A UK college is giving students iPods so that they can catch up on missed lectures on their own time. South Kent College in Dover has spent £25,000 on iPod nanos for 250 students in the hope they will listen to podcasts of lectures, as well as music.The college is making lectures on IT, motor vehicle engineering and childcare available as podcasts, and has plans to make all courses available to download by next year.

Some have found the program controversial. The Campaign for Real Education said it was wrong to offer students “bribes”.

“It’s a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money,” said Campaign chairman Nick Seaton. “Youngsters should want to take the courses for their own sake if they are worthwhile.

The US Patent & Trademark Office has published Apple’s patent application for a Multi-functional hand-held device, originally filed in March 2006.

Apple recently announced a Sept 12th media event, and there has been much speculation about the possibility of Apple introducing a phone and a more powerful video iPod. The Patent combines both phone and media player features, with a multi-function user interface and a relatively large widescreen display.

The patent image doesn’t look like much – but it’s clear that the device features a full-face screen and mobile functionality.

Apple describes the devices as a “multi-functional hand-held device capable of configuring user inputs based on how the device is to be used. Preferable, the multi-functional hand-held device has at most only a few physical buttons, keys, or switches so that its display size can be substantially increased. In other words, by eliminating physical buttons, keys, or switches from a front surface of an electronic device, additional surface area becomes available for a larger display (our emphasis). Ultimately this strategy would allow a substantially full screen display. As used herein, a full screen display is a display that consumes, or at least dominates, a surface (e.g., front surface) of an electronic device.”

NETIA, a company that provides software for media industries, has released a new podcasting module for the company’s Radio Assist digital audio content management software.

An extension for Radio-Assist’s Dispatcher automatic converter software, the new podcasting module permits broadcasters to publish podcasts from media assets within the Radio-Assist content database.

“Radio broadcasters need a reliable and efficient means of publishing content via podcasts because it’s a quickly growing broadcast platform,” said Xavier de Vynck, vice president of business development at NETIA. “The new Radio-Assist podcasting module gives broadcasters the tool they need to make content and updates automatically available to listeners on their digital media players.”

Sony Pictures has signed to a deal to sponsor CNN video podcasts, making it the first major studio to do so. Sony’s first campaign, is a promotion for the football drama “Gridiron Gang,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The spots run as brief preroll on CNN video podcasts.

CNN began video podcasting in June and now averages more than 4 million served each month. According to reports, Sony was attracted by the video podcasts’ broad demographic reach and by a strong correlation between video podcast viewers and moviegoers.

via Yahoo!

Noah Kalina, a New York photographer, has published a video that provides a unique self-portrait. Kalina took 2356 photos of himself, a photo each day for six years, and then combined them to create a a sort of stop-motion or time lapse self-portrait.

Gracie’s Gear, a manufacturer of women’s athletic wear, recently introduced the Power Pouch, a sports bra that securely holds a woman‚Äôs workout essentials, such as keys, an MP3 player, and energy gel while providing the support that women expect from a traditional sports bra.

The Bride of Macenstein has a review of the MP3 sports bra, and calls it the “single most important iPod accessory to ever have been made.”

“The iPod‚Äôs high placement on the body and the chord management of the Power Pouch mean your arms are free to move as you please without fear of accidental headphone tangles, and my hands are now free to hold free-weights instead of my iPod,” explains The Bride. “The extra side pockets mean there is room for keys and cash, something often missing in sports armbands.”

According to a new AP-AOL Video poll, more than half of Internet users have watched or downloaded video, but only one in five has watched or downloaded a full-length movie or television show.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” said Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, which is selling programs and giving away ad-supported shows through AOL. “A lot of progress has been made in terms of the quality of video and audio on the Web. It’s not the same as broadcast or DVD, but it’s improving.”

Kevin Conroy, executive vice president for AOL, said its users have been watching longer and longer clips as more programs become available — starting with music videos, moving to television and now adding movies. Viewership should improve, he said, as more portable gadgets and other devices support Internet video.

It looks like Sirius may be realizing that it has some serious problems with the viability of satellite radio. The company’s latest strategy features a new device, the Sirius Stiletto Live portable Receiver SL100PK1, that can receive audio via WiFi.

That’s right – the latest device from Sirius works over the Internet using WiFi, expanding coverage to anywhere the Internet is available, and making satellite distribution redundant for some users.

The Stilleto is another sign, like the Microsoft Zune, of convergence on an audio platform based on wireless Internet distribution.

Apple will soon be releasing an iPod phone, according to American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu.

Rumors about Apple iPod phones have been around for years. Photoshop mockups, like the one above, provide a vivid image of the concept but may have no relationship to what Apple may or may not release.
Apple could release its new cell phone as early as the first half of 2007, said Wu. According to the analyst, it’s an event that could possibly disrupt the cell-phone industry the way it upset the MP3 industry with its iPod player.

“We encourage investors to get aggressive in purchasing shares of Apple prior to the potential revolution of the handset industry,” Wu said.

New research conducted for the UK’s Royal National Institute for Deaf People’s Don‚Äôt Lose the Music campaign reveals that 58% of 16-30 year olds are completely unaware of any risk to their hearing from using MP3 players and other audio products that attach directly to the ears.

The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) is so concerned that the MP3 generation could be at risk from premature hearing damage that it’s calling on manufacturers of MP3 players to provide clearer warnings on packaging about the dangers of listening too loudly to their products.

“We know that young people are at risk from losing their hearing prematurely by listening to loud music for too long on MP3 players,” said Dr John Low, Chief Executive, RNID. “MP3 player manufacturers have a responsibility to make their customers aware of the risks and the need to listen at sensible levels and we urge them to incorporate prominent warnings into the packaging of their products.”