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odcast news
Jack Mottram looks at the current explosion in broadcasting to MP3 players.
he latest web fad to approach maturity is ‘podcasting'. The term is
something of a misnomer — the portmanteau of ‘iPod‘ and
‘broadcasting' suggests that you'll need Apple‘s MP3 player to join in the fun. and that the fun involves broadcasting. when neither is strictly tnie. ln fact. podcasting is the catch-all term for radio programmes. mostly produced by amateurs. distributed via a subscription feed. so that listeners can use a ‘podcatcher‘ application to automatically download the latest show. ready to be played on a computer or portable MP3 player.
This is radio for the post-Tivo age. where users are increasingly used to time shifting content to suit them. rather than organising their listening and viewing around the whims of the broadcast schedulers. Podcasting symbolises the drift towards personal amateur publishing. as championed by webloggers. Just as weblogging grew when advances in software made web publishing a cinch. podcasting is the result of' new technologies bringing near professional-quality media production into the home. making it possible to record a radio show with a laptop and microphone.
But just because the technology is available for anyone to produce a radio show. everyone is not. all of a sudden. a seasoned radio hand. In fact. pick a podcast at random from a directory site like podcastalley.com — which lists more than 2()()() ’casts — and you‘re not going to get a replacement for the 'Iiuluy programme. No. you're going to get someone bleating in your ear about a pet peeve. or pontilicating over an obscure indie artiste. 'l‘hankl‘ully. in an ironic reversal. the mainstream media have taken the podcast to heart. The BBC is leading the way and. after trials podcasting Radio 4‘s In Our Time and Five Live's Fighting 'Iiilk. is poised to launch some 20 new podcasts this month. But this development is not the death knell of amateur podcasting. Instead. professional involvement looks to be driving more newcomers to podcasting. turning what might have been a flash in the geek pan into a significant new medium for audio. Alter all. it you don’t like what you hear on the radio. or on your MP3 player. a microphone. computer and website are now all you need to set the world to rights. And. il‘ the weblog explosion is anything to go by. that‘s one attractive proposition for consumers who l‘ancy themselves as producers.
Tech weblog Engadget has a good overview - www.engadget. com/entryl5843952395227141 I; also go to www.ipodder.org, www.podcast.net and www.podcastdirectory.com
PLAY
Reviews
PC GUILD WARS (NCSoft) ooooo
role playing game but can't commit to six month-long quests? Then Guild Wars is about to become your new best friend. Gone are the relentless grinds. the tedious travel times. the incremental character advancements. all replaced by a smooth and simple yet deliciously free gaming experience that promotes invention and experimentation. From the moment YOU realise the potential inherent in the dual-class system. perhaps giving a ranger the spells of a necromancer or a warrior the healing power of a monk. discovering your optimum skill set becomes fantastically addictive. COLipled With a darkly substantial fantasy world. the story elements are rewarding and refreshing. Then you begin to discover Gin/d War's other side; the Player v Player game. fighting across the world. Euro v US v Korea. to climb a ladder of viCtOry. This element alone is worth the price. Add in the lack of monthly fee and you have a MMOBPG that is
also an FPS that does not require a CC to enjoy. You've got to fancy that.
(lain Davidson)
PC
THE MATRIX ONLINE (Sega) 00
The latter stages of game production generally have three phases. Alpha. where the game is just about playable. Beta. where the last glitches are ironed out. and finally the release version. the one that hits the shops. With online role playing games it is common to open the Beta version to the public. submitting the game to a few thousand free playtesters to balance the system and stress test the servers before the rest of us pay to play. The Matrix Online. however. appears to be
.' 'fi/w ’3 ‘ a"
charging us for its Beta testing. Buggy as hell. With a combat system that struggles to keep up With What you want it to do. it is only the Visuals that take advantage of The Matrix movies. Character classes are RPG cliches. again missing the Iicence's potential. and missions are often monotonous. The sensible option is to gub the blue pill and stay asleep for maybe
another year so they can finish the game. (Iain Davidson)
XBOX
PARIAI-l (Hip Interactive) OOOO
Ambition can be
dangerous. Pariah. for example. has built on
‘ the good work of Ha/o in promoting enemy Al.
providing believable fees to test your violently bloody combat skills.
And. for the most part, it works. Ducking and diving. looking for back up or doing a runner, the computer controlled opponents in Pariah are some of the best seen. Unfortunately this makes any failure in the system, any dumb guard who nonchalantly stands at peace while his colleagues are sniped from afar, seem so much worse. If the AI were as basic as in most games you would accept this idiocy. When it is as cleverly implemented as in Pariah it wrenches you back to reality. And that is a shame because. Halo famin aside. this is arguably the finest balls- to-the-wall shooter on the XBox and is hugely enjoyable in both solo and multiplayer modes. Let's hope the producers have the ambition to produce a sequel. (Iain Davidson)
COMPETITION PORTAL Who can resist the pull of free stuff? No one. and the frightenineg logical act of pulling loads of competitions and specral offers together into one handy portal is convenient to the point of being really quite Silly. Just hope you get lucky.
www.blagbag.co.uk
MYSTICAL HISTORY
Based on the book of the same name by indie druid overlord Julian Cope. this site is an exhausting and exhaustive guide to the mystical histories of the UK and Ireland. Featuring standing stones. local legends and folklore. it's basically the real life Lord of the Rings without the hokum. www.themodernantiquarian.com
26 May/4) Jun 200:") THE LIST 1 17