There is a small ON light (actually it's an LED) and I appreciated getting that feedback. It let me know the mic was connected and powered via the USB port.

I was really pleasantly surprised to find that this mic has a built-in headphone amp. This offers zero-latency, real-time monitoring, with level control. The 1/8″ jack allows you to plug phones right into the mic body.

No matter how good your camera is, no matter how pretty you are, no matter how great your script, it's the audio that will make or break your video podcast. We can suffer through bad lighting, a poorly scripted joke, an ugly background, etc. But if we can't hear or understand you, you're podcast is going in the trash.

I realize that there are some podcasters who feel very strongly about keeping the dream alive of an inexpensive platform, driven by social media and ready access to affordable technology. But I think that soon, (like it or not) the podcasting community may have to re-assess its opinion of what constitutes "affordable" and what level of quality the audience will come to expect. I'm not saying I want this to happen. I am predicting it will happen. Please note the difference.

Executive Summary: The easiest-to-use voice processor on the market, with more bang for the buck than anything I've ever seen. The 230 is versatile, valuable and powerful and replaces a rack full of gear. It will help almost any podcaster create big voice-overs with a minimal learning curve and an affordable price.

I tried the Levelator on several files and it works. It's very simple, doesn't offer any controls, and what you see is what you get. It's in BETA and may eventually need some tweaking. But I have no doubt that in its present form, it will be a very valuable tool for any podcaster.

My two favorite things about these panels are their portability and flexibility. They're easy to move around. They have a sturdy carry handle attached to the hinge and Clearsonic also sells specialized carrying cases that help protect the panels when being transported.

Along with the cast of This Week In Media I'll be recording a live podcast at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo on Saturday, September 30, from 2:45pm - 3:15pm

Libsyn Pro allows podcasters to administer multiple RSS channels. The company says it's a perfect launch pad for professional podcasters who produce podcasts for more than one client, since the RSS channels can be delegated. Stats can be rolled into channel groupings, making it easy to generate monthly reports for multiple podcasts. This is something that advertising agencies and commercial sponsors appreciate.

If you're doing something unique and compelling, and if you have a unique voice, your content will always have a place in the world. Radio isn't evil any more than podcasting will be evil when it's replaced by the next new cool thing. Content and message matter whether they're delivered on radio or in a podcast. Focus on that, serve your audience, let radio teach you what it can, and don't worry about evil. Good always triumphs in the end.

This $30 direct-to-disk recorder offers podcasters one thing that GarageBand 3 and even Apple's Logic cannot, and that's the ability to record audio for longer than one hour and eight minutes. It supports audio files up to two GB in size.