Microsoft has released a patch for Windows Vista to fix serious compatibility problems with iPods:

Today we’re publishing at the Microsoft Download Center a recommended final compatibility update for users of Windows Vista and the Apple iPod; this same update will be automatically available via Windows Update on Tuesday 22 May.¬† The release is for users worldwide and works with the latest version of Apple iTunes to correct an issue that caused some iPods to become corrupted when ejecting them using Windows Explorer or the “Safely Remove Hardware” function in the System Tray.

The long and short of it is this:  Apple and Windows have partnered together to ensure a great experience in using Windows Vista with iTunes and the iPod, and both companies recommend you download this update.

The patch is a free download.

NBC Universal has announced that it plans to limit the length of pre-roll advertising (ads displayed before you get any content) in short Internet videos to 15 seconds or less. NBC’s move appears to be part of a trend towards shorter, more targeted advertising in Internet video.

Unfortunately, it looks like MTV is bucking this trend. Its video podcasts are almost 50% advertising, a problem that could not only limit interest in their content, but could even damage their brand among influential technology first adopters.

The MTV News video podcast is unusually heavy on advertising and unusually light on real content. Here’s a breakdown of a typical episode (MP4):

• 3 seconds of MTV Podcasts branding
• 19 seconds of advertising for Clean & Clear
• 4 seconds of MTV News branding
• 47 seconds of content
• 4 seconds more of MTV News branding
• 10 seconds more of MTV Podcasts branding

All in all, it’s 40 seconds of advertising in a video podcast that’s not even a minute and a half long.

By comparison, an episode of the wildly popular indie video podcast Ask A Ninja has about 10 seconds of advertising within a three minute plus video podcast, followed by a post-roll ad. That’s about a tenth as much advertising, by percent, as MTV’s video podcast, and it’s much less intrusive.

MTV appears to be trading on its brand in order to sell ad space. While this may offer short term gain, it could prove damaging both MTV’s brand and the brands of its advertisers among a crucial demographic – the young, influential first-adopting information omnivores that make up a large part of the video podcast audience.

NBC Universal has announced that it plans to limit the length of pre-roll advertising (ads displayed before you get any content) in Internet videos to 15 seconds or less. Longer-form content, such as full-length episodes of TV series will continue to accept 30-second or longer spots.

“It’s essential for clients to deliver their messages in a way that best suits the medium and its users,” said Peter Naylor, senior VP of digital media sales for NBC Universal.”Research and client feedback tells us consumers are turned off by a spot that runs almost as long as the content itself.”

Added to the mobilecasting index: spodtronic lets you listen to your favorite radio station, anytime and anywhere, on your mobile phone. With spodtronic’s mobile podcatcher, you can also download podcasts directly to your handset, without the need to use a computer.

The company positions its service as a total radio experience – an alternative to traditional radio, satellite radio and MP3 players.

spodtronic installs onto your phone and lets you access Internet radio, podcasts and on-demand services. The software is a free download.

Requirements:

• A compatible phone – the software is currently compatible with Nokia N90, N70, N72, 6682, 6681, 6680, 6630, 6620.
• 700KB of free space on your phone.
• An unlimited data plan.

Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst with Wall Street investment bank Caris & Co., this morning raised his price target for Apple stock, forecasting that iPod sales in the coming (June) quarter should be up from the current (March) quarter. Seyrafi says he now sees iPod units in the quarter growing to 11.9 million units from 10.5 million in Q1; his previous forecast called for a decline to 10 million units.

He also sees a rosy sales future for the iPhone, and suggests that his already startling numbers could be too low. Seyrafi expects 17 million units in fiscal 2008 and 25 million in fiscal 2009. Apple CEO Steve Jobs had predicted getting to 1% global market share, or about 10 million phones, in the first year.

via Eric Savitz’ blog at Barrons’ Online Tech Trader Daily

Warner Music has announced that it is cutting 400 jobs in response to quarterly losses that were larger than expected. The world’s fourth-largest music company reported a fiscal second-quarter net loss of $27 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a loss of $7 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.

“The recorded music industry remains challenged by piracy and changing consumption patterns in the shift from physical sales to new forms of digital music,” the company said in a statement.

Warner’s losses also reflect the fact that the company has failed to adapt to the times. As the attention of tech-saavy first adopters has moved to Internet media like YouTube and podcasts, the mainstream music industry is nowhere to be found, or is busy suing people. There are hundreds of free music podcasts which offer an alternative to mainstream music and the limitations of DRM, so many people are filling their iPods with this music, instead of major label tracks.

Unless they can capture people’s attention, Warner and other labels are likely to become a less and less important part of people’s media consumption habits.

An article in today’s New York Times looks at how some authors are using podcasts and audiobooks as stepping stones in getting publishing deals.

When you are a budding author and you appear on television, it is sure to enhance book sales.

But what do you do if your book is not even written, never mind in stores?

For Mignon Fogarty, who is host of a popular podcast called Grammar Girl, the answer is to scramble to record a short audiobook in just a few days between the time the show tapes and is shown.

Ms. Fogarty signed a contract a few months ago with Henry Holt & Company, the publisher, but her book is not scheduled to appear until next year. Meanwhile, her audiobook climbed to the top of iTunes’ best-selling books list after she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Grammar Girl “is the phenom of the moment,” said John Sterling, the president and publisher of Henry Holt, “and here we are basically improvising, creating a digital audiobook in a matter of days, and out of nowhere we‚Äôre No. 1 on iTunes.”

A new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project highlights the fact that most Americans are not participating in blogging, podcasting or Internet media sharing sites like YouTube. While 85% of Americans use the Internet or cell phones, only 8% are what the study calls information “omnivores” – people that fully participate “in cyberspace.”

According to the Pew report, fully half of adults have a more distant or non-existent relationship to modern information technology. Some of the reasons for this are:

• people‚Äôs concerns about information overload;
• people‚Äôs sense that their gadgets have more capacity than users can master;
• people‚Äôs sense that things like blogging and creating home-brew videos for YouTube is not for them; and
• people‚Äôs inability to afford or their unwillingness to buy the gear that would bring them into the digital age.

The report highlights that activities like podcasting and video sharing still pose significant usability barriers for most people, that there’s tremendous opportunity for people that can create better solutions for Internet media and that there’s a huge untapped audience for podcasts and Internet media.

Here’s the details on how Pew categorizes people’s Internet use….

NBC Universal is siding with media conglomerate Viacom in a piracy lawsuit against Google’s YouTube video sharing site.

In a filing Friday, NBC Universal and Viacom submitted a friend of the court brief opposing YouTube’s bid to dismiss the copyright infringement suit brought by Robert Tur, a LA News Service operator. Tur sued YouTube in July for letting its users publish his well-known footage of trucker Reginald Denny being beaten during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

While NBC is not suing YouTube directly, the court papers state its position on unauthorized video sharing:

“Many of NBCU’s most valuable copyrighted works have been copied, performed, and disseminated without authorization by YouTube and other similarly operated Websites. NBCU has a strong interest in preserving the strength and viability of all of its legal rights and remedies in response to such conduct.”

In related news on Friday, The Premier League, a UK soccer association, and Bourne, an indie music publisher, announced a new class-action lawsuit against YouTube and Google.

RCA has announced the new EZ201 Small Wonder, an inexpensive digital camcorder designed to make it easy to capture and share video. It joins a growing segment of cheap camcorders, like the Flip Video, designed to offer basic image quality and the most frequently used features of more expensive camcoders.

“We‚Äôve listened to our consumers‚Äô needs, and have created a product that offers the perfect video recording solution for a myriad of users ‚Äì anyone who needs a convenient, affordable, and pocket-sized video recording solution,” said RCA’s Dan Collishaw “We are committed to providing consumers with features that make products easier ‚Äì not harder ‚Äì to use and to enjoy.”

The EZ201 has an SD memory card expansion slot, the RCA MemoryManager video sharing application and a flip-out display. The camcorder is about the size of a deck of cards and weighs 5.25 ounces.

The EZ201 retails for $129.