One feature I like about Google Reader is the ability to subscribe to podcasts and play them on the Web page. However when performing my daily routine of reading feeds and listening to podcasts as I have my first of many cups of coffee, if I click on a new entry while listening to a podcast, the podcast stops and goes away – I have to go in and change the view to read all, and then restart the podcast.

Last week I noticed a "popout" link next to the audio player. By clicking on it, a small pop-up window with just the audio player appears, and I can play the podcast and continue reading other feeds with no problem. The screenshot in this post shows the feed for The Hot Iron audio version from Odiogo with the popout window on top of some of the text – click on the screen to see a larger version.

This is a great new feature and adds more fuel to the debate over what is the best feed reader. Though Google Reader could improve its batching and sorting capabilities, allowing me to listen to The M Show while I read my other feeds is an advantage over the others.

Technology • (1) Comments • Permalink

File this one under worlds colliding for the benefit of domain names at the expense of Hollywood disobedience.

Rob of TheRobboReport.com sent this article from TMZ.comon domain names, where it mentions that domainers with an eye towards Tinseltown have registered the domain names lohanbusted.com and lohaninjail.com back in May, prior to the rehab visit and subsequent arrest of actress Lindsay Lohan. The article even posed a challenge for someone to register britneymeltsdown.com, which was done earlier today.

TMZ.com is an entertainment gossip Web site that is somehow affiliated with AOL. If you think you may have heard of TMZ, you may have seen it featured on your favorite local newscast, as in the constant effort my local media to not cover local events, they prominently feature the escapades of celebrities... but I digress.

Domain names registered based on news events is nothing new, but the coverage of it by media sources outside of the tech world is, and is very welcome.

Domain Names • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

Of all the blogs and feeds I subscribe to, one of my favorites is one I do not read at all. Photos from northern Norway: A photo blog is pretty a self-explanatory title, and it offers some amazing photos taken in the Scandinavian country.

Take a look, subscribe and hopefully it will give you a few moments of peace in your busy day.

The thumbnail is of a photo titled Photo of Norwegian winter landscape in January from the blog.

Diversions • (1) Comments • Permalink

PSFK recently reported on Velib, a new bike sharing program coming to Paris. The gist of the service is you pay an annual fee, roughly US$75, and you can use a special card to unlock access to a bike for 30-minutes of use, with longer periods available. The Web site is entirely in French, but if you don’t know the language you can see details of the bikes and special stations where the 451 bikes will be available. The service appears to borrow from car sharing services like Zipcar and I-GO.

This is a great idea! Though many people in cities around the world own bikes, they don’t tend to be in the best condition due to heavy usage on the mean streets, and the potential for theft. This service could allow for the casual bike rider to have access on-demand, or encourage others to use one. Not to mention it could free up a little storage space in an inner-city apartment.

Maybe Chicago could be its first US city?

Business • (3) Comments • Permalink

This morning was the likemind coffee meetup in dozens of cities around the world. It marks one year of these coffee mornings, started by 2 gents who finally met for coffee themselves and decided to invite others.

This is the picture from the Chicago likemind, with Raza, Clay and myself. It was taken outside of Intelligentsia Coffee on Randolph at Wabash, and in the background is the Randolph L station.

By the way, Raza heard about likemind on WindyBits. Hope to see more people next month. And did I mention there is free coffee compliments of Anamoly?

Business • Technology • (1) Comments • Permalink