Gero Vermaas on...

This week I realized how important podcasts have become for me as a news source.

I'm subscribed to a number of IT related podcasts (see list in sidebar on the right of this blog) and virtually always listen to podcasts on the daily 45 minutes commute to work. Using an iTrip as the FM transmitter on my iPod enables my to listen to them using the car stereo. Very convenient, you do loose a bit of sound quality but for podcasts that is not really an issue.

I was on vacation for a couple of weeks and did not listen to podcasts during that period. After returning back to work colleagues and friends started to mention stories that I was not aware of yet and I wondered why... While listening to the backlog of podcasts I realized it: I did not use one of my main news sources for weeks, podcasts.

Examples of what I missed:

• The JavaPosse podcast announced that JSR264 Order Management passed the JCP EC ballot (as EG member I knew we passed the ballot, but was kind of surprised that the JavaPosse already picked it up).
• There is an unlock available for the iPhone (from MacCast podcast)

And I still have 20 podcasts in the backlog...