Linux Appliance Brings Podcasts to the People

An anonymous reader writes "Linux has been used to create a podcast capture appliance that aims to make podcasting as dead-simple as possible, in order to give everyone a 'voice in public discourse, not just those who own TV towers. [...] Aimed at corporations, schools, radio stations, and churches, the "Podcast in a Box" appliance starts recording when a USB key is inserted, and uploads the podcast to a server when the key is removed. The product is also available for free as a live/installer ISO image based on Ubuntu.'"

End of the world.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't see how this is much different from any other sound recording software! Linux isn't doing anything... but then again this is slashdot, the world will end before they stop pushing linux [endofdayz.net].

been done

[macadamia_harold]

Linux has been used to create a podcast capture appliance that aims to make podcasting as dead-simple as possible, in order to give everyone a 'voice in public discourse, not just those who own TV towers

I hate to burst your bubble, but I think this has already been accomplished by Youtube, to the tune of 1.64 billion dollars worth of "public discourse".

this is not linux.com

[suv4x4]

This is not linux.com why start the article with "Linux was used to create XYZ" versus "XYZ was created .. it uses Linux".

Or should we still be wowed by the ability of Linux to act as an OS.

what does this do?

[Ginger Unicorn]

I don't get it. So you plug in a USB key and it records from the Mic input to the USB key. then you plug it into a webserver, and i assume use a GUI to import the audio file into your website. This is hardly a quantum leap over just recording an mp3 on your pc and uploading it to the web, except you have to buy a $2000 webserver and have physical access to it.

am i missing the point or something?

Re:From TFA

[xrd]

Chris Dawson from Box Populi here.

We are really looking hard at our pricing.

Pricing is a challenge because you are not only paying for the hardware and software (which has been costly to develop over the last three years), but you are also paying for the production support assistance. We have a support infrastructure in place that can assist you when you are in the midst of capturing a podcast and something goes wrong, or you need to troubleshoot an upload problem (whether that is a problem with your network or our appliance), and so on. Production is very costly, and most people who have never done that don't understand how costly it really is, so it is something people shake their heads at initially. But, I do think if you ask our customers (look at our websites and read quotes from our customers) that you would find our support is second to none and worth it, and it because they now understand the costs of production.

Something that people on this site especially should take note of is that if you put something out as free (as in beer) open source software, many people then don't perceive value in that software, as wrong as that is. Open source enthusiasts understand the value of free software, but most people (like teachers for example) might be inclined to think something is worthless if it doesn't cost money. Therein lies the dilemma. So, charging for it, charging for support, or charging for anything gets harder and harder even as we try to be more and more open with our source code. We've tried to make it as easy as possible for our customers to get access to our source code without putting ourselves in too much financial hardship. But, there is a delicate balance there we are searching for.