Part of my job is to stay up-to-date with changes in the field of digital photography. That includes many models of cameras, lenses, strobes, computers, operating systems, software, hard drives, printers, etc. etc. etc. As you know, that's a lot of information, so I'm always looking for better ways to accomplish that. My latest trick helps me do that during time that would otherwise be wasted.
It comes down to one word - Podcasts. Those little audio programs that seemingly everyone is making and distributing these days. I started with some of my favorite radio shows from NPR (such as "This American Life") so I could hear the programs I missed during the week. Great for walking the dog and working out at the gym. Then I realized I could download all sorts of tech programs - many not available over commercial radio - to keep abreast of changes. It couldn't have worked out better, and it's easy to do.
I've used iPods for several years now as multi-function devices. I can listen to music, watch movies (now that I've got the 80-GB video iPod), keep backups of important documents when traveling and use it as an extra hard drive to backup my photos to when on the road. I keep my iTunes library on my Windows XP AMD tower, and have found loads of free Podcasts through the iTunes Music Store. Some of my favorites are those from PC Magazine (PCmag.com), which are both entertaining and enlightening. That libary on the computer syncs to my iPod, so I don't have to do anything to make sure I've got the latest podcasts. Last week my wife and I took the kids to Colorado for a ski vacation during Spring Break. In the past I've used audio books to help get me through the ten-hour one-way drive. This time I broke up the monotony of tumbleweeds blowing across I-70 with six hours of tech broadcasts. Those, combined with the 5th Harry Potter book on CD made the 20-hours of driving only feel like 15...
If you've got a favorite podcast that ties in to digital photography and/or computing, please let me know (you can find my contact info on the Blue Pixel website). Living in Kansas, I need all the diversions I can find for those long drives!
