Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Digg Adds New Video and Podcasting Features

Digg ends an incredible year by adding new features, and a new site design. The widescreen design expands so you can take advantage of the full-screen on larger monitors, and they've moved navigation to the top of the page. There's also a new Top 10 Digg stories and videos section that's updated in real time.

Digg has some cool new multimedia features as well, including Top 10 hottest videos, and the ability to watch video previews on the site. Just click any video with a play icon to preview and Digg a video. On top of that, you can also Digg your favorite podcast series and individual podcasts, bookmark them in your profile and share your Diggs with friends.

iTunes Latino Launched

Apple has launched iTunes Latino, featuring top Latin music, music videos, television shows, audiobooks and podcasts. The iTunes Latino section on the iTunes Store has a huge selection of Latin and international music tracks, as well as exclusive tracks and albums available only on iTunes. Latin and Latin influenced music in many genres including Regional Mexicano, Rock Alternativo, Baladas y Boleros, Pop Latino, Reggaeton and Hip-Hop. iTunes Latino includes exclusives, albums, EP’s and tracks from leading Latino artists such as David Bisbal, Daddy Yankee, Aterciopelados, Marco Antonio Solis, Paulina Rubio, Mana, Cafe Tacuba and Luny Tunes y Tainy, with exclusive music videos from Juanes, Mach & Daddy and Luis Fonsi. In addition, over 50 Latin-focused iTunes Essentials compilations and Celebrity Playlists by artists such as Sergio Mendes, Julieta Venegas and Alejandra Guzman are available for download.

PSP firmware version 2.8 has Video Podcast Support

The new PSP firmware version 2.8 adds Video podcast support, allowing you to receive video - clips, vlogs, and podcasts through RSS feeds.  The PlayStation Portable firmware update also adds compatibility for the ".3gp" audio format used by some mobile phones, and greater access to content stored on Memory Stick memory cards.

Nice update Sony, we look forward to the next PSP firmware update that promises VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) telephony support, and the ability to boot games from Memory Sticks. Expect this late 2006.

Declaration of Independence Podcast

In honor of the 4th of July holiday in the U.S., History.org and Colonial Williamsburg are presenting an audio Podcast of the Declaration of Independence.

Bill Barker, interpreting Thomas Jefferson, does a great job reading the Declaration of Independence.

Colonial Williamsburg Web users now have Podcasts, delivered as RSS feeds. The popular, downloadable audio files are here featuring special interviews and presentations available only to our Web users. Listen to programs on your computer, or download and listen later on your MP3 player. Lloyd Dobyns is your host as you go “behind the scenes” to meet interpreters, chefs, tradesmen, musicians, historians, curators, and more. Check back often. New Podcasts are added weekly.

BloggerCon Session MP3 Podcasts

BloggerCon was held in San Francisco, June 23-24, 2006, and for those who could not attend, MP3 Podcasts of the BloggerCon sessions are now available.  The BloggerCon IV Schedule included discussions lead by prominent bloggers like Dave Winer, Phil Torrone, Chris Pirillo, Niall Kennedy, Mike Arrington, Doc Searls and others.

TowerPod Podcast Network from Tower Records

Ladies and gentlemen, get your iPods and PMPs ready!

PaidContent says that Tower Records will open a new online service this summer called Towerpod.com that lets consumers create their own digital audio and video podcasts from a large catalog of content, which Tower will provide free. Tower aims to generate revenue from the podcasts by selling ads on the most popular ones, then money generated will be split up among users who created the podcast, the artist, the label and the music publishers. Of course Tower gets a piece of the pie as well.

Democracy Player - Download Internet TV, Podcasts, and Video Blogs

On a mission to create a new open mass medium of online television, the Participatory Culture Foundation (creators of Broadcast Machine) have introduced the Democracy Internet TV platform to make watching internet video channels as easy as watching TV, and broadcasting a channel possible for everyone.

Unlike traditional TV, everyone will have a voice. Download and watch all the best internet TV shows and high resolution videos videos in one powerful application. New channels arrive daily in the built-in Channel Guide. Subscribe to video RSS feeds (including podcasts, video blogs, and BitTorrent feeds), watch fullscreen, share with friends.

MTV Podcasts

MTV Podcasting? That's right, just in time for the Grammy Awards next week MTV News will offer daily video and audio Podcasts, updated Monday through Friday, and weekly MTV News RAW video and audio. MTV Podcasts include music news, celebrity interviews, current events, politics, and a special Grammy edition Podcast, all available through several Web sites and portals, including MTV, iTunes and Yahoo. Also, Highlights from "MTV News: All Up In The Grammys" red carpet coverage and backstage winner reactions will be available via Amp'd Mobile and other wireless carriers.

Apple iTunes U - ePodcasting Arrives

Apple is about to take "e" Podcasting (education podcasts) mainstream with iTunes U, a service that makes course lectures and other educational materials accessible via Apple's iTunes software.

iTunes U is a free, hosted service for colleges and universities that provides easy access to your educational content, including lectures and interviews 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. iTunes U is the only content distribution system that offers one-click support for transferring content to iPod, ensuring that students and others wishing to access information to go can do so quickly and easily.

STARDUST Videos and Podcasts from NASA

Have you heard about NASA's Stardust sample return mission, returning safely to Earth? The capsule, carrying cometary and interstellar particles successfully touched down in the desert salt flats of the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range.

"Ten years of planning and seven years of flight operations were realized early this morning when we successfully picked up our return capsule off of the desert floor in Utah," said Tom Duxbury, Stardust project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "The Stardust project has delivered to the international science community material that has been unaltered since the formation of our solar system."

Findings from the historic encounter between NASA's Stardust spacecraft and a comet (Comet Wild 2) have revealed a much stranger world than previously believed. The comet's rigid surface, dotted with towering pinnacles, plunging craters, steep cliffs, and dozens of jets spewing violently, has surprised scientists.

NASA has some great Stardust videos and Podcasts from the mission, which I found fascinating.