I was really surprised at the feedback following my first podcasting article, and the number or requests for additional information. You asked for it, and now you’re getting it.
Podcasting is now old school. It’s been around long enough that the bleeding edge, and early adopters have established methods and procedures that now make it easy for others to jump on the bandwagon. You can be a podcaster too, and in this installment I’ll cover some of the gear you’ll need to think about getting as you jump through the hoops on your way to building your own podcasting empire.
About once a week, I receive a request in the Major Spoilers Mailbox asking to spill the secrets of the Major Spoilers Podcast and Critical Hit: A Major Spoilers Dungeons and Dragons Podcast. The great thing about podcasts is the cost of entry is really low, but you might want to run through this Top Ten list before deciding to jump on the podcasting wagon.
I was surprised as all heck that UPS was able to get the brand new iPad to my door this morning. On Thursday afternoon, the tracking showed it just leaving China.
So here it is… my brand new favorite device in the whole wide world. A couple of things that surprised me:
The iPad is heavier than I thought it would be
When I connected the iPad to my desktop, iTunes showed that an iPad had previously been synched with my system back in February, 2010. I wonder how the heck Steve Jobs got in my house to see if the new device would work with my system.
Panasonic will be taking orders for this system in April for this $21,000 unit. While it looks like a traditional Prosumer unit, the addition of 3D lenses kicks does bring 3D to a more affordable level.
In addition to a camcorder, Panasonic also plans to offer a professional-quality 3D Full HD LCD monitor for field use as well as a professional HD digital AV mixer for live event production. Panasonic will offer professional production equipment to allow video professionals to efficiently create 3D content, so consumers can enjoy 3D video using Panasonic 3D home theater systems.
Major Specifications (tentative)
Product Name: Twin-lens Full HD 3D camcorder (made-to-order)
Suggested Retail Price for Main Unit: $21,000
Available: Fall 2010 (made to order)
Power Consumption: Under 19 W (main unit only)
Weight: Under 3 kg (main unit only)
Recording Media: SDHC/SD Memory Card
Does anyone remember Canon’s attempt at entering the 3D world back in 2000-2001? It was a bit clunkier back in the day and it required a bunch of hardware hooked to the television in order for it to work. I wish I was in Vegas this week to see this camera in action to see how this system will fit into the upcoming announcements from ESPN and Discovery Networks about bring 3D to television.
There seems to be a major bug in the 2.9 release of WordPress that is preventing scheduled posts from triggering and posting correctly. This is a major problem for those who work ahead (like me), in order to maximize readership, and to ensure every post gets its moment in the sun. I’m writing this post at 11:25 AM, and scheduling it for 12:55 PM. If you see the post, then great, everything seems to be working fine. If you don’t see it, then how the heck are you reading it now?
I’m currently in the middle of testing a new piece of software, and I ran into an issue with my MacBook Pro. I mentioned about six months ago on the Coolness Roundup, that I had retired my Mac Pro system in favor of using my 17-inch MacBook Pro as my full time Mac system. The Intel-based Mac system has been doing wonderfully, and I can run everything from Adobe’s After Effects system all the way to editing HD video in Final Cut Pro. However, this new software is a really memory drainer when it comes to one of the new features, and when I began reading and trouble shooting it turns out I could use a bit more RAM on the system.
One would think 4GB of RAM would be enough, but 8GB is better. A quick shopping spree at the Apple store, and I’ve now upgraded to 8GB and the system is running like a dream machine once again. Best of all, during this holiday season, Apple is giving free 2-3 day shipping. Even better? I ordered my RAM late Thursday, and it was here by the end of the day Friday.
Bottom line – you can never have too much money, too much RAM, or FILL IN THE BLANK HERE.
YouTube has quietly been rolling out 1080p HD videos since mid-November. If you find these videos, you certainly will want to supersize the video to full screen, because they look fabulous.
Don’t believe me? Check out the Muppets doing Bohemian Rhapsody.
It took me a while to decide if I was going to purchase the new 27-inch iMac from Apple. For the past year and a half, my 17-inch MacBook Pro has been the primary work machine, recording podcasts, maintaining the websites (not this one of course, ’cause I NEVER update this site), and generally being my attached at the hip machine.
Following a recent live show, it became clear to me that while the MacBook Pro will continue to be my everyday machine, it does slip a bit here and there when it comes to being able to handle everything I need to do at any one time. So, the decision was made to purchase yet another computer (3 PCs and 4 Macs is the current tally) that would handle the recording of the podcasts (even more coming in the new year), and being the general work machine when I am at home at night.
The iMac arrived at the Major Spoilers HQ on Wednesday, and it took until Friday for me to find a free moment to unbox this beast and get it set up.
