About Podcasting
1. What is a Podcast, Exactly?
A podcast is a simple yet sophisticated transfer of audio content over the internet. It allows audio files to be shared among many users across the world with a minimum of work. Podcasts are usually MP3 audio files that are available to be downloaded onto your computer and transferred to an iPod or any portable media device that can play MP3 files.
2. Is a Podcast the same as a downloadable MP3 File?
No, it's different. Podcasting delivers it to you on a regular schedule, using a few key technologies. Once you set it up, it works on its own -- you don't have to hunt down and download a file.
3. How Do I Get Started?
If you have a computer that is connected to the internet you are ready to start. The most common way of receiving a podcast is through a podcast receiver. A podcast receiver is a piece of software that runs on your computer, and it is logically similar to a web browser. There are several popular podcast receivers, and almost all of them are free. Ipodder is a popular one that can be downloaded from the following site:
It is very easy to download and install a podcast receiver using the instructions on the download page.
4. How Do I Actually Get A Podcast?
The next step is let the podcast receiver know which podcasts that you want to receive. This is easily done by 'subscribing' to particular podcasts, such as Infoble's MP3 SportsTalk show. The process of setting up a subscription is usually as simple as copying a URL from a web browser to the podcast receiver. Here is the URL for
Infoble's MP3 SportsTalk Podcast
If using the Ipodder receiver, go to the Subscriptions tab and press the large green button with the plus sign (the 'add new feed' button). Copy the string above to the URL field in the dialog box. Press Save and the subscribed show will appear in the list of subscriptions in the upper half of the Subscriptions tab.
At this point, a subscription has been set up, but no podcasting has been done. On iPodder's Subscription tab, press the leftmost button (it is green with two arrows on it) to check for new podcasts. If there are any, they will begin to download, and may take a minute or two to complete.
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