Luke Armour at BlogTalkRadio sends word that John C. Havens will be broadcasting live tonight and tomorrow from the Expo and his broadcasts will be available on his host page or by RSS immediately after.

Friday at 5:30pm PT, Havens will produce his show from Jason Van Orden’s Poolside Party. The show will feature interviews with Paolo Tosolini of Microsoft and podcasting consultant Jason Van Orden. Havens will also report on latest news and tips from the Podcast and New Media Expo.

On Saturday, September 29, Havens will be joined by Paolo Tosolini of Microsoft at 11:30am PT, where they will broadcast their presentation The Business Value of Podcasting and New Media for Corporate Organizations live from the Expo. Tosolini and Havens will discuss case studies from Microsoft’s recently launched Academy Mobile podcasting platform and other existing initiatives.

Microsoft recently created the Enterprise Podcasting show on the BlogTalkRadio network. Microsoft will be using the platform to further discuss the present and the future of corporate podcasting. The Expo presentation will stream live at 11:30am PT, Saturday from the Enterprise Podcasting channel on BlogTalkRadio.

Howard Lindzon, the creator of the “Wall Strip” video podcast (“stock culture meets pop culture”), was interviewed by Expo organizer Tim Bourquin as the opening session for the 2007 Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California.

Lindzon parlayed his background in the financial industry, and some financial backing ($600,000), and overlooked his own lack of experience in the media creation industry to jump into the stock podcasting business. He has reportedly sold the podcast to a traditional broadcasting company (CBS) eight months after starting the show, for $5 million.

He built the podcast, knowing he wanted to grow the business and ultimately sell it. He would love to see it get to regular television eventually, but for now it is on CBS Interactive.

“You’ve got all these media in the background, and there’s all this competition; it’s a challenge to stand out. …

We had to embarrass ourselves in order to stand out. …

I’d rather have a hundred people who can change your life watching our show rather than a million people over on YouTube who might not come back tomorrow….

We chose to do a shorter format show and that’s been good for us. CBS cringes when we go over three minutes, actually.”

Lindzon calls himself a “bird in the hand guy” and said it was the right decision for him to grow the show, and sell quickly. For him, he says, that relieved the pressure to perform and maintain the intensity of a well produced frequent show.

He added that he is passionate about the subject matter (stocks and finance), has years of experience in that subject matter, but would not want to be on-screen in the long term, or jump into some other topic area in which he’s not an expert, in which he doesn’t know the bloggers and the supporters who will support and spread the word about the podcast project.

Podcasting network PodShow today announced PodShowTV, a new service designed to let you access the network’s content on PCs, mobile devices and, in the near future, through advanced digital set-top boxes, Net-connected DVRs and IPTV. The service will feature PodShow content, but also provide a platform for users to interact and publish content.

In effect, PodShow is trying to create a new type of television network that incorporates social networking and user-generated content.

Along with the PodShowTV announcement, PodShow is introducing BackStage Pass, a new entertainment show debuting live from the upcoming BT Digital Music Awards 2007 (DMA) in London. BackStage Pass will premiere on PodShowTV’s new live channel, thePLUS.

“With PodShowTV we are taking the best of traditional broadcasting and combining it with the power of personalized media,” said Ron Bloom, CEO and Co-Founder, PodShow. “thePLUS takes it even further, enabling millions of users to simultaneously watch round-the-clock programming from PodShow or get involved by creating and sharing their own channels and ultimately influencing the programming on the network.”

 

Apple appears to have opened a veritable Pantera’s box with its decision to fight hackers with an update that could turn your iPhone into an iBrick.

We tested the update and it worked perfectly on an unhacked, locked iPhone. The update adds several great new features, including the iTunes WiFi store, which is more useful and usable than we expected, and double-clicking options for the Home button.

Unfortunately, the update also is turning some users’ phones into iBricks, which has unleashed a sh**storm of discussion:

• The New York Times is unusually tuned-in on this issue. They say that “Apple essentially has two choices. Either it exposes most of the iPhone‚Äôs capabilities to developers. Or it will have to gird for an ever escalating war in which it will have to send ever more electronic brick-bombs to its best customers who don‚Äôt follow its strict rules.”
• PodTech’s Robert Scoble thinks Apple has a PR nightmare on its hands. “Tons of people on Twitter are reporting problems with their iPhones. Including my son. Patrick‚Äôs iPhone lost all of its data.”
• MacWorld’s Jonathan Self bricked his iPhone and survived to tell the story.
• Wired says that Apple’s plan to turn your hacked iPhone into an iBrick is legally sound. “After talking to a handful of lawyers this week, it seems abdundantly clear that Apple is entirely within its right to refuse warranty service on unlocked iPhones.”

The group of people that are most likely to blog about the iPhone are people pushing the limits of what they can do with the phone, even if that means unlocking it and hacking it. By fighting customization and carrier freedom, Apple is also fighting some of the most vocal people on the Internet.

Apple needs to find a middle ground, giving users some ability to load up apps – perhaps “sandboxed” to minimize potential side effects. If the main justification is keeping rogue apps from tieing up AT&T’s already slow Edge network, then perhaps Apple could limit sandboxed apps to communicating via the device’s WiFi connection.

Apple has a fantasic product on its hands with the iPhone – but it’s even more fantastic when you can customize it by adding your own ringtones and applications and use it with the service provider of your choice.

Sick of listening to those 8-track tapes in your private jet?

Rockwell Collins has introduced two new iPod integration solutions for those of you with jets.

“Now passengers can make the most of their iPods and iPhones as integrated entertainment devices on board the aircraft,” said Rockwell Collins’ Tommy Dodson.
The new iPod Solo Station and the iPod Quad Station both offer flexible designs that allow passengers to charge their iPod and access their music and video libraries through the cabin audio visual system.

The iPod Solo Station is a docking solution ideal for near-seat, side ledge installation. This system allows an iPod or iPhone device to be connected to the Cabin Management system for charging, remote menu control, and sharing of audio and video. The iPod Solo Station consists of a small enclosure in which the iPod can be connected to the Cabin System and stowed.

The iPod Quad Station provides an integrated way to dock multiple iPods to the audio visual system. The Quad Station can host up to four iPods within a series of adjoining docking slots, with each iPod capable of routing its audio and video to a different destination, while being independently controlled. This allows the cabin to be outfitted with four independent channels of audio and video, containing hundreds of hours of passengers’ favorite movies and TV shows, as well as thousands of songs from their music libraries.

The Podcast and New Media Expo, taking place September 28-30 in Ontario, California, kicks off this morning. The Expo brings together digital media creators, podcasters and content developers from around the world for three days focused on content creation, the new media business, discussing trends and networking.

You can get a preview of the show from our interview with Expo founder Tim Bourquin.

We’re in Ontario for the expo and have a busy scheduled lined up, so we can try to bring readers the highlights of the show. If you’re at the expo and you’d like to contact us, you can send us a note at expo (at) podcasting-news.com. If you’ve got news that you’d like to make sure we’re aware of, let us know or send us the information via our feedback form.

Today at DigitalLife, Microsoft made two announcements that raise the stakes in the competition to bring Internet television to the world. In doing so, Microsoft threatens to further marginalize Apple TV and even sideline indie video podcasters.

Microsoft’s first announcement was to unveil Extenders for Microsoft Windows Media Center. These horribly named devices, which are expected to be available for purchase this holiday season, basically use your home network to bring premium cable, high-definition TV, popular video formats including DivX, music, paid movies and photos to your television.

Several vendors have announced Extenders, and the Extender technology will be incorporated in HP’s current line of MediaSmart high-definition televisions.

Microsoft also launched a beta test of Windows Media Center Internet TV, which will offer more than 100 hours of ad-supported entertainment from MSN Video, including full-length shows, music concerts and movie trailers.

‚ÄúWe are excited to reveal the first series of totally quiet, cool, and sleek-looking Media Center Extender devices, designed to deliver the ultimate entertainment experience to every TV set in your home,‚Äù said Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president, Entertainment and Devices eHome Division, Microsoft. ‚ÄúThese products are the initial third-party devices that can wirelessly connect a TV with a PC, with features including live high-definition TV, PVR, movies, pictures, music and online services. In addition, the Internet TV beta allows Windows Media Center as well as Extender users to enjoy free high-quality television from some of their favorite studios and networks in Media Center, directly over the Internet.”
Microsoft’s focus appears to be on mainstream media content deals. While this holds the potential of offering a better out-of-the-box experience for general audiences, it could make it more difficult for indie video podcasters to compete for attention.

Here are the details of the announcement…..

Yahoo’s decision to kill off the Yahoo podcast portal has generated a lot of discussion, and appears to be a sort of Rorschach test that reflects people’s attitudes about podcasting.

Does Yahoo’s Decision Reflects The State Of Podcasting?

At TechCrunch, Duncan Riley suggests that podcasting’s growth rate is the reason for the closing, saying that “podcast directories have struggled, as a medium that years ago held so much promise was surpassed by the rise of video.”

According to Read/WriteWeb’s Marshall Kirkpatrick, “Some would argue that podcasting hasn’t caught on like it was expected to, that it’s been dominated by existing media giants and beaten as a medium by the rise of video.” Kirkpatrick also puts some of the blame on Yahoo. “I don’t know how many people ever cared for the site anyway. I hadn’t looked at Yahoo! Podcasts since just a few months after it launched, when there were no RSS feeds and you had to login with a Yahoo! ID in order to download audio files instead of listening to them through a pop-up Yahoo! audio player.”

Or Was Yahoo’s Podcast Portal Just Lousy?

Lisa Barone says Yahoo’s decision wasn’t because of problems with podcasting – it was because of problems with Yahoo’s site. “Frankly, the site could use a little clean up,” says Barone. “The current podcasting directory isn‚Äôt altogether user-friendly. There weren‚Äôt any RSS feeds and users were forced to log in with a Yahoo ID in order to download any of the content.”

At Web Pro News, David Utter echoes the argument that Yahoo’s site failed to compete with iTunes, calling Apple’s proprietary podcast solution the “elephant sitting in the middle of the podcasting industry.” Or as Utter puts it – “If this were a game of Clue, we would guess Yahoo Podcasts was done in by Steve Jobs, in the server room, with the Cat-5 cable.”

CenterNetworks’ Allen Stern puts the blame squarely on Yahoo. “THE DAMN THING NEVER WORKED,” notes Stern. “I spent hours trying to get CN podcasts to upload and never could get it to work. Emails to support went unanswered and I left. I wonder how many others were in the same boat.”

Probably the most positive spin on Yahoo’s decision comes from mobile podcasting guru Rob Greenlee, who says that the decision is a sign of the podcast industry’s maturity.

“I am not surprised Yahoo has decided to close down its podcast directory site on Oct 31,2007. It jumped on a hot trend and did not have a long-term vision,” according to Greenlee. “Listeners and directories need to have a one-click to subscribe and listen process. This explains the success of iTunes + iPod solution. Any other successful platform needs to have the same equation and Yahoo just did not have this connection to a portable or mobile phone player.”

Sun is calling out Apple for it’s decision to leave Java off of the iPhone. Apple’s stance was called a mistake by a Sun Microsystems executive Wednesday at the AJAXWorld conference in Santa Clara.

“I think it’s a mistake. I think it would provide a lot more flexibility in applications being developed,” for the iPhone, said Bob Brewin, Sun Distingushied Engineer and vice president for software. By not having it on there now, iPhone users and Java developers are being shortchanged, according to Brewin.

Brewin’s criticism reflects Apple’s approach to the iPhone, treating it more like an appliance than a platform that can be built upon. “Fundamentally, they don’t like open systems,” Brewin said.

In addition to Java support, Apple crippled its Web browser, Safari, removing Flash support, and has made other efforts to keep developers from treating the iPhone as a platform. While Apple encourages development of Internet apps for the iPhone, this limits they types of apps that can be created.

Podcasters and new media types from throughout the United States and around the world are converging on Ontario, California, for this weekend’s Podcast and New Media Expo.

For those who arrive a little early, and aren’t otherwise tied up with Podcast Academy or preparations for presenting or exhibiting at the Expo, the local members of the LA Podcasters, and of the Orange County Podcasters are hosting an unconference SoCal PodCamp all day Thursday.

Jason Tucker, one of the organizers, was kind enough to answer our questions and share his expectations of the event:

[Because it’s an un-conference,] PodCamp is VERY organic in nature.

This is actually my first PodCamp that I will be attending. I’m a Southern California guy and I don’t travel much so I haven’t had a chance to check out any of the other PodCamps around the country. Because of this I noticed we haven’t had one in Southern California yet and thought we should start one. OC Podcasters asked our sister group LA Podcasters to join in and give us a hand [and host a PodCamp here].

This PodCamp will be unlike any of the others due to the way in which we were able to get the Expo to sponsor the event and provide us with the space and the equipment. We wanted this PodCamp to be a landing place for people coming in from out of town and for the local podcasters. Most of the out of towners I spoke with were coming on Thursday and were interested in meeting up.

PodCamp SoCal will run from 10 am – 5 pm, tomorrow, September 27, in Ballroom C of the Ontario Convention Center (the spot where the Podcast and New Media Expo will take place Friday through Sunday).