Oh boy, oh boy, OH BOY!

I have some good stuff for you this week, and all of it is from the video podcast section of the iTunes Store. The free section on the main page of the iTunes Store really hasn’t changed much, except for songs, in about 2 weeks now. (Wassup wit dat, Apple?)

First up I want to give you a hint, just in case you run into a problem similar to the one I did when I first started downloading video podcasts: You may notice that some of the video podcasts don’t load up on your video iPod. You may get an error that says that the video format is not supported. When I first saw this error I was perplexed and a bit miffed; I downloaded a video podcast from the Apple store, something that is SUPPOSE to work on my iPod and I get an error that says it won’t work? Grrrr!

And it wasn’t just one or two podcasts that gave me this error, bunches of them were refusing to sync with my 30 gig iPod because of format differences.

What to do?

The solution is rather simple, but, to be honest, this should happen automagically; this IS an Apple product after all.

Here’s what you do:

• Select the offending video podcast in iTunes
• Click on Advanced then Convert to Play on iPod
• Wait ’til it’s done

Menu option visible only on video not in iPod format

This menu option only appears when you select a video that has a format other than what an iPod will play. (Very sneaky Apple! You guys should either make the option visible all the time - grey it out if it shouldn’t be selectable - or do this automagically. This is not consistent with your ’Ease of use’ mantra.)

The converted video shows up under ’Movies’ on your iPod. Go figure.

It takes a while to do the conversion. Fortunately you can select several that need it and let it run in the background (Don’t you love multitasking?) It’s a pain, but often I find that the videos are well worth the wait.

OK, let’s get to the good stuff.

CNN use to be a trusted news outlet. I say, "...use to be..." because sometimes CNN, and other news outlets, in a rush to be the first to break a story, will announce speculation as fact. Just listen to the anchors during some live news story, like the presidential elections, and you’ll hear commentary posited as fact when all of the facts are not in. It’d be kind of funny if the events unfolding weren’t so newsworthy.

Those of you familiar with The Onion, the faux-news site, will be delighted to learn that they also have a video and audio podcast. The video podcasts are hilarious, and one in particular still has me snickering: Breaking News: Something Happening In Haiti. It’s not just the CNN-like transitions and backgrounds, but the seriousness of the anchor as the story unfolds. Don’t drink milk while watching.

The Onion

In fact, all of The Onion video podcasts, 12 in all, are worth watching, and no conversion necessary.

Moving right along: Sometime during the last 3 years I’ve taken a keen interest in cooking. There are some weekends when I will spend most of my waking hours trying to perfect a recipe.

I don’t mean to boast, but I have a chicken soup recipe that will that will smack down any other recipe out there, even your grandma’s. Fightin’ words? Probably, but my recipe rocks and is guaranteed to aid in the recovery from colds, most flus, general malaise, mild depression, planter’s warts, bad hair days, hang nails, and body odor. (Top THAT Grandma!)

Also, if you’ve read my ongoing series on photography - The Postulant Photographer - then you’ll know that I have a fancy for picture taking as well.

Imagine how delighted I was to find a video podcast episode that featured a professional photographer who specializes in photographing food. The podcast series, Cooking Up A Story, features stories about cooking, food, and the people behind both. It’s a great series and the videos are well done. The episode I was talking about is called The Art of Food Photography, and it features a pro photographer.

Even if you have a passing interest in anything beyond the menu at Burger King, you’ll likely enjoy these podcasts.

Last, and kinda least, I’d like to direct your attention to Cranky Geeks, a talk show hosted by John Dvorak.

I’m not a huge fan of the talk show format where you get a bunch of people sitting around a table and try to discuss topics while attempting to sound glib and intelligent. Often what we get is a bunch of larger than life egos vying for camera time. Such is the case with Mr. Dvorak’s show, with Dvorak talking over some of his guests as if they are insignificant.

A good example of this is in Cranky Geek Episode number 60, where Dvorak hosts Yahoo Director of Product Manager, Matthew Skyrm, and a guy named Justine (that’s it, just Justine) who wears a video camera everywhere he goes. After the initial banter, Dvorak seems to take delight in talking over any attempts Justine makes to add to the conversation at large.

The Cranky Geek Podcast

Cranky Geek is still entertaining, however, so if you like this type of talk show format  you’ll likely enjoy Dvorak’s show.

Or not.

Other freebies available at the iTunes store:

Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.