Today we've got another launch in store. This time Ferrari are due to unveil their new car, and we're hoping it will be a bit more than just a livery. There'll be a breakout thread along shortly to cover the launch, and apparently there's live streaming! Loving the interactivity this year. Anyways, here are some other things we're talking about:
Talking of launches, Mercedes posted a replay of their online stream so that if you missed the event on Monday, you can catch right up. Naturally, a lot of it is in German, and you still don't manage to get a good look at the car, but it's worth watching if you've got a spare half hour.
We had some real good news yesterday (before all the Apple stuff kicked off) in the shape of Autosport preparing to announce the introduction of digital magazines. They trialled the idea when we had the postal strike in the UK, and now it looks as though it's coming back for real. This is very good news, and whilst the setup isn't perfect for searching and archiving information, it's an amazing step in the right direction.
So, yes, there was Apple news yesterday, and as content producers, we are quite excited about the new iPad. That is a stupid name, by the way. Mr C spent most of the evening daydreaming about what he could get up to on the new device. If you have thoughts about the device, please share them in our dedicated thread, it's not all a love-fest, I promise.
That should do it for now. There's plenty to keep us busy to forget the fact that it's Thursday, so I will see you in the comments.
Sidepodcast has not jumped the shark, I promise. There's a tenuous F1 connection here somewhere.
As we've mentioned several times in the past, the entire Sidepodcast project is built upon the product foundations that Apple have built and we've long since come to the conclusion that it wouldn't be possible to do what we do with anything else.
Later on Wednesday, the entire of the technology world will be looking in the direction of San Francisco, where Apple are holding a media event to launch a new product. The sensible money says it will be a tablet shaped product.
Proceedings kick off at 6pm GMT and we'll be specifically looking for announcements that directly affect what we do including:
Improvements to video quality - Currently the size and quality of our F1 video podcasts are tied directly to what the iPhone will support. Might we see improvements in this area?
Podcasts in the cloud - Will the iTunes eco-system see personal content made available online, and if so will that change how media is consumed?
Tablets everywhere - How portable and affordable will the rumoured device be, and can we make use of one or more of them in a live streaming environment?
Admittedly very little of this is specifically F1 related, but any hardware or software improvements will likely reflect on the kind of Formula 1 coverage Sidepodcast is able to provide this year.
We'll be following the launch via words and pictures on the Endgadget's Live Blog and will keep this post up-to-date with any relevant announcements. If you're interested in joining the fun, we'll be ticking off the rumours with this handy Prediction Score Card and posting updates in the comments too.
Tuesday has been and gone and we are moving on to the middle of the week. We are rapidly heading straight towards another launch tomorrow, but before then, there's some kind of technology announcement due today. Relax, all those who hate the word Apple, we will have our first ever non-F1 breakout thread to separate those that care from those that don't. Hopefully that might make things a bit easier. Meanwhile, here are some actual F1 things to discuss:
Mr C is very impressed with the goings on in Enstone, and it's fair to say that Renault are his favourite team once more. For now, at least. Joe has written a great post about the team and what they've been up to, and there's some yellow and black livery in the post for those who prefer that sort of look.
Dan has started up a new page on the wiki entitled Sidepodcast Radio Theatre. The idea is to take a theatre style look at some Formula 1 events, and at the moment, there's a take on Star Wars known as Car Wars. Have a look at the page, and get your creative thinking caps on!
I wrote a post yesterday that although it was based on a pretty tenuous rumour, has the potential for some great stories. Have you ever had to miss a Grand Prix because someone scheduled an event at the same time? We're talking weddings, but you can share any important moments. Which race did you miss? Did you catch up later? Have your say.
That should do it for now. Let us know what you're up to today, particularly if you're not watching Steve Jobs do his thing, and I'll see you in the comments.
Almost since the day Sidepodcast started creating videos, you'll have heard Christine bemoan the lack of a teleprompter. Remembering reams of text, under the pressure of hot studio lights while the cameras are rolling is no-one's idea of fun. Having something to fall back on is often a necessity.
Credit: Sidepodcast
Behind the scenes of the Sidepodcast Christmas special, Christine eyes up the shot. The ProPrompter can be seen above the camera and the GorillaPod legs wrap around the body.
The problem with most teleprompters, is that being somewhat specialist by nature, they have a habit of costing a pretty penny. By way of example, the small model we were looking longingly at was set to cost us £1,800. You can see why we've been putting it off for a while.
Reusing Existing Hardware
Thankfully there's an app for that, and when Bodelin Technologies released ProPrompter (iTunes link) for the iPhone / iPod Touch our quest for an affordable autocue system was over. Coming in at a far more reasonable £5.99, the application allows the iPod to act as a tiny teleprompting system.
True, the screen is a little on the small side for this role, but playback speed is variable, colours are customisable and loading content is straightforward. If nothing else, it's a considerable improvement on holding up sheets of A4 paper and manually swapping them as required. The iPod is mounted atop the camera via a Joby GorillaPod with suction pad attachment and will happily sit there for hours.
Lacking Presentation
It's little improvements such as this gem that make us motivated to create more video content this year. Incidentally, having looked into what other sites are offering in terms of F1 video, a trend we've noticed wherever we look, is the distinct lack of presenters hosting shows.
Neither Autosport TV nor GPUpdate TV seem to offer anything beyond stock footage and a voiceover track (which is almost exclusively male). Can finding an onscreen presenter be that difficult in this day and age? Maybe having a person in front of camera is something else we should be giving USF1 more credit for.
If you're doing any form of podcasting, be it video or audio, we highly recommend the ProPrompter solution. It reuses our existing hardware and the application has already paid for itself in time and effort saved.
Gavin puts on his technology hat to discuss the world and the wonder of tech upon it. He ponders gadgets, the internet and robots in this fascinating half hour glimpse of the future.
Whilst Mr C continues to stick by the somewhat flaky Official F1 App, Bassano Clapper has undertaken some investigative reporting into the other motorsport related iPhone/iPod apps. Non-Apple fans look away now, please.
Whilst Bernie doesn't seem to be embracing 21st Century technology for F1, some of us are trying to. The iPhone is a perfect conduit for F1 related info and we were given an Official F1 App this summer. This doesn't come cheap in a store of free and inexpensive timekillers but there are alternatives out there. If you're willing to experiment a little, there are a few gems - as well as a few that are not so polished. I've tried a few of the free F1 apps and these are my thoughts.
F1 2009 - Go Go Go! Lite was the first to reach my device and I was initially impressed. At my fingertips were news articles, championship standings, an F1 calendar as well as team and driver profiles. Once these were browsed I soon figured out what I most wanted from a free F1 app: convenient, up-to-date, F1 related news. This is where Go Go Go! let itself down. All the stories came from one source (gpupdate.net) and sometimes there would be many days without a single update. There's the option to upgrade to the enhanced, paid edition of this app but on this demonstration, I felt no compulsion to try the full version out, even for small price of £1.19.
Formula 1 Live Racing was next on my list. Quite similar in style to the previous app, this ad-supported offering included basic circuit profiles but had the additional bonus of a gallery of some nice, full-screen photos. I had hoped these would be updated as the calendar rolled on, but sadly this was not the case. It promised in-race updates which I never tried because it wasn't on my handset long enough. Nothing terrible here, just not particularly noteworthy.
Verdict: A firm average Formula 1 Live Racing:Download
Eurosport is an eponymous app from the sports channel that has a decent background in Motorsport. Whilst it is not as comprehensive as some of it's rivals, it is executed well. It has regular, bitesized news updates, practice, qualifying & race results as well championship standings. The live lap-by-lap updates are a handy substitute if you can't see the action first hand. However, the biggest selling point of this freebie is probably the fact that F1 is only a small portion of its abilities. It covers MotoGP, World Rally and Touring Cars as well as a handful of other non-petrolhead sports. (They really exist?) The home screen can be customised with any 4 shortcuts to your chosen sporting field as well as an "All Sports" news reel. Verdict: A big thumbs up for this one which has stayed on my handset since it landed
F1 Insider is the final, as well as, my most-clicked F1 app. Simplicity works here, large full screen displays that scroll rather than squeeze in too much info. Countdowns to all the practice and qualifying sessions for the year, as well as the races themselves. It's best redeeming feature is the news feed. This is user defined by allowing you to select (and more importantly, de-select) where you receive your news from. Nine popular F1 News sites are listed; including AUTOSPORT, GrandPrix.com and the BBC F1 pages. Being able to ignore the sites that shall not be mentioned is a nice touch. This feature is essentially a pretty RSS reader that gives you the pages of some of your favourite sites in an iPhone configured page. However, this is the app that I like the most and chose to fork out some hard earned cash (well, just over a pound) for the feature added, paid edition. For £1.19 you also get live qualifying and race updates and a nice feature that let's you tag your favourite driver and team which highlights them in the points haul (for better or worse!). This app does pretty much everything that the others do, but is presented well, has regular, plentiful news updates and for me - it passes the finish line in first place.
Verdict: Passes the finish line in first place F1 Insider:Download
That covers some of the best and worst that the AppStore has to offer, but don't forget to give us your F1 App recommendations, we're always keen to try out more.
If you've been hanging out in the comments over the past 24 hours, you might have concluded that Sidepodcast quite likes the iPhone. A dearth of interesting Formula 1 news has meant we've been getting most of our kicks from technology updates planned by the people in Cupertino.
However, aside from announcements tenuously relating to plans we have for the future of Sidepodcast, there wasn't much to tie the new iPhone back to Formula 1. That was until I read Will Buxton's blog post this evening.
The man discusses the brand new, and more notably the official, F1 Timing Application available for purchase from the App Store. It's a good one, too.
Actually, the first time we heard mention of this thing was during 5Live's race broadcast on Sunday, when David Croft said both he and Anthony Davidson were using it to receive updates in the commentary box. Somehow we promptly forgot to look for it afterwards, but if it's good enough to be used when you're broadcasting live to the nation (and to the six fans who bothered to turn up in Turkey), it's good enough for me.
But what do you get for your money?
I'm Broke but I'm Happy
The software works during all live F1 sessions from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon. You're initially presented with an interactive circuit map that details all driver positions at any stage and you can select an individual driver to focus on. Weather data is continually updated, whilst a timely race order is also present.
Flip the device into landscape mode and you'll get a full screen live map, or hit the info tab for a more typical live timing display similar to that already provided via f1.com.
If a session has already finished, you can watch it back in real-time as often as you like, although data must be downloaded before playback. It probably goes without saying, but although this application runs just fine on the iPod Touch too, you'll still need an internet connection to receive any live updates.
A second screen provides circuit maps for every race on the calendar, current championship standings and driver bio's. A third offers a rather simple text description of any ongoing action (live commenting, it isn't!).
With One Hand in Your Pocket
In the UK the software sells in the App Store for £4.99, although it's not entirely clear if there are further charges to pay on a race-by-race basis.
It will work on current iPhone and iPod Touch models (and presumably also on the 3.0 update due next week). The code has been pulled together by a company called Soft Pauer and although this appears to be their first App Store submission they've done a fine, fine job of developing it.
Of note, the terms and conditions do state that software may collect anonymous data useage statistics, although apparently solely for quality control purposes.
That's pretty much all we know at the moment. We intend to road test the thing properly during the British Grand Prix weekend and will likely report back with details after that. It looks to all the world like it'll be a winner and Formula 1 has just taken a huge step forward in terms of giving fans more access to what's going on during a race.
Nick did point out earlier that this information should really be available on your desktop too, so we're keen to hear more thoughts and opinions on whether you think this is a good thing for F1 fans or not? Would you buy the F1 Timing App, or have you already?
With the voting for the 2008 Weblog Awards due imminently, we've come to the sudden realisation that we're up against some serious competition. In fact, we stand no chance, but that's okay, because in the podcast category we are up against both This American Life and This Week in Tech - both brilliant podcasts that I listen to regularly and love.
With that in my mind, plus the fact that I have finally managed to catch up with my podcast feeds over the holidays, I thought I would share some of the non-F1 shows I listen to. Here are ten of the many, many podcasts I have subscribed to - not including the two already mentioned and in no particular order:
Buzz Out Loud
From the CNET stable of podcasts, Buzz Out Loud is a weekday show, roughly half an hour long, discussing everything that affects the technology and media industry. The show is friendly and informative, good at explaining some complex things, and is very happy to take feedback and be corrected by the growing Buzz community. [link]
Friday Night Comedy
This fine podcast rotates between the always excellent Now Show and the mildly amusing News Quiz. I know Mr C subscribes and unsubscribes just to hear the former, but I don't mind chuckling my way through the odd news quiz while I wait for the amusing Punt and Dennis to return. [link]
Media Talk
From the Guardian, this show does what it says on the tin, in that it talks about all things media. From newspapers, to TV, to online presence, and specifically how companies are making the transition from old media to new. The conversation can get a bit pretentious, as though we are eavesdropping on insiders having a good old chinwag, however sometimes that's where the gems come from. [link]
Sky News: Headlines Update
Although Sky News isn't my favourite, this is a good video podcast for keeping up with the main headlines of the day. There are several updates throughout the day, and I don't watch them all. I tend to catch up with them when I feel I haven't been aware of the news of late. It's a good summary, but needs a proper ending. [link]
60 Second Science
I found 60 Second Science after starting F1 Minute. I wanted to see how other people managed the mini-podcast genre, and this one really caught my attention. It has the exact feel of the Minute, with a good story captured in 60 short seconds. My only complaint is that the actual show is 1:15 on most days, but that's the price of advertising, I suppose. [link]
Brigitte Dale
I love the off beat nature of this video blog (don't call it a vlog, she hates that). It's about life in general, although particularly focuses how we as human beings forge relationships with others. One of the Sidepodcast Diaries is a homage to this video style, but I'll leave it for you to find which one. [link]
The Official LOST Podcast
Although it hasn't been updated for a while, when the series is on TV, the Official LOST podcast is an amazing thing to behold. The writers of the show actually take the time to discuss what's going on in the show and examine some listener theories. They even take questions, although they don't always answer them. If only we could have this behind the scenes access to all shows. [link]
Lucy Kellaway
I'm a big fan of the FT, although I have no idea how people find the time to read it. Lucy Kellaway's column is a breath of fresh air in what can be a lot of stuffy business news. A witty look at the world of management, I really like the idea of people reading their columns to me, so that I don't have to. [link]
The Archers
I have two reasons for listening to this show. I don't care if you believe them, or if you assume I'm a boring old woman. Firstly, I'm impressed with the level of access the message board users have to the script writers. I wrote a personal blog about a particularly noteworthy incident. As also mentioned in that entry, I'm also intrigued by the production values. [link]
Something to be Desired
An online comedy, currently on series 6, this podcast has been around since 2003. I love the fact that this screams of a home-made TV show but is really good, friendly and funny at the same time. It's also clearly successful, as the actors stick around and fans like me keep coming back for more. [link]
That's just a quick insight into some of the non F1 shows I listen to. I'd love to hear what un-sporty shows you have lined up on your iPod (other mp3 players are available but not recommended). Please feel free to share, or to comment on the ones I've listed above - although don't mention The Archers, okay?
If you've ever glanced at our Last.fm playlist, then you'll know our taste in music is eclectic and probably not up to anyone's standards. Some would even go so far as to say we have bad taste in music, and I would argue... no, actually, that's probably fair.
If you're a last.fm user and haven't added us as a friend please feel free to do so. We frequently find cool and interesting music to listen to just by peeking at what others are playing. As podcasters, the site also provides some cool insight for us - did you know for example, that people who listen to Sidepodcast also check out Maurice Hamilton's show and the Renault podcast too? Okay, maybe not that insightful then.
Dancing like there's no one there
Nevertheless, despite already publicly showing our poor taste, we put our necks on the line, and decided to pick out some podsafe songs to play during our pre-race chats on the Parade Lap show. Whilst our DJing skills leave a lot to be desired, some of the songs we have played have been real gems. We've always made the track information available on the Sidepodcast Music page, but awhile back, Dan Brunell suggested we go one step further.
Apple's iTunes offers the ability for anyone to create an iMix, with which I can pick out songs from the catalogue, put them in a playlist and suggest them to you. Therefore I've created a Sidepodcast iMix[iTunes link] containing many of the artists we've played during our shows this year. That includes The Parade Lap, various mini series and any music used in videos.
If you ever heard a track you liked and fancied grabbing a copy for yourselves, please do check it out. Each one is just 79p (from the UK store), we don't make any commission from sales, we just like to spread the love to artists who are forward thinking enough to let us play their songs on our shows.
As you may well know, we've included chapter selection within our enhanced weekly audio shows since day one, to allow for easy navigation of lengthy episodes. At times this has caused a bit of confusion because it means we're putting out two versions of every show, one in MP3 format for the majority of listeners and an enhanced version in AAC format for anyone with an iPod or iTunes.
Although this approach does create a bit of extra work, we've always figured it to be worth it, in order to benefit from the additional interactivity the enhanced format provides (along with chapters, we also add images and website links). The feeds page details the various options for downloading both versions, as well as how to subscribe to our video podcasts, and it's these that I'm keen to talk more about today.
It's possible to add chapter markers to video episodes too, although we couldn't really see the point when shows rarely stretch beyond the 6 minute mark, especially given that chapter navigation wasn't particularly user friendly either. That all changed though, with the release of an update in February to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch (or iTouch as I prefer it) firmware.
We've talked about how good the iTouch is for viewing widescreen video podcasts before, but this software update added something unique - a chapter guide:
Now we had a reason to add markers to our videos.
The above screenshot is displaying a list from a recent Inside Track video. Not only can we set the marker name, but it's also possible to specify a cute little thumbnail to represent each one too. The touch interface makes jumping between each section a snap but they also appear within iTunes if you don't have such a device to hand.
We've actually been doing this since the beginning of the season, essentially it's exactly the same thing we've always done for audio shows, and just like the audio episodes, none of the advantages are visible on this website. You have to subscribe to get the full functionality, but hopefully we can get that sorted soon.
I'm relatively confident that I am the only person in the world excited about this, but if you've ever found it useful, or if you think we're wasting our time, please do let us know.
