Mix It Up, Baby!

No interview this week. In fact, I wasn’t originally going to even post a podcast this week due to the holiday but I changed my mind. I hope you enjoy the tech news I’ve discussed this week and please make sure you visit The Jesus Geeks Podcast. Chris responded to my 5 Minute Interviews promo and provided me with a great promo for his podcast. Other topics covered this week:

• 5 Services You Can Turn Off in Windows XP
• Axiotron’s ModBook
• ArsTechnica review of Axiotron’s ModBook
• MuxTape
• PsyStar Dupes Apple Updates
• MS to Support PDF, ODF in Office 2007
• Automatically Generate Strong Passwords in XP

Feel free to leave comments or send feedback to geek{at}jesusgeek{dot}info. This podcast is released under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Jesus Geek is a weekly Christian technology podcast with news, how-tos and a little bit of spiritual know-how hosted by John Wilkerson. Jesus Geek is a member of the My Life Ministries Network: a community of ministries that views the everyday Christian life as a ministry and seeks to encourage Christians in their daily walk with Christ.

Jesus Geek is a member of the Tech Podcast Network; if it’s tech, it’s here.

This week’s podcast is sponsored by GoToMeeting.com

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Podcast ID3 Tags

If there’s one thing that drives me batty when it comes to podcasters and podcasting it’s inconsistent ID3 tags. When I start sifting through the dozens of podcasts I’ve downloaded and the “Album name” on a podcast has changed or the “Genre” is “Blues” it makes me want to scream! Is it so hard to make sure you enter the same information every time? Wikipedia’s definition of ID3 is a follows:

ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, or other information about the file to be stored in the file itself.

My definition is a little simpler:

It’s the information a media player needs to categorize and identify the file it’s playing and reading.

ID3 tags are very important to your listeners whether they know it or not. Consistent ID3 tags ensures that your podcast can be sorted and arranged for the listener. When your ID3 tags are inconsistent or non-existent then the listener has to sift through their device to find your podcast. Make sure that you ID3 tags stay consistent so that your listeners can easily find your podcast in the ever-growing play-lists they have on their devices. If a listener can’t find your podcast in the haystack that is their media files you can be sure that eventually they will unsubscribe from your podcast and not bother listening.

Is there anything about podcasting that bothers you? Leave a comment and let me know!

7th Son Obsidian

I don’t normally go out on a limb and post things on the blog that aren’t directly tech-related. I listen to a number of audio books and my favorite by far has been the 7th Son Trilogy. J.C. Hutchins has done a bang-up job with his novels and he’s given them away, like many other podcast novelists. The one thing that puts J.C. head and shoulders above the rest (in my opinion) is that he works his butt off promoting his material, material that he’s giving away. It’s not that other podcast novelists don’t work hard. I just think that J.C.’s enthusiasm and gratitude really come across when he talks about his product and his fans. He doesn’t ask for anything in return except that you spread the word about his work. I’ve mentioned his novels briefly in the past. As I said, I tend to stay on target when it comes to posts here on the blog. However, I feel that it’s time to share the love of all things 7S and say that you need to check out his latest venture:

7th Son: OBSIDIAN is an audio short story anthology that chronicles a crisis that took place in 7th Son, Book Three: Destruction. In that novel, the United States fell victim to a coordinated terrorist attack. Power stations across the country were destroyed, and the U.S. plummeted into a country-wide blackout. In the timeline of the trilogy, this blackout occurred in mid-November 2007.

While this blackout was described in the trilogy, the story never focused on its true victims: average Americans.

7th Son: OBSIDIAN does just that.

The coolest thing about this project is that you, the listener, can participate. You are contributing to the novel. This is innovative and creative beyond description. J.C. is the hardest working man in podcasting and it shows. 7S Obsidian is being talked about in many circles, the promo is everywhere and now there are PDF posters all over the freakin’ internet for you to download. My favorite: #10, pictured above, just creeps me out. The guy looks like he wants to eat me. J.C. has setup an online scavenger hunt whereby other websites will have 14 posters promoting the podcast. I’ll be collecting them all. It’s like Pokemon trading cards except cooler and nobody will laugh at you when you say you’ve collected all of them.

So if you’re a fan of sci-fi thriller novels then you need to get over to www.jchutchins.net and subscribe to his podcast feed. You will not be disappointed. Do keep in mind that these novels are not intended for children and I can neither confirm nor deny that the butt-kicking priest is my favorite character.

Internet Voyuerism

Unfortunately I botched the interview I had recorded with Patrick O’Keefe so you’re stuck listening to me babble on and on this week about the phenomenon I call Internet Voyuerism. I also play a promo for ArchAngel, an audio book by Scott Roche and briefly talk about the new Blackberry Bold. Just a side note: the audio may be jumpy in some portions of the podcast. I recorded the podcast using a travel AC adapter for my laptop. Never again.

• RIM makes a Bold Blackberry debut
• Blackberry 9000 Review
• New prices swamp old gas pumps

Feel free to leave comments or send feedback to geek{at}jesusgeek{dot}info. This podcast is released under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Jesus Geek is a weekly Christian technology podcast with news, how-tos and a little bit of spiritual know-how hosted by John Wilkerson. Jesus Geek is a member of the My Life Ministries Network: a community of ministries that views the everyday Christian life as a ministry and seeks to encourage Christians in their daily walk with Christ.

Jesus Geek is a member of the Tech Podcast Network; if it’s tech, it’s here.

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days! For this special offer, visit www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

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Microsoft Launches World Wide Telescope

Microsoft has finally unveiled their World Wide Telescope project. This is a product that I’ve been anticipating for some time now. Although it doesn’t follow along with Classical Astronomy I am intrigued by the product. If it even sparks an interest in astronomy among young people perhaps it can be a gateway for introducing them to classical astronomy and the beauty of God’s creation.

If you like watching stars (of the celestial kind), you will be glad to know that last night Microsoft launched a new Web 2.0 visualization software that allows your computer to be a virtual telescope. WorldWide Telescope as it is known, combines images from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey among others. No extra hardware or software required, simply download the application here. Thank you Bill Gates!

[via Truemors]

Microsoft’s official press release.

Interview with Paeter Frandsen

This week’s podcast features an interview with Paeter Frandsen from Spiritblade Productions. We spoke a little bit about Spiritblade and a lot about it’s sequel: Dark Ritual. I had a great time speaking with Paeter and I’m really excited about Dark Ritual’s upcoming release. Stay tuned to future podcasts for your opportunity to win a copy of Spiritblade.

Feel free to leave comments or send feedback to geek{at}jesusgeek{dot}info. This podcast is released under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Jesus Geek is a weekly Christian technology podcast with news, how-tos and a little bit of spiritual know-how hosted by John Wilkerson. Jesus Geek is a member of the My Life Ministries Network: a community of ministries that views the everyday Christian life as a ministry and seeks to encourage Christians in their daily walk with Christ.

Jesus Geek is a member of the Tech Podcast Network; if it’s tech, it’s here.

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Announcing 5 Minute Interviews

Step up to the mic!

If you’re a Christian podcaster and you’d like to get a little exposure for your podcast then you’ve come to the right place.

I’m beginning a new segment in my podcast called “5 Minute Interviews” where I play your responses to these 3 questions:

• What’s the name of your podcast and when did you start podcasting?
• Briefly, what’s the main focus of your podcast?
• Where can we learn more about you and your podcast?

So here’s how it works: you email an mp3 file (256 kbps/32-bit sample rate/44100Hz) answering these 3 questions. You get 5 minutes to answer these questions and say anything else you like. Your response to these questions should be conversational and not just straight-up answers. I will not be editing in myself asking you the questions. In the email include your name, a brief bio and description of your podcast and any links you mentioned in the audio. I’ll place your “interview” in my weekly podcast. It’s first come, first served so get your files to me soon.

Thanks for listening and thanks for sticking me in your ears!

Send your files to geek -at- jesusgeek -dot- info right now!

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