Pluggd is a new podcast directory that lets users to discover, listen to, and share podcasts. The site creators hope to make exploring podcasts easier to bring them to a broader audience.

“We believe that podcasting has tremendous potential, but it is currently too difficult for average people to find podcasts they are interested in and listen to them,” they note. “At Pluggd, we’ve put a lot of energy into trying to make things easy and accessible for the mainstream Internet user. We’ve focused on really basic things like making sure the site is easy to navigate, free of clutter, and provides fast web page downloads.”

Nielsen Media Research has announced ambitious plans to support electronic measurement of media use across all platforms, including MP3 players, cellphones, online video and out-of-home TV viewing. The “Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement” (A2/M2) initiative will be based on tracking via portable electronic measurement tools and its Nielsen/NetRatings software.

Nielsen plans to start this summer installing and testing software meters with Nielsen/NetRatings technology on the PCs and laptops of small groups of its People Meter sample. It has set a goal of fully deploying the system in the 2007-2008 broadcast season.

The CL Sound Machine, from Cucumber Lab, is a unique and unusual iPod accessory.

If you’re looking for an iPod dock slash CD player slash turntable cum wine rack, styled as a post-modern Victrola, Cucumber Labs has you covered.

Doctors in the UK are warning that using an cell phone, iPod or other portable electronic device in a thunderstorm could lead to lethal lighting shocks.According to a letter in the British Medical Journal, the effects of electrocution are likely to be more severe as the metallic components of phones and portable music players act as a conductor, causing potentially lethal internal injuries.

Luckily, odds are that you’ll be dating a supermodel (88,000 to 1) before you’ll get hit by lightning (576,000 to 1).

Doghouse Electronics has introduced RoverTv, a portable media recorder and player that records directly from TV without a computer.”RoverTv establishes a new category of handheld TV recorders and players,” said RoverTv designer Jim Howard. “We built RoverTv hard-drive-free to streamline it and make it durable. Hard drives are chunky and fragile – they were never made to withstand the day to day handling that’s a normal part of enjoying a portable media device,” said Howard, noting that RoverTv’s Flash drive and SD technology provide unlimited external memory. Built-in software allows easy transfer of video/music content to and from a Mac or PC.

Sima Products has introduced the Hitch (model USB-101), a device that lets you connect nearly any digital camera, DAP, PMP, or flash drive with a USB connection and copy single files or entire albums.

Hitch is compatible with many brands of digital devices, such as Apple, Creative, iRiver, Samsung, Sony, Canon, Nikon, Casio, Olympus, Panasonic, Philips – virtually any device with a USB connection. The pocket-sized Hitch will transfer music, video, photos, documents, and more.

TiVo has released a new version of its TiVo Desktop application for Windows, which lets users transfer recorded television programs from the set-top box to their computers and portable devices.TiVo also released a premium version of the software, called TiVo Desktop Plus, which lets user stransfer content to Apple’s iPod, Sony’s PSP, Treo and Nokia phones, along with other portable devices that support MPEG-4 or H.264 video. The Plus version is priced at $24.95 USD.

The PodLounge, a podcast directory and community site, has announced the launch of a version of the site tailored to Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) users. The site is designed to provide PSP users easy access to podcasts.“The frustrating aspect about using a PSP as a media device for podcasts until now has been the difficulty in locating podcasts using websites not suitably designed for use on a PSP”, says John McClumpha, Technical Director of The PodLounge, “There’s nothing worse than navigating through a site that is twice the width of your screen”.

Podcasting comedian Ricky Gervais is claiming to have beaten his own his own record for the most downloaded podcast ever. Earlier in the year, his podcast landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records with an average of 261,670 downloads per episode.But people didn’t stop downloading the show once he got the record. So the number got bigger. According to Gervais, the total rose to 541,329 by the time the first series of The Ricky Gervais Show ended in February.

Packard Bell today announced the launch of the world’s first notebook computer to feature a one-touch Skype calling button. The Packard Bell EasyNote Skype Edition notebook is designed to make answering and placing Skype calls as easy as using a traditional phone, with the added benefits of video calling, instant messaging and group calling. The integration of Skype and webcam capabilities could make it appealing to podcasters.The Skype calling button is located next to the integrated webcam on the upper bevel of the 14-inch widescreen display. By pressing the button the user can answer incoming calls or open the Skype application to make a call. The laptop features built-in broadband and wireless connectivity.