YellowCast 2.0 Audio Promo

To jumpstart our triumphant return to podcasting, we have a website redesign and audio promo for YellowCast!

YellowCast 2.0 is now live (of course, I'll be tweaking and adding to the site as needed) with Tim and I recording our first new episode tonight. This is, of course, if Snowpocalypse 2010 doesn't knock out the power here at YellowCast Central.

Check out the redesign and let us know what you think (or what we're missing).

Check out the new audio promo (which you can stream via the Yahoo Media Player plug-in) and help spread the word: your favorite IBM Lotus-themed development deep-dive podcast hosted by Chris Toohey and Tim Tripcony is back!

Tim and I - after way too long away from the microphone - returned to the whole podcasting thing with a brand new episode: Episode 6 - Going Biblical.

This episode marks a few "new" things to the show. First and foremost - a change in format on the "regular" episodes. We're going to keep things (hopefully) to around the 30-45 minute mark for the "regular" episodes. We also plan on producing what we're calling "deep dive" shows: episodes that will run 1 hour+, and speak to a single development topic. This way, you get your short-dose of what we hope is an educational, enlightening, and fun show and you can skip the longer "deep dive" episodes without fear that you'll lose out on the general flow of the shows should you not be interested in the given topic.

Along with this change in format, we have a change in Album Art/Logo for the show!

The original Album Art/Logo - in case I didn't mention this before - was generously created by Nathan T Freeman. The yellow planet wearing headphones is/was awesome, but we thought a little branding and personalization couldn't hurt. So, with Gimp, FaceYourManga, and Nathan's original...

Along with this new Album Art/Logo, we modified/improved the actual Blogger.com-based website. www.YellowCast.net has a slightly improved visual layout, works in multiple browsers, and hopefully is good enough to do what it needs to do: act as a simple landing pad for an audio podcast!

Lastly, we have a new voicemail line for YellowCast. We're sticking with Snapvine, which is a service that I'm liking more and more for this sort of thing as it allows you to instantly hear listener feedback as we do! Y'know... kinda like immediate collaboration with your fellow listeners.

That line - as they don't allow (from what I can tell) a direct line or vanity number - is 1-(206)-777-0137 *6632980. Now, since the majority of us have Blackberry and other Convergence-Device Smart Phones, I thought I'd share a little tip that was originally covered by BlackberryCool.com way back in February 2006: Insert Pause for Easier dialing.

I've added a contact to my Blackberry and set the Y Speed Dial to the folllowing:

The pause allows me to use the speed dialing feature without the need to memorize that horrid account number. The phone dials the first part of the number, pauses, and cuts-off the automated greeting in mid-sentence to enter the account number!

I've just successfully completed two test runs of this technique, and - like you - can now effortlessly leave voicemails for the show! And feedback rocks... so if you're a fanboy, fangirl, have something to say, or just want to try out the pause feature - give it a try!

Later this week, I plan on showing off some of the guts of Showtime, my Lotus Notes Client-based Channel and Message Push Blackberry Enterprise Server MDS Utility... which is coming along quite nicely. I would like to shoot for having "alpha testers" sometime before the end of the month. I'll post a "Sign here, all ye who want to blow up your BES environments" sign-up entry when that time gets closer, but it's something to keep your eye out for if you're interested!

In this episode, we discuss the benefits of "separating UI from data" architectures in Lotus Notes client applications, as well as our frustrations with Domino ("our little brother"), as well as some new BETA release software that hit the community recently...

As for the Vicondin reference... I'm about to head off to the doctors (again) as the Vicodin that I was on while recording Episode 2 ain't quite helping my back. MonkeyButter? You'll just have to listen...

Get it via:

• Subscribe to YellowCast (FeedBurner)
• Subscribe to YellowCast (Zune)
• Subscribe to YellowCast (iTunes)

Runtime for this episode is 1:06:41 - which we think is still long but we're getting closer. Feedback, comments, and suggestions always welcome!

Tim Tripcony and I started a podcast at YellowCast, where the discussion is centered (most of the time anyways) around Lotus and community technologies and development. For example, in this episode, we discuss just what the hell DXL (Domino eXtended markup Language) is and what you can do with it while also discussing NDL links in our "mini-tip" segment (that arguably turned into a "not-so-mini-tip"), Connections, and news on Project Broker - the new RESTful Blog/CMS application architecture that we're working on for the community. Both due to the fact that this is our first episode and how impassioned we are... Episode 1 has a runtime of 1:49:00 and has already received a "listen with headphones" recommendation.

We've got a few more ideas for segments for the 'cast, including "Fallen Comrades" - where we interview an unnamed Notes guy who's currently mid-migration to Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint. Promises to be interesting to say the least! This segment was scheduled to be included in the first episode actually, but due to both our want of getting it out the door and our contact's schedule... well, expect to see that in an upcoming episode.

Feedback on both getting YellowCast and the content itself will greatly help us (since I've proven that I have NO idea what I'm doing in this arena).

So subscribe at http://feeds.feedburner.com/YellowCast and let us know what you think - both good and bad - and we'll keep the episodes coming!

Lastly, I want to say a public thanks to Bruce, Julian, and Chris Miller, as well as anyone else who runs a podcast - you don't appreciate the amount of work required to make a single episode until you have to do it yourself. I liken it to speaking at conferences. Thankfully, our community is an amazing one, and Bruce help my pull my head out of my arse several times in the post-production phase. As always, you guys rock!