Sidepodcast

• File: episode66.m4a
• Length: 28:30
• Size: 27.2 MB
• Transcript: Coming soon

The world of Formula 1 took a back seat this weekend as Le Mans took over, but Sidepodcast keeps it F1 related… for the most part.

Intro

Oh, wait, this bit is about Le Mans.

Good Week / Bad Week

Albert Park appears to have a bright future, but we’re curious on the compromise, Force India are struggling with a former driver, Toro Rosso may have a new investor - but are they ready, and the track in Montreal is set for a change.

News and Views

If it wasn’t for testing this week, the news would literally be just about tyre compounds. Thankfully, there were three days in Barcelona to give us something to discuss - Davidson at Honda, the Toro Rosso still being slow, Heidfeld getting some extra track time, and Ferrari’s running out of fuel.

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To follow up on yesterday’s post regarding an impending server relocation… if you’re reading this then all went well.

Born Again

Actually it was probably the easiest migration we’ve ever done (this being only the second), despite the fact that smack in the middle of the process WordPress decided to release a new version of their publishing platform. If you followed the comments and tweets yesterday, there seemed to be a 50 / 50 split whether or not we should upgrade at the same time as moving, but seeing as it basically meant less work for us, we opted to dive straight into version 2.5.

Ideally you shouldn’t notice any changes, everything should work as before, only a bit faster. We know that a couple of the audio podcasts from last year have broken links meaning you can’t listen to them right now, but that should be sorted within the next few hours.

The Other Bits

One thing that is worth mentioning (if not a little geeky) is the Sidepodcast TV Facebook application.

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The usual process of including guest posts on a blog is for the owner to ask some of their favourite writers to come up with a piece or two to be featured. As you well know, Sidepodcast likes to do things a different way. The Facebook Group has plenty of fascinating discussions going on, and we want to bring those to the main site. The idea is for you guys to write your opinions and entries over on the group, and then we pick the best ones for feature over here on Sidepodcast. Sort of self-selecting guest bloggers, if you will. If you want to get your name in bright lights, just join the group and get writing. We read everything and everyone will be considered.

This second guest entry is by Dan Brunell, talking about Lewis Hamilton and the hype.

One of the good things about living on the west side of the Atlantic is that Hamilton-mania doesn’t reach my fair ears that much. Sometimes I will read someone lashing out on a blog, the random Telegraph/Times/BBC article or the occasional voice on the SPEED channel with unending praise. I consider myself lucky. The British press coverage of Hamilton is overwhelming sometimes. It’s to the point where it frays some nerves. On top of that, there seems to be some deeper resentment of not just his press coverage, but at the speed with which he has achieved his success. Is all this really Hamilton’s fault? Do the people who hate Hamilton hate him, the ease with which he achieved success, or his media coverage?

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As you may have noticed, we released a new video last weekend, and via the comments we received a couple of requests to enable better sharing of said new content.

We’ve become pretty adept at distributing audio with F1 Minute recently, so we have a pretty good idea of how to go about it, but we’ve been neglecting Sidepodcast on that front.

If you’ve been following the comments, you’ll know that Lou suggested that F1 Rewind would make a fine Facebook application, while Shaun asked if there was a simple way of embedding the videos into his site.

We’re always keen to receive input and feedback, and it seems only fair that when people make cool suggestions we act upon them, and we’ve done just that.

We have a shiny new Sidepodcast TV Facebook application ready and waiting to be added to your profile. We threw together a version during the weekend, and polished it up today. New episodes are added the moment we release them, so you’re always up-to-date with the latest content.

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The usual process of including guest posts on a blog is for the owner to ask some of their favourite writers to come up with a piece or two to be featured. As you well know, Sidepodcast likes to do things a different way. The Facebook Group has plenty of fascinating discussions going on, and we want to bring those to the main site. The idea is for you guys to write your opinions and entries over on the group, and then we pick the best ones for feature over here on Sidepodcast. Sort of self-selecting guest bloggers, if you will. If you want to get your name in bright lights, just join the group and get writing. We read everything and everyone will be considered.

The first blog entry comes courtosy of Dan Brunell, our guest blogger guinea pig, and focuses on the plight of Super Aguri and what it means for the future of F1.

As “me” and Christine have so eloquently pointed out, Super Aguri is in serious trouble. If they last the year it will be an achievement. If they get someone to buy them it would be a miracle. However, is their slow demise a sign of things to come in F1?

It’s an understatement to say that F1 is an expensive sport. Advertising arrangements with some teams are in the tens of millions of pounds. Manufacturers themselves pour in hundreds of millions of pounds. The strong economy of the last few years have allowed many auto manufacturers and companies to spend their efforts in F1. However, as the economy goes from bull to bear and wallets get tightened; their hefty spending on F1 might be one of the first things to go from the ledger sheet.

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• File: Episode52.m4a
• Length: 24:58
• Size: 23.0 MB
• Transcript: episode52.pdf

With very little news to cover this week, Sidepodcast takes it’s annual trip down the grid to predict the futures of the 2008 drivers.

Intro

I’m having the worst week of my whole entire life, no exaggeration or drama. Look forward to an optimistic show!

Good Week / Bad Week

Trulli’s depression is actually a good week for Ferrari, whilst Jerez and Singapore are having troubles.

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Building upon the success of the F1 Minute Wordpress Widget and continuing our obsession with all things Facebook related, today we’re announcing the Facebook Player for F1 Minute.

In Profile

The application builds upon the idea that anyone can share F1 Minute and has been designed for Facebook users looking for free Formula 1 content to add to their pages.

We’ve already installed it onto our profile, so if you’re curious how it looks and works feel free to take a peek. At the moment it’s sitting on the widest part of the page, and looks a bit like this:

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• File: Episode50.m4a
• Length: 23:09
• Size: 21.3 MB
• Transcript: Episode50.pdf

Sidepodcast reaches the ripe old age of 50 shows, which is such a milestone that we don’t even mention it!

Intro

We’re better and busy, tweaking the blog here and there - see if you can spot our amendments.

Good Week / Bad Week

The Australian GP and Christian Klien share our bad week accolade, whilst Honda and Trulli cash in on the good luck.

News and Views

A catchup of the news from Barcelona, even though it is ongoing as we record. The new Red Bull fin, McLaren’s head down attitude, and Williams troubles, all discussed here. We also recap the Honda and Renault launches, whether our predictions last week came true, and what we think of their new sites. Plus, visit thepaddockmagazine.com for a unique insight on the world of Formula 1.

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You may have already heard about this from Episode 49, or you may have found your way there by yourself, but today I’m here to promote the Facebook group.

A while back, I had an email from Paul Gibson who suggested: “Why don’t you set up a Facebook group.”

Ten minutes later, I mailed him back: “Done. Enjoy.”

This is what we’re like here at Sidepodcast Towers. Tell us what you want to see, or something you think we should be trying and we will do it. I’m not talking bungy jumping or anything like that, though, so don’t get any ideas.

Anyway, the group.

I didn’t really know what the point of a Facebook group was before, but every day I’m starting to see how fun it can be and what cool things we can do:

• Share photos
• Upload videos
• Submit links
• Discuss stuff
• Post on the wall

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