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Release Date: August 05, 2009
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iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
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Discover New Music

  • With Teeth

    • 4 out of 10
    • Nine Inch Nails
    • In the sprawling post-A&R rock and roll world, there are two camps: the Beatles and the Stones. The Beatles are the artists that like to explore, evolve, and change styles. The Stones are the artis

  • Kind of Blue

    • 10 out of 10
    • Miles Davis
    • The jazz album to end all jazz albums. Miles Davis and John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly and the list goes on. The who's who of who's who in jazz have assembled for this monumental record. Get this
  • Priest = Aura

    • 10 out of 10
    • The Church
    • Another of my all-time favorites, Priest = Aura is one of those rare albums where every song is simply fantastic, and a testament to how good pop-rock can be.

      Each song immediatel

  • Another Day on Earth

    • 10 out of 10
    • Brian Eno
    • In his first proper solo release since 1996's relatively cold "The Drop," Brian Eno has constructed a whimsical and ecclectic masterpiece which is arguably one of the year's strongest records thus fa
  • Life's Rich Pageant

    • 8 out of 10
    • R.E.M.
    • In the long series of R.E.M.'s evolution, this album (finally?) showcases their ability to capture on tape what had been happening in the live for years: heartfelt, sweat-filled performances that just

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News

Are Podcasts Inefficient?

Despite the growing success and popularity of podcasts, not everyone thinks they are a good use of time. Some people see podcasting as a slow medium for information delivery, according to a MarketWatch report.

Writing on his own blog, Web-content management entrepreneur Pater T. Davis says "In the time I can listen to an average podcast, I could have caught up on my 50 favorite blogs, or read a chapter in a book, or read the latest issue of Red Herring magazine."

He thinks that it's much more efficient to read information for yourself than listen while someone provides it to you.

Traci Sheridan, the founder of Waxxi.us, thinks podcasts need to be more interactive before they can become a valuable medium for information distribution. She has tried her experiment, too. Listeners were encouraged to call in on phone lines or participate in an online chat while the podcast was being recorded. "We thought that it would be more interesting to let people be part of the conversation. The audience is what's really interesting," she said.

Even though some listeners don't see much value in podcasts, most seem pleased with the current pre-recorded style. The iTunes Music store features an extensive podcast library, and many users prefer the time-shifted style of listening to a podcast when it is most convenient.

As the podcast market matures, we may see a blending of the two styles: podcasts recorded live with listener interaction, but are also available for download after the fact. As the technology improves, we will likely see even more ways podcasts can be presented.

Until then, we'll continue listening and watching podcasts that, for some, are a waste of time. For the rest of us, they work just fine.

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