Podcast - What the Heck Is a Podcast?

Update, 10/26/2005: Rob from the podcast411 probably better explains this stuff than I do in the text that follows.

This post goes out to everyone who is still playing the show directly from this website. By that I mean that you click the link within the post (either the post title or another link) and start playing the show that way.

You mean to tell me that you're staying connected to the internet all that time just to hear my show? I'm flattered by that attention, but I'd like to offer some advice to make your experience a little more efficient:

1. I think it's better to save the mp3 files to your computer instead of listening to them online. That way you can listen to them at your leisure over and over again if you wish. In many browsers this is relatively intuitive if you right-click your mouse over the link to the mp3 file and select something like Save As.. or Save to disk... something like that.
2. An even more efficient way is to use podcast receiving software, such as iPodder, which is what I use. Head on over to iPodder.org to learn how to use "podcatching" software.

Here's what happens in a nutshell when you download iPodder:

1. Download the setup file and launch it to install it on your system
2. Go to the Subscriptions tab within iPodder
3. Go to my blog (i.e., where you are right now)
4. Find the section that says "Other Basic Stuff"
5. Find the "chicklet" that says "XML"
6. Right-click the chicklet and select copy link location or copy shortcut
Go back to iPodder and click the green button with the "+" sign
7. Paste the feed link into the dialog box and click the Save button
8. The top pane of the Subscription window shows the names of podcasts you're subscribed to; the bottom pane shows individual episodes within selected podcast feeds.

Did I say "in a nutshell"? It seems like that was a lot. Maybe it wasn't. I don't know. It's late.

Update: This article I found at Podcasting News provides step-by-step instructions on downloading and using iPodder - even with screen shots. Way better than I can do.

Good luck and happy listening!