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In 2005 I purchased an iPod and listened to some music on it. I got my hands on a piece of software called iPodder which allowed me to subscribe to audio episodes called PodCasts. Then within a year, Apple integrated PodCasts into iTunes and I moved over to that format for subscription. I started listening to Audio Novels while I commuted to work and I really enjoyed them. Then one day I listened to Scott Sigler who is the pioneer in the area of episodal novel writing along with J.C.Hutchins in my mind. For me it was a rebirth of radio in a modern context. The power was in my hands to listen to what I wanted. Then while driving to work, I began to think about my dust-gathering writing. I had been a member of the Irish Science Fiction Association and been part of a gang of wannabe writers who eventually went their separate ways. There was close collobaration between the artists and writers and we even published our own Magazine. In the end, the ISFA dissolved and I with it but I'd written a short story called Digby's Bluff which had been set on a place called Erstol. For me, this was my idea of a classic SciFi world. In 1997 I wrote Engines Under Ursus and completed it in one year. I sent it off to TOR and they sent me a response six months later scrawled on a piece of paper which I couldn't even make out. I'd suffered years of this type of reply. I was pretty cheesed off to put it mildly. So, I put my manuscript away and decided to keep on writing because it's what I do to relax. I have other stuff which I won't go into here but suffice to say, in 2006 there is finally a way for an author to find out if your stuff is really any good! To a certain extent I feel like the Internet represents democracy in its truest form. Here, an individual - if one chooses to - can attempt to make a difference. Millions of us 'ordinary folks' can have our voice heard if we choose to, literally. All it takes is a little know how and a lot of desire. We're storming the modern day Bastille buildings. Are we really making a difference? Who knows, only time will tell. I've seen the Internet grow from a small seed to a billion dollar industry. If it frees us up to do cool stuff and make new communities, it can't be all bad. Anyway, rant over, here's the story. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I have making it.

History of the Digital Camcorder

The first camcorders were introduced in the early 80s, and they were expensive and bulky but efficient. They were operated by using one's arms or a tripod. Later, miniaturization allowed camcorders to get smaller and smaller. By the time the 90s arrived, camcorders had their own recording format called VHS-C, or a tape called 8mm that was less compatible with VCRs. It wasn't until the late 90s that the first digital camcorders started arriving with the MiniDV (1996). This was an even smaller tape than before that allowed one to edit the tape on the computer. It's much easier to use and made higher quality tape than previous recording formats. Most new digital cameras use MiniDV, though new formats and cameras continue to arrive. The history of the digital camcorder is sure to change as time progresses.

Camcorders are important becuase of the convergence of media and can be used for publishing your own PodCasts. There are techniques required to make good program which require an understanding of timelines and how to keep a video presentation entertaining which is more difficult than it seems. A Camcoder I bought recently was the Panasonic NV-GS150. This camcorder has three CCDs. These are normally only available in professional models but I was able to buy this digital camcorder on EBay in the US. The Camcorder came with a bevy of extra such as a tri-pod, filters, hook for a microphone, remote control and so forth. The only misgiving I have about this camcorder is that I record onto a tape and not a disc. On looking up the reviews, it appears that the disc technology is not quite mature in the world of camcorders however the picure quality is excellent for a camcorder of this price range. Camcorders are very useful for example if you want to record your own show for PodCasting and so forth and are one of the creative tools at your disposal.

Today we take for granted the fact that we can buy a Camcorder at a reasonably inexpensive price. It's not so long ago that only television cameras were capable of recording our images and the humble 8MM tape based camera. The Camcorder was introduced in the early 1980s, first by Sony and then by Kodak. VHS won out this battle although it was technologically inferior but was more available. You could use 8MM becuase the quality was higher but lost the compatability with the VHS device. The introduction of the first handy-cam changed all that and added portability to the format. These days we have miniDDV format and has improved audio and video quality. Digital Cameras still have their place even with this format. Camcorders have not replaced the Digital Camera but complimented them. Next we move into an era of solid state Camcorders and all the promise that it holds.

Technology Behind the Camcorder

CCD (converts the photons to a signal), Imager (viewing the picture in question) and Lens (for focusing). Modern Camcorders are Digital storing their data as electronic bits.

History of the MP3

The German company Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft developed MP3 technology and now licenses the patent rights to the audio compression technology - United States Patent 5,579,430 for a "digital encoding process". The inventors named on the MP3 patent are Bernhard Grill, Karl-Heinz Brandenburg, Thomas Sporer, Bernd Kurten, and Ernst Eberlein.

In 1987, the prestigious Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen research center (part of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft) began researching high quality, low bit-rate audio coding, a project named EUREKA project EU147, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB).

MP3 Players

Toshiba Gigabeat

Apple iPod

Creative Zen Vision:M

Zune

Cowon iAudio X5L (30GB)

Engines Under Ursus Official WebSite

Engines Under Ursus Podcast Episodes

About the Podcast story and the author

History of the Digital Camcorder

History of the MP3

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