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What is Podcasting - Getting Started
We describe the necessary ingredients to learning about podcasts.
How Can I Get Started?
Although similar to radio broadcasting, podcasting differs from traditional radio distribution because you use a computer rather than a radio, and you can:
• subscribe to shows
• schedule the automatic download of these shows to your computer
• automatically transfer these shows to your portable digital music player.
It is important to know that podcasting has no necessary connection to Apple’s popular iPod music player. The popularity of that portable music device lends its name to the podcasting phenomenon, but you do not need to own an iPod (or any portable music player, for that matter) to listen to or create podcasts. The iPod is a device; a podcast is the show.
What you do need, though, is:
• a computer with sound capabilities
• podcasting software in order to subscribe to shows and schedule downloads
• an Internet connection, preferably fast
• a portable music player (optional).
Because sound files tend to be large, a fast connection makes receiving podcasts far less painful than the same procedure would be over a telephone modem.
Along with the computer, you need software to manage your podcasts. Just as you use a web browser like Firefox to view and bookmark your favorite websites, so too you need software to best make use of podcasting’s unique capabilities. In fact, you can get started listening to podcasts with nothing more than your browser, but to get the full benefits of podcasting you should use software designed for receiving podcasts. If your computer is always on the Internet, as with a campus connection, a DSL, or a cable modem, you can schedule automatic downloading of podcasts to your computer as they become available.
Additionally, if you own a portable digital music player, such as Apple's iPod or Creative's Zen Micro, the podcasts can automatically be transferred onto the player and subsequently taken along for playback anywhere you go.
The fact that you download and store podcasts on your hard drive is one of the differences between podcasts and streaming audio, such as Internet radio delivered by RealPlayer. Because you do not retain the streamed audio, you cannot save it or transfer it to portable music devices.
Automation, subscription, and portability are some of the key differences between podcasts and other forms of media. Podcasting leverages the power of the Internet and the computer’s automation of routine tasks to provide a wonderfully convenient way to obtain and enjoy media.
Prev: Introduction
Next: The World of Podcasts - 1
Although similar to radio broadcasting, podcasting differs from traditional radio distribution because you use a computer rather than a radio, and you can:
• subscribe to shows
• schedule the automatic download of these shows to your computer
• automatically transfer these shows to your portable digital music player.
It is important to know that podcasting has no necessary connection to Apple’s popular iPod music player. The popularity of that portable music device lends its name to the podcasting phenomenon, but you do not need to own an iPod (or any portable music player, for that matter) to listen to or create podcasts. The iPod is a device; a podcast is the show.
What you do need, though, is:
• a computer with sound capabilities
• podcasting software in order to subscribe to shows and schedule downloads
• an Internet connection, preferably fast
• a portable music player (optional).
Because sound files tend to be large, a fast connection makes receiving podcasts far less painful than the same procedure would be over a telephone modem.
Along with the computer, you need software to manage your podcasts. Just as you use a web browser like Firefox to view and bookmark your favorite websites, so too you need software to best make use of podcasting’s unique capabilities. In fact, you can get started listening to podcasts with nothing more than your browser, but to get the full benefits of podcasting you should use software designed for receiving podcasts. If your computer is always on the Internet, as with a campus connection, a DSL, or a cable modem, you can schedule automatic downloading of podcasts to your computer as they become available.
Additionally, if you own a portable digital music player, such as Apple's iPod or Creative's Zen Micro, the podcasts can automatically be transferred onto the player and subsequently taken along for playback anywhere you go.
The fact that you download and store podcasts on your hard drive is one of the differences between podcasts and streaming audio, such as Internet radio delivered by RealPlayer. Because you do not retain the streamed audio, you cannot save it or transfer it to portable music devices.
Automation, subscription, and portability are some of the key differences between podcasts and other forms of media. Podcasting leverages the power of the Internet and the computer’s automation of routine tasks to provide a wonderfully convenient way to obtain and enjoy media.
Prev: Introduction
Next: The World of Podcasts - 1
