Linked List: June 28, 2005

Tuesday, 28 June 2005

AppleScript Changes in iTunes 4.9 

Doug Adams on the couple of new AppleScript properties in iTunes 4.9:

  • special kind: a property for playlists (an enumerated type that can be: “none”, “Purchased Music”, “Party Shuffle”, or “Podcasts”)
  • podcast: a boolean flag on individual tracks
iTunes RSS Extensions for Podcasting 

Warning: links to a PDF, and a horribly typeset one at that. Seriously, a plain text file would be easier to read and look better than this. (Via 2lmc Spool.) See also: Edd Dumbill’s quick review of their extensions.

Podcast Chapter Tool Beta 

New command-line (!) tool from Apple (inexplicably, it’s hosted at Mac.com — what’s up with that?). From the readme:

You can use Chapter Tool to create Enhanced Podcasts that work with iTunes 4.9 or later. Enhanced podcasts are podcasts that contain chapters. Chapters can be modified to display pictures or web links that can be displayed within the iTunes song artwork pane.

It only works on MPEG4 AAC audio files (i.e. it doesn’t work with MP3s), but that’s not surprising, since as far as I know, the MP3 file format doesn’t support anything like this. So it’s a nice usability gain for podcasts — chapters ought to be considered mandatory for anything longer than 10 or 15 minutes, and the web links and images are nice extras — but this is also a way to start establishing AAC as a superior format for podcast publishing. Which — and here’s the point where you can imagine Apple executives sinisterly twisting their mustaches — would help permanently cement iPods, as opposed to generic “MP3 players”, as the best way to listen to podcasts.

(Via Command-Tab.)

Panic Japan 

Steven Frank:

Panic Japan is officially launched!

Each of our software products now has an actively maintained Japanese localization, as well as Japanese language email support, and a fully localized web site.