LiveSupport

I like this idea: from campware.org comes LiveSupport, a "free and open source automation system for radio stations." Would love to know who's using this on-air.

Griffin iFM

Could it be? Could the newly announced Griffin iFM finally be the solution that enables high quality recording on the iPod? It's plausable. The iFM is marketed as "a recording device, with a built in microphone to record voice, or change modes to capture live FM radio directly to the iPod!" Surely consumers wouldn't want to listen back to radio at the low bitrates that iPod imposes on recordings. But... sadly that's the case. The iFM technical specs page lists the recorded file quality as "8kHz, 16-bit mono WAV files (as specified by iPod)." Still an interesting product idea. But I won't be buying one.

Morning Becomes Eclectic Becomes Podcast

This is pretty cool. From 43 Folders comes news that NPR's Morning Becomes Eclectic (or at least parts thereof) is now available as a podcast.

From last Friday's Romenesko newsletter, comes a link to Eric Zorn's Put your feet up, there's more to flip-flop story:

A lot of news, both serious and silly, starts this way--small observations or nagging questions that someone can't shake and finally pursues, often after crashing through the barrier of doubt that anyone else cares.

Couldn't have put it any better myself.

MicroTrack 2496

I was excited when CDM first reported on M-Audio's FlashTracker/MicroTrack recording unit. Now it looks like this little unit is official. A pro-quality digital recorder with headphone monitoring, USB transfers, and phantom power? For 500 dollars? Not too shabby. Unlike the Edirol R-1 I've been coveting, it doesn't have built-in mics. And hopefully unlike the Edirol R-1, it won't be perpetually on backorder.

Listen for me tomorrow

If you tune into your local CBC morning show tomorrow (Wednesday, July 20), you might hear me talking about the new LCD displays at Tim Hortons. I did the piece in my spare time last week, and it's being syndicated across the network tomorrow. From today's Content Factory outlook:

TIM HORTONS SCREENS Tim Hortons is adding a new item to its menu. Or rather, the new item is the menu. Video displays are being installed in Tim Hortons menu boards across the country. The CBC's Dan Misener visited his local Tim's to find out what customers are saying about the new screens. RUNS 3:57

Rose Parade

What's better news than hearing that Laura Peek is back on the air at CKDU with The Rose Parade? News that she's simul/podcasting, of course. Check it out.

A fun present in the mail today

I have begun to enjoy the sight of packages bearing the mark of Alliance Atlantis. A copy of Back to Breaks: The True Sounds From The Original Block Parties arrived in my mailbox at work via Jenna. Words cannot descibe how perfect much of this music is for radio scoring. Just take a look at the track list.

The Big 8

Manny at work gave me a copy of this NPR documentary on CKLW. Kind of neat to think that I work in the same building that these broadcasts came from.

Popped Culture is podcasting

As Jessica mentions in this comment, the CKDU Pop Culture Collective's Popped Culture is now podcasting. I listened to the first episode of the new season a few days ago, and it's excellent. Almost enough to make me want to move to Halifax and join the collective. A quick check of the CKDU podcasting site shows that Popped Culture joins Let's Get Baked's podcast and What's New Mitsou?'s podcast, to bring CKDU's podcast simulcast count up to 3. Way to go!