The Samson GoMic tested and compared with other microphones.

Hello (again) World! Welcome to TCoPodcasting.posterous.com! This site (is in the process of becoming) the new web (and RSS) home of Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac: The Podcast. And I'm being sly and renaming it slightly. I'm calling it Take Control of Podcasting and expanding my coverage to include the iPhone because the iPhone has become a viable platform for end-to-end podcasting. It's also a great tool as part of a workflow as well.

I'm going to keep the old site alive a while longer while I finish moving everything over to here.

It will continue to act as a companion to my ebook and will continue to be 100% free. The book is not required but if you do buy a copy of the book, you are helping fund my ability to buy better equipment, test, and help you get started doing an awesome show.

Ok, I know you're saying, "Sure. A new site. But where's a new episode?" Well, hold that thought. I'll have a new episode up and running as soon as I get all of the old ones moved over. Heck, maybe I'll get one here sooner... you never know...

Hivelogic has a fantastic overview of podcasting hardware based on price point. I suggest you check it out. I disagree with their recommendation for Audacity (for reasons stated in the book about its instability and cumbersome user interface) and think GarageBand is good for more than just the beginner. Beyond that, it's very useful. Make sure you read the comments afterwards as they are also quite helpful.

Regular posts should resume soon. I finally have a replacement Mac to the one I had been using that died and am putting my studio back together (thankfully my own book has been invaluable for this!) Thanks for your patience!

The short version is that my computer died. It died soundly. It's dead. We're planning on a new machine but it will take a few more weeks. Until then, I am sharing my wife's (incredibly old and slow) PowerBook (even thinking about running GarageBand on it makes me break out into a sweat) and using my work computer and iPhone for everything else. Now, I realize I should "eat my own dogfood" and use some of the lower-tech methods I describe in the book. Heck, I can record a show using the voice memo feature of my iPhone (works pretty well on the 3GS, by the way) but I'd rather just wait for the new machine and a fast workflow. So, forgive me my long silence and I'll be back soon. Meanwhile, the 2.1 edition of the book was posted earlier in the summer and you should download it (free upgrade for 2.0 purchasers). It covers GarageBand 5 (iLife '09) and a few other small changes. Thanks for your patience!

Number 10: Interview with Chuck Joiner of MacVoices, MacJury, and MacNotables. Part 2 in an ongoing series of interviews with Mac Podcasters talking about how they got their start, what they use today, and much more. Contact Andy at aaffleck@gmail.com.

Size: 15.5 MB 
Length: 33:23
Format: AAC (MPEG-4), Enhanced for iTunes

Links from the show:

• Chuck Joiner's Website
• MacJury.com
• MacVoices.com
• MacNotables.com
• Great source for Mic Flags: Impact PBS

Number 9: Interview with Omaha Sternberg of MacRadio.com, iGameRadio.com, and iGameRadio.com/blog. Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac, Second Edition has been released. Contact Andy at aaffleck@gmail.com.

Size: 16.3 MB
Length: 34:54
Format: AAC (MPEG-4), Enhanced for iTunes

Links from the show:

• MacRadio.com
• iGameRadio
• iGameRadio blog

The latest edition of my book, Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac, Second Edition has been released! It took five months and a lot of sweat, but it’s out and I am extremely pleased with how this edition came out. One thing I always wanted to do was cover audio effects and include sample recordings illustrating what they do. This edition includes these as well as coverage of new programs WireTap Studio and Ubercaster. It also updates the other tools for the latest versions and contains substantial rewrites of much of the rest of the book. Finally, it also includes a new section on interviewing techniques. From the Book’s Web Page:

Beginning a podcast is easier than starting a radio station, but it's still hard to assemble your hardware and software, and learn the tricks of the trade. You can easily meet that challenge with start-to-finish guidance from long-time podcaster Andy Affleck... The ebook begins with a look at how to plan a podcast's topic, format, and polish. Then Andy focuses on choosing the right microphone and audio software, followed by step-by-step instructions for recording using Audio Hijack Pro, GarageBand, Sound Studio, WireTap Studio, and Übercaster, with advice about conducting interviews by phone, iChat, and Skype. Once your audio is in the can, you'll learn how to use audio plug-ins to make the recording sound better, complete with downloadable sound files to supplement the text. You'll also find out how to edit out any awkward bits, plug in additional audio, and mix tracks. Finally, the ebook covers how to encode your podcast, add useful tags and chapters, find a publishing tool, and publish your podcast for the world to hear.

Links:

• Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac, Second Edition

The book has been turned in and I get my life back! I talk about my trip to the New Media Expo, take a look at Ambrosia’s WireTap Anywhere and take my new Giant Squid Podcasting microphone for a spin. And we have a special guest: Jack talking about Webkinz.com. Size: 16.3 MB Length: 17:30 Format: AAC (MPEG-4), Enhanced for iTunes Links from the show:

• Ambrosia Software’s WireTap Anywhere
• Giant Squid Podcasting Microphone
• Webkinz.com