Sawdust Sessions as Podcasts?

[Nick]

Alright. Let's suppose, folks, that Shopsmith did decide to make podcasts a priority because they were "mainstream." Let's consider just what that would do for you and the rest of the woodworking world.

Many members of this forum have already complained because the small screen we webcast doesn't have sufficient resolution to see the nitty-gritty details. Just how happy are you going to be when we boil that down to the postage-stamp size of a video i-Pod? And what about the blackboard? I depend on that blackboard to send you photos, illustrations, and files to make it easier to follow my demonstrations and to give you more in-depth information if the subject interests you. Just how are Drew and I going to display a blackboard on an i-Pod? Not only is it impossible to do on this medium; you couldn't use it if we could.

The "classroom" that Drew and I developed is unique on the Internet and does not easily lend itself to traslation to other mediums. It may not be mainstream, but it is my belief that it is a much better way to convey information about a craft than anything else I have yet found. In fact, this has been the major hold-up in presenting you with DVDs of Sawdust Sessions. If we were to present Sawdust Sessions on standard DVDs, you would be getting less than what you can get right here online. (You jerks that are ripping our videos would do well to remember that.) What Drew and I have come up with in place of a standard DVD is something that will give you more than you can get online.

Irregardless of whether or not Drew and I have the time to do them and irregardless of their popularity, podcasts in their present form cannot convey the information we have to share. We appreciation the suggestion, but the craftsman in me rebels at the thought of settling for something less when we can do so much better.

With all good wishes,

[nuhobby]

Nick, Drew,

We are tickled pink with the Sawdust Sessions and Video Tips.

Also: You guys have been punching these out non-stop. I think everybody would gladly understand if you wanted to take a little time off for vacation. You probably need some time away!

Best Regards,

[bkhop]

............

[dusty]

Nick. STOP. You're gettings your undies all waded up in a ball for all the wrong reasons.

The comments about "going mainstream" were NOT a criticism of the current productions of the Sawdust Sessions. They were intended to be recommendations for how you might better address the younger folks who are "mainstream". It is these folks, for the most part, who use iPods and view webcasts on those itty bitty screens. H***, I can hardly see the 22" computer screen that I use for Sawdust Sessions now let alone something smaller.

Maybe after I have my cataract surgery - but I doubt that too.

Yes, there are some folks out there that are somewhat critical. After all these years you should know that you can't please everyone all the time and you can hardly ever please all of the whipper snappers.

When will Sawdust Session #13 be available for us old folks to watch?

[paul heller]

Some posts seem to have been deleted from this thread. Why?

[a1gutterman]

.................(You jerks that are ripping our videos would do well to remember that.).....................
With all good wishes,

I love the videos, and I do not know who this is directed at (and I have a feeling that it was not directed at bkhop and I fear that he feels it was:( ), but I know that some constructive suggestions made on this forum are taken in the wrong way by some viewers/responders. If we could all remember that we all want to help SS succeed in any small way that we can, and realize that we all have a different frame of reference (which results in help that may seem like bashing), and that we do not know everything that is going on at SS, and if SS representatives would remember that we are trying to help with constructive criticism , and not bashing, well, I guess it would be a better world.

[dusty]

Tim, you just said a mouthful and IMHO you are totally right. bkhop, for what it is worth - I don't believe you were the one that Nick referred to as a jerk. Your posts are right on as well.

[solicitr]

If we were to present Sawdust Sessions on standard DVDs, you would be getting less than what you can get right here online. (You jerks that are ripping our videos would do well to remember that.)

In context, I believe Nick is using "ripping" in the modern computer-geek sense: "downloading copies." In other words the live interactive format is far better than a fixed format, DVD or podcast or whatever. Quite right.

[Nick]

Let me clear things up by telling you just who the jerks aren't.

1. I removed several posts from this thread when someone who I know to have much higher ethics that most innocently mentioned a shareware program that allows viewers to rip streaming video. He apologized immediately (without my even mentioning it to him) and I accepted his apology. He is, in my humble opinion, decidely not a jerk.

2. This is not the first time I have pulled posts for similar reasons. In all cases, the folks involved in these discussions were unaware that there was anything offensive to Shopsmith in their posts. In many cases, I received letters of concern when I pulled these posts and we had a discussion. People who have manners enough to express concern and listen to your reasons -- whether or not they agree with them -- are never, ever jerks.

3. To make my position clear on this matter, let me share with you a portion of one of these discussions. The other person in this conversation questioned whether or not I should be lecturing well-intentioned people about ripping videos. (Up until now, I have done that only in private messages.) My response: "I don't deny that ripping is ridiculously easy to do; but it is also ridiculously bad taste to inquire and explain how to steal from a company on a forum that the company has provided at their expense as a service to their customers. I will not tolerate that, nor will I apologize for lecturing people who are talking about stealing from Shopsmith on Shopsmith's forum. If you have remained oblivious to the intellectual property laws you are talking about breaking when stories about Napster and Limewire are making headlines, the perhaps you need a slap up 'side the head." By the way, the unnamed person in this conversation is probably not a jerk.

4. I have had one career that I loved -- writing -- yanked out from under me largely due to the lack of respect for intellectual property in this culture, and the authors who share my experience are legion. Furthermore, the failure of this culture to enforce its intellectual property laws has removed any economic incentive for established experts in their field to record their expertise -- these are the authors who, in another time, would have written one or two books that would have become classics in their field. Instead, an increasing number of adult non-fiction books are being written by inexperienced wannabees who do it because they need notoriety, not because they have unique knowledge worth sharing. Authors aren't the largest group suffering from this turn of events -- you are. Because I have already been through this once in my life, it's not hard for me to imagine a scenario in which Shopsmith can't afford to keep these videos going, Drew and I will go on to something else, and the woodworking videos that continue to be made elsewhere will grow less substantive and more commercial. There are no jerks in this scenario; just losers.

5. Just as it is easy to rip streaming videos, it is equally easy for us to track what videos are being ripped and who's doing the ripping. If the problem continues to grow and it threatens this educational program, then I will advise Shopsmith to deny rippers access to our web site. Whether or not they will do that is not up to me, but I can promise you I will make my case forcefully. If this happens, I expect we'll never really know who are the jerks. One day they'll just be gone. And good riddance.

With all good wishes,

[paul heller]

Nick, you have given us all much to think about. The material you post is copyright Shopsmith and we all must remember and respect that.

I believe the writers strike was about this very issue: protecting what they write when the internet is involved. So, this issue is rather timely.

Thanks for the explanation.

Paul