A brief update on some podcasts that I occasionally track n listen to

LinuxQuestions (LQ) Podcasts runs for like 15 to 18 mins. uses heavy compression so file size is around 4 to 5.5 mb now that's dial-downloadable ain't it...but this is like the most crudimentary
podcast of jeremy (root of LQ) with just a single monotonous voice droning about news of the week in world of linux and also a bit about the IT world. u need to be really paying attention coz the voice is low (quality)...sometimes this feels like a text to speech program being run...but to get so much news without any commercial or free break in that filesize is good.

Whats New Now has a more broader scope including all kinds of IT stuff. hardware software, open source, hidden source, expos, exhibitions, etc. Check out John C. Dvorak's articles? He reminds the reader...the intended reader that "Truth hurts" :)

Latest is The Linux Action Show podcast of which episodes 3 to 8 are being available in both ogg and mp3 format...as of the time of writing this article. Anyone got the first two episodes? dataone is as flaky as the noisy phone line in the rainy season...so it's not all yippee yay for me :) (right now am getting the rest of the episodes from dcst lab...pretty good speed after a long time...yippee yay!!) episode 3 is 17 mb and is of 38 mins (64kbps VBR) ogg file. what's different in this podcast is that this one goes on more like a naturally flowing discussion (packed with 'Action' ;) like we would have when we meet and we learn as we discuss. there's a bit of the jingles added here and there and a segment end kinda music after 11 mins or so. it's more interesting to listen to this podcast...practical examples are narrated and that really makes the show more interesting. Even though I feel like divulging contents of the podcasts...it'd be more fun if u listened to them yourself and/or followed the summary on the permalink page for each episode.

One thing i noticed about Open Source based podcasts is that though i previously felt that pre-recorded shows would contain information that might be stale by now..it's not always so. there are just so many applications and web sites that we are yet to discover and gathering info thru reading wud take much longer than all the news summarized and delivered in a format that you can literally sit back relax and absorb most comfortably...it does sound a bit geeky to be relaxing to technical stuff rather than some music...but then Linux Action Show is real fun to hear...even for a technical subject.

this is a copy paste from a mail that i sent to a friend in reply to his helping me find the wonderful podcast at The Linux Action Show. Incidentally it was kind of sidekick mention in one of his mails to ILUG-Goa, but I see no one discussing it...Broadband hasn't spread long and broad yet. :D