One of the thing that most bugs me about iTunes, and downloading video podcasts from the service, is that many content providers that are making use of the program are offering only 'low-res' versions of their material. Thinking that the video must fit the iPods' screen dimensions, most videos on iTunes are a paltry 320x240.

On a person weaned on HDTV resolutions, I just can't seem to enjoy watching videos on my computer when I've gotten them from iTunes. Technology Evangelist shows us that there is indeed a way to get higher resolutions on iTunes, so this is a personal call to all of you content providers to step up your efforts and provide at least an alternative download that supports higher resolutions for viewing at home. For those of you interested in how this works, make sure you check out their website at the link below.

According to the article: "While most content owners are creating content in full-res SD and some are even doing HD, most I have found in iTunes only offer a itty-bitty 320x240 video. There's really no need for that. With our feed options you can choose from MP3, AAC, Cell Phone video, PSP, Video iPod, 480p, 720p or 1080p."

BubbleShare enters a niche already populated by many others - web photo sharing.  But they come to the table with a cool trick up their sleeve: The ability to add voice notes to each image.  Even cooler, is as your slideshow of images plays, your voice notes play along with it. 

If you're a Mac user, there's a Universal iPhoto Plugin for bulk uploads, and a Dashboard widget for viewing.  BubbleShare also offers a photocast feed (that's mac-talk for RSS feed of photographs) to capture in iPhoto if you so choose.

That's the big news on BubbleShare.  I'm not sure if they're just relying on the one-trick-pony thing, or if they'll be growing in the near future.  I think the next move they would be smart to make, would be the ability to download slideshows with voice-overs, into a Quicktime movie format.  That could be pretty useful for folks who find that sort of thing difficult using an app such as iMovie.

iWeb, a program offering by Apple for beginners who don't know the first thing about HTML coding has been put through its paces. With a company like Apple manning the software front, known for its simplicity, the program has been hotly anticipated by Mac freaks everywhere. It turns out that the program is as simple to use as Apple promised, but for experts, there may be a lack of advanced features.
According to Sign on San Diego, anyone with knowledge of a Word Processor can find his or her way through iWeb and produce some professional-looking results in little to no time. There are pages for all types of multimedia documents, including photo, video and podcasts (Apple always looking ahead).

The website cautions about the simplicity, though: "But iWeb may not be for everyone. The program hides the HTML code so well that you may not be able to find it if you wanted to. It doesn't even have a source code viewer. To see the source, I had to Â?publishÂ? a page then view the source in Safari. (The application produces compact, efficient code that takes full advantage of cascading style sheets.)"

Summarizing the app: "True to form, Apple has released an application that is easy to use and produces solid, slick results. On the other hand, if you want a lot of flexibility in creating Web pages, iWeb isn't for you."

If you're lucky enough to have yourself one of the latest Intel-based iMac's and Safari is not your favorite browser, then you'd be happy to know that someone has already made a working build of Firefox for you. Everything seems to work more or less the same as the Windows version of Firefox, despite the Deerpark logo, which is the name of the Beta version for the next generation of Firefox. Bear in mind that this only works on Intel based machines. If you want to use Firefox on G5 and G4 machines, then click here.

A new service called the Great iPod Exchange launched today with the hopes of buying your used iPod. Checking out the site, it looks as though the website is offering quite a bit less for that Video iPod of mine that, since day one, has been housed in an extra-safe case. Costing me $300, yet cared for meticulously, $210 just don't cut it.

According to the website: Why wait until your iPod has problems or it becomes out-dated before you upgrade. There is still a demand for previously owned iPods and we have the processes that allow us to offer you the highest purchase price along with hassle-free shipping. Simply select your iPod model, its condition and accessories and you can see exactly how much money you could have towards that new iPod.

For others who may not be turned off by my expectations, the service may be worth a look. Maybe you're eyeing that new iPod Nano with a lower price tag but the only thing you have is an old iPod Mini. I guess you now have the chance to close the gap to buy that new music player.

[Via, Nexworth]

FUSA has launched a website it hopes will attract users of the Video iPod for its special search abilities. The new website will be able to search for iPod-compliant videos from throughout the internet, giving everyone the opportunity to fill up their iPods with as many fun, quirky, sexy or curious clips they want.

Searchforvideo.com Beta is currently up and running. If you're having a hard time trying to fill up those 30 or 60 gigabytes of storage space on your brand-new Video iPod, you have some work to do now. A Google for Video iPods? Yeah, it was only a matter of time.

[Via, Macworld UK]

Let me know if anyone gets reminded of that Epic 2014 video about googlezon taking over the internet when you read this press release.

Google Inc announced the planned opening of the Google Video Store, the first open video marketplace enabling consumers to buy and rent a wide range of video content from a major television network, a professional sports league, cable programmers, independent producers and film makers. This fast growing collection of videos will include prime-time and classic hits from CBS, a full slate of NBA games from this season and outstanding performances from the past, music videos from SONY BMG, Charlie Rose interviews as well as news and historical content from ITN and new titles being added everyday.

"Google video will let you watch lots of high quality video on the web for the first time. You can search and browse, and we make it fast and easy for you to watch," said Larry Page, Google's co-founder and president, Products. "For video producers and anyone with a video camera, Google Video will give you a platform to publish to the entire Google audience in a fast, free and seamless way."

Additional highlights of Google's video collection will include:

• Music videos from SONY BMG. The line-up of launch videos includes offerings from some of SONY BMG's global superstar artists, including Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Kenny Chesney, Destiny's Child, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Lil' Flip, Jessica Simpson, Shakira, System of a Down, Switchfoot, Usher, and many more.
• Feature Length Independent Films from Greencine.com. Including works by legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda (Zemsta), documentary filmmaker Ted Bonnitt (Mau Mau Sex Sex) and independent actor/director Caveh Zahedi (In the Bathtub of the World).
  Historic, news and educational footage from ITN. This material ranges from coverage of key events in 2005 such as the Pope John Paul II's death, back to a recording of the 1896 coronation of Tsar Nicholas II Â? one of the earliest known pieces of moving imagery.
• Charlie Rose interviews. Including interviews with Henry Kissinger, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Martha Stewart, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, Dan Rather, Charles M. Schulz, Steve Jobs, Jay Leno, Tom Brokaw, and others.
• Cartoon classics from Classic Media. Featuring many of the world's most famous animated series such as "Felix the Cat," "Casper The Friendly Ghost," and "Rocky and Bullwinkle."
• Children's educational programming from Clearvue. Educational video topics vary from teen education on tattoos to explanations about the workings of the human brain.
• Cartoon classics from Classic Media and children's educational programming from Clearvue. Google Video also offers many of the world's most famous animated series such as "Felix the Cat," "Casper The Friendly Ghost," and "Rocky and Bullwinkle." Educational video topics from Clearvue vary from teen education on tattoos to explanations about the workings of the human brain.
• Clips from Getty Images' Archive Films Collection. A diverse collection of short clips that capture personalities, moments and eras throughout history - selected from vintage newsreels and educational film, as well as contemporary news and events from around the world.

iPod and Sony Playstation Portable users will also be able to download and watch any non-copy-protected content from Google Video, and even get it specially optimized for playback on their devices. Google Video Store will be available throughout the world, however purchasing premium content in the Google Video Store will only be available in the U.S

Thanks to Wrdeal24 for the news!

Source: Tuaw

The Street.com is reporting that Apple may be preparing to announce a deal with Google that would make the iTunes Music Store available through the Google website. Information on when this might happen, as well as just how it would be implemented, are not available.

I have to say this really surprises me, though I guess it shouldn't. I've always thought of Google as being firecely independent, just like Apple. A pairing of the nation's top online music store with the number one search engine would certainly be noteworthy to say the least, but what would be the advantage? The iTunes Music Store works just fine for me as it exists today, and is largely cross platform. Perhaps I'm missing something...?