despite all the hype around it, I’m not a big fan of podcasts. it accumulates and I feel guilty not to listen, mailing-list style. digital life should reduce angst, not amplifies it.
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videoblogs, on the other hand, are more my piece of cake… my personal goal is to find enough interesting videostreams so I can switch my habits entirely from the evil big corporate, sold out, one-to-many world of television, to the few-to-few of internet dialogue.
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i’ve been using a combo of itunes + ipodder to download and watch shows instead of the default ANT, because of the fullscreen solution. now with the podcast option of itunes 4.9, it’s easier for me to keep track of my shows.
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so, here it goes:

how to watch videoblogs on itunes 4.9

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for the computer, podcasts and videoblogs follow the same route (subscribe to a channel, download new episodes and delete old ones under the preferences). the only difference is that ipod doesn’t import videos, so you gotta watch it on your computer.
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setting up

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on itunes > preferences > advanced, choose play videos in a separate window. believe me: the default is awful - on the tiny-tiny cover art area - and the fullscreen option don’t show the progress bar or controls, sadly.

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on podcasts set your personal preferences there… your taste.

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subscribing to channels

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I’m not gonna discuss the fact that you gotta find videoblogs on your own… below is the list of videoblogs I subscribe to. either way, you gotta copy the RSS feed of the videoblog you want. on my list, just right-click (control-click on mac) and choose something like “copy link”.
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then on itunes menu, go to advanced and choose subscribe to podcast…

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a prompt window like this will open:

just paste the RSS feed there and click ok. itunes will subscribe to the channel, and download (or not) the episodes based on the podcast preferences you’ve set.
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to watch the videos, just double-click on the name, and a separate video window will open. you can then resize it on the fly - the bigger the better.
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my vlog list

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my all-too-biased list (how not to be?) goes as follows:
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1. NonlinearMatters Blog [RSS Feed] - yours truly: my personal vlog and an ocasional song here and there
2. sandbox films [RSS Feed]
3. Josh Leo’s Vlog [RSS Feed]
4. Clint Sharp’s Blog an’ Vlog [RSS Feed]
5. scratch video [RSS Feed]
6. CSF Vlog [RSS Feed]
7. Videonatomy [RSS Feed] - cool laboratory
8. mmeiser blog [RSS Feed]
9. MICHAEL VERDI [RSS Feed] - the sweet guy that teach all you need to know on how to produce and host for free your own vlog
10. Rocketboom [RSS Feed] - the killer app of vlogs, amanda brings you the news, and follows a formula without being formulaic
11. Secret Vlog Injection [RSS Feed]
12. Ryanne’s Video Blog [RSS Feed] - hey, I like her!
13. Steve Garfield’s Video Blog [RSS Feed] - I’m a voyeur, and I love to watch his married life
14. Momentshowing [RSS Feed]

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other hints

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too bad you can’t watch your videos in sequence, like your songs. dunno why, but I assume it will be changed…
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all your podcasts/videoblogs will be deleted according to your podcast settings. drag a podcast to your library in order to save it.
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complaints? yeah! my energy settings reduce the brightness after some minutes of inactivity… it would be cool if quicktime overrides it (also, a always on top option would be nice).
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I dunno how it works on windows. I assume the podcast options will work fine, but I have my doubts about the resizing window feature.
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and hey, if you have new RSS feeds of cool videoblogs, let me know!. I’m all about being a couch potato, my concerns are with the obese-passive-consumer part.