To subscribe to our podcast:

 

So, what is podcasting anyway?

Many web sites that offer MP3 files produce programs or episodes on a regular basis, such as a weekly show or daily news. Podcasting is designed to take the hassle out of receiving a regular program by automating the download process.  It has become feasible and popular as more and more people get broadband connections that are always on.  Instead of going to the site and getting the file yourself every day or every week, you can let your podcast-receiving software do this for you. With suitable podcast-receiving software installed on your computer, you can "subscribe" to a particular series (such as ChristLife’s Podcasts) - allowing your computer to check at regular intervals whether new MP3 files are available and, if any are, to download them automatically.

With most podcast-receiving software you can decide how frequently the computer checks for new MP3 files, and also whether it will download newly available files automatically, or ask you first.

"Subscribing" to most podcasts is free and does not require registration or the divulging of any information on the part of the user.

Do I need an iPod to listen to a podcast?

No.  Once downloaded from the site, the MP3 files can be played on your computer, if you like.

To listen on your computer, you need to have some basic audio-playing software installed, such as Windows Media Player, WinAmp, RealPlayer, QuickTime or iTunes.  Most computers come with one of these already installed.  They are also generally available as free downloads.

Many people, however, choose to transfer their podcasts to a portable MP3 player and listen to them on the move.  Of course there are many other - and cheaper - brands of MP3 player besides the iPod. 

How does it work?

The producers of a podcast put MP3 files on their web site so that users can download them.  In addition, they include on their site a single, small file called an RSS feed.  Basically, this is a list (written in a code called XML) of the files that are available, along with a few other details.  Every time a new episode is added to the site, they also update the "feed" to include it in the list.  This RSS feed is the file that the podcast-receiving programs in users' computers will read at regular intervals, to see if new episodes are available.  If your podcast-receiving software spots an episode that it hasn't downloaded, it goes ahead and gets it (or it may ask you first, depending on the settings you have chosen).

To subscribe to a podcast, the only information you need to give your computer is the location (the URL) of the "feed".  Once it has this, it can do all the rest. Subscribe to ChristLife's podcast by clicking here:

But first, you need to have some kind of podcast-receiving software installed on your computer.

What software do I need?

There is a wide choice of podcast-receiving software, most of it free, available on the web to download and install on your computer.

One of the most widely used is iTunes (although handling podcasts is only one of the things that iTunes can do), which comes in the box when you purchase an iPod, probably the best-known brand of MP3 player.  It is also available as a free download from www.itunes.com

iTunes is particularly useful if your MP3 player is an iPod, as it is designed to "sync" with an iPod when it is connected, and automatically transfer to it any new files.  Other features of iTunes are the facility to convert CDs into MP3 format, and to connect seamlessly with the iTunes music store and podcast directory.

The above description is used with permission from Copyright (C) Jesuit Media Initiatives www.pray-as-you-go.org.