• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
 Podcasting – What it’s all about
Podcasting......................................................................................................................2What it is................................................................................................................2Current Uses...........................................................................................................3Subscribing to Podcasts.................................................................................................3iTunes Subscribe using the Directory....................................................................3iTunes Subscribe using the URL.........................................................................10iTunes Player...............................................................................................................11Listening to Podcasts...........................................................................................11Deleting Podcasts.................................................................................................12Downloaded Files & Copying to mp3 Players....................................................12Juice – Podcatcher........................................................................................................13Subscribing to a Podcast using Directories..........................................................13Subscribing to a Podcast using the URL..............................................................14Downloading & Playing Items.............................................................................15Item Notes............................................................................................................15Feed Administration.............................................................................................16Copying Files to mp3 Players..............................................................................16Cleanup................................................................................................................16New Alternatives.........................................................................................................17Links............................................................................................................................17BBC Trial.............................................................................................................17Podcatcher Software............................................................................................17Directories............................................................................................................17© Mark Morley 2007
 
2
Podcasting
What it is
The word ‘Podcast’ is a portmanteau (or Frankenword) formed from broadcast and‘iPod’ ™, the popular mp3 player from Apple Computer, Inc.™ The term was firstused 12 February 2004 by Ben Hammersley in an article in The Guardian™newspaper.Podcasting is really another way of downloading audio files to any computer orportable media device. The introduction of a new way of listening to media (mp3players) caused a change in the distribution method. This in turn changed people’sexpectations and placed them more in control of when and where they could accessthe media they wanted. This is why podcasting has really impacted. The benefit toyou the listeners is that you have control over the information you want to listen toand when you listen to it, removing the time reliance on the media supplier (radiostation).A podcast is a multimedia file (generally an audio file) that is distributed over theInternet using a syndication feed. Put simply, instead of you having to go to a webpage to see if new files have been put up by the author, you can use some specialsoftware to register your interest (subscribe) and have any new files automaticallydownloaded for you, so you can listen when you want. Also, you can copy these filesfrom your computer to a mobile device and listen where you want. The mobile devicecan be any mp3 player or increasingly a mobile phone (it doesn’t have to be aniPod™).RSS 2.0 and the enclosure tag underpin podcasting. RSS 2.0 is simply a coding thatdedicated software can read, and is called the podcast feed. Within that code is anelement that tells the software where to look for a media file, the software thenautomatically downloads it in the background. When all the new files are read, thepodcasts are shown as available for listening in the client software. You can addmultiple podcasts to your client and it will check all the URLs for updates anddownload files as appropriate. It is generally possible to download or stream the audiofiles from a host web site as well.Similar to the word radio, podcast means both the content and delivery method.The author of the podcast is called a podcaster. When you add a podcast into yourclient software it is termed subscribing, and the generic term for software used tosubscribe is podcatcher.
Podcast Analogy
Say you subscribe to a magazine (e.g. BBC Gardeners World). You fill out yourrequest form and send it in. The publisher receives your request and informs thedistributor, who stores the latest copy. The distributor calls Royal Mail who picksup a copy the same day and delivers it to your mailbox. Now here is the good bit.You don’t have to go and get it because you’ve got a pet that picks it up and puts itnext to your favourite armchair for when you might want to read it. Not only that,it makes a copy and puts it in your briefcase or bag for when you are out and aboutand have time to sit down on a park bench and read it.
 
3
Current Uses
Podcasting is finding a range of different uses.
•
 
The majority are for talk shows covering a host of different subject areas.
•
 
Radio stations are also providing their content for podcasting or download.
•
 
Some local councils are producing podcasts for self-guided walking tours.
•
 
Art galleries and museums in America, and recently the UK, are usingpodcasts to inform about exhibits and even incorporate the opinions of visitors.
•
 
Other areas include stories for children or the visually-impaired.
•
 
It is being extensively used in US universities as a supplement to lectureprogrammes, and is finding a similar use in UK universities.
•
 
In business it is being implemented for ‘just-in-time’ training.
Subscribing to Podcasts
There are two common ways to subscribe to a podcast feed. The first and easiest is touse a directory of available podcasts to subscribe. The second is to type in the URL of the podcast feed into your podcatcher software.
iTunes Subscribe using the Directory
iTunes has a directory integral to the software, in its iTunes Store.
Figure 1. iTunes Store Podcast section
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...