The planet of podcast paraphernalia is not apt to be particularly profitable. (No, I really didn't mean to be that alliterative, but thanks for thinking about me.) We're not apt to see big hardware companies pouring millions into R&D, for example, to get us that perfect portable rig, because the market doesn't exist, at least for the time being. But at the same time, I'm seeing signs that perhaps things are moving in our direction, and some people are marketing right at DIY podcast producers.

For one thing, the maker of the de-facto flagship products are showing that adding podcast functionality was not just a throwaway feature. Apple, who from what I see has made quite a few improvements to the iTunes podcasting interface, has also been tweaking the firmware now found in the newest iPod (known variously as "5G", "video iPod", and "white"). On the recording side, the iPod's artificial limitation of 8kHz, 8-bit audio has been raised to a healthy CD-quality stereo (though a microphone that actually enables such recording apparently has yet to exist). And Todd Ogasawara notes the addition of new-podcast indicators in the 5G iPod interface, as well as on the iPod nano. Sounds like they listened to the customer -- or perhaps became podcast listeners themselves, and experienced their own frustrations. Either way, good work.

More interestingly, one of my preferred pushers of electronic crack specifically targeting the casual podcaster. Musician's Friend, online partner to the dangerously-halfway-between-work-and-home Guitar Center, now has a podcasters section, featuring a range of p-popping, knob-twiddling goodness, repackaged just for you.

We're not quite to the point where Best Buy has a podcasting software section, of course, but I have to believe that at least a few marketing departments have the wheels turning, and we could be seeing a shift from podcasting-as-hack to podcasting-as-feature. Just imagine, not far from now, a selection of software for which something like valid RSS or MP3 compression isn't just a selling point, but so common that it's not worth mentioning.