Edirol has announced the â??Edirol R1 Portable 24-Bit WAVE/MP3 Recorder and Player.â?? This very nice piece of hardware has two built in microphones, is powered by 2 AA batteries, and records to CompactFlash cards.

Features:

â?? Input: internal microphone (stereo), powered stereo microphone through 1 / 8 in. phone jack, 1 / 8 in. stereo line input
â?? Output: 1 / 8 in. stereo phone jack, headphones (1 / 8 in. stereo phone jack), S/PDIF 1 / 8 in. phone optical type (same port as headphones)
â?? Recorder / player: 2 tracks (1 stereo track) recording data format WAV, MP3
â?? CompactFlash(tm) card: up to 2 GB capacity

Audio effects:

-- 1. Easy EQ (11 presets)
-- 2. For speech
-- 3. Voice perform
-- 4. Editable EQ (10 band EQ: 32 / 64 / 125 / 250 / 500 / 1k / 2k / 4k / 8k / 16k Hz)
-- 5. Noise reducer
-- 6. Hum noise cut
-- 7. Reverb
-- 8. Int-mic rec. (mic simulator optimized for built-in mic)
-- 9. Ext-mic rec. (mic simulator for external mic)
-- 10. Mastering
-- 11. Center cancel
-- 12. Tuner
-- 13. Metronome

â?? AD / DA conversion: 24 bit / 44.1 kHz
â?? Power supply: AC adapter (included) or rechargeable Ni-MH AA x 2 or alkaline AA x 2 batteries. R-1 has no charge function.
â?? Battery life, playback: approximate 6 hours
â?? Battery life, recording: approximate 2.5 hours
â?? USB 2.0 storage device (Windows XP / 2000 / Me, Mac OS 9.2 or Mac OS X, OS standard driver)
â?? Display: 20 x 2 character display
â?? Accessories: CF card 64 MB, AC adapter Roland PSB-6U type, carrying case, owner's manual
â?? Dimensions: 99.25 (W) x 134 (D) x 30.2 (H) mm, 3 15/16 (W) x 5 5/16 (D) x 1 3/16 (H) in.
â?? Weight (excluding CF and batteries): 205 g / 8 oz

Wooden Brain Concepts has released Cast Away v1.0b4 for Mac OS X. Cast Away allows you to remove or uncheck podcasts on a per podcast basis. It fills a gap in iTunes, which doesn't allow per podcast removal scheduling, or scheduling by date. CastAway allows individual podcast removal settings, supports daily schedules, and works with podcatsts from iTunes as well as any playlist created by a third party podcast application.

New in this release:

• This version corrects major bugs that prevented Cast Away from running on many systems
• OS X 10.4.2 update broke scheduling. Fixed.
• Crash at startup on 10.3.x. Fixed
• Now tested on Panther (10.3.9); several minor compatibility fixes
• Separate interface for scheduling on Panther and Tiger
• Tiger users can opt to use analog clock or time selector to set schedule time
• Better error checking and status updates
• Info tab has more information on scheduling

You can get it in our iPod Download section.

The Wall Street Journal?s Vauhini Vara has written an article [paid sub. req.] on the adult-oriented podcasts that can found in Apple?s iTunes directory. The podcasts, which some call ?porncasts,? are packed with ?raunchy sex banter, erotic storytelling sessions and reviews of pornographic websites,? Vara notes. Some industry experts say Apple is taking a big risk in accepting such content from amateurs. ?Apple needs to be careful to protect its brand here,? says Ted Schadler, an analyst at Forrester Research. ?The editorial function is just getting more and more important.?

?As podcasting reaches a more mainstream audience, the more risque audio shows?and Apple?s role in distributing them?could come under greater scrutiny,? reports Vara. ?Apple declined to say whether any of its users have complained about the adult podcasts, which can be downloaded by anyone regardless of age. The company said it could potentially pull programs that it deems too explicit, but declined to say whether it has done so yet.?

Podcasters who submit their shows to iTunes are asked to mark their podcasts ?explicit? during the submission process if they discuss adult material. However, Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said the company has no official guidelines for adult content and does not review every podcast submission. ?She said Apple tries to review as many submissions as it can for ?really obvious? adult content,? Vara reports. ?Listeners can click on a button marked ?Report a Concern? if they feel that a podcast isn?t marked as explicit and should be. ?If for some reason we miss it, customers usually catch it,? Ms. Kerris said.?

Source: msn

Podcasting, that baby medium, is suddenly home to a lot of adult content. Introduced to a mainstream audience just last month, the technologyâ??radio-like programming for your iPodâ??that was once the chaste province of "Geek News Central" and "Knitcast" is now reddening faces that sport those trademark white earbuds. "No matter what the technology is," says Andrew Leyden, founder of podcastdirectory.com, "sex finds a way to get involved."

At podcast.net, the No. 2 most-searched-for term (right between BBC and NPR) is porn. At Leyden's site, six of the top 20 shows are adult-oriented. And at Apple's behemoth iTunes store, "Open Source Sex" is No. 11 and climbing. From the breathy erotica of "Pod Porn" to the subdued interviews of "SexGeeks," mature programming for the iPod can be titillating, educational or sometimes both, and it is spreading fast.

Part of the appeal is populism. Just as indie-rock podcasts see themselves as the antidote to rigid corporate playlists, sex-themed shows are proudly amateur. Anyone with a microphone, a PC and some privacy can produce one. "You don't need big breasts or big advertisers," says Violet Blue, the host of "Open Source Sex." "It's the ultimate democratic tool for sex education."

Parents are less pleased, in part because filtering software is useless against the new technology. But they can take heart: the next Next Big Thing is religious programming ("Catholic Insider," "Pray-station Portable"). It's known asâ??what else?â??godcasting.