Adam Carolla Settles Podcast Patent Lawsuit

August 19, 2014 ~ Mike Dell

Breaking news:

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Deep Links blog, Adam Carolla has settled with Personal Audio over the podcasting patent case they brought last year.

“Big news from Texas: Adam Carolla has settled with the podcasting patent troll Personal Audio. Although the settlement is confidential, we can guess the terms. This is because Personal Audio sent out a press release last month saying it was willing to walk away from its suit with Carolla. So we can assume that Carolla did not pay Personal Audio a penny. We can also assume that, in exchange, Carolla has given up the opportunity to challenge the patent and the chance to get his attorney’s fees.”

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this soon.

Validate Your Podcast Feed – FeedValidator.org gone?

August 19, 2014August 19, 2014 ~ Mike Dell ~ 1 Comment

Over the last weekend, I noticed that FeedValidator.org has gone to a webhosting parking page. I don’t know what the future is for feedvalidator.org, but that got me to researching other feed validators. Here is what I found:

First off, *most* feed validators out there are using the same code as feedvalidator.org was (or is). One of these is W3c Feed Validation Service. This is VERY much like feedvalidator.org in that it also hasn’t been updated in a while and isn’t neccecarlly 100% for podcasting. One thing is that if you are using the Powerpress Podcasting plugin for WordPress, you will get a “Recomondation” that says:

“This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.
line 2, column 0: Use of unknown namespace: http://www.rawvoice.com/rawvoiceRssModule/”

The Rawvoice Namespace has been out there and is OK with iTunes, Stitcher and most (if not all) podcast aggregators and apps out there. Still, using the W3c Validator will let you know if something is VERY wrong with your feed.

Another one I found a while back is still in “Preview”, but still interesting. It’s called Podbase Podcast Validator. It doesn’t give you the same info as the other ones. The unique thing it does do for you is give you is a kind of checklist that will let you know if your feed elements are there and correct. It also will warn you of any size issues as in your feed size or if your art is too big (file size). This one has promise as a useful tool for podcasters.

The best one I found so far is CastFeedValidator.com. This one gives you a full preview of what your listing will look like on most podcast apps. It will also warn you of the normal things that can cause your feed to not perform as it should.

Whenever I setup a new podcast feed for a client or want to troubleshoot someone’s feed, I use all 3 of these. It’s a good idea to check your own feed once in a while just to make sure everything is good.

If you know of another feed validator that works good for podcasting, let me know.

Posted by Mike Dell from The Podcast Help Desk

Mike Dell Intro

August 12, 2014 ~ Mike Dell ~ 1 Comment

Greetings! I’m Mike Dell and I am very happy to be writing for PodcasterNews.com!

I started podcasting in April of 2005 with a laptop and a $10 stick mic that came with a desktop computer I bought. Needless to say, it sounded like garbage, but I was hooked. That podcast (Mike Dell’s World) is still going on a “once in a while” basis (with a MUCH better sound). I’ve done several other shows that have come and gone. Today I have my main show Podcast Help Desk which is a podcast about podcasting with an emphasis on answering questions about the technology of podcasting with some news, opinion and how-tos thrown in there as needed.

I also work with RawVoice Inc. (Parent company of Blubrry.com and Techpodcasts.com) as the tech support guy. I really enjoy working with other podcasters on the geeky side of the Podcast world.

My focus on PodcasterNews.com will be to cover the technology side of the podcast space. I plan on writing about new products, new versions of old products and services around the podcasting world. I will give my opinion, good or bad when something new comes out and will re-visit some of the old standards along the way.

If you have something you want me to take a look at, you can contact me on twitter (@mgdell) or email mike [at] mikedell.com