How to get Podding in five minutes  This document aims to get someone who doesn't know what Podding is, up & doing it in less than five minutes. If you know a bit already then skip to the first question you're unsure about and work from there. If you already have a media player (like iTunes) that supports Podcasts then click here to find out how to add any Podcast. What is Podding? What do I need to start Podding? Where do I get the Podder software? (Optional) How do I add a Podcast to iTunes? (Optional) How do I get Podcasts direct to my portable mp3-player? What is a Podcast? How do I 'subscribe' to a Podcast? We hope this is helpful to you. If you have any concerns or queries please feel free to email us. What is Podding? > Podding is when you sign-up to receive a radio show that is broadcast online instead of by conventional radio (this is known as a 'subscription' to a 'Podcast'). Its completely free, and the idea is simply that you pick a show that you like the sound of and 'subscribe' using a little piece of 'Podder' software or a media player that supports Podcasting like iTunes (don't worry, we'll come to this later!). Once you've 'subscribed', the most recent edition of the show is automatically downloaded on to your computer for you to listen to. When the next broadcast of the show is made (known as a 'Podcast'), this is also automatically downloaded to your PC, ready for you to listen to etc etc etc - get the idea? What's more, if you have an MP3 player such as an ipod, the show can be automatically transfered to this device too, so that the next time you pick up your Pod to go out, its got a fresh episode of your favourite radio show ready for you.   [back]  [top]   What do I need to start Podding? > You've got practically all you need already - a computer, a connection to the net, and music-playing software (e.g. i-tunes, real-player, Win-Amp etc). The final thing you need is a free bit of Podding software or a media player that supports Podcasting like iTunes. This will allow you to subscribe to the shows that you'd like to listen to, and will then manage your subscriptions by downloading new broadcasts (Podcasts) of the shows as soon as they become available. Please note: You do not need a portable mp3-player (e.g. an ipod) to receive Podcasts. Your Podcasts can just be downloaded to your PC for you to listen too. It's just a bonus if you have an mp3-player that you can transfer it too as well.   [back]  [top]   Where do I get the Podder software? > There are some choices here, and some Podder software is free, some isn't. Many media players now support Podcasting too which is a lot less hassle. That's why we now recommend iTunes. For a comprehensive list of choices by operating system see iPodder software list. For standalone software, we recommend iPodders own software, which is free, if a little basic - that said, it works well, is easy to use and will almost certainly be improving in the next few months.   [back]  [top]   (Optional) How do I get Podcasts direct to my portable mp3-player? > Once you've installed your Podder software you can change its preferences. One of the preferences settings will set where you want to download new Podcasts too. In iPodder, you can reach this option by clicking on the 'Preferences' tab, and then selecting a folder. Change the download folder so that it is a new folder within the music folder that you synchronise with your mp3-player (eg an iPod). Then, when a Podcast is downloaded to your PC it will automatically sync with your mp3 player along with your other music. iPodder will also create and maintain a new playlist for each show you subscribe too.   [back]  [top]   What is a Podcast? > A Podcast can be thought of as a show that is broadcast over the internet. Unlike a tuner that picks up conventional radio shows your Podder software will only download Podcasts that you've expressly told it too. Podcasts are sometimes also known as 'webcasts', 'channels' or 'RSS-feeds' (sometimes just 'feeds'). A bit more technical information that is strictly optional You may notice that Podcast links are normally Urls (web addresses) that point to a document with a .xml or a .rss file extension. This is because Podcasting uses the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) standard, which is an implementation of the object-orientated mark-up language, XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language). If you click into the documents, they will often contain no formatting instructions and so will just appear as a bunch of tags - don't worry about it, its for the Podder software not you!   [back]  [top]   How do I 'subscribe' to a Podcast? > Once you've installed your Podder software you're ready to start subscribing to Podcasts. Let's assume you love the radio show "The All New That's my Kinda Music" (TANTMKM) presented by the Pjs (Pod-Jockeys) Kenny Q and Lessy P. On their site they provide a Podcast link - if you click on this Podcast link you'll just get a weird looking document with loads of strange <tags> - what you actually need to do is cut and paste the address of the link from your browser in to your Podder software. You then click the 'Add feed' button (or the equivalent, depending on your choice of Podder software) to complete the subscription. For example, if, as we agreed, we want to add a subscription to TANTMKM, the Podcast link they give us is: http://radio.weblogs.com/0144518/rss.xml So, to subscribe to the show simply right-click on the link above, choose 'copy shortcut', then paste this link into your Podder software and click 'Add feed' (in some Podder software you can drag and drop the link instead). From now on, whenever a new edition of TANTMKM is broadcast, its collected by your Podder software and saved on your PC for your subsequent delectation and delight.   [back]  [top]