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Posts with tag podcasts

Oxford and Cambridge Universities to Offer iPod Lectures




In what is sure to be seen as yet another argument for college students not to attend class (or college, for that matter), England's venerable Oxford and Cambridge universities launched a service earlier this week that allows lectures, videos and podcasts to be downloaded from the iTunes store. The goal is to make the elite institutions more accessible to people across the world (particularly those who have iPods/iPhones).

Cambridge will make available more than 300 lectures, short films and interviews with academics (some of which are Nobel Prize winners, it should be noted). Oxford, on the other hand, will offer more than 150 hours of audio and video podcasts, including interviews with experts in genomics and the economics of climate change.

Students hoping to apply to the universities can also find helpful videos to help them through the process. Sadly, none of these appear to be a guide on how to change the grades on your high school report cards. [From: DailyMail]

Religious 'Godcasts' Gaining Popularity

Religious Godcasts Gaining Popularity

While most people use their iPods for music and music alone, downloadable podcasts remain hugely popular. Named for Apple's player, a podcast is some downloadable mini-show usually produced with zero budget and featuring one or more people discussing anything from politics to polygamy (seriously).

Believe it or not that latter group outnumbers the former, as religious discussions and sermons have become the fourth-highest downloaded type of podcasts on the Internet according to podcast clearinghouse Podcast Alley, ahead of politics and sports. Factor in the huge number of lesser-known online distribution channels for divine downloads and it's clear that sermons are becoming nearly as common on iPods as songs.

The reasons are simple: There's always plenty to say about religion and plenty of people interested in listening, but getting the message out in the past has been difficult. Today, anyone with a $5 microphone and an Internet connection can record and post their own sermons, teachings, or analyses for distribution to the masses. The masses available online far outweigh even the biggest mega-churches in the South, and the portable nature of MP3 players of all brands and models means that listeners can tune in whenever and wherever they like.

This ease means spreading the word is simpler than ever, but the concern in the minds of many is that spreading hate, intolerance, and incorrect teachings is just as easy. So, just like everything else on the Internet, be careful what you download.

From USA Today

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