DISCLAIMER: I thought the first Apple TV was relatively useless.

Today, Apple announced significant changes to Apple TV at the press event held in San Francisco (which, by the way, was streamed LIVE for the world to watch). The new Apple TV, available by the beginning of October, comes in at 1/4 the size of the original. It’s smaller than a sandwich. You can use a Tupperware container as your carrying case now – provided you’ve cleaned it first.

But there are tastier details to sink your teeth into!

There’s no media to keep track of anymore (through klutzy synching processes and whatnot) – everything will stream live into the tiny slice of digital heaven through either a network cable or WiFi (802.11n). As someone who hates storing media, this change is most welcomed. There’s a reason I use and love both Pandora and Rhapsody for my music, and why I’ve taken to Hulu for available TV show viewing. And on that note…

Once you’ve set up your new Apple TV, you’ll be able to “choose from the largest online selection of HD movies to rent, including first run movies for just $4.99, and the largest online selection of HD TV show episodes to rent from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America for just 99 cents.” That’s quite a competitive price for legally-attainable media in conjunction with a convenient interface and service. Not sure I’ll take advantage of this part of the Apple TV, though; I’m not into à la carte media consumption.

Netflix subscribers (like myself) have access to the entire streaming library of Netflix videos. If the video is in your instant queue, you’re just a few clicks away from watching it with Apple TV. You can also view streaming media from YouTube and Flickr – plus watch your favorite podcasts (like a certain someone’s) and access streaming media and images on the computers in your home.

Job(s) well done.

Oh, did I remember to tell you that the price of this sophomore effort has also been cut by 66%! That brings the Apple TV price point to US$99 – a great impulse buy for gadget geeks and mediaphiles. I’ll buy one, pick up a few extra HDMI and power cables, then tote a single unit around the house with me.

While I never considered purchasing the original Apple TV (not once), I can’t wait for this to ship (available in about four weeks to consumers in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany and Australia).

Am I alone with being impressed?

Apple TV Moves to Rental Model, Drops Price to $99

We spend a lot of time working with photos as we edit, resize and upload them to various websites. Photos are easier to work with on the iPad than many other devices due to the size of the screen. You can scroll through your entire collection with the touch of a finger. If you want to view all of the photos in an album within Photos, you can “pinch” it to open. You read that right… you can PINCH your iPad! You can also create a slideshow within the application, and choose music from your library as a background. Quickly import your photos from a Mac or Windows machine using iTunes, and have them organized for you in one place.

We also spend a lot of time watching television shows, movies, podcasts and music videos. I’d have to say I probably spend at least half of every day playing some type of video to listen to as I work. I like the way this type of content is organized and accessed using the iPad. When you tap the “Videos” button, all of your media will be displayed in neat lists to help you find what you’re looking for. You can watch movies in wide-screen, or double-tap to watch them on the full screen.

The large screen on the iPad will be a plus for me when watching movies or videos, as well as when I’m working with pictures. You’ve seen my glasses. I need all the help I can get, and the screen real estate should make a big difference.

How to View Media on the iPad

Melodeo was founded in 2003 by the founders of Tegic Communications. While at Tegic this group developed T9, one of only two products to be deployed universally on cell phones. They brought to Melodeo a passion for entertainment on mobile phones and an approach to building products that puts the user first. Joined by a diverse team of developers and business people from media companies such as AOL and Digeo, Melodeo is united in its vision of combining podcasting, social networking and mobile to create an excellent entertainment experience anywhere, anytime.

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Bill Valenti is a seasoned entrepreneur and global-business executive, combining more than 20 years of experience in international investment banking and successful technology start-ups. Valenti spent 17 years in Asia developing commercial and investment banking business for Chemical Bank/Riggs Bank. Returning to the U.S., he launched New Pacific Partners, an investment banking partnership focused on Asian-market strategies.

Rob Greenlee is Founder / Host of the internationally syndicated “WebTalk World Radio Show” (formerly known as the WebTalkGuys World Radio Show). The 5 year-old show, on the web at WebTalkRadio.com, discusses the latest trends involving the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Other Media Downloads: FLV | MP3

Getting Podcasts on a Cell Phone

With the dizzying array of social media services online and growing choices in social media outlets, from blogs to vlogs to podcasts to wikis to message boards to old-fashioned email discussion lists, its hard to know what the rules of engagement are (or aren’t). Chris Heuer of Social Media Club is aiming to build a network of people capable of “sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and promoting media literacy around the emerging area of Social Media. This is the beginning of a global conversation about building an organization and a community where the many diverse groups of people who care about social media can come together to discover, connect, share, and learn.” In this conversation Chris Heuer breaks down the purpose of Social Media Club and how you can get involved.

Chris Heuer on Social Media Club

If you wanted to hear anything and everything that was officially recorded (in audio) from Gnomedex 6, you might want to subscribe to our show – conference interviews and sessions are already being posted there. The videos are forthcoming – more word on that soon. Until then, you should get our podcast (which I hope you’re getting, anyway). We’ll have a few dozen unique recordings come through over the next month or two. When they’ve all been published, expect a full list of links here (and on Gnomedex.com). If we dumped ‘em all on you at the same time, they would overwhelm your iPod.

Gnomedex Recordings

I listen to KUOW in my car all the time. If the dial isn’t tuned in to NPR, the radio simply isn’t on. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken extra laps around the block just so I could listen to a full broadcast. Last Thursday, I heard a great segment on the origins of marriage (What is a Traditional Marriage) – I wanted Ponzi to hear it, too. That’s when I remembred: NPR has podcasts! And let’s face it – NPR owns the podcast space. I’d give my left nut to have a show on NPR (and my left nut is slightly more valuable than my right nut, FWIW). The problem is that NPR has over 300 podcasts as of today, making them impossible to manage and subscribe to en masse. So, I’m asking the NPR gods: please give us a single, permanent OPML URL? You can keep the same dichotomy, just put in a more transportable / importable format. If the NPR OPML is always at the same URL, we can always have the latest set of NPR shows a finger-click away. And if you already have a master OPML for NPR, why haven’t you linked to it from your podcast page?

NPR Needs OPML