billpalmer.net

Come say hi at the iProng booth #609 at Podcast Expo!

I'm at PodCamp SoCal on Thursday. Are you? If so, find me and say hello

Random thoughts the night before I head out to Podcast Expo

- I've packed so much iProng booth stuff into my little Honda Civic that it's starting to feel like a clown car. Hope there's room in there for me!

- I've resolved to watch a little TV tonight to let my mind wander and reset itself before diving in in the morning, because once I get in the car in the morning and head out to Ontario it won't stop until I head back to LA. Won't really stop then either, but that's another story.

- As a result I'm watching Criminal Minds and CSI NY tonight, two shows I thought I was going to give up on this year. I've only really been watching Criminal Minds for Mandy Patinkin and the younger geek, but neither character is really developing in the way that I'm finding interesting. And while I like CSI NY, I thought it wrapped up well enough last season that I could leave it be. There just isn't enough time in the week to watch all these shows. The Office, Boston Legal, and Studio 60 were the only three non-sports television shows I was planning on fully committing to this season, and the morons at NBC-Universal already took care of the latter for me.

- The feedback I've gotten for my stance on AmazonMP3 is about what I expected. I just don't have the patience or the inclination or the time to continue my never-ending quest to get the geeks of the world understand A) that their take on things is wildly different than the other 99 percent of users, and B) that the other 99 percent of users actually exist. I just don't have time for geeks who've walled themselves in to a point where they've convinced themselves that everyone else on the planet is a fellow geek. Nothing wrong with being a geek, and nothing wrong with having geek friends (most of my friends these days are). But don't forget that there's a real world out there, and that the people in the real world have a different take than the geeks do on pretty much all counts when it comes to technology.

- That Honda Civic I bought? Found it through Facebook. That's a new one.

Just tried AmazonMP3. Uh, next please.

Just tried amazonMP3 and it feels like the same clunky browser-based crap as when I tried Walmart's download service back in 2004, and every bit as diffcult to navigate as the rest of amazon's website. I'll never pay for music in an obsolete music format such as MP3, or a space-wasting bitrate such as 256 kbps. Go ahead and ask me how I really feel about it :-)

What galls me, though, is that Amazon is clueless enough to think that putting the name of an obsolete music format in the name of its music download service does anything but tighten the noose that's already going to be around its own neck on this one from the start. That, and they're sufficiently out of touch that the iPod they portray as their leaderboard graphic is an obsolete model. Amazon sells iPods; how do they miss that?

And what really galls me is that this is so transparently a desperate last attempt on the part of some record labels to weaken Apple's position the music industry just a bit. What, don't think is a personal attack on Apple? Look at the two artists AmazonMP3 has chosen to feature at the top of its list: Eminem, who has publicly threatened to sue Apple to get his music out of iTunes, and Lily Allen, who is on record as disliking the way iTunes handles exclusives. Eminem is, of course, part of Universal Music, the label which keeps threatening to suicidally pull its music out of iTunes...and oh yeah, they're the same company that just pulled NBC's television shows out of the iTunes Store.

I'm not against the idea of a successful competing music download service, particularly one that whose songs are compatible with the iPod. And I've said all along that if someone really wanted to unseat iTunes, the first thing they'd do is go after Mac users, and that's one of the few things Amazon got right. Most Windows users want to either vomit or physically attack me when I point this out, but these days the future of computing is being dictated by Mac users. Convince the Mac folks to get on board with your product or service early, and the Windows users will fall in line in a year or two; if you can't sell the Mac users on something new, the Windows users won't have anyone to follow. But making your service compatible with the Mac only helps if your service is worth using, and a browser-based music store with some little app that tries to cover up the fact that this is a browser-based service, is most decidedly not worth using.

Amazon, can I have my 89 cents back?

One more pre-Expo podcast appearance

Several of us took turns sharing our Podcast Expo and PodCamp tips on the latest episode of Jason and Jen Tucker's "TuckerTales" podcast. I'm about to go listen myself to see what last minute tips I can pick up. Just because this will be my second Podcast Expo and fourth PodCamp doesn't mean I can't learn a thing or two (or for that matter three or four).

Why I love the podcasting community

When Apple launched the new iPods and I realized that we were going to be demonstrating more products at iProng's booth at Podcast Expo than could be handled by one person, I realized we were going to be one pair of good hands short in our booth setup, so I did what podcasters do when they need a little help from their friends: I asked for it.

And I received it in spades. Now, not only are the holes in our booth rotation covered, Expo attendees have the opportunity to come and learn about the new products from their favorite podcaster. A lot of these volunteers have sufficiently popular podcasts that they don't need whatever measure of publicity they'll get by doing this; they're doing it because they want to do it. I'm not quite sure if anyone has ever turned to crowdsourcing for their booth staff, and in some other community I'm not sure it would work. But this is the podcasting community, and we're doing this together, and I've got a really good feeling about the people who've jumped on board.

Some of them are tech-oriented podcasters; Adam (MacCast) and Victor (Typical Mac User) are coming over from the adjacent OC Podcasters booth to demo the iPhone and iPod together right when the exhibit hall first opens Friday morning so that I'll be free to moderate the Music in Podcasting panel at the adjacent LA Podcasters booth. Then there are podcasters like Elsie (Elsie's Yoga Class) and Steve (Lifespring) whose podcasts have nothing to do with technology whatsoever.

There's Ginger (Brain Science Podcast) who I met at a past PodCamp. There are podcasters such as Dave (PopCast) whom I haven't even met; they simply offered to help out. Let's not forget Shooby Kumar, who's sixteen years old and knows more about the iPhone than I do. And there are Expo session presenters such as KFC (SkyDiverGirls) and Don (ScreenCastsOnline) who are helping us with the demos as well. On top of that, there are those such as Ken (Mac OS Ken) and Irina who didn't want to do product demos and instead volunteered to help us out at the prize table. How cool is that?

And these are just the folks who have already been able to commit 100 percent; there are others who will likely be added to the schedule as we get closer to the Expo (the finalized schedule will be posted each day at our booth). Hopefully, by doing it this way, these awesome podcasters will have a cool new way to connect with their audience members who are in attendance. Many of them are volunteering do to this despite already-crowded Expo schedules, and I can't thank them enough. It feels like a win-win scenario to me, and I think it demonstrates everything that I love about the podcasting community.

Tim Bourquin, you're scaring the crap out of me

Last time I saw Tim Bourquin was about two weeks ago and I told him he was making me nervous with the automated live countdown on his Podcast Expo website which, at that point, stated that there were roughly nineteen days until the Expo.

Well, just now I checked the site again, only to find this:



Okay Tim, you're now officially scaring the crap out of me.

Not in a bad way, mind you. The gang and I have been preparing for this upcoming weekend for a full year now, and there's no doubt in my mind that it'll end up being one of the best things that iProng has ever been a part of. But there are some tasks that just can't be taken care of until the right time, and as such, there's plenty of work still left to be done between now and then.

And some things you just can't take care of until after you get there. I learned that several years ago when I was traveling from my home in Florida to Macworld Expo in San Francisco for the first time. After hearing about how cold and windy it is in San Francisco in January, I proceeded to spend a full week combing every clothing store in Florida looking for a wool cap I could take with me. Since there's never a time when you'd need one in Florida (this was back before they became en vogue fashion items), I couldn't find one anywhere. Finally, I resolved that I'd just have to head to SF without one. Little did I know that there are wool caps for sale at every store on every corner in San Francisco, and within a few minutes of being in town I was able to accomplish what I'd been unable to in a week of trying beforehand.

So it's kind of like that now. There are things I'm inclined to worry about, feel like I should be doing something about, right now - and yet so many of those things can't be done until I get there and it's time to do them. I just have to focus on the things that actually can be done ahead of time, and there's plenty of that. But despite that, we're ready. It's like standing in line forever to get on a rollercoaster and eventually finding yourself just a few feet away and knowing that the ride is going to start soon whether you're ready or not. I'm ready.

But that countdown clock is still scaring the crap out of me.

My guest appearance on the Mac OS Ken podcast

Ken Ray invited me to appear on an episode of his popular Mac OS Ken podcast earlier this week, which you can find here. We discuss iProng's role at this week's Podcast and New Media Expo as well as Ken's participation in the iPod/iPhone panel I'll be hosting at the adjacent LA Podcasters booth.

I listen to Mac OS Ken every day and you should too.

iProng Radio #48: Podcast Expo preview with LA and OC Podcasters

On episode #48, I'm joined by Lance Anderson of LA Podcasters and Jason Tucker and Scott Stys of OC Podcasters for a preview of what all three groups have cooking for this week's Podcast and New Media Expo which takes place September 28-30 in Ontario, California. OC and LA will be doing non-stop live podcasting to the left and right of the iProng booth, while iProng will be demoing the iPhone and new iPods (including the new iPod touch) in the middle of the thirty foot wide combined booth. I'll be hosting three panels at the LA Podcasters booth as well as putting on three live episodes of iProng Radio at the OC Podcasters booth.



- Listen to iProng Radio #48 with OC and LA Podcasters right now in your browser

- Subscribe to iProng Radio for free in iTunes and get every episode automatically

- Visit the LA Podcasters website.

- Visit the OC Podcasters website.

- Follow the SoCal Podcasters official Expo schedule on Twitter.

- Reader feedback: radio@iprong.com

- Miss us between episodes? Visit iProng.com, the Publication for iPod and iPhone usersª

We'll see you at the Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California from September 28-30th.

My guest appearance on the Bar Nuts Podcast

I made a guest appearance on Episode 19 the Bar Nuts Podcast this evening (already available for download), the "hanging out in a bar on Friday night" style podcast belonging to Scott Stys and Jason Tucker of Orange County Podcasters. We talk a little about Podcast Expo in amongst all the debauchery, but trust me, this one's not for the kids. Come to think of it, it's probably not for you either, mom. But if you're into debauchery...

About that apartment building that exploded last night...

In amongst all these celebrity sightings and expo booths and rock star interviews, I was reminded of reality by news of a particular apartment building in my hometown. It's a building that my grandmother lived in at one point, that a friend of mine lived in at another point. It's a building I've spent the night in, and thank goodness it wasn't last night. Buildings catch on fire, but how often do buildings explode? I used to shop at the Target whose parking garage ended up being used a shelter for those displaced.

Seeing that footage, as surreal as it was, made me aware of a few different things. Life goes on, even in the places you're no longer living in. Things change, and there's nothing you can do to stop it from happening. And at any given time, the building you're in can just randomly blow up without warning, and that randomness won't care a lick about who you met last night or what your plans are for next week.

Amazingly, and gratefully, no one was killed in the explosion.

How I met Wil Wheaton in real life because of Twitter

This is going to threaten to be a "Look ma, I moved to Hollywood and met a celebrity" post, but I think there's something a little more profound on this one. I first heard about Twitter back at PodCamp Boston in late 2006, didn't understand it, went home and signed up for it anyway, but never actually tried it out. I kept meaning to but it always got lost in the shuffle, and frankly, my inability to grasp what it was based on the way it was being explained to me didn't help.

Fast forward nine months and I'd moved to Los Angeles, survived covering the iPhone launch, gotten through Lollapalooza and I was finally ready to try Twitter, though still with no real reason to believe that it would be useful or interesting to me beyond the fact that so many people I respect seemed to be getting something out of it. Although having internet access on the iPhone did allow Twitter to make a little more sense to me in theory; if I only had access to it while sitting at the computer, how many of my "What am I doing now?" posts would end up being interesting? I'm doing stuff when I'm away from the computer, not in front of it. But with the iPhone, I now had 24/7 internet access and could post at any time. So about a month ago I took the plunge and started posting.

Not that I knew what I was doing, I was just doing it. The only guideline you're given is that any post you make has to be no more than 140 characters, and the most common analogy people use to describe it is that it's one big instant messaging conversation, with each person only seeing the posts from the people they want to see. When I started out on Facebook back in March, most of my friends and acquaintances in the podcasting and new media community weren't yet on there, and I didn't know who I was supposed to be looking for. But now with Twitter I had a basis for finding people to follow (starting with my Facebook friends), and then of course exploring who they're following to see if I want to also follow any of those people.

Many of the people I started following did the same in return, and after I started posting a link to my Twitter page both on my blog and on select iProng articles, I began getting notifications that some of my readers were now following me. I went through quite a bit of trial and error when it came to who I should be following, whether I should automatically start following people who were following me, whether I should continue following people who weren't following me, and so on. I've decided that it comes down to a case by case basis; the one constant is that having met someone in real life seems to make following their posts much more interesting.

But I've found some interesting exceptions. Simply knowing of someone can make their posts interesting, particularly if what they have to say is actually, you know, interesting. I found that one of my friends was following wliw, which turned out to be Wil Wheaton. I did in fact watch every episode of Star Trek: the Next Generation while growing up, but my reason for wanting to follow Wil on Twitter had less to do with the fact that he played Wesley Crusher and more to do with the fact that he's known to be an Apple geek, or at least a geek who uses Apple products.

I don't think Wil has posted anything about Apple in the time I've been following him, but I did notice a post from him this evening saying that he would be signing his new Star Trek book this evening at a comic book store down the street from where I live. I'm not a comic book person, but I thought you know, when am I going to get this opportunity again? So I headed on down to the store, and sure enough, Wil and his three co-authors were sitting there at a table. Thanks to the fact that I got there way early, no one else was there yet but them and me. I grabbed a copy of the book, took it up for them to sign it, and since there was no one waiting in line behind me, ended up getting into an extended conversation with them.



Wil was intrigued when I said that I showed up solely based on seeing his Twitter post, saying it was the first time he'd posted something on Twitter and had someone show up as a result (in hindsight I'm not sure whether he meant it was the first time he'd posted something like that or the first time someone had shown up). This led to a conversation about Twitter itself, along with Facebook, Apple, iTunes, iPods, podcasting, and all that other stuff that reminds me that I'm a little more of a geek than I like to admit. Here's the fun part: each of the four of them took turns signing the book, the illustrator first, who drew a very accurate-looking Starship Enterprise next to his signature. The next signer, who was an author and not an illustrator, drew a decent-looking Klingon ship firing on the Enterprise. Then Wil drew a Star Wars ship, complete with an "I don't belong here" caption. Then the last author drew the Tardis police box from Doctor Who.



After I'd taken up more than enough of everyone's time (about fifteen minutes I think, but hey, there was still no one else there waiting behind me), I headed home, and I did what you're supposed to do: I twittered about it. And in what I believe is the most useful part of the Twitter experience, people responded about it. Jason Tucker, whose OC Podcasters group gave me crap at their meetup last week for meeting one too many celebrities, cursed at me. Paul Kent, who's met Wil Wheaton through his role in Macworld Expo, shared his own experiences. You get the idea.

For every totally inane post on Twitter that must have somehow seemed interesting to the person typing it at the time (I'm as guilty at this as anyone), I find just as much interesting, even intriguing sometimes, content. The fact that it's essentially a series of one-line posts makes it easily digestible, easy to skip past the less interesting stuff when there isn't the time, and easy to find the gems. But just as importantly, it's a sure-fire way to know that the person who just posted something is at their keyboard and focused on Twitter - in other words, available for the moment. If you have a quick question for that person, here's your chance to ask in a manner that is both A) in real-time, and B) almost certain not to interrupt them from something else they're doing. That's a rare combination that you don't find in too many other forms of communication.

"Going to Meltdown in Hollywood for Manga signing. Sunset, between LaBrea and Fairfax, if you're in town. 8-10pm" is what allowed me to have a real-life fifteen minute conversation with Wil Wheaton and his friends. Sure, I've got another picture of me with a celebrity to send back home, but it's the conversation we had about Apple stuff and social media that I'll be chewing on this evening, not the fact that I met another celeb. The criteria I use to evaluate celebrity meetups is this: if the celeb had just been an anonymous nobody, would what they said have still been interesting to me? The answer was yes when it came to my interview with Rudolf from the Scorpions yesterday, and it was yes again when it came to Wil Wheaton today.

Don't go sign up for Twitter thinking that it'll allow you to find out where celebs are going to be and when so you can go meet them. That's not the point at all, and I doubt it'll work anyway; this evening was a fluke. But remove the "celebs" part from that last sentence and replace it with "local friends" or just "interesting people in general" and you're getting closer. And it's a beautifully lightweight way to stay in touch with those far-away friends and acquaintances you know you'll only see in real life a few times a year. I haven't been on Twitter long enough to get a full feel for it, and yet I can tell already that it's not for everyone. If there's no one you want to follow you'll be staring at a blank page, and if there's no one who wants to follow you then you'll just be talking to yourself in written form.

But Twitter is indeed for me. I already figured that out before today, but the Wil Wheaton thing just crystallized it.

...and Macworld Expo registration is open

As if to prove that covering the iPod/iPhone/Apple universe is a twelve month a year gig, here I am a week away from exhibiting at Podcast Expo and I receive an email announcing that registration for Macworld Expo is now open. Paul Kent has agreed to come on iProng Radio in early December and let us all know about the new stuff they have in store for Macworld this year.

But alright, enough of that for the moment. Back to Podcast Expo preparations.

My interview with Rudolf Schenker from the Scorpions

"Hi Bill, would you like to interview Rudolf from the Scorpions?"

"Sure. What time?"

Sometimes you spend months setting up a musician interview, wading through management and publicists and labels. And sometimes they just come and offer it to you. Maybe it's because most of the Scorpions success in the past decade has been outside the U.S., but it just doesn't seem like getting an interview with the founding member of a band who's sold more than a hundred million albums should be that easy. For whatever reason, it was.

Before I do a time-constrained interview with a celebrity I always try to find some prior footage of them so I can get a feel for their speaking patterns, how long their answers will likely be, whether they stop and think and then start speaking again, the kind of stuff that helps make for fluid conversation when you don't have enough time on the line to chat it up with the person and getting a feel for those things on the fly before hitting the record button. But this one was a quick enough turnaround that I didn't get the chance to do so, leaving me with no real expectations one way or the other going into the interview. Since Rudolf is the guitarist and not the singer, I'd never even heard his voice; I wasn't even sure how thick his presumed German accent would be.

The guy's been a successful artist for four decades so I figured he'd have some interesting stuff to share. But going into this interview I couldn't have predicted that I'd end up having one of the more fascinating conversations I've ever had with anyone. By "conversation" I mean that I would ask a question and he'd give a wide-ranging answer which lasted several minutes, then I'd ask him a follow-up based on the most interesting thing he'd touched on, and so forth. He did ninety percent of the talking, but in this kind of situation that's exactly what you want. Last thing you want is to face a bunch a short answers and be left having to fill the majority of the interview block with the sound of your own voice trying to pry something interesting out of your subject.

I knew I was going to get the kind of interview I wanted right from the get-go, when my initial warmup question ("How's the tour going?") was met with an answer that included answers to four more of my upcoming questions. Good, he was covering the basics up front, meaning that there would be time for things to go wherever they might go. Not only were we discussing whether their use of Desmond Child as producer on their latest album meant that the Scorpions were looking for more of a pop sound this time around (they decidedly weren't), Rudolf was telling stories about playing in Leningrad back when it was still called Leningrad, the way "Wind of Change" ended up being tied not only to the fall of the Berlin Wall but also the fall of the USSR, a rundown of the various pro sports teams that use the band's "Rock You Like a Hurricane" as their anthem, and we even got into the whole iTunes Store thing. Anytime you're talking world politics, sports, and iTunes in the same fifteen minute conversation, I'm there. Especially when it's guy you used to see on MTV when you were a kid.

By the time he got to Gorbachev I was just sitting there with a big goofy smile on my face because I knew I was in the process of being handed a special interview. I don't feel like I even worked for it. Sure, I did the research and wrote the questions, but I needn't have. All I had to do was sit back and let Rudolf steer the ship, with an occasional tug on the wheel from me.

This one's worth your time whether you're a fan of Scorpions or not.

Alright, unexpectedly well-circulated iPod touch vs. iPhone article wrapped, rock star interview wrapped, time for to go back to focusing on prepping for Podcast Expo. It's nine days away and it's all I need to be focusing on between now and then.

Unless KT Tunstall calls tomorrow and wants to do an interview :-)

email - iProng - facebook - linkedin - twitter - iChat: billpalmerdotnet

The same RHCP song is, and is not, eligible for iTunes ringtones

I'm not a ringtones guy, but since Apple has gone and made ringtones so darned easy and fun to create, I thought I'd go ahead and make one for myself. Although charging an additional ninety-nine cents to make a ringtone on top of the ninety-nine cents I already paid to buy the song is nothing short of highway robbery, I think I've found an even bigger problem: consistency. I was disappointed to discover that less than a third of the songs I've purchased from the iTunes Store are eligible to be turned into a ringtone, but that's not my real concern. After scanning through my eligible songs looking for a run ringtone candidate, I settled on Dani California from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But whoops, it's not eligible. No wait a minute, it is eligible. Actually, mind numbingly, it's both eligible and not eligible:



How did I end up with two purchased copies of this song? I pre-ordered the Stadium Arcadium album, which prompted the first song on the album, Dani California, to download immediately. When the full album was released I received the entire album as a download, which included another copy of Dani California. So here are two copies of the same song, both from the same album, both purchased from iTunes, and one of them is eligible to be a ringtone and the other isn't. How do you get that wrong?

I know that there are many millions of songs available through the iTunes Store, so there are plenty of opportunities for random errors. And I know that the scattered and seemingly random eligibility for ringtones is entirely the fault of the record labels, who seem content to let some songs be turned into additional revenue and not others. But if you're going to charge me extra money for something that should absolutely positively have been included in the price I originally paid for the music in the first place, then you don't get to make mistakes like this.



Just to be clear: neither copy of Dani California was a single; they're both listed as being from the same Stadium Arcadium album.
Beyond the recorded purchase date and the different artwork, there is literally no difference between the two copies of this song. And if you're wondering, none of the other songs on the album are ringtone-eligible; it was the pre-order copy (dated April 4th, 2006) and not the full-album-download copy (dated May 9th) that's eligible.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter. The beginning of John Frusciante's guitar solo at the end of Dani California sure makes for a sweet ringtone. But before I go making any more of them, I think I'll wait for iTunes to at least decide whether or not a given song is eligible.

email - iProng - facebook - linkedin - twitter - iChat: billpalmerdotnet

Why couldn't I have said it so briefly?

According to Engadget, Steve Jobs just said that "the iPod touch is training wheels for the iPhone."

Wow, it only took him nine words to say what it took me 1200 words to say. I did say it forty-eight hours before he did, though :-)

email - iProng - facebook - linkedin - twitter - iChat: billpalmerdotnet

...but I don't even know anyone in Nigeria

Here's a quick hint: anyone who's flown in or out of Los Angeles knows that the airport is referred to as "LAX" both in popular culture and in official travel circles; it's what you type in when looking for a flight on Expedia or Travelocity. What you don't type in, and I get a kick out of the fact that I never made this mistake until after I moved here, is LOS. That'll get you looking at flights to what I'm sure is a very nice airport in Nigeria, and leave you feeling LOL (but probably not so much if you actually book it by mistake).

email - iProng - facebook - linkedin - twitter - iChat: billpalmerdotnet

Digg explosion

Wasn't expecting to wake up late here on Sunday morning and find this. I jot down a quick list of iPhone features missing from the iPod touch and sketch out a bit of insight on each of them, and it's front page Digg material? Okay, the public has spoken, and I'll take their word for it :-)

What's funny is I was just thinking last night about the last two times something from iProng has made the Digg front page. One was a silly little story about Ben Affleck watching DVDs on his video iPod, something the movie studios claim is illegal, to prepare for a role in a movie from one of those same studios. The other was an even sillier story about Elton John making fun of the iPod on the tonight show. At least they were both technically iPod-related, but both were silly and inconsequential, and most likely got Digged so much simply because they involved celebrities and the iPod.

But this time it's nice to see that I wrote up something that was intended to be useful, something that would help with early-adopter buying decisions, and it's being seen by so many potential buyers outside of just iProng's regular reader base. Hope it actually helps them.

In any case it's time for me to grab some lunch and get ready for the Dolphins home opener in thirty minutes. Heh, I'm supposed to be in Florida right now, at the game. Never enough time lately for that kind of thing.

email - iProng - facebook - linkedin - twitter - iChat: billpalmerdotnet

iPod touch on display at Podcast Expo

iProng has already acquired a touchscreen iPod unit, and we'll have it on display at our Podcast Expo booth along with the iPhone, new iPod nano, etc. Come by and you'll have the chance to play with all of them! For many of you, it'll be your first chance to test drive the new "mobile iTunes Store" on the iPod touch.

Also, if you're interested in helping us demo the iPods or the iPhone at our booth for 1-2 hours, we'll list you as a "featured presenter" on our signage, website, press releases, etc. - some free publicity for you and your podcast. If you want to help out but don't feel up to doing demos, we'd love to have you at our prize redemption table for an hour or two. If you're interested in helping us out, please email me.

Not already planning on attending this month's Podcast Expo? You should be.

email - iProng - facebook - linkedin - twitter - iChat: billpalmerdotnet

iPhone features you'll miss out on by buying an iPod touch

I'm smack in the middle of my hands-on testing of the new iPod touch and the full review will be posted by Monday, but in the meantime I know there are some of you who are seeing a handful of iPod touch models come and go in your local Apple Store and trying to decide right now whether to try to get your hands on one or just pony up for the iPhone and the contract that comes with it. So in that light, here is a (preliminary) list of things you'll lose out on by buying an iPod touch instead of an iPhone, and a bit of explanation as to whether each of them might or might not matter to you:

EDGE network

Just because the iPod touch has Safari and the iTunes Store doesn't mean you'll be able to use either of them whenever you feel like it. If you're not within range of a wifi network, you're not getting online with the iPod touch. If wifi access is sparse in your daily routine, you may find yourself wishing you had the iPhone and its (slow but almost always accessible no matter where you are) EDGE network. If you live amongst pervasive open wifi access (say, on a college campus) then you might not miss EDGE at all.

Mail application

The iPhone's built-in email application has gone missing on the iPod touch, meaning that the only email access you'll get is via webmail in Safari. Users of Gmail might not miss a beat, but those accustomed to using a client might not feel the same way.

Safari link sharing

Steve Jobs seemed to imply in his keynote that the iPod touch only has wifi so you can buy music from iTunes, and it only has a web browser so you can sign onto public wifi hotspots and then proceed to buy music from iTunes. But just because Apple doesn't seem to want you to go websurfing on the iPod touch, it doesn't mean you can't surf to your heart's content. The only missing feature I've found in Safari (so far) is the ability to email a web link, which has a lot to do with the iPod touch not having an email client.

Adding items to calendar

Even though the iPod touch features the same cool calendar application as the iPhone, and even though you can sync your calendar from iCal on your Mac to the calendar on your iPod touch, you'll find that you can not add new calendar events directly to the iPod touch. Apple could seemingly change this easily with a software update, and might if there's enough public pressure, but for now it's not there. Oddly enough, however, you can add contacts directly to the iPod touch's Contacts application.

Notes

Not only is there no way to add a calendar event, there's no clear way to jot down random information of any kind. The iPhone's Notes application is missing, which combined with the lack of a Mail application means that the only way to jot down a few words for later use would be through the web.

Bluetooth

The iPhone only has Bluetooth for use with wireless headsets, which wouldn't make much sense with the iPod touch anyway. But be aware that unless Apple snuck Bluetooth hardware into the iPod touch and has hidden it from us for the time being, you won't be able to use any Bluetooth accessories with the iPod touch without the use of some kind of third-party adapter.

Screen quality

Speaking of hardware, one of the iPhone's best features - its brilliant screen - is (sort of) missing from the iPod touch as well. Although I'll need to do more testing to quantify it, immediately clear is the fact that the iPod Touch's screen is neither as vivid or (seemingly) as detailed as that of the iPhone. I'll have a lot more to say about this in the final review, but unless my eyes are thoroughly deceiving me, there's a world of difference between the two.

Rear surface

Just as many iPhone users are finally growing comfortable with the idea that they don't necessarily have to carry their iPhone in a case in order to keep it pristine-looking, the mirrored chrome backside on the iPod touch is every bit as easily scratchable as with traditional iPods.

External volume buttons

Perhaps because Apple expects you'll spend most of your time on the iPod touch merely consuming content and not simultaneously using other applications, the only way to control the volume of that content is when it's right in front of you via the on-screen slider; the iPhone's external volume buttons are nowhere to be found on the iPod touch. On the other hand, you can press the iPod touch's round front button twice to bring up basic playback controls (including volume) at any time, something I wish Apple would hurry up and bring to the iPhone.

Built-in speakers

The iPod touch lacks the iPhone's built-in speakers, but many iPhone users have concluded that those speakers aren't good enough for listening to music anyway. I suspect Apple only intended the iPhone's speakers for speakerphone use on phone calls.

Included dock

While the iPhone comes with a sturdy dock with built-in speakers, the iPod touch comes with a comparatively lame little piece of clear plastic which can be used as a stand. On the plus side is that while watching video or otherwise using the iPod touch in horizontal mode, you can easily pick up the touch and reset it into the stand sideways - try doing that with the iPhone's dock.

Camera

While the iPod touch can display photos that have been synced onto it from your computer, you can't use it to take pictures. Not that I would have expected the iPod touch to have a built-in camera, but be aware that it's not there.

Maps, Weather, Stocks

While you can still use Safari to look up all of this information via the web in one way or another, the individual applets on the iPhone for Google maps, weather forecasts, and stock prices are missing on the iPod touch.

The point of all this

None of this is to say that you shouldn't buy the iPod touch. In fact, based on my early testing, I'd have to say that the iPod touch is by far the most amazing product to ever bear the "iPod" brand name. But be forewarned that the iPod touch is not necessarily the mythical "iPhone without a phone" that some users have been looking for. Instead, think of it as an "iPhone lite without the phone." If the iPod touch suits your needs, then don't let any of the above stop you. But with as much as has been arbitrarily removed from the iPod touch, it sure looks like Apple still wants you to buy the iPhone, and then only wants you to consider the iPod touch if you've already ruled the iPhone out.

Full iPod touch review coming Monday - watch the iProng front page.

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Pictures from September 12th Orange County Podcasters meeting

Wednesday evening I headed down to "the OC" for the monthly Orange County Podcasters meetup. I'll save my experiences of riding the train down there and back for another time, other than to say that it was unlike any transportation experience I've ever had. The meetup was a bit atypical as well, with the whole thing being sponsored by Podcast Expo itself and focusing almost entirely on the OC Podcasters plans for the Expo.



That was exciting for me personally because iProng will not only be exhibiting right between OC Podcasters and LA Podcasters at the Expo, we've partnered with both groups for what is sure to be a three-ring circus on the Expo floor. Both groups will be doing non-stop live podcasting from their booths, and we'll be in the middle doing...well, about what you'd expect iProng to do. We'll have all the of the new iPods (including the iPod touch and the iPhone) on display for attendees to play with ask questions about. I'll be hosting a few panels on the LA side, and we'll be doing three "proper" episodes of iProng Radio on the OC side. I'm still finalizing our guest lineup for those three episodes, but I think you're going to like it.



The OC guys are also the driving force behind PodCamp SoCal which is taking place for free the day before the Expo, on the Expo grounds, with the blessing of the Expo. So if you're getting into Ontario early, we'll see you there.

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Me and my iPod touch: Christmas came on Sept 14th

Didn't think I'd be doing this today. Hmm, Steve Jobs said nine days ago that the iPod touch would be shipping "in a few weeks" and the online Apple Store estimates orders will ship on "September 28th" and I'm thinking that neither one of those sounds like much like "September 14th" but I'm not complaining :-)

Good luck finding one though, as each Apple Store is only getting in "a few" each day, and while they absolutely refuse to disclose the number itself or even a ballpark approximation of the number, I don't think they're getting more than ten or twenty of each model per day. They also appear to be under strict instructions to use the phrase "a few" to describe how many they received and how many they have left, and no other phrases.

After striking out with all of the Apple Stores in Los Angeles proper, I ended up having to hoof it all the way out to Pasadena to get mine, thanks to the fact that their shipment arrived a little later in the day (no they couldn't hold one for me, no they couldn't tell me precisely when they were arriving) and I managed to get there just after the shipment arrived. All the 16 GB models were already gone (or they didn't receive any, they wouldn't say which) which was fine because I wanted the 8 GB anyway. The guy in front of me was buying two of them. The arrival of the shipment was hush-hush enough that some of the employees behind the counter didn't even know it had arrived.

I'm not sure why Apple would trickle so few of them out there two weeks before it's supposed to ship. If they've simply having production issues, they'd have just waited til the 28th to begin shipping, hoping that they'd have more ready to go by then. No, I think this is more about building buzz for a product that most people (outside of the geekdom) don't really understand until it's explained to them. Everyone understood the iPhone, wanted the iPhone, stood in line for the iPhone, or sat home and pouted because they weren't eligible for the iPhone. And of course the iPhone had six months of free hype prior to its release. But the iPod touch has only existed publicly since last week, and it looks like Apple is leaking a few units early in order to build buzz by sending madmen like me all over town trying to get one, and then making a big deal out of it to everyone who will listen.

And, as always, I'm willing to play along.

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The iPod is dangerous again

As the owner of an iPod-oriented publication, this is something I probably shouldn't be saying too loudly, but I'll say it anyway: the iPod stopped being dangerous awhile ago. And I'm not talking about the potential for hearing loss or getting run over in a crosswalk. What I mean is that for awhile there, the iPod universe was moving so fast, the achievements were so stunning, and the general public had such a hard time keeping up with the latest news that covering the iPod universe for a living was almost a guilty pleasure. But sometime in the past year the iPod stopped being dangerous and started being, well, safe.

I'm not saying I haven't enjoyed covering the iPod lately; there's nothing in this life I'd rather be doing. But when the iPhone was announced in January it came as almost a breath of fresh air. Here was a dangerous new product, a consumer-level smartphone if you will, from Apple no less, and the fact that it was sorta kind of an iPod meant that it was a natural for us to shoehorn it into our coverage. And we needed something new to cover, since the "real" iPod lineup had gone so stunningly stagnant in comparison. While Apple did a great job of updating the various iPod models in September 2006 in a meat and potatoes manner, it was almost entirely without sizzle. The most radical updates were to the low end of the line, and the most capable models saw updates so miniscule it was difficult to recite them without referring to your notes.

But suddenly everything about the iPod universe has changed. The iPod nano, which has always been basically just a music player with a few doodad features tacked on, is finally a full-featured iPod with video, along with a snazzy new interface no one has seen before. And it's got a new shape, which for better or worse, has left it almost unrecognizable as being a nano. And the full-size iPod has become something else entirely, now closer to being iPhone than an iPod, despite not being a phone at all, and representing a complete abandonment of the original iPod interface on Apple's now-flagship iPod.

Okay, so the iPod classic still remains as a fallback reminder that the flagship iPod touch doesn't represent an all things to all people replacement for the traditional full-size iPod quite yet. And alright, so the iPod touch in its current incarnation feels more like an "iPhone lite" than a worthy rival when you compare the two on a feature by feature basis.

But this is still big, you know? When Apple rolled out the color-bodied nano a year ago, the biggest news about it was the choice of colors. Now, the new nano once again features new color choices, but that's the least interesting of its new attributes. And from an iPod user's point of view, someone who has yet to see the iPhone's interface in action will have no idea what the iPod touch is, let alone be able to identify it as being an iPod (or even an Apple product) without looking at the logo.

In hindsight, last week represented a de-emphasizing of the iPhone and a re-emphasizing of the iPod. That may not do much for me on a personal level as a full-time iPhone user, but as someone who knows that the iPod will still represent Apple's bread and butter in the gadget market for awhile longer, these new products knock my socks off. No one's quite sure what to make of the new iPod nano until they see one up close and personal, and everyone (including me) can't wait to get their hands on the iPod touch in order to see what it's really made of. Those are both good things.

It's a good time to be an iPod-centric journalist, I think. Suddenly it feels like 2004 all over again. More importantly, for the future of the platform, there's never been a better time to be an iPod user - and this time around it's not even close.

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Come on kids, get over yourself and just use AT&T

I don't understand people who buy an iPhone and then jump through fifteen risky hoops just for the privilege of avoiding AT&T and using one of the other crappy cell phone carriers. If you have yet to have a problem with your current carrier, it's because you've been statistically lucky. They all suck about equally. You don't love AT&T? Neither do I. But all the carriers suck, they're all borderline criminal in their business plans, so let's not put sainthood on some other carrier just because they have the virtue of not being AT&T.

I'm gonna buy a boat, have some wheels installed on it, and drive it down Highway 101 every day. Screw the ocean, I wanna use my boat on land instead. If I want to buy a product intended for use in a certain manner, and then use it in a way that it clearly was not intended, that's my right. And if my modification of that product doesn't go well, or if the result of using the product improperly isn't as clean as if I'd simply used it in the way it was intended, then that's someone's fault other than mine. Right?

Hey, it makes about as much sense as buying an iPhone and then hacking it for use with some other U.S.-based carrier.

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Thought for the day

This morning I got a notification letting me know that something I wrote a couple years ago had been auto-spammed, so I went to remove the spam and noticed the last line I'd written in the article. I'd forgotten I'd written it, and it made me pause and think for a moment, so maybe it'll do the same for you:

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The internet in three inches

I learned from Steve Rubel (through Twitter) that the New York Times website can now be viewed in a manner optimized for the iPhone by visiting NewYorkerTimes.com instead of the official site. Not sure who's behind it but the "real" NYT is crazy if they don't immediately gobble up whoever's handiwork it might be. This on the heels of Facebook launching an iPhone-specific version of its site.

Watch over the next year as the internet completely redesigns itself to accommodate the iPhone's screen size and interface.

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Reach out and touch me

In the spirit of making it easier for you guys to find me and communicate with me outside the confines of this blog, all future posts will include a row of quick links across the bottom, as you can see just below. Email me and you'll get a reply before too long. Visit iProng and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about the iPod and iPhone. Friend me on Facebook and you'll find that I'm quite active on there. Follow me on Twitter and you'll find out what I'm up to in between blog posts. You get the idea.

But you already know plenty about me just by reading this blog, meaning that you have me at a disadvantage. Hook up with me in the above ways so that I can learn more about you.

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My new favorite website

Am I allowed to have a new favorite website that covers the same industry iProng does? No? Too bad, I do anyway. Say hello to fattynano.com, a new site dedicated to...well, you either know what it's about or you don't.

I don't know yet what they're planning on doing with the site, or even who's behind it (it's registered to some guy in Poland), but the name alone has me curious enough to follow along. In fairness, the fact that they've linked to iProng's "fatty nano" review (and placed it above all other reviews except Yahoo's) doesn't hurt, but I decided I liked these guys (whoever they are) before I even noticed that particular part. So say hello to fattynano.com and tell 'em Bill from iProng sent you.

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For all you Los Angeles types...

If anyone knows where in LA (near Hollywood) I can find a bar or restaurant which airs out of town pro football games (specifically Dolphins), please do let me know. Thanks! Update: unless someone has a better idea, I'll be at Big Wangs on Cahuenga in Hollywood starting at about 9:30 am Sunday to watch the Dolphins game and whatever other games are on. Please feel free to join me!

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I'm in this month's Podcast User Magazine

Rounding out my recent appearances in other people's publications, I'm quoted on page twenty-three of this month's issue of Podcast User Magazine, which you can download for free, in an article about the upcoming Podcast and New Media Expo at which iProng will be exhibiting. I'm only quoted for about a paragraph's worth, but the entire article by Lance Anderson is worth reading, as is the magazine itself.

Bonus: the photo included with my quote is of me and Kent Nichols from Ask a Ninja, one of this year's keynote speakers

Bonus x2: I'm wearing a Miami Dolphins jersey in the photo

Bonus x3: I'm not even the one who selected that photo for publication

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The four podcasts I appeared on this week

I had a blast Wednesday afternoon and evening after the Apple Event, making guest appearances on four different podcasts via Skype from my hotel room before departing San Francisco. If you'd like to check them out (and you should, not because I'm on there but because they're good podcasts in general), here they are in the order I recorded them:

Tech Night Owl hosted by Gene Steinberg

PowerPage Podcast hosted by Jason O'Grady

Typical Mac User hosted by Victor Cajiao

MacCast hosted by Adam Christianson

Actually, those last two are both the same episode; we did it as a mashup and it also went out as Episode 46 of iProng Radio.

Finally, although my planned appearance on GeekBrief TV didn't quite happen, you need to be watching Cali Lewis do her thing anyway.

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Comprehensive in-house review of the new third generation iPod nano

Here you go with sixteen paragraphs and twenty-five photographs of new iPod nano review goodness.

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video: Steve Jobs compares new iPod nano to original 2001 iPod

Sometimes you just can't help but be in the right place at the right time. That would be KT Tunstall, Steve Jobs, and Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz on Wednesday, with Steve comparing the new nano to the original 2001 iPod. Ironically, I didn't even realize I had this video until I was picking out some photos to sync to my new nano.

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New iPod nano unboxing and setup (with pictures and screenshots)

My eighteenth iPod makes its way out of the box...

The new third generation iPod nano is sold in the same clear plastic coffin-like structure as its predecessor, with dimensions adjusted accordingly.





The third generation nano brings back the mirrored chrome backside, absent in the previous nano iteration, and from what we can tell every bit as scratch-prone as ever.



Included are the earbuds, sync cable, and dock insert (alleviating any fears that the wider nano might not be dockable). The (PRODUCT)RED version also comes with a card explaining the program.



The 3G nano wastes no time taking advantage of its new split-screen view, as evidenced by the language selection screen, the first thing you'll see when you turn it one the first time. The multi-language "Welcome" screen is reminiscent of setting up a new Macintosh computer.



The sync screen gives a hint of both the sophistication of the nano's new interface and the quality of the screen.



The Second Generation (left) and Third Genration (right) iPod nano side by side





The main screen of the old and new iPod nano.



Hands-on testing currently taking place, comprehensive review coming shortly.

I just can't force myself to feel ripped off by the iPhone price cut

Update: Steve Jobs announced Thursday morning that it will offer $100 store credit to everyone who purchased an iPhone at the $499 or $599 price point. Have fun shopping!

Maybe I'm drinking the kool-aid because I was at the event yesterday, but as an early iPhone adopter I just can't force myself to feel ripped off. Steve's body language said that he was thrilled about everything he announced except for the iPod classic which he seemed only moderately pleased with (I'm sure he wishes he could put enough flash memory into the iPod touch so as to obsolete the classic sooner than later), but he seemed downright embarrassed when it came to announcing the iPhone's price cut. So for all those out there claiming conspiracy or a cold-blooded attempt to milk the early adopters, who was it that said never expect conspiracy when incompetence will do?

I believe Apple learned two things in the iPhone's first two months:

1) Those who are willing to pay $500 for a featurephone like the iPhone are just as willing to pay $600 for a higher-capacity iPhone.

2) The above group isn't all that large in the first place.

A few years ago Apple learned the hard way with the iPod photo (which didn't sell all that well) that once you go north of $399 there just aren't that many consumers who are willing to plunk down for a handheld gadget, whether it's worth the price or not. For whatever reason Apple thought they could get away with it here with the iPhone, perhaps thinking that the public would view it as more of a computer than a gadget, but apparently they thought wrong. As someone who follows the iPhone for a living, I was stunned to find out yesterday that Apple apparently has yet to sell its millionth iPhone. For a product that well-hyped and well-received, that's just not good.

So I figure Apple realized that it had made a pricing mistake early enough to correct before it screwed up holiday sales, but not early enough to avoid pissing people off. Apple had to know the major PR hit it would take yesterday, and had to know that it'll hurt early adopter sales when it comes to their next great product, and so I just can't swallow the idea that this was the plan all along. Not that Apple wouldn't be so dastardly, but that Apple would have put together a better plan if there in fact was a plan. If anything, this was Plan B.

My question is this: once Apple realized their mistake, would you rather have seen them merely cut the price to $499, even knowing that it would result in fewer holiday sales than $399, just to make you feel less ripped off?

For what it's worth, in the (very) brief conversation I had with Steve yesterday (about nothing substantial, I didn't have the nerve to ask him what happened to the Beatles!), and in observing him hanging out with KT Tunstall and the Starbucks guy right in the middle of the product demo area along with us humble press types, Steve seemed maybe the most relaxed I've ever seen him; he was almost giddy while showing KT the new nano. So despite the iPhone price kerfluffle, I think Steve was very pleased overall with what he was able to announce yesterday. For that matter, so was I. And of course any day you get to meet KT Tunstall is a good one :-)

So who do publishers of iPod websites hang out with at Apple Events?

They hang out with publishers of other iPod websites, apparently.

Some things you just don't see coming

As I headed into this morning's Apple Event there were a thousand questions in my head, but "I wonder if I'll get to meet KT Tunstall today" was not one of them.

Watch this space

Heading down to the airport in just a few minutes in order to get myself up to San Francisco for Wednesday's Apple Event. I'll be posting live updates from the event on iProng starting at 10am Pacific Time if you care to play along at home.

Not sure how much blogging I'll be able to do here while on the road, but feel free to follow me on Twitter where I'll be posting much more frequently. Off I go!

Ten things I'm thinking right now: Bill writes about the weather and football, but make sure you read number nine

1. I'm leaving for San Francisco in thirty-six hours and, as usual, my temptation is to overpack. Not clothes. Equipment. Do I pack the USB headset mic, and the USB handheld mic, and the iPod mic, just in case? Do I take an iPod alarm clock or just be content to wake up a buzzer?

2. It topped out at 103 degrees today here in Los Angeles. In my entire lifetime it never came within ten degrees of being that hot in coastal South Florida. And all anyone here can say when they find out I'm from Florida is "How did you ever survive the Florida heat all those years?" It's kind of humorous, actually. The irony. Not the heat. And anyone who mentions the word "humidity" in the comments section is getting a butt-whooping from me. Don't make me write an article on the myth of humidity.

3. I've been stunned to find that, despite the fact that these kinds of temperatures apparently happen here every year, a significant portion of Southern Californians don't have central air conditioning. Where I come from there's no such thing as not having air conditioning, and as I said, it never gets anywhere close to being this hot. How do you people live like this? Residences without A/C is something I thought only occurred in third-world countries - and I'm not joking about that. It's every bit as shocking to me as if I had moved to New York and found that half the homes didn't have running water, or moved to Ohio and found that half the homes didn't have electricity.

4. The other day the Dashboard widget on my MacBook thought it was one degree cooler than the weather module on my iPhone. Couldn't quite wrap my head around that one until I realized that Dashboard pulls its data from AccuWeather, while the iPhone pulls its data from Yahoo. Yes, I know that the exclamation point is part of Yahoo's name, but I'm not including the exclamation point in this particular instance. The weather just isn't that exciting.

5. I think attending the Apple Event this week, and then dealing with the editorial fallout from the presumably newly announced iPods, is going to be the final nail in the coffin when it comes to my attempts to get back to Miami for the Dolphins' home opener on September 16th. Having Podcast Expo two weeks later was already pushing it, and now I'm going to be getting it from both ends for the rest of the month. It'll be the first time I've missed a home opener in at least fifteen years. Still not quite ready to sell my ticket, though.

6. Speaking of the Dolphins, I'm a little worried that this new coach might be too prone to going with people he knows and feels personally comfortable with than going with the guys who are the most talented and the most capable of helping the team win. Coach Cameron immediately dumped Culpepper in favor of Trent Green, and while I don't know what Culpepper has left, Green is more of the appropriate age to be one of Cameron's assistant coaches than his starting quarterback. And then he passed on Brady Quinn in the draft in favor of Ted Ginn, whose father is apparently a close friend. In fairness, almost no one else wanted Culpepper after the Dolphins cut him loose, and twenty-two other teams also passed on Quinn. But trading for an old friend and drafting an old friend's son are, shall we say, eyebrow-raising. You start making those kinds of moves, particularly from the outset, and they'd better work out.

7. On the other hand, at least this new coach actually wants to be here. The last guy never really wanted the job in the first place, had to be begged and coddled by the team owner before he finally agreed to take it, and from the start acted as if his heart wasn't really in it. He stuck around two full seasons before he finally resigned, but in reality he quit on the team the minute Culpepper's health went south. Even earlier than that, if you look at his second draft. There's a lesson in there, I think. Just because you can talk someone into doing something, it doesn't mean you're going to get what you want out of it. You'd think after the Jimmy Johnson debacle, the owner would have learned that. Hopefully he has this time.

8. Last sports-related one, I promise. I really wish ESPN would cease referencing Appalachian State's upset win over Michigan as "the greatest upset in college football history" every three minutes. First of all, you let history judge that. And second, if indeed it was the most monumental upset ever, shouldn't that be so self-apparent that they don't need to keep proclaiming it?

9. I'm starting to wonder if perhaps the solution to the conundrum of offering an iPod with email and internet access, which could be a maddeningly frustrating device because those features wouldn't work outside of WiFi range, is to simply build AT&T's EDGE network into the new iPod and offer it as a $20 a month service. You (probably) heard it here first.

10. If you're going to be in San Francisco on Tuesday or Wednesday, either as a journalist or because you live there, holler at me.

Headed to San Francisco for September 5th Apple Event - should I fly or drive?

Moving from Florida to Los Angeles may have put me three thousand miles closer to where Apple holds most of its press-oriented events in San Francisco, but I'm still far enough away that while driving is now an option, it may not be the best option. When I first made the move I realized I'd face this scenario eventually, but after pondering it for awhile and not being able to reach an answer, I figured I'd just deal with it when the situation arose. And now that iProng has been invited to Apple's presumably iPod-oriented press event next week (thanks Apple!), the situation has officially arisen. I can live with flying or driving, either one will get me there, but since I have a choice let me see if I can break this down logically...

The four hundred mile drive one-way from LA to San Francisco is something that I'm told would take roughly seven hours by car. In contrast the flight is just barely over an hour. But add an hour getting to LAX, arriving two hours early, and another hour to get from SFO to the hotel, and you realize that it'll take almost as long to fly as it would to drive. Flying means dealing with idiots who want me to take my shoes off, carrying my allergy eyedrops in a plastic baggie, and riding both MTA and BART in the same day (I'm not one to waste large sums on cab rides when there's a train handy). Driving means seven hours behind the wheel, dealing with idiot drivers along the way, traversing roads I've never traveled (I want to drive the LA-SF corridor sometime, but not when I'm under a time constraint), and figuring out what to do with the car once I get into town. Cost of gas is about the same as cost of a flight.

Advantage: flying, just barely, simply because there's no driving involved.

Although I've done it when absolutely necessary, when traveling this kind of distance I don't care for arriving at the last minute, attending the event, and then heading home immediately thereafter. It's a little tough to do any timely reporting immediately after the event if you're behind the wheel or on a plane. So no matter what I'll be arriving the afternoon prior, staying in a hotel, attending the event that morning, heading back to the hotel to do that "journalist" thing for the rest of the day while also lunching and dining with friends and associates in town, spending that night at the hotel, and departing the next morning. Whether I fly or drive doesn't really impact the hotel situation.

Advantage: call it a draw.

The day before the Apple event will be a busy one for me; the day after far busier. iProng is an iPod-oriented publication and this is an iPod-oriented event hosted by the company which makes the iPod, so being busy before and afterwards just the nature of the beast. If I drive, I get to spend a combined fourteen hours sinking my teeth into the latest Collective Soul album. If I fly, I get to spend most of those fourteen hours (at the airport, on the train) getting work done while listening to said album.

Advantage: flying.

Okay, flying it is. I'm not sure if the equation will be the same come Macworld Expo in January, but it seems pretty clear what I should be doing this week. Now where's that plastic baggie?

- visit my iPod+iPhone publication iProng.

- friend me on Facebook.

- connect with me on LinkedIn.

- follow me on Twitter.