Posted on January 17, 2007
Songbird is a podcast receiver?
BY JAMES CLARK
I'm not quite sure that is the way that the uber developers of the Songbird media player would put it but as a podcaster I have never seen a program that makes it this easy to subscribe to podcasts or get media from the web.
The best part is that the word 'podcast' isn't used anywhere in the vernacular associated with Songbird. I find it refreshing. I should probably be questioning it as a guy making a living from his podcast skills (hoy ya!). But damn if they haven't taken all the mystery out of receiving a podcast by simply saying, "Play the Web". No more explaining to newbies what a podcast is or how to download one.
Even in this post at Wired the word 'podcast' is conspicuously missing. I have said the word 'podcast' once every 15 minutes for the last two years . . . so not to see it associated with a media player would be a non-starter for me in downloading it.
They make receiving podcasts so simple. It can be done one of two ways:
1) Use the Songbird and navigate to the website that has mp3's and it finds them for you and allows you to subscribe to the site.
2) Go to 'File' >> 'New Subscription . . .' >> Type in the URL of a website or add an RSS feed >> Point to a folder >> Hit 'OK'
All of the associated media will then download in the background and be ready when you are to play. Sick. What would make it even sicker is RSS auto discovery. That way a subscription could be chosen for the for the feed which usually has many more files than the site alone.
I haven't been this excited about a technology or piece of software since I first found out about podcasting. My recommendation is that you go over to Songbird's site and download the developer version and get a taste of what's to come in liberated distribution . . . the liberated media player.
I might be showing up late to the party since they have been public for over a year, but for me this is a big day. Not only to evangelize for Songbird but for thinking about the next iteration of podcasting.
