Ken Newquist On this edition of Radio Active I’ve got some thoughts on GenCon 2007 and Podcamp Philly, catch folks up on what’s happening at Nuketown, try and figure out what it takes for me to buy a Mac, discover the BioShock soundtrack, stop by Vegas After Midnight. I also delve into the D&D Insider, contemplate the … Read more
For a while, it looked like the Unconference was going to live up to its name: while Podcamp Philly had a list of proposed seminars, we didn’t get a concrete schedule until Wednesday. No worries though — Podcamp’s organized chaos congealed at the last moment, providing a rambling structure to a Saturday full of podcasting goodness.
The chaos lurked just behind the corners as folks tried to use the guest ids scribbled on whiteboards around the Drexel University classrooms to log into the wireless network … at least until they figured out that the IDs only worked on the lab computers. Wired connections for the wandering bands of Mac, Windows and Linux laptop owners were scrounged however, giving rise to deep-sea scuba-like drama as people swapped Ethernet cables back and forth to share net connections.
The sessions were about what you’d expect at any conference: some good, some blah, with the best ones being those that encouraged audience participation (the exception being Apple’s GarageBand session, which gave a lightning fast overview of the software, but still managed to provide some helpful insights into it. Of course, the conference itself was free, which gives it an edge up over many conferences I’ve gone to that had so-so seminars but cost a few hundred dollars.
Presented by Mike Wolk, Senior Systems Engineer, Apple Inc.. He provided a quick overview of how to use GarageBand to record podcasts and enhance them with photos and web addresses. I knew a lot of this, having used GarageBand before, so I’m just focusing on what I didn’t know. If you right-click on a photo … Read more
Presented by Rick Glasby, Crashbang Digital, who discusses what mic to use, where to record, and how to tweak your audio setup. Which mic to use: you want to use some sort of condensor mic: Samson CO1U – cardioid sensor Audio Technica AT2020 – phantom power, cardiod sensor Blue Snowball Mic (cardiod or omni directional, … Read more
Presented by Rob Safuto, RawVoice and the New York Minute Show. Talks about gathering all sorts of different statistics for your podcasts, from downloads to web statistics to community feedback. Start off with round-table introductions and thoughts about statistics. Ideas include: Libysyn Know Your Audience – engagement FeedBurner – RSS feed, media Know Your Web … Read more
Presented by Mark Blevis, Electric Sky and Canadian Podcast Buffet. The workshop’s popular enough to push us into an overflow room. That means we can’t interact with the presenter, but we do have wired connections and power! Mark is using Cubase on the Mac. Starts off talking about the ancient old days of tape editing, … Read more
I’ll be in Philadelphia today for Podcamp Philly 2007 at Drexel University. In addition to meeting up with Doug of Geek Acres and some other Pennsylvania podcasters, I’m going to be attending a number of sessions; here’s my tentative schedule: 10 a.m.: Thinking Like a Producer: What we’ve learned so far making MarylandZoo.TV. 11 a.m.: … Read more
Somehow Pierce Haligarth has survived his fellow Lightbringer, Donegal, cleric of Daern. The cleric fell while Pierce and his fellow adventurers sought the Amulet of Ravenkind, which they’ll need to fight the dread Count Strahd of Castle Ravenloft. While Donegal rests in his god’s eternal fortress, he’s left the rest of the party to hunt … Read more
I’ve got a file on my desktop that includes all the stuff I want to write about on Nuketown, but never seem to get to. With a nod toward Uncle Bear’s Random News Tables, I’ve decided to resurrect Nuketown’s Netheads as an irregular column about irregular things. Expect parenting tips, science fiction goodness, and general … Read more
It was a big summer for Harry Potter. The seventh and final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released, as was the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. After reading the first and seeing the second, I was reminded of a hoax I’ve had sitting on … Read more