No – although the word “podcast” comes from the popularity of Apple’s iPod, you do not need an iPod to enjoy podcasts.
Do you need a digital device to listen to podcasts?
No – you can download and listen to a podcast on your computer.
My library is already uploading audio files that patrons can download/stream. Are we podcasting?
No.
Making audio or video files available via the Web is just one piece of
podcasting. The other piece is to make it available for syndication using RSS,
essentially pushing it out to your users so that they don't need to
return to your Web site to get the next episode.
Aggregators for downloading podcasts (free!)
You can use your Google Reader or Bloglines account to subscribe to a podcast. However, if you want to use something that will automatically download the audio file to your computer, consider one of the following:
iTunes - This is the best choice if you plan to listen to your podcast on an iPod. You can set up your iTunes account to automatically download the podcast to your iPod every time it is connected to your computer. It's also an easy-to-use choice if you plan on listening to your podcast on your computer.
Juice - This is a good choice if you plan to listen to your podcast on an MP3 player that is not an iPod. It doesn't automatically sync with your MP3 player like iTunes does, but it works with Windows Media Player so that you can download the podcast to your MP3 player.
For this week's exercise, you will only be expected to subscribe to a podcast. But some of you may be interested in creating a podcast, and it is very easy. To create a podcast, you need:
Odeo Studio - is a one-stop place to create a podcast. All you need is a microphone. You can then record your audio to Odeo, store the files to the Odeo server, and create the RSS file for your podcast. If you have already recorded an audio file for the podcast, you can upload it to the Odeo server.
If you want the podcast to reside on your own server, you need the following:
Microphone – many MP3 players have microphones or you can buy an inexpensive USB microphone to plug into your laptop.
