When Apple first brought out the iPod in 2001, it was originally meant to be a music player. A few years later, the iPod transformed and became a video player and a gaming unit as well. Today, the iPod is now more than just an mp3 player, it can even bring you news and other stuff that matters, thanks to the wonders of Podcasts.
First of all, what is a Podcast? The name is actually a combination of two terms: the first is “pPod” which is an acronym thought up by Apple meaning “Portable On Demand”. The word “Pod” has been a trademark for Apple and is used to name probably the world’s most famous portable music player, the iPod. The second term “cast” is a shortcut of the word “broadcast”, which means to transmit information for public consumption. In simpler terms, a Podcast is a broadcast for your iPod.
Generally, a Podcast is an audio file, mostly in mp3 format, that contains news and information for the listener to receive and play on his iPod, or any other mp3 player. The earliest Podcasts in 2005 were mostly recorded from radio talk shows or interviews. Now, some Podcasts contain music, research information, and even museum tours. Other convenient uses for Podcasts include school lessons, book reviews, conferences and meetings, and even public safety announcements.
Although Podcasts were originally meant to be played on the go, most people who download the files listen to them from their computers. In 2006, around 80% of downloaded Podcasts were consumed or heard on the PC, not the iPod or any other device. Very seldom do they find the time to transfer the file to their mp3 player and listen to it.
Podcasts can be downloaded from iTunes, the music store for iPod lovers, or on many news and public information sites on the web. Podcasts are about the size of a song in mp3 format, although some files playback to half an hour or longer. Some people can opt for subscriptions to get the latest and most up-to-date Podcasts available. They can do this through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds.
RSS feeds are a way of getting updated data and other stuff on the topic of your interest, straight to your PC. You don’t need to Google or browse through many news articles to hear the latest, the RSS feeds will do the rest for you. All you have to do is open your file and consume the information. Many people subscribe to this service because it’s convenient, and they can get relevant data on the things that matter most to them. It saves tons of time and web-surfing effort.
So how do RSS feeds help you get the information you need? First, you need to get software, called an RSS aggregator, that collects RSS feeds for you. Microsoft Network recommends some RSS aggregators for download: SharpReader, FeedReader, NewsGator, RSSBandit, and many more. When you go to a news website to read an article, say on Stem Cells and Heart Disease, you can find an orange RSS icon on that article. When you click on it and follow the instructions for subscription, your aggregator will be notifying you on new updates on that topic of choice. Soon enough, you’ll be receiving Podcasts or other relevant articles on Stem Cells that you can listen to and enjoy.
After that, how do you get the Podcasts onto your iPod? If you’re not the type to hear your Podcasts over your computer, you can listen to them on the go. You can download another kind of software, called a Podcatcher, which gets the RSS feeds and synchronizes the files from your PC to your iPod. One popular type of Podcatcher is the iPodder, though other programs are currently available.
In some cases, Podcasts may be purchased or downloaded with a set of typewritten transcripts, so you can read the text while listening to the audio. Podcasts have become an efficient way of transmitting information across the globe. More and more people are considering it for disseminating relevant data to their peers and colleagues. Portable music players have really evolved from simply providing entertainment. They empower us with knowledge, too.
