Hang on, did I just save money by waiting for a better version?

As I've talked about in the past, the iPod Touch version 3.0 software wasn't really a compelling update for someone with a first gen iPod Touch. Yes, cut and paste is a great feature, but I found I didn't need it enough to bother.

Well, the iPod Touch version 3.1 software is out, and they're charging again (hello? I don't think Sarbanes Oxley applies to Canada...) for the software. But this time, only $4.95.

I can't be too sure (as I still haven't updated), but it looks like if I upgrade to 3.1, I get all those features in 3.0 tossed in for free.

Cool. I wonder what happens if I wait for 3.2?

Oh. Yeah. Right. Sorry.

So, um. There was an iPod/iTunes announcement earlier this week.

And once again, the rumours were much more interesting than reality.

People, can we stop saying that Steve Jobs is going to announce the cure for cancer, or the discovery of a new alien race or whatnot, and just let Apple develop products on their own time? It's a bit like Star Wars Episode I. Yes, it sucked, but even if it had been pretty good, it still would have sucked, because there was no way it would have lived up to my expectations.

Then again, even if it hadn't been over rumoured ("camera in iPod Touch!, iPad! Wetwire interface!), it probably wouldn't have done much for me. Okay, the video camera in the Nano is cool. But if I'm getting a convergent device, I'm getting a Canon 7D. And some of the new iTunes features are pretty nice. But don't expect any new iPods at Casa Macanuck this year for Christmas.

But that 7D sure'd be nice....

Streaming CBC

Back when I was in college, I joined a cross-Canada train trip to protest cutbacks to the CBC.

You'd think they'd repay my loyalty by playing nice with iTunes, but no, they've decided that their streaming feeds will be carried by Windows Media Player.

Eww.

And, to get their geek cred on, they provide an alternate, Ogg Vorbis stream, for the two people out there who use Ogg Vorbis.

Mac users with Flip4Mac can still listen to the stream, in a browser window, but sometimes you don't want to listen in a browser window, you know? Leave the browser for browsing.

Anyway. Today, Veekee had a great tip over at ehMac. (Update, this tip was published over at Spacebeast a few months ago, but I completely missed it...)

To quote her:

"You can stream CBC through itunes by hitting Advanced>Open Audio Stream in iTunes and then entering:

http://asx.abacast.com/cbc-r1nameofcity-96.pls

ie: http://asx.abacast.com/cbc-r1halifax-96.pls

Or, if you want to listen to the low-bandwidth stream, change 96 to 32.

Brilliant.

Update: So I went to check the Prince George Stream. Still streaming as an asx file. The Vancouver page has an update, telling users how they can listen to the MP3 stream.

However, this trick works for, say, Edmonton and Calgary, which haven't updated from the asx stream yet. It doesn't work for Prince George, though, as that stream apparently hasn't been converted.

Or it could just be that something is wrong with the Prince George feed in general, as when I try and listen to it in my browser with Flip For Mac, it doesn't seem to be working, either. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Do note that the definition of a high bandwidth feed has jumped from 32 kbps to 96, though if that is a function of better compression with MP3 or fatter interweb tubes all the way around I'm not sure.