Digital Dad

Podcasts on the road

I am on the road this week, hitting focus groups in San Diego, Chicago and New York over three days. Quite a run.

As you know I've been beta-testing the new Zune software, which rocks, and a new Zune 8 is available for me to test when I return to the office. I can't divulge much more but one thing that the new Zune software re-introduced for me was podcasts and I am listening to them on the plane as I write this. 

Podcasts have been around for a few years, initially popularized by Adam Curry of former MTV fame. They are basically a big long MP3-type file that is typically spoken word or sometimes video. You subscribe to them and get fresh ones downloaded every so often, depending on how prolific the author is.

The Zune software does a great job of finding these and pulling them in to your PC or Zune using wireless sync. I've loaded up my Zune 30 (new firmware load) with a few of these. They do make for good entertainment on the plane and i suspect commuting as well. Part of their charm is that anyone can publish podcasts, so you get a wide range of topics, production quality and content. I'll give you two examples.

The first is the Writer's Almanac, published by Garrison Keillor. Some of you may know Mr. Keillor from his Lake Wobegon books or his Prairie Home Companion radio show on NPR, both highly recommended. The Writer's Almanac is published daily and is only five minutes long. Mr. Keillor runs through famous authors' birthdays and provides some good commentary and back story on each one. He ends the podcast with a poem from a famous or not-so-famous author. Cool.

The second example is Trucker Tom. He is a trucker that drives around the US and is pretty tech-savvy. The recording is very casual and somewhat rambling, running around 45 minutes. I heard him eating his breakfast on a recent episode and scraping the empty plate into the sink as he described buying a new router and sending back his Skype phone. His plain-spoken discussion of technology was entertaining.

That was the first part of his show. The second part included him reading listener email and the tone changes a bit. Tom appears to be a bit farther right than G.W. Bush and it sounds like his listeners may be even farther. To each his own but at that point it went from entertaining to uncomfortable so I stopped listening.

In any event, I will dig into these podcasts a bit more and find a good subscription list. I'll also be looking for some that are appropriate for young people as my eight year old son might enjoy hearing these as he goes to sleep. If you have any recommendations then please send them in.

Off to Chicago!

Giving

October is the month for Microsoft's Giving Campaign, which has raised billions of dollars for numerous charities through employee donations and Microsoft matching funds since 1983.

I just need to go to an internal Microsoft site to donate straight from my paycheck, donate per pay period, or request matching funds - pretty cool. There's a bit of competition between divisions to see who can raise more, but it's a good way to focus the resources for 80,000+ people for good causes. 

I donate to a bunch of causes and I added a new one today called Farm Sanctuary. From their web site:

Farm Sanctuary is a national, non-profit animal protection organization. Each year we rescue, rehabilitate and provide lifelong care for hundreds of animals rescued from factory farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses. In addition to operating the shelters, we work to gain legal protection for animals used in food production and to raise public awareness about factory farm cruelty and cruelty-free alternatives.

My friends are participating in a walk-a-thon for Farm Sanctuary and I installed a widget from firstgiving on the top right part of this site where you can donate and track their progress. Neat!

Beware of Barbie

Funny post over at Engadget on the new Barbie Fashion Fever, where kids are encouraged to spend endlessly with their credit card.

I have two daughters, one three year old and one about to turn six. They love their dolls (American Dolls are pretty cool) but like everything, there needs to be a balance. I am excited that my six year old is starting to play with Snap Circuits!

Teaching kids about money is important - how to be responsible about it, how to get it (work!), and what it means to not have it. My kids have been playing with a cash register for years - we put in a bunch of laminated bills and plastic coins (and a few coins from my trips abroad).

Much better than plastic. 

The Boss

Bruce Springsteen's new album "Magic" is out on October 8th. Hard to believe The Boss is 58! A.O. Scott has a great write-up in the New York Times. I love one of the opening paragraphs:

The feeling, no less potent for being self-induced, had been with me all morning. Bright and early, me and my girl — my wife of nearly two decades, that is — had let the screen door slam, dropped off the kids at school and set out on the open road, blowing through the E-ZPass lanes on the Garden State Parkway in our Volvo station wagon. We had an advance copy of Mr. Springsteen’s new album, “Magic,” in the CD slot, and most of his back catalog in reserve on the iPod. And now we were driving down Kingsley, figuring we’d get a latte. One more chance to make it real. Tramps like us, baby!

I had a terrible time with his Devils and Dust "Dual Disc" - what a joke. Hopefully Sony will smarten up and just have a plain old CD out on Monday.

Zune 2

Well by now you likely have heard about the news release regarding the new Zune experience. My connection to this project is twofold - first as a person who has tried to get a handle on my collection, digitally, in and out of my home for years, and second as a Microsoft employee who was involved in early Zune strategy and ongoing items.

Speaking to the first part, and as a music enthusiast, I am really psyched about the new Zune updates. I've had hands on time with the devices and they are cool - nice fit and finish and great screen and controls. But the best thing for me, and I guess you will have to take my word on it for a little while longer, is the software. The PC experience is just great - smooth and compelling, not too flashy but simple and elegant with some very cool and surprising touches. It's great to see the progress from last year.

I've been a ZunePass holder for a while and the new software really makes that worthwhile. It's like jumping into one of the old record stores I used to haunt in Boston (Nuggets?), but this time I get to stuff as many albums as i want into that paper bag - old Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, some Monk, and yeah some of that new stuff, too. I take it all with me or stream it in my house or over my XBox in the family room.

More info at ZuneInsider.

Star Wars and your kids

An interesting post over at daddytypes with a great headline - There Is No Cry, Only Poo: Introducing The Kid To Star Wars.

As for my son, he was about five. I think the toughest scene is when Luke heads back to his house on Tatooine to find parents all burned up - yuck. My daughter, who is 2.5 years younger than he,saw it at an earlier age and my youngest daughter (another 2.5 years younger than her older sister) probably saw it earlier than that. 

Revenge of the Sith is off-limits, even though my son is eight, Maybe when he is ten - maybe.

If you're looking for innocuous family-friendly Star Wars you could always check out the Star Wars Holiday Special.