Today Susanne Dansey and Susan Bradley announced  my new pet project, affectionately known as www.sbspodcast.com

This is not another SBS podcast (as the name may imply).  Rather, it’s a central point to find all podcasts pertaining to SBS & the SMB space. 

Some of these podcasts are IT Pro focused, some are consumer-focused, others deal with business, the community, and geek humor.  But the underlying theme (as a whole) tends to be security, because honestly, it’s not easy staying sharp – especially when it comes to security.

Each podcast entry on the site includes:

• Podcast name
• Host or hosts
• Description
• Website URL
• RSS Feed URL (if available)

The current list of SBS / SMB podcasts includes:

• eOn Call
• Inside SBS
• My Technology Lawyer
• Radio Free Security
• The Sky Is Falling
• The SBS Show
• Vladfire / Vladcast
• Security Now
• TechNet Radio

Visitors to the site are encouraged to submit future SBS podcasts to the list. 

For the sake of convenience, all podcasts with RSS feeds are rolled up into a single OPML feed (available at the top of the page on the site).

Hopefully this project will give folks a chance to learn about podcasts they’ve never heard of and lower the barrier & learning curve to getting started listening to podcasts.   

If you’ve got feedback regarding the site or the project, feel free to post coments on this blog entry.

Unless you’ve been living on planet Marklar, you’ve no doubt heard of the SBS Show.  And if you’re smart, you’ve listened to some, if not all of the over 2 dozen episodes of SMB goodness!

Well, the beat goes on and the SBS Show is now in 2.0 mode.   For unbeatable price of exactly ‘zero dollars’ you can get your SMB learn on at the new www.sbsshow.com website, sign up for the newsletter, download current and past episodes, and subscribe to the RSS feed to get it while it’s hot!

So be sure and join Vlad, Susanne and their guests as the SBS Show jaugernaught rolls into 2007!

P.S. Also, be sure to check out the Vladfire video podcasts and our good buddy Chris Rue!

As promised in Episode 1, I’m making the NoGeekLeftBehind video blog available in WMV format for your Windows viewing pleasure.  There is a regular Windows WMV version for your Windows Media Player, and a smaller size for Pocket PCs.

Thanks to some new compression tools the file size is smaller too (*WAY* smaller).  I chopped the Apple QuickTime version from 48 MB down to 10.5 MB, and it still looks smooth. It’s all in the software kids   Video links below:

Title: No Geek Left Behind – Episode 002
Subject:  September 2006 Microsoft SBS Partner Group Tour
Run time:  4 minutes 41 seconds

Pocket PC version: WMV 5.8 MB (208×160)
Windows version: WMV 7.4 MB (320×240)
Mac version: MOV 10.5 MB (320×240)

Gavin, let me know if that Pocket PC version works on your sweet new Motorola Q phone!

You know, all this modern technology is supposed to save us time and make life more enjoyable.  But it seems like everyday we just get busier in spite of (or possibly because of) technology. And you’ve heard that there are these great SMB podcasts that can keep you up to date so you don’t have to learn everything the hard way and bang your head against the wall.  Still, you don’t have time or desire to learn about iTunes and can’t justify spending the cash on an iPod, right?  Great news!  Don’t need an iPod or iTunes or any of that stuff, thanks to Juice. 

Here’s all you need:   

1. A computer   
2. Windows Media Player (FREE)
3. Juice (FREE)
4. The RSS feed of a podcast you’d like to listen to (FREE)   

WHAT IS JUICE?
Juice is a program that lets you to select and download audio files from anywhere on the Internet to your desktop. Once you select a podcast feed or location, Juice will download your audio files automatically at times you specify and have the files waiting for you on your computer.  You can schedule Juice to download your files at night and they’ll be waiting for you in the morning.  Then you can play your podcasts using Windows Media Player (or iTunes) right on your computer.  

MY RECOMENDED CONFIGURATION:   

• Juice runs on my PC in the background 

• My podcasts are downloaded nightly to the folder:
  \My Computer\My Received Podcasts

• Windows Media Player is set to ‘monitor’ that podcast folder
  (In WMP click Tools \ Options \ Library \ Monitor Folders)

• When I get to my computer in the morning, the podcasts are already on the PC.    

WHAT IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN MP3 PLAYER?
Juice works with WMP & iTunes so (if you want to) you can synchronize your computer with your MP3 player and take your podcasts with you.  I plug my MP3 player into my PC to charge overnight, and when i hit ‘power’ on the MP3 player in the morning it automatically syncs.  By the time I grab my phone, keys and a bottle of water from the fridge the MP3 player is done and I’m out the door to the gym.   

WHICH MP3 PLAYER?
I’ve had quite a few MP3 players over the years including a Pink iPod once (as Vlad can testify). And I always do a ton of research before I buy a new one.  My current favorite is the 20GB iRiver H10 ($299 MSRP – I got mine from NewEgg for $184).    

The H10 has killer sound, super-fast transfers, great radio reception, it records off of FM or through the built-in mic, and it stores photos and files too.  Right now my iRiver has 6,000 songs plus every Inside SBS, SBS Show, Sky Is Falling & Security Now podcast on it, and it’s not even 1/2 full yet!    

So make the most of that drive time or those server loads, and catch some podcasts to leverage the knowledge of the community (or learn this stuff the hard way – your call).