HELP! I am new to podcasts.

I can remember how as a teenager I would wait for the weekly BBC comedy show “Frank Muir On…” And if I missed it, that was IT! But not anymore! Imagine if there was a recording of your favourite shows that you could simply ask for it when you wanted. Or better yet, imagine if it was delivered to you like one of your magazines.

Well that is how a podcast works. It is simply a digital recording that can be subscribed to or listened to one by one. Exactly as you would a magazine. And like a magazine you can “read” it anytime YOU want.

I found this article at the American Association for Cancer Research’s website. I think it does a fantastic job of demystifying podcasts.

URBAN MYTH: An iPod is needed to listen to a podcast.

REALITY: A podcast can be listened to on a computer (PC or Mac) or on any mp3 player—not just an iPod. If a podcast is shorter than 80 minutes, it can also be burned to a CD and listened to using any CD player.

Listen Online

On a podcast page, simply click on the play arrow under LISTEN Online and wait for the file to start playing. You can stop the podcast with the pause button and change the volume with the volume control. Please note that it might take several minutes to load the podcast. Depending on your internet connection speed, it is possible that the podcast could begin playing and then pause as your computer is waiting to download the rest of the podcast.

Download the Podcast to Listen Later

PC Users:  Right-mouse click on the download link and select Save target as… in Internet Explorer. If you’re using Firefox, right-mouse click on the download link and choose Save Link As. Once the download of the podcast is complete, double-click on the file and it will start playing in the default media player of your PC.

Mac Users: Hold down the Control key and click on the download link. Next, Safari users choose Download Linked File or Save Linked File to…; Firefox users choose Save Link As; Internet Explorer users select Download link to disk; Netscape users select Save Link As and choose Format – Source. Once the download of the podcast is complete, double-click on the file and it will start playing in the default media player of your Mac.

Burn the Podcast to a CD

1.   Download the podcast to your PC or Mac.

2.   Open iTunes, click on the File menu and choose Add File to Library…. Search for where you saved the podcast on your computer, click on the file, and then click on the Openbutton.

3.   Create a playlist in iTunes (click on the plus button in the bottom left of iTunes and name the playlist) and then click on the Library icon under Source in the left-hand portion of iTunes. Drag the podcast(s) that you want into your playlist.

4.   Once finished, click on your playlist and then click on the Burn Disc icon in the upper-right portion of iTunes.

5.   Insert a blank CD-R disc and click Burn Disc again.

6.   After iTunes finishes burning your playlist to the CD (this will take several minutes), take the CD out and play it in any CD player.

TIP: Be certain that iTunes is configured to burn CDs as audio CDs so that the completed CD will play in any CD player. To check this:

1.   Choose Edit > Preferences, then click the Advanced tab at the top of the window and click Burning.

2.   Choose Audio CD as the Disc Format.

3.   Click OK.

Resources

For more information on podcasts, visit the Wikipedia site: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcastor check out iTunes’ tutorial for podcasts: www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/itunes/it5-1.html

To download iTunes, visit: www.apple.com/itunes/download

To download an alternative to iTunes (available for both Mac and PC), try the podcatcher named Juice: juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/index.php