Alesis USB-Mic Podcasting Kit

A trend that emerged at the recent NAMM music tradeshow was the concept of the "podcasting kit," exemplified by the Alesis USB-Mic. At the heart of the kit is of course a USB microphone, which promises 16-bit, 44.1-48KHz quality on both Macs and PCs. This is supplemented by a pair of headphones for monitoring purposes, and a copy of Audacity, the free multiplatform sound-editing tool. Alesis is also offering a 30-day subscription to its hosting site, the Podcasting Center. Users can have RSS files embedded automatically, and episode notification can be sent to iTunes, Podcast Alley, search engines and more. Alesis has not divulged any information on pricing or ship dates.