Apple to Add Podcast Support to iTunes, iPod

During an address at a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) technology conference last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that iTunes 4.9--due in about 2 months--will support an emerging technology called Podcasting, which allows individuals to create radio-style recordings that can be downloaded to iPods and other personal audio players. Jobs noted that millions of people are already using Podcasts, but that existing software is cumbersome. So integration with iTunes will send Podasting "into orbit," Jobs said. However, there is some debate afoot about the actual popularity of homebrew Podcasts. In April, a bizarre report claimed that more than 6 million people were listening to Podcasts, a figure that was later proven to be highly exaggerated. In fact, the number of Podcast listeners is probably in the several thousands. Which makes it, in our opinion, about as interesting as mud.