Herro Flom Japan

After receiving a very nice E-mail from someone at Apple Japan this morning who suggested we meet and discuss the possibility me doing an in-store presentation at one of their Tokyo boutiques (Weeeee!), I hope this doesn't ruffle any feathers.

First off, the new video iPod looks beautiful. It won't be long before we start seeing train commuters zoning out on their iPods instead of their keitai. However, it's not the only handheld video player out there. I just learned that iRiver has one that's larger, supports more codecs, has a built-in FM Tuner, can record audio and is in the same price range. I'm looking for something (besides a chloroform-soaked rag or a pair of gag balls) that'll keep the kids quiet on long trips, and the iRiver, with its larger screen, might be better suited for it.

Second, if you want to sync your ipod to more than one PC, take a look at the freeware iTunes substitute Ephpod. I like to load some podcasts into my iPod in the morning at home, then add/delete some before I leave work. I also like backing up my library up once in a while, and Ephpod will not only dump all your MP3s into a specified directory, but also organize and rename the files based on the ID3 tags. Not only that, it also lets you easily edit the tags of a whole slew of files at once. There are many more very, very useful features it offers, like scanning the iPod for corrupt, orphaned or duplicate files.

I also learned through the Ephpod site that Updater 1.3.1 can be used to reformat a 1st or 2nd generation Mac iPod for Windows, giving my old and busted retro-cool player a new lease on life. Armed with that and an after-market replacement battery, some of you out there might be able to pick up a used model very cheap, since it might not look appealing to eBay'ers, Yahoo'ers and Rakuten'ers who aren't in on this nifty little hack.

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Yet again. Any requests on what you'd like to see? I'll try to make something more similar to a documentary rather than just a series of clips slapped together. I'll have to be careful not to annoy my family by being more focused on capturing everything on video than simply enjoying the outing.

Doing the post-production on both a podcast and a videocast is such a nusiace that I don't think I've ever managed to put out both flavors, even though I've recorded both audio and video on a number of occasions. So this time I'll try to do enough narration on the video that I can save a copy of just the audio and release it as a podcast.

Unless…would anyone be interested in editing the raw audio?

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Copy/pasted from Gizmodo:

The new iPod is has a 16×9 4:3 screen, 320×340 320X240 pixels and 260,000 colors. Realtime decoding of MPEG4 and H.264. Video out. The 30GB for $299 and 60GB for $399 will be out next week. The 60GB model is thinner than the current 20GB. They come in white and black.

iTunes 6. The iTunes store will have 2,000 music videos. $1.99 each. Pixar movies will be available as well, for $1.99! No burning allowed, but you can play the flicks on up to five computers and as many iPods as you want. The videos are protected by Fairplay.

Hey, look! There's a PayPal link over on the right. Donate now and receive a custom video of me singing your name over and over while I frolic naked through a field of wildflowers. (Sorry Anders, the offer isn't retroactive.)

Update: I guess I need to figure out how to make letterbox widescreen videos. I already paid $50 for the wide angle lens, so I don't want to go back to fullscreen 4:3.

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This is a public service announcement. Yahoo is selling domain names for $2.99 a year. Every other dirt cheap registrar charges at least $9.99. Hurry while supplies last!

I might as well make a podcast tonight, since I won't be able to get to sleep until I find out what Apple is set to announce. If it's a video iPod, the way I figure, I'm bound for stardom.

Oh, and hello to whoever-you-are in Tbilisi. I seeeee yoooooou.

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Well, maybe not you, but definitely me. Microsoft, never to be outdone by Apple, is set to open a hoity-toity, sip-your-latte-with-your-pinky-up X-Box boutique on November 1 in Omotesando, which is exactly half way between work and my home in Tokyo. Two subway stops away from either end of my daily commute. More info at Kotaku. The X-Box was a complete bomb here, BTW.

I can't wait to see how long it'll take me and my video camera to get kicked out.

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