much for the idea that no one would pay attention to an "iPod site" that tried to focus on the content you can put on your iPod.
I'm not particularly inclined to postulate on where iProng might be a year from today, as this isn't the anniversary I care about. In the scheme of things we're about three and a quarter years into this journey, and when we gather in January 2008 for iProng's fourth birthday I'll be happy to step back and take another look at where we are. In the mean time, on behalf of all nineteen of us who collaborate on getting iProng out the door each day (including the two newest staff members who haven't been publicly announced yet), I want to thank all you for reading (and listening and watching) what we've had to say about the iPod universe over these past few years.
And for all of you who have asked "what is an iProng anyway?" I'm just glad you're still asking.
Much thanks,
Bill Palmer
Publisher and Founder of iProng, voice of the iPod generation
I almost missed my own anniversary. No, not my wedding anniversary. I'm referring to the one year anniversary of the name change that was supposed to kill us. And I almost let it sneak up on me without even noticing.
A few weeks ago my mother asked me how long ago it was that we first starting being iProng. Actually, in a testament to just how far cell phone technology still has to go, I initially thought she had asked me how long ago I started having eye problems, but that's another story entirely. But her spidey sense must have been tinging at the right time, because I looked up the date and it turns out that on May 8th it'll be precisely one year since we stopped being iPod Garage and started being the iPod website with the funny name that everyone still stops and asks us about.
It's a date that doesn't mean a lot to me. When it comes to this publication, the date of significance was in January when we celebrated iProng's third birthday in San Francisco with a few hundred of our closest friends (and for the record, I still have no explanation for what was going on in those photos from the party). The day we first started publishing this site was January 20th, 2004, and those who wish to do their homework will discover that we were called neither "iProng" nor "iPod Garage" on that day, so what's in a name anyway?
But now seems like a good time to take a look back and see how things have worked out in the past year, if only because so many people (including some close friends) told me that we'd never survive if we stopped using the word "iPod" in the name of our publication. But rather than try to do some kind of then vs. now comparison, I thought I'd just make a list of some of the more interesting things we've accomplished since we started publishing under the name "iProng" a year ago. In no particular order:
- Published our four hundredth hands-on iPod accessory review
- Exhibited at Podcast Expo and MacGathering
- Covered the Voodoo Music Experience as credentialed music journalists
- Sponsored, attended, and/or presented at four different PodCamps
- Covered iPod accessories from seventy-five companies at the 2007 Macworld Expo
- Launched a podcast which has included interviews with Grammy winners, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, and Olympic gold medalists
Looking over the above list, it occurs to me that much of the new territory we've covered in the past twelve months doesn't relate to the iPod directly, at least not from a technological standpoint. On the day we announced the name change I said that the iPod universe was no longer just about the iPod, and I meant it. And when I launched this site three-plus years ago I said from day one that the goal was to be at least as much about the content as it is about the technology. It's taken a little while to get there. But if I've got anything to say about the past year, it's that we're getting there.
The other day I was trying to explain to an old friend in layman's terms what it is I do for a living, and I ended up settling on saying that I'm a journalist who drifts between the tech and entertainment industries. Still not quite sure how we got here. Right now there's a link to iProng on the front page of the website of a music label owned by Kiefer Sutherland, and if you'd told me a year ago that it was going to happen, I'd have thought you were playing a game of MadLibs. Three of the guests we interviewed on iProng Radio in the month of April have made appearances on the David Letterman show in the past year. So much for the idea that no one would pay attention to an "iPod site" that tried to focus on the content you can put on your iPod.
I'm not particularly inclined to postulate on where iProng might be a year from today, as this isn't the anniversary I care about. In the scheme of things we're about three and a quarter years into this journey, and when we gather in January 2008 for iProng's fourth birthday I'll be happy to step back and take another look at where we are. In the mean time, on behalf of all nineteen of us who collaborate on getting iProng out the door each day (including the two newest staff members who haven't been publicly announced yet), I want to thank all you for reading (and listening and watching) what we've had to say about the iPod universe over these past few years.
And for all of you who have asked "what is an iProng anyway?" I'm just glad you're still asking.
Much thanks,
Bill Palmer
Publisher and Founder of iProng, voice of the iPod generation
Monday, May 07, 2007
iProng Radio #35: interview with singer-songwriter Natalie Gelman
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
On this week's show:
On episode #35, iProng Radio co-hosts Bill Palmer and Dana Sanders discuss the iPod's role in on-campus cheating, the UK government's concern over iPod theft, and Microsoft's next round of Zune madness. Bill also interviews singer-songwriter Natalie Gelman about how she put her debut album together and how independent musicians can use social media to promote themselves.
Special Guest: singer-songwriter Natalie Gelman
iProng's Bill Palmer with Natalie Gelman at PodCamp NYC
Music: "Always Was" by Natalie Gelman
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
On this week's show:
On episode #35, iProng Radio co-hosts Bill Palmer and Dana Sanders discuss the iPod's role in on-campus cheating, the UK government's concern over iPod theft, and Microsoft's next round of Zune madness. Bill also interviews singer-songwriter Natalie Gelman about how she put her debut album together and how independent musicians can use social media to promote themselves.
iProng's Bill Palmer with Natalie Gelman at PodCamp NYC
Listen to this episode now or subscribe for free!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
My month of columns
For those of you who've told me that you miss my tech writing, I'll be penning the iProng Friday column this month while regular columnist BJ Abernethy enjoys a hard-earned vacation. This week's column, which readers are already loving and hating, can be found here, while subsequent ones will be accessible via this link.
For those of you who've told me that you miss my tech writing, I'll be penning the iProng Friday column this month while regular columnist BJ Abernethy enjoys a hard-earned vacation. This week's column, which readers are already loving and hating, can be found here, while subsequent ones will be accessible via this link.
