Video iPod?

Many reports - including this one from the San Jose Mercury News - have floated the idea of an Apple iPod that will play videos, which, of course, Apple will start offering through its iTunes music store.

Does this mean all of us podcasters wasted $20 on our new microphones? Not so fast. Vidcasting - the podcasting with video rather than audio - is technically possible, and a video-playing iPod would make it an even bigger possibility. But producing and transferring video aren't as easy as with audio. And so many people appreciate the audio format because it allows them to multi-task.

I see problems with people trying to "multi-task" by watching a vidcast during the drive to work. Not only that, but it takes a lot of work to make using video worth the effort; a talking head isn't visually stimulating. An audio podcaster can sit alone at a microphone and record a great show, but a vidcaster needs more than a tripod and monologue to be interesting.

The power of audio will keep podcasting in demand.